The Story of Zen

Name: The Story of Zen
ISBN: 9787533953324

Yi Zhongtian / Huang YonghouZhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House2018

4.0

Word count: 44 words
Chapters: 19
ISBN: 9787533953324

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Summary

The Story of Zen is a popular introduction to Chan Buddhism by the scholar Yi Zhongtian, illustrated in full color by the master painter Huang Yonghou and published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House in 2018. Structured in seventeen lectures, the book begins with the famous case of the Buddha holding up a flower and Mahakashyapa's smile, then traces the transmission of the patriarch's robe and bowl, Bodhidharma's journey east, the gradual cultivation of the Fourth Patriarch Hongren and Shenxiu, the founding of the Southern School by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng after the Fifth, and on to the spread across the land of the Five Houses—Weiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan. While laying out the history of Chan, the author intersperses many sharp, vigorous kōans and exchanges between masters, using the verse contest between Shenxiu and Huineng, the teaching of sudden enlightenment in the Platform Sutra, and Linji's shout and his scolding of the Buddha and patriarchs to explain core propositions such as 'not setting up written words, directly pointing at the human mind' and 'seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha.' Yi Zhongtian presents Chan as 'one form of Chinese wisdom,' whose significance lies precisely in having no significance, marked by being 'unspeakable, needing no speech, and impossible to put into words.' The book also traces many everyday sayings and common notions back to their Chan sources, turning religious history into a collection of stories of thought. The prose is witty and buoyant, matched by Huang Yonghou's archaic and strangely powerful paintings; it reads lightly yet lingers, and serves well as a first step into the world of Chan.

Editor's review

把禅宗史写得这样好读的书并不多。易中天没有摆出学术面孔，而是把它当成一串故事来讲：佛祖拈花、达摩面壁、慧能听《金刚经》而悟、南宗北宗分道扬镳——每一处转折背后都有一段耐嚼的公案。十七讲的篇幅恰到好处，一个晚上就能通读，却足以理清禅宗一千多年传承的基本线索。更难得的是作者的“点题”功夫。他没有把禅神秘化，反而反复强调禅的否定性与自由气质：破执、呵佛骂祖、立地成佛，说到底都是要人回到自己身上。这种读法未必人人认同，但确实能把许多读者从“禅就是玄虚”的误解里拉出来。装帧也值得一说。黄永厚是国画名家，书中插图全彩呈现，笔墨粗犷而富禅意，与文字互相生发，圆脊精装的形制适合慢慢翻阅、也适合收藏。四万余字的体量，是一份不沉重的礼物，适合送给对中国智慧感兴趣、又怕被大部头吓退的朋友。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对禅宗、佛教史有兴趣但缺乏基础的普通读者
喜欢易中天《品三国》式通俗讲史风格的读者
希望借禅意缓解焦虑、认识自我的都市人群
对中国传统文化与国画插图皆有偏好的书友

Not a good fit for

从事佛学研究、需要严密文献考据与注释的学者
期待系统修行指导、禅七仪轨与实修法门的读者
只想看轻松故事、不愿接触历史人名与年代脉络的读者

Reading tips

先读正文十七讲，再回头看序言，更容易理解“禅的意义就在于没有意义”这一提法。
读到公案时可先猜一猜禅师的答话，再看原文，机锋之妙往往在这一停一顿之间。
若觉意犹未尽，可接着读《六祖坛经》，本书反复提到的顿悟与见性之说多出自此处。
把黄永厚的插图当作正文的一部分来看，画与话互相照应，能读出另一层意味。

About the publisher

Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House is a Chinese publisher specializing in literary publishing. Judging from the 808 titles in the database, its publishing areas cover world classics, foreign literature, social novels, folk literature and classic works, as well as modern and contemporary literature and prose. Representative titles include foreign literary translations such as Anna Karenina, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, In Praise of Shadows and The Complete Tragedies and Comedies of Shakespeare, alongside classic works by Lao She and Lu Xun such as Camel Xiangzi, Teahouse and Wandering. Its authors and translators include Leo Tolstoy, Cao Ying, Lao She, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Zhu Shenghao. The press emphasizes the translation and introduction of classic texts and the compilation of native literary works, giving equal weight to Chinese and foreign literature. Owing to limited public information, its specific series and editorial policies are not elaborated here.

Preface: The Significance of Chan Lies in Having No Significance
1 Flowers and a Smile
2 Heirs to the Robe and Bowl
3 Bodhidharma
4 Hongren and Shenxiu
5 The Sixth Patriarch Huineng
6 Founding the Southern School
7 The Efforts of the Pure Land School
8 The Difficulties of Buddhism
9 Putting People First
10 Returning to the Human World
11 Becoming a Buddha on the Spot
12 Sharp Exchanges and Breaking Attachment
13 My Mind Itself Is Buddha
14 The Shout from Above
15 Scolding the Buddha and the Patriarchs
16 The Philosophy of Negation
17 The Path of Freedom
Acknowledgments

FAQ

这本书是学术著作还是通俗读物？

是面向大众的通俗读物。全书约四万余字，以讲故事的方式梳理禅宗发展脉络，引证史料但不作繁复考证，注释与参考文献都不多，重点在于可读性与思想启发性。

没有佛学基础能读懂吗？

可以。作者从佛祖拈花、达摩东渡这些最基础的故事讲起，对禅宗术语和人物关系有交代，不预设读者背景。不过个别公案本身就意在“说不通”，读不懂也无妨，那正是禅的一部分。

书里的插画是彩色的吗？

是。2018年浙江文艺出版社精装版为全彩四色印刷，插图由国画家黄永厚绘制，另有若干画作穿插于篇章之间，装帧为圆脊精装、32开。

这本书和同名的绘本《禅的故事》是同一本吗？

不是。市面上另有美国作家琼·穆特创作的凯迪克奖绘本《禅的故事》（Zen Shorts），面向儿童；本条目指易中天著、黄永厚绘的禅宗普及读物。

内容与《易中天中华经典故事·禅宗》有何关系？

两者主题相通，都出自易中天对禅宗的通俗讲述。《禅的故事》为独立单行本，篇幅更完整；《中华经典故事·禅宗》属六册套书中的一册，配图由胡永凯绘制，体例略有差异。

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About the author

Yi Zhongtian Author · Chinese · 1947

Yi Zhongtian, born in 1947 in Changsha, Hunan, is a Chinese writer, scholar and educator. After receiving a master's degree in literature from Wuhan University in 1981, he stayed on to teach and later became a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Humanities, Xiamen University. From 2005 he became widely known through his lectures on CCTV's Lecture Room, including "Figures of the Han Dynasty" and "Yi Zhongtian on the Three Kingdoms." His writing spans history, Eastern philosophy, classical literature and cultural commentary, with representative works such as On the Three Kingdoms, Pre-Qin Thinkers, Art Anthropology and Yi Zhongtian's History of China, as well as a collection of traditional culture stories written for his grandson. His clear, accessible style turns academic topics into engaging narratives for general readers, giving him broad influence in popularizing history and traditional culture.