Off the shelf: "Moon in a Dewdrop"

We love telling people about the interesting books we find. Today’s discovery comes from our Asian philosophy section. The following bit of philosophical food for thought is excerpted from Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dōgen:

When you prepare food, do not see with ordinary eyes and do not think with ordinary mind. Take up a blade of grass and construct a treasure king’s land; enter into a particle of dust and turn the great dharma wheel. Do not arouse disdainful mind when you prepare a broth of wild grasses; do not arouse joyful mind when you prepare a fine cream soup. Where this is no discrimination, how can there be distaste? Thus, do not be careless even when you work with poor materials, and sustain your efforts even when you have excellent materials. Never change your attitude according to the materials. If you do, it is like varying your truth when speaking with different people; then you are not a practitioner of the way.

"Never change your attitude according to the materials": excellent advice!

Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253) was among the first teachers to transmit the doctrines and practices of Zen Buddhism from China to Japan. Moon in a Dewdrop, published in 1995 by North Point Press, brings together key writings of his, as translated into English by Kazuaki Tanahashi in collaboration with other Zen scholars. The images here show a detail of one of the interior plates, and the page from which this excerpt is drawn. 

Moon in a Dewdrop (9780865471863) is (at the time of posting) available for purchase for $12. Readers interested in such subject matter should know that Bonfire boasts an extensive stock of books pertaining to Japanese, Chinese and Indian philosophy, religion and esoterica, with specialties in Buddhism, Taoism, and shamanism. 

Before you go, let us tell you about our current activity. We have been quiet on social media for a short while as we focus our efforts on preparation for opening early in 2022, and following a bout of COVID that kept our bookseller in bed for a few weeks. We’re back at work now and working hard to catalog books, build-out the bookstore space, populate the website, evaluate new inventory, and put all the pieces into place for our opening. We would love for you to sign-up for our mailing list so you can be in the know when we announce our grand opening in downtown Fitchburg. Sign-up online at http://bit.ly/bonfirelist.