Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness

"Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The ninth-century Tang dynasty Chinese master Dongshan is an important ancestor of the Zen tradition that has spread widely throughout the world in the twentieth century. He features prominently in koan texts and teaching stories, but he's not been written about or translated much in English yet. Dan Leighton comes to the rescue with this excellent book that takes the texts and teachings attributed to Dongshan, as well as the teaching stories and koan cases about him, and provides commentary for understanding the teaching of the House of Caodong he's associated with, particularly as it relates to "suchness"--tathata, the absolute and true nature inherent in all appearance--focusing on the practical relevance of the teachings Dongshan represents to the practice and life of us folks today"--
Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure.The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”