Instruct: Classify an Amazon review as either positive or negative.
Query: A fabulous fusion of Eastern and Western thought

I must defend this book against previous comments. Of course a book in itself cannot teach you the secrets of meditation. However, like any other art-form, books can open your mind in a wonderful way if they are well-written and thoughtfully crafted. This book certainly fits that description. I read this several years ago, and reread it several times because of the depth of insight it offers. Anybody interested in links between Eastern and Western philosophy will find some real gems here, and anybody practising meditation will recognise the central themes. Personally it helped me particularly to see how the koan form of meditation operates, something I find difficult as I follow a non-verbal kind of practice. It shows how the initial paradoxical concept leads deep into the conflicts in the human psyche and ultimately beyond the egocentric viewpoint. "Arouse the mind without resting it upon anything".