Introduction to Master Dogen's Thought

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Editorial note: This transcript of a spoken talk has been lightly edited for readability. Repetitions, false starts, clumsy phrasing and unclear passages were smoothed out with great care not to change the meaning; we recommend listening to the original audio recording.

According to Buddhist custom, at the beginning of a Buddhist lecture we recite a short poem called Kaikyoge. So please listen to the recitation for a while.

[recitation, 00:01:19–00:02:16]

The meaning of the poem is that Buddhist thought is the supreme and profound teaching, and it is very difficult for us to meet this teaching. But now we have met it, so we would like to study it. This is the meaning of the poem.

Today I would like to give an introductory explanation of Master Dogen's thought, because in this seminar we are studying Master Dogen's thought. I think Master Dogen was the most excellent Buddhist master in Japan; therefore I think that he is the most excellent Buddhist master in the world. His thought is rather difficult to understand, but at the same time his idea is very important to people in the world today. So today I would like to explain the outline of his thought and the relation between his thought and the world history of philosophies. First, I would like to explain his career in short.

He was born in Kyoto in 1200. He was a son of a very high aristocrat called Michichika Kuga. Michichika Kuga was a minister of the royal court at that time, but he died when Master Dogen was only two years old, and Master Dogen's mother also died when he was seven years old. Therefore, Master Dogen had a rather sad childhood. But he was a very intelligent boy; it is said that he read difficult Chinese poems when he was three years old.

When he was twelve years old, he wanted to become a Buddhist priest, because at the time when he lived, the Japanese government changed drastically. About eight years before his birth, a Marshal General got the political power of Japan. Before that time, people thought that Japan should be governed by the emperor, or tenno. But a Marshal General called Yoritomo Minamoto got the power to govern all of Japan at that time. Therefore, Japanese society at that time was very confused.

Master Dogen had his childhood in that time, so he wanted to get a strong standard for living as a human being. But his family refused to let him become a Buddhist priest. Therefore, one night he stole out of his house and went to Enryaku Temple in Kyoto, and the next year he became a Buddhist priest. He was very diligent in studying Buddhist sutras. But the following year he had one doubt. According to Buddhist theory, it is said that we human beings originally have an excellent nature; our human body is pure. But he thought: if human beings have this pure natural nature, why should human beings study Buddhism? This is a very simple doubt, but a very important doubt.

So he asked many Buddhist priests in the temple that question. But strangely, there was no one who could answer his question, because at that time the priests in the temple were studying Buddhism only as a theory. But Master Dogen's doubt was related to the practice of daily life, the reality of daily life. Therefore, none of the priests could answer the question asked by a little young priest. Then Master Dogen visited another temple to find the answer to his question. In Kenninji Temple in Kyoto, he met a master called Eisai. Eisai was the founder of the Rinzai sect in Japan. When Master Dogen asked the question, Master Rinzai said, I don't know whether Buddhas in the past, present and future exist or not. But I know cat and white ox are living there. And this concrete answer struck Master Dogen's mind.

Then he stayed in Kenninji Temple for nine years. After that, he went to China to study Buddhism, and he met his master Tendo Nyojo in the temple called Keitokuji on Tendo Mountain. He studied Buddhism in China for four years, and after getting the truth, he came back to Japan and established his first temple near Kyoto. About fifteen years later, because he had become rather popular in Kyoto, the priests of the Tendai sect disliked his presence in Kyoto, so it is said that his temple was burnt by priests of the Tendai sect. So he went to a northern district of Kyoto, today's Fukui Prefecture, and established a temple called Eihei Temple. When he was 52 years old, he became sick. Then he came back to Kyoto and died when he was 53 years old. This is an outline of his life.

He wrote a book called Shobogenzo. I met Shobogenzo when I was 17 years old, and when I read it, I was very surprised. At that time I was a high school student, and so I thought that there was no book in Japanese which I could not read. But when I read Shobogenzo, it was impossible for me to understand it. But at the same time, I found some very beautiful sentences in Shobogenzo. Therefore, I read Shobogenzo again and again, many times.

