William Scott Wilson was raised in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; he holds BAs from Dartmouth College and The Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and an MA from the University of Washington. He has worked as a translator and advisor on cultural affairs for the Japanese Consulate-General in Seattle, Washington; a teacher of Japanese language; and a guide for Japanese tourists in South Florida. He has had 20 books published, variously translated into 21 foreign languages, including The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi. His translation of Hagakure, an 18th century treatise on samurai philosophy, was featured in the film Ghost Dog, by the director Jim Jarmusch. Wilson was warded a Commendation from the Foreign Ministry of Japan, and inducted into the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese emperor.

Steven Heine is professor of Religious Studies and History and founding director of the Asian Studies Program at Florida International University. A specialist on East Asian religions and society, especially the origins and development of Zen Buddhism in medieval Japan, Heine has published three dozen monographs and edited volumes. The most recent titles include From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen, Readings of Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, Flowers Blooming on a Withered Tree, and Dogen: Japan's Original Zen Teacher.