Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice (Nanzan Library of Asian Religion and Culture, 24)

I studied In Japan , in the late 1970's to the early 1980's . My speaking of Japanese was limited and my reading was more so . I saw this book at the monestary and the monks pouring over it day after day . Only a couple of the monks spoke a little english . So my knowledge of its contents and use was limited . The Roshi did not speak English , so I did not use it in my training . Now having a full edition in English , I get to read it for the first time . It is about what I expected it to be . It is a fascinating , in its own right . The author has written an Introduction that is worth the price of the book . I believe it to be a valuable addition to Zen literature . Which has had many wonderful books translated in the last few years . Many titles that I thought , short of learning ancient Chinese , I would never read . I recomend this book . On a personal note , not having had this available early in training , I have not incorporated it since ..... Lee H.

I never really understood what a capping phrase was until I got this book; that's when I realized that a capping phrase, the appropriate capping phrase, is one vehicle for illustrating one's personal understanding of a koan and, by extension, the teachings of the "Western Heaven". But finding the appropriate capping phrase is, in itself, a daunting task; the limitations of language simply cannot accurately reflect one's personal understanding, similar to how a photograph can never truly reveal what is known by one's own eyes and one's own mind. On the other hand, the capping phrase which most closely reflects that understanding is, by necessity, confusing and unintelligible to the uninitiated. Because it is so personal, no one capping phrase is applicable to all, thus the reason why the book is so large, yet remains abridged. Take a capping phrase, read it, then look around and see how it echoes in everything that touches the senses: that's a start.

I use this book to find capping phrases for koan study under my Zen teacher. It is almost the only English translation of capping phrase collections. True to its origins, the phrases are arranged by their number of characters; not by topic or subject matter. At first, that seemed pointlessly cumbersome.However, using this book feels much like thumbing through a dictionary or encyclopedia. Every few pages you find an insight into yourself and your practice, an insight you did not even know you were looking for. Don't try to make a list of your favorite phrases, every time you pick up the book, something new will catch your attention, something that fits just that moment, that awareness.For a Zen student, this is an exceptionally valuable book.

Anyone who is seriously interested in the history of Zen should add this authoritative book to their own library of Zen books. Compiled,translated and annotated by a Western-trained philosopher, Victor Sogen Hori, it is impressive in itself, but the first one hundred or so pages consisting of the Preface and Introduction alone will take you on an authentic journey into Japanese Zen. I must also mention an added and a nostalgic note is that the book's shared dedication names the late Kobori Nanrei, former Osho of the Ryoko-in at the Daitoku-ji, who gave me my own initial instruction into the challenges of a Zen-life now almost forty years ago.

Victor Sogen Hori knows of what he speaks. A graduate of Stanford, and a Rinzai priest, he has expanded upon his fine article in Stephen Heine's book on Koan. The first hundred pages is Victor Hori writing about the Rinzai koan curriculum, how koans are used, and some very needed clarification on what satori and kensho are all about. He makes it clear that zen is not about "pure consciousness" and that there is cognitive activity in the so called enlightened state, although not what we would think. Victor Hori's narrative is easy to follow, backed by his experience with various teachers, as well as literary citations. The introduction alone is worth the price for serious practitioners of zen

Very scholarly writing on the history of koan usage in Japan, followed by the capping phrase collection and translation itself, in English, Chin, and Japanese. This is NOT a collection of koans but rather a collection of short phrases from Chinese literature used in koan practice as additional submitted answers to the master after "solving" a koan

A truely great peice of work and collection of capping phrases, but more could have been done for speedy finding and linking of the phrases in the index.

fascinating

禅語の解説としては、読みしかでていないので、修行者向けと見えます。これが初心者におもねらない本来の禅語辞典です