Zazen True and False - The Continuous Actualization of Sole-Sitting

 

Continuous Actualization of Sole-Sitting – The Keystone of Zen

To clearly see is to use the Dharma-Eye, sometimes called the “eye to read scriptures.” To use the Dharma-Eye it must first be opened, and thereafter it must be skillfully developed and continuously actualized; this ongoing development and actualization is the keystone of authentic Zen practice and enlightenment, it is the art of Zen that Dogen calls sole-sitting (shikantaza, zazen-only). Once the Dharma-Eye is active, Zen practice (zazen-only) is actively developed and expanded to become inclusive not only of meditation, studying sutras, training with koans, etc., but every aspect of life. Going to work, taking out the garbage, mowing the lawn, and eating meals is Zen practice (just sitting). Shobogenzo provides detailed examples on the zazen of cooking, making robes, teeth cleaning, and even using the toilet. When the True Dharma-Eye is open, these are not the mundane tasks of cooking and cleaning, but the normal mind of the Tao, the authentic practice-enlightenment of Zen.

 

Once we find the Way that arrives at Buddha, we leave the area of the common person immediately. The people that have mastered this Way are few.

Himitsu Shobogenzo, Bustu-kojo-no-ji, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

 

From the perspective of Zen, the opening of the Dharma-Eye is simultaneous with the Zen student becoming a Zen practitioner. An authentic Zen practitioner, by definition, solely practices Zen. In a very real sense, for the Zen practitioner there is no “Zen practice” (zazen; meditation) and therefore nothing other than “Zen practice.”

 

Regardless of what “shikantaza” or “just sitting” might have come to be defined or interpreted as being by various groups and individuals following Dogen’s existence-time, the nature of the “just sitting” presented by Shobogenzo has nothing to do with the kind of sitting that is thought of, spoken about, or performed in the “area of the common person.” Indeed, it is inevitable that the vast majority of ideas, definitions, explanations, and interpretations of shikantaza are distortions and misrepresentations, for “The people that have mastered this Way are few.”

 

There will be those who dote on what has passed and try to mimic that, and there may even be demons who slander those above them and refuse to learn from them. Do not be attracted to either type or feel resentment towards either. Why do I say not to feel sorry for them or resent them? Because it is said that people who recognize the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion to be what they are, are rare enough, so there is no need to feel resentment towards those who do not. Even more importantly, you should not lose sight of the intention that arose when you first took delight in seeking the Way of the Buddhas. It is said that when we first give rise to this intention, we are not seeking the Dharma so that others will praise us, but are discarding thoughts of fame and gain. Without seeking fame or gain, we should simply be persons who hold to the true course of realizing the Way, never concerning ourselves with expectations of recognition or support from rulers or other officials.

 

Even though this is the ideal, there are some people today who, alas, are devoid of any fundamental spiritual aspirations, having no spiritual goal that they seek, and are not the least concerned over their delusive entanglements with both ordinary people and those in lofty positions.

Shobogenzo, Keisei Sanshoku, Hubert Nearman

 

Leaving pity and resentment aside, then, let us dive right into Shobogenzo’s own presentation of what “shikantaza” or “just sitting” truly is. First, the term “shikan” (or shikantaza) that is often translated as “just” as in “just sitting” (shikan; just, taza; sitting) does not denote “merely,” or “simply,” but rather, “solely,” “totally,” “wholly.” Here we want to mention a point that is worth noticing; “shikan” is a homophone of “chih kuan” (stopping and seeing, meditation and prajna, samadhi and insight), a central notion of Tendai Buddhism, the actual tradition into which Dogen was initially ordained and which remained a central influence throughout his lifetime. The Tendai notion of “chih-kuan” presents “solely, wholly, etc.” in a specifically nondual manner – Tendai expressions on “stopping and seeing” (chih-kuan) emphasize  the unity of stopping-and-seeing so that stopping is stopping/seeing and seeing is stopping/seeing. The notion that Dogen intentionally employs the term “shikan” in some context of the significance of “chi-kuan” has been noticed and discussed in the scholarly community (e.g. Kodera, Heine) but has been largely dismissed as an interesting by unverifiable possibility. In view of Dogen’s characteristic use of homophonic language, and the fact that he was intimately familiar with the connotations of both terms it would seem that the intentional “double meaning” of “shikan” should be regarded as “given” and the notion it was unintended considered unlikely.

