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Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
,
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, and founder of the
Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh ...
school of
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. He remained there for four years, finally training under
Tiantong Rujing Tiāntóng Rújìng (天童如淨; Japanese: Tendō Nyojō) (1163-1228) was a Caodong Buddhist monk living in Qìngdé Temple (慶徳寺; Japanese: Keitoku-ji) on Tiāntóng Mountain (天童山; Japanese: Tendouzan) in Yinzhou District, Ningbo. He ...
, an eminent teacher of the
Caodong Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" ...
lineage of
Chinese Chan Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of
zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...
(sitting meditation) through literary works such as '' Fukanzazengi'' and ''
Bendōwa , meaning ''Discourse on the Practice of the Way'' or ''Dialogue on the Way of Commitment'', sometimes also translated as ''Negotiating the Way'', ''On the Endeavor of the Way'', or ''A Talk about Pursuing the Truth'', is an influential essay writt ...
''. He eventually broke relations completely with the powerful Tendai School, and, after several years of likely friction between himself and the establishment, left
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
for the mountainous countryside where he founded the monastery
Eihei-ji 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In E ...
, which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school today. Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including the ''
Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'' (''Treasury of the True Dharma Eye'', considered his magnum opus), the ''
Eihei Kōroku ''Eihei Kōroku'' (), also known by its English translation ''Dōgen's Extensive Record'', is a ten volume collection of works by the Sōtō Zen monk Eihei Dōgen. The bulk of the text, accounting for volumes one through seven, are "Dharma hall d ...
'' (''Extensive Record,'' a collection of his talks), Japanese poetry, commentaries, and the '' Eihei Shingi'', the first Zen monastic code written in Japan.


Biography


Early life

Dōgen was probably born into a noble family, though as an illegitimate child of
Minamoto Michitomo was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...
, who served in the imperial court as a high-ranking . His mother is said to have died when Dōgen was age 7.


Early training

At some later point, Dōgen became a low-ranking monk on
Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by S ...
, the headquarters of the Tendai school of Buddhism. According to the ''Kenzeiki'' (建撕記), he became possessed by a single question with regard to the Tendai doctrine: This question was, in large part, prompted by the Tendai concept of original enlightenment (本覚 ''hongaku''), which states that all human beings are enlightened by nature and that, consequently, any notion of achieving enlightenment through practice is fundamentally flawed. The ''Kenzeiki'' further states that he found no answer to his question at Mount Hiei, and that he was disillusioned by the internal politics and need for social prominence for advancement. Therefore, Dōgen left to seek an answer from other Buddhist masters. He went to visit Kōin, the Tendai abbot of Onjō-ji Temple (園城寺), asking him this same question. Kōin said that, in order to find an answer, he might want to consider studying
Chán Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...
in China. In 1217, two years after the death of contemporary Zen Buddhist
Myōan Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...
, Dōgen went to study at Kennin-ji Temple (建仁寺), under Eisai's successor, Myōzen (明全).


