A rarity among those who write on Zen, Bret Davis is qualified to authoritatively explain the practice and philosophy as well as the history and culture of Zen. His insights draw on his deep roots in both Zen practice and academic erudition, nourished by the rich soil of both the Japanese and Western heritage. Yet, he focuses steadily on our concerns in the here and now. Remarkably accessible and captivating, while remaining uncompromisingly accurate, Zen Pathways sets a 21st-century standard for what a serious introductory text on Zen should be.
Bret W. Davis is Professor and Thomas J. Higgins, S.J. Chair in Philosophy at Loyola University Maryland, where he teaches classes in Western, Asian, and cross-cultural philosophy, and where he directs The Heart of Zen Meditation Group. In addition to publishing more than seventy-five scholarly articles, he has authored, edited, and translated a number of books, including Japanese Philosophy in the World (in Japanese), Heidegger and the Will: On the Way to Gelassenheit, Martin Heidegger: Key Concepts, Japanese and Continental Philosophy: Conversations with the Kyoto School, Engaging Dogen's Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening, The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, and Bipedal Philosophers (in Japanese). In 2001, he obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. He lived in Japan for more than a dozen years, during which time he studied Buddhist thought at Otani University, and Japanese philosophy at Kyoto University, while practicing Zen at the
monastery of Shokokuji in Kyoto. He is fluent in Japanese, semi-fluent in German, and proficient in reading Classical Chinese. In 2010, he was formally recognized as a Teacher (Sensei) and Director of a Zen Center by Kobayashi Gentoku Roshi, the current abbot of Shokokuji.