Zenkei Shibayama was a master of Rinzai Zen and a significant contributor to the establishment of Zen in America. He became well-known for his commentaries on the collection of Buddhist koans, the Mumonkan. His lecture tours in the United States during the 1960s and the translation of his works into English extended his influence. Shibayama also served as the former Abbot of Nanzen-ji monastery and was an educator.
Zenkei Shibayama, einer der größten Zen-Meister Japans, schildert mit umfassender Sachkenntnis das Charakteristische des Zen-Weges und erläutert mit großer Einfühlungsgabe die grundlegenden Texte und Gedichte des Zen: Eine Einführung durch Gleichnis und Bild.
For more than seven centuries the Mumonkan has been used in Zen monasteries to train monks and to encourage the religious development of lay Buddhists. It contains forty- eight koans, or spiritual riddles, that must be explored during the course of Zen training. Shibayama Zenkei (1894-1974), an influential Japanese Zen teacher and calligrapher who traveled and lectured throughout the United States in the 60s and 70s, offers his own commentary alongside the classic text. The Gateless Barrier remains an essential text for all serious students of Buddhism.
das Standardwerk der Zen-Literatur