Travel to China

In 1223, Dōgen and Myōzen undertook the dangerous passage across the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
) to study in Jing-de-si (Ching-te-ssu, 景德寺) monastery as Eisai had once done. Around the time the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
was waging wars on the various dynasties of China. In China, Dōgen first went to the leading Chan monasteries in Zhèjiāng province. At the time, most Chan teachers based their training around the use of '' gōng-àn'' (Japanese: ''kōan''). Though Dōgen assiduously studied the kōans, he became disenchanted with the heavy emphasis laid upon them, and wondered why the sutras were not studied more. At one point, owing to this disenchantment, Dōgen even refused Dharma transmission from a teacher. Then, in 1225, he decided to visit a master named Rújìng (如淨; J. Nyōjo), the thirteenth patriarch of the Cáodòng (J. Sōtō) lineage of Zen Buddhism, at Mount Tiāntóng's (天童山 ''Tiāntóngshān''; J. Tendōzan) Tiāntóng temple in Níngbō. Rujing was reputed to have a style of Chan that was different from the other masters whom Dōgen had thus far encountered. In later writings, Dōgen referred to Rujing as "the Old Buddha". Additionally he affectionately described both Rujing and Myōzen as . Under Rujing, Dōgen realized liberation of body and mind upon hearing the master say, "cast off body and mind" (身心脱落 ''shēn xīn tuō luò''). This phrase would continue to have great importance to Dōgen throughout his life, and can be found scattered throughout his writings, as—for example—in a famous section of his ''
Genjōkōan ''Genjōkōan'' (現成公按), translated by Tanahashi as ''Actualizing the Fundamental Point'', is an influential essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. It is considered one of the most popular essays in '' ...
'' (現成公案): Myōzen died shortly after Dōgen arrived at Mount Tiantong. In 1227, Dōgen received
Dharma transmission In Chan Buddhism, Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken Lineage (Buddhism), lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' (''kechimyaku'') theoretica ...
and '' inka'' from Rujing, and remarked on how he had finally settled his "life's quest of the great matter".


Return to Japan

Dōgen returned to Japan in 1227 or 1228, going back to stay at
Kennin-ji is a historic Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of its associated branch of Rinzai Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five most important Zen temples of Kyoto". History Kennin-ji was ...
, where he had trained previously. Among his first actions upon returning was to write down the ''Fukanzazengi'' (普観坐禅儀; ''Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen''), a short text emphasizing the importance of and giving instructions for ''
zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...
'' (sitting
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
). However, tension soon arose as the Tendai community began taking steps to suppress both Zen and
Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...
, the new forms of Buddhism in Japan. In the face of this tension, Dōgen left the Tendai dominion of Kyōto in 1230, settling instead in an abandoned temple in what is today the city of
Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. ...
, south of Kyōto. In 1233, Dōgen founded the Kannon-dōri-in in Fukakusa as a small center of practice. He later expanded this temple into
Kōshōhōrin-ji ''Kōshōhōrin-ji'' (), more commonly known by its abbreviated name ''Kōshō-ji'' () and sometimes by its full formal name ''Kannondori Kōshōhōrin-ji'' (), was the first independent zen temple in Japan. While Kennin-ji was established in 120 ...
(興聖法林寺).


Eihei-ji

Eihei-ji Temple In 1243,
Hatano Yoshishige Hatano (written: 波多野, 羽多野, 秦野 or 畑野) is a Japanese surname Officially, among Japanese names there are 291,129 different Japanese surnames, as determined by their kanji, although many of these are pronounced and romanized similar ...
(波多野義重) offered to relocate Dōgen's community to
Echizen province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...
, far to the north of Kyōto. Dōgen accepted because of the ongoing tension with the Tendai community, and the growing competition of the
Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...
-school. His followers built a comprehensive center of practice there, calling it Daibutsu Temple (Daibutsu-ji, 大仏寺). While the construction work was going on, Dōgen would live and teach at Yoshimine-dera Temple (Kippō-ji, 吉峯寺), which is located close to Daibutsu-ji. During his stay at Kippō-ji, Dōgen "fell into a depression". It marked a turning point in his life, giving way to "rigorous critique of Rinzai Zen". He criticized
Dahui Zonggao Dahui Zonggao (1089–10 August 1163) (; Wade–Giles: Ta-hui Tsung-kao; Japanese: Daie Sōkō; Vietnamese: Đại Huệ Tông Cảo) was a 12th-century Chinese Chan (Zen) master. Dahui was a student of Yuanwu Keqin (Wade–Giles: Yuan-wu K ...
, the most influential figure of
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
Chán. In 1246, Dōgen renamed Daibutsu-ji, calling it
Eihei-ji 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In E ...
. This temple remains one of the two head temples of Sōtō Zen in Japan today, the other being
Sōji-ji is one of two of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The other is Eihei-ji temple in Fukui Prefecture. ''Fodor's'' calls it "one of the largest and busiest Buddhist institutions in Japan". The temple was founded in 740 as a Shingon Buddhist temp ...
. Dōgen spent the remainder of his life teaching and writing at Eihei-ji. In 1247, the newly installed shōgun's regent,
Hōjō Tokiyori Hōjō Tokiyori (, June 29, 1227 – December 24, 1263) was the fifth shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. Early life He was born to warrior monk Hōjō Tokiuji and a daughter of Adachi Kagemori. Rule Tokiyori became shikken f ...
, invited Dōgen to come to
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...
to teach him. Dōgen made the rather long journey east to provide the shōgun with lay ordination, and then returned to Eihei-ji in 1248. In the autumn of 1252, Dōgen fell ill, and soon showed no signs of recovering. He presented his robes to his main apprentice, Koun Ejō (孤雲懐弉), making him the abbot of Eihei-ji.


