'The complete English text of The Blue Cliff Record, translated from the Chinese, has been available for nearly a quarter of a century, but authentic traditions of commentary have been hard to find-until this fluidly translated work, which includes commentaries by two of the greatest Zen masters of early modern Japan.'-Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

'These commentaries make the challenges of the zen masters available to the spiritually courageous among us.'-Bodhi Tree Book Review

The Blue Cliff Record is a classic text of Zen Buddhism, designed to assist in the activation of dormant human potential. The core of this extaordinary work is a collection of one hundred traditional citations and stories, selected for their ability to bring about insight and enlightenment. These vignettes are known as gongan in Chinese and koans in Japanese.

Secrets of The Blue Cliff Record is a fresh translation featuring newly tanslated commentary from two of the greatest Zen masters of early modern Japan, Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) of the Rinzai sect of Zen and Tenkei Denson (1648-1735) of the Soto sect of Zen. This translation and commentary on The Blue Cliff Record sheds new light on the meaning of this central Zen text.

Thomas Cleary holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He is the translator of more than fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

Contents

Translator's introduction
1 The highest meaning of the holy truths
2 The supreme way is without difficulty
3 Sun face buddha, moon face buddha
4 Bundle and all
5 A grain of rice
6 A good day
7 Asking about buddha
8 Eyebrows
9 Joshu's four gates
10 Thieving phony
11 Gooblers of dregs
12 Three pounds of flax
13 Snow in a silver bowl
14 An appropriate statement
15 An upside-down statement
16 The man in the weeds
17 The meaning of the coming from the West
18 The seamless monument
19 Fingertip Zen
20 The meditation brace
21 Lotus blossoms
22 The turtle-nosed snake
23 The summit of the mystic peak
24 The iron grindstone
25 The hermit's staff
26 The peak of graet valor
27 The body of exposed in the autumn wind
28 Not mind or buddha
29 the aeonic fire
30 Big radishes
31 Carrying the ringed staff
32 Standing there
33 The symbol of the circle
34 Five elders peak
35 Questions and answers
36 Roaming the mountains
37 Nothing in the world
38 The workings of the iron ox
39 A flowering hedge
40 A flower
41 One who has experienced the great death
42 Nice snow
43 No cold or heat
44 Knowing how to beat a drum
45 Joshu's cloth shirt
46 The sound of raindrops
47 Not contained by six
48 Making tea
49 Passing through the net
50 Concentration on every atom
51 Going back inside with lowered head
52 The stone bridge of Joshu
53 Wild ducks
54 Exending both hands
55 Won't say
56 breaking through three barriers
57 Nondiscrimination
58 Couldn't explain for five years
59 The supreme way
60 One particle
62 Hidden in the mountain of form
63 Killing a cat
64 Straw sandals
65 A hindu questions buddha
66 Getting the sword
67 Expoiunding a scripture
68 A big laugh
69 Nansen's circle
70 Mouth shut (I)
71 Mouth shut (II)
72 Mouth shut (III)
73 Permutations of assertion and denial
74 The rice pail
75 Unjust beating
76 Have you eaten?
77 A piece of cake
78 Awakened people bathe
79 All sounds
80 On rushing water
81 The elk of elks
82 The physical body
83 The mixing of the ancient buddhas
84 Nonduality
85 A tiger's roar
86 the kitchen pantry and the main gateway
87 Medicine and disease
88 Three kinds of handicap
89 Hands and eyes all over
90 Wisdom
91 the rhinoceros
92 Buddha takes the high seat
93 A dance
94 Not seeing
95 Two kinds of speech
96 Three pivotal sayings
97 Scornful revilement
98 Two mistakes
99 The ten-bodied tamer
100 The razor-sharp sword
Further reading (bibliography)