Turning the Dharma Wheel together-Dogen Zenji Symposium at Stanford University
Rev. Gengo Akiba
Chair Person of the Executive Committee
General Director, Soto Zen Administrative Office of North America

The true person is
Not anyone in particular
But
Like the limitless deep blue sky,
It is everywhere, and everyone in the world. (Dogen Zenji)

In this poem by Dogen Zenji, I think what he is saying is that the true person is not one person in particular, but rather the vast and limitless sky of essential nature that all people, everywhere, share.
On October 23rd and 24th 1999, at Stanford University, the Dogen Zenji Symposium was held to celebrate the 800th anniversary of our founders birth. This was the first time in the history of Soto Zen that Dogen Zenji's birthday was officially celebrated outside Japan. Seven American Zen teachers and scholars and three Japanese speakers gave presentations on "Dogen Zenji's teaching and it relevance for our time". The symposium was followed by a conference on Dogen Zenji participated in by sixteen scholars who study Dogen, Soto Zen or Japanese Buddhism and culture.
Many participants remarked that the symposium and conference were particularly appropriate events to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Dogen Zenji's birth and very helpful to the study of Dogen Zen, and its contribution to our life. It seemed that everyone involved these historical events set their minds at ease and together felt that Dogen Zenji would be happy with our efforts.
In this newsletter, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who helped in preparation for the events, and also to those who traveled to the Kresge Auditorium in Stanford University to share the fruits of our efforts.
The great wheel of Dogen Zenji's dharma was turned and many sisters and brothers in the dharma promoted friendship, and mutual understanding. The staff who worked to organize the events felt that the conference was a success and we were content and filled with a dharma joy. I think that this conference was the fruit of many people's love of dharma and respect to Dogen Zenji.
In the fascicle of Shobogenzo (Treasury of The True Dharma Eye) entitled Busso (Buddha Ancestors), Dogen Zenji said, "The manifestation of the Buddha-ancestors is upholding the Buddha-ancestors and paying homage to them. This is not only in the past, the present, and the future; and it is also going beyond even the going beyond buddha. By upholding [our practice] in which we maintain the face of buddha, we make prostrations to them, and meet them. By making the virtue of the Buddha-ancestors manifest and uphold itself, we ourselves dwell in it, maintain it, and experience it."
What I understand this passage to say is that at any time in the past, present and future, in any country, when ancestral teachers such as Shakyamuni Buddha, seek the way and practice shikantaza (just sitting) as the true gate to the everlasting principle (buddha dharma), they forever live on through our practice.
It is our great fortune that we have become part of this wonderful assembly of ancestors and join them on the path by upholding or practice in this moment.
In the Eiheishingi, (Rules of purity for Eiheiji Monastery) in the section titled Shuryo-shingi (Regulations for the Study Hall) Dogen Zenji said:
"The whole pure assembly should abide in mindfulness that everyone in the study hall is each other's parent, sibling, relative, teacher, and good friend. With mutual affection take care of each other sympathetically, and if you harbor ideas that make it difficult to treat each other like this, nevertheless please display an expression of harmony and accommodation."
At the point of "going beyond even the going beyond Buddha", which is none other than right here, in this present moment. We are, without making distinctions between America and Japan, without the differences of our history and traditions, each other's father and mother, brother and sisters, relatives, teachers, and good friends.
At this time when we are upholding the face of buddha ancestors and practicing the same dharma together, we can make prostrations to each other as "only buddha together with buddha". And in the future, we will together receive offerings for ancestral teachers.
I felt the symposium allowed many of us to deeply awaken to this truth. In the future, it is my hope that Japanese and American Soto Zen practitioners will work together, to create a new wheel of dharma. We will support each other and turn this wheel together with all beings.
Under the boundless great sky, in the near future of the twenty first century, on this vast earth of America, the true dharma wheel will turn and make the sound of purity ceaselessly. I can feel it.
Please continue to support our efforts at the Soto Zen Education Center. I hope things are going well with all of you in the year of 2000.

