Sufism and Taoism: a comparative study of key philosophical concepts. By Toshihiko Izutsu. J of the Royal Asiatic Society | Cambridge Core

Sufism and Taoism: a comparative study of key philosophical concepts. By Toshihiko Izutsu. pp. viii, 493. Berkeley etc., University of California Press. 1984. £23.00. | Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society | Cambridge Core
Sufism and Taoism: a comparative study of key philosophical concepts. By Toshihiko Izutsu. pp. viii, 493. Berkeley etc., University of California Press. 1984. £23.00.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Michael Scott

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Of course, there is no doubt that we need a common language in every application. But it seems that in this case, it is better to assign the common language to the characteristics and attributes, that is, instead of making Tao equivalent in terms of language, we can list the characteristics and characteristics that are in Chinese culture, and Especially the Tao Tejing has stated for Tao, we should equate it in Islamic mysticism and if we do not find any exact equivalent, we should express the closest element. At the end of this article, it is necessary to mention this point that what was stated in the review of the mentioned book does not reduce the high value of this book. Bishek Izutsu, as he himself stated, had a difficult task ahead of him. 

Part of the objections of the book comes back to the fact that none of these two traditions that he compared in this book were native to him and he got to know them from outside. However, this book has been successful in its goal to a large extent. It is hoped that by reviewing and criticizing books in this field and expanding comparative studies, the way for such studies that can help to know more about religious traditions will be paved. 

Bibliography of Izutsu, 

Toshie Yoko (1382), Spokesman of East and West, Tehran: University of Tehran, Institute for Research and Development of Human Sciences. 

"Transhistorical dialogue and meta-dialogue in Izutsu's thought", in Speaking of the East and the West (Collection of Proceedings of the Conference Commemorating Professor Toshihiko Izutsu), Tehran: University of Tehran, Institute for Research and Development of Human Sciences. 

Kayseri Rumi, Mohammad Dawood (1375), Description of Fuss al-Hakam, Edited by Professor Jalaluddin Ashtiani, Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publishing Company. 

Yu Lan, Fang (1380), History of Chinese Philosophy, translated by Farid Javaherkalam, Tehran: Forozan Rooz Publishing and Research. 

Izutsu, Toshihiko (1983), Sufism and Taoism, California : University of California Press.

AN ASSESSMENT OF IZUTSU’S SUFISM AND TAOISM by Anis Malik Thoha

13._Izutsu_Anis.pdf

IZUTSU’S APPROACH TO THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RELIGIONS:

AN ASSESSMENT OF HIS SUFISM AND TAOISM

Anis Malik Thoha

Introduction

Doing comparison is man‟s „business as usual‟. Even the simple person does it in his daily affairs in order to get a better choice. However, to do it scholarly or scientifically has been evidently and exceptionally the concern of sophisticated minds throughout the ages. Especially when the comparison involves belief systems or religions toward which complete neutrality or objectivity is almost impossible.1 Hence arose the important question on “who should carry out the exercise” and “how it should be carried out” in the long and fierce debates among the scholars and students of modern study of religions.

As for the former, there seems to be no conclusive and objective answer as to whether the student of comparative study of religions must be a religious or non-religious person (skeptic and atheist). And it is quite unlikely to have such an answer,2 since the very question is actually problematic. Because, in the final analysis, man has never been human, and cannot continue to be so, without a “set of value” in which he/she believes to be the ultimate truth, so that based upon this “set of value”, he/she judges, evaluates, and selects. Accordingly, it will certainly make no difference whether we call it religion or not.3

1 Yet according to Søren Kierkegaard, “religion is something that toward which neutrality is not possible.” [Quoted in Joachim Wach, The Comparative Study of Religions (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), p. 9].

2 Geoffrey Parrinder, for instance, tries to discuss in his Comparative Religion the question and concludes finally with an answer which is in favour of the religious. [Geoffrey Parrinder, Comparative Religion (London: Sheldon Press, [1962] 1976), pp. 65, 120].

3 That religion has been the main source and supplier of value is self-evident and commonly

 

Whilst the latter, apparently the major discussions are addressed mainly to the issue of “descriptiveness-normativeness” or “objectivity- subjectivity” along with the types of approach to the study of religions (i.e., psychological, sociological, anthropological, historical, phenomenological, etc.),4 neglecting the issue of what we may call “representation”, which is equally (if not more) important to be taken into account, in order for the study to have its expected validity, credibility and commendability. This is true especially when the study involves a comparison between two or more religions. Otherwise, in the absence of the valid representation, it will be invalid, non-credible and non-commendable.

However, as far as my humble readings can tell, there are only very few scholars who really have paid due attention to this issue of “representation”, although many of them may have implemented this principle implicitly in their works. From the classical scholars, among these few, is Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿĀmirī (d.381 AH/922 CE),5 a prominent Muslim philosopher, who deliberately addressed this issue and made it crystal clear in the introduction to his work on “comparative study of religion” under the title al-Iʿlām bi-Manāqib al-Islām, in which he compared “six world religions” between each other.6 He was fully

undeniable. But evidently, the ideologies and isms have remarkably functioned the same throughout the ages. In this regard, Paul Tillich observed that:

The outside observer is always an inside participant with a part of his being, for he also has confessed or concealed answers to the questions which underlie every form of religion. If does not profess a religion proper, he nevertheless belongs to a quasi-religion, and as consequence he also selects, judges, and evaluates. [Paul Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions (New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1963), p. 2].

Since by design they are usually meant as alternative to religions proper, some modern scholars simply call them “quasi-religions” [see: Paul Tillich, op. cit.], or “worldviews”, “semi-religions”, “weltanschauungs” [see: Ninian Smart, Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the World’s Beliefs (London: Harper Collins, 1996)].

4 See a critical analysis of this issue: Anis Malik Thoha, “Objectivity and the Study of Religion,” in Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2009, pp. 83-92.

5 He is Muḥammad ibn Abī Dharr Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī al-Nīsābūrī, well-known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿĀmirī, born in Nīsābūr in the beginnings of 4th century AH, died in the same city in 381 AH/922 CE. [Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī, al-Iʿlām bi-Manāqib al-Islām, edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Ghurāb (Cairo: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī li al-Ṭibāʿati wa al-Nashr, 1387 AH/1967 CE), p. 6].

6 Based on the Qur‟anic āyah 17, sūrah al-Ḥajj:

 

ﭫﭬﭭ

 

ﭢﭣﭤﭥﭦﭧﭨ ﭩﭪ ﴿ﭛﭜﭝﭞﭟﭠﭡ

ﭮﭯ ﭰ ﭱﭲ﴾،

 

aware that many of the writers and researchers had, wittingly or unwittingly, ignored this important issue. Further he said:

The description of merit of a thing against the other by way of comparing between the two could be right or otherwise. The right form is subject to two conditions. First, one must not make comparison except between the two similar types, i.e. he must not resort purposely to the noblest thing in this, then he compares it with the lowest in its counterpart; nor must he resort purposely to a principle among the principles of this, then he compares it with a branch among the branches of the other. Second, one must not resort purposely to a qualified property in some sect, which is not extensive in its whole, but then he attributes it to all of its classes.

Whenever the intelligent one observes these two conditions in comparing between things it will be easy for him to fulfill all the portions of comparisons adhering to the right in his exercise.7

Regardless of whether al-ʿĀmirī, in his work, was committed to what he had stated above or not (this is subject to further research), it is worth emphasizing here that these two principles of comparative study espoused by him in this passage – i.e., (i) the two (or more) objects of comparison must be of the same level in all respects, and (ii) each of them must be the qualified “representative” of its constituents – are logically and incontestably self-evident.

