74. Journal of My Study in China, Enlightenment Unfolds, p. 3.
75. Ibid.
76. Ibid.
77. Instructions for the Tenzo, Moon in a Dewdrop, p. 59.
78. Power of the Robe, chapter 13.
79. Journal of My Study in China, Enlightenment Unfolds, p. 4.
80. Ibid., p. 3.
81. Face-to-Face Transmission, chapter 57.
82. Journal of My Study in China, Enlightenment Unfolds, pp. 4–5.
83. Extensive Record of Priest Eihei Dogen, Beyond Thinking, p. 145.
84. Record of Bringing Master Myozen’s Relics, Enlightenment Unfolds, p. 30.
85. Okubo Doshu, ed., Dogen Zenji Zenshu (Entire Work of Zen Master Dogen), 3 vols. (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1970).
86. For example, Dogen says, “The time being of all beings throughout the world in water and on land just actualizes your complete effort right now. All beings of all kinds in the visible and invisible realms are the time being actualized by your complete effort, flowing due to your complete effort” (The Time Being, chapter 12).
87. Donation Request for Monks’ Hall at the Kannondori Monastery, Enlightenment Unfolds, p. 47.
TEXTS IN RELATION TO DOGEN’S LIFE AND TRANSLATION CREDITS
IN THIS SECTION we present basic information on all the fascicles, including dates and original titles. We describe them in the context of Dogen’s teaching career to provide a timeline of his life as a Zen master.
All the dated fascicles are presented in this book in chronological order. (Undated pieces are placed at the end, in fascicles 85–96.) Dogen’s colophons—traditional inscriptions recording such information as date and place of writing—are included in this section as well as in the main text. In addition to the colophons, we drew on Kenzei’s Biography of Dogen for information about events in Dogen’s life. The number of formal talks Dogen gave each year, quoted in this section, is based on Dogen by Michio Takeuchi.
The texts in this book are translated from materials published in Doshu Okubo’s Dogen Zenji Zenshu (Entire Work of Zen Master Dogen). We have also referred to Dogen Zenji Zenshu, edited by Tokugen Sakai and colleagues.
“The Editor” in the translator credits refers to Kazuaki Tanahashi. All texts have been closely examined and edited by Peter Levitt and the Editor.
WANDERING PERIOD
1227
RECOMMENDING ZAZEN TO ALL PEOPLE (FUKAN ZAZEN GI; APPENDIX 1)
Soon after returning from China to Japan, Dogen wrote “Recommending Zazen to All People,” which has become one of the most revered texts in the Soto School. This proclamation summarizes his intention to establish a single practice of Zen meditation in Japan. As the colophon states, he wrote this text in Chinese in 1227, the year of his return from China. The original manuscript, edited and handwritten by him in 1233, still exists. We present a translation of the later version.
Colophon: “Written at the Kannondori Monastery on the fifteenth day, the midyear [seventh month], the first year of the Tempuku Era [1233].”
Translated by Edward Brown and the Editor.
1228
On the seventeenth day, the seventh month, of this year, Rujing died. Monk Jiyuan from Mount Tiantong traveled to Japan to inform Dogen of Rujing’s death.
1230
When an unusual nationwide famine filled many cities with the dead, Dogen settled in a small temple in Fukakusa, a village to the south of Kyoto.
1231
1. ON THE ENDEAVOR OF THE WAY (BENDŌWA)
“On the Endeavor of the Way” is Dogen’s systematic elucidation of his understanding of Zen, based on the principle that practice and enlightenment are inseparable. Using a set of imaginary questions and answers, he responds to doubts and skepticism by those accustomed to conventional Buddhist practices. This essay reflects Dogen’s first attempt to express his thinking in the vernacular Japanese language. Until then Buddhist teachings had been studied and written almost exclusively in the Japanese form of Chinese.
