Norman Fischer & Kaz Tanahashi & Ruth Ozeki: 07-21-2014: Dogen’s “Time Being” Sesshin (Part 4)

Summary: Episode Description: In this talk we’re treated to no less than three unique riffs on Dogen’s conceptions of time. First Sensei Kaz speaks about how time doesn’t “merely fly away” but flows to fill each moment, as water flows to one rice paddy after another. Next Ruth Ozeki reads a conversation from her heavily Dogen-colored novel, “A Tale for the Time Being,” about the crucial understanding of just what a moment is. Finally Roshi Norman reads his own poems and asks, “if you are time, how could you be you? How could you possibly be fooled by the smallness of your own story, your own pain?” Bio: Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest. Her first two novels, My Year of Meats (1998) and All Over Creation (2003), have been translated into 11 languages and published in 14 countries. Her most recent work, A Tale for the Time-Being (2013), was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and will be published in over thirty countries. Ruth's documentary and dramatic independent films, including Halving the Bones, have been shown on PBS, at the Sundance Film Festival, and at colleges and universities across the country. A longtime Buddhist practitioner, Ruth ordained in 2010 and is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foundation. She lives in British Columbia and New York City For Series description and other Teacher BIOs, please visit Part 1. To access the entire series, please click on the link below: Dogen's “Time Being” Sesshin Series: All 5 Parts