Meanwhile, among the modern scholars in the comparative study of religion, who have the same concern is Robert Charles Zaehner (1913- 1974). He stated vividly in his Mysticism: Sacred and Profane that:

It is quite absurd, for example, to quote the late philosophic mystic, Ibn al-

„Araby, as an authentic exponent of the Muslim Tradition since he has been rejected by the majority of the orthodox as being heretical. Such a ‘method’ has

nothing to commend it. It merely serves to irritate those who are genuinely puzzled by the diversity of the world‟s great religions.8

Al-ʿĀmirī confined the number of world religions to six only: Islam, Judaism, Sabeanism, Christianity, Magianism, and Polytheism. [see Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī, op. cit.]

7 The original Arabic text is as follows:

إن تجٍبن فضٍهخ انشًء ػهى انشًء ثحست انمقبثالد ثٍىٍمب قد ٌكُن صُاثب َقد ٌكُن خطأ    . َصُزح

انصُاة مؼهقخ ثشٍئٍه: أحدٌمب: أال ٌُقغ انمقبٌسخ إال ثٍه األشكبل انمتجبوسخ، أػىً أال ٌؼمد إنى أشسف مب

فً ٌرا فٍقٍسً ثأزذل مب في صبحجً، ٌَؼمد إنى أصم مه أصُل ٌرا فٍقبثهً ثفسع مه فسَع ذاك . َاَخس:

إنى خهخ مُصُفخ فً فسقخ مه انفسق، غٍس مستفٍضخ فً كبفتٍب، فٍىسجٍب إنى جمهخ طجقبتٍب . انؼبقم فً انمقبثهخ ثٍه األشٍبء ػهى ٌرٌه انمؼىٍٍه فقد سٍم ػهًٍ انمأخر فً تُفٍخ حظُظ أال ٌؼمد َمتى حبفع

انمقبثالد، َكبن مالشمب نهصُاة فً أمسي. 127] p. cit., op. .[al-ʿĀmirī,

8 R. C. Zaehner, Mysticism: Sacred and Profane (London: Oxford University Press, 1961),

p. 31. (emphasis added).

 

It is clear that, according to both al-ʿĀmirī and Zaehner, in order for the comparative study of religions to be credible and commendable, it must fulfill the requirements of “representation” adequately.

Preliminary Assessment of Izutsu’s Approach

Perhaps, the book entitled Sufism and Taoism is the only work of Professor Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993) which might fall under the discipline of comparative study of religion, in its narrowest sense. Although it is unclear whether he has purposely wished it to be so or not, yet he did make it clear that it is a work meant for a comparison. Moreover, according to him, it is a structural comparison between the two “worldviews” – one of which is sufistic (Islamic) and the other Taoist, that have no historical connection. He said further:

[T]he main purpose of the present work in its entirety is to attempt a structural comparison between the worldview of Sufism [Islam] as represented by Ibn ʿArabī and the worldview of Taoism as represented by Lao-tzŭ and Chuang- tzŭ….

[T]he dominant motive running through the entire work is the desire to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy and mysticism.9

The term “worldview” and “weltanschauung” is increasingly used in the contemporary religious and philosophical studies to mean religion exchangeably.10 And on top of that, the work is deliberately written by the author to facilitate the existing inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue by providing an alternative ground to the current practices, which he calls “meta-historical or transhistorical dialogue”, borrowing Professor Henri Corbin‟s term “un dialogue dans la métahistoire”.11

Hence, the main task of this essay is focusing exclusively on this particular issue of approach used by Professor Izutsu in this particular work, in order to assess the extent to which it is logically and comparatively adequate, credible and commendable. No doubt at all that his extensive study of the key philosophical concepts of Ibn ʿArabī

9 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, [1983] 1984), p. 1. (emphasis added)

10 See the footnote 3 above.

11 Ibid., p. 2.

 

(1165-1240) and Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ, taken independently, is exceptionally excellent, as so are his other works seem to be. However, when it is seen from a comparative perspective properly, taking into account that it is principally meant by the author as a comparative study – and not just any comparison but a structural comparison between the two worldviews, a crucial question is indeed in order. It is a question on whether the issue of representation for these two worldviews has been addressed adequately in this work or not. In other words, whether the representatives (figures and thoughts) selected by Izutsu in this work do represent adequately the two worldviews respectively, that is, Ibn ʿArabī for Sufism and Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ for Taoism.

As far as Taoism is concerned, I think nobody will dispute or disagree with Izutsu. For all scholars (insiders as well as outsiders) on this religion unanimously recognized Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ as founders of Taoism, and their thoughts as representing the mainstream of Taoism.12 Thus, such a question of representation does no longer arise. (Therefore, this essay will not touch this issue with regard to Taoism). But the case is totally different with regard to Ibn ʿArabī in Sufism, let alone in Islam. Although his followers and admirers recognized him as al-Shaykh al-Akbar (the greatest master),13 his thoughts are by no means the mainstream of Sufism. Yet, contrary to that, they are considered by the majority of ʿulamā’ (Muslim scholars) as deviating from the mainstream of Sufism and, above all, of Islamic thought in general. The main charge against Ibn ʿArabī is his unusual and unorthodox thought which is commonly identified as pantheism, the unity of existence (waḥdat al-wujūd). Since this line of sufistic thought has never been known in the early tradition of Islam, especially in the Prophet‟s tradition, the Muslim scholars tend to consider it as heresy or heterodoxy (bidʿah).14 Hence, later on, many of

12 All references on world religions and faiths confirm this fact. See for instance: Huston Smith, Religions of Man (New York, Cambridge, London: Perennia Library – Harper & Row Publishers, [1958] 1965); Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind (Glasgow: Collins Fount Paperbacks, [1969] 12th impression 1982); S. A. Nigosian, World Faiths (New York: St. Martin Press, 1994).

13 The title of al-Shaykh al-Akbar (the greatest master) for Ibn ʿArabī became well-known after Sultan Salim I issued a decree in 922 AH to build a mosque in Damascus on the name of this Sufi master. [See Dr. Muḥammad ʿAlī Ḥājj Yūsuf, Shams al-Gharb: Sīrah al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī wa-Madhhabuh (Aleppo: Dār Fuṣṣilat, 1427/2006), p. 16].

14 See for instance: Taqiyy al-Dīn ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn Taymiyyah in his Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Vol. 2, p. 143; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khaldūn in his Muqaddimah, (Beirut: Dār wa Maktabah al-Hilāl, 1983), pp. 206, 297; Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān Al-Dhahabī,

  

the contemporary Muslim scholars, such as Abū al-Wafā‟ al-Taftāzānī, term it as “heretical Sufism” (al-taṣawwuf al-bidʿī) to be distinguished from the one which is “traditional” (al-taṣawwuf al-sunnī) following the mainstream tradition of Islam. And because the former is more philosophical in nature, it is also known as “philosophical Sufism” (al- taṣawwuf al-falsafī).15 At any rate, the foregoing discussion has clearly shown that the place of Ibn ʿArabī in Sufism is far beyond the mainstream. Therefore, any attempt to introduce this Shaykh as representative of Sufism is methodologically questionable.

This question becomes more vibrant, pertinent and crucial when the comparative study is meant specifically as an attempt to embark on propagating certain agenda (be it ideological, philosophical or religious), such as philosophia perennis which is very controversial and to which Professor Izutsu seems to belong and subscribe ardently, or, rather idealizes. It is well-established that scholars in the discipline of comparative study of religion are particularly very sensitive to such an agenda, emphasizing the necessity to freeing it from any sort of attempts that would eventually divert and disqualify its neutrality and objectivity. Regardless of the question pertaining to the possibility and impossibility of full-fledge neutrality and objectivity, Izutsu rather spells this agenda out clearly following his conviction with “un dialogue dans la métahistoire” or “meta-historical or transhistorical dialogue”, as he states:

And meta-historical dialogues, conducted methodologically, will, I believe, eventually be crystallized into a philosophia perennis in the fullest sense of the term. For the philosophical drive of the human Mind is, regardless of ages, places and nations, ultimately and fundamentally one.

