Seashores of the Pacific Northwest

 

Wittgenstein Revisited 2026

 

Wittgentstein, Ludwig (1889-1951)

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Culture and Value. Translated by Peter Winch. University of Chicago Press, 1980, index, 94 pages. VSCPL.

Wittgenstein's Artillery: Philosophy as Poetry. By James C. Klagge. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA., 2021, 258 pages, index, bibliography, notes. VSCPL.

suppose somebody says
suppose one wanted to ask
people will say
you may answer
someone says to me

you may say
suppose it were asked
one might ask
it will be said
suppose he might say

Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosoph in the Age of Airplances. By Anthony Gottlieb. Yale University, 2025, index, 209 pages. VSCPL.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations. Translated by G.E.M. Anscombe. Third Edition. Macmillan, 1958, 1968, index, 250 pages, VSCPL.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Blue and Brown Books. Preliminary Studies for the 'Philosophical Investigations. Harper Torchbooks, 1958, 1965, 185 pages. VSCPL.

Zettel. By Ludwig Wittgenstein. Edited by G.E.M. Anscombe and G.H. von Wright. Translated by G.E.M. Anscombe. University of California Press, 1967, 1970, 124 pages. VSCPL.

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. By Ludwig Wittgenstein. (1921) Translation by D. F. Pears and B.F. McGuinness. London, Routledge, 1961, 166 pages, index. Uses a numerical system for organizing his brief Remarks. VSCPL.

An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus. By G. E. M. Anscombe. Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. Hutchinson University Library, 1959, 1971, index, 179 pages. VSCPL.

Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology, and Religious Belief. By Ludwig Wittgenstein. Edited by Cyril Barrett, University of California, 1966, 72 pages. VSCPL.

How to Read Wittgenstein. By Ray Monk. Norton, 2005. VSCPL.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. By Ray Monk. Penguin, 1991, 704 pages. VSCPL.

"When we do philosophy
We should like to hypostatize
Feelings where there are none.
They serve to explain out thoughts to us.
'Here explanation of our thinking demands a feeling.
It is as if our conviction
Were simply consequent upon this requirement."

- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations # 598

[I purchased my first copy of Philosophical Investigations
in January of 1975. Translated by G. E. M. Anscombe,
1953, 1968, the Third Edition. Wittgenstein's Remarks are
often brief, numbered, questioning, expounding,
challenging, wandering, wondering . . . . . ]

Wittgenstein. By Anthony Kenny. Harvard University, 1973, 240 pages, index. VSCPL.

Simply Wittgenstein. by James Klagge. Simply Charly, 2016.

Wittgenstein's Place in Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy. By P.M.S. Hacker. Blackwell, 1996.

 

 

 

Seeds in the Mind

“Does what’s happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforwardness, and all other qualities that allow a person’s nature to fulfill itself?  So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.”
-  Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

 "Life, death, preservation, loss, failure, success, poverty, riches, worthiness, unworthiness, slander, fame, hunger, thirst, cold, heat─ these are the alterations of the world, the workings of fate.  Day and night they change place before us and wisdom cannot spy out their source.  Therefore, they should not be enough to destroy your harmony; they should not be allowed to enter the storehouse of the spirit.  If you can harmonize and delight in them, master them and never be a a loss for joy, if you can do this day and night without break and make it be spring with everything, mingling with all and creating the moment within your own mind─ this is what I call being whole in power."
Zhuangzi, Burton Watson translation, p. 69.; Zhuangzi Section 5, circa 300 BCE.  

“There are two types of seeds in the mind: those that create anger, fear, frustration, jealousy, hatred and those that create love, compassion, equanimity and joy. Spirituality is germination and sprouting of the second group and transforming the first group.” 
-  Amit Ray

Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault  By Pierre Hadot.  Edited with an introduction by Arnold Davidson.  Translated by Michael Chase.  Malden, Massachusetts, Wiley-Blackwell, 1995.  Index, extensive bibliography, 320 pages.  ISBN: 978-0631180333.  VSCL.  


