Books like Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series

I recommend this book to those interested in zen A book on Zen is only valuable if it gets you closer to the path to enlightenment (satori). There's little intellectualizing one can do on the topic of zen before the logic becomes circuitous, and indeed all intellectualizing, however little, moves you farther away from the point into contradiction and confusion. Herein lies the intrinsic irony in Zen literature and highlights the author's suffering in bringing this book to us. Historical dialogue between monks and masters, and the overall repetition of the basic concept throughout the book captures the essence of zen in its simplicity. Readers looking for more are missing the point entirely; that's right in front of them.