Plum Blossom Zen

Contemplating Dogen

Snow Falling in Moonlight

Selections from Shobogenzo

Rice Eyes

Tenzo Kokyun

Instructions to The Cook

Warm Zen Practice

Bendowa

Whole Hearted Way

Tai Sheridan

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author. For more information, contact the author at tai@taisheridan.com.

ISBN: 979-8-9899002-0-6

eBook Edition

Tai Sheridan

1240 W Sims PMB 113

Port Townsend WA 98368

www.taisheridan.com

tai@taisheridan.com

Praise for Buddha in Blue Jeans

A single page gives such a gift that I take in my breath and am drawn to stop and take it in.

The simplest things are always the most precious. Tai Sheridan has shown this to be true.  

Tai Sheridan delivers quality books over and over.  This is one of them, enjoy. Short and sweet as ever.

Concise, accessible, remarkable. Seems like everything we need to know is found in these pages. 

All of Tai's books are straight to the point Zen at its best.

Wisdom stripped to its bare bones.

This is one of the most basic yet insightful books I have read on Buddhism. It is a good short read for anyone with a serious life-threatening illness.

Read This!! This will blow your socks off! Simple as that!

If there was a higher rating to grant this small taste of beauty and reality, I would grant it.

Mindfulness at its peak.

You can pick up any of his books, flip them open to any page, and find inspiration.

Heart-awakening. Written with simplicity and clarity.

This poetic meditation on death is a wonderful gem. 

I absolutely love this book and all of Tai Sheridan's writing.

Clear and kind, it calls me to simple things that make a big difference. 

This is a very accessible and immediately essential book, filled with prayers anyone can use.

Dedication

Sojun Mel Weitsman

It was a long lunch

Contents

Snow Falling in Moonlight

In Praise of Dogen

Introduction

Ode To Moon

Ode to Time

Ode to Space

Ode to Cedar Trees

Ode to Face Washing

Ode to Eyeballs

Ode to Mountains Rivers

Ode to Here Now Mind

Ode to Light

Ode to Truth

Ode to Awakening

Ode to Plum Blossoms

Rice Eyes

Introduction

Chef de Cuisine

Rice Eyes

Rolling Up Sleeves

Pot is Head

Build Temples From Greens

Just Enough

Mushroom Men

Oven Mouth

Cooking Fool

Three Minds

Warm Zen Practice

Introduction

Body of Light and Space

An Ancient Longing

The Dank Earth is Vastness

In an Ocean of Sky

An Invitation from Granite Mountains

Body and Space Entwined

No Second Person

About The Author

Books by Tai Sheridan

Preface

While I was reading Shobogenzo I felt inspired to transform Dogen's teachings into universal wisdom through poetry. I wanted to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. However, I quickly dismissed the idea as absurd. Dogen was too complex.

A year later, I put a microscope on Dogen’s talk about the moon (Tsuki) and discovered that his works were redundant. I found resonance in his imagery and sensed I could meld with it. If I followed his logical presentation, his essential meanings could be preserved.

I transformed selections from Shobogenzo into Snow Falling in Moonlight, and I followed with Tenzo Kokyun, Instructions to the Cook, and Bendowa, the Whole Hearted Way. I entered my writing stride and continued with four more classic interpretations before I was ready to express my own understanding of Zen in Buddha in Blue Jeans. It was like jumping off a cliff into freefall. I was encouraged two decades before by Dainin Katagiri Roshi, who told me that one day I would have to plant the dharma flag in the ground. In addition, my root Zen teacher, Sojun Mel Weitsman, would say that students are boxcars that need to become engines. I never foresaw that writing would be a path to fulfilling my Zen vows to benefit everyone.

When I was twenty years old—I’m seventy-five now—I had the good fortune of meeting Mel. He became my teacher and friend. Without his love and encouragement, I wouldn’t have a life based on what he called “returning to zero”. Mel and I used to have lunch together for decades. He passed away a couple of years ago. Our lunch continues.

