Zen Time

Raji C. Steineck is Professor of Japanology at the University of Zurich. He has published widely on Japanese intellectual history and philosophy.

"This groundbreaking work offers a historically rich analysis of Dōgen and his writings. It uncovers the intricate workings of medieval monastic religious practices, explains in detail their doctrinal developments, and reconstructs Dōgen's ideas on existence and time in a coherent and original fashion. It is a must-read for established scholars and scholars-in-training in the fields of East Asian religions in general and Buddhism in particular, as well as philosophers interested in what has been termed 'classical Japanese philosophy.'" — Steffen Döll, Hamburg University"This is one of the finest and most comprehensive works of Dōgen scholarship that I have read in recent years, ranking with the best work of eminent scholars like Steven Heine. The author is steeped in the English, German, and Japanese scholarship to a prodigious, even astounding, level." — Jason M. Wirth, Seattle University, author of Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis

• AcknowledgmentsConventions and AbbreviationsIntroductionPart I: Grounding the Conceptual Analysis1. From uji to Philosophy and Back: Thoughts on MethodologyPhilosophical TranspositionsRestating uji: A New TranslationTime and Symbolic FormThe Question of Cultural AppropriationZen with Distinctions2. Placing Dōgen in Time: Cultural Constellation, Chronology, AgendaSocial and Cultural ConditionsReligious Writing in Early Medieval JapanThe Religious FieldDōgen's Life and WorksDōgen in Time3. Time Expressed: Chronography in Dōgen's WorksA Matrix for Chronographical AnalysisChronothesisChronometrics and ChronotypologyNumerical Chronometry and Its UsesConclusion4. Chronopolitics: Time Regimes and the Social Language of TimeThe Diurnal Rhythm in Monastic LifeThe Monthly CycleThe Annual CycleThe Social Meaning of TimeControl and CommitmentConclusionPart II: Chrononoetics: Understanding Time5. Building Blocks and Early ApproachesConceptual Heritage: Dōgen and the Tradition of Buddhist Thought on TimeSetting the Stage: Trans-Temporal Unity in a Transient World6. Time in "What Is:Time""What Is:Time": Structure and ArgumentCentral Concepts and PropositionsConclusion7. Karma and the "Consummate Now"Synchrony and SequenceKarma and the "Final Dharma Age"ConclusionPart III: Conclusions and After-Thoughts8. Dōgen's Concept of Time in ContextWhat is:Time: A Brief Reconstruction and Conceptual AnalysisIntegrating DistinctionsDōgen and Time in Medieval JapanDōgen and the History of Time9. After-Thoughts: Dimensions of Contemporary SignificanceTheoretical: Dōgen and the Concept of TimeTime's Measure and AttributesPractical: Time- and Task-Orientation CombinedSpiritual: Trans-Temporal Synchrony, Holistic ConnectednessAppendix 1: Translation of Uji ("What Is:Time")Appendix 2: Titles of Dōgen's Writings and Other Original SourcesNotesBibliographyIndex of NamesIndex of Terms