Abstract

This book serves as a "Guide to the World of Zen." I believe that guides to the world of Zen written by novices like myself are often easier to understand and more useful than those penned by practitioner of the Zen world. The narrative unfolds with this stance in mind.
This is not a lofty discourse from a Zen master, but insights from a Zen novice, who imparts a valuable message: "Zen teaches you not to be a fool, but to be a dunce!" This is something worth learning from.
In "Part II: Biographies of Zen Monks," the author breaks down the essence of sayings and writings, providing translations and explanations – which you would feel deeply satisfying to read. One could aptly call this "Hiro's Chronicle of Eminent Monks."

Author’s Information

Sachiya Hiro, born in Osaka city in 1936, is a graduate of the Department of Indian Philosophy, Faculty of Letters, the University of Tokyo, and also completed his doctoral program in Indian Philosophy at the Graduate School of Humanities, the University of Tokyo. After serving as a professor at the Meteorological College for 20 years since 1965, he is now active in writing books broadly ranging from explanations of religions, including Buddhism, to essays on Buddhist life and giving lectures around the country. His works, such as "History of Buddhism (10 volumes)", "Shaka", "Buddha" (all published by Shunjusha), "Kannon Sutra: Scripture of Miracles" (Daizou Publishing), "What is Nenbutsu" (Shinchosensho), "Advocacy of 'Madness'" (Shueisha Shinsho), "My 'Namu Myoho Renge Kyo'", "My 'Namu Amida Butsu'", "Sachiya Hiro's 'Daily Sermon'" (all published by Kosho Publishing) are popular across all ages and genders.