Tai Sheridan

Port Townsend

2024

Snow Falling in Moonlight

Odes in Praise of Dogen's Shobogenzo

Tai Sheridan

Contents

In Praise of Dogen

Introduction

Ode To Moon

Ode to Time

Ode to Space

Ode to Cedar Trees

Ode to Face Washing

Ode to Eyeballs

Ode to Mountains Rivers

Ode to Here Now Mind

Ode to Light

Ode to Truth

Ode to Awakening

Ode to Plum Blossoms

In Praise of Dogen

you walked

in deep mountains

spring plum blossoms

the blessing

the vermillion petals

you loved well

grace the path

of western gardens

snow falling

in moonlight

the flame

of your vow

Tai Sheridan

￼Introduction

In the snow a single twig of plum blossoms!

The whole universe is plum blossoms.

- Dogen

Dogen, who lived from 1200 to 1253, was the founder of Soto Zen. He wrote a significant spiritual work called The Shobogenzo (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye). In one of his poems, Dogen used the image of plum blossoms to represent the Buddha Mind. The Buddha Mind perceives everything as a manifestation of inter-being, which is the cosmic web of life.

I have chosen twelve out of Dogen's ninety-five Shobogenzo lectures to transform them into poetry. My selection encompasses talks that will interest a broad audience beyond the realm of experienced Zen students. Dogen's lectures are complex and challenging to understand. They are not meant to be comprehended through intellectual analysis. Instead, Dogen encourages his students to develop Prajna, an intuitive wisdom that leads to non-dual and transcendent awareness.

I hope my contemplative poems honor Dogen's insights and lineage, helping you embrace your Buddha nature and authentic being.

