lamdha books -
Catalogue of books on Taoism and Zen Buddhism

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216031 Blyth, R.H. Zen and Zen Classics: Five volumes One: General Introduction, From the Upanishads to Huineng; Two: History of Zen; Three: History of Zen (Nangaku Branch); Four: Mumonkan; Five: Twenty-four Essays The Hokuseido Press, Tokyo, 1966-1972. Reprints. Five small octavo hardcover volumes; ochre cloth boards with black upper board and spine titles and publisher's blind stamped insignia on rear boards; 125 + 211+ 185 + 340 + 225pp. Mild offsetting and bookseller's stamp to endpapers with owner's name in ink on Volume 4 only; b&w frontispieces to most volumes with tissue-guards and further illustrations likewise. Volume 3 - no illustrations and Volume 4 a fold-out frontispiece and b&w illustrations with no tissue-guards; mild toning with a few scattered spots to text block edges. Yellow, orange, blue, pink and black dustwrappers, rubbed with sunning to spine panels and adjacent edges and all professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Volume 4 has large water-stains to upper board and spine panel with some loss to the title. A very good and uncommon set. Click here to order $400

207846 Chang, Garma C.C. The Buddhist Teaching of Totality Pensylvania State University, 1971. Octavo hardcover; ochre boards with black spine titling, upper board cream label with Chinese characters; 270pp. Owner's name sticker. Minor wear only; near fine otherwise. Wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. The Hwa Yen school of Mahayana Buddhism bloomed in China in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. Today many scholars regard its doctrines of Emptiness, Totality, and Mind-Only as the crown of Buddhist thought and as a useful and unique philosophical system and explanation of man, world, and life as intuitively experienced in Zen practice. Garma Chang explains and exemplifies these doctrines with references to both oriental masters and Western philosophers. The Buddha's mystical experience of infinity and totality provides the framework for this objective revelation of the three pervasive and interlocking concepts upon which any study of Mahayana philosophy must depend. Click here to order $45

207332 Cleary, Thomas (trans. & ed.) The Politics of Tao - Translations from the Taoist Classic Huainanzi Lessons of the Masters of Huainan Eastern Dragon Books/S. Abdul Majeed & Co., Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. 1992. Octavo; paperback; 101pp. Mild wear; covers rubbed; previous owner's ink inscriptions to the insides of both covers. Very good. Click here to order $15

216036 Foster, Nelson & Jack Shoemaker (eds.) The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader Ecco Press, Hopewell, 1996. First printing. Octavo hardcover; quarter bound beige boards with red cloth spine and silver gilt spine titling; 373pp. A few marks and spots on text block edges. Dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good to near fine. "The Roaring Stream offers a sense of the living tradition of Zen teaching from Bodhidharma on through the Japanese teachers - including lay adepts and poets. Not only are the selections distinct and useful, the biographies and historical contexts are informed, i.e., not simply hagiographic but quite down to earth and insightful in their own right." Click here to order $28

98203 Goldberg, Natalie The Great Spring Writing, Zen, and This Zigzag Life Shambhala, Boulder, 2016. Hardcover, octavo; quarter bound blue boards with dark blue spine and gilt spine titling, green endpapers; 207pp. Minor wear only. Near fine in like dustwrapper. Click here to order $18

203722 Holloway, Kenneth W The Quest for Ecstatic Morality in Early China Oxford University Press, London, 2013. Octavo paperback; 161pp. Remainder. New. There is an intense love of freedom evident in the "Xing zi mingchu," a text last seen when it was buried in a Chinese tomb in 300 B.C.E. It tells us that both joy and sadness are the ecstatic zenith of what the text terms 'qing'. Combining emotions into qing allows them to serve as a stepping stone to the Dao, the transcendent source of morality for the world. There is a process one must follow to prepare qing: it must be beautified by learning from the classics written by ancient sages. What is absent from the process is any indication that the emotions themselves need to be suppressed or regulated, as is found in most other texts from this time. The Confucian principles of humanity and righteousness are not rejected, but they are seen as needing our qing and the Dao. Holloway argues that the Dao here is the same Dao of Laozi's "Daode jing". As a missing link between what came to be called Confucianism and Daoism, the "Xing zi mingchu" is changing the way we look at the history of religion in early China. Click here to order $20

