The Tao of Zen

The most definitive and readable work on Zen that I've ever read. In all my years as a student of Zen Buddhism (Soto), I've had a difficult time with the sutras and other Buddhist doctrine. Yet, I continued to enjoy the practice and the members at the Zendo where I studied. I often commented that I felt more a "Zennist" than a Buddhist, but was unable to describe or define the feeling..... Then I stumbled on Mr. Grigg's book. I'm re-reading it now, for the third time in one year. Mr. Grigg's history of Zen and the split with the sixth patriarch:Hui-Neng, was one of the best "enlightenments" I've experienced in my studies. I'd die to study with Mr. Grigg! I'm heading for a small island off B.C.!!

Reading this book when it was first published in 1994, I was naturally surprised to see it re-published in 1999 as a hardback edition that cost far less than my paperback. I am glad to see it resurface and am in the process of re-reading it now. I think that this is a particularly good time for it's re-emmergence in light of all the work coming forth now concerning Tibetan Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism. In the intervening years I have delved into the study of those forms as well and will continue to do so. The Tao of Zen has always had a prominent on my bookshelf, and in fact is one of the few books that I bought extra copies of to give away. The first reading helped me to understand the worlds of distance between the practiced forms. The second reading is a reminder of why, in spite of my love for Buddhism and Hinduism, which I will surely study for the rest of my life, and in spite of my dislike of titles for myself, I picked up the banner of Daoism as that which rang truest in my heart. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, if you are not locked into the nutshell of who you believe yourself to be, try it ..... you'll like it.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Zen, balance, or just plain old philosophy. This book clears up common myths and misperceptions about zen and buddhism, and seperates the two. Not an entirely difficult read, and very few (if any) boring parts.

My reading has included various Buddhist doctrines, even some Tibetan, but the earliest Zen and original Tao have rung truest for me while Buddhism feels too much like the idle promises of organized religion. As soon as I began this book I knew Ray Grigg had done the work of "proving" a hypothesis that Alan Watts and Thomas Cleary often suggest.

This book fell into my hands at the store. I was weeding through the patch of offerings on subjects like Tao and Zen when, literally, this book fell into my hands. I peeked. I had the sense the the author knew how to organize his subject and so I took it home and began to read immediately. I have a Ph.D. in History, so the first part of the book, the history part, was relatively easy to get through, even though there were a lot of unfamiliar names in unfamiliar languages. The author keeps the number of names one needs to remember to a minimum. The second half of the book is about the doctrines. It is a gem beyond compare!! It is succinct, there is no mystification added by the author to skip over things he does not himself understand, and it is to the point. These three are rare in the field. This could be a text, but I think it is better thought of as a "home companion." Beyond a doubt, Grieg has mastered the unmasterable and spoken the ineffable.