Description

Book Synopsis
Koans are enigmatic spiritual formulas used for religious training in the Zen Buddhist tradition. This innovative religious practice is one of the most distinctive elements of this tradition, which originated in medieval China and spread to Japan and Korea. Perhaps no dimension of Asian religous has attracted so much interest in the West, and its influence is apparent from beat poetry to deconstructive literary critisism. The essays collected in this volume, all previously unpublished, argue that our understanding of the koan tradition has been severely limited. The authors try to undermine stereotypes and problematic interpretations by examining previously unrecognized factors in the formation of the tradition, and by highlighting the rich complexity and remarkable diversity of koan practice and literature.

Trade Review
Those with a serious interest in the history of Zen Buddhism will find the essays collected here an invaluable resource ... appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate libraries. * Religious Studies Review *

The Koan

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    A Paperback by Steven Heine, Dale S. Wright

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      Book details

      Publisher Oxford University Press
      Published 5/18/2000 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN-13 9780195117493
      978-0195117493
      ISBN-10 0195117492
      Also in:
      Zen Buddhism

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Koans are enigmatic spiritual formulas used for religious training in the Zen Buddhist tradition. This innovative religious practice is one of the most distinctive elements of this tradition, which originated in medieval China and spread to Japan and Korea. Perhaps no dimension of Asian religous has attracted so much interest in the West, and its influence is apparent from beat poetry to deconstructive literary critisism. The essays collected in this volume, all previously unpublished, argue that our understanding of the koan tradition has been severely limited. The authors try to undermine stereotypes and problematic interpretations by examining previously unrecognized factors in the formation of the tradition, and by highlighting the rich complexity and remarkable diversity of koan practice and literature.

      Trade Review
      Those with a serious interest in the history of Zen Buddhism will find the essays collected here an invaluable resource ... appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate libraries. * Religious Studies Review *

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