Equanimity

Stoicism

How to Live a Good Life

Virtue Ethics 

 

The West Edge Tour 2026

 

              

The West Edge Tour

2026

Highway 101 & 1

California & Oregon

San Diego to Astoria

Karen and Mike Garofalo

Old Cruisers in one Old SUV

Talking about What We See

Industry, Ag, Fish, Trees, Us

Leaving the City by the Bay

On the

Golden Gate Bridge

Where

Highway

101 & 1

Are One

 

Golden Gate Bridge 1937-

Where Highway 101 & 1 Meet
At the Golden Gate Bridge

Blog Posts about The West Edge Tour 2026

Target Date: April 1st to April 21st, 2026

 

Day 1:

Vancouver, Portland, Longview,
Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach,
Nehalem, Rockaway, Tillamook,
Lincoln City, Depot Bay, Newport,
Waldport, Yachats, Florence.

 

Day 2:

Florence, Reedsport, Coos Bay,
Bandon, Port Orford, Gold's Beach,
Brookings, Crescent City, Orick,
Patrick's Point, McKinleyville, Eureka.

 

At the Edges of the West

Daodejing, Laozi, Chapter 47

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 47


"No need to go outside a door
To see totality
Or look out of a window
For seeing what will always be
Going out you go astray
At home and center all is one
The seer doesn't have to do
To see that everything is done."
-  Translated by Jim Clatfelter, 2001, Chapter 47  


"Without going out the door, you can know Heaven below (the sacred body).
Without looking through a window, you can see Heaven’s Tao.
The more you go away from yourself, the less you perceive.
The sage does not go out, yet knows;
does not look, yet names;
does not do, yet finishes."
-  Translated by Barbara Tovey, 2002, Chapter 47


"Without opening your door,
 you can know the whole world.
 Without looking out your window,
 you can understand the way of the Tao.
  The more knowledge you seek,
 the less you will understand.
  The Master understands without leaving,
 sees clearly without looking,
 accomplishes much without doing anything."
 -  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 47  

 

"One need not pass his threshold to comprehend all that is under Heaven,
nor to look out from his lattice to behold the Tao Celestial.
Nay! but the farther a man goeth, the less he knoweth.
The sages acquired their knowledge without travel; they named all things
aright without beholding them; and, acting without aim, fulfilled their wills."
-  Translated by Aleister Crowley, 1918, Chapter 47   

不出戶, 知天下.
不闚牖, 見天道. 
其出彌遠, 其知彌少. 
是以聖人不行而知.
不見而名.
不為而成. 
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 47 


pu ch'u hu, chih t'ien hsia.
pu k'uei yu, chien t'ien tao.
ch'i ch'u mi yüan, ch'i chih mi shao. 
shih yi shêng jên pu hsing erh chih.
pu chien erh ming.
pu wei erh ch'êng. 
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 47 

  

"Without going out of the door
One can know the whole world;
Without peeping out of the window
One can see the Tao of heaven.
The further one travels
The less one knows.
Therefore the Sage knows everything without travelling;
He names everything without seeing it;
He accomplishes everything without doing it."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 47 


"Without leaving his door
He knows everything under heaven.
Without looking out of his window
He knows all the ways of heaven.
For the further one travels
The less one knows.
Therefore the Sage arrives without going,
Sees all without looking,
Does nothing, yet achieves everything."
-  Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 47  


"Sin salir de la puerta
se conoce el mundo.
Sin mirar por la ventana
se ve el camino del cielo.
Cuanto más lejos se va,
menos se aprende.
Así, el sabio,
No da un paso y llega,
No mira y conoce,
No interfiere y cumple."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capitulo 47


"Without going out of my door I know the Universe.
Without opening my window I perceive Heavenly Tao.
The more I go abroad, the less I understand.
That is why the self-controlled man arrives without going,
names things without seeing them, perfects without activity."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 47 


"There is no need to run outside
For better seeing,
Nor to peer from a window. Rather abide
At the center of your being;
For the more you leave it, the less you learn.
Search your heart and see
If he is wise who takes each turn:
The way to do is to be."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 47

Chapter 47 of the Tao Te Ching

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Translators' Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List



Further Teachings of Lao-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries (Wen Tzu)   By Thomas Cleary
The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons   By Deng Ming-Dao
Awakening to the Tao   By Lui I-Ming (1780) and translated by Thomas Cleary Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices   By Mike Garofalo
Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries   Translation and commentary by Brook Ziporyn
The Inner Chapters of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi)   Translated by A. C. Graham


                                   

 

Winter Scenes

Nearly all of the photographs on this blog are taken by Karen Garofalo.
A bee enjoys some tasty Tuscan Rosemary blossoms.
Photos from 2013-2016

A lizard crawls over some Chickweed.

