The True Dharma Eye

“In this astonishing resource, John Daido Loori Roshi has provided commentary and verses on each koan. These koans yank us away from our preconceptions and fixed ideas, forcing us to see what is real. They perplex us and exhaust reason.”—Spirituality & Health

“Loori Roshi offers to modern students new entry into this profound and ancient practice.”—Tricycle

“We are fortunate to receive this important new translation by Kaz Tanahashi and Daido Loori of Zen Master Dogen’s early selection of three hundred koans that formed a basis for his many later koan commentaries. Daido Loori’s introduction discussing Dogen’s approach counteracts prevalent stereotypes that base all koan practice on later eighteenth-century training systems. Daido Loori’s brief remarks and verse comments after each case suggest helpful perspectives for practitioners.“—Taigen Dan Leighton, cotranslator and editor, Dogen’s Extensive Record and Dogen’s Pure Standards for the Zen Community

“What Daido Roshi now does in a remarkable way is to breathe new life into the text by innovatively creating prose and verse comments. The Mana Shobogenzo lives again, and for the lucky readers so does the thought of Dogen Zenji transmitted to the twenty-first century.“—Steven Heine, co-editor of Dogen’s Extensive Record

“This creative work, presented from the perspective of a Western Zen teacher, adds a significant contribution in helping to make Zen more global in its application as a spiritual path.“—Shohaku Okumura, Dharma Successor of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi and founder of Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington, Indiana

Dogen

(1200-1253) Founder of the Japanese Soto Zen sect.

John Daido Loori

(1931-2009) One of the West’s leading Zen masters. He was the founder and spiritual leader of the Mountains and Rivers Order and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. His work is noted for its unique adaptation of traditional Asian Buddhism into an American context, particularly with regard to the arts, the environment, social action, and the use of modern media as a vehicle of spiritual training and social change. Loori was an award-winning photographer and videographer. His art and wildlife photography formed the core of a unique teaching program that integrated art and wilderness training by cultivating a deep appreciation of the relationship of Zen to our natural environment. He was a dharma heir of the influential Japanese Zen master Taizan Maezumi Roshi and authored many books.

Kazuaki Tanahashi

A Japanese-trained calligrapher, pioneer of “one stroke painting” and creator of multicolorenso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been exhibited in solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities worldwide. Tanahashi has edited several books of Dogen’s writings and is also the author of Brush Mind.

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