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I discovered the 13th-century Japanese Zen master Eihei Dogen when I was an 18-year-old punk rock bass player. Now I’m a waaaayyy-more-than-18-year-old punk rock bass player, and I’m still trying to understand his philosophy and practice.
Dogen is unusual in the realm of Zen Buddhist thinkers in that he wrote his own stuff and was pretty young when he did so. Mostly when you read ancient Zen philosophy, you’re not only reading the words of a very old person, but you’re reading those words as interpreted by their students, since few of the old Zen masters (male and female, see below) were writers.
Dogen was a writer, and what’s more, he started writing very early in his career. He did most of his writing when he was in his 30s and 40s. He became a monk when he was just 12. So while he’s very wise, he’s also young and fired up and often kind of ornery. Just the kind of thing a punk rock kid like me needed.
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