Dogen and Soto Zen builds upon and further refines a continuing wave of enthusiastic popular interest and scholarly developments in Western appropriations of Zen. In the last few decades, research in English and European languages on Dogen and Soto Zen has grown, aided by an increasing awareness on both sides of the Pacific of the important influence of the religious movement and its founder. The school has flourished throughout the medieval and early modern periods of Japanese history, and it is still spreading and reshaping itself in the current age of globalization. This volume continues the work of Steven Heine's recently published collection, Dogen: Textual and Historical Studies, featuring some of the same outstanding authors as well as some new experts who explore diverse aspects of the life and teachings of Zen master Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of the Soto Zen sect (or Sotoshu) in early Kamakura-era Japan. The contributors examine the ritual and institutional history of the Soto school, including the role of the Eiheji monastery established by Dogen as well as rites and precepts performed there and at other temples.

“What is the sound of one hand clapping?” “Does a dog have Buddha-nature?” These cryptic expressions are among the best-known examples of koans, the confusing, often contradictory sayings that form the centerpiece of Zen Buddhist learning and training. Viewed as an ideal method for attaining and transmitting an unimpeded experience of enlightenment, they became the main object of study in Zen meditation, where their contemplation was meant to exhaust the capacity of the rational mind and the expressiveness of speech. Koan compilations, which include elegant poetic and eloquent prose commentaries on cryptic dialogues, are part of a great literary tradition in China, Japan, and Korea that appealed to intellectuals who sought spiritual fulfillment through interpreting elaborate rhetoric related to mysterious metaphysical exchanges.In this compact volume, Steven Heine, who has written extensively on Zen Buddhism and koans, introduces and analyzes the classic background of texts and rites and explores the contemporary significance of koans to illuminate the full implications of this ongoing tradition. He delves deeply into the inner structure of koan literature to uncover and interpret profound levels of metaphorical significance. At the same time, he takes the reader beyond the veil of vagueness and inscrutability to an understanding of how koan writings have been used in pre-modern East Asia and are coming to be evoked and implemented in modern American practice of Zen. By focusing on two main facets of the religious themes expressed in koan records―individual religious attainment and the role dialogues play in maintaining order in the monastic system―Zen Koans reveals the distinct yet interlocking levels of meaning reflected in different koan case records and helps make sense of the seemingly nonsensical. It is a book for anyone interested in untangling the web of words used in Zen exchanges and exploring their important place in the vast creative wellspring of East Asian religion and culture.

Product Description: A thoughtful examination of Dylan's oeuvre through the lens of Buddhism One of the mysteries of Bob Dylan's incredible corpus is why he seems to veer and zigzag so drastically and dramatically from one extreme standpoint to another...read more

Product Description: When books about Zen Buddhism began appearing in Western languages just over a half-century ago, there was no interest whatsoever in the role of ritual in Zen. Indeed, what attracted Western readers' interest was the Zen rejection of ritual...read more

Product Description: D?gen (1200-1253), the founder of the S?t? Zen sect in Japan, is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. Heine reconstructs the context of D?gen's travels to and reflections on China by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about D?gen in light of recent Japanese scholarship...read more

The author of Buddhism in the Modern World shows how, by applying Zen principles to achieve professional excellence, one can be fearless in adversity, act quickly and decisively, and keep focused on the ultimate goal, in a step-by-step guide to attaining these skills.

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Product Description: Written by one of Japan's foremost contemporary thinkers and scholars, Zen and Modern Society is the third in a series of essay collections on Zen Buddhism as seen in the context of Western thought. Throughout his career, Masao Abe has articulated the meaning of Zen thought in a uniquely compelling way - at once, true to the original tradition and appropriately relevant to a variety of comparative standpoints, ranging from Biblical Judeo-Christianity to modern existentialism, phenomenology, and postmodernism...read more

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Product Description: According to the "Fox Koan", the second case in the "Wu-men Kuan Koan" collection, Zen master Pai-chang encounters a fox who claims to be a former abbot punished through endless reincarnations for denying the efficacy of karmic causality...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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Product Description: This book tries to clarify a Buddhist view of interfaith dialogue from various points of view. It discusses how the Buddhist notion of Sunyata (Emptiness) works dynamically for mutual understanding and transformation of world religions...read more

Product Description: This book displays the uniqueness and creativity of Japan in terms of the interplay between traditional and postmodern perspectives. It deals with the traditional elements in Japanese culture in the light of or in contrast to postmodernism.