I readily admit that the present work is far from even coming close to this

ideal.16

Although philosophia perennis, as a school of philosophy, badly needs in itself to be studied and analyzed further, but since the main concern of this essay is on the issue of methodological approach employed by

in his Siyar al-Aʿlām al-Nubalā’, Vol. 23 (Beyrut: Mu‟assasat al-Risālah, 11th Printing, 1422 H./2001M.), pp. 48-9.

15 Further detail, see for instance: Dr. Abū al-Wafā‟ al-Ghunaymī al-Taftāzānī, al-Madkhal ilā al-Taṣawwuf al-Islāmī (Cairo: Dār al-Thaqāfah, 1988); and Abū Muḥammad Raḥīm al-Dīn Nawawī al-Bantanī, Madkhal ilā al-Taṣawwuf al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Islāmī (Cairo: Dār al-Amān, 1424 H./2003 M.).

16 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. 469. (emphasis in the second paragraph added)

 

Izutsu, we should confine ourselves to this approach leaving aside the study and analysis of this school of philosophy in detail to the other relevant works.17

It is interesting to note, nevertheless, that Izutsu‟s perennial tendency is not clearly spelt out in any of his works other than Sufism and Taoism. Not even in his The Concept and Reality of the Existence18 and God and Man in the Koran19 which are rightly supposed to address the point elaboratively and clearly. Probably this is the main reason why many of the students and scholars on Izutsu fail to notice this point. For instance, in his presentation under the title “Communicating Pure Consciousness Events: Using Izutsu to address A Problem in the Philosophy of Mysticism,” Dr. Sajjad H. Rizvi from University of Exeter, UK, on the conviction of the possibility of „pure consciousness experience‟ (PCE) of mystical experience, tried all out to argue that Izutsu is far from being a perennialist,20 ignoring the very fact of text written by himself above which is quite straight forward and, thus, obviously self-evident. Indeed, even in this latter work of Izutsu, a careful and meticulous reading of the chapter “Existentialism East and West,” will surely show, though by way of inference, the perennial tendency of Izutsu. He says:

…. Then we shall notice with amazement how close these two kinds of philosophy [Western existentialism and Islamic existentialism] are to each other in their most basic structure. For it will become evident to us that both go back to one and the same root of experience, or primary vision, of the reality of existence. This primary vision is known in Islam as aṣālat al-wujūd, i.e. the “fundamental reality of existence”.21

The phrase “both go back to one and the same root of experience, or primary vision, of the reality of existence,” is a typical expression of

17 There are studies on the perennial philosophy or Sophia perennis. And I have a humble contribution to this study in my book, Al-Taʿaddudiyyah al-Dīniyyah: Ru’yah Islāmiyyah (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2005).

18 Toshihiko Izutsu, The Concept and Reality of the Existence (Tokyo: The Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1971).

19 Toshihiko Izutsu, God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung

(North Stratford: Ayer Co. Publisher, [1964] repr. 2002).

20 Sajjad H. Rizvi, “Communicating Pure Consciousness Events: Using Izutsu to Address A Problem in the Philosophy of Mysticism,” a paper presented in the International Conference on Contemporary Scholarship on Islam: Japanese Contribution to Islamic Studies – The Legacy of Toshihiko Izutsu, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 August 2008, and is included in this volume, pp. 157-170.

21 Toshihiko Izutsu, The Concept and Reality of the Existence, p. 27. (emphasis added)

 

the perennialism (Sophia Perennis or al-Ḥikmah al-Khālidah). “The Masters”22 of this school of philosophy expressed it differently: René Guénon (1886-1951) used a phrase the Multiple States of Being;23 Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), in The Perennial Philosophy, paraphrased it as “the Highest Common Factor;”24 Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) and Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933) called it the Transcendent Unity of Religion.25 In fact, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism is comparable to one of René Guénon‟s posthumous collections entitled Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism.26

Why not Islam and Taoism?

The foregoing analysis might lead eventually to such questions as, firstly, why Izutsu deliberately chooses Sufism and Taoism for his comparative study, rather than Islam and Taoism; and, secondly, why he chooses Sufism of Ibn ʿArabī per se among the prominent sufi figures. Of course, only Izutsu does know exactly the precise answer to this question. However, in the discipline of comparative study of religion today, scholars have discussed extensively the hypothetical definition of religion, and, thus, come up with some sort of typology of religions. Some of them have attempted to classify religions into “mystical” and “prophetic”, emphasizing that mysticism is “the highest type of religions”, as was commonly suggested by perennialists and transcendentalists. Accordingly, it is quite convenient for them to do a comparative study between Sufism and Taoism. Indeed, as I have just mentioned above, René Guénon wrote articles published later on in his posthumous collections entitled Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism. From this perspective, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism has been considered by some contemporary scholars, such as Professor Kojiro

22 In his works, Seyyed Hossein Nasr calls René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon as “The Masters”.

23 René Guénon, The Multiple States of Being, (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis, [1932] 2002).

24 Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy (London: Fontana Books, [1944] 3rd impression 1961).

25 Frithjof Schuon, Esoterism as Principle and as Way, translated from French by William Stoddart (Pates Manor, Bedfont, Middlesex: Perennial Books, [1978] 1981); and his The Transcendent Unity of Religions, translated from French by Peter Townsend (New York, London: Harper Torchbooks, [1948] 1975); also Seyyed Hossein Nasr, „The Philosophia Perennis and the Study of Religion,‟ in Frank Whaling (ed.), The World’s Religious Traditions: Current Perspectives in Religious Studies, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1984), pp. 181-200; and his Knowledge and the Sacred (Lahore: Suhail Academy, [1981] 1988).

26 René Guénon, Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2003).

 

Nakamura, a prominent Japanese scholar in comparative religion,27 as a significant contribution which might offer a new vista in the field of comparative religion and interreligious dialogue. But then, whether Sufism is mysticism is actually a highly debatable question that badly needs further research and study. What is clear from the above discussion is that, as far as the Muslim scholars are concerned, they distinguished Sufism into sunnī (traditional) and falsafī (philosophical). And even if philosophical Sufism could be readily labeled mysticism, it represents only a part, nay a small part, of Sufism.

As for the second question, it seems that Izutsu‟s selection of Ibn ʿArabī, and not other ṣūfī figures, as the representative of Sufism is simply because the main interest of Izutsu is actually to establish what he called a “common language” which, according to him, is a necessary ground for the projected meta-historical dialogues could be made possible. He put it as follows:

These considerations would seem to lead us to a very important methodological problem regarding the possibility of meta-historical dialogues. The problem concerns the need of a common linguistic system. This is only natural because the very concept of „dialogue‟ presupposes the existence of a common language between two interlocutors.28

Yet, this “common language”, which is in the form of “key-terms and concepts”, is hardly to be found in the predominant and “authoritative” Islamic thought (kalām) and philosophy that are grounded directly on the Qur‟anic and Sunnatic (traditional) principles as well-represented in the thoughts and works of, for instance, al- Ghazālī,29 al-Qushayrī30 and the likes. Somehow, this is a matter of fact that has been recognized and realized by Izutsu himself indirectly when he wrote his God and Man in the Koran, in which he dealt with these two grand key-terms and concepts mainly from Qur‟anic perspective. In this work, the “common language”, in the sense of that which he wanted eagerly to establish in his comparison between Sufism and Taoism, is completely absent, though the main thrust of the

27 Kojiro Nakamura, “The Significance of Izutsu‟s Legacy for Comparative Religion,” a paper presented in the International Conference on Contemporary Scholarship on Islam: Japanese Contribution to Islamic Studies – The Legacy of Toshihiko Izutsu, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 August 2008, and is included in this volume, pp. 171-180.

