Dōgen Zenji

"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."--Publisher's website.

Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) is unquestionably one of the most significant religious figures in Japanese history. The founder of the Soto school of Zen, he was a prolific writer whose works have instructed and inspired for more than seven hundred years, and who used everything from poetry to the mundane details of everyday life in a monastery to illuminate Zen teaching. Enlightenment Unfolds contains works written by Dogen throughout his life, presented in chronological order, beginning with the journal from his study in China, providing a substantial selection from his masterwork, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, and concluding with his spare but eloquent death poem. A number of the selections appear here in English for the first time.

Although best known for zazen meditation, Dogen felt that poetry could act as a complement to the enlightenment experience, and this collection beautifully confirms this belief. Dogen scholar Steven Heine provides clear and revealing translations that capture Dogen's unique voice, echoing the master's Zen naturalist and aesthetic philosophy. More than a collection of enlightened poetry, this collection will appeal to both students and non-students of Buddhism alike.

A remarkable collection of essays, Shobogenzo, Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching, was composed in the thirteenth century by the Zen master Dogen, founder of the Soto Zen school in Japan. Through its linguistic artistry and its philosophical subtlety, the Shobogenzo presents a thorough recasting of Buddhism with a creative ingenuity that has never been matched in the subsequent literature of Japanese Zen. With this translation of thirteen of the ninety-five essays, Thomas Cleary attempts to convey the form as well as the content of Dogen's writing, thereby preserving the instrumental structure of the original text. Together with pertinent commentary, biography, and notes, these essays make accessible to a wider audience a Zen classic once considered the private reserve of Soto monks and Buddhologists. Readers from many fields in the sciences and humanities will find themselves richly rewarded.