Is it possible to capture the spirit of Buddhist meditation, which depends so much upon silence and unspoken wisdom? Can this spirit be found after two millennia? In this wise and reassuring book, Sarah Shaw reminds us that the Buddhist meditative tradition, geared to such concerns from its inception, has always been transmitted through the written word. Collecting a wide variety of rarely seen texts, Shaw individually introduces these poems, stories, extended practical guides, commentaries, and chants that were purposely designed to pass teachings on from one generation to the next.