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04-23-2025
03:00 PM
04:00 PM
Library Tea House
DKU Library is pleased to present the latest event in the DKU Library Author Talk Series, titled American Koan: Imagining Zen and Self in Autobiographical Literature. The author of the book, Dr. Ben Van Overmeire, is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Duke Kunshan University.
The term “koan” refers to a spiritual practice in Zen Buddhism characterized by paradoxical riddles or questions/dialogues, which practitioners use to transcend conventional thinking and provoke a sudden awakening or enlightenment. We are privileged to have Dr. Ben Van Overmeire to share his long-term exploration of the mutual transformation of Eastern Zen Buddhism and Western tradition of autobiography. Dr. James Miller will moderate the discussion.
Author: Dr. Ben Van Overmeire
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Duke Kunshan University
Moderator: Dr. James Miller
Professor of Humanities, Duke Kunshan University
Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives, Duke Kunshan University
Explore the Book:
American Koan: Imagining Zen and Self in Autobiographical Literature
Author: Ben Van Overmeire
ISBN: 9780813952086
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Year of Publication: 2024
Location: 1st Floor Faculty Work
Call number: BQ9289.5 .V366 2024
Electronic book: https://find.library.duke.edu/catalog/DUKE99119632775708501
Overview:
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.
