Living and Dying in Zazen combines the life stories and teaching of five teachersKodo Sawaki, Sodo Yokoyama, Kozan Kato, Motoko Ikebe, and Uchiyamaassociated with Antaiji monastery and the story of Bravermen and other Western students coming to grips with Zen, Japanese culture, and themselves. The deification of Zen teachers by their followers has been a problematic issue in American Zen; this book provides a healthy antidote, presenting four men and one woman who have lived and died in Zen within the rich context of their personal lives and their culture, so that we can fully understand what makes a Zen master in Japan.