Dharma combat is a practice form unique to Zen in which student and teacher confront each other publicly. The Zen master challenges them in return, and the pithy, energetic exchanges become a teaching for all involved. Cave of Tigers is proof that the ancient practice of dharma combat is alive and well in American Zen. Highly charged, koan-like exchanges to practical discussions of meditation, Buddhist philosophy, and the always-pertinent issue of bringing spiritual practice into everyday life. 256 pp., pb.