Death

At Hatano Yoshishige's invitation, Dōgen left for Kyōto in search of a remedy for his illness. In 1253, soon after arriving in Kyōto, Dōgen died. Shortly before his death, he had written a
death poem The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures—most prominently in Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history and Joseon Korea. They tend to offer a reflection on death—both in g ...
: Fifty-four years lighting up the sky. A quivering leap smashes a billion worlds. Hah! Entire body looks for nothing. Living, I plunge into Yellow Springs.


Miraculous events and auspicious signs

Several "miraculous experiences" and "auspicious signs" have been recorded in Dōgen's life, some of them quite famous. According to Bodiford, "Monks and laymen recorded these events as testaments to his great mystical power," which "helped confirm the legacy of Dōgen's teachings against competing claims made by members of the Buddhist establishment and other outcast groups." Bodiford further notes that the "magical events at Eiheiji helped identify the temple as a cultic center," putting it at a par with other temples where supernatural events occurred. According to Faure, for Dōgen these auspicious signs were proof that "Eiheiji was the only place in Japan where the Buddhist Dharma was transmitted correctly and that this monastery was thus rivaled by no other." In Menzan Zuihō's well-known 1753 edition of Dōgen's biography, it records that while traveling in China with his companion Dōshō, Dōgen became very ill, and a deity appeared before him who gave him medicine which instantly healed him: This medicine, which later became known as Gedokuen or "Poison-Dispelling Pill" was then produced by the Sōtō church until the Meiji Era, and was commonly sold nationwide as an herbal medicine, and became a source of income for the Sōtō church. Another famous incident happened when he was returning to Japan from China. The ship he was on was caught in a storm. In this instance, the storm became so severe, that the crew feared the ship would sink and kill them all. Dōgen then began leading the crew in recitation of chants to Kannon (Avalokiteshwara), during which, the Bodhisattva appeared before him, and several of the crew saw her as well. After the vision appeared, the storm began to calm down, and consensus of those aboard was that they had been saved due to the intervention of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara. This story is repeated in official works sponsored by the Sōtō Shū Head Office and there is even a sculpture of the event in a water treatment pond in Eihei-ji Temple. Additionally, there is a 14th-century copy of a painting of the same Kannon, that was supposedly commissioned by Dōgen, that includes a piece of calligraphy that is possibly an original in Dōgen's own hand, recording his gratitude to Avalokiteshwara: Another miraculous event occurred, while Dōgen was at Eihei-ji. During a ceremony of gratitude for the 16 Celestial Arahants (called Rakan in Japanese), a vision of 16 Arahants appeared before Dōgen descending upon a multi-colored cloud, and the statues of the Arahants that were present at the event began to emanate rays of light, to which Dōgen then exclaimed: Dōgen was profoundly moved by the entire experience, and took it as an auspicious sign that the offerings of the ceremony had been accepted. In his writings he wrote: Dōgen is also recorded to have had multiple encounters with non-human beings. Aside from his encounter with the kami Inari in China, in the Denkōrou it is recorded that while at Kōshō-ji, he was also visited by a deva who came to observe during certain ceremonies, as well as a dragon who visited him at Eihei-Ji and requested to be given the eight abstinence Precepts:


