Textual and Interpretative History of Dōgen’s Sinitic Poetry

Abstract

Abstract The first chapter examines the textual origins and diverse implications of Dōgen Sinitic poetry collection titled Wisdom within Words (Kuchūgen) as compiled in 1759 by the eminent Sōtō Zen scholar-monk Menzan along with his annotations and edited in recent years by Murakami Shindō. Some of the main topics discussed are how the poems were culled by Menzan from Dōgen’s ten-volume Extensive Record, a compendium of various prose and poetic writings that is extant in two versions, with Menzan using the edition first published in 1672 by Manzan, as well as the significance of the title of the poetry collection and the ways it is presented by Murakami’s book featuring many useful interpretative resources that help readers access the significance of the sometimes-obscure verses.