The Ways of Zen

C. C. Tsai, Brian Bruya, Brian Bruya

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780691179766
• eBook ISBN: 9780691220512
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

From bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai, a delightfully illustrated collection of classic Zen Buddhist stories that enlighten as they entertain

C. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty languages. In The Ways of Zen, he has created an entertaining and enlightening masterpiece from the rich collections of the Zen Buddhist tradition, bringing classic stories to life in delightful language and vividly detailed comic illustrations. Combining all the stories previously published in Tsai's Wisdom of the Zen Masters and Zen Speaks, this is the artist's largest collection of selections from the most important and famous Zen texts.

The story of the illiterate wood-peddler Huineng, who improbably rises to become the most famous Zen patriarch, is joined by others that trace the development of the five major sects of Zen Buddhism through other masters such as Mazu, Linji, and Yunmen. A shattered antique, a blind man carrying a lantern, sutras set on fire, a cow jumping through a window—each story leads the reader to reflect on fundamental Buddhist ideas.

The Ways of Zen also features the original Chinese text in side columns on each page, enriching the book for readers and students of Chinese without distracting from the English-language cartoons.

Filled with memorable anecdotes and disarming wisdom, The Ways of Zen is a perfect introduction to Zen Buddhism and an essential addition to any Zen collection.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword by Martine Batchelor
• Introduction by Brian Bruya
• Map
• Zen Lineage Chart 1
• Zen Lineage Chart 2
• Zen Lineage Chart 3
• Zen Lineage Chart 4
• WHAT IS ZEN?
• ENLIGHTEN MENT OF THE WAVE
• A CUP OF ZEN
• THE OUTCOME OF ENLIGHTENMENT
• TRANSMISSION OF THE LAMP
• PASSING ON THE MIND
• SEIZE THE MOMENT
• KASHYAPA AND THE FLAGPOLE
• ZEN’S ORIGIN STORY
• HUINENG, SIXTH ANCESTOR
• A SPECIAL TRANSMISSION SEPARATE FROM THE SCRIPTURES
• NOT RELIANT ON THE WRITEN WORD
• DIRECT POINTING AT ONE’S MIND
• SEEING ONE’S NATURE, BECOMING A BUDDHA
• NON-ABIDING
• POINTING AT THE MOON
• SUDDEN IN THE SOUTH, GRADUAL IN THE NORTH
• SHENHUI OF HEZE
• HUIZHONG OF NANYANG
• XUANJUE OF YONGJIA
• HUAIRANG OF NANYUE
• XINGSI OF QINGYUAN
• MAZU DAOYI, ANCESTOR MA
• RIDING A MULE IN SEARCH OF A MULE
• THE HUNTER’S MARKSMANSHIP
• SELF-NATURE
• HOW COULD IT HAVE FLOWN AWAY?
• BUDDHA OF THE SUN, BUDDHA OF THE MOON
• BAIZHANG’S RULES
• A DAY WITHOUT WORK IS A DAY WITHOUT FOOD
• ZEN OF THE FOX
• THE GREAT SUPPRESSION
• NO SELF, NO OTHER
• BECAUSE I’M HERE
• FIRE IN THE EMBERS
• XIANG YAN HITS BAMBOO
• THE MIND IS THE BUDDHA
• THE DEVIL OF LANGUAGE
• EATING AND SLEEPING
• SELF AND OTHER
• GIVING AND RECEIVING
• SIX IN ONE
• XIANGYAN UP A TREE
• FOLLOW THE FLOW
• JUZHI’S ONE-FINGER ZEN
• JUZHI SEVERS A FINGER
• GRASPING EMPTINES
• BEING AND NOTHINGNESS
• A MOUNTAIN IN A MUSTARD SEED
