Steven Heine
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326772
- eISBN:
- 9780199870363
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326772.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book provides analyses of the many ways Japanese Zen Buddhism can be interpreted as either a cure‐all for the world's problems as stated by the Traditional Zen Narrative (TZN) view or whether ...
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This book provides analyses of the many ways Japanese Zen Buddhism can be interpreted as either a cure‐all for the world's problems as stated by the Traditional Zen Narrative (TZN) view or whether Zen is a contradictory, self‐serving entity as offered by the Historical and Cultural Criticism (HCC) view. Through the concepts of Zen “writes, rites, and rights,” the book examines the character of Zen. “Zen writes” describes the contradiction that although Zen is traditionally considered to be an esoteric religion based on personal transmissions between monks, it has created an extraordinary amount of written literature. The chapter considers whether the voluminous literature is a strength or a weak point for Zen. In the debate of “Zen rites,” the critical view (HCC) points out the history of religious syncretism in Japan as a compromise by Zen to appeal to the general public by incorporating folk gods and rituals into monastic rites, while the traditional view maintains that there is a separation between the syncretic and the monastic sides of Zen. And finally, “Zen rights” deals with both the ethical benefits that Zen can provide in addition to the moral atrocities that Zen has committed in the past. Zen can be a powerful tool in environmental preservation and world peace, but has also been used to justify discrimination and extreme nationalism in Japan through the 20th century. The final chapter seeks to rectify the two views of TZN and HCC through an acknowledgment of both sides and a balanced recommendation for the future of Zen.Less
This book provides analyses of the many ways Japanese Zen Buddhism can be interpreted as either a cure‐all for the world's problems as stated by the Traditional Zen Narrative (TZN) view or whether Zen is a contradictory, self‐serving entity as offered by the Historical and Cultural Criticism (HCC) view. Through the concepts of Zen “writes, rites, and rights,” the book examines the character of Zen. “Zen writes” describes the contradiction that although Zen is traditionally considered to be an esoteric religion based on personal transmissions between monks, it has created an extraordinary amount of written literature. The chapter considers whether the voluminous literature is a strength or a weak point for Zen. In the debate of “Zen rites,” the critical view (HCC) points out the history of religious syncretism in Japan as a compromise by Zen to appeal to the general public by incorporating folk gods and rituals into monastic rites, while the traditional view maintains that there is a separation between the syncretic and the monastic sides of Zen. And finally, “Zen rights” deals with both the ethical benefits that Zen can provide in addition to the moral atrocities that Zen has committed in the past. Zen can be a powerful tool in environmental preservation and world peace, but has also been used to justify discrimination and extreme nationalism in Japan through the 20th century. The final chapter seeks to rectify the two views of TZN and HCC through an acknowledgment of both sides and a balanced recommendation for the future of Zen.
T. Griffith Foulk
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195304671
- eISBN:
- 9780199866861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304671.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 1 summarizes the modern scholarly opinion that throughout its history, the Zen tradition rejected religious ritual as a legitimate means of carrying out its unique Buddhist mission, and ...
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Chapter 1 summarizes the modern scholarly opinion that throughout its history, the Zen tradition rejected religious ritual as a legitimate means of carrying out its unique Buddhist mission, and subjects this view to a contemporary historical critique. The author's thesis is that modern Japanese Zen scholars constructed the anti‐ritual theme in Zen in order to make Zen more relevant to the modern age in the eyes of both the ruling elite in Meiji/Taisho Japan and Western intellectuals who tended to be dismissive of religious ritual. Pushed in this direction by their own historical circumstances, modern Zen scholars portrayed the entire Zen tradition as anti‐ritual in basic intent and practice in spite of the historical record that belies this view. The author proceeds to describe the history of Zen ritual and presents a catalog description of ritual activities that are practiced in contemporary Sōtō Zen.Less
Chapter 1 summarizes the modern scholarly opinion that throughout its history, the Zen tradition rejected religious ritual as a legitimate means of carrying out its unique Buddhist mission, and subjects this view to a contemporary historical critique. The author's thesis is that modern Japanese Zen scholars constructed the anti‐ritual theme in Zen in order to make Zen more relevant to the modern age in the eyes of both the ruling elite in Meiji/Taisho Japan and Western intellectuals who tended to be dismissive of religious ritual. Pushed in this direction by their own historical circumstances, modern Zen scholars portrayed the entire Zen tradition as anti‐ritual in basic intent and practice in spite of the historical record that belies this view. The author proceeds to describe the history of Zen ritual and presents a catalog description of ritual activities that are practiced in contemporary Sōtō Zen.
