Four Fabulous Dogen Fascicles, Online 4/15–5/6
Description
The Zoom link to participate in this event will be provided at least 24 hours before it begins. Please call 415-354-0360 if you have any questions.
Four Thursdays, April 15–May 6, 6:00–7:30 pm PT
Soon after returning to Japan from China in 1227, Eihei Dogen entered an extraordinary period of teaching and writing.
In this four-week course, John Kirk Phillips and Steve Given will explore four fascicles from Dogen’s Shobogenzo that have continued to inform and enrich Soto Zen practice for centuries: “Bendowa” (On the Endeavor of the Way), “Zenki” (Undivided Activity), “Genjokoan” (Actualizing the Fundamental Point), and “Shoji” (Birth and Death).
Together, these four texts form a deliberate arc. The course begins with “Bendowa” and Dogen’s teaching of practice-realization: zazen not as a means to enlightenment later, but as the expression of awakening itself. From there, “Zenki” opens into the “whole works” of self, world, activity, and circumstances functioning together. “Genjokoan” then deepens the inquiry into self and world, delusion and enlightenment, and practice and realization, before “Shoji” brings these teachings into intimate contact with birth and death.
Each session will combine zazen, reading and chanting from the featured fascicle, teaching and commentary, and small-group discussion. Participants will have the opportunity to engage Dogen’s language directly, explore multiple English translations, and consider how these teachings illuminate the practice of Zen in everyday life.
Reading materials will be provided. No prior study of Dogen or the Shobogenzo is required. Both newer and experienced practitioners are welcome.
If you would like optional reading references for your own discovery, the following texts will be used to support the course.
Shobogenzo Translations
- Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Book 1 translated by Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross.
- Shobogenzo: The Treasure House of the Eye of the True Teaching, A Trainee’s Translation of Great Master
- Dogen’s Spiritual Masterpiece translated by Hubert Nearman.
- Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo (2012) Edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi.
- Dogen’s Genjo Koan: Three Commentaries. Berkeley, Counterpoint by Mel Weitsman et. al.
Recordings:
All course sessions will be recorded, and registered participants will receive temporary access to the recordings for later viewing.
Fee Information
- Benefactor Ticket Price: $210 — supports others’ participation
- Standard ticket price: $168 — covers full program costs
- Member (Become an SFZC Member): $151 — for current SFZC members
- Supported: $101 — community supported rate
- Deeply Supported: $42 — for broadest accessibility
- Current SFZC residents and qualified SFZC retirees may attend this course for free. To register, please email onlineprograms@sfzc.org at least 72 hours before the program begins.
Registration Information
Or call 415-354-0360.
Kirk Phillips
Kirk Phillips began formal meditation practice in 1987 after meeting Issan Dorsey at the Hartford Street Zen Center and Maitri Hospice during the height of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. He was a student at Hartford Street Zen Center and later practiced at Russian River Zendo in Guerneville, California, where he received priest ordination from Darlene Cohen in 2009.
Steve Given
Steve Given began practicing Zen in 1980 at Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, Oregon. He would also go on to practice with Soyu Matsuoka in Long Beach, California.