Eihei Dogen’s teaching on time is found in the essay titled “Uji” translated as “Time Being” or “Being Time.” While aimed at freeing us from socially-conditioned concept of time, Dogen’s teachings are always urging us to awaken completely from delusions of all kinds.

See our Fall 2024 six-week class on “Time Being” here.

Translations of Dogen’s “Time Being”

“Being Time,” in The Heart of Dogen’s Shobogenzo, translated by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe

“The Time-being,” in Moon in a Dewdrop, translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Dan Welch

“Sometimes,” in Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, translated by the Soto Zen Translation Project

“Existence-Time,” in Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-eye Treasury, translated by Guido Nishijima and Chodo Cross

Contemporary Commentaries on “Time Being”

Being Time, Shinshu Roberts (our primary text for Practice Intensive)

“Notes on Dogen’s “Being-time,” a short introduction by Shinshu Roberts

Every Moment is the Universe, Dainin Katagiri
Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom, Kosho Uchiyama
Visions of Awakening Space and Time, Taigen Daniel Leigton

While not a Zen book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, byJenny Odell is a marvelous meditation on time and attention that resonates deeply with Dogen’s understanding. Highly recommended.