tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.comments2023-10-21T03:56:17.837-07:00Zen Buddhism Dogen and the ShobogenzoTed Biringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comBlogger439125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-68719858539193656222021-11-14T02:29:48.678-08:002021-11-14T02:29:48.678-08:00You will always be able to find a statement in the...You will always be able to find a statement in the Shobogenzo to contradict any assertion. This is because of the philosophical structure of the Shobogenzo. Because reality as it is, is ineffable and beyond views Dogen approaches reality from different viewpoints. He will make a subjective assertion for instance followed by and objective view about the same topic, these appear contadictory but are both valid. He will then follow with a third view that is a synthesis of the first two, and fourthly he will try to express, often poetically, reality as it is itself, using words to point at the ineffable. So selecting one viewpoint to make an argument is a basic misunderstanding if the Shobogenzo.<br /> The teaching that there is nothing to attain is hardly controversial, yes it is one side of the coin, but it used is to emphasise that enlightenment is not something we need to get but that it is the original state that we return to when we stop dividing up the universe, thus it is the shedding of, letting go, relinquishing of all views not the getting of new ones. Tobyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10683401520541062572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-31639591957702218762019-06-14T08:28:10.274-07:002019-06-14T08:28:10.274-07:00Very well said... "Herein is why Dogen is so ...Very well said... "Herein is why Dogen is so offended by the “denial of causality.” It is founded on the same thing as his scorn of “naturalism;” the implication that sentient beings are formed by the universe (or some other external force) rather than the formers of the universe."<br /><br />"Existence being dependent on it, experience itself is a given for all sentient beings. The only question is, in Dogen’s terms, whether we “turn the Dharma” or “are turned by the Dharma.” To be turned by the Dharma is to live the whimsical, wooden life of a puppet, to accept the mandates of whatever is most influential at the moment, to conform to the expectations, views, and conventions of the “ordinary” mind of mediocrity. Choosing instead to turn the Dharma is to choose liberation; to choose the “ordinary” mind of enlightenment. True liberation comes with the verification that we alone are the masters of our lives, and that our ability to manage the material of our lives (arrange the instances of our experience) is the measure of our ability to fashion a world and fashion a self—our ability to respond (responsibility) harmoniously to the unceasing flow of experience, illumining and enlivening the Buddha nature of the myriad dharmas of momentary existence."<br /><br />I've been so fixated on determinism and no free-will. However, I'm still stuck on the no-self aspect. If there is no self, no agent, only intention and action. Isn't intention and action also conditioned and subject to causality?Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00211449832874071917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-11742113485830985862018-12-12T04:06:31.803-08:002018-12-12T04:06:31.803-08:00Are you tired of seeking loans and Mortgages,have ...Are you tired of seeking loans and Mortgages,have you been turned down constantly By your banks and other financial institutions,We offer any form of loan to individuals and corporate bodies at low interest rate.If you are interested in taking a loan,feel free to contact us today,we promise to offer you the best services ever.Just give us a try,because a trial will convince you.What are your Financial needs?Do you need a business loan?Do you need a personal loan?Do you want to buy a car?Do you want to refinance?Do you need a mortgage loan?Do you need a huge capital to start off your business proposal or expansion? Have you lost hope and you think there is no way out, and your financial burdens still persists? Contact us (gaincreditloan1@gmail.com)<br /><br />Your Name:...............<br />Your Country:...............<br />Your Occupation:...............<br />Loan Amount Needed:...............<br />Loan Duration...............<br />Monthly Income:...............<br />Your Telephone Number:.....................<br />Business Plan/Use Of Your Loan:...............<br />Contact Us At : gaincreditloan1@gmail.com<br />Phone number :+44-7774-038335 (WhatsApp Only)<br />Credit Loan Solutionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04560862271536746225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-21100831872788745812018-10-09T22:08:17.180-07:002018-10-09T22:08:17.180-07:00Thanks for great information you write it very cle...Thanks for great information you write it very clean. I am very lucky to get this tips from you. <br /><br /><a href="https://blog.mindvalley.com/diamond-sutra" rel="nofollow">https://blog.mindvalley.com/diamond-sutra</a>Mindvalleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07258228697025638864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-63036350754989075722017-10-13T18:02:08.555-07:002017-10-13T18:02:08.555-07:00Dear roman,
