Afterword
Igave talks on Bendōwa at "Meetings to Taste the Meaning of Shōbōgenzō" held at Sō senji in Kyoto each month from November 1978 to July 1979. This book was transcribed and edited [in Japanese] by Ishiguro Kenichi from the record of my talks.
At the same time, I was working on another book Jinseika Dokuhon (Text on human life). Because of it I was so busy that publication of this book was delayed. But I am grateful that, through this work, I could deepen myself.
Many records of teishō., commentaries, or translations of Shōbōgenzō into modern Japanese have been published. However, probably because people venerate the original text too much, it seems to me that they only put Dōgen Zenji's words into other Buddhist terminology.
My late teacher Sawaki Kōdō Roshi used to say that when we read Buddhist scriptures, we should illuminate our own mind with the ancient teachings and squeeze out the buddha-dharma as our own expression. I have been following my teacher's admonition and trying to appreciate Shōbōgenzō from a deeper perspective. I think this is the work of my closing years.
I am happy if readers follow Shōbōgenzō with me as their own matter, and appreciate it on the ground of their own lives.
Uchiyama Kōshō