Tai Sheridan

Port Townsend

2024

Ode To Moon

tsuki

i whisper praise

to lovely round moon

my own true body

vast endless space

moon in water

rising as whatever

moon not new not old

tonight's moon not yesterday's

you can't count how many

one two a zillion

give up comparisons

settle into now moon

i walk on earth

with mind-moon

full and complete

swallowing everything

mind is moon

moon is mind

subjects objects

meet in moon

moon is moon

living dying the moon

coming going the moon

day night the moon

swallowing the moon

is realizing myself

retching the moon

is going beyond

realizing myself

forever many moons

the cloud and moon

walking together

not starting stopping

beyond beginning ending

in quiet contemplation

a truly lovely moon

Ode to Time

uji

i whisper praise

to the fecund moment

snow falling in moonlight

mountain is time

pine is time

snow is time

once a child

building snowmen

now an old man

scribbling in snow

the child did not

become the man

a snow moment comes

a snow moment goes

it doesn't linger

complete as falling snow

complete as melting snow

only flowing snow

in the middle

of snowfield

i raise an eyebrow

winking at moon

smiling at

moon winking back

when eyebrows

freeze with frost

no winking at her

nor she winking back

winking eye light

a moment's play

wherever i find myself

the wondrous me

not past not future

i am snow

blue pine

time being

Ode to Space

koku

i whisper praise

to skin flesh bones marrow

body of infinite space

nostrils filling with it

space rests in palm

no gap in the fabric

let me play

in vast buoyancy

in gravity of nothing

words from an empty well

every thought space

space every thought

the wind bell

rings in the garden

blown from all directions

from head to toes

i am an open mouth

hanging in space

in the repose

of silent wall gazing

wall is mind

in snow fields

mind a withered pine

every shape sings space

using time well

taking charge of time

each moment space

in out breathing

the heart vein

open door to sky

small stones small

big stones big

no judgment here

infinite spacious mind

seeing only present

true dharma eye

Ode to Cedar Trees

hakujushi

i whisper praise

to cedar tree

many limbed buddha

awake in old garden

straw sandal joshu

a withered old cedar

special teas

won't spark cedar nature

i embrace space

truth seeking mind

learning from children

giving freely to elderly

life is tough

sometimes soup thin

often cold wins out

without profound sincerity

i chase things around

as if separate

when waking at dawn

i dress as cedar

now i am boss

coming going freely

not bound by in out

just being myself

majestic cedar tree

keeps going beyond

not grabbing water

not offending birds

cedar being cedar

is water and birds

cedar springing up buddha

sky falls down to earth

both now together

things common sacred

singing harmonious songs

beyond anything definable

Ode to Face Washing

senmen

i whisper praise

to face washing

bathing dust dirt

renewing total cleanliness

within without

body moon purifying

dignified washing

splashing ultimate body

deep silent pools

washing reality

no thinking here

attuned washing

without a mirror

forgetting height

girth looks garb

washing my face

wet insight

practicing realizing

my body

not pure impure

body bathes body

moon bathes moon

not washing to get moon

washing clean is moon

bathing body mind

within without

earth heaven

past present future

causes conditions

the whole works clean

woven cloth washing face

willow twig cleaning teeth

wonderful grime grease

washing grime grease

washing life blood

india china japan america

Ode to Eyeballs

ganzei

i whisper praise

to eyeballs seeing clearly

one blink two blinks

eye sight seeing

mountains rivers earth

vitally renewing suns moons

brightness

the real eyeball

the whole dynamic universe

not seeing before after

not preferring

density clarity

eye is sharp

when meeting things

in mutual encounter

two become one

without losing themselves

eye a thunderbolt

already i have

my own eyeballs

yet sometimes i gaze out

as if eyes are elsewhere

this seeking

is eyeballs too

eye begs for itself

eyeballs include

everything everywhere

forgetting inside outside

no sand in eyes

eyes of wonder

gouging out

an old wise one's eyeball

is becoming a person

seeing plum blossoms

in snow fields

the diamond eye

Ode to Mountains Rivers

sansuigyo

i whisper praise

to blue mountains walking

their rhythm my gait

two feet walking

i backward step

into oceans of light

the stone woman

gives birth at night

stone becomes child

child becomes stone

when two mix

each is born

mountain toes

walk on water

free in all directions

mountain sees water

water sees itself

self settles on self

water rises to sky

falling as rivers streams

rushing whirling splashing

stream in a drop

water becoming

a wise person

river is water

mountain is water

water flows

beyond river mountain

beyond form emptiness

no bottling up

once in mountains

no person to meet

waking each day

praising mountains rivers

mountains and wise people

falling in love

Ode to Here Now Mind

soku shin ze butsu

i whisper praise

 to here now mind

only budhha always buddha

not brain thinking neurons

not things residing

never certainties

not sitting

a thousand years

even one breath

attaining trying

seeking elsewhere

just here now mind

awakened ones

picking up throwing out

mind weeding

not puffing up

mistaking living

for arriving

mind is fences walls

never wet muddy

open clear present

great inclusion

shapes colors wind sky

precisely this

when mind awakens

heaven falls down

ground tears apart

each thing the whole

