REL 444/544 Week 5 Notes

Zen Master Dogen


Dogen (1200-1253)
Myoe (1173-1262)
Shinran (1173-1262)

Dogen is one of three figures from the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) that we are examining in this course.
All three - Dogen, Myoe, and Shinran - lost both their parents at a very young age (before the age of 12), and each set out on a religious quest. Dogen became founder of the Soto Sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Shinran became founder of the Jodo Shinshu, or more simply, Shin Buddhist Sect. Myoe, as we saw last week, although often regarded as one of the old guard, shared reform-minded characteristics with some of the founders of the so-called "New Kamakura Buddhism."

Reading Notes

In the readings for this week:
1. Kazuaki Tanahashi & P Levitt, editors, The Essential Dogen
This work provides: a) Basic biographical background and background of Zen Buddhist thought, pp. xv-xxxv; b) Theme based organization with list of sources at the end. You can use this as a reference source to find out about Dogen's story and background, and to see what he says about different themes.
2. Mark Unno, "Philosophical Terms in the Zen Buddhist Thought of Dogen"
This one-page document highlights key terms.
3. Norman Wadell & M. Abe, translators, "Shobogenzo Genjokoan."
Dogen's main work is the Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Eye of the Dharma), of which there are different versions, such as the 60 fascicle (chapter) and 75 fascicle versions. In either case, the "Genjokoan" (Manifesting Reality) chapter is the most famous. This is a very short chapter, poetic, but also challenging to decipher.
4. Kosho Uchiyama, Refining Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, pp. vii-xiv, 3-19.
This is a translation of Dogen's instructions to the Zen cook (Tenzo kyokun). This excerpt includes the translator's introduction and the translation of the brief work itself. The introduction presents the outline and significance of the work within the framework of Dogen's Zen. The work is instructive in what it shows about Dogen's ideas concerning the practice of Zen Buddhism.
5. Steven Heine, The Zen Poetry of Dogen, pp. 1-34.
Dogen is known for admonishing his followers to not waste time with frivolous activities such as painting and composing poetry, yet he himself left many poemts. This excerpt samples and explores the place of poetry in Dogen's Zen Buddhism.
6. Barbara Ruch, "The Other Side of Culture in Medieval Japan," pp. 500-511.
In this selection, Ruch presents her thoughts about the Zen nun Mugai, whose sculpted bust she discovered, but about whom little is known. She takes this opportunity to examine Mugai as a window into the lives of religious women during medieval times, including references to Dogen's ideas about women's capabilities as Zen practitioners.

Guiding Questions

A. What are four core concepts in Dogen's Zen Buddhist practice (see 2., 3., and 4, above).
B. How is the concept of "practice as awakening" reflected in the "Genjokoan" chapter of Dogen's Shobogenzo (see 2. and 3. above).
C. When Dogen asked the old Zen cook, what is the essence of Zen practice, the cook replied, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" (p. 11). What could this mean? (see 4. above.)
D. Find two poems that reflect Dogen's concept of "practice as awakening" (see 5. above).
E. In what way does Barbara Ruch regard the Zen nun Mugai as an empowered woman? What are her operative assumptions regarding the concept of selfhood? Do they jibe with the Buddhist framework within which Mugai, Dogen, and others might have worked? (See 6. above.)