 

In any case, zazen is presented by Shobogenzo as the archetype of authentic practice-enlightenment itself. While Zen practice-enlightenment is only and always portrayed by Shobogenzo as something specific and particular – never as something vague or general – it is definitely not presented as being limited or confined to a specific form or particular activity. True, the only actual instances of practice-enlightenment that has or ever will manifest, is the practice-enlightenment of particular Zen practitioners at specific locations-times, but the form (hence, essence) of those instances are not in any way restricted to particular structures or activities. Particular Zen practitioners and actual instances of Zen practice-enlightenment are not two (nondual); Zen practice-enlightenment is solely manifest by and as Zen practitioners, Zen practitioners are solely manifest by and as Zen practice-enlightenment. This truth is archetypally embodied and expressed in Shobogenzo as “zazen,” described as “zazen-only” (shikantaza; solely sitting), and methodologically presented and transmitted as “nonthinking.”

 

As an archetypal image, zazen presents (makes present) Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment on the “immovable spot” or “Bodhi-Seat.” The Bodhi-Seat is the instance of existence-time wherein the Buddha awakens; the moment-event of Buddhism’s supreme of the supreme, archetypally presented by the image of Buddha sitting upright in the lotus posture at the location-time of his enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree.

 

Described and explained as zazen-only (shikantaza), zazen is revealed as the “axis mundi,” the still point at the center of the Dharma-Wheel wherein the myriad dharmas ceaselessly rise and set in and as the continuous advance of the universe into novelty. Zazen-only demonstrates how the “three modes of conduct” (thoughts, words, and deeds) are wholly grounded in, at, and as the immovable spot; each and all the myriad dharmas are solely-seated in, at, and as this here-now of existence-time.

 

Methodologically presented and transmitted as nonthinking, zazen is made accessible for the liberation of all beings as the Buddha-Dharma itself; the “Great Vehicle” or “One Vehicle” (Mahayana or Ekayana) that is the essence of Zen. The “essence of Zen” being nondual with the “form of Zen,” is thus nothing more or less than Zen’s phenomenal expression in and as existence-time. As a spatial-temporal essence/form, the Zen is accessed by humans in the same manner and through the same capacities humans access any other manifest reality; the normal capacities of language, thinking, and reason. In Shobogenzo these capacities are most comprehensively treated by the vision of “nonthinking,” creatively presented as a unification and transcendence of “thinking” and “not-thinking.”

 

Thus, in Shobogenzo to engage in zazen is to be a Zen practitioner and to be a Zen practitioner is to engage in zazen. To be a Zen practitioner or engage in zazen is to be solely seated here-now; fully and totally enacting and being enacted in and as the myriad dharmas, in and as every thought, word, and deed.

 

It is not difficult to see that this vision of zazen is nothing more or less than the practical application of the principles of nonduality. For one that has verified that form is emptiness, all forms are empty; this cup is empty, this speech is empty, this boat race is empty – thus each particular dharma is solely-empty. Likewise, to verify the Buddha-nature of self (thus, of self/other), is to verify the Buddha-nature of all thoughts, words, and deeds; this memory is self, this utterance is self, this walking is self – each thought, word, and deed is solely-self (or solely Buddha). As the archetypal image of Zen practice-enlightenment, zazen is the embodiment of Zen practice-enlightenment, thus to be a Zen practitioner is to solely embody to be solely embodied as zazen.

 

In this sense, to be a Zen practitioner is to actualize zazen – to actualize anything other than zazen is not to be a Zen practitioner. Hence, a genuine practitioner is “solely seated” in and as existence-time here-now. Zen practice-enlightenment is, as it is, “solely sitting.”

 

From the Zen perspective it would be dualistic to regard practice-enlightenment as a distinct, independent reality; a Zen practitioner cannot “sit in zazen” and “study sutras,” or “sit in zazen” and “train with koans,” etc., for a Zen practitioner “solely sits” or “just sits.” As authentic practice-enlightenment is just sitting; any and all of a Zen practitioner’s thoughts, words, and deeds are just sitting. Zen practitioners do not teach, work, eat, sleep, and solely sit – teaching, working, eating, sleeping are solely sitting. All dharmas are solely emptiness; self and other are solely Buddha-nature; and the thoughts, words, and deeds of Zen practitioners are solely sitting.

