Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dogen [Hardcover]

Kazuaki Tanahashi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1999

     Enlightenment Unfolds is a sequel to Kaz Tanahashi's previous collection, Moon in a Dewdrop, which has become a primary source on Dogen for Western Zen students. Dogen Zenji (1200-1253) is unquestionably the most significant religious figure in Japanese history. Founder of the Soto school of Zen (which emphasizes the practice of zazen or sitting meditation), he was a prolific writer whose works have remained popular for six hundred years. Enlightenment Unfolds presents even more of the incisive and inspiring writings of this seminal figure, focusing on essays from his great life work, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye , as well as poems, talks, and correspondence, much of which appears here in English for the first time.
     
     Tanahashi has brought together his own translations of Dogen with those of some of the most respected Zen teachers and writers of our own day, including Reb Anderson, Edward Espe Brown, Norman Fisher, Gil Fronsdal, Blanche Hartman, Jane Hirschfield, Daniel Leighton, Alan Senauke, Katherine Thanas, Mel Weitzman, and Michael Wenger.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dogen, the 13th-century Zen monk whose name is now synonymous with early Japanese Zen, was once nearly forgotten in Japan. Only in the last century and a half have his writings been published, and only in recent decades have they appeared in Western languages. Most of these focus on his life work, the Shobogenzo, selections of which are translated here. Enlightenment Unfolds also contains accounts of Dogen's studies in China, poems, instructions on Zen practice, and informal talks with his students. Enlightenment for Dogen was not something that results from practice but is the practice itself. For those engaged in Zen practice, reading Enlightenment Unfolds can be worked seamlessly into that practice, with insights gleaned from daily contemplation. Dogen is one of the few Zen monks to value the Zen literary tradition, but he never meant it to be separate from practice. As with Moon in a Dewdrop, Tanahashi's previous collection of Dogen's writings, we find that brilliant awakenings occur in everyday moments--and in the everyday moments of reading this collection, enlightenment indeed unfolds. --Brian Bruya

From Library Journal

This collection of writings by Dogen, the great 13th-century master and founder of the Soto school of Zen, covers all aspects of spiritual practice, from the significance of robes and rituals to the esoteric nature of the enlightenment experience. It is best suited for larger public and academic collections. (LJ 2/15/99)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 311 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (March 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570623058
• ISBN-13: 978-1570623059
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,796,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, inspiring work, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dogen (Hardcover)

Kaz Tanahashi and his collaborators have produced a remarkable portrait of Dogen Zenji, one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in history. The book includes several new translations from Dogen's Shobogenzo but goes substantially beyond this to include a variety of other writings from Dogen, including poems, informal lectures and Dogen's recollections of his own teacher, Rujing. The result of this is to bring Dogen much more to life than previous translations. Here we see Dogen as genuinely human, struggling with the limitations of a human life and profoundly inspired by that same life.