From one of the most influential books ever written on Zen Buddhism: The paradox of Zen as a philosophy of compassion and combat. One of the leading twentieth-century works on Zen, D.T. Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Cultureis an invaluable source for those wishing to understand Zen concepts in the context of Japanese life and art. Zen and the Samuraiexplores Zen Buddhism as it applies to the life of the warrior, sustaining him both morally and philosophically, and how it is the work of a great Zen Master to be familiar with both the sword of life and the sword of death, and know when and how to wield either of them. In simple, often poetic language, enhanced by anecdotes and poetry, D.T. Suzukistudies the lives of some of Japan's greatest swordsmen, explores the military mind, and ultimately brings us to a new understanding of the meaning and symbolism of the sword and the code of bushido: the way of the warrior.