Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Subtitle: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
Contributors: Paul Reps (Compiler); Nyogen Senzaki (Compiler)
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: October 1998
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 211
ISBN-13: 9780804831864
Subjects: Zen Buddhism; Religion; Philosophy; Buddhism - Zen; Zen; Buddhism - General
First sentence: NAN-IN, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Description: When Zen Flesh, Zen Bones was published in 1957 it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a book that offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can struggle over the meaning of Zen for themselves. It includes 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries; The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans; Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment; and Centering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen.