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Newsletter of Dharma Rain Zen Center Portland, Oregon Volume XXVIII Number 2 March-April 2003
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By Kyogen Carlson
Last September, several hundred people devoted to Buddhadharma as expressed in Dogen's teaching convened at Eiheiji in rural Japan to commemorate the 750th anniversary of Dogen's entry into Parinirvana. We came from North America, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand. There were eight of us from Dharma Rain Zen Center, and about fifteen from Zen Community of Oregon. As preparations for this event were in the works, I was struck by the way in which Dogen's teachings have spread around the globe, with translations of his writings available on every continent and new university programs in Dogen Studies almost as wide spread. This is a remarkable change, as Dogen's work remained almost unknown except by the most educated Soto Zen monastics, even in Japan. Early in the 20th century, Japanese scholars discovered him. Since then he has been introduced to the whole world, and now belongs to all people the way all great teachers do. Dogen's teaching is a precious treasure that is astoundingly appropriate to the modern world. His words are archaic, but his message strikes the modern ear like revelation. The Shobogenzo is a gift and blessing that was kept carefully by the Soto Zen sect of Japan for the benefit of this day and age.
While I was aware of this before going to the memorial, what struck me during the trip was how Dogen has introduced the Japanese institution of Soto Zen to the world, and vice versa. Dogen's Shobogenzo is a very difficult text to read. Translating it is almost impossible because of the intricate, unusual, and poetic way Dogen uses the written word in both Japanese and Chinese. Because of this, many Japanese Soto priests have been doubtful that translating the Shobogenzo would work, or that the profundity of the teaching could be correctly transmitted in translation. The difficulty of the work forces the mind to consider things in new ways, and somehow, his startling statements create flashes of insight no matter how awkward the translation. His writing was difficult in the original ancient Japanese and is baffling to modern Japanese speakers, so in that regard we're all in the same boat. The work manages to transcend the cultural container in which it was created.
Japanese Soto priests visiting the west almost all tell the same story. When they first get to the United States, for example, they see the way we do things and how Zen is expressed here, and they think, "This is all wrong." Later, after spending time in Zen communities, they think, "No, this isn't wrong, it's just different." What they see is the spirit of Zen practice and Dogen's way taking root in this culture. When I first started practice in the early seventies the gulf between Japanese and American Zen communities was almost unbridgeable. Those Japanese teachers with the vision to come here and spend time in this country could see and appreciate what was developing, but to the mainstream in Japan, we were hopeless barbarians. To tell the truth, they weren't that far off. But the spirit was true, even if the expression was not yet well developed. As practice in the West has matured, Japan has become much more connected to the rest of the world and mutual understanding has grown far faster than I would ever have expected. While Soto Zen had an international component through the ethnic Japanese temples around the world, it has now become truly international and cosmopolitan in a major way, and it has been Dogen himself that has propelled this transformation.
When the special memorial services were announced over a year ago, we were told that they would feature western teachers as doshi, or celebrant, at the main altar in the Hatto at Eiheiji. Dogen's ashes would be on the altar in the temple he founded in the 13th century, and the hopeless barbarians would sit on the seat of honor. I never thought a day like that would occur in my lifetime. Not only Dogen, but the institution of Soto Zen, Dogen's living legacy, now belongs to the world. The degree to which this is true wouldn't become apparent to me, however, until the trip to Japan and the tour of places of historic significance in Soto Zen.
Our trip got off to a rather inauspicious start: the travel agent that booked our flight went out of business. Fortunately, we had the tickets. Unfortunately, the information that our departure time had been moved up by two hours was never communicated to us. We were to catch a puddle jumper from Portland to Vancouver, BC, then fly Air Canada to Osaka. We arrived after our flight had left. Fortunately there was another flight that would arrive just in time for us to dash across the airport and fall into our seats on the 747 to Osaka as the doors were closing, and we did, indeed, make it in time. Unfortunately, our luggage did not. Fortunately, we had scheduled a little extra time at Tani House in Kyoto to recover from the flight, and this gave our luggage time to catch up. Our clothes had become less than hospitable, so we were very pleased to see the luggage stacked in our room on our second day. Our travel party was an easy going lot that took all this in stride, and we had a wonderful time. Tani House offers inexpensive, funky but comfortable lodging in an old, traditional Japanese house run by the good humored Mrs. Tani, and is always filled with foreigners from every quarter of the globe. It sits in a little residential alcove off the main street that runs along Daitokuji, a huge Rinzai monastic complex, and is virtually surrounded by its Rinzai temples. We bought many sets of samue, the comfortable everyday monk-wear for sale in a shop just outside Daitokuji. We spent two days exploring Kyoto and becoming accustomed, as best we could, to the 100-degree heat with humidity over 90 percent.
