Chadwick now brings this most influential teacher vividly to life in the first full biography of the Zen master, author of the modern spiritual classic Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. 24 photos. nShunryu Suzuki is known to countless readers as the author of the modern spiritual classic Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. This most influential teacher comes vividly to life in Crooked Cucumber, the first full biography of any Zen master to be published in the West. To make up his intimate and engrossing narrative, David Chadwick draws on Suzukis own words and the memories of his students, friends, and family. Interspersed with previously unpublished passages from Suzukis talks, Crooked Cucumber evokes a down-to-earth life of the spirit. Along with Suzuki we can find a way to practice with mountains, trees, and stones and to find ourselves in this big world.