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Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen

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'MOON IN A DEWDROP - WRITNGS OF ZEN MASTER DOGEN,' edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi. Translated by Robert Aitken, Philip Whalen, et al. 356 pp. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1985 and reprinted.

Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), who was an exceptionally gifted child, was born into an aristocratic household in Kyoto. The death of his mother when he was eight years old so impressed upon him the central Buddhist truth of impermanency, that he forsook his aristocratic privileges when he was thirteen and went to Mt. Hiei to study to become a Buddhist monk.

But since no-one in Japan could satisfactorily answer his questions - not surprising when you consider that he was the greatest genius Japan has ever produced - he went off to China in 1223 in search of a Master. There he studied under the Soto Ch'an (Zen) Master Ju-ching (1163-1228), attained enlightenment, and returned to Japan to become the founder Japanese Soto Zen.

Zen first became known to the West largely through the writings of D. T. Suzuki, who was a follower of the 'Sudden Enlightenment' or direct koan-using Rinzai Zen. Soto Zen, in contrast, is a gentler method which places greater reliance on Zazen or deep meditation, and is the method that has gained the largest number of adherents in Japan.

To discover just how profound Dogen was, you will have to turn to his magnum opus, the 'Shobogenzo' or 'Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.' This has been translated, in whole or in part, a number of times, but an edition I can heartily recommend is the present book.

Besides twenty texts from the 'Shobogenzo,' this 356-page book includes four additional texts and a selection of Dogen's poems. It also contains a fine Introduction on Dogen's Life and Teachings, four Appendices, full Notes, an incredibly full and detailed bilingual Glossary of a kind you will not find elsewhere, a Selected Bibliography, and some interesting illustrations.

Dogen's Japanese is an excruciatingly difficult Japanese, so much so that some think it should be called 'Dogen-ese' and not Japanese. Think 'Finnegans Wake' and you'll get an inkling of the problems involved in translating him. The language and thought of the 'Shobogenzo' come from such a height that there can be no such thing as a definitive interpretation, and hence no such thing as a definitive translation.

'Moon in a Dewdrop' is the result of a collaborative effort by a team of highly competent American Zenists, some of them very well known. It has always seemed, in my humble opinion, that, considering the difficulties, they did a very fine job. To give you a taste, here are a few lines from the 'Genjo Koan' as translated by Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi:

"The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear of the many and the one; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas. / Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread" (page 69).

Prepared and sensitive readers will be bowled over by 'Moon in a Dewdrop.' Dogen leaves most other thinkers behind in the dust. But if you've never read any Dogen before, it might perhaps be better to start with Reiho Masunaga's 'A Primer of Soto Zen.' This is a translation of Dogen's 'Shobogenzo Zuimonki,' a short book of brief talks and instructions for Zen beginners and lay followers. In the 'Zuimonki' you can ramble at leisure the plains and foothills of Dogen's mind before attempting the mountains.

Dogen may very well be the most important master in all of Zen history, next to Shakyamuni of course. This particular book is a translation of portions derived from Dogen's masterwork, Shobogenzo. I would suggest purchasing with this "Enlightenment Unfolds: The essential teachings of Zen Master Dogen" by the same author, it's somewhat like a follow-up. Also beneficial readings come from many of the works out there from the late modern master Taizan Maezumi. This book offers clear translations of some of the most central aspects of Dogen's fascinating style of Zen (still one of the predominant schools to have survived to date). One of the previous reviewers mentioned this book's wonderful glossary of terms, to which I must agree; It's at once extensive and dense. If you are looking for a really accurate (as well as fairly easy to read) book on Dogen Zenji aside from the entire Shobogenzo itself, don't look any further. Your needs are all met right here. Enjoy!

Eihei Dogen is without a doubt the greatest writer in Zen history. His masterwork, the Shobogenzo, represents one of the most comprehensive, fascinating, and valuable works of Buddhist literature. In Moon in a Dewdrop, Kazuaki Tanahashi has compiled the best single volume Dogen in the English language. This contains the best translations I have ever read of several of Dogen's seminal works - Genjo Koan, Uji, Yuibutsu Yobutsu, Sansuikyo, Zenki, and the Tenzo Kyokun.

