Product Description

Just as D.T. Suzuki introduced the West to Zen philosophy, Nyogen Senzaki introduced the West to Zen practice. One of the first Zen masters to emigrate from Japan to the United States, Senzaki became the first great Buddhist teacher to fully immerse himself in the everyday life of the West, and his teachings and practice-centers influences a generation of Western Zen practitioners. Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy offers an intimate, in-depth look at one of Zen's earliest American teachers. The book features over 40 separate pieces, including essential talks, essays, and poetry. These works not only offer instruction in Zen, but also reveal Senzaki as a man and provide a rare look into the pioneer days of Zen in America. A striking collection that resonates both as a chronicle and a companion, Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy is a powerful and informative title that sparkles with numerous treasures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #974700 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

The First And The Best
Choro-An Nyogen Senzaki Dai Osho. The American Bodhidharma. A mushroom
monk. Hidden away. A man who wanted no titles. Nyogen Senzaki. He came here
and he stayed. He was the first Zen monk to stay. He was the best. And what
he began, east and west, continues to bloom and surprise.

The way he spoke can be felt in the cadences of his writing. (Many live who
knew him. Wire recordings made of him and Soen Nakagawa Roshi survive.) So
there is something vivid in how he wrote. And what he had to say is clear,
direct and comprehensible, if you practice.

Along with some of his talks, you will find translations he made of the
poems of Jakushitsu. And you will find Nyogen Senzaki's own beautiful and
simple, not-so-simple poems.

Decades after his death, when his ashes were mixed with Soen Roshi's at one
of Roshi's 1984 memorial services, a student of Nyogen Senzaki's, George
Lamplighter, said, "Nyogen Senzaki told me something profoundly shocking.
And I remain shocked."
Shocking or no, you may find something remarkable if you follow what you
find when you read "Like A Dream, Like A Fantasy."