Light of Zen in the West: Incorporating 'The Supreme Doctrine' and 'The Realization of the Self'

Dr. Benoit provided the Western world an excellent collection of insights into life based on his study of the earliest Zen/Ch'an teachers, Western psychology and, I'm sure, personal suffering. These were essays in the true, original sense of the word: attempts. Each chapter pretty much stands on its own as a new effort of understanding. It represents a considerably deeper view of Zen than is popularly circulated. Benoit brings the necessity of self-knowledge to the mix of energetic meditation and satoris that people associate with modern Zen, and he provides hard won clues as to what self-knowledge really can consist of. It is a study of partiality. We are, unknowingly, dreaming our lives. The psyche is steeped in conditioning of all sorts that it mistakes for objectivity. Among these conditioned beliefs masquerading as objectivity are those that assert that we are free, that we have the power to improve ourselves, that our perpetual failures are personal faults. Zen is not or ought not to be a self-improvement program. All this personal improvement stuff is symptomatic of the illness not the cure. There is above us, beyond the reach of personal ambition, a healing goodness that is trying to find us. Graham Rooth's apparently rather free translation is excellent. The original translation was at times unnecessarily difficult, involving made-up words and requiring knowledge of clinical psychology beyond what most of us have, and reminding one painfully at times of the well- educated, French academician. Graham Rooth seems to have fully understood the author's purposes and communicates them quite well. This is the type of material that requires a long digestion. It's not the type of book you can read once and get. It's one of those rare books that is about something Real, the real possibility of inner transformation, and so it is of great value, especially in this bizarre world of empty, soul-less distractions.

great text explaining the philosophy and practice of zen in the modern world. Sometimes the explanation is complex, not sure if this is due to the difficult translation. Wonderful translation...

This new translation of Hubert Benoit's work constitutes one of the most important, and challenging, books ever written on the nature of Zen and its relation to human psychology. Graham Rooth is to be congratulated for giving us a better translation of Benoit's classic work. And Sussex Academic Press is to be congratulated for publishing this collection of Benoit's work in a single volume. Benoit unpacks the teaching of Hui-Neng in terms of modern psychology (and its relation to classical metaphysics). However, this unpacking unfolds over several hundred pages of dense analytical work in which Benoit sometimes shifts his perspective and amends his conclusions. This book requires both patience and determination. My suggestion is to first scan through this collection and establish a reading map for further, in-depth, consideration. Read this work selectively, one small part at a time, reading those parts that make the most sense, first. This book is not easy to understand --like Zen itself, it challenges the way you think. However, once you get a foothold, it is a book that you can return to for many, many years. For serious students of Zen, this book is one of the most important and valuable books ever written. It is well worth the struggle that it will require.