After understanding the meaning of Shobogenzo, I found a very special logic in it. In Shobogenzo, Master Dogen explained one subject in the first phase on the basis of idealism; he explained it theoretically, philosophically, spiritually. But in the very next phase, he explained the same subject on the basis of objectivism, or materialism. And in the third phase, he explained the same subject on the basis of reality. Therefore, we can find three kinds of explanations of one problem in Shobogenzo. This structure of Master Dogen's special logic is the reason why we find very contradictory assertions in the book.

Even though he explained the three kinds of philosophies, in the ultimate phase he suggests reality itself, because according to his theory, philosophies are completely different from reality. Therefore, we can find in his book three kinds of philosophies and one reality. When we use this logic, we can explain all philosophical problems on the basis of reality. And I found that Gautama Buddha's teachings, that is Buddhism, are a religion which is based on reality.

After finding this fact, I thought about the history of Western philosophies. In the Greek age, we can find a very famous philosopher called Plato. He established his idealistic philosophy. According to his theory, reality is idea itself. According to our common sense, we usually think that reality is matter, but he thought that idea is reality. This viewpoint is usually called idealism. This idealistic philosophy met with Christianity at the end of the Roman Empire, and the combination of Christianity and Platonic idealism governed European societies in the medieval ages. So we can think that ancient times and the medieval ages in Europe belong to the ages of idealism.

But at the beginning of the modern age, human beings found another world, that is, the world of matter. In the Renaissance, human beings found that we human beings have physical bodies. This fact is rather strange, but in the medieval ages human beings could not recognize that human beings had physical bodies, because according to Christianity, physical bodies should be denied. Therefore, in the Renaissance, human beings found that we human beings had physical bodies, and so in the Renaissance we can find many beautiful pictures and sculptures which represent naked human bodies. In the Reformation, Luther and Calvin made Christianity into a human religion. So even in the religious area, human beings found new religions which are suitable for human beings who have physical bodies.

In the French Revolution, people overthrew their governments, which were based on a right given by God. Before the French Revolution, people thought that the power of a king or emperor derived from God. But in the French Revolution, this belief was destroyed. Therefore, we can think that the modern ages belong to the philosophy of matter; in other words, the modern ages belong to the ages of science. So in the modern ages, Newton's physics and Darwin's theory of evolution were very powerful.

But this materialistic tendency had its culmination in the middle of the 19th century. After that time, human beings have been working to get a new philosophy, because human beings could not be satisfied with materialistic philosophy alone. Therefore, we are working to get a new philosophy or a new religion. The new religion should have the power to synthesize idealism and materialism, in other words, to synthesize religion and science. Thinking about this problem, I usually remember the special logic of Master Dogen. In his logic, he first explained a subject on the basis of idealistic thought. Then he explained the same issue on the basis of materialistic thought. Therefore, we can have two completely contradictory images of one subject. This attitude is very important for thinking about the problem in reality.

Some people have a tendency toward religion; some people have a tendency toward science. But nowadays it is very important for us to have an understanding of both religion and science. But at the same time, religion and science are completely contradictory. We can never shut our eyes to this fact. Therefore, we should synthesize religion and science in the third phase. To synthesize our mental side and physical side, Master Dogen used human action. Human action is the synthesis of human mind and human body. Therefore, by using human action as the basis of philosophy, we can have a new philosophy which can synthesize mind and body, in other words, which can synthesize idealism and materialism. Nowadays the world in which we are living is suffering from the contradiction between idealism and materialism.

Therefore, if it is possible for us to synthesize religion and science, we can get only one religion, which can make the world completely peaceful. To find this religion, I think it is very useful for us to utilize Master Dogen's logic. In his logic, he explained the problem on the basis of idealism first, but he explained the same problem on the basis of materialism. And he recognized precisely that idealistic thought and materialistic thought are completely contradictory. Therefore, to synthesize the two fundamental philosophies, he utilized human action. Action is the synthesis of mind and body. And he insisted that action is a fact at the moment of the present, and action is a fact at this place. So in his philosophy, the moment of the present and this place are very important concepts.

Even though he explained a Buddhist philosophy which is based on action, in the ultimate phase he recognized that the three kinds of philosophies are very useful, but at the same time all philosophies are different from reality. Philosophies can explain reality, but reality can never be the same thing as philosophies. Therefore, his logic is constructed of mind, body, action, and reality, in other words, idealism, materialism, Buddhism, and reality. So we can think that his idea is based on reality. To synthesize the contradictory situation between idealism and materialism in the world, I think we can utilize Master Dogen's logic, and by using Master Dogen's logic, we can find the ultimate religion. I think this problem is very interesting. I heard that Professor Huntley is a scholar of the comparative study of religions. So I would like to cooperate with him and his class and to pursue the ultimate religion, which can help the confused situation of the world today.

