JJRS > Volume 21 Issue 1 “Critical Buddhism” (Hihan Bukkyō) and the Debate Concerning the 75-Fascicle and 12-Fascicle Shōbōgenzō Texts

Heine, Steven

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One of the main issues in the recent movement known as critical Buddhism (hihan bukkyō) is the question of which version of the Shōbōgenzō represents Dōgen’s authentic philosophical message. Critical Buddhism has rejected the conventional emphasis on the priority of the 75-fascicle version, which contains the famous philosophical essays on “Buddha-nature” (Busshō) and “Being-Time” (Uji). Instead it emphasizes that the 12-fascicle Shōbōgenzō, which was written toward the end of Dōgen’s life and contains mainly practical instructions for monks in training, is the real or authentic text because of its critique of original-enlightenment thought and consistent focus on karmic causality. This paper examines the Critical Buddhist view in the light of responses by traditional Dōgen scholars. The debate is framed and evaluated in the larger context of Buddhist scholasticism and hermeneutics in which scholars try to reinterpret medieval sources from a classical or foundational standpoint and in terms of distinctively modern concerns.