Customer Reviews

Principles of Zen: The Only Introduction You'll Ever Need (Thorsons Principles Series)

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Coming out of an insight meditation practice, I've been skeptical but curious about Zen for its irrational and paradoxical nature.

This book is a concise, clearly written overview of Zen philosophy, history, and practice which, I must admit, did little to relieve my skepticism. Perhaps the very nature of Zen makes it difficult to put the insights it can offer into words, but I did not find much in this book to be of value to my spiritual practice. This may also have something to do with the fact that the author herself has abandoned pure Zen doctrine for a practice that incorporates some of the best of the Theravada/insight tradition.

For those beginners curious about Buddhism in general, I recommend Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught". For those who have heard good things about Martine Batchelor, I recommend her "Meditation for Life", which present a wealth of wisdom and meditation practices from a variety of Buddhist traditions, illustrated with many memorable examples and parables.

The first great introduction to Zen is Philip Kapleau's magisterial "Three Pillars of Zen." Since then there have been any number of introductions, many very good. I've even written one or two. My favorite for many years was Robert Aitken's "Taking the Path of Zen." It remains high on my list.

But if someone wants a simple, straightforward introduction to Zen that acknowledges all the various schools of Zen then Martine Batchelor's book is the book.

In my opinion this may well be the best brief introduction to Zen Buddhism available.

I recommend it to any one interested in the subject.

This book was received poorly collated: pages missing and in wrong order. I was very disappointed and have requested a refund.