ZEN BOOKS THAT DON'T SUCK
People always ask me which Zen books are good. While there are some good Zen books, I always avoid this question because the people who ask it seem to assume that Zen is something you can learn from books. It's not. You gotta do it. Having said that, here are links to the Amazon listings of some Zen and other related books that don't suck. Of course, the best ones, in my opinion are Gudo Nishijima Roshi's books. But I already have a page dedicated to those. You can click on these links to go directly to Amazon's website and order the books.

BOOKS BY SHUNRYU SUZUKI
Shunryu Suzuki actually never wrote any books. But he did lecture a lot and a number of his lectures have been transcribed, collected and turned into books. He was the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center. He'd initially been sent by the Soto-shu to oversee its branch temple in San Francisco with the idea that he'd mainly do services, funerals and related what-not for the Japanese immigrant population of that city. When beatniks and hippies who'd read too much Ginsberg and Keouac started showing up and asking for Zen instruction, he taught 'em. You can read more about him here.
ZEN MIND BEGINNER'S MIND

This is the first and most popular of the collections of Suzuki's talks. A classic.
NOT ALWAYS SO

This second collection of Suzuki's talks was put together much later than Zen Mind Beginner's Mind and is supposed to be edited in such a way as to be a bit closer to what he actually said.
BRANCHING STREAMS FLOW IN DARKNESS

This is a commentary on an ancient and difficult Chinese poem called Sandokai (The Identity of Absolute and Relative), and as such is a bit more scholarly than the other two. Still it's not that tough.
ZEN IS RIGHT HERE

This is a collection of stories about and quotations by Suzuki put together by his student and biographer David Chadwick. Very easy reading. Maybe a little too easy. But a cute and interesting book anyway. It was previously published as To Shine One Corner of the World.


BOOKS BY DAININ KATAGIRI
Like Suzuki, Katagiri never actually wrote any books. But three books of his lectures have come out so far and they're all pretty good. Katagiri was an associate of Suzuki's and the founder of the Minneapolis Zen Center. You can read more about him here.
RETURNING TO SILENCE

This is the first collection of Katagiri's talks and the only one published during his lifetime. As such, it may be more reliably his own words since he was able to personally oversee it.
YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING

This second collection of Katragiri's talks was put together by his students after his death.
EACH MOMENT IS THE UNIVERSE

This is the latest of the Katagri collections and my personal favorite. Very easy to read with short chapters.

SOME GENERAL ZEN BOOKS

EVERYDAY ZEN


Joko Beck's book "Everyday Zen" is one of the sweetest and most honest books on Zen I've read.
ASKING ABOUT ZEN

Everything you wanted to know about Zen but were afraid to ask from a Tokyo-based female American Zen teacher (there aren't many!).
NOTHING SPECIAL


I'm tempted to write that Joko Beck's other book, "Nothing Special," is something special. But I won't.
UNSUI: DIARY OF A ZEN MONK
This is a very cute book about the life of a temple monk in Japan. It's from the Rinzai perspective and it's a bit old school, but lots of things are still just like this.

BOOKS THAT AREN'T REALLY "ZEN BOOKS" AS SUCH BUT ALSO DON'T SUCK
CROOKED CUCUMBER

David Chadwick's entertaining and insightful biography of Shunryu Suzuki.
 THANK YOU AND OK!

Suzuki biographer David Chadwick recounts his life in Japan as a "Zen failure."  A very funny book and it's all true!
CUTTING THROUGH SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM

By all accounts Tibetan Buddhist master Chogyom Trungpa was a weird guy. But he wrote a great book.
 THE EMPTY MIRROR

Mystery writer Janwillem van de Wetering, author of The Corpse on the Dyke, recounts his time at a Rinzai monastery in Japan. A good book for anyone with romantic ideas about running off to Japan and entering a monastery. It'll make you think twice about that idea!

SCHOLARLY BOOKS
I'm a lousy scholar and probably not the best source for info on what's good. These are a few that I like, along with the obvious perennial favorites like Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha and What the Buddha Taught.

GOTAMA BUDDHA


Incredibly detailed and historically reliable account of Buddha's life in two volumes.
THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA


More readable though less detailed than Nakamura's Gotama Buddha.
DID DOGEN GO TO CHINA?


Yes he did. But the author's account of how he came to that conclsion is fascinating.
THE BRITISH DISCOVERY OF BUDDHISM


An incredible account of how Western Buddhism came to be what it is today.
DOGEN AND THE KOAN TRADITION

Incredibly difficult to read! But a great account of Dogen's unique use of koan stories.
VISIONS OF AWAKENING SPACE AND TIME


Now they publish this in paperback — after I spent $70 on the hardcover! You kids have it easy! About Dogen's unique interpretation of the Lotus Sutra.


BOOKS I LIKE THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ZEN

EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS


The best all around book biography (including Japanese ones) of Japan's master of special effects. Amazing photos personally selected by yours truly!
BIG CHUCK!


Chuck Schodowski was a legend in Northeastern Ohio for over four decades and a big influence on me when I was growing up. I'm not sure how this book will read to those who didn't grow up watching his show. But I think it's great!
GHOULARDI: INSIDE CLEVELAND TV'S WILDEST RIDE

Ernie Anderson's horror host character Ghoulardi is another Cleveland legend. I keep waiting for his son, director Paul Thomas Anderson to make the movie of this.
MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING TOKYO!


Stuart Galbraith IV's insightful oral history of the Japanese monster movie industry. He stayed at my place when he was doing these interviews and I set a few of them up and translated them.
JAPAN'S FAVORITE MONSTAR

Steve Ryfle's amazingly detailed and informative history of the Godzilla film series.  I got him most of the photos he used in here after certain other companies refused to cooperate. Nyah!

MY BOOKS
Gotta plug these too.
HARDCORE ZEN


My first book. It's OK. An introduction to Zen practice and philosophy.
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!


Better than Hardcore Zen. An introduction to Dogen's philosophy as understood (misunderstood?) by a suburban punk rocker and monster movie geek.
ZEN WRAPPED IN KARMA DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE

Comes out in February 2009. Much better than the first two. This is real life.


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