Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation

by Carl Bielefeldt

Zen Buddhism is perhaps best known for its emphasis on meditation, and probably no figure in the history of Zen is more closely associated with meditation practice than the thirteenth-century Japanese master Dogen, founder of the Soto school. This study examines the historical and religious character of the practice as it is described in Dogen's own meditation texts, introducing new materials and original perspectives on one of the most influential spiritual traditions of East Asian civilization.

The Soto version of Zen meditation is known as "just sitting," a practice in which, through the cultivation of the subtle state of "nonthinking," the meditator is said to be brought into perfect accord with the higher consciousness of the "Buddha mind" inherent in all beings. This study examines the historical and religious character of the practice as it is described in Dogen's own meditation texts, introducing new materials and original perspectives on one of the most influential spiritual traditions of East Asian civilization.

Genres: Buddhism, Zen, Religion, Philosophy

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[mkmk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the most complex way possible where every and any Chinese word is left untranslated and in one sentence one word would be used and in the other another word for the same thing, all in Chinese! I luckily unraveled most of it on time due to the fact I do speak Japanese and sometimes a Japanese word was used for the same thing! This invaluable book could have been more clear if only titles of Chinese books and Chinese words were translated or at least put into footnotes!

Anyway, it's great when we look at the content.

[Forrest Norvell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a strange little book, although the effort I expended in reading it indicates that its smallness is more its page count than its density or import. As someone who grew up only really aware of Rinzai Zen, with its focus on the study of koans as a means to sudden illumination / satori, learning of the existence of Soto Zen, with its emphasis on "just sitting" / zazen as the true manifestation of enlightenment, came as a revelation. This book both fleshes out the picture of Soto, and its founder Dogen, and complicates it considerably. Ultimately, Bielefeldt argues that Rinzai and Soto were not originally opposed; both picked a single dharma or principle to elevate as the "true vehicle" to enlightenment, and were part of a tradition of Mahayana Buddhism that enfolded a broad collection of doctrines and traditions that stretched back all the way to Bodhidharma, if not further.

It does this through the intensive exegetical analysis of two seemingly incidental texts, both preoccupied with the method of seated meditation. As someone who is primarily interested in Zen for the clarifying powers of zazen, this is very relevant to my interests and why i picked up this book. As a beginner, without a teacher (and, as a Buddhist nonbeliever, a little shy about finding one), it's hard to know when I'm in the right path, especially given Zen's tradition of "outside transmission" and the esoteric nature it shares with its Mahayana predecessors.

Dogen lost interest in writing for a lay audience, and was both an undeniably powerful writer of philosophical prose (his Shobogenzo, or Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, is something I'm also slowly absorbing), and deeply steeped in the literature of Ch'an. His writing is elliptical and referential, and leaves little for the neophyte to grasp hold of. Bielefeldt fills in the missing pieces, both in terms of the historical and doctrinal context within which Dogen was operating, as well as his sincere and penetrating attempts to unearth the concrete meaning of Dogen's writing.

In the end, I'm still going to need to find a teacher, and I'm going to have to do the hard work of finding, or not finding, the state of nonthinking in samadhi myself. However, after reading this book, I at least have an orientation of what it was that Dogen was exhorting me to do. Highly recommended if you've got the patience.

[Jarizleifr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an academic text, so your mileage may vary, depending on what you're looking for.

I found the historical chapters most interesting, there's something very captivating when reading about Dogen travelling from place to place, learning from old masters and ultimately returning to Japan. The book taught me a lot about different currents of thought regarding zazen (or sitting meditation), but it was a pretty heavy read on its own, and as a neophyte, some of the more profound insights probably escaped me.

I'll revisit the book once my understanding grows a bit.

[Cobramor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this supposed to be a koan? Because it offers no conclusion whatsoever

[Sean Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting study into the likely sources, development, and revisions of Dogen's Fukenzazengi. Dogen is the possibly the most well known, and cryptic, of Japanese Zen Masters. Responsible for planting the seeds of Caodong Chan in fertile Japanese soil; what resulted is the long lasting Soto Zen school, which values and emphasizes the practice of zazen. It's a popular sport in Zen/Chan literature and modern discussion to debate the merits and efficacy of meditation (and whether zazen is even meditation). This study makes some headway into shedding some light into these arguments, though the reader is likely to end up where they started (but with a good deal more insight into the origins of Dogen's work).