The circle of the way : a concise history of Zen from the Buddha to the modern world / Barbara O'Brien.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Brien, Barbara, 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zen Buddhism--History.

Zen Buddhism.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 316 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Boulder : Shambhala, 2019.

Summary:

"Zen Buddhism has a storied history-Bodhidharma sitting in meditation in a cave for nine years; a would-be disciple cutting off his own arm to get the master's attention; the proliferating schools and intense Dharma combat of the Tang and Song dynasties; Zen nuns and laypeople holding their own against patriarchal lineages; the appearance of new masters in the Zen schools of Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and later the Western world. The Circle of the Way brings clarity to this huge swath of history by charting a middle way between Zen's traditional lore and the findings of modern scholarship. In an accessible and entertaining style, it parses fact from fiction while always attending to the greatest interest of contemporary practitioners-the development of Zen doctrine and practice as a living tradition across cultures and centuries"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: A Zen history?

Buddhism before Zen

The six (or so) patriarchs

Zen in the early Tang dynasty

Zen in the late Tang dynasty

Classic Zen in the Song dynasty

Zen Leaves China: Korea and Vietnam

Early Japanese Buddhism to Eihei Dogen

The establishment of Japanese Rinzai to the Meiji Restoration

Zen in the modern world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781611805789

1611805783

OCLC:

1086484456