The Golden Age of Zen

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This book gives a fascinating survey of the early years of Chinese Zen (Chan) Buddhism, staying focused on the movement of Buddhism to the land where Taoism and Confucianism flourished. Wu's survey, combined with interesting translations from these earliest Zen masters, reveals a time of spiritual vibrancy and powerful personalities that help explain the later developments of Zen with which western readers are more familiar.

"Here is a book that will do much to clarify the still very confused western idea of Zen Buddhism. It is not an apologia, not a criticism, not a purely academic history, not a romantic exercise of imaginative concordism. It looks at the great Chinese Zen Masters of the 7th to the 10th centuries A.D., and portrays them in their "Five Houses". It enables us to situate their teaching and to enjoy it in its context.…Though few Westerners will ever actually come to a real understanding of Zen, it is still worth their while to be exposed to its brisk and heady atmosphere. This book will be a good place to make the acquaintance of what can be called the very quintessence of Buddhist wisdom, in the Golden Age of Chinese Zen."

—Thomas Merton (excerpt from the Introduction)

“A rich harvest of the sayings and training methods of the great Chinese Zen masters. Highly recommended.”

——Roshi Philip Kapleau, author of The Three Pillars of Zen