THE ORAL TRANSMISSIONS OF THE 52 SOTO ZEN ANCESTORS: An Overview - Shakyamuni Buddha founded the path of the successive 52 Soto Zen Ancestors when he awakened to the Way. The transmissions of the teachings to the 52 Ancestors in Zen Buddhist Tradition were never meant to reach the eyes of laymen. 'The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light' was originally written only for the eyes of Zen monks. Shasta Abbey's late Abbess, Jiyu Kennett, who translated the text into English often said that the long sentences used in Zen would likely annoy American readers. But she made the decision to share some of the deeper teachings of Zen with the lay public even if they were unable to penetrate into the deeper meaning of the words. This book gives you an overview and insight into a subject otherwise only understood through lengthy study. - http://outofbodytravel.org/theoverviewseries/sotozenancestors.html