Zen Lessons

The Art of Leadership

Translated by Thomas Cleary
This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. Drawing on private records, letters, and long-lost documents of the Song dynasty (tenth to thirteenth centuries), Zen Lessons consists of short excerpts written in language that is accessible to the reader without any background in Eastern philosophy. This book serves as a guide to recognizing the qualities of a genuine Zen teacher; it also serves as a study of the character and conduct necessary for the mastery of any position of power and authority—whether religious, social, political, or organizational.
"Yuanwu's teaching, happily available to modern audiences in a vast body or literature, has a universality that transcends dogma and the narrow parameters of established religions."— The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness

About

This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. Drawing on private records, letters, and long-lost documents of the Song dynasty (tenth to thirteenth centuries), Zen Lessons consists of short excerpts written in language that is accessible to the reader without any background in Eastern philosophy. This book serves as a guide to recognizing the qualities of a genuine Zen teacher; it also serves as a study of the character and conduct necessary for the mastery of any position of power and authority—whether religious, social, political, or organizational.

Praise

"Yuanwu's teaching, happily available to modern audiences in a vast body or literature, has a universality that transcends dogma and the narrow parameters of established religions."— The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness