Dialogues of Chinese Sages: Chan-Buddhist Stories about Truth, Madness, and Joy

How to achieve enlightenment with just one word? And through silence? For enlightenment with wisdom, there’s no need for complex methods — it’s enough just to calm your heart, clear your mind, and... be beside a worthy mentor. This is the essence of the famous Eastern teaching of Zen (Chan).

The book is a collection of the best medieval parables and stories about Chinese Chan Buddhist masters, included in many classic works: "The Gate without Doors", "Records of the Transmission of the Lamp", "Sayings from the Azure Cliff", "The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch".

The publication also includes information about the history of the formation of the genre of Chan sayings "yulu" and "paradoxical dialogues" — koans (gung’anei), and about the methods of consciousness training of Buddhist monks.