The Blue Cliff Record is a classic text of Zen Buddhism, designed to assist in the activation of dormant human potential. The core of this extraordinary work is a collection of one hundred traditional citations and stories, selected for their ability to bring about insight and enlightenment. These vignettes are known as gongan in Chinese and koan in Japanese.Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record is a fresh translation featuring newly translated commentary from two of the greatest Zen masters of early modern Japan, Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768) of the Rinzai sect of Zen and Tenkei Denson (1648–1735) of the Soto sect of Zen. This translation and commentary on The Blue Cliff Record sheds new light on the meaning of this central Zen text.Amazon.com ReviewThe Blue Cliff Record is a collection of Chinese koan, cryptic Zen stories that point the way to enlightenment. Monks would (and still do) spend days, months, even years on a single koan, ruminating over it, plumbing its depths--not trying to figure it out, but letting it open a door inside of them. Over the centuries, masters have attempted to help the process along by adding their own remarks. Translator Thomas Cleary tells us that two of the most important commentators on the Blue Cliff Record have been the Japanese Hakuin Ekaku of the Rinzai lineage and Tenkei Denson of the Soto. In Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record, Cleary includes the core elements of the original Blue Cliff Record and selections from the extensive work of these two commentators. The result is not exactly a CliffsNotes, as the reading is still arduous. Even the comments can be cryptic and in need of comment. But the more fingers pointing at the moon, the easier it is to find. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to the hardcover edition.Review"These commentaries make the challenges of the Zen masters available to the spiritually courageous among us." – Bodhi Tree Book Review --This text refers to the hardcover edition.About the AuthorThomas Cleary holds a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He is the translator of over fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.