How to Raise an Ox: Zen Practice as Taught in Master Dogen's Shobogenzo

by Francis Harold Cook, Taizan Maezumi Roshi (Foreword)

The writings of Zen master Dogen are among the highest achievements not only of Japanese literature but of world literature. Dogen's writings are a near-perfect expression of truth, beautifully expressing the best of which the human race is capable. In this volume, Francis Cook presents ten selections from Dogen's masterwork, the Shobogenzo, as well as six of his own essays brilliantly illuminating the mind of this peerless master.

Genres: Buddhism, Zen, Nonfiction, Religion, Theory, Philosophy

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Gale Beckwith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francis Dojun Cook's wrote How to Raise an Ox with a purpose, as Cook points out, and that is to deliver understanding of what it means to practice Zen. If you sincerely want to know, this is a great book. If you're mildly curious, read something by Alan Watts. If you want to know more about the religion of Zen Buddhism, then D.T. Suzuki has written several great books explaining it all. If you want extend your understanding of Zen and further YOUR PRACTICE, this book is for you.

If I could give it 10 stars to make up for lesser reviews I would.

Paraphrasing Dogen, "no one understands that moment of revelation of reality. Not even the Buddha vision see it." How can it be conveyed or described in words. Cook's translation is masterful, capturing Dogen's vision and marvelous poetry, riddled with koans; as close to an expression of (Zen) reality as I've experienced.

These 9 chapters of the Shobogenzo, along with an extensive commentary by Cook, deal with key elements of Zen practice, leaving out chapters on monastic rules of conduct and obscure knowledge of time and space. Areas such as faith, determination and the nature of enlightenment are woven into intricate patterns of stories of Zen ancestors, their experiences and admonitions.

For a little more on what I think about the book and Zen masters, please have a read:
http://zenancestors.com/zen-masters/

Thanks for reading this and enjoy your practice, Gale Beckwith

[Tord Helsingeng · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read. Informative, inspiring, at times even funny. No fluff to be found anywhere. Goes almost immediately in to the deep end of the pool, but there is a helpful introduction by the translator to help with Dogen's multi-perspectival approach.

[Steve Minard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was, in fact, a left over book from a college course that I never actually read (and barely attended... what can I say, senioritis was hitting hard). Having gotten into Buddhism and read many other books on the subject once I was out of school, I figured I would finally pull this one off the shelf. In truth, it is one of the more difficult books I've read, and not just because it took me literally decades to get around to finishing.

I probably got much more out of the first half of the book, the part actually written by Francis Dojun Cook, because it was much more accessible to a Western persepctive. It is certainly written in a much more readable fashion. The translations of ten essays in the second half of the book were incredibly difficult, and this is coming from someone who has read numerous books on the subject. This is probably just a factor of the language it was originally written in, but I often found myself re-reading passages or taking an inordinate amount of time to slowly comprehend.

I would probably recommend only the seven summary chapters to any layperson looking for another insight into Zen Buddhism. The ten translated essays are best left to academics or direct practitioners. Still, I was able to gain several good insights and memorable quotations from both halves of the book, so it gets three stars, though I'd probably give the first half 3 or 3.5 and the second half 2 or 2.5 if I could break it up. In any case, I am glad to have finally finished that college course after all of these years. :-)

[Stewart Dorward · Rating 3 out of 5]

A previous reviewer said that this was a good book if you are really into Buddhism - I agree this is not for a casual read. The essays at the start of the book are the most accessible part - written to pick up themes from Dogen's work. I also agree that he comes across as dogmatic but that could be because we expect Buddhism to be warm and 'touchy feely'.

In the selection of works translated the most impressive section is where Dogen blasts the sexism and sycophancy of the Buddhist establishment of his day - he is very clear and direct why this is wrong from a Buddhist perspective. However, at other points he happily goes along with the anti-Theravadan prejudices of his day. Perhaps he saw the effect sexism and status seeking had on people he actually met but had never met a South East Asian Buddhist.

Dogen emerges from these texts as serious and passionate about his faith and progressive for his day but not perfect. What more can you expect?

[Bria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did not tell me very much about how to raise an ox. I suppose the idea is that once I reach enlightenment, my mind will be so clear that it will be obvious to me what to feed my oxen, how to treat hoof rot, the best training methods, and so forth. However, that seems a rather roundabout way to go about my ox-raising task.

[Jim McGurn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drinking tea and eating rice is where it's at.

[Brooke Finnerty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The break up of passages is very well organized to help those understand the order of the book. I loved how it focused on Dogen and his teachings whereas other books you aren't quite sure who the author really is and what their background and knowledge levels are. Hearing instruction from Dogen is very insightful since he is very well known in zen and a leader to many. I really liked that they laid out themes in the beginning of the book so even if you didn't want to read the whole book, you can find what parts your interested in and read about those. This is a zen book unlike any others I've read before from the layout to the actual information being spread. I loved the mini passages from cook it added an aspect of the book that many other zen books don't include.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found How to Raise an Ox to be a very good presentation of Buddhist ideals to a Western audience. It presents very clear but intriguing ideas regarding the practice of Zen, and Cook’s use of Master Dogen’s writings coupled with his own explanations of them makes it all the more captivating. The multiple sources of information on Zen also makes it much more reputable than many other prominent Zen writings presented to Western audiences. I would greatly recommend this book to anyone already interested in Zen Buddhism and desiring to better understand its concepts as well as how to best further their own practice.

[Rick Jackofsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to give this 3 1/2 stars; 4 stars for the essays by Francis Dojun Cook and 3 stars for the translations. In his introduction Cook, correctly, explained the difficulties in translating an ancient Buddhist text. Reading the translations was also difficult.

[Zaubin Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very good book- if you are really into Buddhism. I find it to be a little bit dogmatic, surprisingly enough. But it is not entirely the author's fault. The author is very knowledgable about the subject. It is an accurate presentation. Maybe I just don't gel with Dogen's Zen. Some good zen anecdotes, of course.

[Corin Stedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the full preface (pages 1-94, almost half the book). The actual translations from Shobogenzo were underwhelming compared to how Cook built them up. I wonder if I didn't understand and should read it again.

[Ruskoley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent read. I learned a bit. Or maybe it is better to say that I understood a bit. Some points: the translations of Dogen seem well done and begin on pg. 65. The section prior to that is F. D. Cook's essays on Zen and Dogen. It is a decent combination in the book, but it would not have hurt to have these separate.

When this book focuses on a point, it really gets in there good. Meaning: the item will be hammered in via repetition and emphasis and focus. For the first half of this book, the focus is on continuous practice.

Dogen's Zen (and, I assume, F.D. Cook's) is not the "Zen" one sees consumed by many in the Western world. The Zen in this book is challenging, re-evaluative, and intelligent. But for these reasons, this book may not suit those with, let's say, alternative *goals* for their Zen practice.