On the third day we moved from Tani House to the Royal Righa Hotel near Kyoto Station. That was quite a change. The official North American Soto Zen Tour started out in Kyoto, visiting the site of Dogen's ordination, the first temple he established on his return from China, and the site of his cremation. Dogen was ordained at the head temple of the Tendai sect on Mt. Hiei, north of Kyoto, on an outdoor platform. Today there is a stone monument there with the inscription, "the Monument of Joyo Daishi," which is Dogen's posthumous name. A permanent replica with an altar is there as well, and we performed a brief memorial at that altar. Jan Chozen Bays was asked to be the doshi, or officiant, and Hogen acted as her jisha. It was a very moving moment for all of us to stand on the spot where Dogen first made his vows to enter the Way.
We had many places to see, and very little time at each one, which made for a rather hurried tour. As I look back on it, however, we were welcomed with genuine warmth at site after site of deep significance in Soto Zen, so that it was like an official welcome into the heart of the Soto tradition. Later that first day we went to Jozanji, where the "deer chaser" was invented, then on to Koshoji, the first temple Dogen founded on his return from China, and then to the site of Dogen's cremation. The site is now on the grounds of a Jodoshinshu temple, and just as for the site of his ordination, a monument has been erected. At each place we visited we conducted a short memorial and formed the "ryoban" of monks formally included in the ceremony. At many of them, one of the western monks was officiant. I was surprised and honored to be asked to be officiant at Dogen's cremation site. I don't remember much of the ceremony itself. What I remember is the sound of the cicadas blending with chanting as the light faded at the end of the long day, and the feel of the uneven stones under my feet as I walked and bowed. I will never forget it.
Our next day began with a long bus ride from Kyoto to Fukui, then after lunch, we visited Hokyoji. This temple was founded by Jakuen, a Chinese monk who trained under Nyojo Zenji with Dogen, then came to Japan to continue his training under Dogen. In a brief Dharma Talk, the abbot told us of how Jakuen, who spoke very little Japanese, sat by himself on the mountain. Little by little, people gathered around him. He asked us, what was the meaning of his sitting like that? I think he meant to convey that our silent sitting transcends language and culture, and somehow something is conveyed. Just as Dogen was bringing us all together at this time, the practice itself brings us into Dogen's way. From there we went to Eiheiji for the special memorial conducted once every fifty years, and the first one with westerners as officiants. The event is actually a series of memorials, conducted over a period of eight months, with abbots and teachers from many different temples acting as officiant in turn. There were abbesses of women's training temples, representatives from other Asian countries, South America, and Europe as well as from North America. Soto Zen is becoming an international and truly universal tradition. Besides the services themselves, led by Daido Loori, Tenshin Andersen, Dai-en Bennage, and Shohaku Okamura from the United States, other highlights included an international night with reports from different regions, and an audience with Ekiho Miyazaki Zenji, abbot of Eiheiji. The abbot is now 102 years old, and Dharma cannot help but emanate from him. His joy at being with us all was unmistakable, and we all smiled to see him in this red lacquered abbot's chair equipped with wheels. What a delight.
After Eiheiji we were to visit three more temples, and I will write about that next time because there is much to tell about that. When we left Eiheiji, it was late in the afternoon, and we went by bus to Katayamazu Spa in Ishikawa. This was a real treat, for there is nothing quite so wonderful as a Japanese hot spring bath. We had a Japanese style banquet that evening, with short speeches of appreciation for all that our guides and the Sotoshu had done for us. There was a taiko performance in which our good friend Shuichi Tom Kurai joined the performers and dazzled them with his skill. Then Dai-en Bennage talked me into joining her for a rendition of "Zen Gospel Singing," and the banquet took off into full karaoke mode. We did ourselves proud, showing our Japanese hosts that we Americans can get silly with the best of them. Chozen Bays and I led everyone in a round of the Four Vows sung to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and students from DRZC and ZCO combined to perform some of our camp songs.
