Informal Reading Group: REALIZING GENJOKOAN 2021 Edition Begins Week of 11 April 2021

[Nengei]

Informal Reading Group: REALIZING GENJOKOAN 2021 Edition WEEK 3, 25 April-1 May

Dear Sangha, so many good ideas on the text of Realizing Genjōkōan so far. Thank you, and please keep up the good work. I am grateful for every one of your responses, but am refraining from commenting individually. My opinion on your work is like the opinion of an art critic: worthless!

This week we are reading through page 46 in the paperback version. This includes chapter 3, Buddhist Teachings from Three Sources.

Next week's portion will be the following chapter, through page 55 in the paperback, which is Chapter 4, Flowers Fall, Weeds Grow.

Once you have read and considered this week's portion, please come back to this thread and comment. I will list some question ideas below. Again I will stress that these questions are not an assignment, and there are no certificates or gold stars for answering them. They are meant to evoke discussion, and you may (hopefully!) have your own questions.

1. From reading Genjōkōan and Okumura's commentary, how does practice relate to dharma?

2. Reflect on and discuss impermanence and emptiness as described by Okumura.

3. Both Genjōkōan and the Heart Sutra could be considered fundamental to the paradigm of Sōtō Zen Buddhism. How does Okumura reconcile the seeming contradictions in these texts? How does Dōgen's statement about the nature of the Buddha Way help our understanding?

4. What is practice?

I look forward to your thoughts about Buddhist Teachings from Three Sources.

Gassho,
Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

[aprapti]

aprapti

sat

[Onkai]

Thank you, Nengei, for continuing this discussion and moving it along. I think this reading shows how practice itself can become samsara, but also, whatever we throw ourselves into can be an attachment or seen as illustrating the nature of impermanence and no fixed being. In Treeleaf, especially, it is emphasized that all of life is our practice. Re-reading this chapter put that in a new perspective for me.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[Risho]

Thank you! This has been a very good discussion.

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

[Meishin]

4. What is practice?

What is Practice
Practice is What
What's That?
That's What!

Gassho
Meishin
SatTodayLAH

[Zenkon]

Chap3. gave me a lot to chew on. The concept of “samsara” has always troubled me, because it quickly evolves into the difficult concepts of rebirth and the associated realms of rebirth. Okumura provides a different view on this by seeing samsara as simply daily emotional ups and downs, moment by moment, and by seeing the realms of rebirth as simply momentary emotional states – sometimes we are in heaven, sometimes we are in hell. This makes me see rebirth as not an “after death” event, but rather as a moment-by-moment change. The idea of “opening the hand of thought” was especially powerful to me. It lets me see zazen as not attempting to achieve anything, but rather just observe things as they are. The phrase “scenery of life” is staying with me as a reminder to simply accept the ups and downs of life. Dogen’s “Buddha’s Way” seems to say the same thing with simple acceptance of what is happening in life without any analysis or judgement. What most struck me in Chap 3. Was the statement “… When we just open the hand of thought and face whatever we are facing, we can truly find peace. We don’t need to escape and go somewhere else; we just live right now, right here, with mindfulness. This is how we can find a way to live in nirvana within samsara.”

Gassho

Dick

Sat/lah

[Inshin]

I'm still going through this chapter, it's dense.
A question for you : has practice helped to bring to light your own delusions, projections, certain patterns? How did that feel to you?
I'm constantly discovering unpleasant things about how I function in relation to others, and this annoying need to Know, that only creates concepts and more delusions...

Turns out that I don't understand Zen. I thought that "form is emptiness, emptiness is form" and even "form is form, emptiness is emptiness" means inseparable play of matter and consciousness. But apparently according to Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu the only thing that exists is consciousness and matter is delusion. A hermit's quote from the movie "Among the white clouds" struck me hard. When asked if nature supports his practice he replied something in those lines: "There's no nature. Nature is delusion, delusion is nature."
Now I'll be digging in Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, so expect some silly questions soon on the forum

Gassho
Sat

[Jundo]

Turns out that I don't understand Zen. I thought that "form is emptiness, emptiness is form" and even "form is form, emptiness is emptiness" means inseparable play of matter and consciousness. But apparently according to Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu the only thing that exists is consciousness and matter is delusion. A hermit's quote from the movie "Among the white clouds" struck me hard. When asked if nature supports his practice he replied something in those lines: "There's no nature. Nature is delusion, delusion is nature."
Now I'll be digging in Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, so expect some silly questions soon on the forum

Been avoiding to jump in here, but perhaps this has a few misunderstandings.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Zenkon]

Okumura writes “…often we fear the loss of everything that our happiness depends upon. And since other people want to have happiness or success, life becomes a competition with others. If we are happy, others may try to take our happiness from us in order to gain their own happiness. Competition makes society a realm of the fighting spirits (asuras) in which some people are happy and some are unhappy.”

Capitalism, at least American-style Capitalism is based on competition. The question becomes – Is Buddhism compatible with American-style Captailism? Is Buddhism compatible with American culture? If not, how do we live a Buddhist life within a Capitalist society? Perhaps, that is the challenge.

