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<\/a><\/div>\nThere\u2019s a bunch of themes tugging at me today, including my upcoming talk at Kannoji in Second Life and the Zazenshin<\/i> book that I\u2019ve started but want to find more time for.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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In addition, in the virtual practice period we\u2019ve begun to get into some conflict \u2013 necessary and healthy \u2013 and are beginning to explore some issues around boundaries in the cyber world. I\u2019ll save that for another day\u2026.<\/span><\/div>\n
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In the nonvirtual practice period, we\u2019ve recently had a session on the study of Dogen \u2013 what is it<\/i> 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 \u201cweirdos\u201d on that\u2019s my liberal paraphrase).\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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How does Dogen study serve people? Here\u2019s 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.
\u2013 \u201cGoes with the territory of studying Zen.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cGoes with the territory of studying Zen.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cSo we don\u2019t get a big head and are thrown into constant groundlessness.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cI study Dogen because that\u2019s what I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cThat\u2019s what my teacher studies.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cI know it benefits me. People say I\u2019m calm and can listen to them.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cDogen is so subtle that to be \u2018real,\u2019 study requires lots of zazen.\u201d<\/span>
\u2013 \u201cDogen\u2019s teaching is so subtle that without lots of zazen, my understanding is merely intellectual or theoretical.\u201d
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\u2013 \u201cDogen\u2019s teaching is so subtle that without lots of zazen, my understanding is merely intellectual or theoretical.\u201d
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\u2013 \u201cDogen is deep and subtle \u2013 shallow understanding doesn\u2019t stand up the the crucible of daily life.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 \u201cAs a \u2018luxury,\u2019 study can help refresh us so that we have energy to serve others.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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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.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Therefore, it\u2019s 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 \u201chelpless ones\u201d (a Crazy Horse phrase) in the future (helpless now because they depend on us).\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n