This text, Fukanzazengi, was believed to be the first work written by Great Master Dōgen in 1227 when he was aged 27. He refined it several times over many years. It is studied in detail and recited daily at Mid-day … Continue reading →
There is an old saying in Zen: “In the beginning, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers; later on, mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers; and still later, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers.” My own … Continue reading →
What is it in the psychological aspect of being a human that tends to lead us towards the belief in a substantial self, separate from other beings, which in turn leads us to break the Precepts? How do we balance … Continue reading →
What is it like when we wake in the morning? Before our brain wakes up and remembers what we have to do that day, there is a space — of being you could say; which is just an appreciation: we … Continue reading →
The literal translation of “zenki” is “the activity of Zen” or “the activity of meditation,” and this chapter refers to That which is “ever functioning, never dormant” within that activity, namely Buddha Nature, True Nature, or what Dōgen calls True … Continue reading →
In 1971 I heard of an English Zen teacher who had studied and practised Sōtō Zen in Japan. Rev. Master Jiyu had gone to America where she established a Zen training monastery, Shasta Abbey. She came over to England to … Continue reading →
From a talk given at Reading Buddhist Priory in 2013. On this retreat we are studying Dōgen’s Rules for Meditation. The version we are familiar with is just one way to receive this teaching, the version Rev. Master Jiyu brought … Continue reading →
This is the translation recited in OBC temples and at affiliated meditation groups, in the booklet Scriptures and Ceremonies. Why are training and enlightenment differentiated since the Truth is universal? Why study the means of attaining it since the supreme … Continue reading →
I first met the words of Fukanzazengi, or Rules for Meditation while reading them aloud, along with other people, all of whom were strangers, the first Saturday afternoon of my first retreat at Shasta Abbey. Meditation halls, monks with shaven heads, … Continue reading →
In our weekly meditation group we recite Dōgen’s, Rules for Meditation. In this there is a phrase which I have thought about and reflected on quite intently. The phrase is the one where reciters are exhorted to “cease from erudition”. … Continue reading →