Enlightenment unfolds

by Dōgen Zenji

Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) is unquestionably one of the most significant religious figures in Japanese history. The founder of the Soto school of Zen, he was a prolific writer whose works have instructed and inspired for more than seven hundred years, and who used everything from poetry to the mundane details of everyday life in a monastery to illuminate Zen teaching. Enlightenment Unfolds contains works written by Dogen throughout his life, presented in chronological order, beginning with the journal from his study in China, providing a substantial selection from his masterwork, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, and concluding with his spare but eloquent death poem. A number of the selections appear here in English for the first time.