Notes from a lecture of Prof. A. Tollini

[Hokuu]

I listened to this beautiful lecture by Prof. A. Tollini, translator of medieval Japanese Zen texts (especially Dōgen), and former professor at Ca’ Foscari University (Venice). As far as I understand, he's himself a practitioner of Sōtō Zen.

With some AI assistance, I prepared these notes in English as I found the lecture very interesting and gathered that I'd share them with you all.
UPD I highlighted in orange the point I find captivating.

The Central Problem: What is Zen Today?

• The modern Zen might appear confused and fragmented.
• Key questions:
  • What does it mean to practice Zen in a chaotic, modern society?
  • Does Zen still have a purpose or direction?
  • Is it still a path toward enlightenment, or has it become something else (therapy, philosophy, lifestyle)?

Western Perceptions of Buddhism

• Buddhism is now widespread in Western culture:
  • Buddha statues are sold in garden centers and furniture stores.
  • Meditation is practiced in hospitals and corporations.
  • Neuroscience studies the effects of meditation on the brain.
• This global spread is accompanied by a tension between Asian traditional Buddhism (as religion, ritual, and monastic discipline) and Western Buddhism, which often interprets it as a philosophy, psychology, or lifestyle.
• Westerners tend to equate Buddhism with the pursuit of enlightenment understood as truth, salvation, or mental well-being.
  • Is it truly what the Zen masters taught?
  • The concept of “truth” (verità) appears rarely in Chinese or Japanese Zen texts.
  • Western and especially American translators overuse “truth” because of the Christian and scientific mindset that equates religion with “truth-seeking.”

Enlightenment as Awareness

• Etymologically, satori and kenshō mean “awareness” or “seeing one’s true nature.”
• Enlightenment means:
  • Becoming aware of our own deluded condition.
  • Recognizing the illusory nature of the self and phenomena.
• D.T. Suzuki’s definition: "Enlightenment is acquiring a new point of view toward life and the world, expressing freedom in everyday action by showing one’s original face."
• Thus, enlightenment = a transformation of vision, not an intellectual understanding.

From Religion to Philosophy: Western Transformation

(a) D.T. Suzuki’s Model

• Suzuki adapted Zen to fit Western intellectual frameworks:
  • Presented Zen as a philosophy of truth, not a religion.
  • De-emphasized rituals, faith, and lineage.
  • Focused on individual experience, psychology, and direct understanding.
• Created an idealized, de-historicized version of Zen detached from Japanese context.
• Result: Zen in the West became:
  • A blend of philosophy, psychology, and spirituality.
  • A mythic, romanticized “timeless wisdom” appealing to intellectuals.
  • But lost its ritual, communal, and religious dimension.

(b) Engaged Buddhism

• Emerged in the 20th century, especially through Thích Nhất Hạnh.
• Views Buddhist practice as inseparable from social and ecological engagement.
• Central values:
  • Peace, human rights, compassion, and environmental care.
  • The principle of interdependence (pratītyasamutpāda) as ethical foundation.
• Promotes mindful living, ethical consumption, and compassionate action.
• Established lay communities such as Plum Village.
• Strengths:
  • Makes Buddhism accessible to modern laypeople.
  • Connects spirituality with social responsibility.
• Risks:
  • Turning Zen into a social instrument or therapeutic system.
  • Diluting its contemplative and religious depth.

The New Phenomenon of Lay Zen

• Historically, Zen was a monastic path.
• Lay practice became significant only after WWII.
• Modern challenge:
  • How to adapt an originally monastic discipline for people living in secular society.
  • How to preserve authenticity and depth without monastic training.

Zen and Modern Ethical Engagement

• The Soto School after WWII adopted three social principles: Human rights, Peace, Environment / ecology
• Example: after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Soto temples provided both material aid and spiritual comfort.

