Why did I only give the book 4 stars? Many of you may be wondering that. Because the writing is very boring and the approach is too academic. The irony is I came to review the book and realized the only essay I truly got something from was the same mentioned in the previous two reviews-"The Supreme Spiritual Ideal". The rest, in my honest opinion, was written for a different kind of Zen student in the earlier half of the 19th century. Where Zen was looked at as a scholarly and intellectual philosophy, to be understood through academia.I try, on the other hand, to not become too critical of Daisetz Suzuki. He is one reason Zen made it's way to the West, after all. In that respect I really do thank him, but also I must be true to the people buying books here on Amazon and give my take on the material at hand. If you want another book on Zen that sits on your shelf collecting dust, I have to say, I think you've found it right here. But to each their own, you may find it engaging as well.