As a religion concerned with eternal salvation, Zen is based on and grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Indeed, says Taigen Dan Leighton, Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, ephemeral agent of awareness and healing. In this book, Leighton explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen tradition, which is now spreading in many places in the West. Broader awareness of Dogen's worldview and its implications, says Leighton, is helpful for a modern understanding of Zen and Mahayana praxis, and is relevant to contemporary environmental and ethical concerns.

About the Author
Taigen Dan Leighton is an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate Theological Union, Institute of Buddhist Studies and author of Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression . He is primary co-translator and editor for several Zen translations, including Dogen's Extensive Record and Cultivating the Empty Field . He is also a Soto Zen priest and Dharma heir.

Reviews
"Leighton's clear, articulate prose renders Dogen's writings alive, accessible, and relevant to life in the twenty-first century."
-Philosophy East and West



Book Information
ISBN 9780195383379
Author Taigen Dan Leighton
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 295g
Dimensions(mm) 152mm * 229mm * 20mm