Keido Fukushima Roshi
It is a pleasure to present Jim Green’s translation, The Sayings of Layman P’ang. Jim has been a lay disciple of mine since 1974. Able to read classical Chinese, he has previously translated The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu, and now the present translation has been completed.
P’ang is a Chinese layman akin to the renowned Indian Buddhist layman Vimalakirti. Layman P’ang’s record, full of encounters with Zen monks, is a delightful and thrilling account. It is most appropriate that an American layman, Jim Green, has chosen to translate such a work.
While American Zen has certainly learned a great deal from Japanese Zen, I think it is now time for American Zen to stand on its own two feet. In contrast with the “monastic Zen” of Japan, American Zen is essentially a “lay Zen.” I am delighted that The Sayings of Layman P’ang is now available for laymen and laywomen around the world, and hope that it will be read with care by many. I trust it will play a role in establishing and developing an authentic lay Zen in America.
October 2007
Keido Fukushima
Head Abbot of Tofukuji
Zen Master of Tofukuji Monastery