One of Zen's most beloved classics was spoken, not by a monk in a mountain monastery, but by a householder who sold bamboo baskets in the marketplace. Layman Pang of eighth-century China gave up a wealthy official's life, sank his fortune in a river, and awakened to the unborn mind in the midst of cooking, trading, and family talk. This faithful modern-English edition presents the whole record of his sayings: his famous encounters with the masters Shitou and Mazu, the quick-witted repartee of his enlightened daughter Lingzhao, his dialogues with visiting monks, and the plain, laughing verses that have inspired centuries of Zen readers. Honest and unadorned, Pang's teaching insists that the everyday is itself enlightenment — that carrying water and chopping wood, done freely, are the most wonderful things in the world. Part of The World Scriptures Library.