Recommended Reading: Zen Buddhism

Eugen Herrigel. Zen in the Art of Archery. ISBN: 0375705090
There is the Zen of no mind in which you eat when hungry, rest when tired, and stop when finished.  There is also the Zen known through the ritualized arts of discipline and beauty such as archery, swordsmanship, brush-and-ink, the tea ceremony, or flower arranging. This book is Herrigel’s story of striking the target bull’s-eye blindfolded.

Robert M. Pirsig. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. ISBN: 0060958324
This is a book suitable for the deepest thinker while at the same time opening the heart. It is worthy to be read many times. One of the best books Al has ever read.

Paul Reps. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. ISBN: 1570620636
No preachy doctrine here, just a simple collection of 101 stories, carefully chosen and gracefully translated, that leave the reader in a state of wonder, curiosity, and puzzlement. Many of these stories have seeped into the culture of North America, and you will likely recognize some of them, such as the story of the Zen master overflowing a visiting professor’s tea cup to illustrate how filled the professor is with himself—so filled he cannot learn anything new.

Philip Kapleau Roshi. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment. ISBN: 0385260938
Roshi is a Zen master who writes from personal experience, beginning with his time in Japan during the 1950s. This book has been reprinted in 35 editions, and many consider it the best book on Zen ever written.

D. T. Suzuki. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. ISBN: 0802130550
D.T. Suzuki (1870 – 1966), long considered the foremost Western authority on Zen Buddhism, is usually credited with introducing the subject to America. He was a professor of Buddhist studies (not a Zen adept himself), so this book, based on articles written in Japan in 1914, is a scholarly report rather than one of personal experience.

4 Freedoms Relationship Tantra

Al Link and Pala Copeland

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