Modern Zen’s Problems and Misinterpretations

• Many Western groups practice “Do-it-yourself Zen”:
  • Without lineage or teacher.
  • Using personal interpretations of texts.
  • Reducing Zen to meditation or mindfulness.
  • Loss of ritual, faith, and historical understanding.
• However, there is a paradox:
  • Misinterpretation has often led to creative cultural transformation.
  • Example: Chinese Chan arose from creative (even mistaken) translations of Indian Buddhism.
  • Similarly, Japanese Zen evolved from reinterpretations of Chinese Chan.
  • Perhaps Western misreadings may also create new, vital cultural forms of Zen.

Dōgen’s Vision: Zen as “The Way” (Dō)

• Zen is not a technique, but a path
  • For Dōgen, Zen is not a method to achieve enlightenment.
  • It is “The Way” (Dō) – a lifelong journey of disciplined living.
  • The path itself is the realization.
  • The aim is not to reach enlightenment as an endpoint but to live the enlightened way.
• The “Way” requires three integrated elements:
  • Moral conduct (Śīla) – ethical and dignified behavior (igi).
    • To realize Buddhahood means to act as a Buddha acts.
    • Enlightenment is manifested through conduct, not theory.
  • Practice / Meditation (Samādhi) – continuous engagement.
    • Practice expresses our Buddha-nature.
  • Wisdom (Prajñā) – understanding gained through study and reflection.
    • Wisdom, morality, and meditation support each other.
• Enlightenment as Practice
  • True practice = living in accordance with Buddha’s example.
  • The enlightened person acts with compassion and moral clarity in ordinary life.
  • Enlightenment is not personal property:
    • The Buddha’s awakening was not “my enlightenment” but a realization of universal enlightenment.
    • He saw the world as already illuminated.

Applying Dōgen’s Teaching to Modern Life

• Question: Can Dōgen’s monastic philosophy be applied to lay life? Scholars like Heine and Leighton argue: yes, because his insights into time, being, and nature transcend historical context.
• Zen must become a way of living ethically in society, not an isolated spiritual pursuit.
• For Dōgen, the essence of practice is:
  • Continuous effort
  • Ethical discipline
  • Awareness in action
• The goal is not the goal itself, but walking the path seriously every day.

Conclusions

• Modern Zen faces a dual challenge:
  • To preserve spiritual authenticity.
  • While responding to modern social and cultural contexts.
• Two main currents dominate today:
  1. Philosophical-intellectual Zen (Suzuki)
     → Risks losing the religious dimension.
  2. Engaged ethical Zen (Thích Nhất Hạnh, modern Soto)
     → Risks instrumentalizing religion.
• The future of Zen lies in reconciliation:
  • Between contemplation and action.
  • Between tradition and innovation.
  • Between monastic discipline and lay participation.
• Ultimately, Zen is the Way of Being, not a belief or a method:
  • A continuous effort to live with awareness, compassion, and moral integrity.
  • Enlightenment is not something to acquire but to embody in one’s behavior.

Gassho
Hokuu
satlah

[Shujin]

Interesting summary; I thought about watching the lecture, but the two and a half hour length was a bit much for me. I'm not sure that I agree with his final statement that Zen is a way of being, not a belief or method. I find that an odd characterization, considering that he lists three methods/beliefs that were at the core of Dogen's Zen. Perhaps he doesn't believe that these things are essential to zen practice - I'm not sure.

Gassho,
Shujin
st/lah

[Jundo]

Thank you. I will have to try sometime soon with the auto-translate, but from what I see in your summary it seems like a very good description of the state of Zen in the west. He could mention too (maybe he did) that D.T. Suzuki also neglected to present much about Soto Zen in his many books, and really only presented Rinzai Zen (and, really, Suzuki's interpretation of Rinzai Zen) in his writings.

I think that Dogen's way can be described as a way of being and living, a path in which the walking of the path is realization of the path. Of course, we also have beliefs which guide our walking of the path. It is sometimes described as a "non-method method" because of the goalless goals of our way.

Thank you. I wish my Italian was better.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Hoshuku]

Thank you for posting that. I think the point about learning through genuine mistakes is an interesting one.

Bows
Hoshuku
Satlah