28 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. 471. (emphasis added).

29 See, for example, his Iḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn.

30 See his Al-Risālah (Beyrut: Dār al-Jīl, 1990).

 

two works is almost, if not totally, the same, viz. about God and man.

Instead, the “common language” or “philosophical ground” for a comparative study, or a dialogue, between Sufism and Taoism is only to be found easily and definitely in such thoughts of the mystics or philosophers as that of Ibn ʿArabī‟s. Perhaps this is that can best explain the reason of Izutsu‟s selection of Ibn ʿArabī. But unfortunately the “common language” of those mystics is unintelligible, and thus, unacceptable by the majority of the ṣūfīs, let alone the traditional Muslim thinkers.

Conclusion

Seen from a comparative perspective, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism might be listed under the discipline of comparative study of religion (in the narrowest sense of the term). It is even more so as Professor Toshihiko Izutsu has made it clear in the introduction and conclusion of the book. Scholars in the discipline have painstakingly been discussing and debating on subjects pertaining to the approaches or methodologies appropriate to conduct the study in order to ascertain its objectivity and credibility. It is particularly this crucial issue of approach that this essay has tried to focus on by assessing Izutsu‟s contribution to the field. The main question of this essay has been the problem of “representation,” viz. how methodologically justifiable it is to do a comparative study between, on the one hand, the thought of Ibn ʿArabī as representative of Sufism which is “unorthodox” in the Sufistic trends, let alone in Islam, and on the other, that of Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ as representative of “the main stream” of Taoism.

Although the academic attempts made by this great scholar to explore and find alternative way that leads to the possibility of meta- historical dialogues must be duly acknowledged and credited, but taking into account the issue of “representation” mentioned above and looking at the underlying motive and main objective of the comparative study undertaken by Izutsu in this work, one is sufficiently reasonably justified to cast doubt on the credibility and commendability of the approach used by him and, in turn, on the common ground he proposed.

Where Sufism and Taoism Meets | Technology of the Heart ??

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Where Sufism and Taoism Meets

0 Sadiq Saturday, November 09, 2013



1.
The Black Pearl: Spiritual Illumination in Sufism and East Asian Philosophies by Henry Bayman

 is an unique work in the genre of Comparative Spirituality and Religion, unique because it successfully brings together apparently quite distinct traditions. This was one of the most interesting book I have ever read early on on the subject of Sufism and universal vision of the Sufis at Eastern Religions at a time when I was living in East Asia, somewhat immersed in its culture and tradition. So when I discovered the book at the library of National University of Singapore while I was studying there, it was a welcome source of inspiration and illumination, for it enabled me to appreciate more deeply the Eastern Path and Tradition. The subject matter of language and communication and they are used to communicate truth, aspects of reality always fascinates me, and this book is a very good demonstration how truth can be found in language which are so vastly different in every aspect, yet they embody and points the same truth.

Where are you hurrying to?
you will see
the same moon tonight
wherever you go!

~ Izumi Shikibu


In the preface of this book the author shares how his study and interest earlier in Eastern Philosophies and Thoughts lead him on to Religious Traditions. According to him, Islamic Sufism has much in common with Buddhism, with Taoism, with Zen and Confucianism. He however doesn't deny the differences. This book was not meant to be a comparative study but rather a light on some of the understandings of reality from sufi view as well as that of the eastern religio-spiritual traditions.

I am quoting a part from this book where the concept of God and Taosim is discussed along with God concept in East Asian Culture which is mentioned in chapter 7 of the book. About this chapter the author summarizes as:

Chapter 7 takes up the subject of God in East Asian culture. Although there has not been a strong trend of monotheism in East Asia, yet the sages of various traditions have never been too far from the truth. It is only a slight rearrangement that will help us to discern this universal truth within East Asian wisdom as well. Especially important in this context is the concept of “nirvana in Brahman,” developed on the basis of an insight provided solely by Sufism. The chapter ends with the realization that “there is no deity but God.”


2.
Tao, T’ien, Ti, Kami

The earliest ancestors of the Chinese believed in One God (called Shang Ti or T’ien Ti). It is impossible to overemphasize the fact that Chinese culture and Chinese history begins with the concept of One God. Although today, God is not recognized explicitly in East Asian thought, yet His recognition is just around the corner. The Chinese terms Tao, T’ien, Ti, and the Japanese term Kami all refer to sacredness or the Absolute. Since there cannot be more than one Absolute, at bottom they all must refer to the same thing.

At first, a person may find the identification of Tao, T’ien, Ti, and Kami in this way unusual, even objectionable. They appear to be referring to different concepts. But in reality it is correct, for Truth is only One. It is called “Heavenly Oneness” (ch’ien i) in the Book of Changes, “the All-pervading One” (i kuan) in the Confucian classics, “Holding onto the One” (shou i) in Taoist scriptures, and “One” (Ahad) in the Koran. The goal of human beings, the end result of all self-cultivation, is to realize this Oneness. As the Zen master Hui-neng remarks in the T’an Ching (Platform Sermons), “When One is realized, nothing remains to be done.”



God and the Taoists

The concept of the Tao, Dao, or Way, is at first glance quite similar to the God concept. Further reflection may lead one away from such a notion. The Tao, one finds, is the ultimate metaphysical principle, is impersonal, and is never conceived of as Deity.

On the other hand, further study may also reveal deeper affinities between the Tao and God. In metaphysical terms, Taoism claims that the Tao both is everything and created everything. Only the Tao exists. It has no parts or divisions and nothing inside or outside It. It transcends both time and space. These are all equally valid descriptions of the Real from the standpoint of Sufism.

Probably the work that delves most deeply into the relationship between the concepts of God and Tao is Toshihiko Izutsu’s seminal study, Sufism and Taoism.

According to Izutsu, the Absolute is called Haqq (the Real) by Ibn Arabi and Tao (the Way) by Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Since Chuang Tzu wrote in greater detail than Lao Tzu, it is to the work of the former that we must turn to find references to God, if indeed there are any.

According to the Tao Te Ching, “the Tao produces, or makes grow, the ten thousand things.” So when Chuang Tzu says that the sage “reaches the primordial Purity, and stands side by side with the Great Beginning,” he is saying that the sage is made an eyewitness to the creation (“production”) of the universe (shêng: produce, bring into existence). This he calls the “Great Awakening” (ta chüeh), which he contrasts with the “Big Dream,” our mundane experience of the world in ordinary waking consciousness. Ibn Arabi concurs: “The world is an illusion; it has no real existence.”

According to Chuang Tzu, all things freely transform themselves into one another, which he calls the “Transmutation—or Transformation—of things” (wu hua). This is the Taoist version of “mutual interpenetration” or jijimuge, and is called “the flowing/spreading of Existence” (sarayan al-wujud) by the Sufi sage Ibn Arabi. This suggests that boundaries are real-yet-unreal (a situation highlighted by the phrase “No Boundary”), and that ultimately, all things are merged together into an absolute Unity.

If the Tao “produced” the ten thousand things, then the Tao is in some sense the “creator” of things. Do we find anywhere within the Chuang Tzu (the name of his work) explicit reference to a Creator? The answer is: Yes, we do.

… Chuang Tzu concludes that “there is some real Ruler (chên tsai)”:
It is impossible for us to see Him in a concrete form. He is acting—there can be no doubt about it... He does show His activity, but He has no sensible form.