Gassho

Dick

Sat/lah

[Risho]

Okumura writes “…often we fear the loss of everything that our happiness depends upon. And since other people want to have happiness or success, life becomes a competition with others. If we are happy, others may try to take our happiness from us in order to gain their own happiness. Competition makes society a realm of the fighting spirits (asuras) in which some people are happy and some are unhappy.”

Capitalism, at least American-style Capitalism is based on competition. The question becomes – Is Buddhism compatible with American-style Captailism? Is Buddhism compatible with American culture? If not, how do we live a Buddhist life within a Capitalist society? Perhaps, that is the challenge.

Gassho

Dick

Sat/lah

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-zen-of-everything/id1467408488?i=1000490050932

gassho

risho
-stlah

[Tairin]

For the past 1/2 year or so I have made reciting the Heart Sutra a key part of my daily practice. I end up reciting it several times a day. I am certainly very glad to have built up that familiarity with it given the focus Okumura puts on it in the chapter.

Too many good little nuggets in this section to quote any one as key.

What is practice?

Often in Zen readings we encounter the conjunction life-practice. There isn’t any obvious English word that covers this concept. Okumura and Dogen really stress this. Life is practice and practice is life. Not two. Sitting is Zazen is practice but so is cutting the grass, going to the toilet, talking a walk, sitting with a sick friend etc. I try to keep this in mind throughout my day.

Thank you all for your thoughts on this chapter


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Kaisui]

This week we are reading through page 21 in the paperback version. This includes chapter 2, "The Meaning of "Genjōkōan." For me, the first paragraphs of this chapter set me up to think that the chapter will be as dry as sand in a desert. It's not that way at all, though! Okumura's exploration of the meaning of the word Genjōkōan is rich with teaching. Parts of this chapter are some of my favorite in the book. I hope that you find it so, as well.

I am joining this reading late. I'm currently reading chapter 2 and enjoying the discussion on the meaning of the kanjis in Genjōkōan. I did not expect to find this part of the book so interesting at all, like Nengei said, it is not dry but very fascinating. Then, I look forward to reading through your discussions on the topic, as I did for chapter 1. I hope to catch up to where you are all at, but if I don't catch up, I just want to say now I'm happy to have been inspired by this group to start this reading


Charity
sat

[Nengei]

Informal Reading Group: REALIZING GENJOKOAN 2021 Edition WEEK 4, 2 May - 8 May

Dear Sangha, it is enriching to be able to read your insights on this text. Thank you for participating in this endeavor, no matter where you are in your reading. As I enjoy your comments, my old
and burdensome teacher habits start kicking in. "Right or wrong?" "Did they read the text or are they commenting from some other position?" Recognizing my teacher-self, I smile and sit back. Not today, professor. The only journey for me to reflect on is my own. I give no As. I give no Fs. I learn from you. I can chase after the 10,000 things, or I can immerse myself in them as they float toward me.

This coming week we will read through page 55 in the paperback version, chapter 4, Flowers Fall, Weeds Grow. What a rich chapter this is! I hope that you are able to savor it slowly, and to gently contemplate its ideas. It can be like hammering a nail, or like a flower unfolding, opening up to reflect the soft light.

Once you have read and considered this week's portion, please come back to this thread and comment. I will list some question ideas below. These questions are not an assignment, and there are no certificates or gold stars for answering them. They are meant to evoke discussion, and you may (hopefully!) have your own questions. I liked some of the questions that were posted in the last week.

Questions for Chapter 4: Flowers Fall, Weeds Grow

1. What are weeds? When is the weeding finished? What makes one flower a weed, and another something to cultivate and invest in?

2. What baggage am I carrying when I hear or see the word emptiness? In other words, what am I assigning to this term before I begin to consider this concept in the context of Zen?

3. Okumura goes to great lengths to get us all on the same page with the concept of mayoi, delusion, and there is a lot of great advice in this section. Apply this to Master Dogen's words: Conveying oneself toward all things... ...through the self is realization. What do you find in these two, brief sentences?

4. Practice and enlightenment are one, says Dogen. What is practice?

I look forward to your thoughts about Flowers Fall, Weeds Grow. Next week, we will continue with the following chapter, through page 73 in the paperback, which is Chapter 5, Realization Beyond Realization.


Gassho,
Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

[Seikan]

Thank you Nengei and all for keeping this excellent discussion moving along. I've fallen behind in the reading due to an unexpectedly busy couple of weeks, but I'll do my best to catch up this week as I am very much enjoying the reading/discussion.

Gassho,
Seikan

-stlah-

[Kevin M]

I'm still back on last week. That was a big and pretty amazing chapter. I don't even know where to start so I'm not going to say much - just mention a couple of personal impressions (I don't claim to be accurately presenting Okumura's views here):
* Enlightenment and practice as moment to moment living (action or manifestation) - not a state of mind, not obtained by study, not a cure for life's ups and downs
(tension here, since Okumura's presentation is extremely good and the feeling of "getting it" from his words could in fact be an impediment to practice?)
* The morality of "emptiness" (specifically, "lack of independent existence") - the need to live well with others because of being both a product of and a creator of our environments

Gassho,
Kevin
ST