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Pandemic Dharma Words

by Gyoshin Laurel Ross Driving toward my block, hoping for a parking space, I was annoyed when the pickup truck ahead of me suddenly slowed. Was he going to snag my spot?  No. He turned left into the alley and as I pressed down to accelerate I saw the problem.   A...

Land Acknowledgment

Today we honor and uplift that this territory is home to the original stewards and guardians of Chicago-land: the Miami, Oceti Sakowin (“Oh-chey-tee Sha-koh-ween”), Kickapoo, Peoria, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. The alliance of the Ojibwe, Odawa,...

Ecosattva Vows

Based on my love of the world and understanding of deep interdependence of all things, I vow: To live in Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products and energy I consume. To commit myself daily to the healing of the world and the welfare of all beings;...

Zazen as Enactment Ritual

Taigen Dan Leighton  Article for the book, Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Buddhist Theory in Practice, edited by Steven Heine and Dale Wright (Oxford University Press, 2008) Buddhist meditation has commonly been considered an instrumental technique aimed at obtaining a...

We are all Refugees: Tree of Life Massacre

We are all Refugees: Tree of Life Massacre (from Lions Roar Magazine, Oct 30, 2018) BY TAIGEN DAN LEIGHTON| OCTOBER 30, 2018 Zen teacher Taigen Dan Leighton attended the Tree of Life synagogue while growing up in Pittsburgh. He reflects on how all of us, near and far,...

Meeting Our Ancestors of the Future

Taigen Dan Leighton Published in “Shambhala Sun,” September, 1996, as “Now is the Past of the Future.” When we can fully see our own time in the dynamic fullness of time, without being blind to cause and effect, without being caught by limiting...

Dogen’s Approach to Training in Eihei Koroku

Taigen Dan Leighton  draft of article for the book Dogen: Textual And Historical Studies, edited by Steven Heine (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) Introduction to Eihei Kōroku Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō is rightly celebrated for its playful, elaborate essays, with...

Dylan And Dogen: Masters of Spirit and Words

Steven Heine and Taigen Dan Leighton Published in “Kyoto Journal,” No. 39, 1999 Steven Heine, scholar of Eihei Dogen, the great 13th century Japanese Zen master and author, once remarked that he would like to be buried with the collected works of a great...

Reflections on Translating Dogen

Taigen Dan Leighton Published in “Dharma Eye” Journal of the Soto Zen Education Center, Copyright 2000 Translating Dogen, like reading Dogen (in the original or in reasonable translations), is a richly rewarding art. I am grateful to have been able to make...

Now the Whole Planet Has its Head on Fire

Collective Karma and Systemic Responses to Climate Disruption Taigen Dan Leighton From the book, A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency, edited by John Stanley, David Loy, and Gyurme Dorje (Wisdom Publications, 2009) For Buddhists to respond appropriately to the...

Hongzhi, Dogen and the Background of Shikantaza

Taigen Dan Leighton Preface to the book, The Art of Just Sitting, edited by Daido Loori, Wisdom Publications, 2002 One way to categorize the meditation practice of shikan taza, or “just sitting,” is as an objectless meditation. This is a definition in...

Dogen’s Appropriation of Lotus Sutra Ground and Space

Taigen Dan Leighton published in “Japanese Journal of Religious Studies,” vol. 32, no. 1, 2005 Introduction Zen Master Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) quotes the Lotus Sutra far more than any other sutra.[1] His use of the Lotus Sutra helps define the world-view...

The Lotus Sutra as a Source for Dogen’s Discourse Style

Taigen Dan Leighton Paper for an academic conference on “Discourse and Rhetoric in the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism,” 2001. A version of this article later appeared in the book, Discourse and Ideology in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, edited...

Dogen’s Zazen as Other-Power Practice

Taigen Dan Leighton  Article for February, 2005 IBS Shin Buddhist Conference on “Meditation and American Shin Buddhism,” later published in Pacific World. It is certainly true that Japanese Soto Zen founder Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) encouraged his students...