The way Chuang Tzu uses another term, Virtue (tê), reminds us of another Name, Lord (Rabb), in its Arabic sense. Etymologically linked to the terms “trainer, teacher” (murabbi) and “governess” (murabbiya), rabb describes one who oversees something from beginning to end, who fosters it, nurtures it and brings it to completion. Chuang Tzu says: “The Way gives birth to the ten thousand things. The Virtue fosters them, makes them grow, feeds them, perfects them, crystallizes them, stabilizes, rears, and shelters them.”



Other affinities between Sufism and Taoism abound. Chuang Tzu’s expression, “sitting in oblivion” (tso wang) is the equivalent of the Sufic “Annihilation” (fana), or also perhaps One Who is Independent of all things. In this connection, Chuang Tzu makes a master say: “I have now lost myself,” which means that the sage is ego-less. This points to the annihilation of the subject/object boundary. As Izutsu explains, where there is no “I,” there are no “objects.” It is one of the most difficult things, however, to nullify one’s own self. Once this is achieved, says Chuang Tzu, “the ten thousand things are exactly the same as my own self.” Chuang Tzu’s “illumination” (ming) is another name for Gnosis (marifah).

The “sacred man,” he says, “illuminates everything in the light of Heaven,” and according to the Koran, “God is the Light of the heavens and the earth” (24:35). The Ultimate Man (chi jen) and God are inseparable. Chuang Tzu speaks of “those who, being completely unified with the Creator Himself, take delight in the realm of the original Unity before it is divided into Heaven and Earth.” A sage, according to him, is “the Helper of Heaven,” in parallel with Abdulqader Geylani, who was called the divine Helper (gaws). Chuang Tzu’s “Mystery of Mysteries” (hsüan chih yu hsüan), the ultimate metaphysical state of the Absolute, also happens to be the name of a book by Geylani, “The Mystery of Mysteries” (Sirr al-asrar). This, Izutsu explains, is none other than the Essence of the Absolute (zat al- mutlaq). According to Ibn Arabi, the world is the shadow of the Absolute: “He exists in every particular thing...as the very essence of that particular thing.”

All this points to a further confirmation of a central thesis of this book: God is non-explicit in the East, but this does not mean He is non-existent. Just below the threshold of consciousness, and ready to bloom at the earliest convenience, is the full acknowledgment that God exists.


The Knowledge of No Knowledge

The Taoist sages were well aware that the cognition of Unity entails an entirely different order of knowledge. Chuang Tzu asked: “Who knows this knowledge-without-knowledge?” Fung Yu-lan explains: “In order to be one with the Great One, the sage has to transcend and forget the distinctions between things. The way to do this is to discard knowledge...to discard knowledge means to forget these distinctions. Once all distinctions are forgotten, there remains only the undifferentiable one, which is the great whole. By achieving this condition, the sage may be said to have knowledge of another and higher level, which is called by the Taoists ‘knowledge which is not knowledge.’”

The Sufi sages agree. According to the famous Sufi Sahl Tustari: “Gnosis (marifa) is the knowledge of no-knowledge.”

Mahmud Shabistari explains:
Everything emerges with its opposite.
But God has neither an opposite, nor anything similar! And when He has no opposite, I don’t know:
How can one who follows reason know Him, how?

God informs the Grand Sheikh Abdulqader Geylani, “My Way for the Learned is in abandoning knowledge. The knowledge of knowledge is ignorance of knowledge.” In other words, all differentiation and distinctions have to be “unlearned.” The Yogic term samadhi (synthesis, integration) and the Vedantic advaita (non-duality) point to this undifferentiation, as do the Sufic terms tawhid (Unification) and jam (Fusion).

By “unknowing” the Many (Multiplicity), one comes to know the One (Unity). As Rumi says, “Where should we seek knowledge? In the abandonment of knowledge.” These views have found expression in the Sufi saying: “Forget all you know, transform your knowledge into ignorance.” The Hindu tradition also recognized this truth: as the Kena Upanishad puts it, “To know is not to know, not to know is to know.”

Let us conclude this section by statements to this effect by respective luminaries from the two teachings. Says Lao Tzu: “The further one travels along the Way, the less one knows.” And Abu Bakr, the foremost Companion of the Prophet: “O God, the pinnacle of knowing Whom is unknowing.” Can there be any doubt that both are speaking of the same thing, of “Knowledge of the One”?



None-self but One Self

The Chinese Secret of the Golden Flower begins with the words: “That which exists through itself is called the Way (Tao). Tao has neither name nor shape. It is the one essence, the one primal spirit.” In Sufism, self-existence (qiyam bi-nafsihi, svabhava) is one of the Attributes belonging to God’s Essence. The Sufic term translates literally as “standing by His own self,” and means “dependent on nothing and no one else for His existence.” It is one of the Attributes by which the Essence differs from all other things. All things which the Essence gives rise to, on the other hand, are other-dependent and non-self-existent (qiyam bi- ghayrihi, nihsvabhava, pratityasamutpada). That “other” is the rest of existence and—since the rest of manifestation is equally dependent and powerless—in the final analysis, the Other is the Essence. If Nagarjuna had not equated Emptiness with dependent origination, thus introducing a different ontological category (sunyata, adam), it would have been much easier to see this. Yet even this statement needs to be qualified by the fact that Nagarjuna was originally referring to the “void of self” that the Buddha spoke of, which is technically not at all inaccurate.


[+] The Book the Black Pearl has a copy available in public domain and can be accessed here.

> Also visit Official Website of Henry Bayman.


# Further:
* Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts
* The Perfect Man According to Taoism and Its Relevance with Sufism: A Brief Survey
* Sufism and Zen
* The Tao of Islam by Sachiko Murata
* Om Mani Padme Hum | a sufic interpretation
* How a Taoist Master sends his student to be a Sufi

Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study by Toshihiko Izutsu | Amazon Goodreads

Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts of Ibn 'Arabi and Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu by Toshihiko Izutsu 

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Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts 

 – 6 August 1984
by Toshihiko Izutsu (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars 38 ratings

Edition: 1st
===

In this deeply learned work, Toshihiko Izutsu compares the metaphysical and mystical thought-systems of Sufism and Taoism and discovers that, although historically unrelated, the two share features and patterns which prove fruitful for a transhistorical dialogue. His original and suggestive approach opens new doors in the study of comparative philosophy and mysticism.

Izutsu begins with Ibn 'Arabi, analyzing and isolating the major ontological concepts of this most challenging of Islamic thinkers. Then, in the second part of the book, Izutsu turns his attention to an analysis of parallel concepts of two great Taoist thinkers, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. Only after laying bare the fundamental structure of each world view does Izutsu embark, in the final section of the book, upon a comparative analysis. Only thus, he argues, can he be sure to avoid easy and superficial comparisons. Izutsu maintains that both the Sufi and Taoist world views are based on two pivots-the Absolute Man and the Perfect Man-with a whole system of oncological thought being developed between these two pivots. Izutsu discusses similarities in these ontological systems and advances the hypothesis that certain patterns of mystical and metaphysical thought may be shared even by systems with no apparent historical connection.

This second edition of Sufism and Taoism is the first published in the United States. The original edition, published in English and in Japan, was prized by the few English-speaking scholars who knew of it as a model in the field of comparative philosophy. Making available in English much new material on both sides of its comparison, Sufism and Taoism richly fulfills Izutsu's motivating desire "to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy."


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From the Back Cover

"Professor Izutsu's work is a pioneering attempt to bring into focus the shareable philosophical concerns of two seemingly unrelated landmarks into religious thought. His method is suggestive, interpretation new and bold, and material used important for further research. His book is useful to students of comparative religion, philosophy of religion, cultural anthropology, Asian thought and religion, and Islamic and Taoist studies."--Tu Wei-ming

"[This book] carries out a comparison in depth between Islamic and Chinese thought for the first time in modern scholarship. . . . Since this book appeared it has influenced every work on Ibn 'Arabi and metaphysical Sufism...[and] any cursory study of Sufism during the last fifteen years will reveal the extent of Izutsu's influence."--Seyyed Hossein Nasr

About the Author
Toshihiko Izutsu is Professor Emeritus at Keio University of Japan. A world authority on Islamic thought, he taught for ten years in Iran and has been active in promoting transcultural dialogue in philosophy.


Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ *University of California Press; 1st edition (6 August 1984)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 493 pages


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Dr. Don Whyte
5.0 out of 5 stars A scholarly work.Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 27 June 2014
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This took alot of concentrated time to read but it was worth every minute. His study of Sufism and Taoism is original and well researched. Truly a work of scholarship, recommended for serious students of Sufism and Taoism.
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PW108
5.0 out of 5 stars 

Scholarly and Fascinating: An in-depth Comparison of Two Profound Spiritual Paths

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 10 November 2021
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Professor Toshihiko Izutsu’s writing in this stellar book is amazingly well researched and understandable. Either half of the book could stand on its own, but together they represent a (as far as I know) heretofore unattempted examination of the core aspects of the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi, in relation to the Taoist thought of Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu. 

At first blush, mystical Islam and Taoism may appear to be an odd couple, but as it is with most of the world’s great spiritual traditions, 

they share many esoteric commonalities — regardless of what the dogmatic fundamentalists say.

My introduction to Izutsu was from footnotes in a well-worth exploring book titled “A Treasury of Sufi Wisdom: The Path of Unity” edited by Peter Samsel, and previously reviewed by me as well. 

https://sejinlifeforce.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-treasury-of-sufi-wisdom-path-of-unity.html

I was so impressed with their clarity that I bought the book the citations were from: Izutsu’s “Creation and the Timeless Order of Things: Essays in Islamic Mystical Philosophy.” 

I have recently reviewed this book too.

 In addition, I’ve found one more from his oeuvre thankfully still in print: “Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism.” 

I’ve not read it at the time this review was written, but based on his two books that I have read, I am positive that I’ll find it requiring a review. If these specific areas of philosophy, metaphysics, and religion are in your wheelhouse, then I have no doubts that Izutsu’s work will both impress and enlighten!

3 people found this helpful

Samuel W. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Izutsu meticulously unpacks the profound metaphysics of Ibn ...Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 22 May 2018
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Dr. Izutsu patiently and meticulously unpacks the metaphysics of first, Ibn 'Arabi, and then Zhuangzi and Laozi. He also--particularly with regard to the Daoist masters--beautifully outlines the programs through and by which one comes to embody/become that metaphysics. Finally, he compares and locates deep congruences between Ibn 'Arabi and Zhuangzi/Laozi. This erudite and deeply felt work will stimulate and inspire anyone who is interested in spiritual expansion and/or comparitive mysticism; it might change the minds of those who feel the comparitive mysticism project is misguided, or impossible.

8 people found this helpful

Lydia Mills
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, in depth , thoroughReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 26 October 2017
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The mystics will recognise all the familiar "landmarks" in this amazing book, despite it sounding technical, formal and wordy.
I absolutely loved this book.

10 people found this helpful

William
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't be more pleased.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 15 May 2020
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Excellent item, well described, packaging and speed of mailing were great. Thank you.
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Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts of Ibn 'Arabi and Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu by Toshihiko Izutsu


Toshihiko Izutsu

4.67
6 ratings1 review
Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts

493 pages, Hardcover
Book details & editions

Toshihiko Izutsu was a university professor and author of many books on Islam and other religions. He taught at the Institute of Cultural and Linguistic studies at Keio University in Tokyo, the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy in Tehran, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada.



4.67
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Mamluk Qayser
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April 13, 2022

This book is one of Isutzu's cornerstone: an epic expanding on the works of Ibnu Arabi, especially in his magnum opus Fusus al-Hikam.

Ibnu Arabi is one of the great physical that expounds the teaching of the Unity of Existence (wahdah al-wujud) into Islamic orthodoxy. While, of course, to say that that the orthodoxy fully accepted the idea is stretching too far. The ontological model would always be an uncomfortable fringe to many orthodox figures, for it is not that far from al-Asharite idea of "eternalness of substance" (in comparison to attributes), but the idea of Unity of Existence have too much of fringe of bombastic metaphors and also the cases of (misunderstood?) extremists such as al-Hallaj and other succumbed mystics. It took al-Attas to reformulate the idea in a more sober exposition, pulling it from the high heaven of similes to a robust digestible fact.

The model, in my opinion, is the only robust ontological model that bypasses the jettison between two indubitable facts; of the Absoluteness of God and the existence of the world. Spinoza has answered the first in a more chimerical way in his monism; by concluding God is so Absolute that He also includes within Himself the attributes of extension. The latter part has been answered in its most extreme form by the heretical mystic sects that affirms gross materialism, or perhaps the Asharites and the philosophers, who in their sincere way to retain the transcendence of God, affirm the theory of eternalness of substance.

This model has been expounded again and again somewhere in my reviews here, especially under al-Attas' "Degrees of Existence", al-Ghazzali's "Niche of Light" and Toshihko Isutzu's "Concept and Meaning of Existence".
2022

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hakuin, ekaku. The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin. Translated by Norman Waddell. Boston: shambhala, 2010. a great book with which to start one’s study of this hugely influential 17th–18th century revitalizer of Japanese rinzai Zen.

halifax, Joan. Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death. Boston: shambhala, 2009. a deeply thoughtful book by a Zen teacher, anthropologist, peace activist, and founder of the Project on Being with Dying, an organization that trains health-care professionals in the contemplative care of people who are dying.

harada, shodo. The Path of Bodhidharma. Translated by Priscilla Daichi storandt. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. an excellent collection of teachings by an influential modern rinzai Zen master.

harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. one of the best introductions to the teachings and practices of the various Buddhist traditions.

heine, steven. “Dōgen on the Language of Creative Textual hermeneutics.” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, edited by Bret W. Davis, 215–229. New york: oxford University Press, 2020. an illuminating interpretation of the subtle, playful, and profound treatment of language by this most prolific and philosophical of Zen masters.

———. “on the Value of speaking and Not speaking: Philosophy of Language in Zen Buddhism.” in A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy, edited by steven emmanuel, 349–365. West sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. heine shows how Zen uses language in unusual and creative ways to get us to think and experience outside the box of our accustomed everyday speech.

———. Zen Skin, Zen Marrow: Will the Real Zen Buddhism Please Stand Up? New york: oxford University Press, 2008. an excellent account, moderation, and mediation of debates between upholders of the traditional teachings and narratives of Zen and contemporary scholars who call these into question.

heisig, James W. “sufficiency and satisfaction in Zen Buddhism: recovering an ancient symbolon.” Studies in Formative Spirituality 14, no. 1 (1993): 55–74. an insightful essay on the wisdom of knowing what’s enough.

hershock, Peter D. Chan Buddhism. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2005. a lucid and concise introduction to the formative history and teachings of Chan (i.e., Chinese Zen).

hisamatsu, shin’ichi. “oriental Nothingness.” Translated by richard DeMartino. in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by James W. heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 221–226. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2011. an abridged version of the most famous work by this Kyoto school philosopher and modern Zen reformer.

