Zen and Zen Classics, Mumonkan. Volume Four.
Japan: The Hokuseido Press, 1966. First Edition. Hardcover. Small octavo. xvi + 342pp. Publisher's brown cloth with black lettering to spine and upper cover, appendix and index. Fold out b&w frontis, b&w illustrations. Reginald Horace Blyth (1898 ? 1964) was an English author, poet and student of Zen Buddhism under D. T. Suzuki. Blyth is best known for his writings on Zen, this being the fourth volume in the "Zen and Zen Classics" series, a series on various aspects of Zen, each volume of which was published separately as a stand-alone title. Chapter headings: Joshu's dog; Hyakujo's fox; Gutei's finger; Wakuan's no beard; Kyogen's man-up-a-tree; The Buddha's flower; Joshu's bowl-washing; Keichu's wheel; Daitsu Chisho; Sozan and poor Seizei; Joshu's hermits; Zuigan's calling the master; Tokusan's bowl; Nansen's cat-killing; Tozan's stripes; Ummon's seven-fold robe; Echu's three calls; Tozan's three pounds of flax; Nansen's ordinary mind; Shogen's strong man; Ummon's shit-stick; Kasho's flag-pole; Eno's good-and-evil; Fuketsu's speech and silence; Kyozan's dream-sermon; Two monks blind-rolling; Nansen's no mind, no Buddha; Ryutan's candle; Eno's flag; Baso's very mind; Joshu's old woman; Buddha and the non-Buddhist; Baso's no Buddha; Nansen's no way; Goso and Sei's soul; Goso's no words or silence; Joshu's oak tree; Goso's cow; Umon and a mistake; Isan's bottle; Daruma's mind-pacifying; Buddha and the lady; Shuzan's staff; Basho's stick; Hoen's who is he?; Sekiso's hundred foot pole; Tosotsu's three barriers; Kempo's way; Mumon's postscript; Appendix: Mumon's Warnings; Soju's Verse on Oryu's Three Barriers; Mokyo's Epilogue; Amban's Forty-ninth Case. Very light shelf rubbing to edges and points, corners lightly bumped, penned notation on front blank, small abrasions on both pastedowns from tape removal, endpapers unevenly browned, pages toned but unmarked, a few creased page corners. Overall a tight, clean VG copy in Good dust jacket (Dust jacket is tattered, worn, chipped and creased at all edges and extremities, bookshop sticker on front inner flap, not clipped). Item #63500
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