Dogen Zenji Symposium: Truly Historical Event
Prof. Griffith Foulk
Sarah Lawrence College

The Dogen Zenji Symposium held at Stanford University in October, 1999 was an especially meaningful occasion for me. I was very happy to witness and take part in an event that was truly historical -- a milestone in the development and spread of Soto Zen. There is, of course, a geographical, cultural, and linguistic divide that separates the parent that is the Japanese Soto Zen institution from the various offspring that are the more-or-less independent Soto Zen centers of the West. A different sort of fault line divides scholars, who tend to be engaged with Soto teachings in a rather historical and critical manner, from Zen masters and students who are striving to put those teachings into practice in a tangible way in their everyday lives. As an American closely associated with the Soto school in Japan, and as an academic who has played a peripheral role in the development of Zen practice communities in North America, it was especially gratifying for me to see how practitioners and scholars from both sides of the Pacific were able to come together in celebration of Dogen Zenji and learn about and from each other.

Practice and Scholarship-My thoughts on the Dogen Zenji Symposium
Dr. Seijun Ishii
Assistant Professor of Komazawa University,
Visiting Researcher at Stanford Center for Buddhist Studies

I received the information about the Dogen Zenji Symposium at the end of the year 1998. At that time, I had been thinking of going to Stanford University in the year 2000 as an overseas researcher from Komazawa University.
The article I read in the Sotoshu magazine (Shuho) announcing the Symposium was a small one. But even so, as soon as I read it I made up my mind to participate because I thought that this event would be a good chance for me to get in contact with the religious spirit of American practitioners.
Yet, for some reason, it was difficult to get any further information on the event. In Japan the existence of the symposium seemed mystically veiled. I could not find any information about the date and contents of the symposium or how I could enroll in it. The only way I could make sure that the Symposium was actually being held was through the homepage of Stanford University.
Finally, after all this, I was able to participate in the symposium thanks to the efforts of many people including the members of Soto Zen International. Later on I heard that the number of participants from Japan was limited in 50 people. I was very grateful to have the good fortune to be one of them.
The contents of the symposium greatly exceeded my expectations.
First of all, I was surprised by the large number of participants.
Honestly speaking, I could not imagine that such a large number of people would get together at a Symposium to discuss only Dogen. I was greatly impressed by the number of the people who filled the auditorium.
The second surprise for me was the high quality of the audience.
I felt that the people who came to Stanford University from all over the country were surprisingly enthusiastic. This was proved to me by the quality of the questions asked by the audience.
I wonﾕt introduce examples now, but at times I felt the speakers had difficulty in responding to the sharp questions they received pointing out the contradictions between theory and practice.
I think the reason these people could ask such meaningful questions which connected with the very heart of the teachings of Soto Zen Buddhism was due to the fact that they are actually disciplining and polishing their lives with their own practice and truly following the teachings of Dogen Zen.
By the way, it was clear that the people who worked on the preparation and organization of the symposium had made an enormous effort, and worked very hard to enable such a fruitful event to occur. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for having the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful gathering and I deeply appreciated the effort of the staff of the executive committee and the volunteers.
Finally, I would like to mention one thing that was most impressive to me. I found at the Symposium, the two points of view, that is, the Academic and that of the Zen teachers (practitioners) were both well established.
In my opinion, the separation between Academic study and that of Practice became clear after Showa era (1926-1988) in Japan. I think this separation, at the same time, showed the maturity of Dogen study. Furthermore, I had been thinking this separation was something particular to Japan.
And yet, it seems this same phenomenon already exists in the USA. What does this mean? First of all I believe it shows that the evolution of Practice and Academics is the same one that took place in Japan. And also, the faith in Dogen Zenjiﾕs thought and the academic study of it now have both been clearly established, and both have begun to develop in this country.
Of course, I don't think that it's desirable that these two endeavors become separated like the North and South Pole. Academic study should offer the philosophical foundation of the practice and the practitioners should function as the proof of the philosophy in the actual world by putting the philosophy to work through their practice.
In the Sotoshu texts, these two points of view could be represented with the Shobogenzo, as the philosophical standard, and the practice texts being the "Chiji-shingi" and other writings about the Pure-standards (shingi) and the Eiheikoroku (the Extensive Record of Eihei Dogen).
These two orientations should not be simply homogenized and both should be rigorous in order to allow the true Soto Zen to develop in the future.
In other words, "practice and study are one". As I said before, practice and study should be equal to each other, and therefore the oneness of these should be, "not one and not two."
However, for now, I don't have any clear answer to the question of how we shall find the exact form to actually practice this "not one and not two". But, when I participated in the Symposium, I felt that I might have found the path to my answer within the study and practice of Zen in America.
I would like to make this point one of the subjects of my research at Stanford University beginning in April.
There was one thing I regretted about the symposium. Because the date of the Symposium was the same as the dates of the "Conference for Propagation Study" and "The Conference for Sotoshu Study", many of the young scholars at the Center for the Modern Sotoshu Study in Japan could not participate in this Symposium. I would like to see that the people who were unable to be involved in this event be given the same opportunity I had, sometime in the future.
Finally, once more, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people who made this gathering possible and I would like to thank the Soto Zen Education Center for allowing me to write this article for their newsletter.