“On the Endeavor of the Way” is highly respected in the Soto School as Dogen’s most comprehensive explanation of dharma. However, Dogen did not include the words Shōbō Genzō, “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye,” at the beginning of its title. When he later edited the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, he did not include this fascicle in either the seventy-five-fascicle or the twelve-fascicle version. The reason why Dogen set aside this text may be that, addressed to an open audience, it reflects his intention to spread dharma broadly, while his teaching evolved toward training a small number of committed students as his community matured.
According to Menzan Zuiho’s Eliminating Wrong Views on the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shōbō Genzō Byakujaku Ketsu, 1738), this text had been discovered in a courtier’s house in Kyoto. Manzan Dohaku included this piece in the appendix of his eighty-four-fascicle version of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye in 1684. Abbot Kozen of the Eihei Monastery included this as the opening piece in his ninety-five-fascicle version of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, published by the monastery in 1690.
Colophon: “Midautumn day [the fifteenth day of the eighth month], in the third year of the Kanki Era [1231], by Dogen, who has transmitted dharma from Song China.”
Translated by Lewis Richmond and the Editor.
KOSHO MONASTERY PERIOD
1233
2. MANIFESTATION OF GREAT PRAJNA (MAKA HANNYA HARAMITSU)
Dogen’s first practice center, Kannondori (Avalokiteshvara’s Guiding Power) Monastery, where he was abbot, was established in the spring of 1233 in Fukakusa, south of Kyoto. His first three-month practice period started, as was customary, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month.
(At a summer practice period, traveling monks visit a monastery and join resident practitioners in concentrated meditation, much like the rains retreats established by Shakyamuni Buddha for the monsoon season. Those who complete the period gain one year of dharma age. In the Zen tradition this is the most important time of training. Dogen did not hold a winter practice period.)
Dogen delivered “Manifestation of Great Prajna” as a dharma talk to the Kannondori community, the first text in the series of Shōbō Genzō. The official title of the original text is “Shōbō Genzō Maka Hannya Haramitsu.” (The following fascicles of Shōbō Genzō are similarly titled.)
This is a commentary on the Prajna Heart Sutra, one of the most commonly recited scriptures in East Asia. The Heart Sutra is regarded as a brief condensation of the entire Mahayana teaching of shunyata (emptiness or boundlessness). Its mantra at the end was often believed to have wish-granting magical power in Esoteric Buddhism.
In this fascicle, Dogen challenges the traditional analytical views of phenomena, asserting that all elements are interrelated. Not mentioning the mantra, he hints at his own aversion for highly ritualized and benefit-oriented Esoteric practices. Dogen placed this text second in his seventy-five-fascicle version of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.
Colophon: “Presented to the assembly of the Kannondori Monastery on a day of the summer practice period in the first year of the Tempuku Era [1233].”
Translated by Edward Brown and the Editor.
3. ACTUALIZING THE FUNDAMENTAL POINT (GENJŌ KŌAN)
Completing his first practice period on the full-moon day (the fifteenth) of the seventh month, Dogen gave this text to his lay student Koshu Yo on the full-moon day of the following month. Koshu must have joined the practice period, and perhaps he was leaving for his home on the southwestern island of Kyushu.
Kōan—the original word for “fundamental point” in the title—usually means an exemplary Zen story given by a teacher to a student for spiritual investigation. But Dogen used the word here to point to the reality of all things that is to be realized.
“Actualizing the Fundamental Point” is probably the best-known and most studied text of all Dogen’s writings, both for its summary of his teaching and for its poetic beauty. While other fascicles are focused on the themes
indicated by their titles, “Actualizing the Fundamental Point” covers multiple themes, including awakened ones and nonawakened persons, enlightenment and delusion, birth and death, the potential of enlightenment (buddha nature) and actualization of it.
Dogen used this text as the opening fascicle of the seventy-five-fascicle version of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. He revised this text nineteen years later. Consequently, this text covers a span between the beginning and the end of his monastic teaching. (The earlier manuscript of this fascicle no longer exists.)
Colophon: “Written around midautumn, the first year of the Tempuku Era [1233], and given to my lay student Koshu Yo of Kyushu Island. Revised in the fourth year of the Kencho Era [1252].”
