Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism »

Toshihiko Izutsu is Professor Emeritus at Keio University of Japan. He has been active in promoting transcultural dialogue in philosophy.

Zen experience defies all thinking and linguistic description and simply affirms what is evidently real: "The ordinary way—that precisely is the Way." After questioning the nature of reality, the Zen student discovers that what remains is what is. Although it seems that Zen would not lend itself to philosophical discussion, that all conceptualization would dissolve in light of this empiricism, in this volume, the author demonstrates that the "silence" of Zen is in fact pregnant with words.

A variety of topics are discussed: the experience of satori, ego and egolessness, Zen sense and nonsense, koan practice, the influence of Zen on Japanese painting and calligraphy and much more.