![[Review] Being-Time: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Shobogenzo Uji (Shinshu Roberts) Summarized](https://episodes.castos.com/660078c6833215-59505987/images/2375787/c1a-085k3-34xoq068t766-ywrphh.jpg)
Show Notes
Being-Time: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Shobogenzo Uji (Shinshu Roberts)
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076ZSTKKL?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Being-Time%3A-A-Practitioner%27s-Guide-to-Dogen%27s-Shobogenzo-Uji-Shinshu-Roberts.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/being-time-a-practitioners-guide-to-dogens-shobogenzo-uji/id1655007714?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Being+Time+A+Practitioner+s+Guide+to+Dogen+s+Shobogenzo+Uji+Shinshu+Roberts+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://english.9natree.com/read/B076ZSTKKL/
#Dogen #ShobogenzoUji #SotoZen #Zenmeditation #timeandbeing #BeingTime
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Entering Dogens Uji Without Getting Lost in Concepts, Roberts focuses on helping readers meet Uji as a practice text rather than a riddle to solve. Dogen’s writing style is famously dense, full of wordplay, reversals, and statements that can feel contradictory. A key topic in the book is how to read this kind of Zen text skillfully: staying close to what is being pointed at while noticing the mind’s urge to either grasp a neat theory or dismiss the passage as nonsense. Roberts emphasizes a practitioner’s stance of curiosity, patience, and repeated return. Instead of looking for one final interpretation, the reader is encouraged to let different lines work on them over time, much like returning to the breath in meditation. This approach matters because Uji is aimed at transforming perception, not just transferring information. Roberts also clarifies common stumbling blocks, such as assuming that Dogen is merely discussing clock time or that he is denying ordinary sequence and causality. The topic highlights how a guided reading can preserve the texture of Dogens intent while making it workable for modern readers, blending contemplative seriousness with down to earth orientation toward how practice actually unfolds in the body and in daily commitments.
Secondly, Being and Time as One Reality in Lived Experience, A central theme is the inseparability of who you are and the time you are. In Uji, Dogen challenges the assumption that time is a backdrop and beings move through it. Roberts unpacks this into experiential inquiry: what if each moment is not something you pass through, but the full manifestation of your life, relationships, and world? This topic explores how the present is not a thin slice between past and future, but a complete expression of reality that includes memory, anticipation, and consequence as lived phenomena. Roberts frames this as practical rather than merely metaphysical, because it shifts how practitioners meet anxiety, regret, impatience, and striving. If being is time, then practice is not about reaching a better moment later; it is about realizing and embodying awakening in the moment that is already here. At the same time, this does not collapse into passivity. Instead it can clarify how effort belongs to the moment too, as a concrete activity rather than a promise. The topic shows how Roberts uses Dogens view to invite a more intimate relationship with ordinary time pressures, encouraging readers to notice how each activity, meeting, and breath is the universe appearing as this unique occasion.
Thirdly, Impermanence, Change, and the Myth of a Fixed Self, Roberts connects Dogens teaching to the Buddhist insight of impermanence, but with a distinctive emphasis: change is not a problem to overcome, it is the way reality functions. This topic examines how Uji reframes impermanence from a gloomy fact into a dynamic intimacy with life. When time is seen as external, impermanence can feel like loss happening to a stable me. When time and being are understood as one, the idea of a fixed self becomes less compelling, and experience is revealed as continuous arising and vanishing with no separate owner. Roberts guides readers to consider how identity is composed of shifting conditions, habits, and narratives, and how practice can soften the reflex to defend a solid self. This has ethical and emotional consequences: resentment can loosen because the person you are resenting is not frozen in one moment, and you are not either. Grief can be met with more honesty because change is not a betrayal of how things should be. The topic also addresses how Zen practice grounds this insight: by sitting still, observing thoughts and sensations come and go, and learning to trust the fluidity rather than trying to control it. In this way Roberts presents impermanence as liberation and responsibility at once.
Fourthly, Practice Realization and the Power of This Moment, Another major topic is how Dogen’s view of being time supports his hallmark teaching often described as practice and realization being inseparable. Roberts uses Uji to show why awakening is not merely an end point after long effort, but something expressed through the act of practice itself. If each moment is complete, then zazen is not a technique to manufacture a future experience; it is the enactment of Buddha way now. This does not deny gradual cultivation, discipline, or training. Rather, it reorients them: training becomes the continuous clarification of what is already present, expressed through repeated, sincere engagement with the conditions of this day. Roberts highlights how this view can heal common practitioner traps, including perfectionism, comparison, and discouragement. When people feel behind, they often imagine a timeline where others are ahead and they have failed. Being time reframes that story by returning to what is actually available: posture, breath, ethical choice, and attention in the current situation. The topic also explores how realization can be recognized in ordinary acts, such as listening, washing dishes, or showing up for difficult conversations. Roberts presents these as sites where time and being meet, and where practice becomes real rather than ideal.
Lastly, Everyday Time: Work, Relationships, and Ethical Consequences, Roberts brings Dogens teaching into the messy realities of schedules, responsibilities, and interpersonal life. This topic emphasizes that being time is not an esoteric doctrine reserved for meditation halls; it is directly relevant to how we treat people and how we use our days. When moments are seen as disposable, it becomes easy to postpone kindness, honesty, and care until later. Uji challenges that postponement by suggesting that later is not a separate container where life will finally happen. Roberts encourages readers to examine where they live as if the real life is elsewhere: after retirement, after the next retreat, after a conflict ends, or after they feel more confident. In practice terms, this can turn into chasing special experiences while neglecting the present responsibilities that shape character. The topic explores how a being time perspective supports ethical action by making consequences immediate and intimate. What you do now is not simply done in time, it is time taking form. That view can deepen commitment to vows, relationships, and community, because each encounter is a complete expression of your life. Roberts thus frames Dogens insight as an invitation to meet ordinary time with reverence, accountability, and warmth.
