Oct 8, 2026 · 34 min · 10 segments
We continue our series based on master Tong'an Changcha's 'Ten Talks of Unfathomable Depth', and this month we tackle poem number 9, called Changing Ranks. The texts says: 9\. Changing Ranks…
Jundo CohenHost
So today when we get into this, you're gonna see a lot of the same kind of symbolism.
What is it expressing? It's expressing some of the most basic wisdom of Mahayana and Zen Buddhism.
Dogen, for a very good reason, did not like taking a formalistic approach to this for a reason I'll explain, but it was just as true as his teachings.
So the two truths are this world of broken pieces and the, shall we say, perspective on this all where there are no pieces and nothing to be broken.
And, uh ... that two truths or three truths- The three, the third truth is where the two basically come together as one, beyond one.
And then, and then Dongshan spoke about the five ranks, which is them coming together with different, how to say, flavors of each.
A little more bass, a little less, more treble, a little less treble, a little more bass, like that.
Okay? And then when you, you, you put them all together, you get the one, you know, the nice mix there.
Dogen didn't like it to be a formula because he said these, these two truths or three truths are, they're not a formula.
It's a little bit like if I go to a, uh, my TikTok feed and I get the five rules for love or the 10 rules for being a good parent and I read them, you know? They may be, you know, quite practical and helpful.
It's not gonna help you in the actual living, breathing experience of being a parent where this all comes to life.
But his, his Shobogenzo's music was just dancing this, just, with just expressing this.
We're often lost, especially before we come to Buddhism and other spiritual practices like this, these non-dual practices.
So today when we get into this, you're gonna see a lot of the same kind of symbolism.
What is it expressing? It's expressing some of the most basic wisdom of Mahayana and Zen Buddhism.
Dogen, for a very good reason, did not like taking a formalistic approach to this for a reason I'll explain, but it was just as true as his teachings.
So the two truths are this world of broken pieces and the, shall we say, perspective on this all where there are no pieces and nothing to be broken.
And, uh ... that two truths or three truths- The three, the third truth is where the two basically come together as one, beyond one.
And then, and then Dongshan spoke about the five ranks, which is them coming together with different, how to say, flavors of each.
A little more bass, a little less, more treble, a little less treble, a little more bass, like that.
Okay? And then when you, you, you put them all together, you get the one, you know, the nice mix there.
Dogen didn't like it to be a formula because he said these, these two truths or three truths are, they're not a formula.
It's a little bit like if I go to a, uh, my TikTok feed and I get the five rules for love or the 10 rules for being a good parent and I read them, you know? They may be, you know, quite practical and helpful.
It's not gonna help you in the actual living, breathing experience of being a parent where this all comes to life.
But his, his Shobogenzo's music was just dancing this, just, with just expressing this.
We're often lost, especially before we come to Buddhism and other spiritual practices like this, these non-dual practices.
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