Dogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen School as well as of Daihonzan Eiheiji, was born on January 2, 1200 CE. This was during the Kamakura Period of Japanese history, the year following the death of Minamoto Yoritomo. It is said that his father was Koga Michichika, a government minister, and that his mother was Ishi, the daughter of Fujiwara Motofusa. Presumably, young Dogen Zenji lived in comfort. However, at the age of thirteen, he climbed Mt. Hiei, and the next year he shaved his head and became a monk. It is said that he became a monk because he felt the impermanence of the world on his mother’s death when he was eight years old.
in China at the age of 24 in search of the true way of Buddha, he met Nyojo Zenji on Mt. Tendo where there was true practice focused on zazen
"I sat zazen day and night. When it was extremely hot or cold, many of the monks stopped sitting for a while because they were afraid of getting sick. At the time, I thought to myself, ‘I’m not sick and if I don’t practice, then it would be useless for me to have come all the way to China. Dying from illness because of practice would be in accord with my original wish’ and so, I continued to sit.” (Shobogenzo Zuimonki) It was to this extent that Dogen Zenji devoted himself to zazen. Many Japanese monks who went to study and practice in China brought back a mound of Buddhist sutras as souvenirs when they returned to Japan, but Dogen Zenji came back empty handed. The only thing that Dogen Zenji brought back with him was having made the teaching of only/just single-minded sitting his own (shikan-taza).
In order to encourage as many people as possible to practice zazen, Dogen Zenji wrote “A Universal Recommendation of Zazen” (Fukan-zazengi) in which he carefully explained the significance of zazen and how to practice it.
n 1244, the monastery that had been funded by Hatano Yoshishige was completed. At first named Daibutsuji, the name was later changed to Eiheiji. This is the present-day Daihonzan Eiheiji.It was here that Dogen Zenji continued to practice strictly while fostering his disciples. In 1253, he fell sick and died at the age of 53. (http://global.sotozen-net.or.jp/eng/dogen_zenji.html)
Dogen mind may be a necessary for today's people. esp. Japanese young people. This is for nonreligious reasons. after time, I want to challenge "Zen sitting meditation(ZAZEN)".
(http://www.zen.sh/)
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