Takuan SÅho’s (1573–1645) two works on Zen and swordsmanship are among the most straightforward and lively presentations of Zen ever written and have enjoyed great popularity in both premodern and modern Japan. Although dealing ostensibly with the art of the sword; Record of Immovable Wisdom and On the Sword Taie are basic guides to Zen―“user’s manuals†for Zen mind that show one how to manifest it not only in sword play but from moment to moment in everyday life.Along with translations of Record of Immovable Wisdom and On the Sword Taie (the former; composed in all likelihood for the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and his fencing master; YagyÅ« Munenori); this book includes an introduction to Takuan’s distinctive approach to Zen; drawing on excerpts from the master’s other writings. It also offers an accessible overview of the actual role of the sword in Takuan’s day; a period that witnessed both a bloody age of civil warfare and Japan’s final unification under the Tokugawa shoguns. Takuan was arguably the most famous Zen priest of his time; and as a pivotal figure; bridging the Zen of the late medieval and early modern periods; his story (presented in the book’s biographical section) offers a rare picture of Japanese Zen in transition.For modern readers; whether practitioners of Zen or the martial arts; Takuan’s emphasis on freedom of mind as the crux of his teaching resonates as powerfully as it did with the samurai and swordsmen of Tokugawa Japan. Scholars will welcome this new; annotated translation of Takuan’s sword-related works as well as the host of detail it provides; illuminating an obscure period in Zen’s history in Japan.
#2475366 in Books University of Hawaii Press 2003-10-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.05 x 6.14 x 9.38l; .1 #File Name: 0824825780328 pages
Review
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. "This Amida is not the Amida of one school or one person."By Crazy FoxUsually when we think of Pure Land Buddhism; the exclusive sectarian movements in Japan pioneered by Honen and Shinran come to mind. And indeed these are prominent traditions; but "Approaching the Land of Bliss" amply demonstrates that they're not the whole story by a long shot. The focus of this book then is on other forms of religious belief and praxis focused on Amitabha/Amida Buddha and rebirth in his Pure Land; ones that may surprise us by not conforming to our usual images and characterizations of this aspect of Buddhism. The first surprise for me anyway was the very existence of Pure Land motifs in Tibet and Nepal; since usually such are presented as if particular only to East Asia (apparently the authors were initially taken by surprise as well). These motifs though tend to be non-sectarian; part and parcel of a larger encompassing program of Buddhist religiosity; which turns out to be mostly true also in Song Dynasty China and late 20th-century Taiwan--and; surprisingly; also in Japan itself once one gets beyond the Jodo and Jodo Shinshu Schools; which this book does in style.Despite the wide range of articles; the quality is remarkably even; combining a reliably high caliber of scholarly expertise with reasonable readability. Each also contributes fully to the overall theme without feeling shoehorned in; the venial sin of many such a collection. One may not agree with the approach of every single article; of course; and in my case one selection seemed rather too anachronistically and dogmatically Leftist (not to mention overly reliant on the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin); still; there's not a one that's not thought-provoking and interesting; and not a one that doesn't challenge common assumptions in intriguing and compelling ways. Highly recommended.Articles included in this book:"Introduction" by Richard K. Payne1. "Pure Land Buddhism in Tibet? From Sukhavati to the Field of Great Bliss" by Matthew T. Kapstein2. Shengchang's Pure Conduct Society and the Chinese Pure Land Patriarchate" by Daniel Getz3. "By the Power of One's Last Nenbutsu: Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan" by Jacqueline I. Stone4. "Amida's Secret Life: Kakuban's 'Amida Hishaku'" by James H. Sanford5. "'Show Me the Place Where My Mother Is!": Chujohime; Preaching; and Relics in Late Medieval and Early Modern Japan" by Hank Glassman6. "'Just Behave as You Like: Prohibitions and Impurities Are Not a Problem': Radical Amida Cults and Popular Religiosity in Premodern Japan" by Fabio Rambelli7. "Ungo Kiyo's 'Ojoyoka' and Rinzai Zen Orthodoxy" by Richard M. Jaffe8. "From Generalized Goal to Tantric Subordination: Sukhavati in the Indic Buddhist Traditions of Nepal" by Todd T. Lewis9. "Buddha One: A One-Day Buddha Recitation Retreat in Contemporary Taiwan" by Charles B. Jones