Jane Naomi Iwamura
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199738601
- eISBN:
- 9780199894604
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199738601.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
1950s mass media representations of D.T. Suzuki and the American “Zen Boom” are the focus of this chapter. The specific way that Suzuki is portrayed—as engaging, yet ineffable Oriental—and the medium ...
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1950s mass media representations of D.T. Suzuki and the American “Zen Boom” are the focus of this chapter. The specific way that Suzuki is portrayed—as engaging, yet ineffable Oriental—and the medium in which these depictions first appear—the fashion magazine—mark Eastern spirituality as a “stylized religion” and consumable object. The various “characters” that emerge in the unfolding of Zen Buddhism mid-century are explored: Alan Watts and Jack Kerouac as Suzuki’s most famous pupils and spiritual heirs; Arthur Koestler as Zen’s skeptical critic and; Mihoko Okamura, Suzuki’s long-time assistant, who figures the problematic representation of Asian Americans in the scheme of American conceptions of Asian religions. These real-life personalities and the debates and drama that ensue over Zen’s legitimacy and significance prefigure and establish a Virtual Orientalist narrative that is still popular today.Less
1950s mass media representations of D.T. Suzuki and the American “Zen Boom” are the focus of this chapter. The specific way that Suzuki is portrayed—as engaging, yet ineffable Oriental—and the medium in which these depictions first appear—the fashion magazine—mark Eastern spirituality as a “stylized religion” and consumable object. The various “characters” that emerge in the unfolding of Zen Buddhism mid-century are explored: Alan Watts and Jack Kerouac as Suzuki’s most famous pupils and spiritual heirs; Arthur Koestler as Zen’s skeptical critic and; Mihoko Okamura, Suzuki’s long-time assistant, who figures the problematic representation of Asian Americans in the scheme of American conceptions of Asian religions. These real-life personalities and the debates and drama that ensue over Zen’s legitimacy and significance prefigure and establish a Virtual Orientalist narrative that is still popular today.
Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195175257
- eISBN:
- 9780199784608
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195175255.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book is a sequel to The Zen Canon, which began to explore the variety of influential texts in the history of Zen Buddhism. In Zen Classics that exploration is continued by shifting the focus ...
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This book is a sequel to The Zen Canon, which began to explore the variety of influential texts in the history of Zen Buddhism. In Zen Classics that exploration is continued by shifting the focus from the Chinese origins of Zen to the other East Asian cultures where the Zen tradition came to fruition in subsequent eras. Scholars researching Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen literature have been invited to survey a single work or genre of works that, because of its power and influence, has helped shape the Zen tradition and cause it to be what it is today. The essays offer careful historical studies of texts that have earned the right to be called classics. The texts are taken from different cultures and different historical periods and fall into a variety of Zen genres.Less
This book is a sequel to The Zen Canon, which began to explore the variety of influential texts in the history of Zen Buddhism. In Zen Classics that exploration is continued by shifting the focus from the Chinese origins of Zen to the other East Asian cultures where the Zen tradition came to fruition in subsequent eras. Scholars researching Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen literature have been invited to survey a single work or genre of works that, because of its power and influence, has helped shape the Zen tradition and cause it to be what it is today. The essays offer careful historical studies of texts that have earned the right to be called classics. The texts are taken from different cultures and different historical periods and fall into a variety of Zen genres.
Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195304671
- eISBN:
- 9780199866861
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304671.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Theory in Practice contains nine articles by prominent scholars about a variety of topics including Zen rituals kinhin and zazen, and covers rituals from the early Chan ...
