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Hee-Jin Kim
Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist Paperback – January 1, 2000
by Hee-Jin Kim (Author), Taigen Dan Leighton (Foreword)
4.6 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Japanese branch of the Soto Zen Buddhist school, is considered one of the world's most remarkable religious philosophers. Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist is a comprehensive introduction to the genius of this brilliant thinker. This thirteenth-century figure has much to teach us all and the questions that drove him have always been at the heart of Buddhist practice.
At the age of seven, in 1207, Dogen lost his mother, who at her death earnestly asked him to become a monastic to seek the truth of Buddhism. We are told that in the midst of profound grief, Dogen experienced the impermanence of all things as he watched the incense smoke ascending at his mother's funeral service. This left an indelible impression upon the young Dogen; later, he would emphasize time and again the intimate relationship between the desire for enlightenment and the awareness of impermanence. His way of life would not be a sentimental flight from, but a compassionate understanding of, the intolerable reality of existence.
At age 13, Dogen received ordination at Mt. Hiei. And yet, a question arose: "As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the buddhas of all ages - undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment - find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?" When it became clear that no one on Mt. Hiei could give a satisfactory answer to this spiritual problem, he sought elsewhere, eventually making the treacherous journey to China. This was the true beginning of a life of relentless questioning, practice, and teaching - an immensely inspiring contribution to the Buddhadharma.
As you might imagine, a book as ambitious as Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has to be both academically rigorous and eminently readable to succeed. Professor Hee-Jim Kim's work is indeed both.
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Print length
368 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Wisdom Publications
Publication date
January 1, 2000
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This book is an excellent comprehensive introduction to Dogen's massive corpus of intricate writings as well as to his elegantly simple yet profound practice. It stands as the best overall general introduction to Dogen's teaching." -- From the new foreword by Taigen Dan Leighton
"This book's re-issue represents an important moment in the history of Dogen studies. Kim's work still stands out for the depth and clarity of its elucidation of Dogen as a religious thinker and practitioner." -- Mark Unno, Editorial Board, Journal of Religious Ethics, and author of Shingon Refractions
"Down through the years and through its earlier editions, it was always to Dr. Kim's book that I turned first in any matter relating to Dogen. Now from his retirement from a fine academic career, we have the fruit of his lifetime of research and meditation. I am very grateful." -- Robert Aitken, author of Taking the Path of Zen and The Morning Star: New and Selected Zen Writings
"Dogen is no easy read--fortunately Kim's book, itself a polished gem, expertly guides a reader into what is simultaneously rich and playful in Dogen's Buddhist vision." -- William R. LaFleur, author of Awesome Nightfall: The Life, Times, and Poetry of Saigyo
"A essential volume in any Dogen library." -- Zoketsu Norman Fischer, former abbot, San Francisco Zen Center, and author of Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up
"Kim's work remains a beacon of scholarship into the mind of one of the most remarkable spiritual giants in the history of Zen." -- John Daido Loori, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery
"Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist remains a valuable contribution to all of modern Zen commentary." -- SirReadALot.org
About the Author
Hee-Jin Kim is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington.
Product details
Publisher : Wisdom Publications; Revised edition (January 1, 2000)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0861713761
ISBN-13 : 978-0861713769
Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 0.9 x 9 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #1,050,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#823 in Zen Philosophy (Books)
#1,061 in Zen Spirituality
#1,127 in Asian & Asian Americans BiographiesCustomer Reviews:
4.6 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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Jazz Fish Zen
5.0 out of 5 stars but I thought this was a good introduction to his life and thoughtReviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018
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I'm fairly new to Dogen, but I thought this was a good introduction to his life and thought. I've practiced Zen over twenty years and found it compatible but challenging. It did open my eyes to many things about Zen and Zen practice. It gets very philosophical and was hard for me to follow at times though. Without a solid Zen practice though I doubt a person could necessarily make heads or tails of what's being conveyed. Gassho...
5 people found this helpful
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Robert Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars Basic.Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2020
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This book,
along with Kim’s sequel, “Dogen on Meditation and Thinking,” (2007) has been my basic guidance in life.
4 people found this helpful
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Upasaka Heng He
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, complicatedReviewed in the United States on June 23, 2013
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It's a good study, just don't buy if you need an "easy intro to Dogen" - that's not the book you're looking for. It's scholastic and rather advanced.
11 people found this helpful
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Holographic Harry
5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for much historyReviewed in the United States on October 21, 2011
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Very informative. Historical background revealing where Dogen came from in his thought process and practical position. More doctrine and dogma than a course in Buddhism. Excellent work.
6 people found this helpful
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Sam KoKyo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on October 16, 2014
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Well written, and well documented !
2 people found this helpful
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Ted Biringer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Essential Work on Dogen Available in EnglishReviewed in the United States on April 18, 2008
If I had to choose between Hee-Jin Kim's Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist and all the other books on Dogen Zenji, author of Zen masterpiece Shobogenzo, I would not need to ponder--I would choose Mystical Realist.