"Which is better off, a lizard basking in the sun or a philosopher?"
-  Ursula K. Le Guin, Changing Planes

Acacia tree in bloom.

Minature horses grazing in green pastures, an almond orchard in white bloom, and a dusting of snow on the Yolly Bolly mountains to the west.  Karen and I enjoyed this dramatic February view from our backyard from 1998-2016.  

The McCloud River near where it flows into Shasta Lake.

Karen enjoys the McCloud River scenery.

The Spirit of Gardening

Travels in Northern California

What the Crap?

Shoveling Some Compost Crap

By Mike Garofalo

Back in the Spring of 2007, I was working in my large garden in the Sacramento Valley. I was shoveling and spading compost, sand, straw, and manure into my clay soil. That got me tp thinking about how gardeners have fertilized for centuries before commercial phosphate fertilizers. I did some research in my many home library gardening books, and I searched the Internet for more information. I learned that the Chinese have been using human and animal nitrogenous wastes, yes Shit, as one element in their creation of good compost for forty centuries. I then created an informative webpage on Fertilizer practices, and then a humorous poem on the subject that I posted to my Cloud Hands Blog in 2007.

So, this poem I will read tonight from 2007 is just some Old Shit.

However, if you've never heard it before, it's some fresh New Shit at your door.

This poems title is: Shoveling Some Compost Crap.

 

Gardeners know all about bull shit, horse shit, and chicken shit.
They might be lucky shits, dumb shits, crazy shits, or have shit for brains;
but they shovel crappy compost shit for tasty beans anyway.

They know that some nights are colder than shit,
and some days are hotter than shit,
and other days are just plain shitty,
other crappy days get in the way,
but they step in the shit anyway.

Gardeners all throw composted crap
or sling shit, shoot the shit, occasionally catch some shit,
or duck when the shit hits the fan.

Now, I recommend, that You had better give a shit,
and get your shit together;
or you will find yourself in deep shit,
smelling like shit,
treated like shit,
and end up being shit out of luck.

I felt crappy today,
nobody gives a shit anyway;
we all have too damn much crap to do,
plus picking up the shit from our human zoo.

Once you know your shit, you don't need to know anything else,
and you'll be has happy as a pig in shit;
if you don't know your crap, you'll be told to shit or get off the pot,
told that you don't know the difference between shit and shine'ola,
served shit on a shingle,
get a ripped off by a crappy deal,
told your ideas arn't worth a shit.

If you can't shit or pee
your in deep shit
dying from a shitty disease,
that won't scare the crap out of you.
Damnit! Damnit! Shit!

You can smoke some shit,
drink until your shit faced,
buy some more shit,
feel like shit,
look like shit,
and find yourself in a boat load or mountain of shit.

Crap! You can have too much shit,
not enough shit, the right shit,
the wrong shit,
or a lot of weird shit.

In summary: Shit Happens! Please!

Fertilizer: Quotes, Sayings, Jokes

Poetry by Mike Garofalo
25 Steps and Beyond

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

"In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia was observed February 13–15 on behalf of Pan & Juno, pagan gods of love, marriage & fertility. It was a rite connected to purification and health, and had only slight connection to fertility (as a part of health) and none to love. 

The earliest description of February 14 as an annual celebration of love appears in the Charter of the Court of Love. The charter, allegedly issued by Charles VI of France at Mantes-la-Jolie in 1400, describes lavish festivities to be attended by several members of the royal court, including a feast, amorous song and poetry competitions, jousting and dancing. Amid these festivities, the attending ladies would hear and rule on disputes from lovers. No other record of the court exists, and none of those named in the charter were present at Mantes except Charles's queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, who may well have imagined it all while waiting out a plague."

"The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.

Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,

And Fortune said it shou'd be you."

Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines, and around £1.9 billion was spent in 2015 on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts. The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the U.S. to follow.

Valentine's Day - Wikipedia

For my wife, Blanche Karen Eubanks-Garofalo, I offer her a nice Valentine's Day card, a few chocolates, and roses. 
We celebrate together!  

On Valentine's Day, I think about
 The people who are dear,
 How much they add to life's delight
 Whenever they are near.

You've always been a total joy,
Such pleasant company,
I very much appreciate
Our compatibility!

By Joanna Fuchs

"I love you all through February,
Not just on Valentine's Day!
I cherish you when flowers of spring,
Appear in the midst of May."

