Zen Ritual

Studies of Zen Buddhist Theory in Practice

Steven Heine, Dale S. Wright (Herausgeber)

Buch | Softcover

352 Seiten

2007
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-530468-8 (ISBN)

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When books about Zen Buddhism began appearing in Western languages just over a half-century ago, there was no interest whatsoever in the role of ritual in Zen. Indeed, what attracted Western readers' interest was the Zen rejection of ritual. The famous 'Beat Zen' writers were delighted by the Zen emphasis on spontaneity as opposed to planned, repetitious action, and wrote inspirationally about the demythologized, anti-ritualized spirit of Zen. Quotes from the great Zen masters supported this understanding of Zen, and led to the fervor that fueled the opening of Zen centers throughout the West.

Once Western practitioners in these centers began to practice Zen seriously, however, they discovered that zazen - Zen meditation - is a ritualized practice supported by centuries-old ritual practices of East Asia. Although initially in tension with the popular anti-ritual image of ancient Zen masters, interest in Zen ritual has increased along with awareness of its fundamental role in the spirit of Zen. Eventually, Zen practitioners would form the idea of no-mind, or the open and awakened state of mind in which ingrained habits of thinking give way to more receptive, direct forms of experience. This notion provides a perspective from which ritual could gain enormous respect as a vehicle to spiritual awakening, and thus this volume seeks to emphasize the significance of ritual in Zen practice.

Containing 9 articles by prominent scholars about a variety of topics, including Zen rituals kinhin and zazen, this volume covers rituals from the early Chan period to modern Japan. Each chapter covers key developments that occurred in the Linji/Rinzai and Caodon/ Soto schools of China and Japan, describing how Zen rituals mold the lives and characters of its practitioners, shaping them in accordance with the ideal of Zen awakening. This volume is a significant step towards placing these practices in a larger historical and analytical perspective.

Steven Heine is Professor of Religious Studies and History and Director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University. Dale S. Wright is David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professor of Religious Studies and Asian Studies at Occidental College. They are the coeditors of The Koan, Zen Canon, and Zen Classics.

Dale S. Wright: Introduction: Rethinking Ritual Practice in Zen Buddhism
1.: T. Griffith Foulk: Ritual in Japanese Zen Buddhism
2.: Mario Poceski: Chan Rituals of the Abbots' Ascending the Dharma Hall to Preach
3.: Albert Welter: Buddhist Rituals for Protecting the Country in Medieval Japan: Myoan Eisai's "Regulations of the Zen School"
4.: Steven Heine: Is Dogen's Eiheiji Temple "Mt. T'ien-t'ung East"? Geo-Ritual Perspectives on the Transition from Chinese Ch'an to Japanese Zen
5.: Taigen Dan Leighton: Zazen as an Enactment Ritual
6.: Paula K. R. Arai: Women and Dogen: Rituals Actualizing Empowerment and Healing
7.: Michel Mohr: Invocation of the Sage: The Ritual to Glorify the Emperor
8.: David E. Riggs: Meditation in Motion: Textual Exegesis in the Creation of Ritual
9.: William M. Bodiford: Dharma Transmission in Theory and Practice
Pinyin-Wade-Giles Conversion Table

Erscheint lt. Verlag	8.11.2007
Zusatzinfo	10 b/w line illus.
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	160 x 235 mm
Gewicht	463 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
ISBN-10	0-19-530468-3 / 0195304683
ISBN-13	978-0-19-530468-8 / 9780195304688
Zustand	Neuware