Zen Master Dōgen: Philosopher and Poet of Impermanence
Steven Heine
In Gereon Kopf (ed.), The Dao Companion to Japanese Buddhist Philosophy. Springer. pp. 381-405 (2019)
Abstract
Zen master Dōgen 道元, the founder of the Sōtō sect in medieval Japan, is often referred to as the leading classical philosopher in Japanese history and one of the foremost exponents of Mahayana Buddhist thought. His essays, sermons and poems on numerous Buddhist topics included in his main text, the Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵, reflect an approach to religious experience based on a more philosophical analysis of topics such as time and temporality, impermanence and momentariness, the universality of Buddha-nature and naturalism, and the role of language and emotions in the experience of enlightenment, as well as practical matters such as ethics and the precepts or meditation and daily activity, than is generally found in the writings of most thinkers in the Japanese Zen school. The single main element in Dōgen’s unique approach to Buddhist theory and practice is his emphasis on the multiple meanings of “impermanence” in personal experience and as the basis for Buddhist metaphysics. In particular, he emphasizes the radical impermanence of each and every phenomenon and the need to attain spiritual realization by acknowledging and identifying, rather than resisting or denying, the ephemeral nature of reality. The notion of impermanence or the transiency of all aspects of human and natural existence has always been a fundamental feature of the Buddhist teaching since the sermons of the Buddha dealing with the doctrines of anātman and anitya regarding the insubstantial, selfless nature of things. However, Dōgen repeatedly cautions against any subtle tendency to view ultimate reality––nirvāṇa or the universal “Buddha-nature” ––as an eternal realm separable from, or independent of, impermanence. Instead, he stresses that a full, unimpeded, and perpetually renewed experience of impermanence and of the unity of “being-time” is the touchstone and framework of every aspect of Buddhist meditative training and spiritual realization. Other key doctrines related to this are the “spontaneous here-and-now manifestation of Zen enlightenment”, the “eternal moment of meditation”, the “immediacy of awakening”, and “impermanence-Buddha-nature”. In addition to looking at Dōgen’s poetic writings on aesthetic experience, later writings on karma and supernaturalism will be briefly examined for their contributions to his philosophical discussions of mystical awareness and the issues of commitment and responsibility involved in authentic religious practice.
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References found in this work BETA
No references found.
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Citations of this work BETA
The Place of Zen Buddhism Philosophy in Sohrab Sepehri's Poems.Fattaneh Jalalkamali, Ali Sadeghi Shahpar, Morteza Razaghpoor & Hossein Ardalani - 2020 - Philosophical Investigations 14 (32):274-288.
Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Mujo: The Japanese Understanding of and Engagement with Impermanence.Monte S. Hull - 1984 - Dissertation, University of Hawai'i
Dōgen’s Idea of Buddha-Nature: Dynamism and Non-Referentiality.Rein Raud - 2015 - Asian Philosophy 25 (1):1-14.
A Zen Philosopher? – Notes on the Philosophical Reading of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō.Raji C. Steineck - 2018 - In Raji C. Steineck, Elena L. Lange, Ralph Weber & Robert H. Gassmann (eds.), Concepts of Philosophy in Asia and the Islamic World, vol. 1: China and Japan. Boston, USA: Brill. pp. 577-606.
Buddhist Doctrines of Identity and Impermanence in the Western Mind.Donna M. Giancola - unknown
Dogen and the Koan Tradition: A Tale of Two Shobogenzo TextsMaster Dogen's Shobogenzo, Book I.Robert Aitken Roshi, Steven Heine, Gudo Nishimura, Chodo Cross & Master Dogen - 1995 - Buddhist-Christian Studies 15:265.
Hope Without the Future.Rika Dunlap - 2016 - Journal of Japanese Philosophy 4:107-135.
The Nature and Practice of Freedom: A Dialogue on Freedom and Determinism in Buddhist and Western Philosophy.David Paul Putney - 1990 - Dissertation, University of Hawai'i
Consciousness at Work: A Review of Some Important Values, Discussed From a Buddhist Perspective. [REVIEW]Joan Marques - 2012 - Journal of Business Ethics 105 (1):27-40.
Buddhist Ethics in Impermanence.Ram Kumar Ratnam & V. M. - 2011 - D.K. Printworld.
'Religion' and the Concept of the Buddha Way: Semantics of the Religious in Dōgen.Raji C. Steineck - 2018 - Asiatische Studien / Études Asiatiques 72 (1):177-206.
Fox Koan and Dream: Dogen's New Light on Causality and Purity.Kirill O. Thompson - 2011 - Asian Philosophy 21 (3):251 - 256.
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The Meaning of “Whole Being” in the “Busshō” Fascicle of Shōbōgenzō.Stylianos Papalexandropoulos - 2018 - Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy 4:73-77.
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