Ebook: Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom: Three Fascicles from Shobogenzo with Commentary

Insightful commentary on a beloved ancient philosopher of Zen by a beloved contemporary master of Zen.

Famously insightful and famously complex, Eihei Dogen’s writings have been studied and puzzled over for hundreds of years. In Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom, Kosho Uchiyama, beloved twentieth-century Zen teacher addresses himself head-on to unpacking Dogen’s wisdom from three fascicles (or chapters) of his monumental Shobogenzo for a modern audience.

The fascicles presented here from Shobogenzo, or Treasury of the True Dharma Eye include “Shoaku Makusa” or “Refraining from Evil,” “Maka Hannya Haramitsu” or “Practicing Deepest Wisdom,” and “Uji” or “Living Time.” Tom Wright and Shohaku Okumura lovingly translate Dogen’s penetrating words and Uchiyama’s thoughtful commentary on each piece. At turns poetic and funny, always insightful, this is Zen wisdom for the ages.

Review
“Kosho Uchiyama, the late abbot of Antaiji Monastery, had a special talent for making difficult passages by the ancient Zen master Dogen readable and understandable to the modern student of Buddhism. And no one is more qualified to translate Uchiyama’s words into English than Reverends Thomas Daitsu Wright and Shohaku Okumura, two seasoned translators who studied under Uchiyama Roshi for years. They have done a masterful job of translating into English these three important chapters of Dogen’s Shobogenzo along with their teacher’s commentaries. Michael Hofmann’s beautiful brush paintings add to this handsome volume.” (Arthur Braverman, author of The Grass Flute Zen Master and Dharma Brothers: Kodo and Tokujoo )

"Real Dharma. The mingled voices of these teachers—inspiring, challenging, sage, and earthy—shake dust from the mind so we may see more clearly what's right here."

(Ben Connelly, author of Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara: A Practitioner’s Guide )

"A magnificent gift for anyone interested in the deep, clear waters of Zen—its great foundational master Dogen coupled with one of its finest modern voices. Uchiyama’s vivid and incisive commentaries are refreshingly direct and have a great deal to offer to Dogen lovers and new acquaintances alike. The translations, by deeply experienced Zen teachers, are robust and lyrical. What a package!" (Jisho Warner, former president of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association )

About the Author
Kosho Uchiyama was a preeminent Japanese Zen master, instrumental in bringing Zen to America. The author of over twenty books, including Opening the Hand of Thought and The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo, he died in 1999.

Daitsu Tom Wright, who was born and raised in Wisconsin, lived in Japan for over thirty years. He practiced and studied under Uchiyama Roshi from 1968 until the latter’s death and was ordained as a priest in 1974. He is a former professor in the English Language and Culture Program at Ryukoku University in Kyoto. Rev. Wright has worked on the translation and editing of several works on Zen, as well as writing on Zen, the aftereffects of the Holocaust, and Japanese gardens. He lives in Hawaii.

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.