1. Crises: In The Snow Leopard the narrator sets out on their "Zen" journeys in response to major personal crises. What crisis is he dealing with? How do they expect their journeys to help deal with these crises? How is each crisis resolved, if it is? What roles do their journeys play in their attempts to deal with their crises?

2. Be Here Now: Both of our books deal with many issues related to Zen, butone that both emphasize is the emphasis on being here now, paying close attention to what's right in front of us at this moment. What does each book say about being here now? In what ways do they illustrate this principle even when it is not stated outright? Do either of them live up to this principle?

3. Zen Journeys: Each of our books is structured around a Zen pilgrimage, a trip the purpose of which is to aid in the practice of the pilgrim's awakening to the present moment. But in some ways the whole notion of a journey seems to contradict the demand to be here. Discuss each book as an account of a Zen journey. In what ways are their journeys successful? In what ways are they failures? In what ways might their failures be better successes than success?

4. Tukten: One person that Matthiessen cannot quite figure out through most of The Snow Leopard is Tukten. Follow Mattiessen's impression of Tukten as it develops throughout the book.

5. Seeing & not-seeing: Given the title of the book, the question of seeing or not-seeing the snow leopard obviously plays a major role in The Snow Leopard. Discuss the importance of this question for understanding the book as a whole. Why does Matthiessen want to see the snow leopard? In what ways does he experience the snow leopard even though he never sees one? How does this whole issue of seeing/not-seeing relate to Zen philosophy? What does Matthiessen mean by being "ready to see the snow leopard"? How does he feel after never seeing one? What lesson has he learned?