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Leo Tolstoy and Radical Zen. Comments on 'Father Sergius'

par Ioffe, Dennis
Référence Zbornik Matice srpske za slavistiku, 88, page (49-61)
Publication Publié, 2015

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

The essay discusses Leo Tolstoy’s short novel “Father Sergius” in the context of Zen Buddhist radical iconography. The motive of the severed finger represents a certain and quite well-known Zen kōan which could have potentially influenced the Russian author. The essay meticulously narrates the story of the “Gutei’s Finger” kōan out of several collections (describing the Jùzhī Yīzhǐ’s mythological event first and foremost based on the “Mumonkan” – “The Gateless Gate”), and compares it with Tolstoy’s sjuzhet and its possible historical and imaginative contexts.