Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans.
Dogen (1200–1253) is known as the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen
sect.
John Daido Loori (1931–2009) was one of the West's leading Zen
masters. He was the founder and spiritual leader of the Mountains
and Rivers Order and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. His work has
been most noted for its unique adaptation of traditional Asian
Buddhism into an American context, particularly with regard to the
arts, the environment, social action, and the use of modern media
as a vehicle of spiritual training and social change. Loori was an
award-winning photographer and videographer. His art and wildlife
photography formed the core of a unique teaching program that
integrated art and wilderness training by cultivating a deep
appreciation of the relationship of Zen to our natural environment.
He was a dharma heir of the influential Japanese Zen master Taizan
Maezumi Roshi and he authored many books.
Kazuaki Tanahashi, a Japanese-trained calligrapher, is the pioneer
of the genre of "one stroke painting" as well as the creator of
multicolor enso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been
shown in solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities
all over the world. Tanahashi has edited several books of Dogen's
writings and is also the author of Brush Mind.
"In this astonishing resource, John Daido Loori Roshi has provided
commentary and verses on each koan. These koans yank us away from
our preconceptions and fixed ideas, forcing us to see what is real.
They perplex us and exhaust reason.”—Spirituality & Health
“Loori Roshi offers to modern students new entry into this profound
and ancient practice.”—Tricycle
"We are fortunate to receive this important new translation by Kaz
Tanahashi and Daido Loori of Zen Master Dogen's early selection of
three hundred koans that formed a basis for his many later koan
commentaries. Daido Loori's introduction discussing Dogen's
approach counteracts prevalent stereotypes that base all koan
practice on later eighteenth-century training systems. Daido
Loori's brief remarks and verse comments after each case suggest
helpful perspectives for practitioners."—Taigen Dan Leighton,
cotranslator and editor, Dogen's Extensive Record and Dogen's Pure
Standards for the Zen Community
"What Daido Roshi now does in a remarkable way is to breathe new
life into the text by innovatively creating prose and verse
comments. The Mana Shobogenzo lives again, and for the lucky
readers so does the thought of Dogen Zenji transmitted to the
twenty-first century."—Steven Heine, co-editor of Dogen's Extensive
Record
"This creative work, presented from the perspective of a Western
Zen teacher, adds a significant contribution in helping to make Zen
more global in its application as a spiritual path."—Shohaku
Okumura, Dharma Successor of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi and founder of
Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington, Indiana
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