 

For the Zen practitioner, then, there is sitting that is solely sitting and there is walking that is solely sitting; sitting is not walking and walking is not sitting, but both sitting and walking are solely sitting, solely zazen. The thinking of a Zen practitioner is not the speaking or acting of a Zen practitioner, but the thinking, speaking, and acting of a Zen practitioner is solely sitting, zazen-only.

 

Hence, there is the mind’s just sitting there, which is not the same as the body’s just sitting there. And there is the body’s just sitting there, which is not the same as the mind’s just sitting. There is ‘just sitting there with body and mind having dropped off’, which is not the same as ‘just sitting in order to drop off body and mind’. To have already realized such a state is the perfect oneness of practice and understanding that the Buddhas and Ancestors have experienced. Maintain and safeguard your mind’s functions of remembering, considering, and reflecting. Thoroughly explore through your training what mind, intent, and consciousness truly are.

Shobogenzo, Zammai-ō Zammai, Hubert Nearman

 

Distorted, superficial, and superstitious notions concerning Dogen’s teachings on zazen-only abound in the contemporary Zen community. The majority of these distortions can be remedied by simply learning to appreciate the difference between metaphorical or mythopoeic language and the language of literal description, coupled with clear grasp of the basic principles of Buddhist nonduality. Many factors, including superficial views of emptiness and imitators attempting to cash in on the success of genuine Zen, have contributed to simplistic notions of seated meditation (zazen) over the course of Zen’s history. The fallacious notions of zazen embraced today are fundamentally the same as those that have dogged Zen throughout its history.

 

The most common fallacies combine elements of simplification and superstition; simplifications portraying zazen literally, as “sitting” (the physical posture of sitting), and superstitions about zazen (the simplistic literal sense) being the only element necessary to realize Zen liberation. Not infrequently it is even suggested that “just sitting” (in the literal sense) is enlightenment itself. Commonly dressed up in trite slogans about “no goals,” “nothing special,” “just this,” etc., zazen - the very keystone of Zen practice-enlightenment - is pawned off as a simple arrangement of the body-mind in a proscribed posture of physical sitting. Shobogenzo asserts what common sense already suggests concerning such notions:

 

Even if some appear to understand physical sitting to be what the Buddha taught, they have not yet grasped that ‘sitting there’ means “Just sit there!”

Shobogenzo, Zammai-ō Zammai, Hubert Nearman

 

Despite Shobogenzo’s clear instructions, the classical Zen teachings, and common sense however, such notions continue to be accepted and applied by groups and individuals far and wide. Routinely arranging their body-mind in an upright, cross-legged sitting posture for measured periods of time, such groups and individuals honestly believe they are enacting “what the Buddha taught.” This shallow mimicry of the Buddha’s enlightenment is, in their view, the “just sitting” that Dogen taught. 

 

Of course, there is nothing wrong, or even unusual about erroneous understandings and false views; everyone has them, and even sages are compelled to continuously let go of old views in order to advance, expand, and clarify their understanding and skill. Sages know enough about stagnation and petrifaction to avoid becoming attached to any manner of fixed view; ego-centricity, spiritual pride, and sectarian allegiance however, can be extremely powerful obstacles for even the sincerest of genuine aspirants. 

 

As noted, promoters of distorted versions of Dogen’s “zazen” commonly proceed as if Zen expressions are meant to be understood in the literal sense of descriptive language rather than the mythopoeic language common to all sacred literature (as well as true art). To support and impress the notion that “just sitting” literally means to just sit in the ordinary physical sense, and that this “activity” is the only thing necessary for actualizing authentic practice-realization, proponents commonly cite cherry-picked phrases from Dogen’s voluminous writings. 

 

Parenthetically speaking two points are worth mention; in direct contradiction to their insistence on a “literal” reading of zazen, etc., these same advocates frequently insist on the “metaphorical” reading of numerous expressions in Dogen’s writings which they contend "actually mean" the literal performance of zazen. Second, such advocates typically assume a very liberal tolerance for their own biases while imposing strict constraints on the contentions of others; if, for example, one of their “supporting quotes" from Dogen is contested by an apparently contradictory quote from a different passage in Dogen’s work, the latter is likely to by dismissed as “out of context,” while the former is simply repeated as if its context were self-evident.

