Original Teachings of Ch'an Buddhism: Selected from The Transmission of the Lamp

Ch'an Buddhism is the Chinese name for what we in the West have called Zen Buddhism. It began in seventh-century China, and flourished there until the thirteenth century, when it disappeared. It is still practiced widely in Japan today. This book is partly a translation of the teachings of great Ch'an masters, selected from The Transmission of the Lamp, the earliest Ch'an text, and partly the author's own interpretations derived from nearly twenty years of study and experience in Ch'an, primarily with Dr. Suzuki and other leading Japanese Zen masters. The teachings are made up of kung-an (koan in Japanese), which are expressions of the inner experience and illumination of enlightened men, an inner experience that is transmitted from generation to generation and is the chief characteristic of the teachings of Ch'an. The translation, which brings the texts together in this form for the first time in English, is a masterpiece of style and contemporary command of language. A unique and beautiful collection, this book will also serve as an important text or reference for those interested in the original and authentic teachings of Ch'an. Chang Chung-yuan was born into a family of classical scholars in China and taught philosophy in Chinese universities before he came to the United States. He received a Ph.D. degree from Columbia University and has lectured at Columbia, Rutgers, and other American universities, as well as in Europe. He was a research fellow in Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism for ten years with the Bollingen Foundation of New York. He was sent to Japan from 1960 to 1963 to work on the research and translation of Ch'an scripts. At present, he is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii.