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Rating: 
Summary: "TURNING WORDS!" (WITHOUT KOANS)
Review: Okay, I confess: I am not a zen master. So sue me (for writing a review of this masterpiece). What I want to add is my opinion that Sokei-an had some different kind of zen insight or teaching that one is unlikely to find these days. Not necessarily 'better', but defintely different, and (to me) very intriguing. What I sense is that Sokei-an accomplished a high degree of congruance between 'esoteric zen philosophy' and 'everyday life'.I have read enough zen stuff that a lot of it looks alike (in my 30 years of meditation practice). "Zen Pivots" delivers key issues as promised: pivotal ideas and concepts that turn your practice in marvelous directions. I go, "Wow ...... WOW!" If you find this book interesting, then find "The Eye of Zen" by the same author.
Rating:
Summary: "TURNING WORDS!" (WITHOUT KOANS)
Review: Okay, I confess: I am not a zen master. So sue me (for writing a review of this masterpiece). What I want to add is my opinion that Sokei-an had some different kind of zen insight or teaching that one is unlikely to find these days. Not necessarily 'better', but defintely different, and (to me) very intriguing. What I sense is that Sokei-an accomplished a high degree of congruance between 'esoteric zen philosophy' and 'everyday life'. I have read enough zen stuff that a lot of it looks alike (in my 30 years of meditation practice). "Zen Pivots" delivers key issues as promised: pivotal ideas and concepts that turn your practice in marvelous directions. I go, "Wow ...... WOW!" If you find this book interesting, then find "The Eye of Zen" by the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: Paradox comes to the west
Review: Seemingly, like all Zen books, there are paradoxes in the writing. For example "For about twenty years I thought I was greatly benefited by Buddhism, but in the last twenty years I have been ungaining everything I learned. To gain nothing is always the conclusion of Buddhism". There were some rough lectures for my "beginner mind" but there are some real gems, particularly when imparting stories of the Buddha or monks. Sokei-an was one of the first Zen Masters to come to American, and some of the most fascinating lectures are those contrasting Buddhism and Christianity, such as the Triune Body of Buddha and the Christian Trinity. Even more striking is the lecture "The religion of North America" where he contrasts Tao and Christianity, wisdom and love.
Rating:
Summary: Paradox comes to the west
Review: Seemingly, like all Zen books, there are paradoxes in the writing. For example "For about twenty years I thought I was greatly benefited by Buddhism, but in the last twenty years I have been ungaining everything I learned. To gain nothing is always the conclusion of Buddhism". There were some rough lectures for my "beginner mind" but there are some real gems, particularly when imparting stories of the Buddha or monks. Sokei-an was one of the first Zen Masters to come to American, and some of the most fascinating lectures are those contrasting Buddhism and Christianity, such as the Triune Body of Buddha and the Christian Trinity. Even more striking is the lecture "The religion of North America" where he contrasts Tao and Christianity, wisdom and love.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Work
Review: Sokei-An is astonishingly a very little known name to quite a few practitioners of Zen in the west; he was basically a pioneer in it's taking hold here as a valuable approach towards this very life. As Zen master Dae Gak reviewed earlier (a dharma heir of Zen master Seung Sahn), Sokei-An had the true heart of a bodhisattva. There are a lot of esoteric definitions in this work, however, and some background in Pali and Sanskrit will make this read even more worthwhile for you. Truly, it is a magnificent work on Zen. But it's no Compass of Zen (by Seung Sahn), that I must pronounce. So while you are destined to take a breadth of knowledge away from reading this book, I kind of disagree that it's for everyone (beginner and adept). Simply because some fundamental information into the meaning of many of the words he uses are required. Now, Mary Farkas does provide us with a word list in the ending pages of this book. That is to their credit. But occasionally it is nice to hear Zen put truly in American language, so as we don't need to know the definition of a definition, to see where an author is pointing us. Funny how I sound somewhat critical in these remarks, but my appraisal nonetheless is only that of applause. It's truly a wonderful book when approached with a clear and open mind.
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