Translations
I'll admit right at the outset, that while the vast majority of my training in Zen has been rooted in a tradition that connects heavily to the teachings of Dogen Zenji, there are only a handful of fascicles that I have read and worked with. The main reason for this is that Dogen is unlike any Zen author you will ever encounter.
He is far more poetic than didactic and he speaks from a place that is fluid and adaptive. Short version: If you want straightforward information or data on Zen practice and Buddhism, Dogen is not your man.
It is often said that any Dharma talk is "Dark to the mind, radiant to the heart". Reading Dogen is very much like this. Don't read Dogen expecting to know more when you close the book. And yet, don't think it has nothing to offer. What a single passage offers you now might be very different than what it offers you a year from now.
Tonight I intended to listen to Reverend Do'on's talk on Genjokoan through the altar camera, and then do a public journal on what struck me. The Temple tech was working fine, but our new home has occasionally spotty Wifi, so my efforts were not successful.
What I will reflect on is this. Even if Dogen wasn't such a difficult writer, the translation of Japanese to English is a treacherous task. As a matter of fact this is true with any translation. When you consider that Jesus spoke Aramaic and Hebrew and that the early writings that became the modern Bible passed through these languages and then Latin and then regional languages, the word chosen to represent a concept can shift. Sometimes that shift is subtle, but it can have an effect on meaning. For this reason, I have always found it very interesting that the study of Islam, by Muslims happens in the original Arabic. It makes sense, that for those who believe that a writing is the actual word of the almighty creator, you wouldn't want to potentially screw it up by translating it into a language that can change the meaning.
For Japanese translation, just look at the word "shin". This is the heart, the spirit and the mind. Each on their own and in every combination all at once (depending on how it is being used) something to consider for those of us who have this character in our dharma name.
When I first heard of Genjokoan, I ran into translations that called it "the Koan of Everyday Life" or "the Problem of Everyday Life". Many people who do not do Koan work (especially those who do not engage in Zen practice) think of a koan as a puzzle or a riddle. So consider how it comes across if then someone is understanding that this writing talks about the riddle of everyday life or the puzzle of everyday life.
If you do a Google search for Genjokoan, the first hit you get is from a page called The Zen Site. I like that this page offers multiple translations, including translations of the title. Consider how "the Koan of Everyday Life" compares to other translations of the title:
Actualizing the Fundamental Point
Manifesting Suchness
The Realized Law of the Universe
Manifesting Absolute Reality
The Issue at Hand
The Actualization of Enlightenment
Each of these titles (and one translator feature on the site did not even bother to translate the title) points much more clearly to the very nature of what all Zen teachings address: How do we show up and what tends to get in the way.
Going into this Ango, I look forward to renewing my relationship with Genjokoan. Please read it again and again. Read various translations. Sit with it, and come out to the Temple as much as you can to hear what Rinsen and Do'on have to say on the matter at hand.
Hoping my Wifi doesn't suck so bad next week,
Kaishin
