Dōgen’s Enlightenment Cycle

This five-week series explores how Dōgen understood life, death, awakening, and how enlightenment is embodied in your everyday life.

What to Expect:

• Five weekly sessions — offered both in-person at One River Zen and online

• Accessible teaching rooted in tradition, grounded in lived life

• Recordings provided for those who cannot attend live

• A supportive, sincere community of practice

Week 1 — Entering Dōgen’s World

An introduction to Eihei Dōgen and the Shōbōgenzō: who he was, why these teachings were written, and how to approach them as living Zen rather than abstract doctrine.

Week 2 — Shōji (Birth & Death)

How Zen meets life openly — and how awakening is found inside impermanence.

Week 3 — Busshō (Buddha-Nature)

What it means to be whole and complete just as we are, even in struggle, illness, and imperfection.

Week 4 — Daigo (Great Awakening)

What awakening really is — not an event, but the natural expression of a life lived deeply.

Week 5 — Gyōji (Continuous Practice)

How awakening becomes a way of living, sustained through time, sangha, and vows.