Zen Traces: Exploring American Zen with Twain and Thoreau

Zen Traces (Paul Dry Books) juxtaposes passages from traditional Asian Zen masters’ questioning phrases; modern-day Zen, which has Western influences as well; Henry David Thoreau; and Mark Twain. One such example is a paradoxical story about a contemporary Zen teacher that yields fresh insights when paired with a pithy comment from Mark Twain.