Dogen

Dōgen – Life, Teachings, and Legacy of the Japanese Zen Master

Explore the life, teachings, and legacy of Dōgen (1200–1253) — founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. Learn about his philosophy, writings like Shōbōgenzō, and enduring influence in Zen Buddhism.

Introduction

Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師) (January 19, 1200 – September 22, 1253) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, poet, philosopher, and the founding figure of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.

He is known for emphasizing zazen (sitting meditation, often “just sitting” or shikantaza) as the primary expression of Buddha‐nature, and for connecting practice and enlightenment as inseparable.

Though his life was relatively short, his writings—especially Shōbōgenzō—and his institutional founding (notably Eihei-ji temple) cemented his influence in Japanese Buddhism and, more recently, in the West.

Early Life & Background

• Dōgen was born in Kyōto, Japan, on January 19, 1200.

• He belonged to a noble family—his father is said to have been connected to the Minamoto clan, and through ancestry possibly linked to the imperial line.

• He lost his parents at an early age. Some accounts say his father died when Dōgen was about two or three, and his mother when he was young.

• As a youth, he was adopted by a relative (an uncle) with ties to the Minamoto and Fujiwara families.

From a young age, Dōgen immersed himself in Buddhist studies, Chinese and Japanese literature, and deep introspection about the nature of practice and awakening.

Monastic Training, China Journey & Awakening

Tendai Ordination & Early Influences

At about age 13, Dōgen entered the Tendai school at Mt. Hiei near Kyoto as a novice monk.

Though the Tendai tradition was influential, Dōgen became dissatisfied with its synthesis and conceptual approach, feeling that the deeper experiential aspect of practice was neglected.

He studied under or was influenced by early Zen teachers in Japan too, such as Myōzen (a disciple in the Rinzai tradition) and others, but felt the need to go deeper.

Journey to China and Meeting with Rujing

In 1223, Dōgen set off for China to study Chán (Zen) directly at its source.

During his stay in China (circa 1223–1227), Dōgen studied under Tiāntóng Rújìng (Chinese Chán master of the Caodong lineage).

It was under Rujing that Dōgen reportedly had his profound awakening. One famous anecdote is that during morning meditation Rujing said, “Drop off body and mind,” to which Dōgen responded in a way that expressed insight into nonattachment and the unity of practice and realization.

After receiving Dharma transmission from Rujing, Dōgen returned to Japan in 1227.

Return to Japan & Establishment of Sōtō Zen

Founding Instruction & Early Writings

Upon his return, Dōgen began to teach and write. One of his early works is Fukanzazengi (“Universal Recommendation for Zazen”) (c. 1233), a short text laying out how zazen should be practiced.

Another key work is Bendōwa, a treatise on the “effort of the Way,” where he clarifies the inseparability of practice and realization (shushō-ittō).

He gradually broke affiliation with the Tendai institution in Kyoto and moved toward a more independent and authentic expression of Zen.

Retreat & Founding of Eihei-ji

Due to friction with established Buddhist institutions in Kyoto, Dōgen withdrew to rural settings. In 1233 he founded Kōshōhōrin-ji in Uji (south of Kyoto).

Later, in 1244, he founded Eihei-ji (永平寺, “temple of eternal peace”) in Fukui Prefecture, which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school.

At Eihei-ji, he instituted rigorous monastic training, disciplined zazen practices, and a daily life that integrated meditative awareness with ordinary activity.

Later Years & Death

In 1247, Dōgen traveled to Kamakura at the invitation of political figures, ordained lay followers, and returned to Eihei-ji.

In late 1252, he fell ill. In 1253 he traveled to Kyoto in hopes of recovery, but died shortly thereafter, on September 22, 1253.

Before his death, he passed his mantle (robe) and leadership to his chief disciple Koun Ejō.

Philosophical & Spiritual Teachings

Zazen as Embodied Practice

For Dōgen, zazen (sitting meditation) was not a means to an end but itself the expression of the Way. He often writes that “practice and enlightenment are one” (shushō-ittō).

