Dogen Sangha Blog

  by Gudo NISHIJIMA

Japanese / German

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Establishment of Dogen Sangha International

(1) Necessity of the establishment

Now I am thinking that I will establish Dogen Sangha International from the 1st of March this year. Since I have started Dogen Sangha Blog on the 29th November in 2005, I was much expected by many people to establish Dogen Sangha, which can enter by everyone in the world easily.
At the same time I have begun my efforts to establish and keep about tens of Buddhist organitions called Dogen Sangha, including Sekishin-kai, Shogen-kai, Shinryu-kai, and so forth, through the world already, relying upon the efforts of Japanese and people from abroad, who have listened to my Buddhist lectures, and have received Dharma Transmission from me.
Therefore because of such a circumstances, including all individual Dogen Sanghas, which have been established from the past already, it is necessary for us to expand the area of Dogen Sangha much wider than before.
Therefore because of such real situations it has begun to occur as a necessary progress of inevitable expansion that we will expand our former organization of Dogen Sangha much more wider than the former area of Dogen Sangha, by establishing a new Buddhist organization, which is called for example Dogen Sangha International.

(2) Outline of Dogen Sangha International

The main points of substantial activities of Dogen Sangha International are as follows.
1) Even after Dogen Sangha International will have started, the former Dogen Sanghas, and their members, will continue their former activities as before, and at the same time they will be included into Dogen Sangha International automatically in the overlapped situations.
2) The informations of Dogen Sangha International will spread relying upon Dogen Sangha Blog, and so the informations will be identified int one.
3) Main Contents of Dogen Sangha International activities
1: Propagation of the true Buddhism, which belongs to the authentic lineage of Gautama Buddha, Master Nagarjuna, Master Bodhidharma, Master Dogen, and so forth.
2: Daily practices of Zazen, which are the fundamental basis of the authentic Buddhism, should be done.everyday.
3: Daily continuity of the daily life style of Buddhism, which has been harmonized with the life style of human life in the modern age, should be established.
4: By accumulating those kinds of efforts in our daily life everyday, we will realize our gorgeous age of Realism, which can throw away the former miserable ages, when we have been suffered so much from the unhappy contradictions of idealism and materialism.
4) Relying upon those kinds of humanistic efforts, we will present to all human beings the ultimate philosophy of Realism, which makes our daily life follow the truth, minimizes the gap of the rich and the poor, makes our human societies follow the truth, and makes our daily life a little happier day by day.

(3) Entrance into Dogen Sangha Internaional

The technical administrator Shin Kiriki is preparing the list of Dogen Sangha International Members, and so after his finishing the job please have your name resistered into the list.
There is no problem, even though the present members of Dogen Sangha registers the name double into the new list.

11 Comments:

Blogger jundo cohen said...

Thank you, Roshi. It is very nice and please include me. We should have some body that includes all your students now living in so many countries.

By the way, I also am already a full member of "Dogen Sangha Universal," which continues its activities throughout all time and space.

Gassho, Jundo

1:00 AM, February 21, 2007  
Blogger Lone Wolf said...

Gudo Nishijima,

Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in the dialouge on Dogen Sangha Blog.

I have a few questions:

1. Can individuals that have not recieved dharma transmission from you become a memeber of Dogen Sangha International?

2. When I sit Zazen, I just aim my mental attention at keeping the maintianing the correct posture. If my mind begins to wonder or gets caught in thought, my body begins to slump. At that point, I fix my posture and keep my mental attention on maintaining the correct posture. I was wondering if there is any mental intention during Zazen and if what I am practicing (as explained above) is correct Zazen practice?

3. On a past post, you spoke about Nagarjuna's MMK, and how he explained 4 entities that are real existance. These are reason(or rule of the universe), the external world, the present moment (act), and reality itself (which is identified with God). Could you please explain these four entities in more detail?


Thank you very much.

Lone Wolf (Michael)

2:54 AM, February 21, 2007  
Blogger Cuchulain said...

Thank you Roshi for your kind effort to make an international Dogen Sangha. I would like to join and wonder what action I should take in order to begin?

Gassho,
Cuchulain

11:48 AM, February 21, 2007  
Blogger GUDO NISHIJIMA said...

For jundo cohen San

Of course, you, and your group, are included into Dogen Sangha International automatically from the 1st, March, 2007, and all my students in the world, including them in Japan, will be included into Dogen Sangha international.

Therefore your group "Dogen Sangha Universal" will be included by Dogen Sangha International from the date.


For Lone Wolf San

1. Yes, of course. If anyone want to enter into Dogen Sangha International, everyone can enter into it without any hindrance. Whether he has received dharma transmission, or not, is not related whether he, or she, can enter into Dogen Sangha International.

