Zen & the Ways

If Trevor Leggett is involved, you know the book is worth buying. This book is well written. The great strength of Mr. Leggett's writing is that he never loses sight of the practical implications of what the Masters have written. Here we have the inclusion of the classic `On Meditation' by the master Daidaku and rare translations of the Kamakura koans. You will read this book over and over again. A must for your zen library.

I just ordered my second copy of this book. The first was falling to pieces from age and long use. I like Leggett. He was a businessman, a high-ranking judo practitioner, and an acknowledged expert on Asian culture. His presentation always seems more real-world to me than either the new age instant enlightenment types or those who donned the saffron robes and turned away from the outside world. Except to teach the occasional five hundred dollar weekend seminar.He begins the book by launching into an explanation of koan zen; he compares it to case law and makes some informative distinctions between advanced practice and the necessary first step of understanding the basic principals. It's one of the few such explanations I've ever read that made me feel like I understood something about why koans exist and how they spun out of meditation practice and a search for the truth.Leggett bases his presentation on concrete examples and life experience. He illuminates a universal quality of zen as a tool to solve problems that seems like a more real bridge between East and West than many of the other books I've read on Asian spiritual practice. I go to Leggett's books in the same way that I sometimes go to the Bible; when I need a fresh insight or a solid reminder, during times of crisis, of the basic spiritual principles that I want to live by.