Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 264-272) and index.; Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The ninth-century Tang dynasty Chinese master Dongshan is an important ancestor of the Zen tradition that has spread widely throughout the world in the twentieth century. He features prominently in koan texts and teaching stories, but he's not been written about or translated much in English yet. Dan Leighton comes to the rescue with this excellent book that takes the texts and teachings attributed to Dongshan, as well as the teaching stories and koan cases about him, and provides commentary for understanding the teaching of the House of Caodong he's associated with, particularly as it relates to suchness--tathata, the absolute and true nature inherent in all appearance--focusing on the practical relevance of the teachings Dongshan represents to the practice and life of us folks today--; Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: TAIGEN DAN LEIGHTON is a Soto Zen priest and a dharma successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, having received transmission in 2000 from Tenshin Reb Anderson. He is the cotranslator and editor of several Zen texts, and he is the 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." Leighton is now Dharma Teacher of the Ancient Dragon Zen Gate temple in Chicago. Review Quotes: "What a delight! Readers conditioned to believe that Zen koans are mind-bending nonsense puzzles will read here with pleasure lucid and relevant commentaries." Norman Fischer, author of "Training in Compassion" "Leighton is masterful in weaving together specific approaches evoked through stories about and sayings by Dongshan to create a powerful and inspiring religious vision that is useful for students and researchers as well as practitioners of Zen." Steven Heine, author of "Did D gen Go to China? What He Wrote and When He Wrote It""Publisher Marketing: Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of suchness the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807 869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan in his "Recorded Sayings "and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem Jewel Mirror Samadhi, and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions, says Taigen. Dongshan s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives. " 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.