As seemingly difficult as some passages above are to comprehend, the method elucidated is clear and the “goal” of training is set forth at the very beginning. Hung-jen was the fifth patriarch of Zen and the teacher Hui-neng studied with.

The vast number of sutras, many of which have not been translated, are overwhelming in considering where to begin. In Cave 17 of the Dunhuang caves more than 10,000 manuscripts have been discovered well preserved during 900 years in the dark, dry cave. Given the sheer enormity of the writings in...