He taught shikantaza, which can be translated as “just sitting” — a form of meditation without goal, object, or striving, letting thought arise and pass without clinging.

He also emphasized the unity of everyday action and spiritual insight: even washing dishes, walking, or other daily chores should be done with full awareness.

Language, Time, and Being

Dōgen’s writings often turn on paradox, poetic sensibility, and linguistic play. He probes questions of being, time, impermanence, and the limits of language.

One of his more profound teachings is on “being-time” (uji, 有時)—the notion that being is inseparable from time; each moment fully embodies existence.

He also challenged dualistic thinking: subject vs. object, practice vs. enlightenment, samsara vs. nirvana—all are, in true view, nondual.

Ethics & Bodhisattva Way

Dōgen proposed that realization must manifest in compassionate conduct. He advocated strict morality, ethical conduct, humility, and care for all beings.

He also emphasized transmission of the Dharma (not just in words but in embodied life), serving the community of practitioners, and grounding practice in lineage and continuity.

Major Works & Literary Legacy

• Shōbōgenzō (正法眼蔵) — his magnum opus, a vast collection of essays, lectures, discourses on diverse facets of practice, philosophy, life, and language.

• Fukanzazengi — his manual of universal instruction in zazen.

• Bendōwa — his treatise on the effort of the Way (giving guidance on practice vs. awakening).

• Other works include many shorter lectures, poetry (both in Japanese and classical Chinese style), and formal monastic writings.

He wrote in both Chinese (the scholarly Buddhist language of East Asia) and Japanese, often innovating in language to express ineffable truths.

Over centuries, Dōgen’s writings were neglected or underappreciated, but from the Edo period onward, they experienced revival, and in modern times have been translated widely into English and other languages.

Legacy & Influence

• The Sōtō Zen school, founded by Dōgen, is one of the two major branches of Zen in Japan today (alongside Rinzai).

• Eihei-ji, the temple he founded, remains a central institution of Sōtō Zen.

• His ideas have influenced not only Japanese Buddhism but also modern Zen practitioners in the West and scholars of religion, philosophy, and comparative thought.

• Later reformers in Sōtō Zen (for instance, Menzan Zuihō in the Tokugawa period) sought to revitalize Dōgen’s original intent and textual fidelity, thereby deepening his impact.

His thought continues to inspire contemporary practitioners and philosophers, especially in how to live mindfulness, how to view time and being, and how to situate daily life as a field of awakening.

Selected Quotes & Reflections

Here are some representative sayings attributed to Dōgen (often in translation):

“To study the buddha-way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.”

“Do not follow the ideas of others, nor seek outside yourself. Be satisfied with your own nature — everything is within you.”

“When you shave your head, you become a monk; when you shave your mind, you become Buddha.”

“Nothing exists apart from the fluctuating moment of existence; each moment is total.”

These express Dōgen’s convictions about selflessness, inner realization, and the immediacy of practice.

Lessons from Dōgen

1. Practice is not a step, it is the Way — meditation and awakening are not separate stages, but one continuous path.

2. Live fully in each moment — his insights on being-time urge us to see every moment as the fullness of existence.

3. Embody teachings, don’t just study them — Dōgen emphasized the need for lived experience, not mere intellectual grasping.

4. Challenge dualism — his work invites us to move beyond rigid separations of subject/object, practice/realization, mind/body.

5. Language is only a tool — he used poetic, paradoxical, and sometimes cryptic language to point beyond language itself into direct insight.

Conclusion

Dōgen (1200–1253) remains one of the towering figures of Zen Buddhism — not because he simply founded a school, but because he reoriented Zen around the unity of practice and enlightenment, and crafted a worldview where everyday life is the ground of awakening.

His life—from noble beginnings through profound doubt, pilgrimage to China, and the founding of Eihei-ji—charges us to consider our own practice, our view of time and being, and how to live with attentiveness and depth.