Thank you for your comments. Please f...Dear roman,<br /><br />Thank you for your comments. Please feel free to elaborate.<br /><br />Peace,<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-5884649873347013562017-02-09T15:00:41.081-08:002017-02-09T15:00:41.081-08:00Mike Luetchford definitely doesn't teach that ...Mike Luetchford definitely doesn't teach that there is nothing to attain. If he taught such a thing he would tell his students to stop making efforts and he would tell everyone that they realized the truth. But he is not like that at all. It is your lack of understanding what there is to attain in Buddhism that makes you think that some interpreters say there is no attainment or realization. romanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03183650998043209540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-51102741006611309832016-12-30T03:06:30.311-08:002016-12-30T03:06:30.311-08:00Awesome Blog...The Gyalwang Drukpa is the honorifi...Awesome Blog...The Gyalwang Drukpa is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism - http://drukpa.org/<br /><br />Gyalwang Drukpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16701552069765187436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-3389196804612305462016-10-09T10:03:20.692-07:002016-10-09T10:03:20.692-07:00Dear Josh,
Thank you for your comments, and your ...Dear Josh,<br /><br />Thank you for your comments, and your interest in my book - I hope you find it enjoyable.<br /><br />Yes, Dogen's works are certainly challenging, but well worth the effort. For me, Shobogenzo compares with Gutie's Zen, which he described by saying, "I have used it all my life but never used it up."<br /><br />Also, I have found Hee-Jin Kim's Mystical Realist, along with his two other major works, essential companions to the study and practice of Master Dogen's wisdom - each year I seem to find whole new levels of insight between their covers.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing the Rilke poem - Yes, Yes! Ha!<br /><br />Please treasure yourself.<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-26217307817181601632016-10-08T06:23:15.498-07:002016-10-08T06:23:15.498-07:00Ted,
I just ordered your most recent book Zen Co...Ted, <br /><br />I just ordered your most recent book <i>Zen Cosmology</i>. I had seen you mentioned it in earlier posts as a work-in-progress, but I must have missed the news that you had it published in August! I ordered a copy today and I look forward to reading it. I'll make a point to read the Flatbed Sutra in the near future as well. I'm looking forward to reading both.<br /><br />At the moment I've been (re-)reading Kim's first study on Dogen (Mystical Realist) -- with much more comprehension than when I first read it in 2010. <br /><br />Having read so much in philosophy, religion, and literature (including much Buddhism), I have found increased clarity in articulation -- but Dogen actually <b>challenges</b> me by expressing perspectives entirely new to me -- and I need these challenges in my life now. Returning to Dogen feels like a homecoming of sorts. I've been recalling this poem by Rilke lately: <br /><br /><i>Dove that ventured outside, flying far from the dovecote:<br />housed and protected again, one with the day, the night,<br />knows what serenity is, for she has felt her wings<br />pass through all distance and fear in the course of her wanderings.<br /><br />The doves that remained at home, never exposed to loss,<br />innocent and secure, cannot know tenderness;<br />only the won-back heart can ever be satisfied: free,<br />through all it has given up, to rejoice in its mastery.<br /><br />Being arches itself over the vast abyss.<br />Ah the ball that we dared, that we hurled into infinite space,<br />doesn’t it fill our hands differently with its return:<br />heavier by the weight of where it has been.</i><br /><br />Gratitude indeed!<br /><br />~joshHaikuisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10985049040786531772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-77915437266796442152016-10-07T11:59:13.588-07:002016-10-07T11:59:13.588-07:00Dear Josh,
Yes. Thank you!