Translated by Robert Aitken and the Editor. Revised at San Francisco Zen Center and later at Berkeley Zen Center.
1234
Ejo joined Dogen’s temporary monastery. Soon he started transcribing Dogen’s informal evening talks, creating a text that became known as the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard (Shōbō Genzō Zuimonki). Ejo was to be Dogen’s lifetime disciple, editor, and dharma successor.
1235
Dogen gave Ejo the bodhisattva precepts. He also wrote a fundraising letter for construction of a monks’ hall at the Kannondori Monastery.
He put together a collection of three hundred Chinese Zen koans, titled the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. Seen as a lifetime notebook for his teaching, this book is known as the Chinese-Language Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shinji Shōbō Genzō).
1236
The monks’ hall was opened at the monastery. Dogen renamed his practice center the Kosho (Raising Sages) Zen Monastery. (This name was mentioned by Sen’e in the Extensive Record of Priest Eihei Dogen.) Ejo was appointed head monk.
1237
Dogen wrote Instructions for the Tenzo (Tenzo Kyōkun).
Occupied with establishing his monastery, Dogen put aside the writing of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye for nearly five years.
1238
4. ONE BRIGHT PEARL (IKKA MYŌJU)
Dogen presented “One Bright Pearl” to the assembly of the Kannondori Kosho Horin (Avalokiteshvara’s Guiding Power, Raising Sages, Treasure Forest) Monastery on the fourth day of the practice period. In this essay he introduces the ancient Chinese Zen master Xuansha, takes up a set of dialogues by him with a student, and offers a thorough examination of the koan. It is the only fascicle Dogen wrote this year.
Colophon: “Presented to the assembly of Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery, Uji County, Yamashiro Province, on the eighteenth day, the fourth month, the fourth year of the Katei Era [1238].”
Translated by Edward Brown and the Editor.
1239
5. REGULATIONS FOR THE AUXILIARY CLOUD HALL AT THE KANNONDORI KOSHO GOKOKU MONASTERY (KANNONDŌRI KŌSHŌ GOKOKU-JI JŪ’UN-DŌ SHIKI)
Only three years after the construction of a monks’ hall about seventy feet square, it apparently was too small, and an additional monks’ hall was built. Unlike most other fascicles of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, which are short teachings, “Regulations for the Auxiliary Cloud Hall” was intended as a guideline for newcomers who were not yet ready to reside permanently and practice in the main monks’ hall.
The monastery name Dogen used here—“Avalokiteshvara’s Guiding Power, Raising Sages, Treasure Forest, Protecting the Nation Monastery”—may reflect his wish to gain imperial patronage as a temple for protection of the country. Soon, however, he seemed to have abandoned the idea of seeking such patronage and thus dropped the name Gokoku (Protecting the Nation).
This piece was included in Kozen’s ninety-five-fascicle version of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye in 1690. But it had not been included in Dogen’s seventy-five or twelve-fascicle version of brief essays.
Colophon: “This was written on the twenty-fifth day, the fourth month, the first year of the En’o Era [1239].”
Translated by Reb Anderson and the Editor.
6. THE MIND ITSELF IS BUDDHA (SOKUSHIN ZEBUTSU)
In the midst of the summer practice period’s scorching heat, Dogen delivered the talk “The Mind Itself Is Buddha” to his community. Here he discusses the Buddhist notion of “mind”—which is distinct from a “soul” believed to last after death. Mind is inseparable from body and from all phenomena. In this fascicle he introduces what can be called the “four pillars of buddha dharma”—aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana.
Colophon: “Presented to the assembly of Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery, Uji County, Yamashiro Province, on the twenty-fifth day, the fifth month, the first year of the En’o Era [1239].”
Translated by Steve Allen and the Editor.
7. CLEANSING (SENJŌ)
One can assume that Dogen’s community members were disciplined in the monks’ hall, but relaxed outside the practice place and sloppy in the washroom. In this fascicle, completed in the winter, Dogen explains in detail how to be mindful in using the washroom. For Dogen, body, mind, and the environment cannot be isolated from one another; keeping them clean is an essential practice of dharma.
