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Thomas Merton's "Mystics & Zen Masters" Further Reading Help
Hi All...
I'm reading Thomas Merton's "Mystics & Zen Masters" with great delight. My father has been pushing Merton on me for a while (I think with the hope that I might end up a Catholic) but that aside, his intimate understanding of Zen makes for an enjoyable read. These short essays are very accessible and Merton references some interesting American works from the first half of the 20th century as western scholars were first trying to understand Zen.
The work cited I'm most curious about was Father Heinrich Dumoulin's "The Development of Chinese Zen." Published in 1953, New York: First Zen Institute of America. Merton contends it is a great history of Zen but on further investigation, critics have since panned it for being an insider's account verbatim instead of being historically accurate.
1. Has anyone read Dumoulin's work and can speak to its historical accuracy?
2. I need a recommendation for a comprehensive, historical survey of Zen from India, to China to Japan. I've found a few, by Ch'en, Dumoulin, Prebish and the like but I need a recommendation of one good one to start.
3. Any recommendations for a modern history of Zen in America?
Many thanks...
- meta
I'm reading Thomas Merton's "Mystics & Zen Masters" with great delight. My father has been pushing Merton on me for a while (I think with the hope that I might end up a Catholic) but that aside, his intimate understanding of Zen makes for an enjoyable read. These short essays are very accessible and Merton references some interesting American works from the first half of the 20th century as western scholars were first trying to understand Zen.
The work cited I'm most curious about was Father Heinrich Dumoulin's "The Development of Chinese Zen." Published in 1953, New York: First Zen Institute of America. Merton contends it is a great history of Zen but on further investigation, critics have since panned it for being an insider's account verbatim instead of being historically accurate.
1. Has anyone read Dumoulin's work and can speak to its historical accuracy?
2. I need a recommendation for a comprehensive, historical survey of Zen from India, to China to Japan. I've found a few, by Ch'en, Dumoulin, Prebish and the like but I need a recommendation of one good one to start.
3. Any recommendations for a modern history of Zen in America?
Many thanks...
- meta
0
Comments
The book you refer to by Merton is, as you say, a delight. I've read much more by Merton - loving best his letters and Journals - but have no fear of any conversion to the Catholic fold.........my own upbringing was so "low church" it was subterranean, and anyway, Merton is rarely didactic in any proselytising way.
His keen intellect distills the essential difference between the "Southern" and "Northern" zen schools, as exemplified by the contest to determine the Sixth Patriach and the two poems involved. His view that Hui Neng's "view" is the real deal is explained in language suitable for a westerner to grasp. (The idea that Merton himself was "purely intellectual" is confounded by the details of his life found scattered at random in his letters and journals, where it becomes plain that he spent many hours of many days in silent contemplation, even zen meditation. He was a writer, and such should not be confused with some sort of "intellect only" verdict)
Anyway, moving on - after my helping of hero worship....:tonguec: - I have read Dumoulin's "A History of Zen Buddhism" and as far as I know its historical accuracy is unquestionable. Yet Merton himself, somewhere, did question Dumoulin's actual capacity to truly understand his subject at certain points. But to be honest, I have to admit my own ignorance does not allow me to make any definitive judgement. I do know that Dumoulin himself moved on after his most famous book, and in "Understanding Buddhism" recognised the difference between "I-thou" - "contact of two liberties" - spirituality, and the more "non-dual" approach of the "eastern" faiths, without seeking to value one above the other. I would recommend Merton - again - and his book of essays "Zen and the Birds of Appetite" if you were interested in reading just how the first type of "spirituality" must needs lead to the second, which appears to be Merton's own "view", even his own "journey".
I am only familiar with Rick Field's "How the Swans Came to America", but this is about the coming of Buddhism in general. Bits and pieces can be found in other worthy tomes by the female of the species (!) such as "Walking on Lotus Flowers" by Martine Batchelor, and "Meetings with Remarkable Women" by Lenore Friedman. While not exclusively "zen" ( and one is not exclusively of America only ) both are relevant - in my view - to your wish to understand modern zen in America.
As far as other histories, I'd try a google or two, and read a few reviews on the Amazon site.
Happy Hunting!
The reviews on amazon seem to indicate your additional suggestions are spot on! I truly appreciate the advice. Many thanks
Just watch out if your uncle slips you the Roman Catholic Catechism!
(I did have a quick seach after my post, and found that Merton's criticism of Dumoulin's views/understanding is actually contained in a letter written directly to Dumoulin by Merton on July 20, 1964, contained in the volume of letters entitled "The Hidden Ground of Love". The criticism involves what Merton saw as Dumoulin's failure to grasp the true significance of the difference between Hui Neng's zen and that of Shen Hsui, as based upon the two poems spoken of in "Mystics and Zen Masters")