(Wisdom Publications,2003)

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This book provides a practical introduction to the psychology of Bodhisattva practice, imagery, and imagination through the seven major archetypal bodhisattvas celebrated in East Asian Buddhism. Surveys of the iconography, basic Schools and teachings, colorful folklore, cultic history, and their primary liberative practices are presented for figures such as Manjushri, the sword-wielding prince of wisdom; Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion known as Chenrezig in Tibet, Kannon in Japan, and Guanyin "Goddess of Mercy" in China; Jizo, the monk/earth mother guardian of the afterlife and of hell beings; Maitreya, the next future Buddha, celebrated in China in his incarnation as Hotei, the fat "laughing buddha"; and Vimalakirti, trickster and vastly enlightened lay-disciple of the historical Buddha. In addition, modern culture figures who exemplify aspects of the archetypal qualities and spiritual values and strategies of the different bodhisattvas are suggested, including persons ranging from Einstein, Dr. King, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa, to Bob Dylan, Gloria Steinem, Muhammad Ali, Elie Weisel, Toni Morrison, Rachel Carson, Thomas Merton, Tom Jefferson, Helen Keller, and Clint Eastwood.

Praise of Bodhisattva Archetypes:

"Vigorous and inspiring, Bodhisattva Archetypes guides the reader into the clear flavors of the awaking life within both Buddhist tradition and our broad contemporary world. This is an informative, useful, and exhilarating work of deeply grounded scholarship and insight."

--Jane Hirshfield, author of Woman in Praise of the Sacred

"Such a useful book. Mr. Leighton clarifies and explains aspects of Buddhism which are often mysterious to the uninformed. The concept of the Bodhisattva--one who postpones personal salvation to serve others--is the perfect antidote to today’s spiritual materialism where "enlightened selfishness" has been enshrined as dogma for the greedy. This book is useful as a fine axe."

--Peter Coyote, actor and author of Sleeping Where I Fall

"I appreciate Taigen Daniel Leighton’s elucidation of the bodhisattva as archetypes .... In naming, describing, and illustrating the individual bodhisattvas, his book is an informative and valuable resource."

--Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of Goddesses in Everywoman and Gods in Everyman

"In Bodhisattva Archetypes Taigen Leighton provides us with a clear-as-a-bell introduction to Buddhist thought, as well as a short course in Far Eastern iconography and lore that I intend to use as a desk reference. What astonishes me, however, is that along the way he also manages, with surprising plausibility, to portray figures as diverse as Gertrude Stein, Bob Dylan, and Albert Einstein, among many likely and unlikely others, as equivalent Western expressions of the bodhisattva archetype. His discussion provides the sort of informed daring we need to make Buddhism our own."

--Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Co-Abbot San Francisco Zen Center, author of Jerusalem Moonlight

"Like boys flying kites, spiritual writers tend to let their teachings jounce high in the clouds somewhere. Not so Taigen Daniel Leighton. He resolutely reels them down. In Bodhisattva Archetypes he presents Buddhist ideas and ideals embodied in flesh-and-blood people, examples whom we can love, admire, emulate: a stroke of genius. The result: A sparkler among contemporary Buddhist writings."

--Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., author of Gratefulness the Heart of Prayer


Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi

translated by Taigen Daniel Leighton with Yi Wu.

(revised, expanded edition, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 2000)

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Hongzhi–twelfth century Chinese Zen master who was predecessor of the famed Japanese spiritual writer Dogen–is celebrated in Zen literature as one of its most artistically graceful stylists. In these inspirational writings Hongzhi uses nature metaphors and poetical prose to articulate the experience and awareness of silent illumination, the nondual objectless meditation commonly known to modern Zen students as "just sitting." The introduction places his writings in the Zen tradition, including a discussion of the five ranks and the dialectics of Zen philosophy.

Comment on Cultivating the Empty Field :

"An inspiring book and an important document in the Zen tradition. While Chinese poetry and philosophy is loaded with metaphors drawn from nature, few poets employ metaphors in such an engaging manner as does Hongzhi." Tricycle magazine.

