This text gathers together 100 of the rare mystical riddles representing the core spiritual discipline of Japan's ancient Samurai tradition. Dating from the 13th-century records of Japan's Kamakura temples, they reflect the earliest manifestation of pure Zen in Japan, as created and posed by the top Zen Masters to their warrior pupils. Traditionally guarded with a reverent secrecy, the stories, puzzles and dialogues of the koans contrast poetry with carnivalesque humour, delicacy with occasionally graphic violence, and transcendental insight with a compassionate awareness of flesh. As key...

Samurai Zen brings together 100 of the rare riddles which represent the core spiritual discipline of Japan's ancient Samurai tradition. Dating from thirteenth-century records of Japan's Kamakura temples, and traditionally guarded with a reverent secrecy, they reflect the earliest manifestation of pure Zen in Japan. Created by Zen Masters for their warrior pupils, the Japanese Koans use incidents from everyday life - a broken tea-cup, a water-jar, a cloth - to bring the warrior pupils of the Samurai to the Zen realization. Their aim is to enable a widening of consciouness beyond the...

Stories, parables, and examples have been a favoured way of conveying spiritual insights and truths since time immemorial, and Trevor Leggett was a master at it. He had the knack of pointing out the spiritual implications of practical events which everyone can relate to. This volume contains stories based on Buddhism and referring to martial arts, music, chess and incidents in ordinary life. He describes this as a freewheeling book: I am trying to give a few hints which have helped me and which can be of help to others, ' he said. For those who know nothing of Buddhism or Zen in particular,...