This book is first and foremost a little gem, wonderfully published and illustrated. You want to keep it close to you and come back to it often to pick up the pearls that are these zen stories. They shatter all morality and narrow conception of the world. They jostle, question, make people smile. You would have to reread them often to fully understand them. And again… Their meaning seems to widen to infinity since they all come from the great Zen masters of China and Japan.
At the heart of Zen is this statement promulgated by Dofuku: "In my opinion, truth is beyond affirmation or denial, for that is how it manifests." Thus, each of these stories goes beyond words, because they aim at the original spirit of man. It is therefore impossible to give a meaning to Zen, because if we define it, we are not Zen. All these succulent stories that have become true classics have one thing in common: they aspire to humbly serve humanity by fulfilling its presence in this world with love. However, we discover that Zen masters often give stick beats to their followers. This is how often they find enlightenment. Like life kicking us out of our lethargy… Certain verses like those of Hoshin run through us like a sweet song that touches the heart: “I come from the light / And return to the light / What what is it? ".
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