Esoteric Zen

Despite their starkly contrasting images, premodern Japanese Zen and tantric Buddhism were closely entwined movements. Based on recently discovered manuscript materials and covering the 13th to the 17th century, Esoteric Zen offers the first comprehensive account of their multi-faceted relationship.

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When a Zen teacher tells you to point at your mind, which part of your body do you point at?

According to the Japanese master Chikotsu Daie (1229–1312), you should point at the fistful of meat that is your heart. Esoteric Zen demonstrates that far from an outlier, Daie's understanding reflects the medieval Buddhist mainstream, in which tantric teachings and Zen were closely entwined movements that often developed within the same circles of thinkers and texts. ,br/>
Drawing on newly discovered manuscript materials, it shows how medieval practitioners constructed a unique form of Zen by drawing on tantric doctrinal discourses.