Dogen Zen master

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Summary

The book, “Dogen Zenji” by Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature and Shinran Prize winner Tatematsu Wahei, is a summary of Dogen Zenji’s life, including his upbringing, his path to Zen training, his training in the Song Dynasty, and the founding of Echizen Eiheiji Temple.

Dogen was born in the late Heian period (794-1185) into a family of nobles connected to the regency of Kyoto. The historical background of his childhood and training at Kenninji Temple is the rise and fall of Taira no Kiyomori, followed by the emergence and fall of Kiso no Yoshinaka, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, and the assassination of the third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo by his nephew Gongyo, leading to the extinction of the Yoritomo family. (This is also the setting for NHK’s historical drama “Kamakura-dono no 13,” which will be broadcast from 2021.)

The Song Dynasty, where Dogen went to study Soto Zen Buddhism, was also the last Han-centric country that had a great influence on Japan in terms of cultural aspects such as tea, pottery and ink painting, as well as economic systems such as money, paper money, currency exchange and securities. At the same time, it was on the verge of being destroyed by the foreign northern tribes of Jin and Yuan (Mongol Empire), and like Japan, the country was undergoing a period of great change. (Various Chinese dramas such as “Yue Fei Dian: Last Hero,” “Flowers and Generals,” and “Ming Lan” were produced.)

It was also a time of turmoil until the Hojo clan seized power, including the fall of the Hiki clan (Hiki-gun and Higashi Matsuyama City in Saitama) and the Miura clan (a name derived from the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture), who were key players in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, and the Jokyu Rebellion, the last revolt of the Kyoto clan.

This work is characterized not only by the interesting historical flow described above, but also by the careful presentation of Dogen’s religious perspective. There are words in it that answer the essence of the story.

For example, in Sisi’s conversation with a Zen monk after Dogen’s visit to the sect.

The one who wants to learn the characters is the one who wants to know the true meaning of the characters. Those who practice are those who seek to know the true meaning of the practice.

“What exactly is a letter?

Lao Tzu replied in a kind of way.

“One, two, three, four, five.”

Dogen understood in an instant.

The letters, like the numbers, are each unique and absolute, and cannot be replaced by any other. And yet, each one, like the number, has no meaning. Meaning is put into them by the person who uses them. Letters represent things when they are arranged, but when you look at the essence of all things, each one of them is nothing more than a piece of paper. The beautiful jade seaweed of truth under the dragon’s chin that I have been looking for, when I actually hold it in my hands, there is nothing that is not there.

This is an expression that directly describes the relationship between words (symbols) and the meanings they have, as described previously in “Handling the Meanings of Symbols with Computers. I believe that there is no absolute world of meaning, and that meaning is created in the relationship between the people who use it and the people who use it.

In addition, Dogen’s Soto Zen master, Ryojo Tendo, spoke about the “Hogyo Samadhi” left by the founder of the Soto Zen sect, Ryo Kae Dozan.

He said, “You should know that the best of the best are those who improve the Buddha. Buddha’s improvement is a good word. The ultimate goal of our practice is to attain enlightenment, but we should not get caught up in that state of mind, and we should not cling to that state of mind, but strive for further improvement. Only when we have experienced the Buddha’s improvement can we talk a little bit about the state of enlightenment. This means that the practice of post-enlightenment is of great importance.

The path is everywhere, at all times, and it’s all over the universe, so there’s no such thing as a perfect path. All actions are nothing but the path. The Patriarchs have perpetuated the Way because they have realized the Way within the Way, not outside the Way. The path is everywhere and everywhere at the same time.

In Freud’s psychology, he also said, “People seek rest, but there is no absolute rest. If there is an absolute rest, it is when one stops living. In order to live without being troubled by negative emotions, I think it is important not only to practice Zen, but also to stay on the path and keep moving forward (practice), rather than keep looking for the goal (enlightenment or rest). I believe that the path continues all the way, and that “Buddha improvement” and “post-enlightenment practice” are important.

“All things are like this. Even in a speck of dust, even in a formless thing, there are many aspects, and we must learn by learning, and see and know as much as our eyes can see. The true nature of all things in the forest is that the visible forms are only a small part of it, and the remaining aspects are infinite, and this world is made up of them. The rest of the world is infinite, and the world is made up of such things. It is not just the world around us, but the invisible world, the entire universe, every speck of dust, and above all, our own existence.

Then, in his later years at Eiheiji, he continued to compile the Shobogenzo. The Shobogenzo is a collection of nearly 100 volumes of Dogen’s writings, and covers a wide range of topics, from how to practice Zen meditation, which is necessary for the practice of Soto Zen, to “how to brush your teeth” and “how to wash your face” for the proper practice of daily life, as well as various Zen philosophies (of course, this is the majority). There is a wide range of topics, from “how to brush your teeth” and “how to wash your face” to various Zen ideas (of course, this is the majority).

Among them, one of the most important is “The Eight Enlightenments,” which is based on the last sutra of the Buddha’s teachings.

The Buddhas are the adults, the ones who have attained great enlightenment. The Buddha is an adult, a person who has attained great enlightenment, and the content of this adult’s enlightenment has eight different characteristics, hence the name “Eight Great Perfections.

The Eight Perfections are: greed, knowledge, ease, diligence, non-forgetfulness, practice of Zen, practice of wisdom, and non-playfulness.

In this way, the Buddha’s teachings can be divided into the following three categories: small greed, which is the state of not seeking and not taking; knowledge, which is the state of being satisfied with the minimum amount of knowledge and being satisfied with whatever reason is given; ease and tranquility, which is the state of choosing a quiet place and practicing alone, away from the hustle and bustle of human interaction; and diligence and progress, which is the state of doing all kinds of good Dharma and not resting (diligence is the absence of mixture and progress is the absence of mixture). In the same way, the term “non-forgetfulness” is also called “correctness,” and the term “correctness” refers to obtaining and maintaining the mind of one’s talent. Shuzen-jeon is to be undisturbed by the truth, and shu-chih-wei is to listen to the teachings and practice them as wisdom.

These words also contain wisdom for living, along with the improvement of the Buddha.

In addition to these historical and Zen words, the book also introduces beautiful poems from the late Heian period.

“Let the cherry blossoms dance in the evening light, if you are far from the capital.

“Kiso Hito wa Umi no Ikari wo Shizumekane Shide no Yama ni Irikareru Kana” Saigyo

This is a long work with over 1000 pages in total, but it is a book that can be read over and over again.

 

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