207403 Hoover, Thomas Zen Culture Random House, New York, 1977. First edition: octavo hardcover; quarter bound gray boards with maroon cloth spine and gilt labels; 262pp., monochrome plates and illustrations. Well-rubbed board edges; offsetting to endpapers; browned and spotted text block edges. Illustrated dustwrapper, faded along the spine panel, tiny chips and tears on edges and corners with small scrapes on lower spine and corners. Good to very good. Wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Click here to order $22

207818 Humphreys, Christmas A Western Approach to Zen Buddhist Society/George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1971. First UK edition: octavo; hardcover; 212pp., top edges dyed dark red. Mild wear; mild toning to text block edges. Price-clipped dustwrapper mildly rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Very good. Click here to order $30

30290 Ikeda, Daisaku (Burton Watson, trans.) The Flower of Chinese Buddhism John Weatherhill Inc., New York, NY, 1986. Hardcover, octavo, 205pp. Bookshop stamp on front endpaper, some spotting to text block edges; otherwise very good to near fine in dustwrapper a little worn at edges (now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film). Click here to order $18

207335 Jacques, Louise V. Lao Tzu and the Eight Immortals of China and T'ik, T'ak, T'oh - signed A Classic Historical Novel of China George Channing Enterprises, Carmel CA, 1974. Octavo; paperback; 132pp., with maps, a monochrome portrait frontispiece and eight colour plates. Minor wear; signed by the author in ink to the limitations page. Near fine. Laid in: a promotional bookmark. Number 26 of a limited edition print run. Click here to order $50

216014 Kapleau, Roshi Philip (Foreword by Albert Low) Zen: Dawn in the West Rider & Company/Hutchinson Publishing Group, London, 1980. First edition. Octavo; hardcover; red boards with silver gilt spine titling; 311pp. Minor wear; text block edges toned with small mark on side edges. Mild rubbing to dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $35

93697 Keping, Wang Reading the Dao A Thematic Journey Continuum International Publishing Group, London, 2011. Octavo; paperback; 182pp. Remainder. New. This is an introductory guide to the Dao de Jing, exploring key themes and passages in this key work of Daoist thought. The Dao De Jing represents one of the most important works of Chinese philosophy, in which the author, Lao Zi (c. 580-500 BC), lays the foundations of Taoism. Composed of 81 short sections, the text itself is written in a poetic style that is ambiguous and challenging for the modern reader. Yet while its meaning may be obscure, the text displays the originality of Lao Zi's wisdom and remains a hugely influential work to this day. In "Reading the Dao: A Thematic Inquiry", Wang Keping offers a clear and accessible guide to this hugely important text. Wang's thematic approach opens up key elements of the Dao De Jing in a way that highlights and clarifies the central arguments for the modern reader. Presenting comprehensive textual analysis of key passages and a useful survey of recent Taoist scholarship, the book provides the reader with an insight into the origins of Taoist philosophy. Click here to order $17

207602 LaFleur, William R. The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan University of California Press, Berkeley, 1986. Octavo paperback. 204pp. Minor wear only; very good to near fine. Click here to order $20

216035 Layman P'ang (trans. Ruth Fuller Sasaki; Yoshitaka Iriya; Dana R. Fraser) The Recorded Sayings of Layman P'ang: A Ninth-Century Zen Classic Weatherhill, New York, 1971. First edition. Octavo hardcover; quarter bound brown decorated boards with red cloth spine and gilt spine titling, illustrated brown endpapers; 109pp., b&w illustrations. Upper front board very slightly fanned; a few scattered spots on upper text block edge; bookseller's stamp twice on half-title page. Green and mauve card dustwrapper with lightly worn edges and scraping and chipping at corners, now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Very good. Click here to order $40

