American Koan - (Studies in Religion and Culture) by Ben Van Overmeire

About the Book

"The koan is among the most recognizable of Zen Buddhist genres, a riddle or puzzle used during meditation to help unravel greater truths about the world or those meditating. In American Koan, Ben Van Overmeire examines the literary function of these ancient dialogues in the "Zen monastic memoirs" of modern western authors such as Natalie Goldberg, Peter Matthiessen, and others. Such dialogues are portrayed in these modern memoirs as the ideal or utopian world of Zen, against which the protagonist's own experiences of Zen are to be measured. Van Overmeire examines this "utopian" nostalgia for a pure cultural origin that represents something essential and foundational, thereby clarifying the relationship between the modern understanding of Zen and the advent of modernity, with its attendant feeling of destabilization"--

Book Synopsis

How American Buddhists use Zen riddles to imagine who they are

The koan is one of the most recognizable East Asian spiritual exercises--a thought experiment in the form of a riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists employ to become enlightened. Well-known examples include the question "What is the sound of one hand clapping?," "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?," and the injunction "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

In American Koan, Ben Van Overmeire examines the literary function of these ancient dialogues in autobiographies of modern Western writers such as Natalie Goldberg, Peter Matthiessen, Philip Kapleau, Ruth Ozeki, and others. Through his attentive analyses of these authors, Van Overmeire unveils the rich world of American Zen literature and delves into the meaning of success and failure in Zen; how women find a place in this patriarchal tradition; how to combine Zen insight with compassion; and the illusory nature of linear time. Critical yet empathetic, this is a scintillating study of how Americans become Buddhas.

About the Author

Ben Van Overmeire is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Duke Kunshan University.