The tour held in conjunction with the memorial service was a way to delve into the history and development of Soto Zen, and we were fortunate to have Shohaku Okumura on our bus narrating the events associated with each of the places we visited. That will be the focus of the next installment of this narrative.
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by Rev. Gengo Akiba Director, Soto Zen Buddhism North America Office
From Dharma Eye Soto Zen Journal, December, 2002, Number 11, pp. 2 - 3
On September 29th, 2002 at Eiheiji, Dogen Zenji's 750th Memorial was solemnly held, officiated by Ekiho Miyazaki Zenji, who has become a hundred and two years old this year. It went perfectly.
For years, so many people have been engaged in preparing for this big event, which is held once every fifty years. I would like to offer my congratulations for its smooth completion.
I deeply feel that this great success is solely due to the sincere efforts of all the teachers, priests and adherents of the Soto Zen School to honor the life and teachings of Dogen Zenji. It should be understood as a manifestation of the miraculous power of the assembly of the Pure Ocean (the community of practitioners).
This great success is nothing but the realization of our Mokoshin (the mind yearning for the ancient way) longing to go back to the Kobutsushin (the Mind of Ancient Buddha) of Dogen Zenji as his descendants in the Dharma, and as an expression of our strong faith in his teachings.
In North America, we too observed various events to honor Dogen Zenji, linked to Dogen Zenji's 750th Memorial. In 1999, to celebrate Dogen Zenji's 800th Anniversary, we had a very fruitful gathering of the Dogen Zenji Symposium at Stanford University. In 2001, at Zenshuji in Los Angeles, we had a Yshuhoyo (Preliminary Memorial Service). These events were made possible by the collaboration of the pure-minded and truly sincere Soto Zen practitioners both in Japan and the United States.
On September 15th and 16th, more than 160 Soto Zen practitioners visited Eiheiji from North America. They offered incense and made prostrations to the statue of founding ancestor Dogen Zenji sitting on the altar in the Dharma hall. Five representative teachers took the role of officiants (Shoko-shi). Among them, Rev. Daido Loori, Rev. Tenshin Anderson and Rev. Dai-en Bennage offered their Dharma Words (Hogo) in English. Rev. Sojun Weitsman, who took a role of looking after American Shoko-shis as a chief representative from North America at the Dharma Hall, ascended to the position of leading officiant (Sendoshi). All of these happened for the first time in the long history of Eiheiji.
These American teachers performed their roles together with Japanese priests. I was strongly moved by their powerful voices as they read aloud the Dharma words dedicated to Dogen Zenji, their graceful gestures to offer the sweet water and sweets, and their dignified manner in reciting the Hokyo Zammai [The Precious Mirror Samadhi]. Their presence brought a comfortable tension to the atmosphere of the Hall. They were perfectly harmonized with the Japanese priests. The people at Eiheiji were all deeply impressed with the highly matured quality of these American teachers, fostered by long time zazen practice. Everyone there praised the accomplishments of those four teachers. Some people said that even though they could not understand English well, they clearly felt the sincere intention that the Americans had to seek the Way.
That was a monumental day, when Eiheiji opened wide its door to the world. I really hope that Eiheiji will keep its door wide open forever.
There are now many teachers and members at various Soto Zen temples and centers in North America who are wholeheartedly studying and practicing Dogen Zenji's teachings day in and day out. I believe that all of these events at Eiheiji related to North America were made possible by their deep adoration for Dogen Zenji and their pure wish to attend the Memorial Commemoration, stemming from their fresh way-seeking mind.
I would like to take this opportunity [to] thank all the Soto Zen practitioners in North America from the bottom of my heart. I am now deeply inspired to continue my wholehearted effort to promote the authentic Dharma together with you for the next fifty years when we will again have another Memorial Commemoration. We are now standing at a new beginning.
Submit!
How does your practice change in the summer? What have you learned about the importance of the forms (or lack thereof) from the change of the seasons?
Send your answers to : newsletter@dharma-rain.org, or by regular mail, or drop it off in the newsletter slot in the Center house office.
News now has its own, separate page. Click here to go to news for March/April 2003.
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