In this book, Nyogen Senzaki brings the old Zen koans vividly to life, inviting readers to pause, question their assumptions and look freshly at the everyday.
This generous collection gathers his complete commentaries on The Gateless Gate, along with talks, poems, letters and teachings on Buddhist practice.
Some of the commentaries were written while Senzaki was detained in a wartime internment camp, giving the book’s reflections on attention, freedom and the nature of mind a particular depth.
In a world crowded with noise and certainty, his direct, sometimes wry voice offers a timely invitation to become still, attentive and open to what we may have overlooked.
Also included are rare photographs, poems reproduced in Senzaki's beautiful calligraphy and accompanied by his own translations, and transcriptions of his talks on Zen, esoteric Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra, what it means to be a Buddhist monk, and other subjects.
Roko Sherry Chayat has edited Nyogen Senzaki's words with sensitivity and grace, retaining his wry, probing style yet bringing clarity and accessibility to these remarkably contemporary teachings.
