Zen and Zen Classics: General Introduction from the Upanishads to Huineng (Hardcover)

by R. H. Blyth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
R.H. Blythe was one of world's foremost translators and interpreters of Zen teachings until his death in 1964. In this adaptation of several of his works, Frederick Franck (a lifelong fan of Blythe's teachings) presents a simple, straightforward look at the principles and values inherent in Zen thinking, complete with Blythe's trademark simple, gently humerous approach. Quotations from famous Zen thinkers are mixed with practical interpretations to allow both long-time followers and newcomers to the ways of Zen to appreciate and deepen their understanding of its teachings. Uniquely, this book also follows Blythe's approach of combining Zen and Christianity to allow for a more complete view of spiritual and metaphysical thinking. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author
Frederick Franck, whose drawings and paintings are part of the permanent collections of a score of museums in America and abroad (including the American Museum of Modern Art and the Tokyo National Museum in Japan), holds degrees in medicine, dentistry and fine arts. He is the author of numerous books, among them The Zen of Seeing and The Book of Angelus Silesius. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Heian Intl Pub Co (January 1980)
• ISBN-10: 0893460486
• ISBN-13: 978-0893460488
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,245,831 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ANTHOLOGY OF SOME CLASSIC WRITINGS, August 19, 2006

By	William Bagley (Ashland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Zen & Zen Classics (Paperback)

The other volumes of Blyth are very hard to get. The collection of writings and extracts does a good job of condensing the essence of those volumes. The flavor of the writings is what I would call "Zen existentialism". I read the book from cover to cover with rapt attention about 25 years ago. What I got from the writings was about accepting myself and life as it is, meeting it directly, and cutting through every kind of theory to be with what really is. The gift of Zen is that, while emerging from the very heart of what Buddha taught, cuts through even the words of the Buddha to what he saw and even more important than what he saw is what we actually see, right here and right now.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Frederick Franck, editor of R. H.Blyth's Great Works, March 26, 2000

By	MICHAEL BAUDRIER (Surrey, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen & Zen Classics (Paperback)

Franck's "Zen and Zen Classics" is his editing of the writings of R. H. Blyth on Ch'an/Zen, which are otherwise out of print. It is a great book, specially since it contains the only in-print works of Blyth, who, Franck says, is the indispensible interpreter of Zen for the western mind, and that Blyth is the ever-open eye. This is a great book, and can lead to even greater ones by Blyth---if onlt they would print more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Frederick Franck, editor of R. H.Blyth's Great Works, March 26, 2000

By	MICHAEL BAUDRIER (Surrey, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen & Zen Classics (Paperback)

Franck's "Zen and Zen Classics" is his editing of the writings of R. H. Blyth on Ch'an/Zen, which are otherwise out of print. It is a great book, specially since it contains the only in-print works of Blyth, who Franck says is the indispensible interpreter of Zen for the western mind, and that Blyth is the ever-open eye. This is a great book, and can lead to even greater ones by Blyt---if onlt they would print more.