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Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Theory in Practice contains nine articles by prominent scholars about a variety of topics including Zen rituals kinhin and zazen, and covers rituals from the early Chan period to modern Japan. Each chapter attempts to describe how ritual in Zen, covering key developments that occurred in the Linji/Rinzai and Caodong/Sōtō schools in China and Japan, molds the lives and characters of practitioners, shaping them in accordance with the ideal of Zen awakening.When books on Zen Buddhism began to appear in Western languages just over a half century ago, there was no interest in the role of ritual in Zen. Indeed, what attracted interest among Western readers was the Zen rejection of ritual. The famous “Beat Zen” writers were delighted by the Zen emphasis on spontaneity as opposed to planned, repetitious action, and wrote inspirationally about the demythologized, anti‐ritualized spirit of Zen. Quotes from the great Zen masters supported this understanding of Zen and led to the excitement that surrounded the opening of “Zen centers” throughout the West.Once Western practitioners in these centers began seriously to practice Zen, however, they discovered that zazen—Zen meditation—is a ritualized practice surrounded by supporting practices that have been ritualized for centuries in East Asia. Although initially in tension with the anti‐ritual image of ancient Zen masters, interest in Zen ritual has increased along with the realization that ritual is fundamental to the spirit of Zen. Later Zen practitioners would connect the idea of “no‐mind,” or the open and awakened state of mind in which ingrained habits of thinking have given way to more receptive, direct forms of experience. This provides a perspective from which ritual could gain enormous respect as a vehicle rather than obstacle to spiritual awakening, and this volume seeks to emphasize the significance of ritual in Zen.Less
Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Theory in Practice contains nine articles by prominent scholars about a variety of topics including Zen rituals kinhin and zazen, and covers rituals from the early Chan period to modern Japan. Each chapter attempts to describe how ritual in Zen, covering key developments that occurred in the Linji/Rinzai and Caodong/Sōtō schools in China and Japan, molds the lives and characters of practitioners, shaping them in accordance with the ideal of Zen awakening.
When books on Zen Buddhism began to appear in Western languages just over a half century ago, there was no interest in the role of ritual in Zen. Indeed, what attracted interest among Western readers was the Zen rejection of ritual. The famous “Beat Zen” writers were delighted by the Zen emphasis on spontaneity as opposed to planned, repetitious action, and wrote inspirationally about the demythologized, anti‐ritualized spirit of Zen. Quotes from the great Zen masters supported this understanding of Zen and led to the excitement that surrounded the opening of “Zen centers” throughout the West.
Once Western practitioners in these centers began seriously to practice Zen, however, they discovered that zazen—Zen meditation—is a ritualized practice surrounded by supporting practices that have been ritualized for centuries in East Asia. Although initially in tension with the anti‐ritual image of ancient Zen masters, interest in Zen ritual has increased along with the realization that ritual is fundamental to the spirit of Zen. Later Zen practitioners would connect the idea of “no‐mind,” or the open and awakened state of mind in which ingrained habits of thinking have given way to more receptive, direct forms of experience. This provides a perspective from which ritual could gain enormous respect as a vehicle rather than obstacle to spiritual awakening, and this volume seeks to emphasize the significance of ritual in Zen.
S.J. William Harmless
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195300383
- eISBN:
- 9780199851560
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300383.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter examines Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of Sōtō Zen and Japan's finest spiritual writer. The term zen as Dōgen once noted, is short for zazen which means “seated meditation”. Zen is thus ...
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This chapter examines Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of Sōtō Zen and Japan's finest spiritual writer. The term zen as Dōgen once noted, is short for zazen which means “seated meditation”. Zen is thus the “meditation school” of Buddhism. If one defines mysticism as it is often defined, as the experience of the soul's union with God, then clearly Dōgen is no mystic. He is utterly silent about God's existence, let alone about any claim of union with God. Yet in other ways Zen seems deeply mystical — more self-consciously mystical than either Christianity or Islam. Buddhism places at its very center a carefully calibrated and exacting contemplative discipline: zazen. And Buddhism focuses its practitioners' best efforts on seeking a sudden awakening experience. This enlightenment is a life-altering, world-shattering breakthrough. It offers an utterly new way of seeing, thinking, feeling, acting, and being.Less
This chapter examines Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of Sōtō Zen and Japan's finest spiritual writer. The term zen as Dōgen once noted, is short for zazen which means “seated meditation”. Zen is thus the “meditation school” of Buddhism. If one defines mysticism as it is often defined, as the experience of the soul's union with God, then clearly Dōgen is no mystic. He is utterly silent about God's existence, let alone about any claim of union with God. Yet in other ways Zen seems deeply mystical — more self-consciously mystical than either Christianity or Islam. Buddhism places at its very center a carefully calibrated and exacting contemplative discipline: zazen. And Buddhism focuses its practitioners' best efforts on seeking a sudden awakening experience. This enlightenment is a life-altering, world-shattering breakthrough. It offers an utterly new way of seeing, thinking, feeling, acting, and being.
