Public Zen, Personal Zen: A Buddhist Introduction

Zen Buddhism has long been understood as a path "beyond words and letters," which transmits its truth directly from heart-mind to heart-mind. Ironically, this most iconoclastic tradition has produced a vast literature, now including this excellent contribution by Hershock (director, Asian Studies Development Program, East-West Ctr., Honolulu; Chan Buddhism). Dividing his book into three parts, the author systematically recounts the complex origins of and persistent changes to Japanese Zen across time and through its peripatetic migrations. Part 1 covers the basic tenets of Buddhism from its beginnings in India through its emergence in 12th- and 13th-century Japan. Hershock reveals a symbiotic relationship between early Japanese Buddhism and the developing state that was to characterize institutional Zen well into the 20th century. Part 2 examines the evolution of the Rinzai (emphasis on koan practice) and Soto (emphasis on sitting meditation) schools of Zen Buddhism in response to changing Japanese culture, economics, and politics. In the third part, Hershock focuses on personal practice, ritual, and communal discipline through sketches of the lives of four very different masters: Dogen, Ikkyu, Hakuin, and Ryokan.