In this sixth installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores the seamless flow of being-time, where past and present are not separate but fully included in the ever-present now. Through Dōgen’s imagery of pine and bamboo, the commentary shows how each thing completely manifests its own uji and how time is not a backdrop to existence, but existence itself.

In this fifth installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores how being-time dissolves the idea that past experiences are simply left behind. The teaching invites us to see past, present, and future as intimately woven into the infinite-present moment, revealing a more complete understanding of self, time, and true nature.

In this fourth installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores the teaching that each form, moment, and “sprouting” is a complete expression of the whole earth. The commentary examines impermanence, interconnectedness, and the limits of perception, inviting us to recognize that uji includes both what we understand and what remains unseen.

In this third installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores how we continually construct both a universe and a sense of self from the fragments of experience. Through the lens of impermanence, practice, and “sometime” being, the teaching invites us to see self and world as fluid expressions of uji rather than fixed realities.

In this second installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores the ever-changing nature of being-time, impermanence, doubt, and the golden radiance of lived experience. The teaching invites us to question our ordinary assumptions about past, present, and future and to encounter each moment as a complete expression of uji.

In this opening installment of his commentary on Dōgen’s Uji, Sensei Michael Brunner explores Yakusan Igen’s verse on mountains, Buddhas, monks, ordinary people, and everyday objects as expressions of uji. Rather than reducing uji to “being-time,” Brunner invites readers to encounter it directly through wonder, practice, and lived experience.