Buddhism, Dogen, Suzuki Roshi's Zen

Buddhism is really one teaching. Although there are many forms of Buddhism, many ways of speaking about the teaching and many ways of putting it into practice, really all forms of Buddhism are just different ways of getting people to see and realize the basic truths about human life that the Buddha himself saw personally and tried to teach. For each era, for each culture, and also for each person, there must be a unique way of presenting Buddhism, because although the truth may always be the same, there is no truth that is independent of a form of expression. Because people are always different, there must be different forms of expression of the Buddhist truth. In every country that Buddhism has visited there are always people who eventually, probably without trying to do it, find an expression of Buddhism that speaks to the particular cultural condition that formed them. Such people do not create a new Buddhism, they just find a way to make clear in a different way what Buddhism has been saying all along.

In Japan, Dogen Zenji is such a figure. His teaching and practice of the Soto Zen way is uniquely Japanese, and very profound. Suzuki Roshi studied Dogen's teaching very deeply, and based his own understanding on that of his great predecessor.

Suzuki Roshi's way of Zen is the same as and also different from other styles of Chinese and Japanese Zen, and also the same as and different from Dogen Zen. I think it will be an interesting discussion as time goes on to characterize Suzuki Roshi's Zen, and maybe scholars will write about this, as they have written over the years about the characteristics of Dogen Zen. So, although it is exactly contrary to the spirit of Zen --and especially to the spirit of Suzuki Roshi's way-- to characterize anything, I thought I would begin the conversation and try to think of what are the basic points of Suzuki Roshi's way. I am a great one for making lists of characteristics of this or that, and sometimes such lists are temporarily useful, though in the end certainly are not. They are finally only things we make up; but then again, we also make up our lives and then take them quite seriously, to our detriment. So, with all of these caveats, and in the spirit of conversation, which is an endless give-and-take, I thought I would talk a little bit about the eight characteristics of Suzuki Roshi's way. Of course there are eight characteristics; there are not seven or nine.  :) They are:

1. No expectations

2. Faithful daily practice is enlightenment

3. No sticking to any teaching; there is nothing special to do or understand, every moment is always new (this Suzuki Roshi expressed in the phrase "beginner's mind")

4. Zazen is the most important thing in our practice and true Zazen is our whole life

5. Kindness and toughness are not two different things

6. A close and loving relationship with a teacher

7. Whole heartedness in all activity

8. Pay close attention to the details of form, for true freedom is found there (Hinayana practice with Mahayana mind)