Taigen Dan Leighton

Dogen's Extensive Record: a Translation of the Eihei Koroku Taigen Dan Leighton

Brief Description: "Dogen's Extensive Record" is the first-ever complete and scholarly translation of this monumental work into English. Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century Zen master who founded the Japanese Soto School of Zen, is renowned as one of the world's most remarkable religious thinkers. As Shakespeare does with English, Dogen utterly transforms the language of Zen, using it in novel and extraordinarily beautiful ways to point to everything important in the religious life. He is known for two major works. The first work, the massive "Shobogenzo" (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye), represents his early teachings and exists in myriad English translations. The second work, the "Eihei Koroku, " is a collection of all his later teachings, including short formal discourses to the monks training at his temple, longer informal talks, and koans with his commentaries, as well as short appreciatory verses on various topics. The "Shobogenzo" has received enormous attention in Western Zen and Western Zen literature, and with the publication of this watershed volume, the "Eihei Koroku" will surely rise to commensurate stature. This edition contains extensive and detailed research and annotation by scholar, translator, and Zen teacher Taigen Dan Leighton. Review Quotes: "Leighton and Okumura have rendered Dogen's dense and idiosyncratic language in clear, lively, and engaging English. This is no small accomplishment. All readers will benefit greatly from this outstanding contribution to the study of Dogen and Zen Buddhism."--Philosophy East & WestReview Quotes: "The many hours of dedicated work [that produced the book] will be much appreciated by all of us now and in the future who value Dogen's inspired writing and talks."--Mel Weitsman, abbot of Berkeley Zen CenterBiographical Note: Eihei Dogen founded the Japanese Soto School of Zen, and is renowned as one of the world's most remarkable religious thinkers. As Shakespeare does with English, Dogen utterly transforms the language of Zen, using it in novel and extraordinarily beautiful ways in his voluminous writings. Born in 1200 to an aristocratic background, he was ordained a monk in the Japanese Tendai School in his early teens, but became dissatisfied with Japanese Buddhism. After traveling in China from 1223 to 1227, he returned to introduce to Japan the Soto lineage and the large body of Chan teaching stories, or koans, which he had thoroughly mastered. From 1233 to 1243 he taught near the cultural capital of Kyoto, then in 1243 moved to the remote northern mountains and founded the temple Eiheiji, still one of the headquarter temples of Soto Zen. There, until his illness and death in 1253, he trained a core group of monks who spread Soto Zen throughout the Japanese countryside. Dogen's writings are noted for their poetic and philosophic depth, though aimed at spiritual practitioners. His two major, massive works are Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye Treasury) and Eihei Koroku (Dogen's Extensive Record). Although not studied for many centuries aside from Soto scholars, in modern times Dogen's writings, through translation, have become an important part of the spread of Buddhism in the West. Taigen Dan Leighton, Soto Zen priest and successor in the Suzuki Roshi lineage, received Dharma Transmission in 2000 from Reb Anderson Roshi and is Dharma Teacher at Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago. After residing for years at San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara monastery, Taigen also practiced for two years in Kyoto, Japan. Taigen is author of "Zen Questions: Zazen, Dogen, and the Spirit of Creative Inquiry," "Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression," and "Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra." He has edited and co-translated several Zen texts including: "Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of Eihei Koroku," "Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi," "Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community," and "The Wholehearted Way," and has contributed to many other books and journals. Taigen teaches online at Berkeley Graduate Theological Union, from where he has a PhD. He has taught at other universities including Saint Mary's College, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and in Chicago at Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary and Loyola University Chicago. Taigen has long been active in social justice programs, including Peace and Environmental Activism. Shohaku Okumura is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma successor of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. He is a graduate of Komazawa University and has practiced in Japan at Antaiji, Zuioji, and the Kyoto Soto Zen Center, and in Massachusetts at the Pioneer Valley Zendo. He is the former director of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center in San Francisco. His previously published books of translation include "Shobogenzo Zuimonki," "Dogen Zen," "Zen Teachings of Homeless Kodo," and "Opening the Hand of Thought." Okumura is also editor of "Dogen Zen and Its Relevance for Our Time" and "SotoZen." He is the founding teacher of the Sanshin Zen Community, based in Bloomington, Indiana, where he lives with his family. Reb Anderson Roshi moved to San Francisco in 1967 to study Zen Buddhism with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, who ordained him as a priest in 1970. Since then, he has continued to practice at the San Francisco Zen Center, where he served as abbot from 1986 to 1995 and is now a senior dharma teacher. Anderson Roshi lectures and leads retreats around the world, and is the author of "Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains" and "Being Upright." He lives with his family and friends at Green Dragon Temple, Green Gulch Farm, near Muir Beach, in Northern California. Review Quotes: "This is a gem of a book that succeeds in conveying the warmth and compassion of one of Buddhism's great towering figures."--The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist SocietyReview Quotes: "This massive work will be a valuable asset not just for students of the Zen teacher Dogen (1200-1253), but for all students of Zen and Buddhism in general. In short, Leighton and Okumura's translation of "Dogen's Extensive Record" is a valuable contribution to the growing body of Zen literature available in English. It allows Western readers to discover a new side of Dogen, the side he presented to his own students on a daily basis. It will reward careful study."--William M. Bodiford, in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's QuarterlyReview Quotes: "This is a significant time in terms of understanding Dogen in the West, [with] Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura's translation of the Eihei Koroku coming out. People are going to see an entirely different style in this collection of Dogen's later teachings."--Steven Heine, Director, Institute of Asian Studies; co-author of Buddhism in the Modern World, in the forum-style article, "Understanding Dogen," in BuddhadharmaReview Quotes: "This new and hefty volume represents the [previously unseen] other half of Dogen's teaching. We owe a great debt to Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura for this monumental translation, a labor of love and a generous offering to those who choose to wander beyond the beaten path."--Inquiring MindMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes. Publisher Marketing: Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century Zen master who founded the Japanese Soto School of Zen, is renowned as one of the world's most remarkable religious thinkers. As Shakespeare does with English, Dogen utterly transforms the language of Zen, using it in novel and extraordinarily beautiful ways to point to everything important in the religious life. He is known for two major works. The first work, the massive "Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye)," represents his early teachings and exists in myriad English translations; the second work, the "Eihei Koroku," is a collection of all his later teachings, including short formal discourses to the monks training at his temple, longer informal talks, and koans with his commentaries, as well as short appreciatory verses on various topics. The "Shobogenzo" has received enormous attention in Western Zen and Western Zen literature, and with the publication of this watershed volume, the Eihei Koroku will surely rise to commensurate stature. "Dogen's Extensive Record" is the first-ever complete and scholarly translation of this monumental work into English and this edition is the first time it has been available in paperback. This edition contains extensive and detailed research and annotation by scholars, translators and Zen teachers Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura, as well as forewords by the eighteenth-century poet-monk Ryokan and Tenshin Reb Anderson, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center - plus introductory essays from Dogen scholar Steven Heine, and the prominent, late American Zen master John Daido Loori.

