I find Zen interesting because it is a religion that doesn’t require the worship of a higher power. It’s also interesting, though maddening, to have people try to explain it to you. Every now and then I try to read a book that explains Zen to dorks like me, and every time I feel lke there is some little pixie with a wry smile saying “Oh I couldn’t possibly explain it to you...” and then they try. This book really does give the old college try to making sense of the centuries of Buddhist teaching and subsequent Zen lineage. It has lots of graphics and short punchy paragraphs like all of the “for beginners” books. However, a lot of the supplemental text is in this all-caps calligraphy style which is very hard to read and some of the artwork [clip arty stuff mainly] is really not that nice to look at. So, while I think I do have a deeper understanding of what goes into Zen Buddhism and how it may relate to me, reading this book just wasn’t that much fun.