Striking Emptiness

Zen Master Dogen's Bendowa

By: Daniel Gallagher

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Bendōwa (The Wholehearted Way) was written in 1231, and reveals the heart of Zen practice and its effect on awakening to our true nature. In this work, Dogen emphasizes the importance of commitment to meditation as a path to enlightenment, as well as meditation being a manifestation of enlightenment itself. Bendōwa skillfully guides practitioners toward the realization of their true nature and its actualization in their daily lives. This commentary renders this ancient text accessible to the modern reader while remaining true to its original meaning.

Excellent dharma discussion on Dogen

I found this audiobook to be an excellent and clarifying exposition of Dogen Zenji’s Bendowa. Virtual voice on the whole is a very good development, allowing more books to be converted to the audio format. The voice is very pleasant and pronunciation, while not perfect is quite good. One gets used to the quirks. For instance zazen usually sounded like zozen. I wonder if this can be tweaked. Regardless this book is very highly recommended!