In The Burning World, Why Study Dogen?

There’s a bunch of themes tugging at me today, including my upcoming talk at Kannoji in Second Life and the Zazenshin book that I’ve started but want to find more time for.

In addition, in the virtual practice period we’ve begun to get into some conflict – necessary and healthy – and are beginning to explore some issues around boundaries in the cyber world. I’ll save that for another day….

In the nonvirtual practice period, we’ve recently had a session on the study of Dogen – what is it good for? This was provoked a couple sessions back when Tetsugan shared her concerns about how to help regular people in her social work internship, not weirdos like those of us inclined to the luxury of spending lots of time on little black cushions and/or contemplating a 13th century monk in medieval Japan who spoke in riddles and never had a sexual relationship, a job or a mortgage (from “weirdos” on that’s my liberal paraphrase).

How does Dogen study serve people? Here’s a smattering of remarks from the session and then some thoughts of my own (and some Dogen too, of course). You are welcome to chime in too with a comment.
– “Goes with the territory of studying Zen.”

– “So we don’t get a big head and are thrown into constant groundlessness.”

– “I study Dogen because that’s what I do.”

– “That’s what my teacher studies.”

– “I know it benefits me. People say I’m calm and can listen to them.”

– “Dogen is so subtle that to be ‘real,’ study requires lots of zazen.”
– “Dogen’s teaching is so subtle that without lots of zazen, my understanding is merely intellectual or theoretical.”

– “Dogen is deep and subtle – shallow understanding doesn’t stand up the the crucible of daily life.”

– “As a ‘luxury,’ study can help refresh us so that we have energy to serve others.”

In my view, this world is on fire and it seems likely that some rough times are ahead. The always-in-motion future is hard to see so we cannot really know what will really help.

Therefore, it’s really important that some people devote themselves to directly helping those suffering the most with poverty, illness, war and ignorance; that others devote themselves to politics at all levels; that others live a quiet life just taking care of their families and themselves as best they can; and that others do their utmost to plumb the depths of the great traditions so that what they have to offer in their deepest and most subtle dimension can be preserved and handed on to the “helpless ones” (a Crazy Horse phrase) in the future (helpless now because they depend on us).

Personally, why do I choose to study Dogen? Before Katagiri-roshi died, I asked him to live for another 20 years, at least. “I’m too stubborn and stupid for you to die now,” I said. “I know who you are,” he said. “Anyway, I will always be there with you.”

And when I study and offer what I can of Dogen’s Zen (from my hinky perspective, of course), Katagiri and I do it together and he’s really here with me.

From within Dogen studies, the reason to study at all is to complement dropping body-and-mind in zazen. In other words, to counteract the tendency to simply rehearse our pathology in zazen and life we directly challenge, illuminate, and transform our mental formations (which aren’t apart from body).

Dogen talks about this in his “Points to Watch in Buddha Training,” part 10, “Jikige joto.” Here’s how Roshi explains this phrase (from p. 105 Keep Me in Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri):

Jikige is “direct,” no gap between. Jo of joto is to receive, absorb, or to assimilate. To is “it.” “It” is the identity with the ultimate, exactly the fundamental itself. Together, “joto” means to assimilate, receive, and actualize it. We are it so we have to digest it and then we can actualize what we are. It does not come from outside. Jikige joto is direct assimilating and actualizing it.

In the Burning World, Why Study Dogen?