"I adore you in the summer,
When the air is filled with heat!
Without you in my life each day,
I wouldn't be complete."

"I treasure you in fall,
When leaves are turning gold!
I loved you when you were younger,
I'll love you when you're old."

"I prize you in the winter,
When colder days are here!
I love you, love you all the time,
Every minute of the year."

"So I'll give to you this Valentine,
But I want to let you know!
It's not just today, but always,
That I will love you so."

Quintain Poetry: The Four Syllable Quintain Stanza

 

4 Syllables Fixed Quintain Poem

xxxxx 4 Syllables Q # 2148, 2153, 2157, 2190, 
                              #2196, 2219, 2225, 2489, 2542

wisdom and luck
help you survive
keeping you safe
during the day
and in the night
- Mike Garofalo, # 2489

How are you son?
Got too much sun?"
His head was red,
The red had spread...
Sunburn---Bonehead!
Mike Garofalo, # 2148

"Some go local
Some go express
Some can’t wait
To answer Yes!”
- A Quartet by Muriel Rukeyser

Each of the five lines in a 4 Syllables Fixed
Quintain Poem must be only 4 syllables long.

Quintains - Research

Quintains: 2,500+ Quintains (Free Online)

Quintain Poetry Rhyme Schemes

Syllable Counting for Quintains

Quintain Sonnet Forms ( 5252, 555, 553 )

Quintains: Bibliography, Links, Research

Poetry - Research

Poetry by Michael P. Garofalo

 

Forms are Full, Fullness begets Forms

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty

By Michael P. Garofalo
January 2023

The immense Oceans are undrinkable, and
in some ways unthinkable.  
No fresh water begets death, and 
Water is Life.

Words from the Heart Scripture went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.  

Something evolves from Something Else, and
nothing evolves from nothing.

Beings emerge from Beings, and
emptiness disappears into emptiness.

"Nothing" is not a noun-thing, and
"Somethings" are dependent relationships.

Forms are Full, and
Fullness begets Forms.

Somethings created my body-mind, and
my body-mind created somethings.  

The Dao marries Yin-Yang, and
some of their step-children are Black Holes. 

Chaos is not emptiness, and
the Void provides Space for Somethings.

Somethings are transitory, ephemeral, and
They are Not empty illusions or unreal. 

Time is the crux of the matter, and
Somethings come and go, appear and disappear.  

"Nothing" is the absence of Something
we desire, and
not the presence of something.  

Somethings are Appearances, and
Appearances are Somethings.

Is or is not, true or false, real or unreal,
something or nothing, be Careful, and
sometimes choose the Middle Way of Maybe So.

Pointing to Nothing, and 
slogging through a muddy muddle of Mu.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Open the Door to Wonderous Beings.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Embrace Body-Mind-Spirit.
Cast off emptiness and the void.  

Gate Gate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha, and
some Lotus plants died in a drought.  Oh No!

Words from the Heart went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.  (5) 

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty
By Michael P. Garofalo
January 2023

 The Heart Sutra and The Threefold Lotus Sutra.  

Emptiness and Forms

Experiences of "emptiness" are often a case of not finding something we desire in the complex world of Somethings.  Something desired seems or is missing.  We want a drink of water and the glass is empty.  We wanted wheat, and a drought destroyed the wheat crop and brought nothing we wanted.

Mt. Adams, Washington

Stratovolcano, 12,281 Feet (3,743 M) 

Cascade Mountain Range, Southwestern WA

Near Yakima, Packwood, Klickitat, and Goldendale WA

Mt. Adams - Wikipedia

Cascade Volcanic Arc

Karen and I have traveled all around this immense and dramatic mountain many times since 2016.  

Cascade Volcanic Arc

Zen Koan Books II

 

Zen Koans, Testing Verses, Mondos, Dialogues, Stories
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo

Here is a list of the books I own and have used to "study" the collections of recorded Taoist/Chan/Zen teaching examples.  These collections of brief spiritual stories and questions have been available in English language translations and commentaries since the 1960's. 

These popular "Koan Collections" include "Cases" of brief spiritual conversations, anecdotes, curious questions and answers, brief stories, dialogues, reports of puzzling encounters, tall tales, aphorisms, tests of basic understanding, pop quizzes, jokes, Dharma talks, poetry, summaries, etc.  