• WHAT’S NOT A PRIME CUT?
• NANQUAN KILLS A CAT
• LOOKING BUT NOT SEEING
• CONGSHEN OF ZHAOZHOU
• KICKED BY A DONKEY
• NOT A STITCH ON
• THE DAO IS IN DUNG
• IF THE MIND IS PURE, EVERYTHING IS PURE
• THE BUDDHA-NATURE OF A DOG
• DUST
• ZHEN PREFECTURE’S BIG WHITE RADISHES
• ZHAOZHOU’S STONE BRIDGE
• GO WASH YOUR BOWL
• WHAT IS SELF-CULTIVATION?
• A CYPRESS TREE BECOMES A BUDDHA
• THE MANY RETURN TO THE ONE
• WHAT IS ZHAOZHOU?
• ZHAOZHOU ASKS THE WAY TO ZHAOZHOU
• THE CYPRESS TREE OUT FRONT
• THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE
• DROPPING EVERYTHING
• HAVE SOME TEA
• IF I DON’T GO TO HEL, WHO WILL?
• YIXUAN OF LINJI
• CRACKING A WHIP TO STOP THE FLOW
• NO CRUTCHES, NO DESIRES
• THE SWEET SMELL OF OSMANTHUS
• MIND LIKE THE SURROUNDINGS
• NO BETTER THAN A CLOWN
• A WATER BUFFALO THROUGH A WINDOW
• WITH A SLIGHT FANNING, THE FIRE RETURNS
• A MORNING OF MOON AND WIND
• EASIER KNOWN THAN DONE
• WHAT ISN’T THE BUDDHA-DHARMA?
• THE ORDINARY MIND
• RETURNING EMPTY-HANDED
• DAOWU OF TIANHUANG
• CHONGXIN OF LONGTAN
• A NUN BECOMES A MONK
• XUANJIAN OF DESHAN
• JINGQING AND THE SOUND OF RAINDROPS
• NOT RECOGNIZING THE TRUE SELF
• THE SOUND OF THE STREAM
• LAUGHING WITH HEAVEN AND EARTH
• ZEN CAN’T BE SPOKEN
• CLOUDS IN THE BLUE SKY, WATER IN A BOTTLE
• SNOWFLAKES FALL WHERE THEY SHOULD
• WHAT ARE LIFE AND DEATH?
• LIANGJIE OF DONGSHAN
• COLD WHEN COLD, HOT WHEN HOT
• THE ROAD BEGINS HERE
• FAYAN WENYI
• A DROP OF WATER FROM THE CAO RIVER
• EMPTINESS
• THE LAMP BOY COMES LOOKING FOR A FLAME
• WENYAN OF YUNMEN
• EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY
• ONE WORD GATE
• YUNMEN’S THREE LINES
• SAME DESTINATION, DIFFERENT PATHS
• THREE POUNDS OF FLAX
• THE MUTE AND THE PARROT
• MASTER OF THY SELF
• ALPINE FLOWERS BLOSSOM LIKE BROCADE
• DANXIA BURNS THE BUDDHA
• CHANGING WITH THE SURROUNDINGS
• THE BODHISATTVA SHANHUI
• STANDING FOR THE EMPEROR
• THREE TRADITIONS IN ONE
• SHANHUI’S POEM
• BEING YOUR OWN MASTER
• CARRYING A WOMAN ACROSS A RIVER
• THE GATES OF HEAVEN
• THE LAMEBRAIN OFFICIAL
• BLACK BAMBOO, RED BAMBOO
• THE ORDER OF LIFE AND DEATH
• VOW OF SILENCE
• EVERYTHING IS EMPTY
• THE BUDDHA IS IN THE HOME
• THE LOST STUDENT
• ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE THIEF
• CAN’T SAY IT
• ZEN IN A CUP
• DISREGARDING TITLES
• SELF AND OTHER
• WORDS EXCEEDING ACTIONS
• FATE IS IN YOUR OWN HANDS
• THE FASTER, THE SLOWER
• THE GENERAL’S ANTIQUE
• THE CLOSE FRIEND
• A BLIND MAN CARRYING A LANTERN
• SOMETHING VALUABLE
• A BLADE OF GRASS, A DROP OF DEW
• FOR NO REASON
• PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
• THE GREAT WAVE
• BECAUSE I’M HERE
• MATTER IS EMPTY
• THE WEEPING LADY
• MIND LIKE A MIROR
• MOUNTAIN PATHS DON’T CHANGE
• TORN
• WHERE DO WE GO AFTER DEATH?
• THE SWORDLESS SWORD
• THE SPIDER AND THE MONK
• RICH AND POOR
• DO NOT GRASP EITHER EXTREME
• NOT CHANGING TO MEET THE CHANGES
• WITHERED TREE ZEN
• WALKING IN THE RAIN
• DIFFICULT TO ADVANCE OR RETREAT
• THE SNAKE’S TWO HEADS
• RHAPSODY OF THE FROGS
• THE SPIDER’S SILK
• RASHOMON
• PRONUNCIATION INDEX