Teachings


Zazen

Dōgen often stressed the critical importance of
zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...
, or sitting meditation as the central practice of Buddhism. He considered zazen to be identical to studying Zen. This is pointed out clearly in the first sentence of the 1243 instruction manual ''"Zazen-gi"'' (坐禪儀; "Principles of Zazen"): "Studying Zen ... is zazen". Dōgen taught zazen to everyone, even for the laity, male or female and including all social classes. In referring to zazen, Dōgen is most often referring specifically to ''
shikantaza is Dogen's Japanese translation of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐguǎn dǎzuò'' (只管打坐 / 祇管 打坐), "just sitting." The phrase was used by his teacher Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism, to refer to the meditation-pr ...
'', roughly translatable as "nothing but precisely sitting", or "just sitting," which is a kind of sitting meditation in which the meditator sits "in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts, directed to no object, and attached to no particular content". In his ''Fukan Zazengi'', Dōgen wrote: Dōgen called this zazen practice "without thinking" (''hi-shiryo'') in which one is simply aware of things as they are, beyond thinking and not-thinking - the active effort not to think. The correct mental attitude for zazen according to Dōgen is one of effortless non-striving, this is because for Dōgen, enlightenment is already always present. Further, Dōgen frequently distanced himself from more syncretic Buddhist practices at the time, including those of his contemporary
Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he w ...
. In the Bendowa, Dōgen writes:


Oneness of practice-verification

The primary concept underlying Dōgen's Zen practice is "the oneness of practice-verification" or "the unity of cultivation and confirmation" (修證一如 ''shushō-ittō'' / ''shushō-ichinyo'').Carl Bielefeldt. ''Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation'', p. 137, University of California Press, 1990. The term ''shō'' (證, verification, affirmation, confirmation, attainment) is also sometimes translated as " enlightenment", though this translation is also questioned by some scholars. This teaching was first and most famously explained in the ''
Bendōwa , meaning ''Discourse on the Practice of the Way'' or ''Dialogue on the Way of Commitment'', sometimes also translated as ''Negotiating the Way'', ''On the Endeavor of the Way'', or ''A Talk about Pursuing the Truth'', is an influential essay writt ...
'' (弁道話 ''A Talk on the Endeavor of the Path'', c. 1231) as follows: In the '' Fukanzazengi'' (''Universal Recommendation for Zazen''), Dōgen explains how to practice zazen and then explains the nature of verification
If you grasp the point of this ractice the four elements
f the body F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
will become light and at ease, the spirit will be fresh and sharp, thoughts will be correct and clear; the flavor of the dharma will sustain the spirit, and you will be calm, pure, and joyful. Your daily life will be he expression ofyour true natural state. Once you achieve clarification f the truth you may be likened to the dragon gaining the water or the tiger taking to the mountains. You should realize that when right thought is present, dullness and agitation cannot intrude.


Buddha-nature

For Dōgen,
buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...
or ''busshō'' (佛性) is all of reality, "all things" (悉有).Takashi James Kodera,
The Buddha-nature in Dogen's Shobogenzo.
' Japanese Journal o f Religious Studies 4/4 December 1977.
In the ''
Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'', Dōgen writes that "whole-being is the Buddha-nature" and that even inanimate objects (rocks, sand, water) are an expression of Buddha-nature. He rejected any view that saw buddha-nature as a permanent, substantial inner self or ground. Dōgen describes buddha-nature as "vast emptiness", "the world of becoming" and writes that "impermanence is in itself Buddha-nature". According to Dōgen:
Therefore, the very impermanency of grass and tree, thicket and forest is the Buddha nature. The very impermanency of men and things, body and mind, is the Buddha nature. Nature and lands, mountains and rivers, are impermanent because they are the Buddha nature. Supreme and complete enlightenment, because it is impermanent, is the Buddha nature.
Takashi James Kodera writes that the main source of Dōgen's understanding of buddha-nature is a passage from the ''
Nirvana sutra ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
'' which was widely understood as stating that all sentient beings posses buddha-nature. However, Dōgen interpreted the passage differently, rendering it as follows:
All are (一 切) sentient beings, (衆生) all things are (悉有) the Buddha-nature (佛性); the Tathagata (如来) abides constantly (常住), is non-existent (無) yet existent (有), and is change (變易).
Takashi explains that "whereas in the conventional reading the Buddha-nature is understood as a permanent essence inherent in all sentient beings, Dōgen contends that all things are the Buddha-nature. In the former reading, the Buddha-nature is a change less potential, but in the latter, it is the eternally arising and perishing actuality of all things in the world." Thus for Dōgen buddha-nature includes everything, the totality of "all things", including inanimate objects like grass, trees and land (which are also "mind" for Dōgen).


