"Purifying Zen: Watsuji Tetsuro's Shamon Dogen makes available in a clear and fluid translation an early classic in modern Japanese philosophy. Steve Bein's annotations, footnotes, introduction, and commentary bridge the gap separating not only the languages but also the cultures of its original readers and its new Western audience." --from the Foreword by Thomas P. Kasulis

In 1223 the monk Dogen Kigen (1200-1253) came to the audacious conclusion that Japanese Buddhism had become hopelessly corrupt. He undertook a dangerous pilgrimage to China to bring back a purer form of Buddhism...