This is part 4 of the “Zen Buddhism” series on Buddhist Books Podcast. In this episode, we’ll be reading the first lecture recorded in Eihei Dōgen’s “Shobogenzo” entitled “Bendowa,” which he wrote in 1231.

This is a special episode because, rather than being filmed in my office in Delhi, it is filmed in Bodh Gaya with Mahabodhi Temple just behind me. In today's episode, we briefly jump ahead on the timeline from the early Theravada schools of Buddhism to Master Dogen bringing Soto Chan into Japan...