Realizing Genjokoan - Outside of a Dog

Physical, 296 pages

English language

Published Aug. 18, 2010 by Wisdom Publications.

ISBN:: 978-0-86171-601-2
OCLC Number:: 531718920

Dogen, the thirteenth-century Zen master who founded the Japanese Soto school of Zen, is renowned as one the world's most remarkable religious geniuses. His works are both richly poetic and deeply insightful and philosophical, pointing to the endless depths of Zen exploration. And almost precisely because of these facts, Dogen is often difficult for readers to understand and fully appreciate.

Realizing Genjokoan is a comprehensive introduction to the teachings and approach of this great thinker, taking us on a thorough guided tour of the most important essay-Genjokoan-in Dogen's seminal work, the Shobogenzo. Indeed, the Genjokoan is regarded as the pinnacle of Dogen's writings, encompassing and encapsulating the essence of all the rest of his work.

Our tour guide for this journey is Shohaku Okumura, a prominent teacher in his own right, who has dedicated his life to translating and teaching Dogen.

This volume also includes an introduction …

Dogen, the thirteenth-century Zen master who founded the Japanese Soto school of Zen, is renowned as one the world's most remarkable religious geniuses. His works are both richly poetic and deeply insightful and philosophical, pointing to the endless depths of Zen exploration. And almost precisely because of these facts, Dogen is often difficult for readers to understand and fully appreciate.

Realizing Genjokoan is a comprehensive introduction to the teachings and approach of this great thinker, taking us on a thorough guided tour of the most important essay-Genjokoan-in Dogen's seminal work, the Shobogenzo. Indeed, the Genjokoan is regarded as the pinnacle of Dogen's writings, encompassing and encapsulating the essence of all the rest of his work.

Our tour guide for this journey is Shohaku Okumura, a prominent teacher in his own right, who has dedicated his life to translating and teaching Dogen.

This volume also includes an introduction to Dogen's life from Hee-Jin Kim's classic, Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, with updated annotations by Okumura.

1 edition

Zachary J. Adam reviewed Realizing Genjokoan by Shohaku Okumura

None

5 stars

Realizing Genjokoan is on my very short list of essential Zen works, now. In a discipline and thought-school that de-emphasizes study and scripture, an analysis that can bring the writings of Dogen into clearer focus for the lay practitioner is a much-needed tool. In fact, I'll make this argument: reading this now, at a time where I was largely disillusioned with the practice, in part because I was honestly practicing incorrectly, has more or less "saved" my efforts to continue to study and practice Zen. I think if you're in a similar position to me - a largely solitary practitioner without a formal student-teacher relationship - this book borders on being required reading. It's not a replacement for works like Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind or the study of actual sutras, but it lays a very good example for how to approach the older texts, does a wonderful job of explaining …

Realizing Genjokoan is on my very short list of essential Zen works, now. In a discipline and thought-school that de-emphasizes study and scripture, an analysis that can bring the writings of Dogen into clearer focus for the lay practitioner is a much-needed tool. In fact, I'll make this argument: reading this now, at a time where I was largely disillusioned with the practice, in part because I was honestly practicing incorrectly, has more or less "saved" my efforts to continue to study and practice Zen. I think if you're in a similar position to me - a largely solitary practitioner without a formal student-teacher relationship - this book borders on being required reading. It's not a replacement for works like Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind or the study of actual sutras, but it lays a very good example for how to approach the older texts, does a wonderful job of explaining its own arguments, and really does a wonderful job of elocuting the nuanced truths of Zen in a way that the pithy and memorable cliches often don't.
I give it five stars.

Longer review here: www.arcanalabs.ca/essays/reviews/2025/03/24/book-report-genjokoan.html

Subjects

Dōgen, -- 1200-1253
Sōtōshū -- Doctrines
Spiritual life -- Sōtōshū