Cover of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo

Master Dogen's Shobogenzo

This translation, supported by the Japan Foundation, makes a strong claim to be the definitive translation of the 95 chapter edition of Shobogenzo, the essential Japanese Buddhist text, written in the 13th century by Zen Master Dogen. The translation adheres closely to the original Japanese, with a clear style and extensive annotations. Book 1 presents translations of twenty-one chapters of Shobogenzo including Genjo-koan (The Realized Universe), Soku-shin-ze-butsu (Mind Here & Now is Buddha), Uji (Existence-Time), and Sansuigyo (The Sutra of Mountains & Water). Its several reference sections include a Chinese/English appendix of references to the Lotus Sutra, and an extensive Sanskrit glossary. 'At last I visited Zen Master Nyojo of Dai-byaku-ho mountain, and there I was able to complete the great task of a lifetime of practice. After that, at the beginning of the great Sung era of Shojo, I came home determined to spread the Dharma and to save living beings, it was as if a heavy burden had been placed on my shoulders....I will leave this record to people who learn in practice and are easy in the truth, so that they can know the right Dharma of the Buddha's lineage. This may be a true mission.'

Audience
adult
Length
medium · 334 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Master Dogen's Shobogenzo? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Master Dogen's Shobogenzo. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans Shares zen, Buddhism, spirituality
  2. Moon In a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen Shares Buddhism, zen, philosophy
  3. The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain Shares Buddhism, poetry, zen
  4. A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community Shares Buddhism, zen, philosophy

“People who read Master Dogen's Shobogenzo tend to reach for these next.”

  1. No Nature: New and Selected Poems
  2. The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind
  3. Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems
  4. The Selected Poems of Tu Fu

“If you want more of the same (philosophy about buddhism), start with these.”

  1. Living with the Devil
  2. Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy
  3. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
  4. No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen

“If it was the Buddhism that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series
  2. The Zen Experience
  3. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
  4. Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku
  2. The Blue Cliff Record
  3. The Record of Linji: A New Translation of the Linjilu in the Light of Ten Japanese Zen Commentaries
  4. Les Fleurs du Mal