Opening a Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters

With the growing popularity of Zen Buddhism in the West, virtually everyone knows, or thinks they know, what a koan is: a brief and baffling question or statement that cannot be solved by the logical mind and which, after sustained concentration, can lead to sudden enlightenment. But the truth about koans is both simpler--and more complicated--than this.
In Opening a Mountain, Steven Heine shows that koans, and the questions we associate with them--such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"--are embedded in larger narratives and belong to an ancient Buddhist tradition of "encounter dialogues." These dialogues feature dramatic and often inscrutable contests between masters and disciples, or between masters and an array of natural and supernatural forces: rouge priests, "wild foxes," hermits, wizards, shapeshifters, magical animals, and dangerous women. To establish a new monastery, "to open a mountain," the Zen master had to tame these wild forces in regions most remote from civilization. In these extraordinary encounters, fingers and arms are cut off, pitchers are kicked over, masters appear in and interpret each other's dreams, and seemingly absurd statements are shown to reveal the deepest insights. Heine restores these koans to their original traditions, allowing readers to see both the complex elements of Chinese culture and religion that they reflect and the role they played in Zen's transformation of local superstitions into its own teachings.
Offering a fresh approach to one of the most crucial elements of Zen Buddhism, Opening a Mountain is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the full story behind koans and the mysterious worlds they come from.

In Opening a Mountain, Steven Heine takes a unique look at the Zen koan, delving into its mythological background and its relationship to folk beliefs. Even with available commentaries, koan are enigmatic at best, but in a virtuosic display of historical and textual scholarship, Heine brings us a step closer to understanding what the koan are saying and where they come from. Why are there spirits or supernatural rivals in koan? What is the significance of the staff or fly-whisk the monk carries? Why are mountains so central? These are some of the questions that Heine answers as he examines 60 handpicked koan, case by case, first translating them complete with their original commentary, then offering his own discussion that covers textual points, then going into the role of supernatural and ritual imagery. Scholarly in tone, Opening a Mountain opens up a new dimension in the study of Zen koan. --Brian Bruya