Colophon: “Presented to the assembly of Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery, Uji County, Yamashiro Province, on the twenty-third day, the tenth month, the first year of the En’o Era [1239].”
Translated by Peter Levitt and the Editor.
8. WASHING THE FACE (SEMMEN)
“Washing the Face” is a lengthy text presented on the same day as the preceding text, “Cleansing.” Dogen offered this piece three times in eleven years, which underscores the importance of the practice of washing the face in his teaching. Kozen’s version places this text as the fifty-sixth fascicle, according to the date of its second presentation. Nonetheless, we place it here based on the date of Dogen’s first presentation.
Colophons: “Presented to the assembly of the Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery on the twenty-third day, the tenth month, the first year of the En’o Era [1239].” “Presented again to the assembly of the Yoshimine Temple, Yoshida County, Echizen Province, on the twentieth day, the tenth month, the first year of the Kangen Era [1243].” “Presented once more to the assembly of the Eihei Monastery, Kichijo Mountain, Yoshida County, Echizen Province, on the eleventh day, the first month, the second year of the Kencho Era [1250].”
Translated by Linda Ruth Cutts and the Editor.
1240
9. RECEIVING THE MARROW BY BOWING (RAIHAI TOKUZUI)
Dogen’s writing of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye seems to have accelerated around the year 1240. He wrote “Receiving the Marrow by Bowing” before the summer practice period.
Here Dogen focuses with amazing clarity on the equality of accomplished female and male practitioners. Although he had female students, and perhaps allowed them to join the practice, it is likely that, according to custom, they were seated in a low-status position. (In “Continuous Practice, Part Two,” Dogen speaks of a Daoist practitioner’s being seated lower than nuns in his teacher Rujing’s monastery. There is no evidence that Dogen seated nuns differently from his teacher.) So, it is possible to assume that there was prejudice against female practitioners in his community, and outside of it. Among his own students, he may have encountered reluctance to admit nuns to the practice period. On this issue of sexism, we can see that Dogen was radically free of prejudice. At the same time, however, since he was a traditional teacher in a sexist society, his treatment of his female students doesn’t seem to have been completely free of discrimination.
Colophon: “Written at the Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery on the clear-bright day [the fifteenth day from spring solstice], the second year of the En’o Era [1240].”
Translated by Peter Levitt and the Editor.
10. VALLEY SOUNDS, MOUNTAIN COLORS (KEISEI SANSHOKU)
In every year, the summer practice period started on the full-moon (fifteenth) day of the fourth month. This text was presented on the nineteenth day of the fourth month in the fo
rm of jishu, which is a semiformal dharma talk. It is likely that Dogen’s jishu consisted of reading his draft to the group of practicing students.
In this text, Dogen focuses on stories of three ancient Chinese Zen practitioners who had spiritual breakthroughs in natural settings and expressed their realizations in verses. Dogen repeatedly cautioned his community not to look for such breakthroughs outside their daily practice.
Colophon: “On the fifth day of the practice period, the second year of the En’o Era [1240], this was presented to the assembly of the Kannondori Kosho Horin Monastery.”
Translated by Katherine Thanas and the Editor.
11. REFRAIN FROM UNWHOLESOME ACTION (SHOAKU MAKUSA)
One month after the end of practice period, on the full-moon day—the traditional day of repentance—Dogen delivered this text to those who were still at the monastery. His theme is basic, the “Seven Original Buddhas’ precepts.” Dogen presents a radically fresh and complete view of the precepts. Refraining from unwholesome or evil action is not a prohibition, but thorough practice, the experience of buddha dharma itself. Dogen had set up a monastic environment so that this would be possible. Of course, those who violated the monastery guidelines were asked to leave.
Colophon: “Presented to the assembly of the Kosho Horin Monastery, Uji County, Yamashiro Province, on the harvest moon day [the fifteenth day], the eighth month, the second year of the En’o Era [1240].”
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