Zen Time

Dōgen's Uji in Context

Raji C. Steineck (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

334 Seiten

2025
State University of New York Press (Verlag)
9798855803600 (ISBN)

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Offers a groundbreaking approach to a key text in Zen Buddhism.

In Zen Time, Raji C. Steineck provides a robust contextualization of Dōgen's Uji, the most renowned text on time in Zen Buddhism. Situating the text within the historical context of the medieval Zen master's writing, Steineck illustrates how Dōgen shaped the rhythm of life in the Zen monastery to actualize his idea that time in itself is salvific. Dōgen was meticulous in his observation of the particulars of each temporal moment, regarding them as an opportunity to bring together interrelated tenets of Buddhist doctrine and practice. In contrast to readings that equate the Zen approach to time with "living the moment" and that pit qualitative understandings of time against quantitative understandings, Steineck shows how Dōgen was able to connect time's qualitative and quantitative aspects in a way that, despite its mystical elements, remains instructive in relation to contemporary secular and philosophical discussions. The book includes a translation of Uji in an appendix.

An open access version of this book was published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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

Acknowledgments
Conventions and Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I: Grounding the Conceptual Analysis

1. From uji to Philosophy and Back: Thoughts on Methodology
Philosophical Transpositions
Restating uji: A New Translation
Time and Symbolic Form
The Question of Cultural Appropriation
Zen with Distinctions

2. Placing Dōgen in Time: Cultural Constellation, Chronology, Agenda
Social and Cultural Conditions
Religious Writing in Early Medieval Japan
The Religious Field
Dōgen's Life and Works
Dōgen in Time

3. Time Expressed: Chronography in Dōgen's Works
A Matrix for Chronographical Analysis
Chronothesis
Chronometrics and Chronotypology
Numerical Chronometry and Its Uses
Conclusion

4. Chronopolitics: Time Regimes and the Social Language of Time
The Diurnal Rhythm in Monastic Life
The Monthly Cycle
The Annual Cycle
The Social Meaning of Time
Control and Commitment
Conclusion

Part II: Chrononoetics: Understanding Time

5. Building Blocks and Early Approaches
Conceptual Heritage: Dōgen and the Tradition of Buddhist Thought on Time
Setting the Stage: Trans-Temporal Unity in a Transient World

6. Time in "What Is:Time"
"What Is:Time": Structure and Argument
Central Concepts and Propositions
Conclusion

7. Karma and the "Consummate Now"
Synchrony and Sequence
Karma and the "Final Dharma Age"
Conclusion

Part III: Conclusions and After-Thoughts

8. Dōgen's Concept of Time in Context
What is:Time: A Brief Reconstruction and Conceptual Analysis
Integrating Distinctions
Dōgen and Time in Medieval Japan
Dōgen and the History of Time

9. After-Thoughts: Dimensions of Contemporary Significance
Theoretical: Dōgen and the Concept of Time
Time's Measure and Attributes
Practical: Time- and Task-Orientation Combined
Spiritual: Trans-Temporal Synchrony, Holistic Connectedness

Appendix 1: Translation of Uji ("What Is:Time")

Appendix 2: Titles of Dōgen's Writings and Other Original Sources

Notes
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Terms

Erscheinungsdatum	04.09.2025
Reihe/Serie	SUNY Press Open Access
Zusatzinfo	4 Tables, black and white
Verlagsort	Albany, NY
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	590 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Östliche Philosophie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
ISBN-13	9798855803600 / 9798855803600
Zustand	Neuware