practice Zazen and attain awakening, those who appreciate Dogen’s “’refreshingly and and see a change in ecumenical’ universal outlook embracing laypersons women” later works, as well as those who support women as practitioners and teachers, Dogen’s should not make too much of the universalism expressed in these lines. I believe the opposite is true: there are reasons for the latter group to make much of ringing Dogen’s proclamation in the The is way of setting the tone and the Bendowa. Bendowa Dogen’s rules for his incipient practice community, his way of revealing who he is and will be as a teacher. As American Zen teacher Myoan Grace Schireson writes of the Raihai tokuzui (Bowing [to the Teacher] and Obtaining the [Teacher’s] Marrow): was written early in teaching career (1240) and tokuzui “Raihai Dogen’s represents the foundational teaching in Zen that all beings, without Dogen’s exception, fully express Buddha nature. More specifically, in Raihai tokuzui, Dogen uses gender equality itself as an example of the complete expression of Buddhism in all beings. In 1240, Dogen was engaged in an attempt to build a community based on this very teaching. It was to be a community that not only taught equality, but also actually functioned based on respect for the equality of all beings, including women, as Buddhist teachers. Beginning with the Buddha himself, many great Buddhist teachers had to work around customs and laws of their times and cultures that placed women in the position of second class citizens. In this context, was more than simply a statement of and about Raihai tokuzui equality; Dogen wanted to go further to establish an actual community based on this teaching. Without enacting his understanding of equality in his community, full and true expression of the teaching would be Buddha’s compromised.”
practice Zazen and attain awakening, those who appreciate Dogen’s “’refreshingly ecumenical’ universal outlook embracing laypersons and women” and see a change in Dogen’s later works, as well as those who support women as practitioners and teachers, should not make too much of the universalism expressed in these lines. I believe the opposite is true: there are reasons for the latter group to make much of Dogen’s ringing proclamation in the Bendowa. The Bendowa is Dogen’s way of setting the tone and the rules for his incipient practice community, his way of revealing who he is and will be as a teacher. As American Zen teacher Myoan Grace Schireson writes of the Raihai tokuzui (Bowing [to the Teacher] and Obtaining the [Teacher’s] Marrow): “Raihai tokuzui was written early in Dogen’s teaching career (1240) and represents the foundational teaching in Dogen’s Zen that all beings, without exception, fully express Buddha nature. More specifically, in Raihai tokuzui, Dogen uses gender equality itself as an example of the complete expression of Buddhism in all beings. In 1240, Dogen was engaged in an attempt to build a community based on this very teaching. It was to be a community that not only taught equality, but also actually functioned based on respect for the equality of all beings, including women, as Buddhist teachers. Beginning with the Buddha himself, many great Buddhist teachers had to work around customs and laws of their times and cultures that placed women in the position of second class citizens. In this context, Raihai tokuzui was more than simply a statement of and about equality; Dogen wanted to go further to establish an actual community based on this teaching. Without enacting his understanding of equality in his community, full and true expression of the Buddha’s teaching would be compromised.”