Synopses & Reviews
Hakuin Ekaku (c.1685–1768) is a towering figure in Japanese Zen. A fiery and dynamic teacher and renowned artist, he reformed the Zen Rinzai tradition, which had fallen into stagnation and decline in his time, revitalizing it and ensuring its survival even to our own day. This intimate self-portrait of the Zen master includes reminiscences from his childhood, accounts of his Zen practice and enlightenment experiences, practical advice for students on the problems that arise in intensive meditation practice, and the only description of a technique he calls “introspective meditation.”
Synopsis
Hakuin Zenji, also known as Hakuin Ekaku (1689-1769), is often referred to as the father of the Japanese Zen Rinzai school. His reforms revitalized the school, ensuring its endurance even to our own day. A fiery and dynamic teacher and renowned artist, Hakuin reemphasized the importance of zazen, or sitting meditation, in his teaching. This intimate self-portrait of the Zen master includes reminiscences from his childhood, an account of how he came to practice Zen, and a description of his enlightenment experiences.
About the Author
Hakuin is the most important of the Japanese Zen artists; indeed, he is one of the greatest artists of any kind in world culture. Tremendously creative and productive, creating perhaps as many as 20,000 thousand Zenga in his lifetime as well as having thousands more pieces printed from woodblocks Hakuin's work is now appreciated all over the world.