Two Zen Classics: The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Records (Paperback)

~ Katsuki Sekida (Translator)
Key Phrases: second patriarch, true dharma eye, third patriarch, Buddha Nature, Holy Buddhahood, Great Death (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so popular. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with Western as well as Eastern ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of the texts for the people of today."—Asahi Evening News

 "These notes are the fullest and most intelligent that have so far appeared in English."—Japan Times

"Two Zen Classics is a product of Herculean labors, wrought with dedication and understanding."—Philip Kapleau

Product Description

The strange verbal paradoxes called koans have been used traditionally in Zen training to help students attain a direct realization of truths inexpressible in words. The two works translated in this book, Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate ) and Hekiganroku (The Blue Cliff Record), both compiled during the Song dynasty in China, are the best known and most frequently studied koan collections, and are classics of Zen literature. They are still used today in a variety of practice lineages, from traditional zendos to modern Zen centers. In a completely new translation, together with original commentaries, the well-known Zen teacher Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so successful. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with both Eastern and Western ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of these texts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 418 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st Shambhala Ed edition (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590302826
• ISBN-13: 978-1590302828
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent study of two of the greatest zen works, January 19, 2006

By	james "hank" (Toronto, ON, CAN) - See all my reviews

Two Zen Classics contains the texts of the two most important koan collections: The Gateless Gate and the Blue Cliff Record. Together with the Book of Serenity, the Transmission of the Light, and the Lin-chi-lu, form the basis of koan study in Zen. For beginners and those unfamiliar with Zen, koans will seem illogical gibberish, and the commentaries on them even more so. Yet for the serious student who wishes to train with koans, this book is an excellent resource. For those who don't know, a koan is a unique piece of writing which expresses the nature of reality in words transcending words. A koan cannot be solved by logic, thus it is not a riddle. Rather, a koan is meditated upon until the intellectual mind reaches its limit, and the desire for understanding forces the mind into a higher level of intuitive realization. The first koan in the Gateless Gate, Joshu's Mu, is still the most commonly used first koan for a student. Koans are tools for meditation, designed to bring about realization. Mr. Sekida provides superb notes for each of 148 koans, giving background information, history, and significance of each koan. Yet, despite the excellence of this volume, it falls short in the same place that all koan translations do. That is, that, though a translator may have a superb understanding of Japanese, the essence of a koan can be lost in the translation. Thus, koan translation is one of the most difficult tasks any translator can undertake. To truly be successful, one would have to be a Zen master of incomparable realization, since it is only with realization that one can thoroughly express the essence of the koan in another language. However, this is still one of the best translations of these two collections, with far more hits than misses. Sometimes, however, I find that Mr. Sekida's thorough notation hinders the study of the koan by expressing his own understanding of it. Thus, while one may read his words and understand the koan intellectually, that intellectual knowledge will hinder one in one's own study of that particular case.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to Koan Study, July 22, 2009

By	C. D. White "Just Looking" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I use The Blue Cliff Record by Thomas Cleary and J.C. Cleary for koan study encounters with my zen teacher. But, when I had special difficulty understanding one of the cases, he recommended Sekida's translation of the case and verse. He was right, Sekida's translation was far clearer, easier to understand. I now refer to both translations for each Koan pointer, case, and verse. I rarely ever find them openly conflicting, but their flavors are very different. Sometimes one is clearest and sometimes the other,

What makes Sekida's translation so good? I think it is that he translates from the point of view of a zen student and teacher. Koan study is personal, active, intimate. Sekida's translation most often does it. However, he does tend to paraphrase the original commentary rather than strictly translate it. This can be helpful to understanding the context or background of some cases.

The Cleary's do a wonderful job as academics. I have virtually all of their works. All English speaking zen students owe them a great debt of gratitude. But, Sekida often turns a case's verse into an English version of the personal, intimate language of a zen teacher. And the ancient authors were all zen teachers.

I recommend a koan student use both books. Often, it is the difference between them that is most instructive.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking, September 23, 2009

By	Thomas E. Ragland "GnosticTom" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I love this book. It is one of those read a section and meditate on the ideas type books. It is a good introduction to classical Zen mind.