Dōgen and the Kōan Tradition

Dōgen and the Kōan Tradition PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417737
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book has three major goals in critically examining the historical and philosophical relation between the writings of Dōgen and the Zen koan tradition. First, it introduces and evaluates recent Japanese scholarship concerning Dōgen's two Shōbōgenzō texts, the Japanese (Kana) collection of ninety-two fascicles on Buddhist topics and the Chinese (Mana) collection of three hundred koan cases also known as the Shōbōgenzō Sanbyakusoku. Second, it develops a new methodology for clarifying the development of the koan tradition and the relation between intellectual history and multifarious interpretations of koan cases based on postmodern literary criticism. Third, the book's emphasis on a literary critical methodology challenges the conventional reading of koans stressing the role of psychological impasse culminating in silence.

Dōgen and the Kōan Tradition

Dōgen and the Kōan Tradition PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417737
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book has three major goals in critically examining the historical and philosophical relation between the writings of Dōgen and the Zen koan tradition. First, it introduces and evaluates recent Japanese scholarship concerning Dōgen's two Shōbōgenzō texts, the Japanese (Kana) collection of ninety-two fascicles on Buddhist topics and the Chinese (Mana) collection of three hundred koan cases also known as the Shōbōgenzō Sanbyakusoku. Second, it develops a new methodology for clarifying the development of the koan tradition and the relation between intellectual history and multifarious interpretations of koan cases based on postmodern literary criticism. Third, the book's emphasis on a literary critical methodology challenges the conventional reading of koans stressing the role of psychological impasse culminating in silence.

Zen Koans

Zen Koans PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: Dimensions of Asian Spirituali
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Koans, such as What is the sound of one hand clapping and Does a dog have Buddha-nature? are concise, confusing and often contradictory sayings expressed by ancient masters that serve as the centerpiece of Zen Buddhist learning and training on several levels. First, Koans form the central component of a remarkable body of literature contained in voluminous collections produced in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These works include various styles of elegant poetic and eloquent prose commentaries on cryptic dialogues. The Koan compilations were greatly influenced by one of the high points in the distinguished history of the literary tradition in East Asia. The texts appealed to intellectuals in China, Japan and Korea, who sought spiritual fulfillment through interpreting elaborate rhetoric related to mysterious metaphysical exchanges.

The True Dharma Eye

The True Dharma Eye PDF Author: John Daido Loori
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 083482311X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
A collection of three hundred koans compiled by Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Soto Zen in Japan, this book presents readers with a uniquely contemporary perspective on his profound teachings and their relevance for modern Western practitioners of Zen. Following the traditional format for koan collections, John Daido Loori Roshi, an American Zen master, has added his own commentary and accompanying verse for each of Dogen’s koans. Zen students and scholars will find The True Dharma Eye to be a source of deep insight into the mind of one of the world’s greatest religious thinkers, as well as the practice of koan study itself.

Dogen's Genjo Koan

Dogen's Genjo Koan PDF Author: Eihei Dogen
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1582438978
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Discover Dogen’s classic Buddhist text in 3 engaging new translations, with commentary by contemporary Zen masters like Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind author Shunryu Suzuki. Dogen’s Treasury of the True Dharma Eye is considered one of the highest manifestations of Buddhist thought ever produced. One of the greatest religious practitioners and philosophers of the East, Eihei Dogen Zenji (1200–1253) is today thought of as the founder of the Soto school of Zen. A deep thinker and writer, he was deeply involved in monastic methods and in integrating Zen realization into daily life. At times, The Shobogenzo—also called Treausry of the True Dharma Eye—was profoundly difficult, and he worked on it over his entire life, revising, expanding, and producing a book that is today thought to be one of the highest manifestations of Buddhist thought ever produced. Dogen’s Genjo Koan is the first chapter in that book, and for many followers it might be thought to contain the gist of Dogen’s work—it is one of the groundwork texts of Zen Buddhism, standing easily alongside The Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra, and a small handful of others. Our unique edition of Dogen’s Genjo Koan contains 3 separate translations and several commentaries by a wide variety of Zen masters. Nishiari Bokusan, Shohaku Okamura, Shunryu Suzuki, Kosho Uchiyama. Sojun Mel Weitsman, Kazuaki Tanahashi, and Dairyu Michael Wenger all have contributed to our presentation of this remarkable work. There can be no doubt that understanding and integrating this text will have a profound effect on anyone’s life and practice.

