To Know Yourself

Albert Low is the director of the Montreal Zen Centre. Born in London, a Dharma heir of Philip Kapleau, Albert has written a few wonderful books about Zen. I've previously reviewed his fine book "Hakuin on Kensho". In that review I noted that Mr. Low used the word God a few times, and I was a bit baffled about it because his usage didn't make much sense to me (a Jew). I conjectured at the time that Mr. Low might come from a Christian background, as that was the context in which his words seemed to make the most sense. This book confirmed that. In this book, Mr. Low draws on St. John of the Cross and St. Augustine, and uses lots of references that Christians will find familiar: "the Fall", "blessed wound", "dark night of the soul", paradise, "original sin", "pride", "Virgin Mary" and "faith" among them. He paints a dark picture of the process of awakening, full of dryness, sadness and suffering, that seems to fit well in that context. The Zen life that Mr. Low describes doesn't seem to have much joy. A dancing chassid he's not. The book is split into four sections. The first part has five articles on various topics. The second has two chapters on parallels between Buddhism and Christianity. Part three are twelve Dharma talks. Part four has an introduction and ten chapters of talks given in the context of a sesshin (retreat). Interspersed in the four parts are short stories, some less than a page long, that are poignant and evocative. It reads well. It doesn't bog down. He gets his points across well. The chapters are short and self-contained so you can put it down when you tire of it and then pick up later with no fear of losing continuity. I have just one question: why did Mr. Low include chapter 13, the painfully evocative story about Elam and Lana entitled "A Glass of Water"? What was his point? Recommended!

In this book there are five short stories with the strenght and the vigor that made The Old Man and The Sea of Heminway a masterpiece. That is, small doses ready to produce great impact in the emotional mind of the Zen student. Somehow these short stories may be considered 1990s vintage koans, appellation controlee by the Montreal Zen Center. Also this book is a blend of carefully selected talks and articles giving a smooth and satisfying aroma of Albert Low's cellar. This production was started when he was a direct collaborator of Roshi Phillip Kapleau, the senior Zen-grower in the US. An apple never falls far from the tree.