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076ZSTKKL?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Being-Time%3A-A-Practitioner%27s-Guide-to-Dogen%27s-Shobogenzo-Uji-Shinshu-Roberts.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/being-time-a-practitioners-guide-to-dogens-shobogenzo-uji/id1655007714?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Being+Time+A+Practitioner+s+Guide+to+Dogen+s+Shobogenzo+Uji+Shinshu+Roberts+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://english.9natree.com/read/B076ZSTKKL/
#Dogen #ShobogenzoUji #SotoZen #Zenmeditation #timeandbeing #BeingTime
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, Entering Dogens Uji Without Getting Lost in Concepts, Roberts focuses on helping readers meet Uji as a practice text rather than a riddle to solve. Dogen’s writing style is famously dense, full of wordplay, reversals, and statements that can feel contradictory. A key topic in the book is how to read this kind of Zen text skillfully: staying close to what is being pointed at while noticing the mind’s urge to either grasp a neat theory or dismiss the passage as nonsense. Roberts emphasizes a practitioner’s stance of curiosity, patience, and repeated return. Instead of looking for one final interpretation, the reader is encouraged to let different lines work on them over time, much like returning to the breath in meditation. This approach matters because Uji is aimed at transforming perception, not just transferring information. Roberts also clarifies common stumbling blocks, such as assuming that Dogen is merely discussing clock time or that he is denying ordinary sequence and causality. The topic highlights how a guided reading can preserve the texture of Dogens intent while making it workable for modern readers, blending contemplative seriousness with down to earth orientation toward how practice actually unfolds in the body and in daily commitments.
Secondly, Being and Time as One Reality in Lived Experience, A central theme is the inseparability of who you are and the time you are. In Uji, Dogen challenges the assumption that time is a backdrop and beings move through it. Roberts unpacks this into experiential inquiry: what if each moment is not something you pass through, but the full manifestation of your life, relationships, and world? This topic explores how the present is not a thin slice between past and future, but a complete expression of reality that includes memory, anticipation, and consequence as lived phenomena. Roberts frames this as practical rather than merely metaphysical, because it shifts how practitioners meet anxiety, regret, impatience, and striving. If being is time, then practice is not about reaching a better moment later; it is about realizing and embodying awakening in the moment that is already here. At the same time, this does not collapse into passivity. Instead it can clarify how effort belongs to the moment too, as a concrete activity rather than a promise. The topic shows how Roberts uses Dogens view to invite a more intimate relationship with ordinary time pressures, encouraging readers to notice how each activity, meeting, and breath is the universe appearing as this unique occasion.
Thirdly, Impermanence, Change, and the Myth of a Fixed Self, Roberts connects Dogens teaching to the Buddhist insight of impermanence, but with a distinctive emphasis: change is not a problem to overcome, it is the way reality functions. This topic examines how Uji reframes impermanence from a gloomy fact into a dynamic intimacy with life. When time is seen as external, impermanence can feel like loss happening to a stable me. When time and being are understood as one, the idea of a fixed self becomes less compelling, and experience is revealed as continuous arising and vanishing with no separate owner. Roberts guides readers to consider how identity is composed of shifting conditions, habits, and narratives, and how practice can soften the reflex to defend a solid self. This has ethical and emotional consequences: resentment can loosen because the person you are resenting is not frozen in one moment, and you are not either. Grief can be met with more honesty because change is not a betrayal of how things should be. The topic also addresses how Zen practice grounds this insight: by sitting still, observing thoughts and sensations come and go, and learning to trust the fluidity rather than trying to control it. In this way Roberts presents impermanence as liberation and responsibility at once.
Fourthly, Practice Realization and the Power of This Moment, Another major topic is how Dogen’s view of being time supports his hallmark teaching often described as practice and realization being inseparable. Roberts uses Uji to show why awakening is not merely an end point after long effort, but something expressed through the act of practice itself. If each moment is complete, then zazen is not a technique to manufacture a future experience; it is the enactment of Buddha way now. This does not deny gradual cultivation, discipline, or training. Rather, it reorients them: training becomes the continuous clarification of what is already present, expressed through repeated, sincere engagement with the conditions of this day. Roberts highlights how this view can heal common practitioner traps, including perfectionism, comparison, and discouragement. When people feel behind, they often imagine a timeline where others are ahead and they have failed. Being time reframes that story by returning to what is actually available: posture, breath, ethical choice, and attention in the current situation. The topic also explores how realization can be recognized in ordinary acts, such as listening, washing dishes, or showing up for difficult conversations. Roberts presents these as sites where time and being meet, and where practice becomes real rather than ideal.
Lastly, Everyday Time: Work, Relationships, and Ethical Consequences, Roberts brings Dogens teaching into the messy realities of schedules, responsibilities, and interpersonal life. This topic emphasizes that being time is not an esoteric doctrine reserved for meditation halls; it is directly relevant to how we treat people and how we use our days. When moments are seen as disposable, it becomes easy to postpone kindness, honesty, and care until later. Uji challenges that postponement by suggesting that later is not a separate container where life will finally happen. Roberts encourages readers to examine where they live as if the real life is elsewhere: after retirement, after the next retreat, after a conflict ends, or after they feel more confident. In practice terms, this can turn into chasing special experiences while neglecting the present responsibilities that shape character. The topic explores how a being time perspective supports ethical action by making consequences immediate and intimate. What you do now is not simply done in time, it is time taking form. That view can deepen commitment to vows, relationships, and community, because each encounter is a complete expression of your life. Roberts thus frames Dogens insight as an invitation to meet ordinary time with reverence, accountability, and warmth.