Time-Being

Dōgen's conception of Being-Time or Time-Being (''
Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. ...
'', 有時) is an essential element of his metaphysics in the ''Shōbōgenzō''. According to the traditional interpretation, "''Uji''" here means time itself is being, and all being is time." ''Uji'' is all the changing and dynamic activities that exist as the flow of becoming, all beings in the entire world are time. The two terms are thus spoken of concurrently to emphasize that the things are not to be viewed as separate concepts. Moreover, the aim is to not abstract time and being as rational concepts. This view has been developed by scholars such as Steven Heine, Joan Stambaugh and others and has served as a motivation to compare Dōgen's work to that of Martin Heidegger's "
Dasein ''Dasein'' () (sometimes spelled as Da-sein) is the German word for 'existence'. It is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Heidegger uses the expression ''Dasein'' to refer to the experience of being that is p ...
". Recently, however,
Rein Raud Rein Raud (born 21 December 1961) is an Estonian scholar and author. Early life He was born in 1961 in the family of Eno Raud and Aino Pervik, both children's authors. He is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Mihkel Raud is a ...
has argued that this view is not correct and that Dōgen asserts that all existence is momentary, showing that such a reading would make quite a few of the rather cryptic passages in the ''Shōbōgenzō'' quite lucid.


Perfect expression

Another essential element of Dōgen's 'performative' metaphysics is his conception of Perfect expression (''Dōtoku'', 道得). "While a radically critical view on language as soteriologically inefficient, if not positively harmful, is what Zen Buddhism is famous for,"Döll (2015), p. 637 it can be argued "'within the framework of a rational theory of language, against an obscurantist interpretation of Zen that time and again invokes experience.'" Dōgen distinguishes two types of language: monji 文字, the first, – after Ernst Cassirer – "discursive type that constantly structures our experiences and—more fundamentally—in fact produces the world we experience in the first place"; and dōtoku 道得, the second, "presentative type, which takes a holistic stance and establishes the totality of significations through a texture of relations.". As Döll points out, "It is this second type, as Müller holds, that allows for a positive view of language even from the radically skeptical perspective of Dōgen’s brand of Zen Buddhism."


Critique of Rinzai

Dōgen was sometimes critical of the Rinzai school for their formulaic and intellectual koan practice (such as the practice of the ''Shiryoken'' or "Four Discernments")Dumoulin 65 as well as for their disregard for the sutras:
Recently in the great Sung dynasty of China there are many who call themselves "Zen masters". They do not know the length and breadth of the Buddha-Dharma. They have heard and seen but little. They memorize two or three sayings of Lin Chi and Yun Men and think this is the whole way of the Buddha-Dharma. If the Dharma of the Buddha could be condensed in two or three sayings of Lin Chi and Yun Men, it would not have been transmitted to the present day. One can hardly say that Lin Chi and Yun Men are the Venerable ones of the Buddha-Dharma.
Dōgen was also very critical of the Japanese Daruma school of Dainichi Nōnin.