This is the reason why I am studying Master Dogen's thought and preaching his thought. Now I would like to stop my lecture here and have questions and answers about these problems. Are there any questions? Yes.

Question: I was wondering: if Dogen's theory was not to study things that were written, but to experience it for himself through meditation, why are there so many writings by him?

Nishijima: Yes. According to his theory, reality can never be grasped by thinking. Therefore, to realize reality, it is necessary for us to practice zazen. Practicing zazen is the method to realize reality, to experience reality. This is the reason why he recommended that we practice zazen. By practicing zazen, we can experience reality, and then we can understand Buddhist philosophy, materialistic philosophy and idealistic philosophy in the real area.

Question: So zazen is to understand something.

Nishijima: Zazen is not a practice to understand something. Zazen is experience. Zazen is a kind of state. Zazen is a kind of action. By practicing zazen, we can get something intuitively. We can never explain it with words. But something which we can experience in zazen is the basis of our life. Yes?

Question: You said philosophy can explain reality, but reality can never be the same as philosophy. Why not?

Nishijima: Philosophy is constructed of words and sentences, but reality is different from words, sentences, human thought. Therefore, we should recognize that reality is completely different from human thought, philosophy, theory, words, sentences.

Question: Physical things... And there can definitely be a concrete relationship between your words and your actions.

Nishijima: Yes. Philosophical explanation is an explanation of reality, but it is not reality itself. And scientific knowledge is knowledge about reality, but scientific knowledge is different from reality itself. Yes.

Question: In your lecture, you said that according to common sense, reality is matter, but you haven't given us any idea of how reality is different from matter. Can you break our common-sense idea of what reality is?

Nishijima: Yes. According to our common sense, we usually think that reality is matter. But in reality, matter is a kind of concept which human beings made. In other words, human beings think that what we perceive through our sense organs is matter. Therefore, matter is not reality itself. Matter is a concept which means what we can perceive through our sense organs; this is the definition of matter. Therefore, we can think that matter is different from reality itself.

Question: Could you say something to suggest reality itself?

Nishijima: No, it is completely impossible to express reality itself. Therefore, we practice zazen. There is no way to explain reality with words. Yes.

Question: I think that when you answered the earlier question, it would be helpful to explain what you once said, that we shouldn't always trust our sense perception. If we trust our sense perception to be completely true, then matter must be reality. Could you explain that a bit more?

Nishijima: Yes. Sometimes our sense perception is reliable, but sometimes our sense perception is not reliable. For example, when we are drunk, our sense perception is not reliable. So if we think that our sense perception is always right, that idea is wrong. Our sense perception is sometimes true, sometimes not true.

Question: In reality, from what you say, our ideas and matter are the same thing, because both matter and ideas are people's perceptions of them. When you get to the reality that you can't explain, are they both of the same nature?

Nishijima: When I explain that problem, I usually use colored glass. If we wear red glasses, the whole world looks red. With sense perception, we always have that problem. Therefore, if we believe that our sense perception is always right, we can rely upon what we see, which is called matter. But our sense perception is not so right. Therefore, we should recognize the difference between matter and reality. Matter is what we see, but reality is different from what we see.

Question: How is it different?

Nishijima: Matter is...

Question: Can you show us an example?

Nishijima: Yes. We can look at a desk, and the desk is brown with a black spot. That is matter. But that form does not explain that this desk is useful for writing a letter. Therefore, reality includes many contents. Matter is only what we see, or what is seen. That is the difference between matter and reality. Yes.

Question: If sometimes present perceptions are right and sometimes they are wrong, how do we know when they are right?

Nishijima: We cannot recognize the wrongness of sense perception by ourselves. A drunken man usually says, I haven't been drunk. I haven't been drunk. That is a fact, so we should recognize that fact. We usually believe that our sense perception is always right, but this idea is sometimes wrong.

Question: When you're enlightened, then can you tell when your sense perceptions are wrong and when they're right?

Nishijima: Excuse me.

