In The Clash of Civilizations; Samuel Huntington argued that the borders between Western and Islamic civilizations would one day become the loci of cultural conflict. The statements of Osama Bin-Laden would seem to support this view. "This battle is not between al-Qaeda and the U.S.;" he famously said in October of 2001. "This is a battle of Muslims against the Global Crusaders."These specially commissioned essays critically examine the virtual and actual borders of Islamic civilization. Contributors concentrate on local dynamics and whether they support or contradict an emerging global confrontation between Islam and its Christian; Hindu; Buddhist; and secular neighbors. They consider borders that host Muslim majorities (Afghanistan; Bosnia; Chechnya; Ethiopia; Indonesia; Somalia; Pakistan; and Turkey); those that have significant Muslim minorities (Phillipines; Nigeria; and India); and those that reflect new faultlines created by migration to France; the United Kingdom; the United States; and Spain or by advances in technology. Essays explore the rise of international Salafi jihadism and whether it can be traced to countries that straddle the Islamic and non-Islamic world. In conclusion; the contributors argue that mechanisms far more complex than those described in Huntington's Clash of Civilizations influence many border regions; suggesting that; while poverty and institutional failure heighten religious awareness and practice; the actual effects of these phenomena are entirely different.
#2426701 in Books 2009-05-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x 1.20 x 6.10l; 1.40 #File Name: 0231143923376 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Zongmi is a name that every Zen student should know--he's the man!By A HalawThe first fascinating aspect about Jeffrey Broughton's Zongmi on Chan; is its debunking the myth that Zen's "special transmission outside of the scriptures" means that Zen eschews sutra study. Like Chinul; Zongmi; a Hua-yen adept and Chan Master in the Heze school (rumored to descend from the Sixth Ancestor's Dharma heir; Shen-hsiu) was a large proponent of sutra study. He practiced what some Zen teachers would pejoratively call "Scriptural/Scholastic Chan" or "Chan of words and letters." His position; I think; is best summarized when he writes: "Scriptures are the word of the Buddha; Chan is the thought of the Buddha. There is no difference whatsoever between what the Buddha [thought] with his mind and [uttered] with his mouth." So it would seem that Zen's aversion for written teachings simply did not pertain to Tang dynasty China; and appears to be more of a Japanese (Rinzai) development than an actual tradition handed down from Bodhidharma; the legendary founder of Zen.In addition to his extensive and invaluable introduction; Broughton's translations of some of Zongmi's most noteworthy texts--"Chan Letter;" the incredible "Chan Prolegomenon;" and "Chan Notes"--provide a clear window into the mind of a great religious syncretist. Zongmi not only synthesizes Hau-yen doctrine with Chan practice; but even more impressively; he illustrates how all Chan schools are expressions of the true Buddhadharma. A tall order indeed; especially when we consider how different the Chan schools' philosophical viewpoints are.Overall; I praise Jeffrey Broughton for this excellent book. Zongmi on Chan; as an academic and scholarly title; is an excellent complement to practice-oriented Chan classics like The Zen Teaching of Huang Po or Hui Hai's Zen Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening; and an indispensable addition to early Chan literature and study. I recommend it to anyone interested in Chinul; Son; or Chan in general.--Andre Doshim Halaw16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Vastly significant for all Zen (Chan) practitionersBy Ted BiringerZongmi on Chan (Translations from the Asian Classics) (Hardcover)by Professor Jeffrey Lyle BroughtonJeffrey Broughton's "Zongmi on Chan" is a vastly significant work for Zen (Chan) practitioners and anyone else interested in the doctrines and methodology of Zen Buddhism.The writings of Guifeng Zongmi (780-841) are some of the most reliable and comprehensive sources on the doctrines and practices of early Chinese (Tang dynasty) Zen. The works of this early Zen ancestor (also recognized as the 5th ancestor of Huayen Buddhism) were; and continue to be some of the most influential texts of Buddhist history.In this fascinating treatment of Zongmi's writings; Broughton offers up a lucidly annotated translation of Zongmi's masterpiece; "The Chan Prolegomenon"; translations of Zongmi's; "Chan Letter"; "Chan Notes"; "Pei Xiu's Preface" to The Chan Prolegomenon (Pei Xiu is the editor credited with compiling Huang-Po's record). Also included is the Song Dynasty "Colophon to The Chan Prolegomenon" (from the Wanli 4 [1576] Korean Edition. Many of these translations are the first available in English. At the same time; Broughton brings those that have been previously translated (in partial and diverse works) together in this very accessible book.Like the writings of the great Korean Zen (Soen) master; Chinul; and the eminent Japanese Zen master; Eihei Dogen; Zongmi's works go far in debunking some of the major misrepresentations of Zen doctrine and praxis. (As with Chinul and Dogen) this is especially true regarding the popular misunderstanding of the Zen axiom as "a seperate transmission outside scripture" and "not reliant on words and letters." Zongmi's works; perhaps even more forcefully than Chinul's and Dogen's; lucidly presents how and why verbal teachings and textual study have always been as integral and vital to authentic Zen practice-and-enlightenment as personal realization.In the Introduction; and throughout his annotation; Broughton skillfully walks the reader; step by step through Zongmi's "Chan Prolegomenon" to reveal that the message of Zen has never been; nor could ever be "separate" from the sutras and treatises of Buddhism. In this regard; Broughton also delves deeply into the classic Zen text; "Mind Mirror" (of Yanshou) and its rationale (like Zongmi's; Chinul's; and Dogen's) that Zen can only be authentically transmitted within the context of the sutras; shastras; and records of the Zen ancestors.From the Product Description:Japanese Zen often implies that textual learning ( gakumon) in Buddhism and personal experience ( taiken) in Zen are separate; but the career and writings of the Chinese Tang dynasty Chan master Guifeng Zongmi (780-841) undermine this division...The Chan Prolegomenon persuasively argues that Chan "axiom realizations" are identical to the teachings embedded in canonical word and that one who transmits Chan must use the sutras and treatises as a standard. Japanese Rinzai Zen has; since the Edo period; marginalized the sutra-based Chan of the Chan Prolegomenon and its successor text; the Mind Mirror ( Zongjinglu) of Yongming Yanshou (904-976). This book contains the first in-depth treatment in English of the neglected Mind Mirror; positioning it as a restatement of Zongmi's work for a Song dynasty audience.The ideas and models of the Chan Prolegomenon; often disseminated in East Asia through the conduit of the Mind Mirror; were highly influential in the Chan traditions of Song and Ming China; Korea from the late Koryo onward; and Kamakura-Muromachi Japan. In addition; Tangut-language translations of Zongmi's Chan Prolegomenon and Chan Letter constitute the very basis of the Chan tradition of the state of Xixia. As Broughton shows; the sutra-based Chan of Zongmi and Yanshou was much more normative in the East Asian world than previously believed; and readers who seek a deeper; more complete understanding of the Chan tradition will experience a surprising reorientation in this book.About the AuthorJeffrey Broughton is professor of religious studies at California State University Long Beach and the author of The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen.
