In the West, philosophers write long non-fiction books, often using incomprehensible words, and limit their involvement with the world to lectures and committee meetings. In the East, and especially in the Zen tradition, philosophers write poems, rake gravel, go on pilgrimages, practise archery, write aphorisms on scrolls, chant and, in the case of one of the very greatest Zen thinkers, Sen no Riky, involve themselves in teaching people how
