About this item
A modern Zen classic--reissued with new material: An introduction to the great tenth-century Chinese master, with translations of his key works.Yunmen Wenyan (c. 864-949) was a master of the Chinese Zen (Chan) tradition and one of the most influential teachers in its history, showing up in many famous koans - in one of which he's credited with the famous line, "Every day is a good day." His teachings are said to permeate heaven and earth, to address immediately and totally the state and conditions of his audience, and to cut off even the slightest trace of duality. In this classic study of Master Yunmen, historian and Buddhist scholar Urs App clearly elucidates the encompassing and penetrating nature of Yunmen's teachings, provides pioneering translations of his numerous talks and dialogues, and includes a brief history of Chinese Zen, a biography of the master, and a wealth of resource materials.
About the Author
Urs App was born in 1949 in Rorschach, Switzerland, and studied in Freiburg, Kyoto and Philadelphia psychology, philosophy and religious studies. In 1989 he obtained a Ph. D. in Religious Studies (Chinese Buddhism) from Temple University in Philadelphia.From 1989 to 1999 he was professor of Buddhism at Hanazono University in Kyoto, Japan, and Associate Director of its International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism. He has since devoted himself to full-time research at various academic institutions in Asia and Europe, most recently at the Research Institute for Zen Culture (Zenbunka kenkyujo, Kyoto; 2005-2007), the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF; 2007-2010), the Scuola Italiana di Studi sull'Asia Orientale (Italian School of East Asian Studies, ISEAS; 2010-11), and the Institute of Humanistic Studies (Jinbun kagaku kenkyujo) of Kyoto University (2011-12).Focuses of research are Buddhist studies (especially Zen Buddhism), the history of orientalism, the history of the European discovery of Asian religions, the history of philosophy in East and West (in particular also Schopenhauer's reception of Asian religions and philosophies), and the exchange of ideas between Asia and the West.