204049 Levi, Jean (trans. & ed.) (Jody Gladding, trans.) The Complete Tao Te Ching with the Four Canons of the Yellow Emperor Inner Traditions International, Rochester VT, 2011. Octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 184pp. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. Click here to order $16

203869 Little, Stephen Realm of the Immortals Daoism in the Arts of China Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH, 1988. Quarto paperback; 67pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Remainder, new. Exhibition catalogue. Click here to order $17

207797 Matsunaga, Alicia Orloff The Buddhist Philosophy of Assimilation - A Monumenta Nipponica Monograph The Historical Development of the Honji-Suijaku Theory Sophia University - Tokyo/Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo Japan, 1969. Royal octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with decorative papered boards and gilt spine tiles on a black label; 310pp., with 26pp. of monochrome plates and other illustrations likewise. Mild wear; some mild corner-bumping. Price-clipped dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; sunned along the spine panel; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $65

216042 Miura, Isshu & Ruth Fuller Sasaki (with reproductions of ten drawings by Hakuin Ekaku) The Zen Koan: Its History and Use in Rinzai Zen Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1965. First edition. Royal octavo quarto hardcover; red cloth boards with gilt spine titling and upper board blind-stamped title in Japanese; 156pp., b&w illustrations. Extensive water stain on lower boards with some red dye permeating lower cover versos, front board slightly fanned, mild rubbing to edges; owner's name on front pastedown and a number stamp on flyleaf; browned text block and page edges. Ochre card dustwrapper with small missing segments on upper edge; some rubbing (now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing). Good. Click here to order $70

207395 Ogata, Sohaku Zen for the West Rider & Company, London, 1959. First edition. Octavo hardcover; black decorated boards with white spine titling; 182pp. Offsetting to endpapers and a few scattered spots on prelims; spotting and toning to text block edges. Rubbed yellow illustrated dustwrapper with wear to edges and corners; tiny missing segment and tear to head of spine panel. Very good. Wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Click here to order $30

86104 Stamm, Joan D. Heaven and Earth are Flowers Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism Wisdom Publications, Somerville MA, 2010. Paperback, octavo, 168pp., colour plates. New. Remainder. Joan Stamm shows us how her twin paths of Buddhist practice and artistic endeavour converge and indeed become thoroughly intertwined. Stamm's lush, elegant voice weaves childhood memories of her mother's joy at a just-bloomed morning glory with meditations on the symbolic importance of bamboo, of pine, of the lily. She takes us with her on her travels to Japan as she learns the essential principles of ikebana, and lets us join her as she teaches flower arranging to women in a nursing home who, though they won't recall tomorrow the rules of arrangement or even the flowers' names, nonetheless partake in the joy and love that celebrates all living things, however briefly they endure. And, when Joan shows us the natural symmetry of a blossom, we find that we too have regained our balance. Click here to order $15

207402 Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro (illus. Zenchu Sato) The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk Wehman Bros Publishers, Hackensack, 1959. First edition: hardcover, octavo; beige cloth boards with red spine label and gilt spine titling; 161pp., monochrome plates, top edges dyed mauve. Offsetting to endpapers; toning and spotting to text block edges; slightly rubbed, illustrated dustwrapper with chipping and scraping at spine panel extremities and corners. Very good. Wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Click here to order $30

216021 Tarrant, John The Light Inside the Dark: Zen, Soul and the Spiritual Life HarperCollins, New York, 1998. First edition. Octavo hardcover; quarter bound green boards with brown spine and gilt spine titling; 247pp., untrimmed page edges. Faint spotting on upper text block edge and mild rubbing to dustwrapper, now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. Click here to order $23

210135 Tetsuzan Shinagawa (Mikio Shinagawa, ed.; Foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama) Talk to a Stone Nothingness Stewart Tabori & Chang/US Media Holdings Inc., New York NY, 1998. Quarto; paperback, bound orihon style, with illustrated wrappers; unpaginated, with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; spotting to the covers and text block edges. Very good, in a lightly rubbed illustrated folding portfolio with silk and bone closures. Click here to order $45

