Ian Coverdale-McCord 1

Dogen: the Everyday

Zen Master

Ian Coverdale-McCord

Prof. Pidhainy

4/16/2013

History 270

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Dogen is revered as one the great minds of Japanese Buddhism. In this

essay I will first explain how it was that Dogen became so knowledgeable,

what he accomplish throughout his life, and finally what his School focuses

on to this very day. Dogen traveled extensively and practiced at a vast

number of temples throughout Japan and China. This wide base of knowledge

and understanding allowed Dogen to found a school for Zen Buddhism that

embodied his dedication and deep understanding. The reason that Dogens

School not only flourished, but is still practiced in much the same way today

as it was hundreds of years ago, is because Dogen wanted nothing more

than to spread the Buddhist Dharma. His school attracts people to it because

he used his vast experience and knowledge to construct a strict and

encompassing guide to help other achieve enlightenment.

Dogen was born to a wealthy and noble family in Japan in the year

1200. Regretfully Dogen had already been exposed to the Buddhist ideal of

impermanence at the young age of seven years old with the death of both of

his parents. His parents had luckily belonged to one of the most powerful

clans in Japan before their untimely deaths. This meant the Dogen had

received the best education from an early age and could join the royal court

if he chose to. Dogen however, had other plans. This education is responsible

for crafting the astounding mind and honing the dedication that would be

necessary for Dogen to accomplish all that he did before his own untimely

death in 1253. After the death of his mother Dogen promised himself that he

would set forth and come to grips with the meaning and necessity of life and

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death. By the age of thirteen Dogen had joined the Buddhist temple at Mt.

Hiei, which was the center for the Tendai School of Buddhism in all of Japan,

and become a novice monk. This School presented Dogen with a problem

during his teaching. “Both exoteric and esoteric teachings explain that a

person in essence has true Dharma nature and is originally a body of

‘Buddha nature.’ If so, why do all Buddha’s in the past, present, and future

arouse the wish for and seek enlightenment?” The Buddha’s teachings

according to the Tendai School explain that all beings are inherently

enlightened; to Dogen this meant that all of the things that Buddhist monks

dedicate their entire lives to is essentially a waste of time. The entire point of

meditation and the right way of living is to move closer to, and eventually

achieve, enlightenment. But everyone is born enlightened! This contradiction

leads Dogen to study under the Zen master, Eisia and the disciple who took

over after his death, Myozen. This teaching continued for a number of years

until Dogen and Myozen decided to travel to china and experience the

schools there in 1223 seaching for the answer to Dogens question.After

traveling to China and searching far and wide for a master who could help

him to answer his question and who he felt a personal connection, Dogen

discovered Ju-tsing. He studied under this great Zen master for a further two

years before Dogen finally achieved enlightenment by freeing himself from

his body and mind and thus discovered the answer to the question that he

had carried inside of himself since the very beginning of his Buddhist

journey. What was the answer? That comes later.

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After achieving this greatest of Buddhist goals, Dogen returned to

Japan to teach the same sort of Zen practices that had so helped him. The

practice is known as Zazen meditation. He spread Buddhist truth by training

Zen monks, and lecturing to not only the monks but also the lay community

at a few different monasteries. Shortly after Dogens arrival back in Japan he

found that the school he had previously studied at was in bad shape. The

monks were more concerned with themselves and their material possessions

than they were with spreading the word of Buddhism. He tried to teach there

but eventually a combination of politics and policies forced him to leave.

Dogen is responsible for founding the Soto School of Zen. This School

focuses on “just sitting” or Zazen meditation. There are no verses to recite

and no chants, simply sitting and freeing one’s self form mind and body.

Dogen originally set up shop in a smaller temple where the fundamentals of

Buddhism were still of the upmost importance. Dogens School was officially

dedicated in 1236 with the completion of his monastic hall. This School was

the first major school of its kind in Japan to practice Ch’an Buddhism in every

aspect of day to day life. Dogens School would be possibly the first in the

world and certainly in Japan to accept not only men but women as well right

from the start. Dogen believed that the desire to learn and embrace the

Dharma was not related in any way to the sex of the person. He believed

that there are good women and bad men in the world so both should be

given an equal shot at monastic life.