———. Zen and the Fine Arts. Translated by gishin Tokiwa. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1971. a classic introduction to Zen aesthetics by a lay Zen teacher and philosopher associated with the Kyoto school.

hoffmann, yoel, ed. Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and

Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death. Tokyo: Charles e. Tuttle Company, 1986. a good collection of the parting verses of dozens of Zen masters and poets.

hori, Victor sōgen. “rinzai Kōan Training: Philosophical intersections.” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, edited by Bret W. Davis, 231–245. New york: oxford University Press, 2020. an excellent philosophical explanation of kōan practice by a first-rate scholar who practiced for 13 years as a rinzai Zen monk in Japan.

huineng. The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng. Translated with commentary by red Pine. emeryville, Ca: shoemaker & hoard, 2006. The only Zen text designated a sutra, this reconstructed and embellished record of the life and teachings of the sixth Chinese ancestor of Zen is one of the most influential and treasured texts in the tradition.

ives, Christopher. Zen Awakening and Society. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1992. The best scholarly book available on the ethical and social dimensions of Zen.

izutsu, Toshihiko. Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Boulder: Prajna Press, 1982. an intriguing philosophical interpretation of Zen by one of modern Japan’s most prominent comparative philosophers.

Kapleau, roshi Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment. Twenty-fifth anniversary edition. New york:

Doubleday, 1989. a pivotal work in the Western reception of Zen.

Kasulis, Thomas. Zen Action/Zen Person. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1981. a concise and engaging philosophical treatment of Zen by a pioneer scholar of Japanese philosophy. also highly recommended is the treatment of Zen in Kasulis’s monumental Engaging Japanese Philosophy: A Short History.

Kennedy, robert e. Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life. New york: Continuum, 1995. an important book by a Jesuit priest and Zen teacher.

Kim, hee-Jin. Eihei Dōgen: Mystical Realist. somerville, Ma: Wisdom, 2004. a pioneer and now classic work on this 13th-century founder of Japanese sōtō Zen.

King, sallie B. Socially Engaged Buddhism. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2009. a clear, concise, and insightful introduction to the history of the modern movement of engaged Buddhism.

Kitarō, Nishida. “The Logic of Place and the religious Worldview.” in Last Writings: Nothingness and the Religious Worldview, translated by David a. Dilworth, 47–123. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1987. The last completed work by Nishida and his most sustained treatment of religion.

Knitter, Paul f. Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian. London: oneworld Publications, 2009. an insightful and engaging book by a Christian theologian who became a Buddhist without ceasing to be a Christian.

Kohn, sherab Chödzin. “The Life of the Buddha.” in The Buddha and His Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin Kohn, 3–44. Boston: shambhala, 2003. an excellent retelling of the traditional account of the life of the Buddha.

Kraft, Kenneth, ed. Zen Tradition and Transition: A Sourcebook by

Contemporary Zen Masters and Scholars. New york: grove Press, 1988. a good combination of chapters by modern Zen teachers and scholars.

Linji, yixuan. The Record of Linji. Translated with commentary by ruth fuller sasaki. edited by Thomas yūhō Kirchner. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2009. an excellent and fully annotated translation of this foundational text of the Linji school, which became the rinzai school in Japan.

Loori, John Daido, ed. The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza. second edition. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. an excellent collection of traditional and contemporary writings on zazen as practiced especially in the sōtō school of Zen.

———. The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training. Boston: shambhala, 2002. an introduction to Zen practice by the founder of the Mountains and rivers order, one of the most compelling transplantations of Japanese Zen onto american cultural soil.

———. Finding the Still Point: A Beginner’s Guide to Zen Meditation. Boston: shambhala, 2007. a very accessible and clear step-by-step set of instructions for beginning a practice of Zen meditation.

——— Riding the Ox Home: Stages on the Path of Enlightenment. Boston: shambhala, 2002. a concise and accessible interpretation of the Ten oxherding Pictures.

———, ed. Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Practice of Zen Koan Introspection. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2006. an excellent collection of modern (and a few traditional) writings on the rinzai Zen practice of meditating on kōans.

Low, albert. Zen and the Sutras. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000.

illuminating interpretations of the sutras that are most important for the Zen tradition.

Loy, David r. “how to Drive your Karma.” in Money, Sex, War, Karma:

Notes for a Buddhist Revolution, 53–63. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2008. Clearly makes the case for an empowering rather than fatalistic understanding of karma.

———. The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory. somerville,

Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2003. an insightful development of the Buddhist path of personal transformation into a social critique of consumerism and corporate greed.

———. Lack and Transcendence: The Problem of Death and Life in

Psychotherapy, Existentialism, and Buddhism. New york: humanities Books, 1996. Loy, a comparative philosopher and Zen teacher, compellingly argues that underlying even our fear of death is the anxiety caused by our repressed awareness of the fact that at the core of our being there is a lack of any substantial essence.

———. Nonduality: In Buddhism and Beyond, reprint edition. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2019. The first book by this important comparative philosopher and Zen teacher; explores various indian and Chinese philosophies of nonduality.

Maezumi, Taizan, and Bernie glassman, eds. On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. a landmark collection of essays on the basics of Zen practice by leading teachers in the transmission of sōtō and rinzai Japanese Zen to america.

Magid, Barry. Ordinary Mind: Exploring the Common Ground of Zen and Psychotherapy. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. This practicing psychotherapist and Zen teacher brings the insights of psychotherapy and Zen Buddhism to bear on one another.

Mann, Jeffrey K. When Buddhists Attack: The Curious Relationship between Zen and the Martial Arts. rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2012. an accessible, engaging, and fair treatment of this fascinating— and at times troubling—relationship by a Christian theologian.

McMahan, David L. “repackaging Zen for the West.” in Westward

Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia, edited by Charles s. Prebish and

Martin Baumann, 218–229. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. a concise look at the problems and possibilities of adopting Zen in the West.

Mcrae, John r. Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. an engaging critical examination of the traditional Zen account of its history.

Miura, isshū and ruth fuller sasaki. The Zen Koan: Its History and Use in Rinzai Zen. New york: harcourt Brace & Company, 1965. a classic introduction to kōans as used in the rinzai school of Zen.

Moore, Meido. The Rinzai Zen Way: A Guide to Practice. Boulder: shambhala, 2018. a good introduction to the basics of rinzai Zen practice by a teacher in the lineage of Ōmori sōgen rōshi.

Nāgārjuna. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna’s

Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Translated with commentary by Jay L. garfield. oxford: oxford University Press, 1995. an excellent translation of and commentary on this foundational text of the Madhyamaka Buddhist deconstructive philosophy.

Nhat hanh, Thich. Being Peace. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1987. a classic book by this modern Vietnamese Zen master and founder of engaged Buddhism.

———. The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1988. a very lucid and engaging introduction to basic Buddhist teachings.

———. The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the

Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra, revised edition. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2009. a wonderfully lucid commentary on the heart sutra.

———. Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice. New york: Doubleday, 1995. a great book to start one’s study of the specifically Zen teachings of this most famous and beloved of modern Vietnamese masters.

Nishida, Kitarō. An Inquiry into the Good. Translated by Masao abe and Christopher ives. New haven: yale University Press, 1990. This is the maiden work of the founder of the Kyoto school and the best book with which to begin a study of their philosophies.

Nishitani, Keiji. “The i-Thou relation in Zen Buddhism.” Translated by Norman Waddell. in The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries, revised edition. edited by frederick frank, 39–53. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2004. a profound treatment of this topic by this premier modern Zen philosopher.

———. Religion and Nothingness. Translated by Jan Van Bragt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. The main work by the central figure of the second generation of the Kyoto school.

———. “The standpoint of Zen.” Translated by John C. Maraldo. The Eastern Buddhist 17, no. 1 (1984): 1–26. The first half of this essay explains Zen’s “investigation into the self.” The second half examines the “direct pointing at the mind” to which Zen’s selfinvestigation leads.

okumura, shohaku. Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2012. a very engaging and insightful introduction to Zen in the form of a commentary on traditional chants.

