If Zen had such things as scriptures, this collection of Zen and pre-Zen writings might claim to constitute them

Here in one volume are gathered the experiences of Zen, the mind problems and the stages of awareness, together with similar teachings which are centuries older than Zen. These passages take the reader deep into everyday living towards the very source of being.

The first book, "101 Zen Stories", shadows the experience of Zen masters and students during the past seven hundred years in their search for satori or enlightenments. The second book, "The Gateless Gate", is the famous Mumonkon, a collection of problems used by Zen teachers to guide their students towards release, while "Ten Bulls", which is illustrated by one of Japan's leading woodblock artists, contains a commentary on the stages of awareness along the path to enlightenment. "Centering", the fourth book, is a transcription from Sanskrit of an ancient teaching which still survives in Kashmir and may well be the origin of Zen.