Zen Buddhism: A History (Japan) (Treasures of the World's Religions) (Volume 2) [Paperback]

Heinrich Dumoulin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Treasures of the World's Religions | Publication Date: August 16, 2005

In this second volume of his classic history Dumoulin turns his attention to the development of Zen in Japan.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In 1988 and 1990, when his Zen Buddhism: A History, vols. 1 and 2 were published in English translation, Father Heinrich Dumoulin, S. J. was described on the back cover as "one of the world’s foremost Zen scholars." The fact that he was a Catholic priest reµected well on both him and his subject matter: here was a man who did not let his own Catholic faith prevent him from seeing the authentic spirituality of another religious tradition; here was a religious tradition whose authentic spirituality was evident even to people who were not its followers. Most of his publications were in the German language, but his publications in English included, A History of Zen Buddhism (1963), Zen Enlightenment (1979), and, with Ruth Fuller Sasaki, The Development of Chinese Zen (1953) as well as the entries for "Dogen" and "Kamo Mabuchi" in the Encyclopedia Britannica (1969), "Zen" in Encyclopedia of Japan (1983), and "Ch’an" and "Zen" in the The Encyclopedia of Religion (1987). His extensively revised two-volume, Zen Buddhism: A History, was his last, longest and most ambitious work. Yet even as it was being published, the scholarly tide was turning. His several books had helped promote a certain vision of Ch’an/Zen and in the years following the publication of his last book, this vision of Zen Buddhism came under critical attack from many sides. -Victor Hori

About the Author

Heinrich Dumoulin was one of the world’s foremost Zen scholars. He was the first director of the Nanzan Institute of Religion and Culture in Japan. He died in 1995 at the age of 90.

Victor Sogen Hori received his doctoral degree in philosophy from Stanford University in 1976 and was ordained a Zen monk in Kyoto. He is currently professor of Japanese religions in the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: World Wisdom; First Edition edition (August 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941532909
• ISBN-13: 978-0941532907
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still, an essential reference for all Zen students/practitioners, August 28, 2008

By 

Ted Biringer "Author of The Flatbed Sutra of ... (Anacortes, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Buddhism: A History (Japan) (Treasures of the World's Religions) (Volume 2) (Paperback)

An essential reference for all Zen students/practitioners

This book along with its companion volume (Zen Buddhism: A History, Vol. 1 - India & China), also by Heinrich Dumoulin, is unique in offering the only extensive single-set history of Zen Buddhism available.

As such it is an essential reference for all Zen students, teachers, and practitioners. It also has plenty to offer students of Buddhism of all traditions, especially those of Mahayana.

While not as informative as its companion: Zen Buddhism, Volume 1: A History - India and China, it does offering an extensive overview of the rise and development of Zen in Japan.

After furnishing the reader with an overview of the spiritual landscape of the Japan during the time of its incorporation of Zen, Heinrich Dumoulin examines the lives and teachings of the major figures associated with the transmission of Zen from China.

Dumoulin then traces the developments of the two major sects of Zen Buddhism as they developed and competed for recognition and authority. While many of the details fail to acknowledge recent scholarship, Dumoulin's work still manages to provide readers with a general overview of these schools.

Providing both, historical and traditional accounts and information concerning the more influential Japanese Zen masters, Dumoulin offers readers some insights into the elements that distinguish the Ch'an of China from Zen Buddhist schools of Japan.

While this book, in offers an extensive overview, it does not offer in-depth examinations, unlike Volume One, some of the out-dated material is at significant odds with recent scholarship.

Nevertheless, with all the trimmings, front and back matter of quality scholarship (notes, detailed index, glossary, etc) this second of the two-volume history of Zen offers plenty of unique material that will be welcomed by Zen students for many generations to come.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps even more formidable ..., November 18, 2007

By 

calmly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Buddhism: A History (Japan) (Treasures of the World's Religions) (Volume 2) (Paperback)

... than Volume 1.

I am a lay person so I can not speak to the challenges in recent years that have been made to Dumoulin's depiction of Zen. I can say unequivocally that this volume was compelling, even exciting, at times at times for me. I'll let historians fight it out, to me this volume is a masterpiece. My preference has been for Chinese Zen so I was not expecting to enjoy this volume so much.

Just the sections on Dogen, Bankei and Hakuin make the book worthwhile to me. Dogen is so hard to follow. I've read some of his work and much about him and still get confused although dazzled by the issues he raises and his own language. Dumoulin presents Dogen as clearly as I have ever found and I would definitely recommend the chapter in this book on Dogen as the best introduction to Dogen.

Dumoulin also presents Bankei as well as I have found. Bankei's own writings, however, may be considerably more accessible than Dogen's but understanding his place in Zen history is a challenge Dumoulin seems more than up to.

The chapter on Hakuin is similarly helpful and a wonderful introduction to this key Zen teacher. In this volume the importance of koans in raising one's level of doubt so as to intensity Zen practice becomes clearer. This is no mere history but besides the sections on these 3 major Japanese Zen masters there is a detailed history: more detail than you may want, with stories of many other Japanese Zen masters, of Zen's introduction from China and the help of Chinese Zen masters, of the severe persecution of Buddhism at times that Zen survived, of how Zen interacted with other Japanese religions, of Zen's contribution to Japanese arts and education, of how Christianity met Zen within Japan, of how Zen monks became beloved by the Japanese people not least of all for their willingness to work alongside the Japanese people as needed. The Rinzai, Soto, and, to a lesser extent, Obaku approaches to Zen are presented, including how Dogen's Zen evolved into Soto Zen.

Here is a German Jesuit who is so sensitive to the intricacies of Japanese Zen, it's amazing. Dumoulin closes his history at the beginning of the 20th century but with an openness to the impact that Zen's spread into the West may have for the future history of Zen.

So this is a book for both historians and Zen practitioners. When you see a Zen practitioner sitting in meditation, you would not realize just how much has gone before and how much diversity lay within the Zen Buddhism religion.

I strongly recommend reading first volume 1
Zen Buddhism: A History, India & China
and then this volume. I found these books and even the passages about enlightenment more helpful than in Dumoulin's own book focused on that subject
Zen Enlightenment: Origins And Meaning (Buddhism & Eastern Philosophy).
It may be that, as a historian, Dumoulin was more comfortable explaining from a more historical framework although "Zen Enlightenment" certainly is not lacking in history.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From its inception to its expansion during the middle ages and modern Zen movements, October 12, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Buddhism: A History (Japan) (Treasures of the World's Religions) (Volume 2) (Paperback)

Zen Buddhism: A History Japan is the new edition of volume two of Zen scholar Dumoulin's classic two-volume reference of the history of Zen. Specifically focusing upon the development of Zen in Japan from its inception to its expansion during the middle ages and modern Zen movements, Zen Buddhism: A History Japan has now been enhanced with notes by James W. Heisig of the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture and a new introduction by Victor Sogen Hori of McGill University. Zen Buddhism: A History Japan is an extensive, in-depth, scholarly, superbly written and presented resource and reference, intended especially for scholars, historians, and students of Zen Buddhism due to its thorough detail.