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Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist

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Kim's work has won the praise of many, not least Robert Aitken Roshi, an American with a lifetime's experience of Zen training. In his foreword to the third edition, Aitken Roshi stated:

"this revised edition . . .now includes many new translations and studies of Dogen, and thus it is most welcome. Dogen wrote at the outermost edge of human communication, touching with every sentence such mysteries as self and other, self and non-self, meditation and realization, the temporal and the timeless, forms and the void.�@He wrote of the attitude necessary for understanding, of the practice required. . .of the various insights that emerge, and of the many pitfalls. He did not generally write for beginners - most of his points require very careful study and a few of them elude almost everybody. These challenges are compounded by his creative use of the Japanese language. It has been said that he wrote in "Dogenese," for he made verbs of nouns, nouns of verbs, created new metaphors, and manipulated old sayings to present his particular understanding. . . "

Prof. Kim's study has been based on a careful reading of Dogen's chosen idioms. He has endeavoured to amplify Dogen's understanding of 'do-ri' - or 'reason of the way.' Kim is keen to show that Dogen's use of Zen language is not merely provisional or instrumental, but embodies a 'realisational' dimension. This is exemplified in the notion of the 'genjo-koan' or koan realised in the present, which is to say, actualised in every day activity. In this way, Kim endeavours to show that Dogen's Zen culminates in ' the great way of total exertion' (gujin no daido) or the total actualisation of practice as realization. Kim is a foremost interpreter of Dogen's thought - and, as such, this book deserves a place in every Buddhist library. My only reservation about this study, is that it might have made better sense of the question of how the so-called 'instrumentalist' aspect of koan practice relates to the 'realizational' aspect. Quite rightly, Kim is at pains to point out that accounts of Zen which stress the 'instrumentalist' view of koan practice - and that alone, are one sided, and he has therefore endeavoured to illustrate a different perspective. However, without reflection, we might be left to conclude that Rinzai Zen favours the 'instrumentalist' view - and Soto, the 'realizational' view. Kim knows better, and indeed, in places (p. 165), he has cited certain remarks from Dogen, which concede that the term 'genjo-koan' originated with Engo - a Rinzai master of the Sung, evidently meaning that Rinzai practitioners have appreciated the 'realizational' aspect. As such, the critical references to (Dai-e) Ta-hui which appear elsewhere in the book, seem strangely out of tenor with this fact. Yuan-wu (Engo) was Ta-hui's teacher, and the latter must surely have known of his master's references to the genjo-koan. Conversely, much as we might identify Dogen's Zen with 'shikantaza' (just-sitting), playing down the instrumentalist approach, Dogen also had his experience of 'casting off mind and body' (shinjindatsuraku) - a breakthrough experience more or less akin to that realised by Rinzai followers. Perhaps Prof. Kim will enlighten us on this unresolved problem, at some future point.

If I had to choose between Hee-Jin Kim's Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist and all the other books on Dogen Zenji, author of Zen masterpiece Shobogenzo, I would not need to ponder--I would choose Mystical Realist.

The only other books in English that come close to Mystical Realist in their importance for understanding and appreciating Dogen and his writings are Hee-Jin Kim's two other masterful explorations of this seminal thirteenth century Zen master. These are, Dr. Kim's most recent book Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: His View on Zen, and his 1985 publication, Flowers of Emptiness: Selections From Dogen's Shobogenzo.

Ever since its original publication in 1975 (then titled: Dogen Kigen--Mystical Realist) Professor Kim's Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has remained at the top of the list as the definitive English language book on the founder of Soto Zen in Japan and his works. This work has undergone several revisions (the latest in 2004) that have allowed Hee-Jin Kim to improve upon his original message. These revisions have allowed Kim to expand upon his ideas as they have been refined through the years, as well as to make corrections to the translations and keep the book current with ongoing scholarship.

While the revisions have improved the overall flow of his message, and improved the book's readability, its central teachings have stood firmly throughout. The insight that Kim offered us on Eihei Dogen and his work has remained essential unchanged. Like Master Dogen's own work, Kim's Mystical Realist is as vital and lively today as it was when it was originally published. This book is truly an extraordinary achievement, and as of all Kim's work, an essential text for students, not only of Dogen, or even Zen, but for anyone interested in exploring the human condition and its potential for actualization.

Very informative. Historical background revealing where Dogen came from in his thought process and practical position. More doctrine and dogma than a course in Buddhism. Excellent work.

I can't check the date of the original publication of this text, but if it's the same as the one I'm thinking of it was originally published in the 70's and looked like someones Master's or PhD thesis. I had just begun the practice of Soto Zen at the time I picked it up...a converted hippy...and it was pretty dry. However, I came across a paragraph that really appealed to me. It said something like, "Find a hill and illumine or enlighten it (by your practice)." This thought motivated my life for decades. It really felt right and seemed to express the real spirit of Dogen as I had come to understand him from listening to lectures by Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center. Suzuki roshi seemed to often speak of appreciation of the moment as a totality of many things and beings. And he connected this appreciation with the practice of zazen as did Dogen.

This line which said, "Find a hill and enlighten her," expressed the vital spirit beyond delusion of each thing and place. It brought me some encouragement that has lasted even until today.

By the way, I have looked and looked for this line in this book (the old edition) and I can not find it. Maybe it was in some other book.