Virtues

Dogen's perspective of virtue is discussed in the ''Shōbōgenzō'' text as something to be practiced inwardly so that it will manifest itself on the outside. In other words, virtue is something that is both internal and external in the sense that one can practice internal good dispositions and also the expression of these good dispositions.


Writings

While it was customary for Buddhist works to be written in Chinese, Dōgen often wrote in Japanese, conveying the essence of his thought in a style that was at once concise, compelling, and inspiring. A master stylist, Dōgen is noted not only for his prose, but also for his poetry (in Japanese ''
waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
'' style and various Chinese styles). Dōgen's use of language is unconventional by any measure. According to Dōgen scholar Steven Heine: "Dogen's poetic and philosophical works are characterized by a continual effort to express the inexpressible by perfecting imperfectable speech through the creative use of wordplay, neologism, and lyricism, as well as the recasting of traditional expressions".


Shōbōgenzō

Dōgen's masterpiece is the ''
Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'' (正法眼蔵, "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye"), talks and writings collected together in ninety-five
fascicle Fascicle or ''fasciculus'' may refer to: Anatomy and histology * Muscle fascicle, a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers * Nerve fascicle, a bundle of axons (nerve fibers) ** Superior longitudinal fasciculus *** Arcuate fasciculus ** Gracile fas ...
s. The topics range from
zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...
,
koans A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-Ja ...
,
Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...
, monastic practice, the equality of women and men, to the philosophy of language, being, and time.


Shushō-gi

The ''
Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'' served as the basis for the short work entitled ''Shushō-gi'' (修證儀), which was compiled in 1890 by a layman named Ouchi Seiran (1845-1918) along with Takiya Takushū (滝谷卓洲) of Eihei-ji and Azegami Baisen (畔上楳仙) of Sōji-ji. The compilation serves as an introductory compilation of key extracts from the ''
Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'' which help explain the foundational teachings and concepts of Dōgen Zen to a lay audience.


Shinji Shōbōgenzō

Dōgen also compiled a collection of 301 koans in Chinese without commentaries added. Often called the ''
Shinji Shōbōgenzō The ''Shinji Shōbōgenzō'' (真字正法眼蔵) or ''True Dharma Eye 300 Cases'' (''Shōbōgenzō Sambyakusoku''), or ''Treasury of the True Dharma Eye'' (''Mana Shōbōgenzō''), compiled by Eihei Dōgen in 1223–1227, was first published in ...
'' (''shinji'': "original or true characters" and ''shōbōgenzō'', variously translated as "the right-dharma-eye treasury" or "Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma"). The collection is also known as the ''Shōbōgenzō Sanbyakusoku'' (The Three Hundred Verse Shōbōgenzō") and the ''Mana Shōbōgenzō'', where ''mana'' is an alternative reading of ''shinji''. The exact date the book was written is in dispute but Nishijima believes that Dogen may well have begun compiling the koan collection before his trip to China. Although these stories are commonly referred to as ''kōans'', Dōgen referred to them as ''kosoku'' (ancestral criteria) or ''innen'' (circumstances and causes or results, of a story). The word ''kōan'' for Dogen meant "absolute reality" or the "universal Dharma".


