Description
Book SynopsisLooks at Chan/Zen with an array of postmodernist critical techniques. This book probes the imaginaire, or mental universe, of the Buddhist Soto Zen master Keizan Jokin (1268-1325). It draws on texts particularly the "Record of Tokoku" and the kirigami, or secret initiation documents.
Trade Review"In Visions of Power, Faure once again demonstrates his superb command of original sources as well as an innovative methodology that constantly probes uncharted territory and boldly overturns the prevailing assumptions of the orthodox view of a 'pure' iconoclastic Zen tradition... [This book] is eminently successful in carving out a distinct yet complementary agenda in content, method, and approach."--Steven Heine, Monumenta Nipponica "[Faure's] account of Keizan is a convincing conquest of historical vision, and opens up the exciting prospect of similar treatment for a whole gallery of figures from the Buddhist past."--Joseph S. O'Leary, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies "Faure ... has reconstructed the study of Zen as a religion to the point that scholars of religion generally should begin turning to this field to find what they would not expect: a rich tradition of icons, rituals, myths, and magic power. This volume is the best place for them to start."--James H. Foard, The Journal of Religion
Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction3Ch. 1Autobiographical Imagination30Ch. 2Imagined Lineages47Ch. 3Imagining Powers71Ch. 4Mythical Imaginaire83Ch. 5Dreaming114Ch. 6Images of Death144Ch. 7Places of the Mind179Ch. 8The Ritual Body198Ch. 9The Power of Symbols224Ch. 10Iconic Imagination237Ch. 11Beyond Icons264Epilogue: Imagination and Ideology275Glossary289Bibliography299Index323
