Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism

Download or read book Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism written by Toshihiko Izutsu and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zen experience defies all thinking and linguistic description and simply affirms what is evidently real: " The ordinary way-- that precisely "is" the Way." After questioning the nature of reality, the Zen student discovers that what remains is what "is." Although it seems that Zen would not lend itself to philosophical discussion, that all conceptualization would dissolve in light of this empiricism, in this volume, the author demonstrates that the " silence" of Zen is in fact pregnant with words. A variety of topics are discussed: the experience of satori, ego and egolessness, Zen sense and nonsense, koan practice, the influence of Zen on Japanese painting and calligraphy and much more.