A thousand thanks! I have eye problems and am quite limited in my ability to read the written and digital page. May the merit of this vidio help you in your sojourn toward liberation. Gassho.
Thank you so much for your comment. You are exactly the kind of person I am doing this for so it is really good to hear it is reaching you. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like read. Deep bows for your practice.
It is incredible. I often think that I probably have access to more Buddhist teachings than monks and nuns in the finest temples and monasteries in the past. So many teachings from so many cultures and languages, all translated so that we can understand and learn from them. So much gratitude for all those who are part of this.
Thanks for this video. To me, Bendowa is even more important than Genjokoan. At the moment, I am reading "The Wholehearted Way" by Uchiyama, translated by Okamura and Leighton. I also have the Nishijima and Cross version in their Book One. But one thing at a time.
Yada yada something something, seeking fire err set something on fire? And then poor student Bobby didnt become a buddhist he ended up an arsonist hehehe. Thank you for taking the time to record this.
Good evening (depending on your perspective), I recently heard a talk from Alan Watts speaking of the Shobogenzo and I have a question, and since this seems to be the appropriate audience I'll just ask it here... What is the shobogenzo? Is it a book? A series of writings? Is this video just a chapter from the book?
Hi Dave! Shōbōgenzō is a collection of writings by the Buddhist monk Eihei Dōgen who lived in the first half of the 13th century in Japan and founded the Japanese school of Sōtō Zen Buddhism. There are various versions but most English translations contain 95 chapters (or fascicles) of which this is the first. The book Moon in a Dewdrop by Kaz Tanahashi contains some of the most important fascicles and I can also recommend The Zen Master's Dance by Jundo Cohen as a great book to explain the meaning of some of Dōgen's writings.
Sometimes we use relative terms to point people to how to practice. In the end, as you point out, they are not literally true, but at the beginning they can be helpful.
As you probably know, the original book is in Japanese but this is a translation of it by a Japanese Zen teacher and his student from this book: drive.google.com/file/d/1Pq2MCIiUnLUZepRE0OLs1ptkCCWziq6c/view
@@zenaudio108 Ok thank you. I only ever heard it be called the Shobogenzo Not the "Shobogenzo Bendowa. Thanks for the audio of it. This will be very helpful in the study of it.
Anyone notice that in every spiritual tradition in the world the claim is that the true teaching has died or dried up or been lost and now we have some man to come and restore the truth back to us. My bullshit detector is on the alarm right now.
I guess that if someone didn't think they had something to add they wouldn't bother to say anything. There have been founders of new spiritual traditions and reformers precisely because people, usually men, were not satisfied with how things were. This is how things evolve. But, yes, spiritual traditions do oversell themselves and Dōgen can definitely go large in extolling the virtues of zazen. However, it is unarguable that he set out a new direction for Buddhism and Ch'an/Zen with his teachings and this is why we are still reading him centuries after his death. Whether people think it is of value is totally up to them. Personally, I do. YMMV.
for example if we want the rule of law, we m=MUST engrain it into the conscious field, its like engraning a black hole with morals... its doable, think about the automated processes when the Kosmos was born... thru mass gaps eventually forms are an outcome, but only one of the notes, unless peacefull non warring species inhabit the who shebang... then you get some thing SPECIAL.
Thanks for the recording. Unfortunately human beings have no managed to comprehend the subtle inner processes that occur during realization, for instance they do not seem to know in which region of the body realisation occurs, even though maps like the map of Chakras clearly indicate different functioning in different areas. The stench of kill-the-ego is so strong that they are afraid to know any details preferring instead to repeat once again that their teaching is the best because it is authentic, and authentic because it is the best - as do all other teachings like Islam or Judaism ... but without giving any actual details. If pushed they say that no details can be given. Even thought details are already developed in various traditions, for instance what is the meaning of the halo seen in many traditions .. why is it in the region of the head and not the foot? Few humans have any intelligence whatsoever, which is one reason they still need to rely on ancient teachings.
It is probably harder to discern from the audio reading rather than the text, but there is a whole passage that is part of a question which Dogen goes on to point out is not his view, but rather the view of some non-Buddhists.
Ah, you can't get through the day without a good supply of Ribena! I have, however, since bought a pop filter which has improved more recent recordings. At some point I will redo these older ones.
Oddly it doesn't bother me.. Could be worse.. You should hear me reading out loud... False teeth lisping.. Mispronounced and countless faults.. Ha ha ha But hey.. It's the words, the text that matter..
I'm sorry you are so easily disturbed and unsettled by such things. You must be a very sensitive individual. Easily annoyed by the actions of others you find intrusive upon your own experience.
@@adamcarey6093 Yep absolutely ! We people a r e different " And we are no robots !! Fully (con-) centered/centrated beings do n o t bother about any unimportant "mouth-sounds and -smackings" 😁
Loving all these comments from "spiritual seekers" getting annoyed by an amateur reading of an audiobook instead of listening to the actual words. A practical tip might be don't listen with earphones?
