Customer Reviews

The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen (Philip E. Lilienthal Book)

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This scholarly work on the teachings of Bodhidharma sets a new standard. Not only does Broughton provide clear translations, but the volume of informative commentary has made this text my number one Bodhidharma resource. Broughton provides quality with quantity here, explaining unusual phrases from the ancient texts at page bottoms, and endnoting items requiring more thorough treatment. (The endnotes are generally both useful and quite insightful. My only "wish" is that the endnotes could be footnotes instead. This way, the reader could have simultaneous access to both the root text and Broughton's research. As it is, you have to flip back and forth a bit. This is a really minor quibble though, as footnoting everything would have the drawback of making the root text harder to read on its own - mostly by making the pages too "busy.")

This is not a book on "pop Zen"; it is a resource for those seeking to contextualize Tamo's teachings both historically and philosophically. Broughton makes a very good case that the "Two Entrances" commonly attributed to Tamo is actually the work of T'an-lin, an early Sanskritist. He points out that the character of the "Method for Quieting Mind," what he calls "Record I," is more consistent with what we know of Tamo's teaching. Broughton also discusses other members of Bodhidharma's circle, the supporting roles played by other sutras in these texts, and much more.

I believe that I can state objectively that this book represents a superb piece of research, and that Broughton has made Tamo's early teachings very accessible. It is my sincere hope that the author will continue working in this field. For anyone interested in the early development of Zen, this text is a fascinating read.

Currently, there exists only two book-length English language translations of Bodhidharma's teachings: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma translated by Red Pine (see my review on Amazon) and Broughton's The Bodhidharma Anthology. I would recommend the former for those who wish to go directly to the core of Bodhidharma's teaching unencumbered by expanded commentaries, copious notes, footnotes, citations, and appendices. Those readers who are interested in the lineage and history of the material may not be daunted by Broughton's densely written scholastic approach, or find the effort worth the struggle.

Broughton relies heavily on codicology and chronological stratification to support the authenticity of the retrieved T'ang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) source material and numerous texts attributed to Bodhidharma. The codicological criteria include: analysis of paper used in the original copies, manuscript forms, handwriting, and recto texts. Not everyone who might be interested in exploring the teaching will demand such academic rigor.

Nevertheless, both volumes are valuable for understanding Zen (C'han) as taught by Bodhidarma, the first Zen Patriarch in China. The reader who wants a comprehensive, detailed examination of the teaching will be satisfied with Broughton's translation. Those looking for a concise introduction will be better served by Red Pine, at least initially.

And a sidebar: Although the monks of Shaolin Monastery claimed, centuries after his death, that Bodhidharma was the founder of the martial art Kung-fu, there is no such evidence to be found in the early records. Rather, the records indicate that the Shaolin Abbot banished him from the monastery for his critical evaluation of the monks and he lived in a cave about a mile away where he practiced a type of meditation metaphorically referred to as "wall gazing." While some of the resident monks may have approached him to learn this meditation, one may wonder if the monastery misappropriated or co-opted his name in order to elevate the status of their previously established martial arts tradition. This may have also served as a rationale for circumventing the Buddhist prohibition against violence. Self-serving myth? For further elaboration see The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts and/or The Shaolin Grandmasters' Text (both available on Amazon).

I live in the Buddhist hell of Too Many Zen Books. This nicely accompanies all my other ones, and clearly stands out in its own right.

Thorough and enlightening. Brilliant insights! Where has Prof. Broughton been all of these years?