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Lately I've been really interested in learning more about zen concepts and aesthetics.. Can anyone recommend any good books on this subject? The website lists

• cesare 17y ago
  'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind' by Shunryu Suzuki. It's one of the first book I've read about zen (the first was '101 Zen Stories', which I recommend as well). Didn't know it was a classic when I bought it fifteen years ago. I've reread it many, many times. Edit: I forgot 'Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness' by the same author.
• ismarc 17y ago
  To learn about Zen you can't just pick up a book and read it and go "aha!". Zen is about personal enlightenment and someone can go many years without really understanding Zen. I would suggest reading 公案 (kouan) as a means to understanding. Two references I would suggest are The Gateless Gate (http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl) and Book of Serenity (http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/eric.boix/Koan/Shoyoroku/index.html http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/eric.boix/Koan/Shoyoroku/index.html).
• joeyo 17y ago
  I haven't actually gotten to it yet, but Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren has been on my to-read list for quite a while.
  • Nekojoe 17y ago
    It's a good book, but rather short. It's worth reading for an introduction into Wabi-Sabi concepts.