The selection of essays and order of presentation were faultless. The language is beautiful but in some places suffered an inescapable temporality. For example the word, "actualize" was forced in place of more harmonious terms like, "realize", "awaken", "manifest", etc. A phrase from the New Age, "resonate with" was again, forced, making the work instantly dated.

The overall effect was that the translation became stuck in time and place: in San Francisco, the Human Potential Movement, 1980. This makes it much like some of the Victorian translations of Buddhist literature and gave it a faint, cloying after aroma of added agenda.

This may be a problem inherent in art and literature by committee. The editors are to be thanked for making some of Dogen's most poetic writings available to the non-Oriental languages reader. The sincere student of Dogen should obtain other translations and compare them with this one. My copy is already well marked, with word corrections that I believe restore some of the harmony and spirit of Dogen's work.

Dôgen-Zenji was the greatest figure in Japanese Zen; if literary output were the criterion he would be the greatest of all Zen Masters. He was one of those rare beings who combine the contemplative's insight into reality with the poet's gift of words.
His immense masterwork, the "True Dharma-Eye Treasury," covers all aspects of Buddhist practice from rarefied metaphysics to behaviour at mealtimes: all dualities are comprehended in Enlightenment, leaving no distinction between the mundane and the sublime.

I have four books of excerpts, but this is my favourite: the poetic and metaphysical chapters predominate over practical and instructional ones. Literary Japanese, supple, intricate and elliptical, was wildly different from modern English, but the translators have done wonders in achieving clear and (fairly) natural versions, though word-choices sometimes puzzle. A good balance has also been struck between a surfeit of footnotes and too many baffling allusions.

This is a book to read, re-read and grow into, depth after depth. It expresses as much of the beauty, mystery and profundity of Zen (and existence itself,) as can be expressed in words... and then a little more. Even when I'm reading a passage I can't make head or tail of, I feel my body go cold, as when reading great poetry. This is a book that haunts, astonishes and humbles, a book to trudge through the snow for, to swim icy rivers for... and you can buy it so easily.

"moon in a dewdrop" is a collection of writings by Eihei Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen. The text is divided into four sections, which are clear and easy to understand. There are notes and a glossary so that the meaning of the text can be clearly grasped. The book is a five star raft.
Now to the writing, Dogen speaks from experience, insight gained through deep meditation, lived every day. The text is not meant to be intellectually grasped as a doctrine. This can be understood by the presentation of the first section being "Practical Instructions" and the first writing being "Zazen-Gi" or Rules for Zazen. Sitting with "moon in a dewdrop" is like sitting with Dogen himself, at every turn Dogen is pointing to reality and inviting us to fully enter it and taste it for ourselves. The text is a practical manual to be used in conjunction with Zazen, Dogen wrote for all those, who truly wish to taste the essence of Buddhism and reality.
The writing is five star.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any one who is interested in Zen and a greater depth of reality.

This is one book to read. If there are better translations,that's good, too, but, for me, this was quite an eye-opener.

Dogenis THE philospher to bring up whenever you hear all this "Western-centric"... thrown at you from conservative scholars and Christian theocrats. A contemporary of Aquinas, Dogen anticipated and surpassed Shoepenauer, Hegel, and other 19th century philosphers.

Even if this translation is marred in places (and frankly, if you can read Japanese, ANY translation will be marred), the poetry and imagery of the original comes through. A voice from 800 years ago speaks, and comes to you. And you begin to see the man in the dew on the morning grass, in the meal you cook, and going to the bathroom.

Great book which contains a big collection of Dogen's wisdom. In order to understand it without much difficulties, I would suggest that the reader will start by learning about Mahayana Buddhism in general, and then start to investigate Dogen texts. Because the wisdom of Zen Buddhism is often written in Chinese or Japanese, this book is very handy for the westerner user,especially because the translation is brilliant.
As a student of Japanese language for the last 6 years, I know how hard it is to translate the 12-13th century Japanese into nowadays English, so it has really impressed me. A sure pleasure.

The translation is excellent as is the background, format and copy. Dogen is an important Buddhist thinker/master who doesn't recieve enough attention. Excellent book.

To review this book at length would ignore its lessons. My only advice is to read it and discover the Dogen for yourself. You might come away thinking he's an idiot. He'd say he'd succeeded mightily in your education.