Collections of dharma discourses

Lectures that Dōgen gave to his monks at his monastery,
Eihei-ji 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In E ...
, were compiled under the title ''
Eihei Kōroku ''Eihei Kōroku'' (), also known by its English translation ''Dōgen's Extensive Record'', is a ten volume collection of works by the Sōtō Zen monk Eihei Dōgen. The bulk of the text, accounting for volumes one through seven, are "Dharma hall d ...
'', also known as ''Dōgen Oshō Kōroku'' (The Extensive Record of Teacher Dōgen's Sayings) in ten volumes. The sermons, lectures, sayings and poetry were compiled shortly after Dōgen's death by his main disciples,
Koun Ejō (1198-1280) was the second patriarch of the Japanese Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism who lived during the Kamakura period. He was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen founded by Nōnin, but later studied and recei ...
(孤雲懐奘, 1198–1280),
Senne Senne may refer to: Places * Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany *Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany * Senne (river), a river of Belgium *Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia People with the name *Yōkō Senne, a 13th-centur ...
, and Gien. There are three different editions of this text: the Rinnō-ji text from 1598, a popular version printed in 1672, and a version discovered at Eihei-ji in 1937, which, although undated, is believed to be the oldest extant version. Another collection of his talks is the ''
Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki ''Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki'' (), sometimes known by its English translation ''The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard'', is a collection of informal Dharma talks given by the 13th century Sōtō Zen monk Eihei Dōgen and recorded ...
'' (Gleanings from Master Dōgen's Sayings) in six volumes. These are talks that Dōgen gave to his leading disciple, Ejō, who became Dōgen's disciple in 1234. The talks were recorded and edited by Ejō.


Other writings

Other notable writings of Dōgen are: * '' Fukanzazengi'' (普勧坐禅儀, General Advice on the Principles of Zazen), one volume; probably written immediately after Dōgen's return from China in 1227. * ''
Bendōwa , meaning ''Discourse on the Practice of the Way'' or ''Dialogue on the Way of Commitment'', sometimes also translated as ''Negotiating the Way'', ''On the Endeavor of the Way'', or ''A Talk about Pursuing the Truth'', is an influential essay writt ...
'' (弁道話, "On the Endeavor of the Way"), written in 1231. This represents one of Dōgen's earliest writings and asserts the superiority of the practice of shikantaza through a series of questions and answers. * ''Eihei shoso gakudō-yōjinshū'' (Advice on Studying the Way), one volume; probably written in 1234. * ''
Tenzo kyōkun , usually rendered in English as ''Instructions for the Cook'', is an important essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan. Title and content While the title suggests the scope is limited to simple cooking ins ...
'' (Instructions to the Chief Cook), one volume; written in 1237. * ''Bendōhō'' (Rules for the Practice of the Way), one volume; written between 1244 and 1246. * The earliest work by Dōgen is the ''Hōkojōki'' (Memoirs of the Hōkyō Period). This one volume work is a collection of questions and answers between Dōgen and his Chinese teacher, Tiāntóng Rújìng (天童如淨; Japanese: Tendō Nyojō, 1162–1228). The work was discovered among Dōgen's papers by Ejō in 1253, just three months after Dōgen's death.


Lineage

Though Dogen emphasised the importance of the correct transmission of the Buddha dharma, as guaranteed by the line of transmission from Shakyamuni, his own transmission became problematic in the
third generation Third generation may refer to: * ''Third Generation'' (album), a 1982 album by Hiroshima * ''The Third Generation'' (1920 film), an American drama film directed by Henry Kolker * ''The Third Generation'' (1979 film), a West German black comedy b ...
. In 1267 Ejō retired as Abbot of Eihei-ji, giving way to Gikai, who was already favored by Dōgen. Gikai introduced esoteric elements into the practice. Opposition arose, and in 1272 Ejō resumed the position of abbot. Following Ejō's death in 1280, Gikai became abbot again, strengthened by the support of the military for magical practices. Opposition arose again, and Gikai was forced to leave Eihei-ji. He was succeeded by Gien, who was first trained in the Daruma-school of
Nōnin ( fl. 1190s) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who started the first Zen school in Japan. Biography While a monk with the Tendai school, he came across texts about Zen which had been brought from China. In 1189, he dispatched two of his disciples t ...
. His supporters designated him as the third abbot, rejecting the legitimacy of Gien. *
Koun Ejō (1198-1280) was the second patriarch of the Japanese Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism who lived during the Kamakura period. He was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen founded by Nōnin, but later studied and recei ...
, commentator on the ''Shōbōgenzō'', and former Darumashū elder ** Giin, through Ejō ** Gikai, through Ejō ***
Keizan Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as . Keiza ...
** Gien, through Ejō *
Senne Senne may refer to: Places * Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany *Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany * Senne (river), a river of Belgium *Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia People with the name *Yōkō Senne, a 13th-centur ...
, another commentator of the ''Shōbōgenzō''.
Jakuen Jìyuán (寂円, 1207 – 8 October 1299), better known to Buddhist scholars by his Japanese name Jakuen, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk and a disciple of Rujing. Most of his life is known to us only through medieval hagiography, legends, ...
, a student of Rujing, who traced his lineage "directly back the Zen of the Song period", established
Hōkyō-ji Hōkyō-ji (宝慶寺) is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist temple founded about 1278 in Echizen, Fukui prefecture, Japan.Bodiford, pp. 36, 66. History and founding Jakuen left Eihei-ji in 1261. He meditated in solitary with the wild animals at the base of M ...
, where a strict style of Zen was practised. Students of his played a role in the conflict between Giin and Gikai. A notable successor of Dogen was
Keizan Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as . Keiza ...
(瑩山; 1268–1325), founder of Sōji-ji Temple and author of the ''Record of the Transmission of Light'' (傳光錄 ''
Denkōroku is a kōan collection written in 1300 by Keizan Jokin Zenji, the Great Patriarch of Sōtō Zen Buddhism, based on approximately a year of his Dharma talks. The book includes 53 enlightenment stories covering 1600 or more years based on the tra ...
''), which traces the succession of Zen masters from
Siddhārtha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
up to Keizan's own day. Together, Dōgen and Keizan are regarded as the founders of the Sōtō school in Japan.


