The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shōbōgenzō) is the masterwork of Dōgen (1200-1253), founder of the Sōtō Zen Buddhist sect in Kamakura-era Japan. It is one of the most important Zen Buddhist collections, composed during a period of remarkable religious diversity and experimentation. The text is complex and compelling, famed for its eloquent yet perplexing manner of expressing the core precepts of Zen teachings and practice.
This book is a comprehensive introduction to this essential Zen text, offering a textual, historical, literary, and philosophical examination of Dōgen's treatise. Steven Heine explores the religious and cultural context in which the Treasury was composed and provides a detailed study of the various versions of the medieval text that have been compiled over the centuries. He includes nuanced readings of Dōgen's use of inventive rhetorical flourishes and the range of East Asian Buddhist textual and cultural influences that shaped the work. Heine explicates the philosophical implications of Dōgen's views on contemplative experience and attaining and sustaining enlightenment, showing the depth of his distinctive understanding of spiritual awakening. Readings of Dōgen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye will give students and other readers a full understanding of this fundamental work of world religious literature.
Industry Reviews
This book, quite simply, may be the single best detailed survey and explanation of what Dogen was on about that I have ever read by an academic. * Treeleaf *
[This] volume is warmly recommended to all students of Buddhism. -- Lehel Balogh, Hokkaido University * Religious Studies Review *
Readings of Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye is a wise book. -- Zuzana Kubovcakova * Journal of Buddhist Ethics *
With clarifying beams of insight, Heine deftly evinces how Dogen's teachings are a creative response to a range of Buddhist sutras, koans, and Chinese and Japanese teachers. Illuminating with philosophical virtuosity the dynamic nature of Dogen's written teachings and erudite explication of entangled versions of Dogen's writings, Heine animates Dogen's teachings and practices as he offers nuggets of sagacity throughout. -- Paula Arai, author of Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra
Vigorous and insightful, Readings of Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye provides a deep inspection of central themes in Dogen's vast literal legacy. In a clear and inspiring manner, Heine's analysis sheds crucial light that clarifies both the beauty and complexity of this giant Zen Master. -- Eitan Bolokan, Tel Aviv University
Heine has written a comprehensive, detailed, and accessible analysis of the textual, religious, and philosophical intricacies of Dogen's master work, Shobogenzo. This careful work of synthesis builds on his own original scholarship on Zen and the Shobogenzo itself, and is one of the most thorough overviews of Dogen's thought to date. -- Richard Jaffe, author of Seeking Sakyamuni: South Asia in the Formation of Japanese Buddhism
Heine illuminates Dogen's innovative re-readings of Zen tradition, highlighting his insights into 'being-time' and the 'oneness of practice realization.' Grounded in recent scholarship and embracing historical, literary, and practice perspectives, this comprehensive treatment of the Treasury will be welcomed by Dogen enthusiasts and others interested in Japanese Buddhism. -- Jacqueline Stone, author of Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism
A foremost Dogen expert's long-awaited, thorough, and comprehensive examination of the sublime thinker whose monumental elucidation of dharma is beginning to inspire meditators and beyond worldwide. -- Kazuaki Tanahashi, author of Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen
Shobogenzo, Dogen's brilliant guidebook for the practice of Zen, is now widely recognized as one of Buddhism's greatest masterworks. The importance of the text and its complex difficulties cannot be overemphasized. Steven Heine's Readings provides excellent guidance through the text's crucial issues. Truly, a monumental achievement-now the best book on Dogen. -- Dale S. Wright, author of Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know
Rich and insightful discussions of central aspects of Japanese Zen Buddhism. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
One decisive factor is that, to date, [Readings Of Dogen's Treasury Of The True Dharma Eye] is one of the best English renderings of this notoriously challenging and elusive 800-years-old manual. * Religious Studies Review *