2. When I notice that my mind begins to wonder or gets caught in thought, I usually make my efforts for me to come back to the authentic regular posture.
Then I can erase my mental image. Because it is our mental function for us to have a mental image, but it is our real act for us to correct our posture authentically. In short we can change our mental fanction into the real action of changing posture. This is very important Buddhist point to convert mental function to real action.

And the authentic posture is to keep the lower spine straight vertically, stretch the back bones and the neck bones as far as possible, keeping the chin downward and bachward, and so forth.

Therefore Master Dogen wrote his instruction in his Fukan-zazengi that "Just make the body right and sit up straight. Do not lean to the left, incline to the right, slouch forward, or lean backward. The ears must be aligned with the shoulders, and the nose aligned with the navel. Hold the tongue against the palate, keep the lips and teeth closed, and keep the eyes open. Breath softly through the nose."

I agree. If there is any kind of intention exists in Zazen, intention can exist, but Zazen can never exist.

3. In MMK Master Nagarjna proclaimed the existence of the four kinds of real entity.
(1) Reason, which pervades through the Universe. For example 1+1=2 is always true everywhere in the Universe.
(2) The external world, which exists just in front of us.
(3) The presnt moment, which is the time, when our act done really.
(4) Reality, which we, realists, can never doubt.
And Master Nagarjna bravely said that "The fifth one does never exists at all."


For Cuchulain San

Thank you very much for your prompt decision to become a member of Dogen Sangha International.

I would like to describe in Dogen Sangha Blog how we should behave in our daily life as Buddhists gradually one by one.

10:10 PM, February 21, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Roshi, this looks like a great idea. I eagerly await the developments.

10:50 PM, February 21, 2007  
Blogger jundo cohen said...

Hi again Roshi,

I wrote:

By the way, I also am already a full member of "Dogen Sangha Universal," which continues its activities throughout all time and space.

Then Roshi wrote:

Therefore your group "Dogen Sangha Universal" will be included by Dogen Sangha International from the date.

Therefore, the whole universe and all Reality will be included in your group, and all time and space too "from that date." Very cool! :-) The Absolute within the Relative, we arrive at Both at Once!

Gassho, Jundo

12:46 AM, February 22, 2007  
Blogger Cuchulain said...

Roshi,
I will sit and wait for instructions.

Gassho,
Cuchulain

6:31 AM, February 22, 2007  
Blogger Lone Wolf said...

Gudo Nishijima,

Thank you for answering my questions in such detail. I have been enjoying the teachings on Dogen Sangha Blog and look forward to the teachings and instructions yet to come. I will do my best to understand Buddhism correctly and balance the automic nervous system so to see true reality or action in the present moment. I wish to become a member of Dogen Sangha International.

Thank you!

Lone Wolf (Michael)

7:54 AM, February 22, 2007  
Blogger GUDO NISHIJIMA said...

For Hamza San

Thank you very much for your encouragement to the establishment of Dogen Sangha International. I would like to cooperate together with you for the establishment of many Dogen Sangha groups and Dogen Sangha International.

I would like to ask you to have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki.


For jundo cohen San

Of course all Dogen Sagha groups, whicn have been working so well, are included automatically into Dogen Samgha International, but at the same time all Dogen Sangha groups, which have done so valuable activity already, will further continue their valuable activity too.


For Cuchulain San

Thank you very much for your sincere attitude, and I would like to go ahead gradually.

I hope that you will also have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki too.


For Lone Wolf San

Thank you very much for your sincere Buddhist question, and I would like to continue teaching our reliable Buddhism to all people, who sincerely like to study the true Buddhism more and more.

I would like to ask you to have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki too.

3:16 PM, February 22, 2007  
Blogger GUDO NISHIJIMA said...

For Hamza San

Thank you very much for your encouragement to the establishment of Dogen Sangha International. I would like to cooperate together with you for the establishment of many Dogen Sangha groups and Dogen Sangha International.

I would like to ask you to have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki.


For jundo cohen San

Of course all Dogen Sagha groups, whicn have been working so well, are included automatically into Dogen Samgha International, but at the same time all Dogen Sangha groups, which have done so valuable activity already, will further continue their valuable activity too.


For Cuchulain San

Thank you very much for your sincere attitude, and I would like to go ahead gradually.

I hope that you will also have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki too.


For Lone Wolf San

Thank you very much for your sincere Buddhist question, and I would like to continue teaching our reliable Buddhism to all people, who sincerely like to study the true Buddhism more and more.

I would like to ask you to have a contact with Mr Shin Kiriki too.

3:19 PM, February 22, 2007  
Blogger canuckavlle said...

How does one join Dogen Sangha?
I've been practicing for 4 years.

2:15 AM, May 03, 2008  

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