The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s "Bendowa" with Commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi

translated by Taigen Daniel Leighton and Shohaku Okumura. (Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1997) ISBN: 0-8048-3105-X

Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253) is widely considered one of the most profound, poetic, and insightful writers of the Buddhist tradition. This book includes an annotated translation of Dogen’s primary essay about the essential meaning and spirit of Zen meditation, along with an extensive, down-to-earth, and entertaining commentary by a prominent modern Japanese Zen Master, Uchiyama Roshi.

Comments on The Wholehearted Way :

"This book will take Dogen Zenji’s teachings on practice/enlightenment into the 21st century. ... presented with such clarity and precision by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Dan Leighton that we enter Dogen Zenji’s presence as though in dokusan."

Zenkei Blanche Hartman, Abbess of San Francisco Zen Center

"A fine introduction to the spirit of Zen, both past and present. Dogen’s famous text on Zen practice comes alive. ... The translation well captures both the sense of Dogen’s original text and the clarity and humanity that have made Uchiyama Roshi one of the most attractive Zen teachers today."

Carl Bielefeldt, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University  

Dogen’s Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A Translation of "Eihei Shingi"

translated by Taigen Daniel Leighton and Shohaku Okumura; Edited with Introduction by Taigen Daniel Leighton. (State University of New York Press, 1996)

This book is a complete translation of "Eihei Shingi," the major writing by the great thirteenth century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dogen about monastic practice and the role of community life in Buddhism. In addition to detailing procedural guidelines and instructions for monastic forms, in this work Dogen, noted for his profound and poetic insight, focuses on the appropriate attitudes and psychology for practitioners in community, and provides a collection of koans, or teaching stories, about spiritual community life. Along with the translation, the book includes a substantial introduction, informative annotation, and glossaries of persons mentioned in the stories and of traditional technical terms.

Comment on Dogen’s Pure Standards for the Zen Community :

"A very careful and readable translation of a very important work by Dogen which has just begun to receive attention. ... A ‘must read’ for those interested in studies of Dogen, Zen, and Japanese Buddhism."

Steven Heine, Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University

Other recommended reading for Dharma students
The following limited selections are useful readings for Soto Zen practitioners, but there is now a wealth of good material in English on Buddhist practice. Inquiries are welcome for more reading suggestions for any specific Dharma topics.

Dogen Translations and Commentaries
Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen , edited and trans. by Kazuaki Tanahashi (North Point Press, 1985).
Co-Translated with elders of San Francisco Zen Center, including Taigen, this is one of the best introductory collection of Dogen’s writings.

Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dogen , edited and trans. by Kazuaki Tanahashi (Shambhala, 1999).
Another good Dogen collection, also co-translated with elders of San Francisco Zen Center, including Taigen on Muchu Setsumu “Expressing the Dream Within the Dream,” and Temborin “Turning the Dharma Wheel.”

Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation; Zen Master Dogen, edited and trans. by Kazuaki Tanahashi (Shambhala, 2004).
Third volume of Dogen selections from Kaz Tanahashi, also co-translated with elders of San Francisco Zen Center, including Taigen on Gyobutsu Igi "The Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas."

The Heart of Dogen’s Shobogenzo , translated by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe (State University of New York Press, 2002).
These translations, with excellent annotation, were originally published in “Eastern Buddhist” in the early 70s, but remain among the very best renditions of key Dogen writings.

Shobogenzo: Zen Essays , trans. by Thomas Cleary (University of Hawaii Press, 1986).
Another excellent collection of translations, with useful commentary.

Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, by Hee-Jin Kim (new edition, Wisdom Publications, 2004).
An excellent, comprehensive discussion of Dogen's thought and practice, with new Foreword by Taigen Leighton.

Dogen and the Koan Tradition, by Steven Heine (State University of New York Press, 1994). .
An academic work, and dense reading, but a clear, excellent presentation of how Dogen developed the Koan practice tradition as he introduced it to Japan.

Chinese Chan/Zen Sources
Book of Serenity, trans. by Thomas Cleary (Shambhala, 1998).
A primary collection of 100 koans collected with verse comments by Hongzhi Zhengjue. A bit more reader-friendly than other collections such as the Blue Cliff Record.

