Zen is a flower

Author: Hu Lancheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Represents Hu Lancheng's academic thought more authentically, a must-read for a deeper understanding of his ideas. This book is Hu Lancheng's elucidation of one hundred cases from the Miraculous Records of the Blue Cliff, a seminal work on Zen Buddhism, during his stay in Taiwan in the late 1970s. For over eight hundred years, Chinese writers and thinkers had attempted to interpret the Blue Cliff Records of the Song Dynasty, but it was Hu Lancheng who finally succeeded. This book has played a significant role in the understanding of Chinese Zen thought and can be regarded as a major event in Chinese Zen studies. The characters such as "older brother," "younger brother," and "sister" in the book are actually manifestations of Hu Lancheng himself, like a shower of petals, omnipresent. Zen is the wisdom practice of those with aspirations in turbulent times. I hope the thoughts expressed in this book on Zen also convey a sense of refreshing clarity.
Wu Huo lived in the Blue Cliff Room at Lingquan in Hebei and named the book Blue Cliff Records after that. Since then, for eight hundred and fifty years, no one has fully interpreted it. Decades ago, Zen suddenly became popular in Taiwan's literary circles, though the initial connection was superficial, it was still a turning point. Hu Lancheng wrote Zen is a Flower (New Words on the Blue Cliff Records) to elucidate all one hundred cases, hoping to revive the wisdom of the past and liberate modern thinking methods. Zen is the wisdom practice of those with aspirations in turbulent times.