I am interested in research in "Koan Collections" primarily from a literary, scholarly, philosophical, educational, and historical viewpoint.  Taoist/Chan/Zen religious practices, attitudes, and training methods regarding koans cannot be ignored. Finally, I will share some of my own phenomenological experiences while dealing with the ideas, or no-mind non-ideas, of this enchanting Zen koan nexus. 

You can purchase all of these books for under $500.  My membership in the Dharma Rain Temple in Portland, Oregon, a Soto Zen Buddhist Sangha, costs me $30.00 per month.  Learning requires monthly financial commitments, both in support of my own intellectual and spiritual progress, and in support of the work of others spreading the Good Dharma as authors or as local priests and lay teachers.    

Here are the books I have used for trying to integrate and enrich my life with a study of these spiritual practices: Koans, Stories, Dialogues, Mondos, Testing Verses, Riddles, Taoist/Chan/Zen Directness, Non-Sequiturs, immediacy, Checking Verses, spontaneity, quiet sitting, martial arts, monks living together, lay Sanga members, etc:

1. Book of Equanimity/Serenity, 100 Koans
2. Blue Cliff Record, Hekiganroku, 100 Koans
3. Gateless Barrier, Mumonkan, 48 Koans
4. Dogen's Koans, 300 Koans
5. How to Study Koans, Mondos, and Checking Verses
6. Other Koan Collections
7. Related Links, Resources, References

1. Book of Equanimity/Serenity, 100 Koans

The Book of Equanimity: Illuminating Classic Zen Koans.  Commentary and Introduction by Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi, Ph.D.  Roshi Wick was a Dharma Heir of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi (1931-1995). The text was translated from the Japanese to English by Dana Fraser and Maezumi Roshi.  Foreword by Bernie Glassman.  Wisdom Publications, 2005, 360 pages.  100 Koans. VSCL, paperback.  

Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues.  Translation and commentary by Thomas Cleary.  Shambhala, 2005, 512 pages.  100 Koans. VSCL, paperback.

Book of Serenity  By Joan Sutherland, Roshi

2. The Blue Cliff Records (Pi Yen Lu, Hekiganroku)
    100 Koans 

In the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) Zen flourished in China.  Zen Master Xuedou Zhongxian (Jap. Setcho) (980-1052) sorted through hundreds of Yulu collections of encounter dialogues, and came up with 100 good examples, or Cases, for Zen training purposes.  His compilation was called The One Hundred Odes.   

Odes to a Classic Hundred Standards by Xuedou Zhongxian

The Chinese Zen Master Yuanwu Kegin (Jap. Engo) (1063-1135) revised The One Hundred Odes.  He added introductions/prefaces for each Case, added some all the recapitulation verses, added notes and added comments.  After his efforts, his written document came to be titled The Blue Cliff Record, Pi Yen Lu, Hekiganroku by later users.   

Blue Cliff Record - Wikipedia 

Directory of Commentaries for Each Case of the Blue Cliff Record.
By Matthew Juksan Sullivan.  

Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku. Translated with commentaries by Katsuki Sekida. Edited and introduced by A. V. Grimstone. New York, Weatherhill, 1977. Index, 413 pages. ISBN: 0834801302. 100 + 250 Koans. Extensive, detailed, and useful notes for each Case in both books.  VSCL, Paperback. 

The Garden of Flowers and Weeds: A New Translation and Commentary on the Blue Cliff Record.  By Matthew Juksan Sullivan, Roshi.  Monkfish Pubs., 2021, 580 pages.  Index, glossary, bibliography, name lists, appendices.  VSCL, Hardbound.  

The Blue Cliff Record.  Translated with commentary and notes by Thomas Cleary and J. C. Cleary. Foreword by Taizan Maezumi Roshi. Boston, Shambhala, 2005. Glossary, biographies, bibliography, 648 pages. ISBN: 9781590302323. VSCL, Paperback.  Online Bootleg

3. Gateless Barrier, Mumonkan, 48 Koans

The Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan.
By Zenkai Shibayama. Shibayama Roshi (1894-1974). Translated by Sumiko Kudo. Introduction by Shibayama Roshi. Preface by Kenneth W. Morgan, Colgate University. Boston, Shambhala, 2000. Glossary, index, 361 pages. First compiled with commentary, published in 1228, by Zen Master Mumon Ekai (1183-1260) [Wumen Huikai]. Outstanding teishos (comments, explanations, reflections) by Shibayama Roshi on each of Mumon Ekai's tripartite approach: koan case, commentary, and poem (capping verse).  The Gateless Barrier, a path of no-gate, is expressed in 48 Cases. VSCL, Paperback.

