Moon in a Dewdrop : Writings of Zen Master Dogen

Rating:
Summary: Most poetic, accessible translation, great glossary!
Review: 'MOON IN A DEWDROP - WRITNGS OF ZEN MASTER DOGEN,' edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi. Translated by Robert Aitken, Philip Whalen, et al. 356 pp. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1985 and reprinted.

Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), who was an exceptionally gifted child, was born into an aristocratic household in Kyoto. The death of his mother when he was eight years old so impressed upon him the central Buddhist truth of impermanency, that he forsook his aristocratic privileges when he was thirteen and went to Mt. Hiei to study to become a Buddhist monk.

But since no-one in Japan could satisfactorily answer his questions - not surprising when you consider that he was the greatest genius Japan has ever produced - he went off to China in 1223 in search of a Master. There he studied under the Soto Ch'an (Zen) Master Ju-ching (1163-1228), attained enlightenment, and returned to Japan to become the founder Japanese Soto Zen.

Zen first became known to the West largely through the writings of D. T. Suzuki, who was a follower of the 'Sudden Enlightenment' or direct koan-using Rinzai Zen. Soto Zen, in contrast, is a gentler method which places greater reliance on Zazen or deep meditation, and is the method that has gained the largest number of adherents in Japan.

To discover just how profound Dogen was, you will have to turn to his magnum opus, the 'Shobogenzo' or 'Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.' This has been translated, in whole or in part, a number of times, but an edition I can heartily recommend is the present book.

Besides twenty texts from the 'Shobogenzo,' this 356-page book includes four additional texts and a selection of Dogen's poems. It also contains a fine Introduction on Dogen's Life and Teachings, four Appendices, full Notes, an incredibly full and detailed bilingual Glossary of a kind you will not find elsewhere, a Selected Bibliography, and some interesting illustrations.

Dogen's Japanese is an excruciatingly difficult Japanese, so much so that some think it should be called 'Dogen-ese' and not Japanese. Think 'Finnegans Wake' and you'll get an inkling of the problems involved in translating him. The language and thought of the 'Shobogenzo' come from such a height that there can be no such thing as a definitive interpretation, and hence no such thing as a definitive translation.

'Moon in a Dewdrop' is the result of a collaborative effort by a team of highly competent American Zenists, some of them very well known. It has always seemed, in my humble opinion, that, considering the difficulties, they did a very fine job. To give you a taste, here are a few lines from the 'Genjo Koan' as translated by Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi:

"The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear of the many and the one; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas. / Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread" (page 69).

Prepared and sensitive readers will be bowled over by 'Moon in a Dewdrop.' Dogen leaves most other thinkers behind in the dust. But if you've never read any Dogen before, it might perhaps be better to start with Reiho Masunaga's 'A Primer of Soto Zen.' This is a translation of Dogen's 'Shobogenzo Zuimonki,' a short book of brief talks and instructions for Zen beginners and lay followers. In the 'Zuimonki' you can ramble at leisure the plains and foothills of Dogen's mind before attempting the mountains.

Rating:
Summary: Most poetic, accessible translation, great glossary!
Review: Dogen is my spiritual father in Zen, not because I am special, but because he is -- as small as I truly am, he always makes me feel comfortable in his literary presence, and so I have been able to learn so much from him. I have read many translations of the essays in his SHOBOGENZO and each one offers it's own gifts. This volume is the most accessible (including gender-inclusive), and the most poetic I have read. Especially gentle and beautiful is the translation of Dogen's essay called "Baika" (Plum Blossoms). MOON IN A DEWDROP also has by far the best glossary of Zen terms used by Dogen; in fact I often consult it as a help to reading other books about Zen. There is a very important guide to Dogen's Zen called THE ESSENCE OF DOGEN by Masanobu Takahashi -- along with MOON IN A DEWDROP, the two books together open Dogen's teaching almost effortlessly.

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Summary: Excellent Introduction To Dogen's Integral Thought
Review: Dogen may very well be the most important master in all of Zen history, next to Shakyamuni of course. This particular book is a translation of portions derived from Dogen's masterwork, Shobogenzo. I would suggest purchasing with this "Enlightenment Unfolds: The essential teachings of Zen Master Dogen" by the same author, it's somewhat like a follow-up. Also beneficial readings come from many of the works out there from the late modern master Taizan Maezumi. This book offers clear translations of some of the most central aspects of Dogen's fascinating style of Zen (still one of the predominant schools to have survived to date). One of the previous reviewers mentioned this book's wonderful glossary of terms, to which I must agree; It's at once extensive and dense. If you are looking for a really accurate (as well as fairly easy to read) book on Dogen Zenji aside from the entire Shobogenzo itself, don't look any further. Your needs are all met right here. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Most poetic, accessible translation, great glossary!
Review: I have read many translations of the essays in Dogen's SHOBOGENZO and each one offers it's own gifts. This volume is the most accessible (including gender-inclusive), and the most poetic I have read. Especially gentle and beautiful is the translation of Dogen's essay called BAIKA (Plum Blossoms). MOON IN A DEWDROP also has by far the best glossary of Zen terms used by Dogen; in fact I often consult it as a help to reading other books about Zen. There is a very important guide to Dogen's Zen called THE ESSENCE OF DOGEN by Masanobu Takahashi -- along with MOON IN A DEWDROP, the two books together open Dogen's teaching almost effortlessly.

Rating:
Summary: Problems in translation by committee
Review: The selection of essays and order of presentation were faultless. The language is beautiful but in some places suffered an inescapable temporality. For example the word, "actualize" was forced in place of more harmonious terms like, "realize", "awaken", "manifest", etc. A phrase from the New Age, "resonate with" was again, forced, making the work instantly dated.

The overall effect was that the translation became stuck in time and place: in San Francisco, the Human Potential Movement, 1980. This makes it much like some of the Victorian translations of Buddhist literature and gave it a faint, cloying after aroma of added agenda.

This may be a problem inherent in art and literature by committee. The editors are to be thanked for making some of Dogen's most poetic writings available to the non-Oriental languages reader. The sincere student of Dogen should obtain other translations and compare them with this one. My copy is already well marked, with word corrections that I believe restore some of the harmony and spirit of Dogen's work.

Rating:
Summary: Despite the "Human Potential" Clumsiness...
Review: This is one book to read. If there are better translations,that's good, too, but, for me, this was quite an eye-opener.

Dogenis THE philospher to bring up whenever you hear all this "Western-centric"... thrown at you from conservative scholars and Christian theocrats. A contemporary of Aquinas, Dogen anticipated and surpassed Shoepenauer, Hegel, and other 19th century philosphers.

Even if this translation is marred in places (and frankly, if you can read Japanese, ANY translation will be marred), the poetry and imagery of the original comes through. A voice from 800 years ago speaks, and comes to you. And you begin to see the man in the dew on the morning grass, in the meal you cook, and going to the bathroom.