Dogen Blog Announcement and Invitation

In Hee-Jin Kim’s landmark book, Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, Dr. Kim caused many of us to reevaluate some basic assumptions about Dogen’s Zen, and even question some of the fundamental assumptions concerning Zen itself—at least as it was represented in the West.

In his most recent book, Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: A Reflection on His View of Zen, Hee-Jin Kim again illumines issues that many teachers, students and scholars have ignored, avoided, or simply missed. These issues merit our utmost attention, for (quoting the ‘grand master’ himself) “an unexamined Zen is not worth living.”

I am taking up some of the topics Kim raises in his books at the Dogen Shobogenzo Blog . There I will attempt to stay focused primarily on Dogen’s teachings as presented in his writings, primarily in his Shobogenzo. My posts on the Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing, and other topics will continue to be posted here at the Flatbed Sutra Zen Blog as well as the other Blogs I participate in (see my blogroll).

If anyone is interested, please come and check it out. All comments are welcome! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at tedbiringer@flatbedsutra.com