Roshi continued our exploration of Dogen’s Shobogenzo this week focusing on the section entitled the “108 Gates of Dharma illumination”. Needless to say, it will take a few weeks to fully explore this part of Dogen’s teaching. For this week, Roshi wanted to provide us with some background on the teaching along with touching on a few of the ‘gates’ in the work.

Roshi noted that a list with 108 items is quite long. If we think about it, long lists like these are not really very effective in helping us to retain knowledge. Think about it for a minute, can you rattle off any list from memory with little or no preparation? Roshi was at a labor conference in Milwaukee this past week and he was invited to give the keynote at the last moment. To get things moving, he asked a chatbot to generate lists of key topics. This got Roshi thinking – will anything on this list help these people? The list is not what is important. What is important is that the audience is motivated to take the advice contained in the list and act on it. It is not enough to simply memorize the words in the list!

So why would one of the wisest teachers in history employ a long list to convey the wisdom of the Dharma? Could it be that lists help us in spiritual matters. Roshi asked if anyone in the group could cite all the Ten Commandments from our Western tradition. Probably not! If lists do not work in spiritual matters, then what was Dogen’s goal in adding this chapter to Shobogenzo? Here Roshi noted that Zen is not supposed to make us comfortable. Teachers who promulgate fuzzy “feel good” statements like “Rainbows and Butterflies” are not doing their students any favors. Dogen’s teachings are present to make us a bit uncomfortable. The 108 Gates cannot be easily converted into a chant and comfortably memorized. This list must be engaged with. However, Roshi went farther. It is not enough to simply read and recite the list. The goal is to practice what is in the list. Just like the audience at the labor conference, the words have no value if they are not put into action.

This is Dogen’s message. Don’t turn Dharma Wisdom into a PowerPoint lists and simply read the slides! It must be lived. This is the same with much of the knowledge on the Internet – especially as it relates to the Dharma. The “digital gate” of online Buddhist practice cannot be opened unless there is a mind actually living the Dharma. The “Iron Gate” of reality is absolutely necessary to open the “digital gate” of stored knowledge online. This is also why chatbots can be great tools to generate lists and PowerPoints, but will never be actually able to convey Dharma Wisdom.

Roshi wrapped up by quickly touching on some of the initial sections in the 108 Gates. The first one was “Right Trust”. Basically, we tend to put our trust in things which will eventually disappoint us. The only thing we can really trust is the Dharma as it is reality and reality is always trustworthy. The second gate is a “Pure Heart”. Of course, it is not possible to be perfectly pure, but it is the intention which counts. Roshi likened this to the Bodhisattva vows we take. We vow to save all beings even though they are infinite. Impossible, but it sets our never-ending intention. The last gate we covered for this week was Joy. It is important to have a tranquil mind. We must find the balance between having fun and being serious. There is a time and place for both. It is all part of the practice.