Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness

by Taigen Dan Leighton

Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure.

The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”

Genres: Buddhism, Zen

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2015

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deceptively deep. A unhelpful previous review on Amazon calls the insights in this book "insipid" — which is unfair. The tone adopted throughout the book is light and straightforward, and therein lies the deceptive aspect; because, in fact, there's a lot to absorb and work with in this book. The thing is, at least in my case, that only became clear after I had put the book down and forgotten about it for a few weeks. I found myself constantly thinking back to its themes and interpretations of Dongshan's life and teachings. It's a helpful reminder for those on the Zen path that sometimes your expectations of difficulty and "brilliant" new insights in a Zen book are precisely what's stopping you from noticing what's difficult and brilliant about it.

[Tom Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing simplification of Zen Practice.

The five degrees offer a structure for realizing how the vision of wholeness and the universal that may emerge as the backdrop of meditative practice can interact organically with the particularities of our everyday activities and relationships.

Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges of modern lives.

An excellent read for both Novice and the Curious. Four Stars. ****

[Bob Woodley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this and am officially stopping now. Maybe I'll pick it up later.

Basing a whole book and philosophy on the word 'such' results in a vague set of concepts on which you can hang any impressions you want. Ditto for phrases like "Just this is it". Attempts to "explain" Zen often run into this problem.

To his credit Leighton does try to situate Dongshan in the Zen lineage. But getting a handle on 2500 years of transmission is a project I am not sure I am ready for. I did read about half of "Transmission of Light" on the same topic, with the same conclusion.

I have high regard for Leighton since he did a great job with "Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi" which is a beautiful text.

[Zack Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a difficult book to get through. It covers a great deal of ground, and there is so much to say about something you can’t say anything about. Leighton is clearly an accomplished scholar practitioner, but it seems like the approach is somewhat broad and a little unfocused. I think he wanted to give readers some exposure to the many different ideas around Dongshan, his teachers, peers, and successors, many of which could have books of their own. So it’s seemed like taking sips of a wide variety of strong medicines.

[Steve Llano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful study - not completely spiritual and not completely academic/scholarly. It's an attempt to locate Dongshan's idea of suchness - also could be called emptiness - in the Chinese Chuan Buddhist tradition. Really well researched and the historical sketches of the different books, people, thoughts, and eras leading up to and going past Dongshan were masterfully done. You get a very easy and good feel for his place in history. But the thing that sets this book apart is the expert criticism by the author of the texts, bringing up multiple translations and cultural interpretations that are present in the text as well. This expands your understanding of the writing, the poem, or the koan that Leighton is discussing. I love historical studies of the lives of monks and masters so much, and I wish more of them were written like this. I have a really great sense of Dongshan's place now in his own time, in history, and in Zen theology.

[Keith Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way overpriced...18 dollars for a spiritual book? Well...if spirituality is supposed to help all and not just the wealthy, I think 18 dollars is way too much to pay. All of my books on the web are about five dollars, the price of a coffee. Just my two cents anyway.

[Sean Farrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled a bit with this one, feeling a bit unfocused and rambling. I didn't have this issue with Dan Leighton's other works, I'll have to revisit this one at some point. A few months later and i can't remember much for the review.