Zen Buddhist art is both an expression of the mind of the artist and a teaching in and of itself. Some of the most famous of all Zen masters, like the great Hakuin Ekaku, used art as a way of teaching. The Zen Art Book presents Zen art for its beauty as well as for the teaching it exhibits. It contains forty images of brush painting and calligraphy. Each piece is accompanied by description and decoding of the piece, along with a Dharma commentary from John Daido Loori. Also included are essays on the complementary purposes of Zen art by both authors. The examples on display are some of the most famous and stunning images of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and brush painting, including Sengai's "Circle, Triangle, and Square"; Hakuin's "Blind Men Crossing the Bridge"; and Liang Kai's "Sixth Ancestor Chopping Bamboo". The Zen Art Book will appeal to all Zen students, and will also be a welcome gift for anyone intrigued by the arts of Buddhism and of Japan.

The material in The Zen Art Book previously appeared in The Zen Art Box.