The classic definition of Zen, a Japanese form of Buddhism, is: "Zen is Zen." This cautious way indicates how immediate a form of knowledge Zen is.

A knowledge without anything typically cognitive, which presupposes precisely the transcendence of any cognitive or other effort and constitutes the state of enlightenment, with the meditation of one who "knows" and is the very realization of their knowledge.

This book presents texts and excerpts from Zen literature from its distant Indian and Chinese origins to the pure, beautiful haikus.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]