As I move about my training as a priest I've begun to think a lot about the direction and shape my practice manifests in daily life - the connection between the long lineage of practitioners over the years from another time and culture manifesting in twenty first century American and Western life.
It occurs to me that as one approaches zen practice the hallowed legacy of Dogen in Soto Zen looms large - sometimes it seems to me that the job of priests to preserve, and perpetuate the direct relevance of his teachings to contemporary Soto Zen practice. When does conformity to the perceived meaning of Dogen become constraining? When does the insistence on tradition prevent us from shaping our practice and giving it life? I hope to explore some of these questions and share my thoughts with you in the next few months.
It is clear to me that Dogen could benefit from some literary, historical, and cultural critique or analysis as an intermediate filter between his life as an author (thirteenth century Japan) and our contemporary practice.
Don't confuse my enquiry: Dogen's work is still not only relevant but revolutionary in many contexts in modern thought. His fascicle on Being Time (Uji) approaches a topic that contemporary science is only beginning to comprehend. Genjokoan is not only a foundational piece in Soto Zen but in my mind one of the great literary works - a human cultural legacy.
But I think it fair to examine the passage of time and ask the questions that the years and cultures have interposed between the time of his writing and our lives today.
Often Dogen can seem not only cryptic and contradictory but overwhelming as well. How do you read the Shobogenzo or his other writings? How do we find the time? Do we read the fascicles in order, pick and choose, or what?
For now I will leave you with Nathaniel Philbrick's commentary on reading Moby Dick; which I find revealing and liberating from the onerous burden of feeling obligated to read centuries old scripture in a certain or prescribed way:
"I am not one of those purists who insist on reading the entire untruncated text at all costs. .... Moby Dick is a long book, and time is short. Even a sentence, a mere phrase, will do. The important thing is to spend time with the book, to listen as you read, to feel the prose adapt to the various voices that flow through the author during the book's compilation like intermittent ghosts with something urgent and essential to say. "
Like Jishin has wisely written elsewhere in the forum today, Dogen can't sit zazen for you. You have to find it yourself. Sit with Dogen a bit, savor his phrases and find their meaning that is relevant to you. Even if you read a sentence or phrase, savor it's flow, play with the words, read it to yourself and see what it reveals to you. A teacher or Dogen scholar is a guide who may point in a certain direction, like a trail cairn or map. But Dogen's relevance and meaning is to be found in your own practice and life. It can be found nowhere else.
Deep bows
Yugen
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It occurs to me that as one approaches zen practice the hallowed legacy of Dogen in Soto Zen looms large - sometimes it seems to me that the job of priests to preserve, and perpetuate the direct relevance of his teachings to contemporary Soto Zen practice. When does conformity to the perceived meaning of Dogen become constraining? When does the insistence on tradition prevent us from shaping our practice and giving it life? I hope to explore some of these questions and share my thoughts with you in the next few months.
It is clear to me that Dogen could benefit from some literary, historical, and cultural critique or analysis as an intermediate filter between his life as an author (thirteenth century Japan) and our contemporary practice.
Don't confuse my enquiry: Dogen's work is still not only relevant but revolutionary in many contexts in modern thought. His fascicle on Being Time (Uji) approaches a topic that contemporary science is only beginning to comprehend. Genjokoan is not only a foundational piece in Soto Zen but in my mind one of the great literary works - a human cultural legacy.
But I think it fair to examine the passage of time and ask the questions that the years and cultures have interposed between the time of his writing and our lives today.
Often Dogen can seem not only cryptic and contradictory but overwhelming as well. How do you read the Shobogenzo or his other writings? How do we find the time? Do we read the fascicles in order, pick and choose, or what?
For now I will leave you with Nathaniel Philbrick's commentary on reading Moby Dick; which I find revealing and liberating from the onerous burden of feeling obligated to read centuries old scripture in a certain or prescribed way:
"I am not one of those purists who insist on reading the entire untruncated text at all costs. .... Moby Dick is a long book, and time is short. Even a sentence, a mere phrase, will do. The important thing is to spend time with the book, to listen as you read, to feel the prose adapt to the various voices that flow through the author during the book's compilation like intermittent ghosts with something urgent and essential to say. "
Like Jishin has wisely written elsewhere in the forum today, Dogen can't sit zazen for you. You have to find it yourself. Sit with Dogen a bit, savor his phrases and find their meaning that is relevant to you. Even if you read a sentence or phrase, savor it's flow, play with the words, read it to yourself and see what it reveals to you. A teacher or Dogen scholar is a guide who may point in a certain direction, like a trail cairn or map. But Dogen's relevance and meaning is to be found in your own practice and life. It can be found nowhere else.
Deep bows
Yugen
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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