Taigen Dan Leighton
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195320930
- eISBN:
- 9780199785360
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320930.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a ...
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As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, dynamic agent of awareness and healing. This book explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese Sōtō Zen tradition, which currently enjoys popularity in the West. The Lotus Sutra, arguably the most important Buddhist scripture in East Asia, contains a famous story about bodhisattvas (enlightening beings) who emerge from under the earth to preserve and expound the Lotus teaching in the distant future. The story reveals that the Buddha only appears to pass away, but actually has been practicing, and will continue to do so, over an inconceivably long life span. The book traces commentaries on the Lotus Sutra from key East Asian Buddhist thinkers, including Daosheng, Zhiyi, Zhanran, Saigyo, Myoe, Nichiren, Hakuin, and Ryokan. But the main focus is Eihei Dōgen, whose profuse, provocative, and poetic writings are important to the modern expansion of Buddhism to the West. Dōgen's use of this sutra expresses the critical role of Mahnullynullna vision and imagination as the context of Zen teaching, and his interpretations of this story furthermore reveal his dynamic worldview of the earth, space, and time themselves as vital agents of spiritual awakening. The book argues that Dōgen uses the images and metaphors in this story to express his own religious worldview, in which earth, space, and time are lively agents in the bodhisattva project. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications can illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to primary Mahnullynullna concepts and practices.Less
As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, dynamic agent of awareness and healing. This book explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese Sōtō Zen tradition, which currently enjoys popularity in the West. The Lotus Sutra, arguably the most important Buddhist scripture in East Asia, contains a famous story about bodhisattvas (enlightening beings) who emerge from under the earth to preserve and expound the Lotus teaching in the distant future. The story reveals that the Buddha only appears to pass away, but actually has been practicing, and will continue to do so, over an inconceivably long life span. The book traces commentaries on the Lotus Sutra from key East Asian Buddhist thinkers, including Daosheng, Zhiyi, Zhanran, Saigyo, Myoe, Nichiren, Hakuin, and Ryokan. But the main focus is Eihei Dōgen, whose profuse, provocative, and poetic writings are important to the modern expansion of Buddhism to the West. Dōgen's use of this sutra expresses the critical role of Mahnullynullna vision and imagination as the context of Zen teaching, and his interpretations of this story furthermore reveal his dynamic worldview of the earth, space, and time themselves as vital agents of spiritual awakening. The book argues that Dōgen uses the images and metaphors in this story to express his own religious worldview, in which earth, space, and time are lively agents in the bodhisattva project. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications can illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to primary Mahnullynullna concepts and practices.
Steven Heine
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305708
- eISBN:
- 9780199784776
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305701.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to ...
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This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. The context of Dōgen’s travels to and reflections on China are reconstructed by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dōgen. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dōgen’s Japanese influences versus traditional Chinese models, this book calls attention to the fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements in Dōgen’s religious vision. It reveals many new materials and insights into Dōgen’s main writings, including the multiple editions of the Shōbōgenzō, and how and when this seminal text was created by Dōgen and edited and interpreted by his disciples. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive approach to the master’s life works and an understanding of the overall career trajectory of one of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism and Asian religious thought.Less
This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. The context of Dōgen’s travels to and reflections on China are reconstructed by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dōgen. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dōgen’s Japanese influences versus traditional Chinese models, this book calls attention to the fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements in Dōgen’s religious vision. It reveals many new materials and insights into Dōgen’s main writings, including the multiple editions of the Shōbōgenzō, and how and when this seminal text was created by Dōgen and edited and interpreted by his disciples. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive approach to the master’s life works and an understanding of the overall career trajectory of one of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism and Asian religious thought.
Steven Heine
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195135862
- eISBN:
- 9780199834297
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195135865.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Opening a Mountain is a translation with a commentary of 60 koan cases that feature an important supernatural or ritual element selected from a variety of the major and minor Zen ...
