This Zen classic is a collection of talks by the great Japanese Zen Master Dogen, the founder of the Soto School. They were recorded by Ejo, one of Dogen's first disciples, and later his foremost successor. The talks and stories in this volume were written in the thirteenth-century Japan, a time when Buddhism was undergoing a "dark age" of misinterpretation and corruption. It was in this atmosphere that Dogen attempted to reassert the true essence of the Buddhist teachings and to affirm "the mind of the Way" and the doctrine of selflessness. Dogen emphasizes the disciplinary aspect of Zen:...

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 (12001253) 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...