"DÅgen's Zen prose works have been studied extensively, but prior to this volume, scant attention has been paid to his Zen poetry. Now, the senior DÅgen scholar in the West, Steven Heine, has crafted a much-needed portal for broader appreciations of the thirteenth-century Zen master's Chinese-style poems. Heine's translations from DÅgen's Wisdom Within Words are a must-read for those interested in DÅgen or Zen verse." -- John Tucker, Professor of Japanese and East Asian History, East Carolina University"Steven Heine's Wisdom within Words is a skillfully translated as well as informatively introduced and insightfully commented upon collection of Chinese-style poetry by the matchless Zen and literary master DÅgen. This book will not only be celebrated as a major contribution to Zen studies, it will be welcomed by a wide range of readers who will treasure the access it provides to much of the greatest poetry by one of the greatest spiritual teachers of all time." -- Bret W. Davis, author of Zen Pathways: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of Zen Buddhism"He offers a translation alongside the original kanbun text as well as his verse-by-verse interpretative comments of the KuchÅ«gen (rendered by Heine as "Wisdom within Words"), a poetry collection comprising 149 of (altogether around 450 of) DÅgen's kanshi (Chinese-style poems).Heine notes the significance of the KuchÅ«gen, which has served "as a study guide routinely memorized and recited or copied as part of contemplative training".

" -- Lukas K. Pokorny, University of Vienna.