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Opening a Mountain is a translation with a commentary of 60 koan cases that feature an important supernatural or ritual element selected from a variety of the major and minor Zen Buddhist koan collections compiled in Sung China and Kamakura Japan. The koan is a brief, enigmatic anecdote or dialog between two contesting parties that defines the heart. The book demonstrates that the main theme underlying much of the koan literature deals with how Zen masters opened or transformed mountains. The transforming of spiritual forces that had been closing off the mountains into manifestations of sacred space in Zen was referred to as kuai‐shan in Chinese (or kaizan in Japanese). The mountains harbored spirits, demons, and bodhisattvas, as well as hermits, recluses, ascetics, and other irregular practitioners, and were opened using the symbols and rituals of spiritual purification. In contrast with conventional interpretations that view koans as psychological exercises with a purely iconoclastic intention, the approach here highlights the rich component of mythological and marvelous elements that pervade this genre of literature in a way that complements, rather than contradicts, the demythological or iconoclastic perspective. This approach to interpreting Zen literature is distinctive and innovative in several respects. Opening a Mountain includes the selection of koan cases emphasizing supernatural symbols, such as mountains, animals, and other natural imagery, based on a scholarly standard of translation and citation of source materials. The main topics include “Surveying Mountain Landscapes,” “Contesting with Irregular Rivals,” “Encountering Supernatural Forces,” “Wielding Symbols of Authority,” and “Giving Life and Controlling Death as Confessional Experiences.”Less
Opening a Mountain is a translation with a commentary of 60 koan cases that feature an important supernatural or ritual element selected from a variety of the major and minor Zen Buddhist koan collections compiled in Sung China and Kamakura Japan. The koan is a brief, enigmatic anecdote or dialog between two contesting parties that defines the heart. The book demonstrates that the main theme underlying much of the koan literature deals with how Zen masters opened or transformed mountains. The transforming of spiritual forces that had been closing off the mountains into manifestations of sacred space in Zen was referred to as kuai‐shan in Chinese (or kaizan in Japanese). The mountains harbored spirits, demons, and bodhisattvas, as well as hermits, recluses, ascetics, and other irregular practitioners, and were opened using the symbols and rituals of spiritual purification. In contrast with conventional interpretations that view koans as psychological exercises with a purely iconoclastic intention, the approach here highlights the rich component of mythological and marvelous elements that pervade this genre of literature in a way that complements, rather than contradicts, the demythological or iconoclastic perspective. This approach to interpreting Zen literature is distinctive and innovative in several respects. Opening a Mountain includes the selection of koan cases emphasizing supernatural symbols, such as mountains, animals, and other natural imagery, based on a scholarly standard of translation and citation of source materials. The main topics include “Surveying Mountain Landscapes,” “Contesting with Irregular Rivals,” “Encountering Supernatural Forces,” “Wielding Symbols of Authority,” and “Giving Life and Controlling Death as Confessional Experiences.”
Thomas A. Tweed
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931903
- eISBN:
- 9780199345779
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931903.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Beginning in the late nineteenth century and intensifying between the 1940s and 1960s, a complex transcultural process allowed decontextualized Buddhist beliefs, practices, and artifacts to circulate ...
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Beginning in the late nineteenth century and intensifying between the 1940s and 1960s, a complex transcultural process allowed decontextualized Buddhist beliefs, practices, and artifacts to circulate widely among Americans, especially those who did not themselves identify with Buddhist traditions. After the “Zen boom” of the 1950s, Buddhism during the Vietnam Era became associated with conflict and violence. Yet Buddhism's Asian and American popularisers managed to break that representational link, and the tradition emerged as a tolerant spiritual alternative and an adaptable cultural implement. Liberated from the constraints of precedent and released from tradition's inertial force, Buddhism could become almost anything in the transnational flow of representations. A proper discussion of American pluralism needs to assess not only the number of followers a religion accumulates but also its cultural impact. By that metric, Buddhism's influence has been so great since 1945 that one may fairly talk about the “Buddhification of America.”Less
Beginning in the late nineteenth century and intensifying between the 1940s and 1960s, a complex transcultural process allowed decontextualized Buddhist beliefs, practices, and artifacts to circulate widely among Americans, especially those who did not themselves identify with Buddhist traditions. After the “Zen boom” of the 1950s, Buddhism during the Vietnam Era became associated with conflict and violence. Yet Buddhism's Asian and American popularisers managed to break that representational link, and the tradition emerged as a tolerant spiritual alternative and an adaptable cultural implement. Liberated from the constraints of precedent and released from tradition's inertial force, Buddhism could become almost anything in the transnational flow of representations. A proper discussion of American pluralism needs to assess not only the number of followers a religion accumulates but also its cultural impact. By that metric, Buddhism's influence has been so great since 1945 that one may fairly talk about the “Buddhification of America.”