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As Dogen and his Schools popularity grew, so too did its list of

naysayers and enemies. Dogen was not the kind of person who would waste

his valuable time and energy fighting these people. It comes as no surprise

that Dogen accepted the offer of Lord Yoshishige Hatano when he offered

Dogen and his entire community a place in the region he ruled, far from the

bigger Schools, in the mountains of the Echizen Province. While his disciples

built a new monastic community in their new found home, Dogen continued

to teach and give speeches to the community. Dogen and his monastics

remained in this monastery from its completion in 1244 to well beyond

Dogens death in 1253. The only time that Dogen left his monetary was when

he was called to teach and spread his Dharma in Kamakura by the Japanese

government. Once he arrived however, Dogen quickly returned to his

mountain community because he felt that the wilderness and the small

community were more conducive to teaching and learning.

While Dogen was doing all of these amazing things he was also writing

Buddhist literature. In his lifetime Dogen is credited with having written

many major Buddhist works. The first of these was Fukanzazengi which is an

explanation and list of the rules of Zazen meditation. Dogen completed this

sometime around 1227 after he returned to Japan. The purpose was to help

the Japanese not only understand but accurately practice Zazen Buddhism.

The text explains that one’s mind should be entirely clear. No thoughts about

the Buddha, right and wrong, life and death, simply trying to free the mind

from these useless worries. Dogen does not devote meditation time to

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solving problems like many other Buddhist sects. In Soto Zen the Koan, or

question, is more often dealt with in daily life. Meditation is simply for freeing

the mind, not solving problems. Many of Dogens essays and speeches have

been brought together in his ninety five chapter master work entitled

Shōbōgenzō. This book covers a massive range of topics. There are essays

on the equality of women and men, the practices of the monastic

community, how to live day to day, Dogens thoughts on life and death, all

the topics that Dogen lectured on. Dogen wrote another work called Shinji

Shōbōgenzō. This was a collection of some three hundred koans, nothing

else, no commentary or explanations, just three hundred thought provoking

problems for the elder monks to ask the novices. These questions are meant

to inspire what basically amounts to creative thinking. Throughout the day or

possibly even weeks a young monk would just think about the question and

all of the potential answers in order to clear their minds and find new

answers to old questions. Another work by Dogen is Eihei Kōroku which was

compiled after Dogens death. Eihei Kōroku consists of a collection of many of

Dogens speeches and some of his poetry which he wrote throughout his life.

It consists of ten volumes spanning the last nineteen years of Dogens life.

Dogen is also known to have written many of the conversations that he had

with his different masters throughout his life. These are organized into many

different volumes. Many of Dogens poems were also organized into different

volumes.

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The reason that Dogen is still a recognized name to this day in

Japan is because he brought the Zazen practice from China to Japan. Zazen

is a very specific form of meditation. There are many rules to be followed. It

takes place in a building where nothing else happens, that one building is

only for meditation, you may only enter if your intention is meditation. This

building is called a senbutsu-jō in Japanese which translates to basically a

meditation hall. The position of meditation is also very important, normally

done in the lotus position which requires three separate points on your body

to be touching the ground. The standard lotus position involves the action of

pulling both feet into the lap so that the knees both touch the ground as the

disciple is sitting. The person must also sit with their spine as straight as

possible and their head situated directly above their spine, no slouching. It is

also important to clasp hands together in the mudra position to keep the

center of gravity low and near the chest to help with breathing. The eyes

should be half open so that the meditator in not distracted by outside

stimulus but also not completely closed so that they don’t fall asleep. In

order to remain relatively comfortable through meditations that may last for

many many hours, and happen more than once every single day of the year,

the normal set up is to sit on a cushioned mat with a special cushion on top

of the mat know as a zafu. Zazen is normally preformed with other monks in

a group setting. It is not impossible to do so alone but formal meditations are

normally with a group. Before and after meditation each member bows to

show respect to the enlightened ones and the Buddha and then again to

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each member of the congregation. Dogen practices just sitting meditation

which means that there is no problem to concentrate on and no chanting,

the meditator is simply supposed to remain in the moment and try their best

to free their mind. Dogens School teaches that Buddhism is about first

awakening our own bodies and minds thoroughly before we can possibly fully

understand and experience them. This is not a mere intellectual pursuit; it is

living the life of the Buddha without worry, strain, and just relaxed mind. In

Buddhist teachings there are references to many different Buddha’s such as

Amitayus, Mahavairocana, and others who appear throughout the years and

many different stories. However, the modern understanding and what Dogen

believed is that these are all parts of the one true Buddha. As Buddhist

practices became more popular many people achieved enlightenment.

