The book is part teaching, part story telling, part biography. I very much enjoyed the book, especially the stories of ‘Tokuzan’ at the end.

The more biographical pieces seemed a little self-indulgent at times, which was surprising given the emphasis on Zen. I was also surprised at the mention of God. In some ways it sounded as if written from a Hindu perspective. There is a sense of someone very sure of himself,with no teacher to challenge their perspective.

It may be a book very much ‘Of it’s time’ both in terms of the period in which it was written and the period of the development of Buddhism in the West.

I’m glad to have read it. I have always enjoyed the poem ‘The Lane’ which seems to have a sense of spaciousness and timelessness.