A Zen transcription of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching would not be necessary if Taoism and Zen were essentially identical, and would not be possible if Taoism and Zen were entirely different.

The Zen Tzu is the result of this intriguing combination of similarities and differences that became increasingly evident over many years of studying and pondering these two venerable and enigmatic Oriental traditions.

Eventually, however, familiarity met with imagination to reveal how the wisdom in the customary 81 chapters of Lao Tzu's Chinese text could be adapted to concur with Zen's Japanese character. So the Zen Tzu is finally the completion of a project that began even before the 1994 publication of The Tao of Zen.

Perhaps this creative effort, together with extensive Appendices, will not only provide important insights into the commonalities shared by Taoism and Zen, but might even result in a distinctive work with its own particular merits.