the whole each thing

nothing left out

luminous mind

mountains rivers earth

sun moon stars

no adding subtracting

pure bright light

snow falling in moonligh

t

Ode to Light

komyou

i whisper praise

to luminosity brightness

pure dharma eye

each thing light

self light

universe light

i am lost

when not light

light also lost

standing on feet

holding a friend's hand

both luminosity

east is east

also full compass

home of light

is east

also all directions

listen to brightness

vast light

not blue yellow

red white black gold

beyond ideas

 one hundred weeds

utterly clear

going beyond

common sacred

indigo vermillion

of infinite brightness

living dying

light's activity

already i am brightness

not past present future

light gathers itself

becoming each think

now of totality

totality of now

Ode to Truth

doshin

i whisper praise

to truth loving

the luminous moon

the great journey

seeking listening searching

invitations from emptiness

longing for snow

falling in moonlight

a rare calling

some feel deeply

others sleep walk

few circle zen mountain

thoughts slant toward me

body mind an object

forestalling spiritual gravity

when seeing clearly

everything passes

life a slim thread

walking this path

while dreaming awake

i wholeheartedly honor

three treasures

written on my heart

buddha dharma sangha

i sing praise

before during after

now every moment

yes to emptiness

yes to change

yes to everything

i vow to make a buddha

within this lifetime

to fashion out of flowers

incense light snow

silent contemplation

the infinite moon body

Ode to Awakening

genjo koan

i whisper praise

to birds flying

in empty sky

to fish swimming

in endless sea

to all of it

i embrace

body of water bone

body of moon light

old body skin bag

studying self

letting self go

i love flowers

as blooming

as petals on ground

as wild spring weeds

even crowding gardens

always welcome guests

somersaulting in now

frolicking free of myself

water air life

beyond high low

air my breath

water my blood

whether things

be square or round

geometry never confines

fire is fire

ashes are ashes

each the full moon

although freedom

never missing

i practice stillness

breath by breath

commingling things

honing life

Ode to Plum Blossoms

baike

i whisper praise

to plum blossoms in snow

forever buddha's eye

plum blossoms are moonlight

illuminating overhead

illuminating underfoot

plum blossoms

flowers suddenly now

one two three many

each flower always now

spring is flower

flower is spring

plum blossoms

completely wild

unfathomable mystical

flowers wind grass trees

pure intentions

spring fragrance

plum blossoms

all flowers opening

all worlds now

old plum tree

has kindly bequeathed

heaven earth

plum blossoms

buddha here now

turning dharma wheel

eyes completely open

ants grass rain clouds

vital dynamic wondrous

plum blossoms

the boundless expanse

an empty snow field

mind is universe

universe is plum blossoms

inside outside white snow

Rice Eyes

Enlightenment in Dogen's Kitchen

Tenzo Kyokun - Instructions to the Cook

Tai Sheridan

Dedication

To the miracle of each small thing

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate – that's my philosophy.

Thornton Wilder

Contents

Introduction

Chef de Cuisine

Rice Eyes

Rolling Up Sleeves

Pot is Head

Build Temples From Greens

Just Enough

Mushroom Men

Oven Mouth

Cooking Fool

Three Minds

￼

Introduction

Handle Rice as if it is your own eyes – Dogen Paraphrase

Dogen was a Japanese Zen master who lived from 1200 to 1253. He founded the Soto lineage of Zen, which is now widely practiced in the West, including America. His book, "Instructions to the Cook" (Tenzo Kyokun), offers guidance on how to live a mindful and fulfilling life while performing everyday tasks.

The term "Rice Eyes" is a metaphor that refers to a state of non-dualism or oneness. In his teachings, Dogen used the role of the head cook, also known as Tenzo, to illustrate how to lead a spiritual life that is joyful and beneficial for everyone. This poem portrays the head cook, or "Chef de Cuisine", as a model for all individuals, not just for Zen monastics.

I turned Dogen's prose into contemporary poetry and subdivided it for clarity. His wisdom underlies everyday Zen, and his practice is the foundation of modern mindfulness.

May you cook your life without missing a beat!

Tai Sheridan

Port Townsend

224

Chef de Cuisine

welcome to dogen's kitchen

zen cooking down through time

cooking full attention everywhere

blood vein deriving from buddha

chefs de cuisine circles of light

steeping stillness attention letting go

cooking with buddha hands

being in charge tenzo chef de cuisine

appointed by life family friends food

nourishing everyone

chef de cuisine working devotedly

lovingly managing meals for hungry

cooking by vow calm clear connected

keeping spirit whole direct humble

throwing self into cooking

only possible failing not caring

awakening mind all tasks

wondrous variety differing needs occasions

one way cooking

helping all awakening

old great ones

cooking buddha's kitchen

guishan dongshan chefs de cuisine

kitchen working ordinary stirring pots

shop wash chop cook serve no big deal

your spirit the nourishment

dogen getting tips from old cooks

learning zen marrow

passing down rice eyes

any grub cooking most refined fare

Rice Eyes

chef de cuisine

working one whole day completely

checking cabinets fridge shelves

seeing what's in front of nose

rice vegetables condiments the works

dogen's cooking secret crystal clear

handling everything as own eyes

pot lid saucer spoon ladle

rice carrot lettuce beet radish

the whole universe - rice eyes!