 

In general, then, the basic fallacy is that Dogen taught a unique style of Zen (i.e. Japanese Soto Zen) advocating a single method practice (i.e. zazen-only) essentially consisting of the literal performance of physically sitting still, commonly portrayed as being accompanied with a particularly “detached” mental attitude. The physical aspects described are technically equivalent to the basic meditation techniques common to most Buddhist traditions; sitting upright in the lotus (or half-lotus) position (a crossed-legged sitting posture). The mental aspect or attitude advocated is often described (again, in literal terms) as a kind of intentionally “goalless,” “objectless,” or “detached” state of mind. When pressed to elaborate, proponents of such notions tend to explain “goalless” or “objectless” in negative or apophatic terms; as meaning the abstention or avoidance of utilizing traditional Buddhist techniques such as mindfulness of Buddha, the body, mind, breath, koans, scriptures, etc. – zazen, they contend, is literally “just sitting”  with no object in mind, maintaining a detached but focused awareness wherein thoughts, words, and deeds, if noticed at all, are simply to be noted and “let go of” without arousing questions or second thoughts.

 

This, then, or something similar, is supposed to by Dogen’s supreme method; so effective no other practice is essential for authentic Zen actualization; there is literally no need to offer incense, bow, chant, confess, read sutras, or perform any other traditional or nontraditional practice. To support such notions, the most frequently quoted “authoritative” passage comes from an early writing of Dogen titled, Bendowa:

 

After the initial meeting with a [good] counselor we never again need to burn incense, to do prostrations, to recite Buddha’s name, to practice confession, or to read sutras. Just sit and get the state that is free of body and mind. If a human being, even for a single moment, manifests the Buddha’s posture in the three forms of conduct, while [that person] sits up straight in samādhi, the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha’s posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization.

Bendowa, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

 

First, how does one that takes Dogen’s expressions literally go about manifesting “the three forms of conduct (thinking, speech, and action), while [that person] sits up straight in samadhi…”? Fortunately, Dogen was a Zen master not a delusional zealot, thus his language, like that of all the great sages, is mythical, not historical, mythopoeic not biographic – Shobogenzo is an expression of human truth, not an "objective" dissertation. If Dogen had truly believed practice-enlightenment consisted in the performance of a particular physical posture/mental attitude, he would not have dedicated most of his time and energy writing and teaching otherwise. Fortunately, Dogen understood, acknowledged, and taught that the real form of zazen-only was the myriad dharmas:

 

You need to discern and affirm for yourself the underlying meaning of his saying, “If you wish to see Buddha Nature, you must first rid yourself of your arrogant pride.” It is not that one lacks sight, but the seeing of which he spoke is based on ridding oneself of one’s arrogant pride. The arrogance of self is not just of one kind, and pride takes many forms. Methods for ridding oneself of these will also be diverse and myriad. Even so, all of these methods will be ‘one’s seeing Buddha Nature’. Thus, you need to learn both to look with your eyes and to see with your Eye.

Shobogenzo, Bussho, Hubert Nearman

 

Apparently the expression conveying the true nature of zazen-only presented in Bendowa had already been misconstrued as a literal description or formula of “Zen practice” rather than a mythopoeic expression of truth in Dogen’s own day. For in the Bukkyo fascicle of Shobogenzo, written only about a decade after Bendowa, Dogen again brought the expression out - only this time he did so in a manner that could never mistakenly be superficially misrepresented as a merely formal description of practice.

 

My late master constantly said, “In my order, we do not rely on burning incense, doing prostrations, reciting names of buddhas, practicing confession, or reading sutras. Just sit, direct your energy into pursuing the truth, and get free of body and mind.”

 

Few people clearly understand an expression like this. Why? Because to call “reading sutras” “reading sutras” is to debase it, and not to call it “reading sutras” is to be perverse. “You are not allowed to talk and not allowed to be mute: say something at once! Say something at once!” We should learn this truth in practice. Because this principle [of reading sutras] exists, a man of old has said, “To read sutras we must be equipped with the eyes of reading sutras.”

Shobogenzo, Bukkyo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

 

Obviously, if this expression was meant literally, more than a “Few people” would have clearly understood it. Calling it “reading sutras” debases it because it reduces it to literalism, cutting it out of the nondual reality of its existent form/essence; not calling it “reading sutras” is perverse because it fails to discern the truth of its inherent uniqueness. For the “few” that clearly understand, “reading sutras,”  along with offering incense, bowing, chanting, and confessing, is solely-sitting.

