This book addresses the question of how to properly handle Dgen’s texts, a core issue that became critical during the Meiji period in which the philosophical appropriation of Dgen became apparent inside and outside of the monastery.
In present day Dgen studies, most scholarship is informed by a number of factions representing Dgen. The chapters herein address: the Zennist (j. zenjka) emphasising practice, the Genznians (j. genzka) shifting the attention to the close reading of Dgen’s texts, the laity movement opening up both the texts and the practice to people in modern society, and the Genz researchers (j. genz kenkyka) searching for the authenticity and truth of Dgen’s writings.
The book aims to clarify the rightful place of Dgen: in the monastery, in denominational studies, or in modern academic philosophy? It brings forth various viewpoints on Dgen, and analyzes the relations of these viewpoints from the premodern to modern times. The collected volume appeals to students and researchers in the field while establishing hermeneutic standards of reading and proposing new, original, and critical interpretations of Dgen’s texts.
Chapter From Uji to Being-time (and Back): Translating Dgen into Philosophy is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.