It is not that there ...Dear Josh,<br /><br />Yes. Thank you!<br /><br />It is not that there are no authentic Zen practitioners, only that they are few... If we take these words of Dogen to heart, we may come to realize that no place-time is any less worthy of our gratitude than any other:<br /><br />"Do not misunderstand Buddhism by believing the erroneous principle ‘a special tradition outside the scriptures.’" <br />~Zen Master Dogen<br /><br />Thank you for your deliverance of all beings.<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-58196696055725073932016-10-06T18:26:29.036-07:002016-10-06T18:26:29.036-07:00In addition to practicing Zen Buddhism, I've l...In addition to practicing Zen Buddhism, I've long been a natural-born lover of poetry and literature, so this post certainly resonates with me. It seems in general our current day reading comprehension skills have been narrowed down to a very thin part of the "literary spectrum" so to speak -- not just with Dogen, but with all literature in the broadest sense. Positivism is a recent innovation, emerging out of 18th century thought at the expense of mythopoetic expression (Frazier's misreading of religion being a particularly egregious example). <br /><br />Unfortunately it seems to me that positivist assumptions have too often been smuggled (deliberately and/or unknowingly) into too many western "pop Zen" by simply rejecting language wholesale. Because language is mistakenly thought of as being wedded to positivism only, irrationality mistakenly appears to be the alternative offered by "Zen." This misunderstanding can often lead to mere license for intellectual laziness at best, and a uncompassionate dismissal of others concerns at best (the rather unhelpful "Zenner-than-thou" one-upmanship game). A lot of this stems more from "pop Zen" but it nevertheless can create a lot of needless misunderstanding.<br /><br />My (very rudimentary!) understanding of Dogen on this point is that the "words and letters" of sutras, etc. are only problematic if they are used as a means to an end (just as zazen mistakenly being used as a means to awakening). There is a place for words and letters, <i>and</i> there is a place for just sitting -- not one at the expense of the other. In this way, sutras provide the necessary context for zazen, and zazen provides the necessary context for sutras. This mutual contextualization goes both ways -- and not just with reading sutras but with all acts -- because there is nothing that shikantaza <i>doesn't</i> include.<br /> <br />That doesn't mean all Zen Buddhists should become scholars, but by the same token, there is a value to "words and letters" that shouldn't be casually dismissed. It would do much good to unlearn our cultural fixation of positivism -- not to eliminate it -- but in order to make room for the mythopoetic quality of Dogen's writings, and of Buddhist literature in general. To borrow from the Bible, "Man cannot live by positivism alone."<br /><br />Thank you for your post! <br /><br />~joshHaikuisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10985049040786531772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-48683595663322101272016-10-02T11:39:18.428-07:002016-10-02T11:39:18.428-07:00Dear Josh,
Thank you for sharing your experience ...Dear Josh,<br /><br />Thank you for sharing your experience with Dogen, as well as your kind and encouraging words on this blog.<br /><br />Nine Full Bows<br /><br />Please treasure yourself.<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-51185576341152107582016-10-02T01:57:01.955-07:002016-10-02T01:57:01.955-07:00Ted, thank you for all that you do!
Dogen was, i...Ted, thank you for all that you do! <br /><br />Dogen was, in a manner of speaking, "my first love" when I first approached Zen Buddhist practice in 2009, though there were no other Soto Zen sanghas nearby at that time for me. I had some much-needed grounding visiting a local monastery affiliated with Thich Nhat Hanh which was invaluable to my practice -- and always studying.<br /><br />In 2014 I moved - that year also marked the beginning of a two-year hiatus (stemming from multiple misfortunes), but I somehow knew I would find myself back studying Dogen and practicing shikantaza -- it was just a matter of time. I've been practicing and studying again these past few months. It's good to be "home" again. <br /><br />I had read your blog before and I'm happy to see you're still helping to bring clarity to Dogen's teachings that are too often misunderstood (as, for example, the crucial topic of this post). I have a feeling I'll be around more often. Again, thank you!<br /><br />~josh <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14031633900220050593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-12095301993168213772016-08-02T22:48:44.386-07:002016-08-02T22:48:44.386-07:00Hey Tommy, good to hear you.
