Duringthe past twenty years there has been an extraordinary growth of interest in ZenBuddhism. Since the Second World War this interest has increased so much thatit seems to be becoming a considerable force in the intellectual and artisticworld of the West. It is connected, no doubt, with the prevalent enthusiasm forJapanese culture which is one of the constructive results of the late war, butwhich may amount to no more than a passing fashion. The deeper reason for thisinterest is that the viewpoint of Zen lies so close to the “growing edge” of Western thought.