Enlightened by Crime: (Adventures and Misadventures of a Zen Murderer)

The novel, whose subtitle "Adventures and Misadventures of a Zen Murderer" is self-explanatory, tells the story of a Zen student who is enigmatically told by his master that he will be enlightened by crime, specifically murder. From then on, the young novice tries to fulfill his master's commands. To feel less guilty, he decides to kill a detestable, unpleasant person, someone whose disappearance would leave the universe cleaner. Once he has chosen his victim, he consults the Chinese oracle I Ching to learn the outcome of his adventure beforehand. And the I Ching answers... and it's right. It's a crime novel with touches of humor and hints of Zen philosophy. It also includes numerological curiosities, a couple of illustrations, and an instructive ending. All chapters are preceded by an epigraph that, in some way, refers to the content of the chapter.