The Zen Studies Podcast
Episodes on Buddhist Texts
37 – Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 3: Seeking, Self-Nature, and the Matter of Life-and-Death
In part 3 of my series on the famous Zen text called “Genjokoan,” written in 1233 by Japanese Zen master Eihei Dogen, I discuss the sections about seeking the Dharma, riding in a boat (recognizing self-nature is impermanent), and firewood and ash (the Great Matter of Life-and-Death).
read more15 – To Study Buddhism Is to Study the Self (and Why That’s Not Selfish)
Liberation from self-concern is central to all forms of Buddhism, although the methods used to achieve that liberation differ widely. In this episode, I present a classic Zen teaching on not-self: Zen Master Dogen’s statement that “to study Buddhism is to study the self” and "to study the self is to forget the self."
read more14 – Buddha’s Teachings Part 1: The Three Marks and the Teaching of Not-Self (Anatta)
This episode explains several of the Buddha's first teachings: the Three Marks and the teaching of Anatta, or Not-Self. From the beginning, the Buddha's teachings featured the Three Marks, or Characteristics, of Existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (dissatisfactoriness), and anatta (not-self). Here I introduce the Three Characteristics and then go into the teaching of not-self in detail - what it means and doesn't mean. For example, did you know the Buddha did not teach that we have no self?
read more1 – How Does Zen Buddhism Fit Within the Context of Buddhism as a Whole?
Zen is a type of Buddhism, which is a 2,500-year-old tradition. When and how did Zen arise, and what is unique about it?
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