- From Nagarjuna to Dogen -
Michael Eido Luetchford

In this new translation from the Sanskrit of Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika, the author seeks to interpret this important Buddhist text through the teachings of Dogen Zenji as found in the Shobogenzo.
The book is in three sections. The introduction to the book comprises a discussion of the basic principles taught by Nagarjuna and Dogen, which includes discussions under the headings of; The Abstraction of Reality, The Buddhist State - Action at the Present Moment, The Four Views in Nagarjuna and Dogen, Division of Reality into Subject and Object, Existence and Non-existence - The Mutual Opposition Between Two Views in Early Buddhism, and information about the translation process, which includes an explanation of the most important Sanskrit terms.

Part I contains an interpretative version of each verse of the translated text, with a detailed chapter-by-chapter commentary that focuses on the main thrusts of Nagarjuna's arguments.

Part II presents a complete translation of the Mulamadhyamakakarika, comprising the Sanskrit verse, a complete vocabulary for the verse with a grammatical analysis, followed by a rigorously literal translation into English. The book contains frequent quotations from Dogen's Shobogenzo, fully referenced to Windbell Publication's 4-volume edition of this work.

" Throughout this translation, I have sought for Dogen`s meaning in Nagarjuna's verses. Since Dogen`s explanation of Buddhist theory and practice in the Shobogenzo is complete, it makes a reliable and entirely consistent basis on which to interpret Nagarjuna, particularly as Dogen claims to be expounding the teachings of the patriarchs in his lineage, of whom Nagarjuna is one. It is my belief that Nagarjuna taught the same truth that Dogen did. It is my hope that the reader will find in this book some real and practical understanding of the nature of the truth taught by these two great masters, an understanding that makes sense in today's world."

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Ordering Information:
Between Heaven and Earth - From Nagarjuna to Dogen
by Michael Eido Luetchford
ISBN 0 9523002 5 7
328 pages, paperback, 229mm x 152mm

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