I've read a few books on Zen meditation, and this is definitely the best one out there. It's truly the only book on the subject you need. This book teaches the basics of zazen meditation in an easy to read fashion. You'll find the meditation technique taught in this book to be extremely calming and serene.

Even if you're not looking for a book on meditation, this book gives some excellent commentary and history on Buddhism and the Buddha. The book also has great drawings showing the different meditation postures and how they can be adjusted. Most of all, this book offers a wonderful learning experience to those that are new to Zen meditation or for the experienced pro. There's something in here for everybody. It's a wonderful read and I often felt a sense of peace just in flipping through the pages.

Unlike other books that were written about Zen, one thing that one would suddenly notice in this book is that; it does not contains too much philosopical of Zen that often make ourselves attached to the 'beauty' which in itself devoid the ultimate purpose of Zen which is 'satori'.

This book, in my opinion, has reflected the deepest and the most profound level of Zen than any other books could possibly do. The content of the book is by far is the most comprehensive, straight to the point explanation that would be extremely valuable for anyone interested in Zen to perhaps masters in Zen.

The conciseness of this book really depicted in its title. The Tree Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice and Enlightment. Providing step by step lecture, instruction, real-life story, with some combination of old masters letter and commentary on various Koan, instruction on Zazen - it is by far, and can't be stressed more, that this book is the most complete , well-rounded, and straightforward book that would lead dedicated Zen's practice to enlightment.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It is the book which really brought me to spiritual practice; for that, I will always be grateful. It was, however, the same things about it which first drew me in, that I now find problematic.

If you are at all open to practice it is hard not to find this book exciting. There is great drama in the stories of those struggling against all odds to achieve enlightenment. It is that sense of drama which I find problematic. There is a sense of striving encouraged by this book and practice at Rochester. Metaphors of climbing a mountain are used; we are encouraged to "push harder.' But who is striving? There is an underlying sense of dualism in this flavor of practice. While that drama of achieving something is perhaps helpful for those difficult early stages of practice, it is ultimately a poison. Traditional Zen practice, such as that described here, pits you in a battle against your ego. Such warfare can, in the end, only be ego building.

This is a modern Zen practice in that there is an explanation of the "theory" of practice. At one time you just sat, heard talks on Koans, and had very brief interviews with your teacher. Eventually, you would either get it or not (mostly not, I believe). Of course, in that more historically traditional practice you would have been a monk totally removed from the concerns of the day-to-day world. I think that the practice described by Kapleau Roshi is still too close to those traditional monastic roots.

My experience at traditional Zen Centers is that they are beautiful and that meditation practice there has a sense of percptible strength-it seems quite grounded. The trouble comes when people are off the cushions. I can't say that I see a great deal of impact of practice on peoples lives. There is still plenty of confusion and reactivity. There is still an attachment to personal drama. I had teachers tell me that the first step is for people to break through and see who they really were; later they would integrate. I am not sure that step two generally occurs.

What, ultimately, is the point of Zen practice? To have an enlightenment experience? Does that drive for kensho come from a need to experience the truth of our life or does it come from a need to fix ourselves? Most of us are driven by this latter need. To the extent that our motivations remain invisible, we can't truly metabolize our experience. We "own" rather than live our realization.

My bias is that practice serves life best when it takes on our whole life as a koan. Our life becomes less of a soap opera and becomes more mundane. From that ordinariness emerge joy, compassion, love and all of the other aspects of our true nature. You might have fewer of the kind of lightening bolts of a traditional practice. Instead, you will have a grounded life which brings peace rather than pain into this world.

Today it seems the west is in a big backwash of Zen related themes. The Zen of Gardening, the Zen of Grooming your Pet, the Zen of brushing your teeth etc. Most of these accounts are by people who wouldn't know Realization if it jumped up and bit them in the rumps. It's due to these circumstances that Philip Kapleau's account of Zen is truly refreshing.

Roshi Kapleau traveled back to Japan after having been stationed there post World War II to study Zen and stayed for 13 years. When he came back to the west (before the big Zen fad had hit) he longed to share his experiences so that others could come to self-awakening and experience peace of mind. Thus we end up with this wonderful book that contains an abundant wealth of information. You'll find in this book translated talks of Kapleau's own teacher Yasutani Roshi, and also Yasutani's personal teachings with ten different westerners. Later in this book you'll find a section on the enlightenment experience. This section gives 8 different accounts of people from varying ages and occupations and their first person accounts of enlightenment. Also, you'll find illustrations and important instructions on cultivating a meditation practice. Lastly, this book serves as an important reference work. There's a nice glossary and many notes contained in the back, which help to clear up any confusion over terminology, contained in the book.

I found that something new can be found every time you read this book. That's why it really makes a great one to have in your personal collection. As your personal insights grow deeper and your understanding widens certain passages in this book will seem more vivid and real. The last thing I would like to say is that ultimately no book can convey the true nature of Zen or teach you how to attain it. You have to practice for yourself and learn for yourself much like learning how to ride a bike. But while no book can do these things for you this book certainly serves as a nice map to give you instructions to start on the path and then hopefully...ultimately burn the book itself.

For those who can't wander off to some zen retreat, but want to get a taste of what they would encounter, the "private encounters" section alone makes getting this book worthwhile.