Sarah Daw
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474430029
- eISBN:
- 9781474453783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474430029.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
Chapter Four develops the previous chapter’s investigation into the substantial influence of translated Chinese and Japanese philosophical writing on presentations of an ecological Nature in Cold War ...
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Chapter Four develops the previous chapter’s investigation into the substantial influence of translated Chinese and Japanese philosophical writing on presentations of an ecological Nature in Cold War American literature. However, it differs in its countercultural focus, exploring the influence of Americanised translations of Chinese and Japanese literature and philosophy on the work of the Beat Generation writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Ginsberg and Kerouac’s extensive correspondence reveals the two writers’ developing interest in Taoist and Zen Buddhist thought, and their co-development of their own Americanised and highly inauthentic ‘Beat Zen’, which was heavily influenced by Dwight Goddard’s A Buddhist Bible (1932). Taking these letters as its starting point, the chapter reveals that translated Taoism and Zen Buddhism informed each writer’s ecological depictions of the human relationship to Nature in some of their most famous contributions to Beat literature, including Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums (1958) and Ginsberg’s “Howl” (1956).Less
Chapter Four develops the previous chapter’s investigation into the substantial influence of translated Chinese and Japanese philosophical writing on presentations of an ecological Nature in Cold War American literature. However, it differs in its countercultural focus, exploring the influence of Americanised translations of Chinese and Japanese literature and philosophy on the work of the Beat Generation writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Ginsberg and Kerouac’s extensive correspondence reveals the two writers’ developing interest in Taoist and Zen Buddhist thought, and their co-development of their own Americanised and highly inauthentic ‘Beat Zen’, which was heavily influenced by Dwight Goddard’s A Buddhist Bible (1932). Taking these letters as its starting point, the chapter reveals that translated Taoism and Zen Buddhism informed each writer’s ecological depictions of the human relationship to Nature in some of their most famous contributions to Beat literature, including Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums (1958) and Ginsberg’s “Howl” (1956).
Taigen Dan Leighton
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195320930
- eISBN:
- 9780199785360
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320930.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter begins with a discussion of Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), the most prolific writer among the historical Zen masters and considered the founder of the Soto Zen tradition in Japan. Examples of ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), the most prolific writer among the historical Zen masters and considered the founder of the Soto Zen tradition in Japan. Examples of Dōgen's view of space are offered as introductory background for the explorations to follow of how he uses references to the Lotus Sutra story in Chapters 15 and 16 to express his views of space, as well as of time and of the earth itself. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to understanding primary Mahāyāna practices and outlook and shifts in these in East Asia.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), the most prolific writer among the historical Zen masters and considered the founder of the Soto Zen tradition in Japan. Examples of Dōgen's view of space are offered as introductory background for the explorations to follow of how he uses references to the Lotus Sutra story in Chapters 15 and 16 to express his views of space, as well as of time and of the earth itself. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to understanding primary Mahāyāna practices and outlook and shifts in these in East Asia.
Rupert Read
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195381559
- eISBN:
- 9780199869244
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381559.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter addresses homologies between Wittgenstein's account of philosophical practice in both the Tractatus and the Investigations with accounts of practice in Zen. The chapter argues that both ...
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This chapter addresses homologies between Wittgenstein's account of philosophical practice in both the Tractatus and the Investigations with accounts of practice in Zen. The chapter argues that both Wittgenstein and such Zen thinkers as Shunryu Suzuki regard philosophy as, at one level, indicating that ordinary practice, ordinary language, and ordinary life are “in order” as they are—requiring neither critique nor validation by philosophy—while, at another, they regard philosophical insight as necessary to living ordinary life in an enlightened way. The distinction between ordinary life and enlightened life is, on both accounts, profound but ineffable.Less
This chapter addresses homologies between Wittgenstein's account of philosophical practice in both the Tractatus and the Investigations with accounts of practice in Zen. The chapter argues that both Wittgenstein and such Zen thinkers as Shunryu Suzuki regard philosophy as, at one level, indicating that ordinary practice, ordinary language, and ordinary life are “in order” as they are—requiring neither critique nor validation by philosophy—while, at another, they regard philosophical insight as necessary to living ordinary life in an enlightened way. The distinction between ordinary life and enlightened life is, on both accounts, profound but ineffable.