The only other books in English that come close to Mystical Realist in their importance for understanding and appreciating Dogen and his writings are Hee-Jin Kim's two other masterful explorations of this seminal thirteenth century Zen master. These are, Dr. Kim's most recent book Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: His View on Zen, and his 1985 publication, Flowers of Emptiness: Selections From Dogen's Shobogenzo.
Ever since its original publication in 1975 (then titled: Dogen Kigen--Mystical Realist) Professor Kim's Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has remained at the top of the list as the definitive English language book on the founder of Soto Zen in Japan and his works. This work has undergone several revisions (the latest in 2004) that have allowed Hee-Jin Kim to improve upon his original message. These revisions have allowed Kim to expand upon his ideas as they have been refined through the years, as well as to make corrections to the translations and keep the book current with ongoing scholarship.
While the revisions have improved the overall flow of his message, and improved the book's readability, its central teachings have stood firmly throughout. The insight that Kim offered us on Eihei Dogen and his work has remained essential unchanged. Like Master Dogen's own work, Kim's Mystical Realist is as vital and lively today as it was when it was originally published. This book is truly an extraordinary achievement, and as of all Kim's work, an essential text for students, not only of Dogen, or even Zen, but for anyone interested in exploring the human condition and its potential for actualization.
39 people found this helpful
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Hakuyu
4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging studyReviewed in the United States on October 14, 2005
Kim's work has won the praise of many, not least Robert Aitken Roshi, an American with a lifetime's experience of Zen training. In his foreword to the third edition, Aitken Roshi stated:
"this revised edition . . .now includes many new translations and studies of Dogen, and thus it is most welcome. Dogen wrote at the outermost edge of human communication, touching with every sentence such mysteries as self and other, self and non-self, meditation and realization, the temporal and the timeless, forms and the void.@He wrote of the attitude necessary for understanding, of the practice required. . .of the various insights that emerge, and of the many pitfalls. He did not generally write for beginners - most of his points require very careful study and a few of them elude almost everybody. These challenges are compounded by his creative use of the Japanese language. It has been said that he wrote in "Dogenese," for he made verbs of nouns, nouns of verbs, created new metaphors, and manipulated old sayings to present his particular understanding. . . "
Prof. Kim's study has been based on a careful reading of Dogen's chosen idioms. He has endeavoured to amplify Dogen's understanding of 'do-ri' - or 'reason of the way.' Kim is keen to show that Dogen's use of Zen language is not merely provisional or instrumental, but embodies a 'realisational' dimension. This is exemplified in the notion of the 'genjo-koan' or koan realised in the present, which is to say, actualised in every day activity. In this way, Kim endeavours to show that Dogen's Zen culminates in ' the great way of total exertion' (gujin no daido) or the total actualisation of practice as realization. Kim is a foremost interpreter of Dogen's thought - and, as such, this book deserves a place in every Buddhist library. My only reservation about this study, is that it might have made better sense of the question of how the so-called 'instrumentalist' aspect of koan practice relates to the 'realizational' aspect. Quite rightly, Kim is at pains to point out that accounts of Zen which stress the 'instrumentalist' view of koan practice - and that alone, are one sided, and he has therefore endeavoured to illustrate a different perspective. However, without reflection, we might be left to conclude that Rinzai Zen favours the 'instrumentalist' view - and Soto, the 'realizational' view. Kim knows better, and indeed, in places (p. 165), he has cited certain remarks from Dogen, which concede that the term 'genjo-koan' originated with Engo - a Rinzai master of the Sung, evidently meaning that Rinzai practitioners have appreciated the 'realizational' aspect. As such, the critical references to (Dai-e) Ta-hui which appear elsewhere in the book, seem strangely out of tenor with this fact. Yuan-wu (Engo) was Ta-hui's teacher, and the latter must surely have known of his master's references to the genjo-koan. Conversely, much as we might identify Dogen's Zen with 'shikantaza' (just-sitting), playing down the instrumentalist approach, Dogen also had his experience of 'casting off mind and body' (shinjindatsuraku) - a breakthrough experience more or less akin to that realised by Rinzai followers. Perhaps Prof. Kim will enlighten us on this unresolved problem, at some future point.
25 people found this helpful
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Stndsure
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding on Zen and DogenReviewed in the United States on June 6, 2016
This is an outstanding text that debunks many of the new-age and Californiacted versions of Zen - not to mention the plethora of internet sites claiming expertise on the subject - particularly the ant-intellectual and intuition-only tendencies that are so common among modern students. More later...
3 people found this helpful
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Tariki
5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult, profound and life-givingReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2017
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A difficult read and perhaps that is not just a judgement upon my own brain cells! I would have to say that for one like myself who has found that a lot of religion is simply the betrayal of THIS world for some imagined "other", the attraction of Mahayana Buddhism's identification of samsara ( our world of birth and death ) with nirvana has always held the potential to heal and redeem. Dogen, according to Mr Kim's exposition, taught such. The text must be read slowly and carefully - at least, so I found. Yet the text rewards such care and attention. Though myself a Pure Land Buddhist ( or as Mr Kim writes, "Pure Realm Buddhism" ) and Mr Kim draws distinctions between the thought of Dogen and Shinran ( one of the "fathers" of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism ) I found some passages deeply transformative - or as transformative as words/philosophy can be. Also extraordinarily "modern". One of the very best books I have ever read. Thank you.
