Taken from various written and oral versions, these stories of the Chan and Zen tradition- many of which unpublished in the West world- are here revisited in a new light and enriched with poems that deepen their meaning..

We meet the most emblematic figures of the Chinese patriarchs, together with the great iconoclastic Japanese masters such as Ikkyu and Hakuin who knew how to restore the original vitality to a decadent Zen; but also artists, samurai, strange hoteliers and even a surprising courtesan. The influence exerted by Zen on martial arts, poetry, painting and the tea ceremony is also demonstrated.