  

Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku. Translated with commentaries by Katsuki Sekida. Edited and introduced by A. V. Grimstone. New York, Weatherhill, 1977. Index, 413 pages. ISBN: 0834801302. 100 Koans. VSCL, Paperback.

Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life. By Guo Gu. Shambhala, 2016, 440 pages. VSCL, Paperback.  

The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans. Commentary and translation by Koun Yamada. Foreword by Ruben L. F. Habito. Wisdom Publications, 2004. 336 pages. 

4. Dogen's Koans, 301 Koans

The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dōgen's Three Hundred Koans. Translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and John Daido Loori. Commentary and verse by John Daido Loori. Boston, Shambhala, 2009. Index of koans, glossary, biographical, lineage charts, notes, 540 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Master Dogen's Shinji Shobogenzo: 301 Koan Stories.  Translation and commentary by Gudo Nishijima.  Edited by Michael Luetchford and Jeremy Pearson.  2020, 397 pages.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle EBook is hard to use.

5. How to Study Koans, Mondos, and Checking Verses

Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on Zen Koan Introspection.  Edited by John Daido Loori.  Introduction by Tom Kirchner.  Wisdom Publications, 2005, 368 pages.  VSCL - Used paperback.   

The Zen Koan: Its History and Use in Rinzai Zen.  By Isshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki.  Harper Perennial, 1966, 176 pages.  VSCL, Paperback.  

Through Forests of Every Color: Awakening with Koans.  By Joan Sutherland.  Shambhala, 2022, 208 pages.  VSCL, Paperbound.  

Koan Studies at the ZenSite

Daily Zen Sutras for Recitation/Chanting

The Record of Linji.  Edited by Thomas Yuho Kirchner.  Translations by Ruth Fuller Sasaki.  Nazan Library of Asian Religion and Culrture #20.  Linji Yixuan (died 866 CE). University of Hawaii Press, 2008, 520 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of Dragons.  By James Ishmael Ford. Foreword by Joan Halifax.  Wisdom Publications, 2018, 264 pages.  VSCL, Paperback.

The Sound of One Hand: 281 Zen Koans with Answers.  Translation and commentary by Yoel Hoffmann.  Introduction by Dror Burstein.  NRYB, 2016, 304 pages.  VSCL, Paperback.

Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life. By John Tarrant. Boston, Shambhala, 2008. Notes, 192 pages. VSCL, Paperback. 

6. Other Koan Collections

Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment.  By Zen Master Keizan.  Translated with commentary and notes by Thomas Cleary. Shambhala, 2002, 240 pages.  53 Biographical Stories/Cases.  VSCL, Paperback.

Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans.  Translated with commentary by Thomas Yuho Kirchner.  Introduction of Ueda Shizuteru.  Wisdom, 2013, 232 pages.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle EBook. 

Opening a Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters. By Steven Heine. Oxford University Press, 2004, 200 pages. VSCL, Paperback. 

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

Cracking the Code of the Zen Koan: A Five Volume Zen Koan Anthology.  Compiled by Stephen Wolinsky.  E-Kindle Book, 2021, 676 pages.  VSCL, Kindle E-Book.

Collection of Stone and Sand (Shaseki-shu).  A Koans/Parables collection by Zen Teacher Muju (the "non-dweller") from circa 1275 CE.  And, cases from more recent anecdotes of Zen monks.

The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans. Translated with commentary by Dosho Port. Shambhala, 2021, 320 pages. VSCL, Paperback. 

The Iron Flute: 100 Zen Koans.  Genro Oryu.  Translated by Ruth Stout McCandlesss.  Wisdom, 2004, 153 pages. VSCL, Paperback. 

Zen Flesh and Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. Translated and compiled by By Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. Tuttle Publishing, Flaps edition, 1998. First published in 1957.  211 pages. The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) was transcribed by Nyogen Senzaki (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895–1990) in 1934, and appeared in in "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, 1958" pp. 109-161. VSCL, hardbound and paperback. 101 Stories/Koans.

Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings.  By Andy Ferguson.  Wisdom Publications, 2000, 518 pages. Index, charts, notes, tables.  VSCL, Paperback.

7. Related Links, Resources, References

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Dialogues.

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Zen Koans, Testing Verses, Mondos, Dialogues, Stories
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo