Reviews and Comments

Kōdō Sawaki embodied the stereotypical Japanese Zen master. Hard but fair, sharp in mind and tongue. His language was short and concise and very easy to quote. His disciple, Kosho Uchiyama, was the opposite. A gentle bookworm who, despite the title of Zen master, always retained his own nervousness and shyness. Uchiyama was in turn the teacher of the currently active Zen teacher Shohaku Okumura, who more radiates the energy of an insightful and forgiving relative, possessing "grandmother mind" as this wisdom is sometimes called in the Zen tradition.

This lineage of teachers and students all contribute to this excellent book. Each chapter opens with a short lesson from Sawaki, often baffling in its blunt simplicity, which is then expanded and interpreted by the more academic Uchiyama. Finally, Okumura reflects on both of these and offers comments aimed at today's readers.

This format works really well, with the three levels of interpretation representing how the Buddha's teachings are passed down from generation to generation, something central in the Zen tradition and key to its survival.