Sure, a phone call wo...Hey Tommy, good to hear you.<br />Sure, a phone call would be cool. 360-298-4752<br />I'm in Washington State (not sure where you are so you can figure out the time zone). Call anytime between 10am and 10pm. If I don't answer leave your number and a good time to call.<br />Look forward to hearing from you.<br />Warmly,<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-77582924223543029242016-08-02T17:44:54.849-07:002016-08-02T17:44:54.849-07:00Thank you Ted, great stuff. I'm sorry to say I...Thank you Ted, great stuff. I'm sorry to say I've forgotten to check your blog for a while and only come across this post today. I'd like to respond. How would you feel about a phone conversation? If that's impossible or not feasible, I can also respond in writing. Sometimes speech is quicker and leads to less confusion in my experience. <br /><br />Best, <br />TommyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11619072414711403833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-7319926007411838672016-04-16T16:28:10.280-07:002016-04-16T16:28:10.280-07:00Hello Tommy,
Of course I remember you – good to h...Hello Tommy,<br /><br />Of course I remember you – good to hear you again.<br /><br />Please see my reply in the main blog page - April 16 (the comment section does not have the capacity for the characters needed).<br /><br />Please treasure yourself.<br />Ted<br />Ted Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-34740077275244391672016-04-16T14:32:18.868-07:002016-04-16T14:32:18.868-07:00Hello iconofcharles Ostdiek,
Thank you for your co...Hello iconofcharles Ostdiek,<br />Thank you for your comments.<br />Ted<br />Ted Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-81864983021870577792016-03-21T01:24:44.529-07:002016-03-21T01:24:44.529-07:00Hi Ted. Perhaps you remember me from a few comment...Hi Ted. Perhaps you remember me from a few comments and emails last year. I have enjoyed readings your posts since then. A few questions on this one:<br /><br />1. How do you feel about Dogen's contempt for followers of other religions, or people who take up views he finds heretical? It's at least shockingly opposed to the modern spiritual trope that all paths point in the same direction, no? To tip my hand here, whenever I read the Shobogenzo, I find Dogen's extreme contempt for, say, Taoists or lazy people very upsetting and mostly discordant with the profound wisdom evident throughout so much of the text.<br /><br />2. All sayings of Buddhas are expressions of truth, and all true statements are sayings of Buddhas? I think most Buddhists would assent to the first proposition, but I imagine many would at least be suspicious of the second. If this is the case, is Buddhism a form of philosophy? (Or perhaps ~all~ of philosophy ~plus~ something else?) Could you perhaps expand on the equivalence between true statements and words of Buddhas? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11619072414711403833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-27062863290070065232016-03-14T19:26:07.259-07:002016-03-14T19:26:07.259-07:00sitting for freedom /
polishing tiles for mirrors....sitting for freedom /<br />polishing tiles for mirrors... /<br />what's the difference?<br /> --3/14/2016Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06154193673143963881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-10741534193255968022016-01-27T15:50:52.185-08:002016-01-27T15:50:52.185-08:00Dear Subversia,
Thank you for your comments.
The c...Dear Subversia,<br />Thank you for your comments.<br />The commentary in this post is actually my own (adapted from an unpublished manuscript).<br />I am unaware of any digital source for Kim's 'Flowers...' (indeed it is difficult to even find hard copies of the book).<br />Yes, Kim's 'Dogen on meditation...' is a great treasure - packed with insight and wisdom. Also Kim's 'Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist' is an essential work for all Zen students/practitioners.<br />Thanks again.<br />Treasure yourself.<br />Teddogenandshobogenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500883340966976632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-84642489218796374522016-01-24T13:20:17.678-08:002016-01-24T13:20:17.678-08:00Thank you for this post. Is the commentary on enli...Thank you for this post. Is the commentary on enlightenment/delusion from "Flowers of Emptiness" (Hee-Jin Kim)? I have been trying to find this book in a digital format all over the internet... I just finished "Dogen on Meditation and Thinking" by the same author, and found it extremely illuminating, in an intellectual and practical way.Subversiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12344183051208390859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-35752660411131701662015-12-01T11:10:38.147-08:002015-12-01T11:10:38.147-08:00Dear Faceless Writer,
Thank you for your comments ...Dear Faceless Writer,<br />Thank you for your comments - they are most appreciated!<br />Please treasure yourself.<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-48094835037104472182015-11-30T12:56:18.434-08:002015-11-30T12:56:18.434-08:00Thank you for this posting. Lately I felt as if I ...Thank you for this posting. Lately I felt as if I lost "enlightenment." It felt like a regression. But this posting makes it clear that seeing enlightenment is delusion (again). Faceless Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17127914497054090019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-52264091014844895902015-09-07T16:32:53.284-07:002015-09-07T16:32:53.284-07:00Hello Lauren,
Thank you for the comment - 3 full ...Hello Lauren,<br /><br />Thank you for the comment - 3 full bows.<br /><br />Please treasure yourself.<br />TedTed Biringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497538623775589400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36986548.post-40437581813160162722015-09-06T08:20:01.990-07:002015-09-06T08:20:01.990-07:00Nice... thanks.Nice... thanks.Lauren https://www.blogger.com/profile/08148785647986873693noreply@blogger.com