Rational Zen consists of selection from Dogen's two masterworks, Shobogenzo (the famed "Treasury of Eyes of True Teaching, " Japan's most sophisticated philosophical work) and Eihei Koruko ("Universal Book of Eternal Peace"), now in English for the first time. The translator's commentary and a compendium of authentic source materials enhance the reader's insight into Dogen's methods, linking them to the great classical traditions of Buddhism that ultimately flowered in Zen.
Thomas Cleary holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and is a former fellow of Kyoto University. Having published over forty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian works, he is the most prolific translator of Asian spiritual classics today.