This work is a collection of essays on Zen Buddhism as seen in the context of Western thought. It examines some key features of Kyoto School thought. The essays focus on issues of comparative philosophy and religious thought outside the contours of the debate.

While the essays presented here should be read in light of the socio-political criticism that has since been lodged against the Kyoto School and, more particularly, its founder Nishida Kitaro, most of them were written prior to the recent discussions and focus on issues of comparative philosophy and religious thought outside the contours of the debate. This should not, however, limit their approach to the earlier historical context.

Part 1 Zen and society: two types of unity and religious pluralism
the meaning of life in Buddhism
ethics and social responsibility in Buddhism
faith and self-awakening
religion and science in the global age. Part 2 Nishida's view of reality and Zen philosophy: Nishida's philosophy of "place"
philosophy, religion, and aesthetics in Nishida and Whitehead
the problem of "inverse correspondence" in the philosophy of Nishida, comparing Nishida with Tanabe. Part 3 A contemporary approach to Zen self-awakening: evil, sin, falsity and the dynamics of faith
toward the establishment of a cosmology of awakening.