Sengai: The Zen of Ink and Paper - Softcover

Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1570624895 ISBN 13: 9781570624896

Publisher: Shambhala Publications Inc, 1999

Synopsis

Gibbon Sengai (1750 1837) was known for his humor and unorthodox teaching style. A Zen master of the Rinzai school, he was also one of the most illustrious artists Japan has ever produced, known throughout the world for his calligraphies and paintings. Sengai went through years of hard monastery training before being elected abbot of Shofukuji, Japan's oldest Zen temple. Calligraphy and drawing became his primary modes of teaching and expression.

Here are one hundred twenty-eight black-and-white reproductions of his work, selected and explained by the Zen scholar D. T. Suzuki. The commentary explains each piece of art, its context, and the Zen teaching it exemplifies. First appearing posthumously in 1971 (New York Graphic Society edition), Sengai is Dr. Suzuki's last published book—and it is said that he considered it to be the culmination of his work.

About this title

Synopsis:

Gibbon Sengai (1750-1837), Zen master of the Rinzai school, was one of Japan's greatest Zen artists, and his expressive calligraphies and paintings - his primary mode of teaching in the last half of his life - are renowned throughout the world. This study by the Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki was Suzuki's last published book, and it is said he considered it the culmination of his work. Each of the 128 images is accompanied by a commentary by Suzuki, to provide inside into the Zen teachings that each image exemplifies.

About the Author:

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870–1966) was one of the primary modern interpreters of Zen for the West. He is the author of many books, among them Manual of Zen Buddhism, Essays in Zen Buddhism, and Zen in Japanese Culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Shambhala Publications Inc
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1570624895
• ISBN 13: 9781570624896
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208