Dogen-- a Zen Buddhist Mystic

Of the mystics I read about in "Mystics" by William Harmless, I particularly like Dogen, who was a mystic in the Zen Buddhist tradition.

He lived in Japan from 1200 to 1254, and founded the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism. A lot of his theologies stemmed from his "Great Doubt" that he experienced in his youth (which prompted him to leave a separate monastery.) However, he experienced a sort of enlightenment at Mount T'ien-t'ung in China, and started to write his grand work Shobogenzo, which translates to Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. It was a collection of writings that covered topics that ranged from the concept of time and being to the proper way to wash one's face. He delivered the essays as lectures, in Japanese, which was a big political move at the time.

He was an interesting guy, and responsible for much of the way that we think of Zen Buddhism today.