Magazine

Review |To Meet The Real Dragon by by Gudo Wafu Nishijima

Book Review by Adrian Matthews
Adrian Mathews recounts his personal experience reading this book as a young man and then returning to it 10 years later.

Summer Reading List by Michael Haggiag

Book Review
 In this warm and and often very funny autobiography, Zen Master Soko Morinaga encapsulates our the inherent comedy of attempting to rid ourselves of our egos.

Carving the Divine: Buddhist Sculptors of Japan

Film Review
A documentary on the training of wood sculptors who create Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities for the thousands of shrines throughout Japan.

Four Men Shaking by Lawrence Shainberg

Book Review
Michael Haggiag reviews this highly personal account of a writer struggling to come to terms with Zen training, his search for awakening and himself.

Three-Hundred-Mile Tiger: The Record of Lin-Chi Translation and Commentary...

Book Review
This version of the Record of Lin-Chi (founder of Rinzai school of Zen) comes with a hefty commentary that bridges the gap between East and West. Sokei-an's commentary is suitable for both beginners and advanced students - reviewed by Mark Bush

When You Greet Me, I Bow: Notes and Reflections from A Life In Zen, by...

Book Review
Michael Haggiag reviews this title by Norman Fischer, former abbot of the San Fransisco Zen Center, whose writings are marked by a deep insight into issues that Westerners face with Buddhist practice.

Zen is Right Now: More Teaching Stories and Anecdotes of Shunryu Suzuki

Book Review
This collection of short stories about the life and teachings Shunryu Suzuki has a the feel of a modern day writings of the Zen Masters - reviewed by Michael O'Neill.

The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans - tr. Dosho Port

Book Review
Having completed his Koan training in 2015, Dosho Port provides an excellent translation, with commentary and historical context, to these often misunderstood texts.

THE DHAMMAPADA Introduced and translated by Eknath Easwaran

Book Review
The Zen Gateway's co-founder, Michael Haggiag, reviews a beautiful translation of the classic Dhammapada by author, and translator of many Indian spiritual works, Eknath Easwaran

What is Wrong with Mindfulness? (and what isn’t?)

Book Review
Is secular mindfulness an innovation on Buddhist teachings, or has something been lost in translation? Michael O’Neill, a Zen meditation teacher, gives his thoughts on this on going debate within the Buddhist community.

Book Review: Zen Seeds

60 Essential Teachings on Effort, Gratitude and Happiness by Shundo Aoyama
With the Covid-19 lockdown intensifying Michael O'Neill finally decided to dive into this inspiring title, finding it a rewarding and comforting experience.

A Year in View 2020

The Zen Gateway Review
Not everything in 2020 was grim at least not on The Zen Gateway. Take a look at what we did over the past 12 months in our regular review.

Book Review: Awakened Cosmos

The mind of Classical Chinese poetry by David Hilton
Jeremy Frank reviews a book of poems by Tu Fu which charts the poet's spiritual understanding. Poetry is often used to give a sense of the 'ineffable' and the translator, David Hilton also supplies a useful commentary on Tu Fu's succinct insights.
Series

The Xmas List 2020: Books & Films

The Zen Gateway Suggestion List
If you are looking for a late gift for a 'spiritually-inclined' friend (or even yourself), try taking a look at our suggestion list for the festive season.

Review: In China Root:

Taoism, Ch’an, and Original Zen by David Hinton
Rachel Hilton assesses David Hinton's new book which argues that Zen schools have a greater debt to Taoism than previously realised in the West. The author yakes a philological journey into the problem of translating Chinese characters into Western languages.

Book Review:Entangled Life

How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures” by...
Peter Glynne Jones reviews this book from biologist Merlin Sheldrake (son of Rupert), on the fascinating world of fungi. A book that challenges our sense of who we are and what we think our role in this life may be.

Review: My Octopus Teacher

A Netflix documentary 
Craig Foster spent a year following and learning from a wild octopus. It became a relationship that changed his life forever. 

Book Review: Hidden Zen

Practices for Sudden Awakening & Embodied Realization by Meido Moore
A collection of breath-based energetic (ki) exercises to awaken body awareness, normally handed down teacher to student, is revealed in this new book from the Abbot of Korinji Zen Monastery in Wisconsin.
Series

Words without Music

Tibetan Zen by Sam van Schaik

Discovering a Lost Tradition
Michael O'Neill reviews a book about a forgotten history of Zen in Tibet by the Head of Endangered Manuscripts at The British Library.

Book Review: Buddhist Magic by Sam van Schaik

Divination, Healing, and Enchantment through the Ages 
How did the practice of magic help with the spread of Buddhism through SE Asia? A new translation of a book of spells from the Dunhuang caves may help answer this question. 

Climate – A New Story

By Charles Eisenstein, 2018
Peter Glynne-Jones reviews this different 'take' on the climate problem. Charles Eisenstein uses Thich Nhat Hanh's term 'interbeing' to explore how humankind needs a radically different relationship with the world around us.

Records of the Transmission of the Lamp vol. 7

In this extract the translator discusses the thorny problem of history, truth and fiction and asks what 'truth' can mean when history is made up of the accumulated fictions of those who record it.

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