touching food profound respect

gifts for royalty homeless all

touching kindly raw food cooked food

your own hands no other's

cooking between you food buddha

cooking today planning tomorrow flowing

planning with other cooks family friends

flavors seasonings dishes

how much just enough

tell all hide nothing

putting whole attention working

no lazing about doing it yourself

inquiring what situations demand

no knocking about absentmindedly

perfectionism ignores big picture

cooking oceans of virtue mountains of goodness

cooking harmoniously or nobody served

washing rice taking out sand

seeing rice seeing sand seeing sand seeing rice

fine meal naturally

Rolling Up Sleeves

old ones cooking nearby

cooking as form emptiness

washing sand picking rice

washing rice picking sand

using rice eyes

washing throwing out simultaneously

one eye tipping

the rice bucket

no dramatic personae

just washing cooking mind

going along sans fussing

rice sand fundamentals

rolling up sleeves

lost in cooking

wise ones settling down

working curious minds

own hands touching wasting nothing

keeping mind glued

all turning out well

paying attention being yourself

each rice grain mattering

re-using water no wasting

cleaning everything pouring rice

nobody peeking prodding hot pots

cleaning replacing pots ladles tools

high things on high places naturellement

low things on low places naturellement

gravity the root of grace

staying alert cleaning up

no thrashing mind about

Pot is Head

palms joining blessing food

singing to kitchen spirit

well cut gourmet discount wilted

no complaining regarding food

ridding comparisons

lots little good bad better worse

focusing mind seeing food

whole garden family

no room for whiners

incompetent cooking not

all day night just so moments

letting things come reside in mind

mind self being functioning whole works

mind universe cooking together now

before midnight getting ready for it

after midnight getting ready for it

soaking rice measuring water

standing at sink full presence

keeping eyes open

not losing one rice grain

seeing pot as head

seeing water as life blood

washing filling lighting cooking

rice soup salad heating all at once

bamboo baskets wooden bowls serving

seed shoots harvest rice wash cook serve

teaching zen cooking loving assistants

showing rice eyes shutting big mouth

chef de cuisine the kitchen pillar

heaven earth trembling

Build Temples From Greens

preparing mind the essence

rice not just a grain of rice

feelings besides the point

build great temples from greens!

chop wash clean expounding buddhadharma

tossing out likes dislikes greens really matters

no jumping for joy at special dishes

no moping over plain fare

beginner's mind not depending on quality

conforming to things not the way

devoting life spirit strengthening resolve

surpassing teacher's meticulousness refinement

applying life aspiration functioning for the way

way seeking mind the most important thing

plain soup from greens for a pittance

fine soup from greens for a pittance

no simple matter times have changed

scrupulousness total vitality passing muster

high aspiration sans arrogance

passing on rice eyes cooking way

uh oh oh no

horse mind running wild in fields

monkey mind swinging from trees

taking backward step stop look listen

life naturally one with work

simultaneously turning being turned

clarifying harmonizing absolute practical

correctly handling single green leaf

leaf manifesting buddha buddha manifesting leaf

free dynamism settling benefiting everything

Just Enough

eyes shut count all eating

do the math dharma numbers

one grain might be one grain

one grain might be one half grain

one grain might be two half grains

two half grains might be one grain

seeing surplus clearly

taking one away not enough

adding one too much

just enough the zen way

eating rice becoming guishan

adding a grain becoming cow

cow eating guishan guishan pasturing cow

counting again one two three

teaching according to capacity

using ingenuity practicing

seeing cow guishan one not two

temporarily cow guishan appearing separate

day to day remembering

one body one moment

money flowing

everyone figuring allocations

ancient sangha way

regarding all needs

no stepping on toes

remembering place

blessing rice serving rice

rice eyes cooking stability

don't waste time

Mushroom Men

preparing meals

buddhadharma par excellence

cooking way zen teaching

bowing thanking blessing food

sad people stuffing faces

old man lu drying mushrooms

crane white eyebrows sinew back

no hat bare feet hot sand sweating

mushroom man carrying load

quelle travaille fantastic!

