the Japanese-made movie about the life of Dogen and I\u2019ve been crabby about it ever since.<\/span><\/p>\nFirst, though, the positive: T liked it, \u201cJust a movie,\u201d she said and I did manage to stay awake, although it was a struggle.<\/p>\n
Now the negative: the plot line vaguely resembles the life of Dogen as does the teaching. It\u2019s an Oliver-Stone-ish effort, seeming to be historical but far from the mark in crucial details, like the movie\u2019s Dogen repeatedly espousing an \u201cinnate\u201d Buddha when the man\u2019s writings assail such a dualistic view. Further, the limited passages from Dogen and the words of Rujing are dumbed-down to the absurd. Stories from the Buddha\u2019s life are transposed to Dogen\u2019s. Sex and violence are added where we have no evidence that such occurred.<\/p>\n
I wonder how much Soto headquarters was involved in this because it seems to be directed more toward shoring up the sect\u2019s wavering base than delivering a movie that is true to one of the great practitioners and Buddhist<\/a> writers in history.<\/p>\nLook for my copy on e-Bay.<\/p>\n
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