We started to record Sensei’s Saturday seminar talks onto cassette tape sometime in 1978 and continued throughout the 80s and 90s. We also recorded the talks he gave at the sesshins held every year in Tokein. We have converted the recordings to MP3 format but we have not edited them in any way and the quality is therefore variable. Many of the talks end before the full length of the tape, which was one hour, and so there is a long silence at the end of the recording. There may also be a 20-second silence at the start of some of the tapes. Thanks to Ralph Hoyte for the many hours of work involved in converting the tapes to MP3 format.
These recordings will give you a good impression of the way Sensei delivered his talks and the strong insistent tone of his voice in teaching the Buddhism of Master Dogen. Many of the tapes are talks on specific chapters of the Shobogenzo, but there are also general talks about the relationship between Western philosophy and Buddhism – one of Sensei’s favourite topics, and other general subjects. Most of the talks are dated, with a few of unknown date. All were recorded between 1978 and 1999.