In this third session of Upaya’s Dogen Seminar, renowned poet, translator, and peace activist Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi presents his analysis of paradox in Dogen’s writings, drawing from his monumental 33-year translation project of the Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye). Tanahashi offers a unique classification system organizing these teaching devices into three categories: freedom from the self, freedom from divisions, and freedom from conventional views. His approach acknowledges the inherent contradiction of intellectual analysis and what transcends intellectual understanding, admitting with humor, “This is anti-zen. This is anti-Dogen. Yes, I am guilty.” Complementing his scholarly insights with commentary on his own large format calligraphy pieces, Tanahashi reveals how a paradox can free us from fixed ideas and open us to what he calls “wisdom beyond wisdom.” This masterful blend of rigorous scholarship, artistic expression, and playful wisdom illuminates the transformative power of seeming nonsense in Zen practice.
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