Did Dogen Go to China? What He Wrote and When He Wrote It

Dogen (1200-1253) was the founder of Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan, and as such one of the most notable figures in Japanese religious history. In this book, Steven Heine attempts to clarify how and when Dogen 's various works were composed and compiled in relation to the unfolding of Dogen's career. This book, in addition to presenting Heine's own innovative interpretation of Dogen's life and work, performs a valuable service by bringing cutting edge Japanese scholarship on Dogen to the attention of Western scholars of Buddhism.

Steven Heine is Professor and Director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida International University. He specializes in the history of thought of Zen Buddhism and its transition from China to Japan, especially the life and works of Zen Master Dogen. He has published twenty books and numerous articles on East Asian religion and society. Dr. Heine was recently awarded the Kauffman Professorship in Entrepreneurship Studies at the Florida International University Business School.