Engaging Dogen's Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening

by Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth (Editor), Shudo Brian Schroeder (Editor), Kanpu Bret W. Davis (Editor)

Overview

How are the teachings of a thirteenth-century master relevant today? Twenty contemporary writers unpack Dogen's words and show how we can still find meaning in his teachings.

Zen Master Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism, is widely regarded as one of the world’s most remarkable spiritual thinkers. Dogen influence on both Japanese and Western Zen Buddhism cannot be overstated. His writings, emphasizing the nonduality of practice and enlightenment are vastly subtle, endlessly sophisticated—and renownedly challenging to read on one’s own.

This unique collection of essays opens up for the reader new pathways for connecting to and making use of Dogen's powerful teachings. Some of Soto Zen’s leading scholars and practitioners offer a masterfully guided tour of Dogen’s writings, organized around two key texts: Shushogi, which is a classical distillation of the whole of Dogen’s teachings, and Fukanzazengi, Dogen universal instructions for Zen meditation. Along the way, the reader will gain an enriched understanding of the Zen practice and realization, of shikantaza or “just sitting,” and of the essence of Mahayana Buddhism—and a much deeper appreciation of this peerless master.

Includes essays from Kosho Itagaki, Taigen Dan Leighton, Tenshin Charles Fletcher, Shudo Brian Schroeder, Glen A. Mazis, David Loy, Drew Leder, Steven DeCaroli, Steve Bein, John Maraldo, Michael Schwartz, Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth, Leah Kalmanson, Erin Jien McCarthy, Dainen David Putney, Steven Heine, Graham Parkes, Mark Unno, Shudo Brian Schroeder, and Kanpu Bret W. Davis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614292548
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	01/17/2017
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth is Professor of Philosophy at Seattle University, a Soto Zen priest, and founder and co-director of the Seattle University EcoSangha. His recent books include Commiserating with Devastated Things: Milan Kundera and the Entitlements of Thinking (Fordham 2015), Schelling’s Practice of the Wild (SUNY 2015), The Conspiracy of Life: Meditations on Schelling and His Time (SUNY 2003), a translation of the third draft of The Ages of the World (SUNY 2000), the edited volume Schelling Now (Indiana 2004), and the co-edited volume (with Kanpu Bret W. Davis and Shudo Brian Schroeder) Japanese and Continental Philosophy: Conversations with the Kyoto School (Indiana 2011). He is the associate editor and book review editor of the journal Comparative and Continental Philosophy. He is currently at work on a book titled Zen and Zarathustra. He lives in Seattle, WA.

Shudo Brian Schroeder is a priest in the Soto Zen lineage of Yashiki Chijo, abbot of Yokoji (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan), and Professor of Philosophy and director of Religious Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He has published numerous books and articles on Continental philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, the history of philosophy, environmental philosophy, and philosophical theology. He is director of the Idunno Zen Buddhist Community at RIT, a founding member of CoZen, and an active member of the Rochester Zen Center. He is also co-director of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy and past co-director of the International Association for Enviromental Philosophy. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stony Brook University and a M.Div. from the Princeton Theological Seminary. He lives in Rochester, NY.

Kanpu Bret W. Davis is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Maryland. His publications include several books and dozens of articles, written in English and in Japanese, on such topics as Heidegger, the Kyoto School, and Zen. He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and spent thirteen years studying and teaching in Japan, during which time he studied Buddhist thought at Otani University, completed the doctoral program (with thesis in progress) in Japanese philosophy at Kyoto University, and undertook formal practice of Rinzai Zen as a member of Chishokai, a group of lay practitioners at Shokokuji (one of the main Zen training monasteries in Kyoto), whose members have included Kyoto School philosophers Nishitani Keiji and Ueda Shizuteru. Since 2005 he has served as leader of The Heart of Zen Meditation Group at Loyola University Maryland. In 2010 he received formal recognition as a teacher (sensei) and head of a Zen center (docho) from Kobayashi Gentoku Roshi, abbot of Shokokuji. He lives in Baltimore, MD.

Table of Contents

A Note on the Text xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth 1

Part I General Essays

1 Reflections on Dogen's Practice and Philosophy Kosho Itagaki 15

2 Updating Dogen: Shushogi and Today Taigen Dan Leighton 29

3 Dogen and Sakyamuni Tenshin Charles Fletcher 33

4 Practice-Realization: Dogen Zen and Original Awakening Shudo Brian Schroeder 37

5 Walking with Mountains, or What Shobogenzo and Dogen Mean to Me Glen A. Mazis 53

Part II Shushogi-Text and Commentary

Shushogi (The Meaning of Practice and Verification) 69

General Introduction 79

6 Shushogi Paragraph 1 Tetsu'un David Loy 81

7 Shushogi Paragraphs 2-4 Drew Leder 89

8 Shushogi Paragraphs 5-6 Steven DeCaroli 97

Repenting and Eliminating Bad Karma 103

9 Shushdgi Paragraphs 7-10 Steve Bein 105

Receiving Precepts and Joining the Ranks 113

10 Shushogi Paragraphs 11-14 John C. Maraldo 115

11 Shushdgi Paragraphs 15-17 Michael Schwartz 121

Making the Vow to Benefit Beings 127

12 Shushogi Paragraphs 18-20 Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth 129

13 Shushogi Paragraph 21 Leah Kalmanson 145

14 Shushogi Paragraphs 22-23 Jien Erin McCarthy 151

15 Shushogi Paragraphs 24-25 Dainen David Putney 159

Practicing Buddhism and Repaying Blessings 163

16 Shushogi Paragraphs 26-28 Steven Heine 165

17 Shushogi Paragraph 29 Graham Parkes 171

18 Shushogi Paragraph 30 Mark Unno 179

19 Shushogi Paragraph 31 Shudo Brian Schroeder 185

Part III Fukanzazengi-Text and Commentary

Fukanzazengi: (Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen) 195

20 The Enlightening Practice of Nonthinking: Unfolding Dogen's Fukanzazengi Kanpu Bret W. Davis 199

Notes 225

Contributors 253

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

The right foot of mental clarity rests on the left thigh of continuous practice. The left foot of poised engagement rests on the right thigh of tradition. Even while “just sitting,” Dogen says we can walk the Way of the Buddhas. The remarkable essays in this volume, all personal expressions of thoughtful practice and compassionate engagement, collectively serve as a field guide to that Way, bringing philosophical insight, experience, and discipline to what Dogen called the “oneness of bodymind,” the true sense of feeling whole.

Thomas P. Kasulis

A rich and invaluable collection reflecting Dogen's unique wisdom.

Roshi Joan Halifax

Engaging Dogen's Zen is a wonderful collection of essays inquiring into the meaning of Dogen’s teaching and practice in the twentieth-first century, written by a number of sincere practitioner-scholars engaged in an examination of Shushogi and Fukanzazengi. I recommend this book to all Zen practitioners and all people who are interested in Buddhism and spirituality presently and in the future.

Shohaku Okumura