Modern American Zen is in a deplorable state: Zen Masters are now pseudo-celebrities; Dharma Transmission has been co-opted as a branding technique; and worst of all, Zen has degenerated into a lifestyle identity whose primary aim is no longer Buddhahood, but rather the perpetuation of the Zen institution itself. Zen is more interested in establishing orthodoxy and orthopraxy than it is in helping people realize their Buddha Nature. Western Zen has become just as consumer-driven and celebrity-obsessed as the rest of American culture. And the worst part is that no one in the Zen community even seems to notice. Or to care. Brand-Name Zen takes a bold and daring look at the current decadence of modern Western Zen. It poses very important questions regarding the entire Western Zen institution, such as what is the true function of Dharma Transmission? How has zazen become the signature Zen "pose"? How have koans been appropriated as a means to establish and maintain authoritarian power structures? Brand-Name Zen offers an invaluable mirror for Western Zen to evaluate itself. It is a must read for any serious Zen student.

Sokei-an translated the Record of Lin-chi (Lin-chi lu) from 1931 to 1933, in his first series of lectures. He felt that Americans needed original Chinese Zen source materials, translated and commented upon by a Zen master, and there were no such materials in those early days. Sokei-an was the first Zen master to translate the Record of Lin-chi and to give a commentary in English to Western students. The real historic value of Sokei-an's Lin-chi is in his commentary with its manifestation of Lin-chi's Zen.

Blossoming: Dharma Diary Poems Volume II picks up where The Universe for Breakfast, (Volume I) left off, continuing an exploration through mindfulness and realisations into the beauty of Presence. Joy Magezis is an ordained member of the Core Community of the Order of Interbeing, established by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. This collection includes poems about her practice with the Sangha both in Britain and Plum Village, France. An Usui Reiki Master, Joy explores experiences teaching and practicing Reiki. As a long-time socially engaged activist, she writes about movements for Peace and Justice. And her Jewish cultural roots are reflected in this volume. Of The Universe for Breakfast, Here & Now said: 'These poems beautifully reflect her Buddhist commitment and world view, her struggles and their resolution or acceptance...The author does not shy away from addressing political inequalities and brutalities, but she also has an eye or ear for the beauty of the sun, a bird song, dew drops. I found the poems very nourishing...' Joy's poetry has appeared in The Mindfulness Bell, Here & Now, Visions of the City Magazine and in the anthology Summer Times in the Algarve. Her classic Women's Studies text and her novels have been published in various languages.

Varvann er rent i en smaragdstrom manelyset hvitt pa Frostfjell tanker tier og anden blir klar tomhet i sikte og verden blir taus Diktene til Hanshan, Shih-te og Feng-kan kan leses pa mange ulike niva, som zen-refleksjoner over utfordringer langs Veien, som livet til en politisk flyktning som har forlatt alt til fordel for et liv i fjellheimen, eller som en menneskelig lengsel etter et enklere liv i harmoni med naturen. Hanshan ble kjent i Vesten gjennom beat-generasjonens skribenter. Gary Snyder oversatte et utvalg av diktene og pa engelsk ble Hanshan kjent som Cold Mountain. Videre dedikerte Jack Kerouacs Dharma Bums til denne hemmelighetsfulle dikterens minne. Siden etterkrigstiden har Cold Mountain eller Frostfjell fasinert og inspirert zennister, taoister, terapeuter, bohemer og fjellentusiaster i Europa og Amerika med sine gatefulle og innsiktsfulle dikt. I denne boken utgis alle diktene for forste gang pa norsk.

The Japanese have always closely associated the sword and the spirit, but it was in the 1600s during the Tokugawa shogunate when the techniques of swordsmanship became forever associated with the spirit of Zen. 'The Unfettered Mind' is a book of advice on swordsmanship and the cultivation of right mind and intention.

Author H. Grevemberg, a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, gives a startling account of the path of Zen in a muscular prose in the tradition of Henry Miller and Hunter S. Thompson. "The American spirit of self-reliance goes hand in hand with the mystical tradition of Zen - yet it hasn't found its own bare wire. The best revolution, and the domain of the Zen adept, is an inner one." The Zen Revolution reads like a novel, each compelling chapter revealing another nuance; the whole gamut, from origin to fiery culmination. Delving into both the spiritual and worldly aspects with equal candor, The Zen Revolution takes on the basic question of existence, perhaps the most important question we face. There's a new adventure in every chapter, leading to an eventual breakthrough - something nearly unheard of in the Zen literature of the West.

The title says it all. Accessibly written, Zen Explained describes the mystery that lies at the heart of Zen Buddhism. It clearly and concisely says what nirvana (enlightenment) actually is, then goes on to outline in plain English how the individual can attain nirvana. This is a radical departure. Most Zen books are faithful to the spirit of Zen as it was understood and written about in Japan centuries ago. As a consequence they often have to be deciphered more than read. Zen Explained is different. It speaks using concepts and ideas familiar to Westerners. Poetic language and culturally foreign allegory are avoided in favour of the more direct and down-to-Earth descriptive style of writing that is more usual in the West. Something is lost in terms of literary style because of this, but something is also gained by it: clarity.