Ok, that probably sounds grander than it's going to be, but I propose to put up a koan here from time-to-time and have a little look-see at it.
I'll be using Master Dogen's own collection of 300 koans, Shinji Shobogenzo. These are the koans that Master Dogen collected in China on which he largely based his philosophical masterwork Shobogenzo.
There are two major translations/commentaries of the collection available from Amazon: Master Nishijima's and the late Daido Loori Roshi's (trans. Tanahashi).
Master Nishijima's commentary is very clear and practical while Loori Roshi's probably retains a bit more of the old Zen spirit (he says people are talking shit a lot).
I think it's good to read various commentaries on koans, and to come up with our own interpretations: as we're all different then the koan will necessarily 'say' different things to us; one person might notice one thing in particular while another might see something else as our individual circumstances dictate.
It seems to me, from reading Master Dogen's approach to koans in Shobogenzo, that he took up these old stories and, basically, played with them. He reimagined them somewhat, he didn't seem too threatened by the weight of tradition and, while we have the commentaries of Masters such as Nishijima Roshi and Loori Roshi, we won't go too wrong if we approach them in earnest IMO. Master Dogen saw koans as expressions of the truth of reality and he encouraged us to take them up and engage their potentials in so many ways.
First koan coming soon.
Regards,
Harry.
I'll be using Master Dogen's own collection of 300 koans, Shinji Shobogenzo. These are the koans that Master Dogen collected in China on which he largely based his philosophical masterwork Shobogenzo.
There are two major translations/commentaries of the collection available from Amazon: Master Nishijima's and the late Daido Loori Roshi's (trans. Tanahashi).
Master Nishijima's commentary is very clear and practical while Loori Roshi's probably retains a bit more of the old Zen spirit (he says people are talking shit a lot).
I think it's good to read various commentaries on koans, and to come up with our own interpretations: as we're all different then the koan will necessarily 'say' different things to us; one person might notice one thing in particular while another might see something else as our individual circumstances dictate.
It seems to me, from reading Master Dogen's approach to koans in Shobogenzo, that he took up these old stories and, basically, played with them. He reimagined them somewhat, he didn't seem too threatened by the weight of tradition and, while we have the commentaries of Masters such as Nishijima Roshi and Loori Roshi, we won't go too wrong if we approach them in earnest IMO. Master Dogen saw koans as expressions of the truth of reality and he encouraged us to take them up and engage their potentials in so many ways.
First koan coming soon.
Regards,
Harry.
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