Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation

by Dōgen

Spiritual practice is not some kind of striving to produce enlightenment, but an expression of the enlightenment already inherent in all things: Such is the Zen teaching of Dogen Zenji (1200–1253) whose profound writings have been studied and revered for more than seven hundred years, influencing practitioners far beyond his native Japan and the Soto school he is credited with founding. In focusing on Dogen's most practical words of instruction and encouragement for Zen students, this new collection highlights the timelessness of his teaching and shows it to be as applicable to anyone today as it was in the great teacher's own time. Selections include Dogen's famous meditation instructions; his advice on the practice of zazen, or sitting meditation; guidelines for community life; and some of his most inspirational talks. Also included are a bibliography and an extensive glossary.

Genres: Buddhism, Zen, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Meditation

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2004

About the author

Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, or Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, or Koso Joyo Daishi) was a Zen Buddhist teacher and the founder of the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism in Japan.

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

dry, but chew on it. like unsalted jerky.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A commentary on this book would have been more helpful than this text. Requires a firm understanding of the symbolic language of Japanese Buddhism.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sooner than later any cult leader will lead the drones beyond thinking, because thinking seems to be poisonous to mysticism. And this book makes no exception.

[Brendan Coster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, Dogen wrote, a lot. I just didn't feel the need or want to take down a couple giant volumes, so I got the short, short, version instead. And it was pretty bad. If you're looking for additional readings on early Zen or if you are into it has an actual religion, I'm sure it's far more interesting.

For this kind of experience you kind of have to unhinge a person and have them rebuild themselves, I get that. It's the same for a lot of writing, you need to kind of un-know what you know to develop good thought provoking fiction. However, the words of Dogen bear no consistency and sound like the ravings of a madman, and it's not really all that benevolent, especially in the "Zazen in Community" Section. I'm sure the fault is in myself for being unable to give it the credit it probably deserves, but if you're looking for writings that fracture reality and describe the indescribable I recommend sticking with Zen master H.P. Lovecraft.

[Kody Dibble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation by Dōgen and edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi is a introduction into the mind-space of the legendary Zen Master Dōgen and others like him. Although I didn't full well understand certain parts of this, (specifically towards the end) I did enjoy the nuggets of wisdom it provided. Beyond Thinking is a concept many of us are familiar with but don't often take into accord. This book also discusses a lot of Buddhist lore and formalities. The lineage and "Blood vein" is often discussed bringing understanding about the Buddhist community into light. Beyond Thinking contains a lot of thoughts and keywords that I'm not used to which made it all the more interesting to me. I wouldn't say it should be your first Zen reading. However, I would include this and a majority of Dōgen's work into that reading.

[James Tyrrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

While an interesting view of Meditation it was more of a book on philosophy and exotic mental explanations of the benefit of Zen than a methodology of Zen. It took around 2 pages to explain the 'proper' way to perform meditation and while many interesting concepts were raised it ultimately was a difficult book to read. The final part about the correct way to form a monastic order and the rooms, rules and detailed ceremonies was an interesting insight into the zen lifestyle which is worth the read.

[Eric]

Man, Dogen sure likes him a 90 practice period. Was interesting to have a look at this collection of Dogen talks and commentaries. The practical “this is how you live together as a Zen community” stuff was pretty accessible/logical. And the rest of it? Well, Zen-speak. Maybe at some point in the future I can get more value out of it. For now, it's just a blur, “what?”. That said, I'm very disrespectfully (?) using this as light airplane reading… and maybe if you make an effort when you read it, it's a different story.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A smorgasbord. The practical parts, such as how to sit, were incredibly useful. The informal talks about why and how people should practice zazen were also great, but some of the more formal dharma talks and explications of sutras made my head hurt!

[Jose Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to Dogen Zen's and practice. The material is not easy always easy to follow. Liked the meditation guide and the information about Zen I the community was quite interesting. I will recommend the book if you want to learn something more about Zen.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an eclectic mix of selections from Dogen’s large volume of writing. It ranges from instructions on how to align the ritual, seasonal doings of a monastery against the shifting calendar to Dogen’s commentary on Zen histories and koans.

[GC · Rating 3 out of 5]

'As long as you try to figure out buddha-dharma with mind, you can never attain it even for myriad eons or thousands of lifetimes. It is attained by letting go of the mind and abandoning views and interpretations. To see form and clarify the mind, to hear sound and come to realization is attainment of the way with the body.'


This book is like 'The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master', but without the helpful short commentary at the beginning of chapters and a shortening of insight. As I noted in that review, Dogen can often be impenetrable and the removal of any commentary only exacerbates this. Norman Fischer, former co-abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center and part of the school that Dogen established, offers a commentary on the Soto Zen founder in the Introduction. As a complement to my other review, which goes more in depth on Dogen, I will present some of the clarifications that Fischer offers.

In commenting on 'practice-enlightenment', Fischer writes:

'By "undivided practice-enlightenment" Dogen means that our life is always whole. We have always been enlightened beings—this has always been the nature of our minds, the brightness of our consciousness. To really know this is to accept a deep responsibility, a joyful responsibility, for our living. For Dogen “practice-enlightenment” is one continuous event. It’s not that we practice now in order to become enlightened later. Rather, because we have always been enlightenment, we must practice, and our practice is the expression of that enlightenment that is endless and beginningless.'

On the type of practice we take up, Fischer explains:

'The zazen that Dogen is advocating is neither devotional nor experiential; it’s not a form of concentration or relaxation, though it may or may not include any or all these things. It is simply sitting in the midst of what utterly is, with full participation.'


Following the Introduction, we explore the facets of zazen through Dogen. I found the first section on 'Entering Zazen' to be the most useful for my own practice. Later sections and chapters on 'Great Enlightenment' would require someone well versed in Japanese Zen to explain. Overall, for someone wavering between 'The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master' and this book, I would definitely choose the former. The former's Introduction is more expansive, the chapters more carefully selected and it is still the same translator. One also receives welcome aid in the beginning of chapters with a short commentary.