Sun Face Buddha: The Teachings of Ma-tsu and the Hung-chou School of Ch’an , trans. with intro. by Cheng Chien Bhikshu (Jain Publishing Co., 1993).
This and the next three selections are good translations of traditional Recorded Sayings attributed to the great classic Chan masters.

The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu , trans. by James Green (Shambhala, 1998).

The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-chi (Rinzai) , trans. Burton Watson (Columbia Univ. Pr., 1999)

Master Yunmen: From the Record of the Chan Teacher , trans. & edited by Urs App
(Kodansha, 1994).

Minding Mind: A course in Basic Meditation, trans. by Thomas Cleary (Shambhala 1995).
A useful collection of classic Zen meditation manuals from Japan and Korea as well as China.

Mahayana Sutras and Commentaries
Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma , trans. by Leon Hurvitz (Columbia University Press, 1976).
This and the next volume are useful translations of arguably the most important East Asian sutra.

The Threefold Lotus Sutra , trans. by Butto Kato, Yoshiro Tamura, & Kojiro Miyasaka (Weatherhill, 1975).
This edition includes the significant “opening” and “closing” sutras.

Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra , trans. by Thomas Cleary (Shambhala, 1993).
A vast, panoramic, psychedelic vision of the workings of bodhisattvas.

Entry into the Inconceivable: An Introduction to Hua-yen Buddhism , trans. by Thomas Cleary (University of Hawaii Press, 1995).
Translations of primary commentaries from the Chinese Hua-yen school, which developed a profound Mahayana dialectical philosophy based on the Avatamsaka Sutra.

The Holy Teachings of Vimalakirti , trans. by Robert Thurman (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976).
Highly entertaining sutra recounting the inconceivable displays of the great enlightened layman of Buddha’s time.

The Eternal Legacy: An Introduction to the Canonical Literature of Buddhism, Sangharakshita (Tharpa Publications, 1985). A good survey resource for Buddhist sutras.

Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations , Paul Williams(Routledge, 1989).
A fine survey introduction to the range of Mahayana Philosophy.

Japanese Buddhism
Soto Zen in Medieval Japan , William Bodiford (University of Hawaii Press, 1993).
An excellent academic history of the development of Soto Zen in Japan after Dogen.

Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan , trans. by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1992).
This and the next selection give the fine poetry & teachings of Ryokan, the beloved nineteenth century Soto Zen monk/fool.

Zen Master Ryokan: Poems, Letters, and Other Writings , trans. with Essays by Ryuichi Abe and Peter Haskel (University of Hawaii Press, 1996).

The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin , trans. by Norman Waddell (Shambhala, 1994).
Teachings of the great, dynamic eighteenth century Japanese Rinzai master Hakuin.

American Buddhism
Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts , Reb Anderson (Rodmell Press, 2001).
Excellent, helpful discussions of bodhisattva precepts and their multiple levels in practice, as well as the ethical implications of meditation.

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind , Shunryu Suzuki (Weatherhill, 1970).
THE classic cherished teachings on modern Western Zen practice.

Not Always So: practicing the true spirit of Zen, Shunryu Suzuki (Harper Collins, 2002). More teachings from the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, edited by Ed Brown, author of Tassajara Bread Book and Tassajara Cooking.

Branching Streams Flow into the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai , Shunryu Suzuki (University of California Press, 1999).

Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki , David Chadwick (Broadway Books, 1999).

Practice of the Wild , Gary Snyder (North Point Press, 1990).
An important, liberating book by one of the great founders of American Zen, this work connects the wilderness of Nature and Mind.

Mountains and Rivers Without End , Gary Snyder (Counterpoint, 1996).

World as Lover, World as Self, Joanna Macy (Parallax Press, 1991).

Returning to Silence: Zen Practice in Daily Life , Dainin Katagiri (Shambhala, 1988).

Art of Just Sitting, edited by Daido Loori (Wisdom Publications, 2002). Essays and talks about shikantaza from a wide range of sources from China, Japan and America. Preface is by Taigen (see "Hongzhi, Dogen and the Background of Shikantaza" on the Articles and Essays link on this site).

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