Zen: The Path of Paradox

I'm ashamed to admit that my bookshelves are groaning with books about Zen, some good, some not so good. Yet this is that book I come back to for a 'refresher'. Osho always succeeds in attempting the impossible - trying to explain the inexplicable - in simple, beautiful, often poetic, often uncompromising but compassionate language, whether in the Insights For Living series, or here speaking about Zen (all Osho's books are transcribed from talks). I come away from reading Osho feeling as if I've just had a good mental hose down, getting rid of all the accumulated, caked on dross of living in an insane world. "Don't seek, don't search, don't ask, don't knock, don't demand - relax. If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, you start vibrating with it" p 37. Despite some bad press, Osho was a truly great teacher, and this is one of only a handful of indispensible books on Zen. If I had to choose just one, this would be it. [Kudos too to St Martins Press. All the books by Osho (St Martins Griffin) are a joy to read - just the right size, stay open on the page and are beautifully produced.]