To Raise a Speck of Dust

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk given during the Winter Practice Period, Sensei Kodo explores Case 214 from Dogen’s 300 Koan Shobogenzo: If you raise a particle of dust, the nation flourishes but the people frown; if you don’t raise a particle of dust, the nation perishes but the people are at ease. Sensei Kodo connects this to modern challenges of technology and constant stimulation, suggesting that while building and creating (raising dust) can lead to progress and achievement, it may also cause internal (or societal) distress. Kodo compares translations of the koan and reflects on the tension between doing and non-doing and our role in the ‘dust’ we raise in society. We are reminded that meditation practice is a refuge from the constant need to produce and consume even as meditation itself is commodified. Kodo concludes the talk by exploring how Dogen’s interpretation connects this teaching to the fundamental Buddhist principle of refraining from unwholesome action, suggesting a middle path between complete non-action and constant doing.