Kaz Tanahashi & Joshin Brian Byrnes: Enlightened all the Way (Circle of the Way Sesshin Part 3)

Summary: Episode Description: Kaz explores the Soto Zen understanding of "enlightenment," as well as its Rinzai counterpart. He narrates how Dogen's "circle of the way" was a crucial formula of this understanding in the 20th century rediscovery of Dogen (a good story!). He illuminates some other familiar Zen translation choices, like "practice", and endorses the subtle power of this phrase, "circle of the way," to shape our practice -- our consciousness -- and so eventually, culture. Joshin gives an evocative inner reading of the ritual arc of a sesshin day: a miniature of the heart's sojourn on the circle of the way. He probes the various strengths that each chant, synchronized gesture and ritual meal might awaken, equipping us "to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time," in Eliot's famous phrase: "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything." Joshin likens ritual elements to musical elements: to be understood feelingly, with an intuition somewhat beyond what we think we know. For Kaz's Bio, please visit Part 2, and for Joshin's Bio plus series description, please visit Part 1. To access the entire series, please click on the link below: Circle of the Way Sesshin Series: All 4 Parts