"A long-awaited tour de force. Carl Bielefeldt focuses on a small and seemingly insignificant work by the famous Zen master Dogen Kigen (1200- 53) and coaxes from it an impressive number of important lessons about Chinese Ch'an, Japanese Zen, and the modern enterprise of Zen studies. . . . This book will be extremely useful in classes on the intellectual and religious histories of both China and Japan." -- John R. McRae, Journal of Asian Studies
"Bielefeldt's valuable contribution to Dogen research and beyond it to the history of Zen Buddhism is extremely rich in insightful perspectives and remarkable detail." -- Heinrich Doumoulin, Monumenta Nipponica
