Dōgen

Life & Legacy

Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; Japanese pronunciation: [doꜜː.ɡeɴ, -ŋeɴ], 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師).
Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. He remained there for four years, finally training under Tiāntóng Rújìng, an eminent teacher of the Cáodòng lineage of Chinese Chan.
Upon his return to Japan, Dōgen began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works such as Fukanzazengi and Bendōwa. He broke relations with the Tendai School and later left Kyoto amid ongoing tensions with the school. He eventually founded Eihei-ji, one of the two head temples of the Sōtō school, in present-day Fukui Prefecture.
Dōgen is known for his extensive writings like the Shōbōgenzō (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, considered his magnum opus), the Eihei Kōroku (Extensive Record, a collection of his talks), the Eihei Shingi (the first Japanese Zen monastic code), along with his Japanese poetry, and commentaries. Dōgen's writings are one of the most important sources studied in the contemporary Sōtō Zen tradition.