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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > Zen Buddhism
We live in the Golden Age of publishing for spiritual, esoteric,
and new age books of all conceivable stripes (and then there is the
Internet). Amongst this wild proliferation of available information
there has occurred a cheapening effect, in which many teachings
have been watered down to make them palatable for a public with
diminishing attention spans and suffering from information
overload. For the sincere spiritual seeker there needs to be an
awareness of the various ways we can go astray on the path, or fall
off the path altogether. The whole idea of spirituality is to be
awake, yet it is all too easy to simply end up in yet another dream
world, thinking that we have found some higher truth. Rude
Awakening: Perils, Pitfalls, and Hard Truths of the Spiritual Path
is dedicated to examining, under a sharp light, the many ways our
spiritual development goes wrong, or disappears altogether in the
sheer crush of books and the routine grind of daily life.
The essence of Buddha is about living a life with meaning and
purpose. It offers a contemporary interpretation of the way to
enlightenment, written by highly revered spiritual leader. The
fundamental tenets of the Buddhist understanding of life, such as
The Eightfold Path, The Six Paramitas and the Laws of Causality,
are clearly explained in modern and accessible terms, along with
the need for self-reflection, the nature of karma and
reincarnation, and other teachings of the Buddha. Enlightenment is
a potential achievement for every sentient being. The path towards
it is an expansion of consciousness, moving from material concerns
to an increaed awareness of the unseen spiritual reality. This, and
the practice of a love that gives, rather than just expecting to be
loved, is the only path to happiness, and a better world.
The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shobogenzo) is the masterwork
of Dogen (1200-1253), founder of the Soto Zen Buddhist sect in
Kamakura-era Japan. It is one of the most important Zen Buddhist
collections, composed during a period of remarkable religious
diversity and experimentation. The text is complex and compelling,
famed for its eloquent yet perplexing manner of expressing the core
precepts of Zen teachings and practice. This book is a
comprehensive introduction to this essential Zen text, offering a
textual, historical, literary, and philosophical examination of
Dogen's treatise. Steven Heine explores the religious and cultural
context in which the Treasury was composed and provides a detailed
study of the various versions of the medieval text that have been
compiled over the centuries. He includes nuanced readings of
Dogen's use of inventive rhetorical flourishes and the range of
East Asian Buddhist textual and cultural influences that shaped the
work. Heine explicates the philosophical implications of Dogen's
views on contemplative experience and attaining and sustaining
enlightenment, showing the depth of his distinctive understanding
of spiritual awakening. Readings of Dogen's Treasury of the True
Dharma Eye will give students and other readers a full
understanding of this fundamental work of world religious
literature.
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