Two Arrows Meeting in Mid-Air

In this masterful study, Zen teacher Loori, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York, lucidly demonstrates the power of the koan (a poetic riddle that, lacking a logical answer, disrupts the reason of the hearer so that enlightenment may follow). In an introductory section, Loori traces the history of dharma (wisdom about harmony with the cosmos) in Zen Buddhism. In the remainder of the book, he collects 21 koans from classical and modern sources and then teaches them through his extended dharma discourses. Loori's teachings sparkle with the insight of one who has been illuminated by the constant challenge of the koans; and his collection, both in its variety and its authority, greatly surpasses such previous books as Thomas Cleary's No Barriers: Unlocking the Zen Koan. In sum, a beautifully illuminating meditation. (July)