Contributor Bio:  Leighton, Taigen Dan Taigen Dan Leighton, throughout the 70s, was an award-winning documentary film editor in New York and San Francisco, including work for NBC News and Bill Moyers Journal. Taigen left his filmmaking career in 1979 to work full time for the San Francisco Zen Center at the Tassajara Bakery, and he was ordained in 1986 by Reb Anderson Roshi. Taigen is author of Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression and Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra . He is co-translator and editor of several Zen texts including Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku, The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Ehihei Dogen's Bendowa, and Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community a Translation of the Eihei Shingi. He has also contributed articles to many other books and journals. Taigen teaches at the Berkeley Graduate Theological Union and he has taught at Saint Mary's College, the California Institute of Integral Studies, University of San and Loyola University. Taigen has been an elected member of the Board of San Francisco Zen Center, which he chaired for three years. Contributor Bio:  Okumura, Shohaku Shohaku Okumura is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma successor of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. He is a graduate of Komazawa University and has practiced in Japan at Antaiji, Zuioji, and the Kyoto Soto Zen Center, and in Massachusetts at the Pioneer Valley Zendo. He is the former director of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center in San Francisco. His previously published books of translation include Uchiyama Roshi's "Opening the Hand of Thought", as well as "Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku", with Taigen Dan Leighton. He is the author of "Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts" and "Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen's Shobogenzo". He is the founding teacher of the Sanshin Zen Community, based in Bloomington, Indiana, where he lives with his family.