207366 Waley, Arthur (trans.) Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China George Allen & Unwin, London, 1974. Reprint: hardcover octavo; gray boards with gilt spine titling; 275pp. Small price sticker stain on upper corner of front endpaper; spotting and a few marks on text block edges; slight rubbing to board edges. Ochre card dustwrapper with red titling. Very good to near fine. Wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film In the fourth century BC three conflicting points of view in Chinese philosophy received classic expression: the Taoist, the Confucianist, and the "Realist." This book underscores the interplay between these three philosophies, drawing on extracts from Chuang Tzu, Mencius, and Han Fei Tzu. Click here to order $25

204084 Williams, Paul Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations - 2nd edition Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices series Routledge, Abingdon Oxon. UK, 2009. Reprint: octavo; paperback; 438pp. Minor wear; covers lightly edgeworn. Very good to near fine. Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. Click here to order $30

209880 Xiaoting, Guo (trans. John Robert Shaw) Adventures of the Mad Monk Ji Gong The Drunken Wisdom of China's Famous Chan Buddhist Monk Tuttle, North Clarendon, 2014. Octavo; paperback; 542pp. Remainder, new. The brilliant and hilarious adventures of a mad Zen Buddhist monk who rose from humble beginnings to become one of China's greatest folk heroes. Ji Gong studied at the great Ling Yin monastery, an immense temple that still ranges up the steep hills above Hangzhou, near Shanghai. The Chan Buddhist masters of the temple tried to instruct Ji Gong in the spartan practices of their sect, but the young monk, following in the footsteps of other great ne'er-do-wells, distinguished himself mainly by getting expelled. He left the monastery, became a wanderer with hardly a proper piece of clothing to wear, and achieved great renown in seedy wine shops and drinking establishments. This could have been where Ji Gong's story ended. But his unorthodox style of Buddhism soon made him a hero for popular storytellers of the Song dynasty era. Audiences delighted in tales where the mad old monk ignored or even mocked authority, defied common sense, never neglected the wine, yet still managed to save the day. Ji Gong always had the rogue's knack for exposing the corrupt and criminal while still pursuing the twin delights of enlightenment and intoxication! Click here to order $15

216041 Zenji, Hakuin (trans. R.D.M. Shaw) The Embossed Tea Kettle: O Ra Te Gama And Other Works of Hakuin Zenji - The Zen Reformer of the Eighteenth Century in Japan George Allen & Unwin, London, 1963. First edition. Octavo hardcover; blue boards with silver gilt upper board and spine titles; 197pp., b&w frontispiece and plates, top edges dyed blue. Bookseller's stamp on front pastedown; mild toning and spotting to text block edges. Lacks dustwrapper. Very good. Click here to order $25

215106 Zhuangzi (illus. C.C. Tsai & trans. Brian Bruya) The Way of Nature Princeton University Press, New York, 2019. Quarto gate-fold paperback; 237pp., b&w illustrations. Remainder. New. A delightfully illustrated selection of the great Daoist writings of Zhuangzi by bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai. C. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty languages. This volume presents Tsai's delightful graphic adaptation of the profound and humorous Daoist writings of Zhuangzi, some of the most popular and influential in the history of Asian philosophy and culture. The Way of Nature brings together all of Tsai's beguiling cartoon illustrations of the Zhuangzi, which takes its name from its author. The result is a uniquely accessible and entertaining adaptation of a pillar of classical Daoism, which has deeply influenced Chinese poetry, landscape painting, martial arts, and Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Irreverent and inspiring, The Way of Nature presents the memorable characters, fables, and thought experiments of Zhuangzi like no other edition, challenging readers to dig beneath conventional assumptions about self, society, and nature, and pointing to a more natural way of life. Through practical insights and far-reaching arguments, Zhuangzi shows why returning to the spontaneity of nature is the only sane response to a world of conflict. Click here to order $20