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Professor Wienpahl states that most books on Zen written in English do not stress the central theme of Zen, which is Zazen—sitting quietly, meditating, doing nothing. Instead, the emphasis in other works is placed on the aids to Zazen—Koans, talks with the Zen Master, rituals, and finally satori. Wienpahl's thesis is that Zazen is the heart of Zen. In a Japanese zendo, it is the main work that goes on, and it is hard work.
His book is interesting and clearly written, and the personality of the author comes through. It is a valuable contribution to the literature on Zen already presented by Suzuki, Watts, Admiral Shattuck of the British Navy, and others.
Wienpahl is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Through his philosophical studies, he came to the realization that direct experience of reality is as important as knowing about reality through reason and science. He then went to Kyoto for six months, where he went to a zendo and practised Zazen regularly.
The person practising Zazen, sitting quietly, meditating, soon develops resistances to the sitting, in a way similar to the resistances developed in psychotherapy. The person often wants to quit and sees no point in it. One function of his teacher, the Zen Master, is to help work through his resistance to sitting. Since he already has been through this experience himself, the teacher recognizes escapes. Working through various resistances, the sitter from time to time has an intuitive experience of enlightenment in which he has a direct experience of being aware of reality, of the unity of the objective and subjective world. Sometimes these states of awareness persist for extended periods of time. I have talked with Japanese psychiatrists who say that when psychotherapy with a patient is completed, they encourage him to practise Zazen.
Wienpahl describes in detail the daily events occuring in the life of a student monk in a Japanese Zendo; he also discusses Zen and psychoanalysis,