Dogen believed that Buddhism started with the enlightenment of the Buddha

and that is why enlightenment is so special and necessary. That is why

Dogen strove for enlightenment for so many years and through such

hardship, instead of giving in when he was unable to find someone to answer

his questions to his own satisfaction. This dedication is another reason that

Dogen was so revered as a teacher. He was not some mythological figure

that no one had ever seen or met. Dogen was an actual person who people

could travel to meet and learn under, knowing that he was living what he

preached day in and day out. One his long travels what Dogen was really

looking far was not why monks were inherently enlightened but still strove

for it. No the real question was how did the Buddha find the way to

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enlightenment and the right way? What Dogen discovered was though

zazen. Many people have many different ideas about achieving

enlightenment but it was Dogen’s belief that Zazen was the true way.

Beginning with the original Buddha, all the masters have achieved

enlightenment through Zazen. When he finally achieved enlightenment, the

Buddha is said to have said “Together with me the Great Earth and all beings

have become enlightened. The grass, the trees, the very soil have achieved

Buddhahood. Mankind was saved by the enlightenment of the Buddha”. This

is why, in Dogen's view there is absolutely no purpose to practice many of

the chants and other things that he believes are useless. In one of his

speeches to the people of his community, Dogen declared that “Those who

practice the way of the Buddha must first have faith in the way of the

Buddha”. This means that every being is already enlightened but they

cannot experience this enlightenment unless they are able to follow in the

Buddha’s footsteps and free themselves from body and mind. Everyone is

already on the path to enlightenment and have the potential to reach it and

experience true wisdom. Dogen knew that people’s true nature only reveals

itself only once they have completely understood the doctrine of the

impermanence, no self, and no ego.

He understood that a beings true nature is known as the Buddha Mind

or Buddha-nature. Dogen taught his disciples to believe that every single

person on earth is endowed with this nature inherently. In the Soto School of

Zen the acceptance of this nature is called honsho no anjin which means

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tranquil mind. Since all beings are enlightened form the beginning of their

lives Zazen is not a way to achieve enlightenment necessarily. It is basically

getting the mind out of the way so that you can experience enlightenment.

In Soto School of Zen, Zazen is not a precursor of enlightenment, but more

accurately a practice carried out before during and after the person has

experienced enlightenment. This is where Dogen’s school of Zazen actually

differs from the meditation practiced by the Buddha before his

enlightenment. It is closer to the Buddha’s meditation post enlightenment

when he just sat and meditated. Dogen’s Zazen is more focused on what

happens afterward.

The true practice of Zazen itself is very close to Buddhahood. This is

because Zazen is “the practice of the Buddha” so that means people

practicing Zazen are Buddha’s! Zazen is based upon the peaceful state of

mind that can only be achieved after being freed of the worries of the body

and mind. Dogen believed that true Zazen and enlightenment are the same

thing, Buddhism training and enlightenment are the same. This is all a little

bit confusing and philosophical because it means that as soon as someone

begins to meditate, they are enlightened. The training right from the very

beginning IS enlightenment. 

Dogen combined both the everyday practice of Buddhism and the right

way of living. This is one of the main reasons that his school was too great.

He did not cater to outside needs, wants, or beliefs.

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What sets Dogens School apart from the teaching of many others at

the time is his belief and discipline in the correct transmission of what he

believes is the true Buddhist way and working towards a united Buddhism in

Japan and the world. Dogen strongly disagreed with the one sided sects of

Buddhism that ignore the basic facts and cling to trivial useless details. He

thought a fully integrated Buddhism which existed before the division into

Hinayana or Mahayana. He believed that no sect should be biased and that

sects splintered the religion, making it less accessible and much more

difficult to understand. This is why Dogen never accepted the name "Zen

sect". This would indicate that his School was separate from other sects.

Dogen believed that the Schools that did call themselves a specific Zen set

must have been mastered by an individual who had not yet achieved

enlightenment or seen the way of the Buddha. Dogen basically saw sects as

breaking the metaphorical straw on the camel’s back. The more sects there

are the more broken up Buddhism become. If Buddhism becomes to broken

up it will fail altogether and the practice could come to a complete halt.

