Dialogues dans le rêve

by Musō Soseki

Dialogues in a Dream is the first complete English translation of the Muchu Mondo, the best-known work of the eminent Japanese Zen master Muso Soseki (1275-1351).
Comprising ninety-three relatively short chapters, Dialogues in a Dream presents Muso's answers to questions on Buddhist thought and Zen meditation by the shogun Ashikaga Tadayoshi (1306-1352). The book covers a variety of topics, ranging from the meaning of ritual, compassion, and enlightenment to the significance of landscape gardens in the practice of the Way. Written for lay followers rather than the ordained clergy, Dialogues in a Dream has been one of Japanese Zen's most popular and enduring works, remaining in print throughout the nearly seven hundred years since it was first published in 1344. This moderately sized volume testifies to Muso's skill as a teacher, honoring Buddhist and non-Buddhist doctrinal traditions yet consistently emphasizing Zen as a "separate transmission outside the scriptures."

Genres: Zen, Japanese Literature, Buddhism

First published June 25, 2011

About the author

Musō Soseki (夢窓 疎石, 1275 – October 20, 1351) was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as Musō Kokushi (夢窓国師?) ("national Zen teacher"), a honorific conferred to him by Emperor Go-Daigo. His mother was the daughter of Hōjō Masamura (1264-1268), seventh Shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Gonzalo Eduardo Rodríguez Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aún para quienes sentimos un profundo interés y respeto por el estudio de este tipo de enseñanzas, este resulta ser un libro árido y complejo. Pero eso no le quita méritos. Es una obra muy completa y sería. Definitivamente no es un libro para quienes desean apenas incursionar en el tema. Es un libro de estudio. Teórico. Y con diálogos profundos y laberínticos.

[Chinook · Rating 3 out of 5]

That intro was a rough read. A map or timeline would have helped a lot. The Dialogues themselves I enjoyed, though they occasionally went above my head - not surprising since I haven't studied Buddhism since university. There was also a rather amusing "get off my lawn" vibe since he regularly talks about how today's students just don't compare to those of the past.

[Kaaveh · Rating 5 out of 5]

یه سری از میس‌آندرستندیگ هام رو از ذن اصلاح کرد! 👌🏻
ریویو مفصل من توی این ویدئو:

https://youtu.be/HU86_GcNLxo

[Prof. Noel John Pinnington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good translation of an excellent work. Muso Kokushi was a very influential monk, head of the gozan zen organization in 14th century Japan, patronized by the military government and the Ashikaga shōguns. He designed some well-known zen gardens. His teachings are a good reminder that Zen masters in Japan were in fact Buddhists, and neither necessarily the crazy iconoclasts that admirers of Ikkyū promote, nor the deniers of logical thought that DT Suzuki saw lurking behind Japanese culture. Muso was very down to earth, a practical and intellectual man, a serious student who managed to achieve enlightenment after much meditation and effort, and went on to mix with the dangerous and prickly leaders of warrior society. In this work, likely edited and re-organized in his lifetime, he provides the shogun’s brother Tadayoshi, a violent man, with uncompromising advice on the duties of a Buddhist and the nature of enlightenment.
Read for about the third time.