Dogen Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

Dogen Zenji (道元禅師; January 19, 1200 - September 22, 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and founder of the Soto school of Zen in Japan. He was a leading religious figure and important philosopher. "Zenji" is a title meaning zen master, and the name Dogen means roughly "Source of the Way."

Dogen came from a noble family and he quickly learned the meaning of the word "mujo" (impermanence). His parents died when he was still young, and it is said that this early glimpse of impermanence inspired him to become a monk. He went first to Mt. Hiei, which was the headquarters of the sect he studied. At a young age, he raised the question: "Both the esoteric and exoteric doctrines of the Buddha teach that enlightenment is inherent in all beings from the outset. If this is so, why do all the Buddhas, past, present, and future, seek enlightenment?" This doubt led him to study Buddhism under the Rinzai teachers Eisai (1141 - 1215) and Myozen for nine years.

Continuing his quest for the truth, he made the risky ocean passage to China, accompanied by his teacher, Myozen, at the age of 24. After visiting well-known monasteries, he came to study with Ju-tsing (J. Nyojo), the 13th Patriarch in Mt. Tien-tung (J. Tendo). This lineage would become known as the Soto school in Japanese. Two years later, he finally realized liberation of body and mind, free from ego.

Dogen came back to Japan after four years abroad. In 1244 he established Eiheiji in Echizen, now Fukui, to spread his new approach to Buddhism. The temple remains one of the two head temples of the Soto sect today. He spent the remaining ten years of his life teaching and writing there. Dogen's masterpiece is the Shobogenzo, lit. "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye", a collection of essays on the Buddhadharma in 95 fascicles that reveal his thoughts and insights. He emphasized the absolute primacy of zazen, or sitting meditation, and the inseparability of practice and enlightenment.

Like Luther writing in German, Dogen often wrote in Japanese, rather than Chinese as was the custom at that time, conveying the essence of his Zen thought in a style that was at once simple, concise, compelling, and inspiring. His most notable successor was Keizan (1268 - 1325); together Dogen and Keizan are regarded as the founders of the Soto school.

A famous quote from Dogen's Genjo Koan:

To study the Way is to study the self.

To study the self is to forget the self.

To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barriers between one's self and others.

• About Dogen Zenji
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• Creative Commons-licensed, accessible translations of Dogen's Genjo Koan, Bendowa, and Uji

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