old man of ayuwang

noodle soup chef de cuisine

walking forever searching mushrooms

never sloughing off cooking

nobody else souping

knowing practice knowing characters

buddha laughing roundly

short life hour always late

returning home returning home

mushroom way chef de cuisine

characters one two three four five

sitting standing lying down

all activities practice

nothing hidden world

truth cannot be grasped

moon in wave next wave too

two sided mushroom something nothing

ingenuity rice eyes grasping real zen

bottom of kettle beyond appearance

mushrooms always tasty

Oven Mouth

chef de cuisine practicing incomparable buddha way

mushroom men handing down

cooking way all working ways

meticulous care creating plenty

giving food clothing bedding medicine

shakyamuni died anointing chef de cuisine

eyebrow light gracing humans

serving sans fear not fearing serving

poverty enrichment middle way

unlimited mind unlimited fortune

good food bad food never grumbling

steady innards facing oven heat

respecting things as they is

old rice water original blessing

offering temple dates last dying act

sincere offerings buddha bond

small offerings big sincerity buddha bond

big offerings small sincerity not cooking way

human being practice

natural authentic sincere

choice ingredients not necessarily best soup

ordinary greens not necessarily worst soup

wholehearted handling the secret ingredient

pure mind pure heart no evaluation

delicacies plain tastes no distinctions

world as it is things as it is

cultivating aspiration cultivating rice eyes

a person's mouth an oven

heat melts everything together

whatever greens you have use well

Cooking Fool

foolish judging respectfulness worthlessness

long practice short practice neither wins

sans stability good bad reversing

differences abound so what

gifted not gifted stupid wise

just way seeking mind rice eyes

everybody treasured buddha child

forgiving mistakes wondrous dignity

going beyond right wrong

a fool a sage who can say

actualizing incomparable wisdom

blessings good fortune

one false step lost way

zen marrow total spirit infusion

noble chef de cuisine

foolish gabbing laziness busyness

not touching pot not thinking

rice eyes cooking the buddhist way

sans way seeking mind empty hands

no mountain goodness no ocean virtue

meeting teachers revealing cooking

aspiration awakening incomparable life

three attitudes the whole deal

benefiting others benefiting oneself

community working revitalizing character

going beyond teachers learning from lives

fool sees self as another

wise person sees others as self

sans true teacher feelings emotions rule

foolish people tossing out treasures

Three Minds

daigui awakening as chef de cuisine

dongshan awakening as chef de cuisine

realizing most important thing

no time more precious than now

child offering sand treasure

maintaining three minds

joyful magnanimous parental minds

grateful spirit joyful buoyancy

manifesting universal activity

born human miraculous amazing

no human no awakening no dharma drive

meal preparing vital important profound

cooking turning the wheel

community most precious

community sans pettiness

refined postures sans fabrication

lucky being human

lucky cooking rice eyes way

lucky serving three treasures

being human grateful joyous

so many births bad luck

heavenly realms divas pleasure attachment

hell realms self centered isolated angry sad

hungry ghosts love starved insatiable

animals beasts instincts ruling

asuras demons fighting jealousy reigns

nefarious bad luck no community practicing

limitations afflictions suffering burdens

no hands offering food

birth in world rejoicing yes!

using body freely offering food freely

honoring buddha dharma sangha

timeless universe marvelous opportunity

chef de cuisine merit never decaying

cooking at total capacity past present future

wholeheartedly in every moment every day

chef de cuisine cooking rice eyes way

connecting buddha dharma

joyful mind the attitude

parental mind loving children

loving three mind treasures

parental loving nourishing within difficulty

loving deep ocean high moon

parents forgetting selfish ways

protecting kids coral shade sun

living joyful mind second nature

handling water ice affectionately

everything parental caring

unconditional loving sans reward

magnanimous mind stable mountain

wide broad ocean views

no prejudice taking sides

an ounce not light

fifty pounds not heavy

spring can't carry you away

colors of fall sans heavy heart

seasons changing one whole time

balancing close broad perspectives

studying giving away magnanimous mind

fu awakening laughing out loud

guishan awakening blowing dead firewood

dongshan awakening three pounds flax

all cooking way seekers magnanimous

events circumstances the teachers

hearing voices expounding fundamentals

eyes wide open practicing living

pointing at moon pointing at plum blossoms

living true functioning living true self

rice eyes cooking

Warm Zen Practice

A poetic version of Bendowa

The Whole Hearted Way

Tai Sheridan

Dedication

To the Great Silence

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

- Hans Hofmann

Contents

Introduction

Body of Light and Space

An Ancient Longing

The Dank Earth is Vastness

In an Ocean of Sky

An Invitation from Granite Mountains

Body and Space Entwined

No Second Person

￼Introduction

Dogen’s Bendowa promotes sincere and warm-hearted Zen practice. By engaging in meditation and dharma study, individuals can cultivate love, kindness, and inner peace. Bendowa is grounded in the Buddhist philosophy of 'no-self' and the unconditioned reality of existence-being, also known as the dharmakaya, which refers to the mystical and transcendent body of light.

I have simplified Bendowa by removing the parts where Dogen repeated himself, was too rigid in his beliefs, used outdated language, and made arguments that were difficult to follow. Additionally, I have rewritten his complex philosophical essay using modern language and divided it into sections with clear headings to improve its accessibility.

I hope that by reading my poetic interpretation of Bendowa, you may gain insight into your vast nature by sharing Dogen's wisdom.