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QIreviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece - Rewarding, but hard workReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2014
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This is a first rate book. It definitely leans towards the philosophical and uses some very dense language. However if you want to understand Shobogenzo I couldn't think of anything better. A masterpiece.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccable brand new condition - good Intro' by the author bringing the research up to ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2016
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Impeccable brand new condition - good Intro' by the author bringing the research up to date since it was written 40 years ago, with references in different languages.
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Klara Fall
5.0 out of 5 stars Einer der besten Einführungen zu Dogens DenkenReviewed in Germany on June 9, 2014
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Wer plant, sich mit dem Denken des einflussreichen japanischen Zen-Meisters Dogen-Zenji zu beschäftigen, sollte nicht gleich zu seinem schwer verdaulichen Hauptwerk, dem Shobogenzo, greifen, sondern sich diese geniale Arbeit von Prof. Kim zu Gemüte führen. Leider ist diese gut verständliche Einführung noch nicht ins Deutsche übersetzt worden. (Deutsche Verlage, die sich auf Zen-Literatur spezialisieren, ignorieren diese wichtige, dem Verständnis zuträgliche Arbeit nach wie vor). Zen-Interessierte, die vor dem Englischen keine Berührungsängste haben, empfehle ich auch noch zwei andere Arbeiten von Hee-Jin Kim: Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: His View on Zen, und Flowers of Emptiness: Selections From Dogen's Shobogenzo.
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Felipe
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good bookReviewed in Brazil on January 26, 2018
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A great book. However, it is very academic (not recommended for beginners). Complicated reading, which depends on a lot of attention, previous knowledge and frequent re-reading of previous excerpts. For those who like philosophical knowledge and analysis, recommended.
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Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist
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Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist
by Hee-Jin Kim, Taigen Dan Leighton (Foreword)
4.26 · Rating details · 65 ratings · 3 reviews
Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Japanese branch of the Soto Zen Buddhist school, is considered one of the world's most remarkable religious philosophers. Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist is a comprehensive introduction to the genius of this brilliant thinker. This thirteenth-century figure has much to teach us all and the questions that drove him have always been at the heart of Buddhist practice.
At the age of seven, in 1207, Dogen lost his mother, who at her death earnestly asked him to become a monastic to seek the truth of Buddhism. We are told that in the midst of profound grief, Dogen experienced the impermanence of all things as he watched the incense smoke ascending at his mother's funeral service. This left an indelible impression upon the young Dogen; later, he would emphasize time and again the intimate relationship between the desire for enlightenment and the awareness of impermanence. His way of life would not be a sentimental flight from, but a compassionate understanding of, the intolerable reality of existence.
At age 13, Dogen received ordination at Mt. Hiei. And yet, a question arose: "As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the buddhas of all ages - undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment - find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?" When it became clear that no one on Mt. Hiei could give a satisfactory answer to this spiritual problem, he sought elsewhere, eventually making the treacherous journey to China. This was the true beginning of a life of relentless questioning, practice, and teaching - an immensely inspiring contribution to the Buddhadharma.
As you might imagine, a book as ambitious as Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has to be both academically rigorous and eminently readable to succeed. Professor Hee-Jim Kim's work is indeed both. (less)
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Paperback, Third Edition, 368 pages
Published January 1st 2000 by Wisdom Publications
Original TitleEihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, Revised, Third Edition
ISBN0861713761 (ISBN13: 9780861713769)
Edition LanguageEnglish
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Henry
Jan 05, 2022Henry rated it really liked it
Zen Master Dōgen was one tripped out mf. Some parts were extremely difficult to comprehend. I'd say I understood like 40% of the book ngl. It was very wordy in parts.
It was worth the effort though...It's elucidated a lot of the underlying philosophy of Zen for me which I've found deeply rewarding. (less)
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R Strange
Aug 23, 2013R Strange rated it it was ok
Not recommended for casually curious readers. I've been slowly working on this one for months. You have to have some experience with the specific concerns of Zen to realize much interest in the role Dogen played as a reformer in Japan. This book is largely about Dogen's scholastic influence, and the context of his objections and simplifications. Though the author teases continually throughout the book that they are going to get around to discussing his poetry, fans of his elegant, beautiful verse, or people who have viewed the movie of his life of rambling for years on foot, or his stands against the warrior monasteries run by noble appointees, will be disappointed at how the book is strangely devoid of Dogen's finer moments as a mystic poet, instead preferring a dogmatic survey of his theoretical writings. The author of this book is a devoted student, but not a fellow poet, and definitely not a mystic. (less)
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Ed
May 30, 2013Ed rated it really liked it
There is really a lot of depth here, and spending time with it has enhanced my reading of Dogen's work in some foundational ways. But I would still love to see a non-academic overview of Dogen's life and work for the lay Zen practitioner. This is not the last time I plan to read this book. (less)
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