Zen Master Tales

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"Zen Master Tales collects never before translated stories of four prominent Zen masters from the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868). Drawn from an era that saw the 'democratization' of Japanese Zen, these stories paint a picture of robust, funny, and poignant engagement between Zen luminaries and the emergent chonin or 'townsperson' culture of early modern Japan. Here we find Zen monks engaging with samurai, merchants, housewives, entertainers, and farmers. These masters affirmed that the essentials of Zen practice--zazen, koan study, even enlightenment--could be conveyed to all members of Japanese society in ordinary speech, including even comic verse and work songs. Against the backdrop of this rich tableau, Zen Master Tales serves not only as a text for Zen students but also as a wide-ranging window onto the fascinating literary, material, and social history of Edo Japan. In his introduction, translator Peter Haskel explains the history of Zen 'stories' from the tradition's Golden Age in China through the compilation of the classic koan collections and on to the era from which the stories in Zen Master Tales are drawn." -- Provided by publisher