Zen Sourcebook
Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan
Edited by Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo, and Judith Roitman
Introduction by Paula Arai
March 2008 312 pp.
I’ve just seen this announced and don’t have it yet, although I immediately ordered it… Let me say flat out, I’m an enormous fan of Judith Roitman and have high expectations. Both she and Stanley Lombardo are senior teachers within the Kwan Um School of Zen, a large and very important Western Zen institution. The blurbs at the publisher’s website follow:
This is the first collection to offer selections from the foundational texts of the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen traditions in a single volume. Through representative selections from their poetry, letters, sermons, and visual arts, the most important Zen Masters provide students with an engaging, cohesive introduction to the first 1,200 years of this rich—and often misunderstood—tradition. A general Introduction provides historical, biographical, and cultural context; notes on translation and a glossary are also included.
“This is an excellent book . . . to be commended for its wide coverage; the Korean material is especially hard to find. . . . The short introductions to the selections are lucid, informative and focused, providing a good framework through which to understand the readings. Anyone who wants to work directly with translations of the primary texts, rather than textbook summaries, will find this book the most convenient available.”
—Brook Ziporyn, Northwestern University
Stephen Addiss is Tucker-Boatwright Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Art History, University of Richmond.
Stanley Lombardo is Professor of Classics, University of Kansas.
Judith Roitman is Professor of Mathematics, University of Kansas.
Paula Arai is Associate Professor of Religion, Louisiana State University.
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