See also

*''
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
'' - 2009 Japanese biopic about the life of Dōgen


Notes


References


Sources

* * * Cleary, Thomas. ''Rational Zen: The Mind of Dogen Zenji''. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1992. . * * * * * * * Dogen. ''The Heart of Dogen's Shobogenzo''. Tr. Waddell, Norman and Abe, Masao. Albany: SUNY Press, 2002. . * * * * * * * * LaFleur, William R.; ed. ''Dogen Studies''. The Kuroda Institute, 1985. . * * Leighton, Taigen Dan; ''Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. . * Leighton, Taigen Dan; ''Zen Questions: Zazen, Dogen and the Spirit of Creative Inquiry''. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2011. . * Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; tr. ''Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku''. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2010. . * Leighton, Taigen Dan. ''Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A Translation of Eihei Shingi''. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. . * Masunaga, Reiho. ''A Primer of Soto Zen''. University of Hawaii: East-West Center Press, 1978. . * * * Okumura, Shohaku; Leighton, Taigen Daniel; et al.; tr. ''The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Eihei Dogen's Bendowa with Commentary''. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1997. . * * * Nishijima, Gudo & Cross, Chodo; tr. 'Master Dogen's Shobogenzo' in 4 volumes. Windbell Publications, 1994. and Shōbōgenzō, Vol. 1-4, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley 2007-2008, , 978-1-886439-36-8, 978-1-886-439-37-5, 978-1-886439-38-
PDF
* Tanahashi, Kazuaki; ed. ''Moon In a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen''. New York: North Point Press, 1997. . * * * * Yokoi, Yūhō and Victoria, Daizen; tr. ed. ''Zen Master Dōgen: An Introduction with Selected Writings''. New York: Weatherhill Inc., 1990. . *


External links


Who is Dogen Zenji?
Message from Dogen

Translations of Dogen and other works by Anzan Hoshin.
Understanding the Shobogenzo
by Gudo Nishijima

by John Daido Loori
Shusho-gi, Online Translation
by Neil Christopher
Gakudo Yojin-shu, Online Translation
by Neil Christopher
Shushogi
What is Truly Meant by Training and Enlightenment

free for download
Zen Master Dogen
Dogen-related translations, books, articles and other media. Includes related video teachings from modern Zen masters. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dogen 1200 births 1253 deaths 13th-century Buddhists
Phi Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; grc, ϕεῖ ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voicele ...
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