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...