Dogen Zenji Symposium Impressions

Rev. Shoken Winecoff
Decorah Zen Center

I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Dogen Zenji Symposium. It was definitely a step in the right direction.
My impressions of the Dogen Zenji Symposium started as soon as I walked into the lobby of the place where we were staying. I saw friends I haven't seen for quite a while, both American and Japanese. It was a great reunion as we all greeted each other with gassho and open arms. These face to face meetings were treasured moments at this symposium in honor of Dogen Zenji. I thought how wonderful it was that our paths were all crossing in this global community.
It was an honor to see so many of the head monks from Japan come to this symposium in America. I had the good fortune of sitting at the same table with the Director of the International Division, Rev. Shugen Ito. His English was about as good as my Japanese (which is not very good), but we connected well on a heart level. Japan didn't seem so far away. The symposium became a bridge between East and West.
It was also great to see so many of my Dharma brothers and sisters from this country. I enjoyed seeing people that I haven't seen for many years. The symposium did a lot for pulling many of us together.
I enjoyed the various papers that were presented at the symposium. The scholarship and effort that went into the presentations were very much appreciated. There was a broad range of topics, and it offered an excellent opportunity to meet various people that I had read and heard about.
There was one paper, however, that never quite made it to the podium. It was given to me by an older gentleman dressed in jeans with a long gray beard, and he was driving a pick-up truck. He picked me up as I was walking to the first early morning meeting. I wasnﾕt sure where the auditorium was located and neither was he. We found the way together, and as I was hopping out of the pickup- truck he said, "I have something for you." He reached in his brief case, and pulled out a paper that had a story about Katagiri Roshi. Katagiri Roshi was giving a four- day Dogen study program at Genjoji in Sonoma County in California in 1982 or 83.
Here is the account of this story:
Three days into this Dogen program, a woman interrupted Roshi with a question "Roshi!" Katagiri halted. "Roshi, I'm troubled by something. I have sat here for three days. I have a small mountain of notes. I am waking up in the middle of the night wondering what this guy looked like. My kitchen at home will never be the same. I'm wondering however, did Dogen ever appreciate a pretty girl? Did he ever get pie-eyed on saki? Did he ever laugh?"
Katagiri, with the beautiful fluid motions so characteristic of him placed his papers on the floor, lifted his glasses and shifted the frames to the tip of his nose. He gazed at the woman for a moment and raising his right hand, extended his forefinger towards the roof, moved it back and forth like an inverted pendulum and said, "Dogen gives you no candy".
I applaud the courage and effort it took from both sides of the ocean to sponsor this symposium. Once again Dogen Zenji was travelling the high Seas.