———. The Mountains and Waters Sūtra: A Practioner’s Guide to Dōgen’s “Sansuikyo.” With contributions by Carl Bielefeldt, gary snyder, and issho fujita. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2018. a wonderful translation of and set of commentaries on Dōgen’s classic text on natural phenomena as manifestations of the Buddha.

———. Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen’s Shobogenzo. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2010. an illuminating commentary by one of the most important contemporary sōtō Zen masters.

omori, sogen. An Introduction to Zen Training. Translated by Dogen hosokawa and roy yoshimoto. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2001. a classic introduction to rinzai Zen by one of the most famous masters of the 20th century. still widely read in Japan.

Parallax Press, ed. True Peace Work: Essential Writings on Engaged Buddhism. second edition. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2019. an inspiring collection of brief essays by Thich Nhat hanh, the Dalai Lama, bell hooks, Joanna Macy, Bill Kibben, and other leading figures of the modern movement of engaged Buddhism.

rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. revised and expanded edition. New york: grove Press, 1974. although lately criticized for overly stressing the philosophical and psychological teachings of Buddhism and downplaying its religious rituals and popular beliefs, this book nevertheless remains a classic modern introduction to the basics of the Buddha’s teachings from a Theravada Buddhist perspective.

ray, reginald a. “rebirth in the Buddhist Tradition.” in The Buddha and His Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin, 301–311. Boston: shambhala, 2003. a clear explanation of momentto-moment rebirth and rebirth between lifetimes from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective.

rosenbaum, robert Meikyo, and Barry Magid, eds. What’s Wrong with Mindfulness (and What Isn’t): Zen Perspectives. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2016. a very good set of critical and sympathetic reflections on the uses and abuses of mindfulness in the United states and elsewhere in the contemporary world.

sekida, Katsuki, trans. Two Zen Classics: The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Records. Boston: shambhala, 2005. a lucid translation of these two classic collections of kōans.

seung sahn. The Compass of Zen. Boston: shambhala, 1997. a lively and comprehensive introduction to Buddhist teachings.

sheng-yen. Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master. New york: oxford University Press, 2001. an illuminating and comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism by a renowned Chinese Zen master from Taiwan.

shibayama, Zenkei. The Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan. Translated by sumiko Kudo. Boston: shambhala, 2000. an excellent translation of this classic 13th-century kōan collection with invaluable commentary by a prominent modern Japanese rinzai Zen master.

shibayama, Zenkei, and gyokusei Jikihara. Zen Oxherding Pictures. osaka: sōgensha, 1975. This wonderful yet unfortunately rare book contains renditions by a modern artist of six different classical versions of Zen oxherding pictures.

slingerland, edward. Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity. New york: Crown Publishers, 2014. an accessible and engaging treatment of Zen and other ancient east asian teachings paired with insights from contemporary cognitive science on the paradoxical process of cultivating spontaneous naturalness.

stambaugh, Joan. Impermanence Is Buddha-Nature: Dōgen’s Understanding of Temporality (honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1990). a philosophical exploration of the radical and liberating Zen teaching of embracing impermanence.

suzuki, D. T. Selected Works of D. T. Suzuki, Volume I: Zen. edited by richard M. Jaffe. oakland: University of California Press, 2015. an excellent selection of essays from the person who, more than anyone, is responsible for introducing Zen to the West.

———. The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind. London: rider and Company, 1958. a modern classic treatment of this topic by the pioneer interpreter and ambassador of Zen to the West.

suzuki, shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. New york: Weatherhill, 1970. a now-classic book on the beginner’s mind and other essentials of Zen by the beloved teacher who established the sōtō school in the United states.

Thera, Nyanaponika. “Karma and its fruit.” in The Buddha and His

Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin Kohn, 122–129. Boston: shambhala, 2003. a very good treatment of karma.

Uchiyama, Kosho. Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice. Translated and edited by Tom Wright, Jisho Warner, and shohaku okumura. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2004. an illuminating introduction to Zen meditation by one of the foremost modern sōtō Zen masters.

Ueda, shizuteru. “emptiness and fullness: Śūnyatā in Mahāyāna Buddhism.” Translated by James W. heisig and frederick greiner. The Eastern Buddhist 15, no. 1 (1982): 9–37. Until his two Japanese books on the Ten oxherding Pictures become available in english translation, this is the best article to read for this premier Kyoto school philosopher and lay Zen master’s groundbreaking philosophical as well as practical interpretation of this classic text.

———. “Language in a Twofold World.” Translated by Bret W. Davis. in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by James W. heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 766–784. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2011. Ueda’s most comprehensive text on this topic available in english.

———. “‘Nothingness’ in Meister eckhart and Zen Buddhism: With

Particular reference to the Borderlands of Philosophy and Theology.” Translated by James W. heisig. in The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries, edited by frederick frank, 157–169. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2004. a good place to begin a study of Ueda’s illuminating interpretation of Zen in relation to the radical Christian mysticism of Meister eckhart.

———. “The Practice of Zen.” Translated by ron hadley and Thomas L. Kirchner. The Eastern Buddhist 27, no. 1 (1994): 10–29. Describes and philosophically interprets the experience of going back and forth between the silent practice of meditation and the verbal practice of one-on-one interviews with a teacher in a rinzai Zen monastery.

———. Wer und was bin ich? Zur Phänomenologie des Selbst im ZenBuddhismus. freiburg: Verlag Karl alber, 2011. a collection of articles written in german by this central figure of the third generation of the Kyoto school. for an overview in english, see this course’s instructor’s review in Monumenta Nipponica 68, no. 2 (2013): 321–327.

———. “Zen and Philosophy in the Thought of Nishida Kitarō.” Translated by Mark Unno. Japanese Religions 18, no. 2 (1993): 162–193. elucidates and interprets the relation between Nishida’s philosophy and his Zen practice.

———. “The Zen experience of the Truly Beautiful.” Translated by John C. Maraldo. The Eastern Buddhist 22, no. 1 (1989): 1–36. Philosophically interprets Zen by way of comparison with Western mystics such as Meister eckhart and angelus silesius, philosophers such as Martin heidegger, and poets such as reiner Maria rilke.

Victoria, Brian. Zen at War. second edition. Lanham, MD: roman & Littlefield, 2006. shows how some Japanese Zen masters misused teachings such as no-mind to support Japanese militarism leading up to and during the Pacific War. also see Brian Daizen Victoria’s Zen War Stories (New york: routledgeCurzon, 2003).

Williams, Paul. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. New york: routledge, 1989. This is the best introduction to the most important teachings and schools in the various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism.

Williams, rev. angel Kyodo, and Lama rod owens, with Jasmine syedullah. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Berkeley: North atlantic Press, 2016. a timely collection of writings that challenge us to root out discrimination within our Zen communities as well as in our society at large.

Wirth, Jason M. Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading

Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis. albany: state University of New york Press, 2017. a philosophically rich and powerful wake-up call to rediscover our intimate relation with nature before it is too late.

Wirth, Tetsuzen Jason M. shūdō Brian schroeder, and Kanpū Bret W. Davis, eds. Engaging Dōgen’s Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2017. Consists of philosophical and practical commentaries on Shūshōgi, a modern compendium of passages from Dōgen’s masterwork Shōbōgenzō, and Fukanzazengi, his instructions on Zen meditation.

Wright, Dale s. Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. a both sympathetic and critical interpretation of Zen that aims to debunk earlier “romantic” Western interpretations and to replace them with a more hermeneutically sophisticated philosophical interpretation.

yamada, Kōun. Zen: The Authentic Gate. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2015. a lucid and engaging introduction to Zen written for lay people by a Japanese lay Zen master.

yamada, Mumon. Lectures on The Ten Oxherding Pictures. Translated by Victor sōgen hori. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2004.

an excellent translation of dharma talks on this classic text by one of the most famous modern rinzai Zen masters.