Readings of Dōgen's "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye"

The __Treasury of the True Dharma Eye__ (__Shōbōgenzō__) is the masterwork of Dōgen (1200–1253), founder of the Sōtō Zen Buddhist sect in Kamakura-era Japan. Steven Heine provides a comprehensive introduction to this essential Zen text, offering a textual, historical, literary, and philosophical examination of Dōgen’s treatise. "Examines the main work composed by Dōgen (1200-1253), founder of the Sōtō Zen Buddhist sect in Kamakura-era Japan (1185-1333), now the largest in Japan. It is one of the most important Zen Buddhist collections, composed during a period of remarkable religious diversity and experimentation. In the Shōbōgenzō Dōgen articulates many of the notions for which he is best known and that in some cases complement although in other instances seem to contradict the approach of Rinzai Zen, the other main Japanese Zen sect also founded during the thirteenth century, along with the devotional Pure Land and scripturally based Nichiren sects. The main ideas in the Shōbōgenzō include Dōgen's reflections on the impermanence and continuity of time in relation to the unity of life and death, the universality and immediacy of Buddha nature based on the innate rapport between humans and the natural world, expressing religious experience through the efficacy of poetic language such as kōans and sutras, and the oneness of cultivation and realization embodied in the technique of just sitting or zazen, leading to the breakthrough experience of casting off body-mind. Reading and interpreting the Shōbōgenzō has great significance for developing a broader understanding of the overall spread of Buddhism as it has both competed with and been influenced by other Asian religions. Dōgen frequently treats topics and themes that are central to all Buddhist schools, ranging from the doctrines of karma and causality used in analyzing the roots of suffering to the redemptive practices of repentance and devotion through rites and chants. In particular, his views on the notions of impermanence and Buddha nature draw on long-standing debates among factions of Indian Mahayana as well as Chinese and Japanese Buddhist thought, and his views on shaping human perception and perspectives reflect inspirations absorbed from Confucian, Daoist, Shinto, and earlier spirituality traditions"-- Provided by publisher The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye ( Shōbōgenzō ) is the masterwork of Dōgen (1200–1253), founder of the Sōtō Zen Buddhist sect in Kamakura-era Japan. It is one of the most important Zen Buddhist collections, composed during a period of remarkable religious diversity and experimentation. The text is complex and compelling, famed for its eloquent yet perplexing manner of expressing the core precepts of Zen teachings and practice. This book is a comprehensive introduction to this essential Zen text, offering a textual, historical, literary, and philosophical examination of Dōgen's treatise. Steven Heine explores the religious and cultural context in which the Treasury was composed and provides a detailed study of the various versions of the medieval text that have been compiled over the centuries. He includes nuanced readings of Dōgen's use of inventive rhetorical flourishes and the range of East Asian Buddhist textual and cultural influences that shaped the work. Heine explicates the philosophical implications of Dōgen's views on contemplative experience and attaining and sustaining enlightenment, showing the depth of his distinctive understanding of spiritual awakening. Readings of Dōgen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye will give students and other readers a full understanding of this fundamental work of world religious literature. The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shobogenzo) is the masterwork of Dogen (1200-1253), founder of the Soto Zen Buddhist sect in Kamakura-era Japan. Steven Heine provides a comprehensive introduction to this essential Zen text, offering a textual, historical, literary, and philosophical examination of Dogen's treatise.