Dogen did not want this. Dogen considered sects to only be popular among

shallow thinkers. Dogen was trying to preserve the balance of Zen in Japan

and keep it close to its initial Chinese roots. He wanted to hold to the

Buddhist way and believed that Japanese Buddhism was starting to stray

toward the governments and publics interests.

Buddhism changed a great deal throughout the ages. Dogen believed

that he lived in the period of decline and that it was his job to put in the

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effort to bring it back to the main essence of Buddhism. Dogen was intensely

resistant to religious beliefs that held the monks aloof of the lay people. His

personal view was that if someone wanted to have access to the Buddhist

truth, no matter who they were, they should have that access. Dogen strived

to embody the Buddha by serving as a teacher for the masses and helping

them to escape the cycle of reincarnation. Many Buddhist monks of the time

embraced this because it allowed them to profit. However Dogen had freed

himself from his ego and felt no desire for money, material possessions, or

fame. He rejected the Buddhism of his time and felt that it was imperfect. He

felt that Buddhism was meant to be as close to perfect as could be. It is

important to note that Dogen was trying to attract people to his School of

Buddhism so that the religion would again being to flourish. There are many

things that Dogen had to consider such as who would be hearing about his

School, what the common beliefs of the time were, how hard his school was

to reach, everything was important.

Dogen is to this day held in very high regard because his ideas,

religion, and personal characteristics are very similar to the ideals held by

many people throughout history. His ideas are universal meaning that people

from all culture and all times in human history share the same general ideas

and beliefs as Dogen. Dogen's great religious power comes from three main

points. These are his deep thoughts, his very practical nature, and his

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nobility. As stated earlier, Dogens master work is the Shōbōgenzō and

through this he clearly illustrates not only his thought but also his faith.

Dogen used Japanese so that everyone, including the lay community, would

be able to read it easily, instead of Chinese which was the more popular form

at that time. His style is short and to the point with very few extra or wasted

words. His thought is noble and profound. His whip fast logic and deep

introspective thoughts not only helped him to gain a foothold at the front of

Japanese culture, but also help him to remain important today in modern

philosophy. His writings and teachings help to understand the world and the

Buddhist religion from his time because they are easy to understand even in

the westernized world of today. Dogen's writings teach help people to find

the right practice, knowledge and action together in one place. The detailed

Zen regulations found Fukanzazengi established all the rules very clearly.

Drawing to a close, Dogen was an astounding Buddhist monk. He

traveled the Asian world in a time when the trip from Japan to China could

easily take a month or more. Why did he undertake this potentially

dangerous journey? He had questions that no one in Japan was qualified to

answer and he refused to accept that. He traveled to many different schools

until he finally found what he was looking for and achieved enlightenment.

After that however he returned to his home land to help as many others as

he could to also reach this goal. Although his School was plagued by

adversity and disdain, he continued to expand it and set up more than one

monetary to spread his beliefs about true Buddhist enlightenment. Dogen

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spent a lifetime writing poetry and spreading Zazen Buddhism throughout

Japan. He allowed all who wanted to learn into his School without worrying

about the person’s sex. Dogens School still lives on today and is one of the

more popular ones in many parts of Japan.

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Citations

Bielefeldt, Carl. Dōgen's Manuals of Zen Meditation. Berkeley: University of California, 1988. Print.

Dōgen, Norman Waddell, and Masao Abe. The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō. Albany: State University

of New York, 2002. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

Dōgen, and Thomas F. Cleary. Shōbōgenzō, Zen Essays. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1986.

Print.Digitalized 2007

Kim, Hee-Jin, and Taigen Daniel. Leighton. Eihei Dōgen: Mystical Realist. Boston: Wisdom

Publications, 2004. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.

Loori, John Daido. " Dogen and Koans." Dogen and Koans. Mro.org, 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

Maguire, Jack H. "A Life of Dogen." A Life of Dogen by Jack Hosho Maguire, MRO. Sky Light Paths,

Jan. 2001. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

Masunaga, Reiho. Zen beyond Zen. Tokyo: Komazawa University, 1960. Print.

Raud, Rein. "The Existential Moment: Rereading Dōgen's Theory Of Time." Philosophy East & West

62.2 (2012): 153-173. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

Tepper, Inbal. "Zen in Daily Life." Zen in Daily Life / Introduction. Ofer Cohen, May 2010. Web. 18 Apr.

2013.