Surprisingly, this volume in Documentary Comic Books Series from Writers and Readers publishers turns out to be a pearl of great price: a readily accessible, fun to read, History of Zen Buddhism. In a delightful series of line drawn cartoons (which the subject lends itself to) we follow Gotama Buddha through his magistral Life, Nagarjuna thru his teachings, Bodhidharma into China, Dogen back to Japan, and every major figure in between. The contributions of these great teachers and patriarchs are reduced to a few key sayings, koans, and concepts. In 160 pages, mostly pictures, the reader garners a coherent picture of the history, identity, meaning, and purpose of Zen, that would otherwise have taken the reading of many volumes, thick ones, to imbibe. This effort is a brief, informative recovery of the original face of Zen history and a wonderful teaching tool. My friend, the late Paul Reps, would have LOVED this slender masterpiece. Or, as Ikkyu puts it in the book:
'And what is it, the heart?
it is the sound of the pine breeze
in the ink painting.'
If you like your religion serious and grim, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you are drawn to Zen Buddhism in part because of its warmth, humor, and apparent contradiction, it's an excellent place to start.
The authors make it clear from the start that although they have studied Zen for many years, they are students, not enlightened masters. For some writers, this would be a liability; their humility transforms it into an asset: their willingness to admit their imperfect knowledge make this much more approachable than other Zen books I have read. They impart a fair bit of basic information, while also conveying the flavor of something that "cannot be described in words [...] an experience more basic than the level of conceptual thinking."
The book, like other books in this series, is a quick but broad introduction to a complex topic. If you are looking for a serious, detailed reference book, look elsewhere. But out of the dozen books on Buddhism on my shelf, this is the one I first loan to friends who are curious about Zen.