Body of Light and Space

los viejos old radiant wise people

merged bodies and hearts in blue sky

intuiting all shapes as their own body

they saw light petals raining on everyone

spacious light body an enduring presence

step into it like an old warm coat

walk silently within the rainbow light

already you are buddha of infinite sea mind

leave the sense of 'me' and sky rests in palms

a blessing beyond anything you willfully do

rest peacefully in this essential light home

without gap between you and things

your voice the mysterious rippling

the birth and death of galaxies

slipping inside spaciousness

no words clearly explain it

why divvy up the world like pie

sun and moon are always whole

please return often to sitting in oneness

the cage of self never had bars

An Ancient Longing

search out your heart's desire

that ancient longing for light and space

tossing out fame and fortune

you are the treasured vulnerability

be leery of charmers and pundits

your soft heart can easily be enchanted

sail endless oceans seeking wise people

who can wander like clouds in spaciousness

colored multitudes live as spaciousness

they shower the silent blessing

although marvelously different all enjoy

calm minds focused and wide without goal

do not be lazy respond to the longing

the mystery of subtle spacious presence

you can simultaneously receive and give light

the entire world-cosmos your arms and limbs

what is more fulfilling in this life

than teaching the subtle light body

wait a bit before sharing the radiant light

until the cosmic meal is well digested

once everything is out of your house

teach others to open the windows wide

The Dank Earth is Vastness

no matter what road you travel

spaciousness is everybody's friend

walking into spaciousness

is blessed and blessed again

the dank earth green trees are vastness

beach pebbles granite walls are infinite space

universe-mind the endless big bang

each piece of dust born this precise moment

spaciousness is the great mother

no mental gymnastics can get at it

forget tricks or folderol

to experience yourself as light

let go or your version of life

give up busyness rest in deep silence

ditch 'i'm only my body and mind'

