Zen Masters

by Steven Heine, Dale Wright

Overview

Extending their successful series of collections on Zen Buddhism, Heine and Wright present a fifth volume, on what may be the most important topic of all - Zen Masters. Following two volumes on Zen literature (Zen Classics and The Zen Canon) and two volumes on Zen practice (The Koan and Zen Ritual) they now propose a volume on the most significant product of the Zen tradition - the Zen masters who have made this kind of Buddhism the most renowned in the world by emphasizing the role of eminent spiritual leaders and their function in establishing centers, forging lineages, and creating literature and art. Zen masters in China, and later in Korea and Japan, were among the cultural leaders of their times. Stories about their comportment and powers circulated widely throughout East Asia. In this volume ten leading Zen scholars focus on the image of the Zen master as it has been projected over the last millennium by the classic literature of this tradition. Each chapter looks at a single prominent master. Authors assess the master's personality and charisma, his reported behavior and comportment, his relationships with teachers, rivals and disciplines, lines of transmission, primary teachings, the practices he emphasized, sayings and catch-phrases associated with him, his historical and social context, representations and icons, and enduring influences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195367652
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/22/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

SH: Professor of Religious Studies and History, Florida International University;DSW: David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professor of Religious Studies, Occidental College

Table of Contents

Contributors xiii

Abbreviations xvii

Note on Terminology xix

1 Monastic Innovator, Iconoclast, and Teacher of Doctrine: The Varied Images of Chan Master Baizhang Mario Poceski 3

2 Dongshan and the Teaching of Suchness Taigen Dan Leighton 33

3 Yongming Yanshou: Scholastic as Chan Master Albert Welter 59

4 Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163):The Image Created by His Stories about Himself and by His Teaching Style Miriam L. Levering 91

5 D&obar;gen, Zen Master, Zen Disciple: Transmitter or Transgressor? Steven Heine 117

6 The Zen of Books and Practice: The Life of Menzan Zuih&obar; and His Reformation of S&obar;t&obar; Zen David Riggs 147

7 The Use of Traps and Snares: Shaku S&obar;en Revisited Michel Mohr 183

8 True Person, Formless Self: Lay Zen Master Hisamatsu Shin'ichi Christopher Ives 217

9 Humanizing the Image of a Zen Master Taizan Maezumi Roshi Dale S. Wright 239

10 Seung Sahn: The Makeover of a Modern Zen Patriarch Sor-Ching Low 267

Index 287