To study the buddha way
is to study the self. To study the self
is to forget the self. To forget the self
is to be actualized by myriad things. When
actualized by myriad things, your body
and mind as well as the bodies and minds
of others drop away. No trace of realization
remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.
To study the buddha way is to study
the self.
You may
think that Buddhism is some object of study out there
— pages in a book, sutras... Studying the Buddha way
is not, Dogen tells us, to study the sutras or teachings.
It’s
OK to study the sutras for sure. And the teachings
of our teachers. (That’s what we’re
doing here – studying Dogen Zenji’s
koan!)
Dogen is telling you to study your life—that
that’s what studying the Buddha way is!
Is
there is difference between "study
your self" and "study yourself"?
Dogen
urges us to study our most immediate experience of
things—what’s in front of us. The self.
To
study who is studying.
It’s
not about studying some object out there. The object
out there and the thing inside are parts of the same
thing.
Translating
Dogen
To study the
buddha way is to study the self.
We
in the west bring many associations
to the word study. Isn’t this
what we did in school? Reading and
writing and analyzing?
Here
are some options. How do they affect
your understanding of Dogen’s
teaching?
"To
come to understand the Way is
to come to understand the self." Robert
Aitken
“The
word narau, or study, is more
like to repeat something over
and over and over. We could also
say to learn, but not necessarily
to learn something new. Perhaps
an even better word would be
practice. To practice the Buddha
Way is to practice oneself, or
just live life. This seemingly
repetitive process is nothing
but one’s own life. …the
words learn or study are not
quite sufficient. They do not
convey this sense of over and
over and over.” Taizan
Maezumi
To
study the Buddha way is study
the self
You
may have noticed that I’ve used “the
Buddha way” and “Buddhism” interchangeably.
Based on what you’ve been reading
and contemplating, how does Dogen’s
meaning change for you when the Buddha
way becomes Buddhism?
What
is your self? Spend some time studying
what the self is.