J. P. Williams
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269991
- eISBN:
- 9780191683855
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269991.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, World Religions
The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation ...
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The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation of traditional religious practices and beliefs with an openness to experience beyond the limits of doctrine and of rational thought. This book argues for a new understanding of what is meant by apophatic theology, supported by extensive analysis of the texts of Dionysius the Areopagite, St Maximus the Confessor, and Zen Master Dogen. It demonstrates how an apophatic spirituality might inform personal and communal spiritual development, and sketches out the contribution it can offer to modern debate on theology and postmodernism, entropy, and interfaith dialogue, and to development of an active theological commitment to humanity.Less
The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation of traditional religious practices and beliefs with an openness to experience beyond the limits of doctrine and of rational thought. This book argues for a new understanding of what is meant by apophatic theology, supported by extensive analysis of the texts of Dionysius the Areopagite, St Maximus the Confessor, and Zen Master Dogen. It demonstrates how an apophatic spirituality might inform personal and communal spiritual development, and sketches out the contribution it can offer to modern debate on theology and postmodernism, entropy, and interfaith dialogue, and to development of an active theological commitment to humanity.
R. John Williams
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300194470
- eISBN:
- 9780300206579
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300194470.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter examines the notion of technê-Zen: a discourse premised on the supposed commensurability and mutual determination of Zen Buddhism (including all of its related Taoist notions and ...
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This chapter examines the notion of technê-Zen: a discourse premised on the supposed commensurability and mutual determination of Zen Buddhism (including all of its related Taoist notions and techniques of spiritual and aestheticized practice—in short, its technê) and the possibilities of an organic and holistic form of rationalist technocracy. In analyzing the discourse of technê-Zen in Robert Pirsig's novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, its historical origins, and its ongoing role in the networked global capitalist systems we live with today, this chapter advances two main arguments: first, whereas Pirsig posits technê-Zen as a discursive rupture from the dissident “spirit of the sixties,” his book can be more correctly understood as both a continuation and an acceleration of a discourse of “cybernetic Zen” already well under way in the 1950s and 1960s; second, the forms of technê-Zen developed in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance have come to occupy an especially privileged space in the technologically saturated realms of network capitalism and particularly the corporate management theories that currently dominate international business practiceLess
This chapter examines the notion of technê-Zen: a discourse premised on the supposed commensurability and mutual determination of Zen Buddhism (including all of its related Taoist notions and techniques of spiritual and aestheticized practice—in short, its technê) and the possibilities of an organic and holistic form of rationalist technocracy. In analyzing the discourse of technê-Zen in Robert Pirsig's novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, its historical origins, and its ongoing role in the networked global capitalist systems we live with today, this chapter advances two main arguments: first, whereas Pirsig posits technê-Zen as a discursive rupture from the dissident “spirit of the sixties,” his book can be more correctly understood as both a continuation and an acceleration of a discourse of “cybernetic Zen” already well under way in the 1950s and 1960s; second, the forms of technê-Zen developed in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance have come to occupy an especially privileged space in the technologically saturated realms of network capitalism and particularly the corporate management theories that currently dominate international business practice
James W. Heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835521
- eISBN:
- 9780824870270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835521.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This section provides an overview of the Zen tradition and its philosophical significance. Zen Buddhism was one of the three new religious traditions that emerged during a time of political upheaval ...
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This section provides an overview of the Zen tradition and its philosophical significance. Zen Buddhism was one of the three new religious traditions that emerged during a time of political upheaval in Kamakura Japan, the other two being Nichiren Buddhism and the various forms of Pure Land Buddhism. Zen began with two strategies of development: an elitist approach that sought the patronage of the political centers of power and authority, and a separatist approach that founded monasteries for spiritual practice. There are two major medieval schools of Zen, Rinzai Zen and Sōtō Zen. This section also presents translations of a variety of texts by Japanese philosophers from the Zen tradition, including Dōgen, Musō Soseki, Ikkyū Sōjun, Takuan Sōhō, Suzuki Shōsan, and Shidō Bunan.Less
This section provides an overview of the Zen tradition and its philosophical significance. Zen Buddhism was one of the three new religious traditions that emerged during a time of political upheaval in Kamakura Japan, the other two being Nichiren Buddhism and the various forms of Pure Land Buddhism. Zen began with two strategies of development: an elitist approach that sought the patronage of the political centers of power and authority, and a separatist approach that founded monasteries for spiritual practice. There are two major medieval schools of Zen, Rinzai Zen and Sōtō Zen. This section also presents translations of a variety of texts by Japanese philosophers from the Zen tradition, including Dōgen, Musō Soseki, Ikkyū Sōjun, Takuan Sōhō, Suzuki Shōsan, and Shidō Bunan.