sit still free yourself from concepts

not dividing inner from outer

is the whole sum of existing

feel the exquisite joy and splendor

as your light body breathes vastness

peanut butter fast cars you name it

each great spaciousness outside of concepts

the moment you know yourself as light

all space knows itself as light

the moment you know yourself as light

all things are light and balance

do not underestimate the importance of sitting still

it mystically connects all teachers teachings time

sitting still the denouement of past

precise now the vast luminosity

practicing and resting in calm is intertwined

with incomprehensible vast spaciousness

spaciousness runs through everything you do

sitting still is just one way to know vastness

the sweet world of separateness

already the miraculous spacious unity

so what if your mind and things move about

calm and spacious presence can't be bothered

once you walk as light-spaciousness

enjoy the inside and outside of everything

two rivers flowing in and out of each other

the mystical cooperation of you and all things

after you can walk through myriad light gates

spread the insanity benefit the world-cosmos

In an Ocean of Sky

how sad it is for those

asleep to their vast body

sitting still is not a new fad

it is the essential reality of inter-being

fine words and practices can touch the heart

do not mix these up with calm spacious presence

greed and conceit will drown you

forcing your mind is not peaceful

why doubt such time worn truth

get out of your own way and sit

if you can breathe you can sit

already you are in an ocean of sky

believe in spaciousness

put all you've got into it

take your time and awaken little by little

pay precise attention to now and awaken instantly

when you see as your teacher

you can dwell in joyous spaciousness

the honored cosmic ones

live fully in each spacious moment

An Invitation from Granite Mountains

no school of buddhism is the only right buddhism

the zen flower makes no ridiculous claims

when people of other faiths ask for teachings

we give them warm hearted encouragement

better and worse are one sided misfortune

be wary of people proclaiming high ground

do not get caught in the net

of flowery words and ideas

you need to experience the subtle reality

of spaciousness for yourself

the green earth and granite mountains

invite us into spacious truth

the great vastness is infinitely wide

more abundant than the sum of all things

every atom manifest the arising of truth

the spaciousness of reality

sitting still goes beyond apparent duality

embedded within thoughts feeling concerns awareness

how wondrous to remember that spaciousness

has never been apart from your essential being

the trustworthy zen way relies on wise teachers

confirming students spacious wisdom

Body and Space Entwined

awakening spaciousness is more essential

than precepts equanimity or wisdom

the treasure of spacious inter-being

is the quintessential teaching of buddha

the old worn path of sitting still

dynamic truthful reality beyond compare

do not be misled by names like zen or sitting

the experience of spaciousness has no name

it manifest in standing sitting walking lying

yes wise ones claim sitting the finest gate

when you sit there is nothing to attain

you exist as the original state of spaciousness

everything is included in spacious mind

an even balanced mind holds confusion clarity equally

a beginner sitting still before realization

shares the experience of spaciousness

practice and awakening are not two stages

los viejos the ancient wise ones clarified this

spaciousness always present

sitting matters before and after awakening

when you see the way practice the way

beginners and mature students sit the same

ideas of an eternal mental essence

flies in the face of inter-being

nothing exists separate and apart

no soul nothing immortal nothing eternal

spaciousness and things have always been one

vastness and your body mysteriously entwined

trying to get free of life and death

foolish as thinking a beach pebble is gold

living and dying itself spacious stillness

all reality flashes of lightening this moment

No Second Person

mistake after mistake can not be avoided

continuously benefit from sitting

devotion to sitting still

a sure-fire way to awaken

people of all genders races dispositions

capable of joyful stillness in spaciousness

priests householders salespersons officials murderers

no station precludes awakening

don't let the suffering anguished world

inhibit practicing stillness-spaciousness

you can verify your experience of unity

you know if bath water is warm or cold

the subject object gap won't disappear intellectually

focus your attention and penetrate unity intuitively

sitting in spaciousness is the zen way

before during after intuitive wisdom awakens

anyone awakening stillness-spaciousness

realizes there is no second person

do not depend on external or internal circumstances

keep faith in bright light spaciousness

seeds aplenty of awakened spaciousness are within you

keep maturing in receiving and using them well

be like a wandering cloud without a fixed nature

when exploring the truth of spaciousness

why wait for the right time and place to practice

today is a good day for teaching and learning truth

About The Author

Tai Sheridan

Tai Sheridan was born in 1948 and raised in Southern California. He attended U.C. Berkeley in the sixties, earning a degree in Anthropology and a life based on counter-culture values. A doctorate in Professional Psychology led to careers as a therapist and organizational consultant. He also raised four children in the San Fransisco Bay area.

Tai practiced Zen for fifty years with the Berkeley, San Francisco, and Dharma Eye Zen Centers. After his ordination, he pursued the path of a teacher-writer. He authored The Buddha in Blue Jeans series based on his Zen experience and transformed Buddhist classics into contemplative poetry.

Tai's home studio in Port Townsend looks out at Whidbey Island and the Cascades. He enjoys walking beaches, writing fiction, and sitting quietly at dawn.

Acknowledgments

It took me a lifetime to understand that you are never alone, even on a mountaintop. Since I rely on everything and everybody, I live in profound gratitude.

Bows to my root and ordaining Zen teacher, Sojun Mel Weitsman—you’re always near. For Zen training with Roshis Shunryu Suzuki, Sotan Tatsugami, Dainin Katagiri, Jiyu Kennet, Myogen Steve Stucky, and scores of unnamed teachers.

To Berkeley, San Fransisco Zen Centers, Sanghas, and the Shogaku Zen Institute for Zen in the West. For mentors and dear friends Phil Helfaer, Bill Quinn, and Pat Waters.

To my family and friends who hold me to account and keep me in blue jeans. And to all who have loved me.

Books by Tai Sheridan

Buddha in Blue Jeans

A One Hour Short & Sweet Zen Retreat

Buddha in Blue Jeans: An Extremely Short Zen Guide to Being Buddha

Living in Buddha’s Three Bodies

Relax You're Going to Die

Secrets of True Happiness

Zen Prayers For Repairing Your Life

Buddhist Classics in Verse

Celestial Music: Sutras of Emptiness

The Bare Bones Dhammapada: Big Mind Big Love

The Buddhacarita: A Modern Sequel

The Zen Wheel of Life Mantra

Dogen’s Zen in Verse

Rice Eyes: Enlightenment in Dogen's Kitchen

Snow Falling in Moonlight: Odes in Praise of Shobogenzo

Warm Zen Practice: A Poetic Version of Bendowa

Contact Tai Sheridan through his website

www.taisheridan.com

tai@taisheridan.com