Dōgen’s discourse on determinism and free will in his late treatises

Abstract

The article contains an analysis of three treatises by the Japanese Zen master Dōgen (1200–1253) from his collection “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye” (Shōbōgenzō, 13th century). The texts, Shukke Kudoky, Sanji Gō and Jinshin Inga, were written down in the last years of Dōgen’s life or shortly after his death by his closest student and successor, Kōun Ejō (1198–1280). The article discusses the opinions of followers of “critical Buddhism” (hihan-bukkyō) and other scholars about the place these treatises occupy in Dōgen’s legacy and what he argues in them. Analysis of the texts shows how Dōgen interpreted the problem of the relationship between the Buddhist concept of causality and free will. Recognizing the universal operation of the law of the interdependent emergence of things, Dōgen reserves the right of free choice for every person. He emphasizes that any person is personally responsible for their choice. A careful reading of Dōgen’s treatises also encourages modern people to think about the consequences of decisions that they make, about such a fundamental philosophical problem as the relationship between determination and free will. The article is followed by a translation of the treatise Jinshin Inga, which was earlier translated into Russian only from English, and therefore it’s the first translation of the text from the original bungo version.