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780520269194
- eISBN:
- 9780520959613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520269194.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In this classic essay, D. T. Suzuki sets forth his views on the crucial importance of satori (awakening) as the crucial experience in Rinzai Zen and in Buddhism more generally. Suzuki’s perspective ...
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In this classic essay, D. T. Suzuki sets forth his views on the crucial importance of satori (awakening) as the crucial experience in Rinzai Zen and in Buddhism more generally. Suzuki’s perspective helped shape twentieth-century Buddhism around the world.Less
In this classic essay, D. T. Suzuki sets forth his views on the crucial importance of satori (awakening) as the crucial experience in Rinzai Zen and in Buddhism more generally. Suzuki’s perspective helped shape twentieth-century Buddhism around the world.
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780520269194
- eISBN:
- 9780520959613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520269194.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In this essay, D. T. Suzuki presents his views on the relationship between human beings and “nature.” Prompted by a conference on earth and humans, Suzuki presents a modernized perspective on the ...
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In this essay, D. T. Suzuki presents his views on the relationship between human beings and “nature.” Prompted by a conference on earth and humans, Suzuki presents a modernized perspective on the topic that builds on Zen Buddhism as well as European and American romanticism, idealism, and transcendentalism. Suzuki’s presentation of this material had an important impact on the environmental movement in the United States in the 1960s.Less
In this essay, D. T. Suzuki presents his views on the relationship between human beings and “nature.” Prompted by a conference on earth and humans, Suzuki presents a modernized perspective on the topic that builds on Zen Buddhism as well as European and American romanticism, idealism, and transcendentalism. Suzuki’s presentation of this material had an important impact on the environmental movement in the United States in the 1960s.
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780520269194
- eISBN:
- 9780520959613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520269194.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In this essay, D. T. Suzuki examines a wide range of koan concerning the question, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West.” Suzuki sees this question as central for understanding Zen Buddhism and ...
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In this essay, D. T. Suzuki examines a wide range of koan concerning the question, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West.” Suzuki sees this question as central for understanding Zen Buddhism and presents his view on the way to approach Zen literature.Less
In this essay, D. T. Suzuki examines a wide range of koan concerning the question, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West.” Suzuki sees this question as central for understanding Zen Buddhism and presents his view on the way to approach Zen literature.
Jonathan Garb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226295800
- eISBN:
- 9780226295947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226295947.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter compares modern Kabbalah's psychology to adjacent developments in modern European mysticism. It commences with the psychological thought of the radical Reformation, and then moves ...
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This chapter compares modern Kabbalah's psychology to adjacent developments in modern European mysticism. It commences with the psychological thought of the radical Reformation, and then moves through Pietism to Romanticism. After a briefer discussion of the “religion of the heart” in the Catholic world, the second part of the chapter discusses the globalized “psycho-spirituality” of the twentieth century, including mystical Christianity in the United States, Zen Buddhism (and its Western reception) and American and Palestinian Sufism. The transformation of America into the main hub of mystical discourse is foregrounded here. Chapter 6 concludes with a reflection on the social, economic and political implications of the globalization of spiritual psychology, while examining critiques of the politics of psychoanalysis.Less
This chapter compares modern Kabbalah's psychology to adjacent developments in modern European mysticism. It commences with the psychological thought of the radical Reformation, and then moves through Pietism to Romanticism. After a briefer discussion of the “religion of the heart” in the Catholic world, the second part of the chapter discusses the globalized “psycho-spirituality” of the twentieth century, including mystical Christianity in the United States, Zen Buddhism (and its Western reception) and American and Palestinian Sufism. The transformation of America into the main hub of mystical discourse is foregrounded here. Chapter 6 concludes with a reflection on the social, economic and political implications of the globalization of spiritual psychology, while examining critiques of the politics of psychoanalysis.
