J. C. Cleary

J. C. Cleary (1947–2023) held a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He translated several books of Zen literature, including Zen Dawn.

Thomas Cleary

Dr. Thomas Cleary (1949–2021), one of the most celebrated translators of spiritual classics into English, earned a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He is the translator of over seventy volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

Yuanwu

Yuanwu (Yuan Wu K'e Ch'in, 1063–1135) was a Ch'an Buddhist monk of the Lin-chi (Jp. Rinzai) school whose work led to the completion of the Blue Cliff Record (Pi Yen Lu) following prior efforts by Hsueh Tou Ch'ung Hsien.

Taizan Maezumi

Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931–1995) was a seminal figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism to the West. He was founding abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA) from 1967 to 1995 and of Zen Mountain Center from 1978 to 1995. He and his successors also founded Zen centers throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Maezumi Roshi established The Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values, which promotes Buddhist scholarship and publishes, with the University of Hawaii Press, translations of East Asian Buddhist classics. He coauthored On Zen Practice: Foundation of Practice, On Zen Practice II: Body, Breath and Mind, and The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment. He also provided the commentary for The Way of Everyday Life: Zen Master Dogen's Genjokoan.

"The cases comprising [this volume] are meticulously yet gracefully rendered, and should make this classic welcome to both scholars and Zen students, and even casual readers. A nice addition is the inclusion of biographical information about the Chinese masters." —Library Journal

"The Blue Cliff Record reveals to us what enlightenment is, what the enlightened life is, how the patriarchs and masters of old struggled with it, attained it, actualized it, and accomplished it. . . . I firmly believe this translation is a milestone and will immensely benefit those who are sincerely engaged in the practice and the enlightenment of the Buddha-way." —from the foreword by Taizan Maezumi Roshi