Dogen

Dogen PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1611809800
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
An essential introduction to the life, writings, and legacy of one of Japan's most prolific Buddhist masters. The founder of the Soto school of Zen in Japan, Eihei Dogen (1200–1253) is one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of all time. Although Dogen’s writings have reached wide prominence among contemporary Buddhists and philosophers, there is much that remains enigmatic about his life and writings. In Dogen: Japan’s Original Zen Teacher, respected Dogen scholar and translator Steven Heine offers a nuanced portrait of the master’s historical context, life, and work, paying special attention to issues such as: The nature of the “great doubt” that motivated Dogen’s religious quest The sociopolitical turmoil of Kamakura Japan that led to dynamic innovations in medieval Japanese Buddhism The challenges and transformations Dogen experienced during his pivotal time in China Key inflection points and unresolved questions regarding Dogen’s teaching career in Japan Ongoing controversies in the scholarly interpretations of Dogen’s biography and teachings Synthesizing a lifetime of research and reflection into an accessible narrative, this new addition to the Lives of the Masters series illuminates thought-provoking perspectives on Dogen’s character and teachings, as well as his relevance to contemporary practitioners.

Dogen

Dogen PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199754470
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
This collection of essays explore the life and thought of Zen Master Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of the Japanese Soto sect. Through both textual and historical analysis, the volume shows Dōgen in context of the Chinese Chan tradition that influenced him and demonstrates the tremendous, lasting impact he had on Buddhist thought and culture in Japan. Special attention is given to the Shobogenzo and several of its fascicles, which express Dōgen's views on such practices and rituals as using supranormal powers (jinzu), reading the sutras (kankin), diligent training in zazen meditation (shikan taza), and the koan realized in everyday life (genjōkōan). It also analyzes the historical significance of this seminal figure: for instance, Dōgen's methods of appropriating or contrasting with Chan sources, as well as how Dōgen was understood and examined in later periods, including modern times.

Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community

Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community PDF Author: D?gen
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791427101
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Presents a complete, annotated translation of Dogen's writing on Zen monasticism and the spirit of community practice. Dogen (1200-1253) is Japan's greatest Zen master.

The Koan

The Koan PDF Author: Steven Heine
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019802780X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Koans are enigmatic spiritual formulas used for religious training in the Zen Buddhist tradition. Arguing that our understanding of the koan tradition has been severely limited, contributors to this collection examine previously unrecognized factors in the formation of this tradition, and highlight the rich complexity and diversity of koan practice and literature.

Bring Me the Rhinoceros

Bring Me the Rhinoceros PDF Author: John Tarrant
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834823497
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
A provocative and playful exploration of the Zen koan tradition that reveals how everyday paradoxes are an integral part of our spiritual journey Bring Me the Rhinoceros is an unusual guide to happiness and a can opener for your thinking. For fifteen hundred years, Zen koans have been passed down through generations of masters, usually in private encounters between teacher and student. This book deftly retells more than a dozen traditional koans, which are partly paradoxical questions dangerous to your beliefs and partly treasure boxes of ancient wisdom. Koans show that you don’t have to impress people or change into an improved, more polished version of yourself. Instead you can find happiness by unbuilding, unmaking, throwing overboard, and generally subverting unhappiness. Author and Zen teacher John Tarrant brings the heart of the koan tradition out into the open, reminding us that the old wisdom remains as vital as ever, a deep resource available to anyone in any place or time.

Zen Sand

Zen Sand PDF Author: Victor Sogen Hori
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824865677
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 785

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Book Description
Zen Sand is a classic collection of verses aimed at aiding practitioners of kôan meditation to negotiate the difficult relationship between insight and language. As such it represents a major contribution to both Western Zen practice and English-language Zen scholarship. In Japan the traditional Rinzai Zen kôan curriculum includes the use of jakugo, or "capping phrases." Once a monk has successfully replied to a kôan, the Zen master orders the search for a classical verse to express the monk’s insight into the kôan. Special collections of these jakugo were compiled as handbooks to aid in that search. Until now, Zen students in the West, lacking this important resource, have been severely limited in carrying out this practice. Zen Sand combines and translates two standard jakugo handbooks and opens the way for incorporating this important tradition fully into Western Zen practice. For the scholar, Zen Sand provides a detailed description of the jakugo practice and its place in the overall kôan curriculum, as well as a brief history of the Zen phrase book. This volume also contributes to the understanding of East Asian culture in a broader sense.