Question: If you are enlightened, like Dogen Zenji, can you tell when it is?

Nishijima: Gautama Buddha: a man who recognized reality. Etymologically speaking, it means an awakened man, and an awakened man means a person who has awakened to the whole of reality. So in his definition, enlightenment is not such a dramatic, drastic change in his daily life. When he recognized that, he is living in reality. Reality is splendid, and we should follow reality. This recognition is his enlightenment. Yes?

Question: From what you just said, if we cannot trust our sense perception, and even though we know that it may be wrong we can't always tell if it's wrong, then we have to be in a state of some doubt.

Nishijima: The problem is related to the state of our physical body, and sense perception changes according to our physical state. So in Buddhist theory, we should think about the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system in the autonomic nervous system. When the sympathetic nervous system is stronger than the parasympathetic nervous system, we are usually spiritual, tense. When the parasympathetic nervous system is stronger than the sympathetic nervous system, we are relaxed, lazy, not so diligent. These differences of human states are very important for thinking about religions, philosophies and thoughts.

When we are in a tense state, we usually perceive all things in tension. When our parasympathetic nervous system is stronger than the sympathetic nervous system, we feel lazy, so we do not like to be diligent. We like to eat a lot, we love others. Therefore, sense perception also relies upon the state of our autonomic nervous system. When we feel ice, sometimes it is impossible for us to touch ice.

For example, in a very cold northern country, touching ice is not good. But in a hot southern country, touching ice is rather comfortable. Therefore, sense perception relies upon our condition and the condition of our circumstances. Yes.

Question: How should we, in modern times, connect or synthesize our mind and body through human action?

Nishijima: Then we should realize what action is. Action is a fact at the moment of the present, and action is at this place. Action cannot be explained directly with words. Therefore, to explain action, we utilize both idealistic thought and materialistic thought. In the area of philosophy, we cannot find any philosophy other than idealism and materialism, but it is necessary for us to explain action itself. Therefore, when we explain action, we usually use the two fundamental philosophies: idealistic philosophy and materialistic philosophy.

In other words, action should be explained from our subjective mental situation, and at the same time it should be explained from the objective side, that is, our physical body and circumstances. So it is strange that we cannot have a simple philosophy which can explain action itself. We have to utilize both philosophies, subjective philosophy and objective philosophy. Yes.

Question: I just want to mention a fact from my own daily life over the last five years. Thinking about the situation of the students at the university listening to your lecture, I think about my own situation five years ago, and your ideas are very impressive. When I heard those ideas, it kind of changed my mind. I became very, very sincere. I wanted to know all these ideas, and I practice zazen as well. But listening to Sensei's lectures today, you don't get a feeling of how important zazen is in Buddhism. Sensei's own real idea is that zazen is the whole of Buddhism. But he hasn't said it today because maybe he doesn't think it's suitable for this particular audience. But I wish he had said it, because I wish someone would say it to me more clearly: that zazen is all that's necessary in Buddhism. To study the ideas is not necessary—it's Sensei's idea—but today he's not saying it for some reason.

Nishijima: Yes, this is an introductory explanation, so his speech is right. But at the same time, an introductory explanation is also very important.

Participant: Oh, of course.

Nishijima: Yes.

Question: Do you believe that in other ways, other than zazen, you can achieve the same sort of sense of yourself, sense of reality? I understand that for you, zazen is Buddhism, the important thing. Do you believe that for other people or for other things, there might be another way to achieve that importance for their understanding?

Nishijima: We can say that zazen is a kind of action. Therefore, in our day-to-day life, there are many kinds of action, for example, playing sports and taking a walk, and those actions can also be the basis of Buddhism. Therefore, we can say that zazen is not the only practice of Buddhism. In short, all behaviors in our day-to-day life can be Buddhist practice. So we can say that our daily life is just Buddhist practice. That is the situation of zazen and other behaviors in our day-to-day life. Does my answer fit your question or not? Okay? Okay.

So, may I stop the lecture now?

Participant: Yes. Thank you for allowing me to bring these people here today to listen to you. I think this will be a special memory in our class. Your comments had a kind of clarity.

Nishijima: Thank you very much, Professor Huntley, for bringing so many of your students to our seminar. Thank you very much. So let us recite the fuko at the end of the lecture.

[recitation, 01:00:02–01:01:30]