 

In any case, to clearly understand just sitting, reading sutras, or any other aspect of the Buddha Dharma, we must activate the Dharma-Eye. To read sutras, the ordinary eyes of literal description are simply not the appropriate tools; we must be equipped with the eyes of reading sutras.

 

Whenever “zazen” (or just sitting etc.) is treated or regarded as a separate activity or distinct action, as one activity among others (e.g. working, reading, eating, etc.), it is not the zazen-only illumined and presented by Shobogenzo. As the formal practice of seated meditation, zazen is simply one form of activity among many . As the actualization of the universe (i.e. genjokoan), however, zazen is not only wholly inclusive of “the three forms of human conduct” (thinking, speech, and action), it is Total Existence itself, the myriad dharmas as they are.

 

In this way, you need to thoroughly explore through your training the thousands of aspects, nay, the hundreds of thousands of aspects of just sitting.

Shobogenzo, Zammai-ō Zammai, Hubert Nearman

Enjoy the ride!
Ted

Dogen & Koans

 

Dogen & Koans

[Adapted from the Flatbed Sutra Zen Newsletter, Feb 2012 Dogen & Koans]

 

People who study the Buddha Dharma should first know the sayings of Buddhas and ancestors, without being confused by those outside the way.

Eihei Koroku, Leighton & Okumura

 

We should by all means have as our investigation through training and practice an exploration that broadly spans the sayings of all the Buddhas and Ancestors.

Shobogenzo, Kokyo, Hubert Nearman

 

While much progress has been made in the scholarly arena, the popular stereotype of Dogen's Zen as being "non-koan" or even "anti-koan" persists. While it is true that the surviving "Soto" Zen lineages have largely lost contact with the koan teachings and practices, this is certainly not the case with Dogen's own teachings.

As the renowned Buddhist scholar, T. Griffith Foulk points out:

If there was anything that was distinctive about the Ch'an monasteries, it was not the stress on zazen or the occasional ritual in which the entire community was required to perform manual labor together (fushin samu) - those practices were common to all the public monasteries. No, what distinguished the training in Ch'an monasteries was chiefly the teaching style of the abbots, who based their talks and debates on the koan literature that was the hallmark of the Ch'an tradition.

T. Griffith Foulk, History of the Soto Zen School

Indeed, as Foulk goes on to say, it was familiarity with this literature that distinguished a monastic as a "Zen monastic" in Sung China (where Dogen "accomplished his task"). Moreover, the mastery of this literature and the ability to demonstrate that mastery was the main distinguishing characteristic of an authentic "Zen master."

It is true that Soto teachers gained prestige from their membership in the Zen lineage, and that to become a member one had to master the tradition of commenting on koans.

T. Griffith Foulk, History of the Soto Zen School

As is clear from all of Dogen's works, Zen without study was not Zen at all - thus, for instance, he wrote:

 

You cannot realize the Buddha's Way if you do not aim to practice the Way, and It will be ever more distant from you if you do not aim to study It.

Shobogenzo, Shinjin Gakudo, Rev. Hubert Nearman

 

And:

 

When students are beginners, whether they have the mind of the Way or not, they should carefully read and study the Sagely Teachings of the sutras and shastras.

Shobogenzo-Zuimonki, (Record of Things Heard, Thomas Cleary)

 

He also made it very clear that "koans" or "sayings" (of the Zen ancestors) were as essential to Zen study as were Buddhist scriptures, for instance:

 

Even so, over the last couple of centuries or so in Great Sung China, certain mistaken, smelly skin bags have said, "There's no need for you to keep the sayings of the Ancestral Masters in mind, much less is there any need for long study of Scriptural Teachings or for your trying to make use of Them. Simply, make your body and mind like a dead tree or cold ashes, like a broken wooden ladle or a bottomless tub." Folks like these have become a type of non-Buddhist or celestial demon, and to no good purpose. They seek to make use of things that are useless, and accordingly, they twist the Teachings of the Buddhas and Ancestors into wild and perverted teaching. What a pity! How terribly sad!

Shobogenzo, Bukkyo, Hubert Nearman

 

Following, then, are a collection of passages from Dogen's works that give some general, some specific, some subtle, and always reliable instruction on how Zen students can best approach the koans. Enjoy!

 

------

When Students of the Way are looking at sayings, you must exert your power to the utmost and examine them very very closely.

Shobogenzo-Zuimonki, (Record of Things Heard, Thomas Cleary)

 

In encountering these sayings and expressions of Theirs, do not treat them as something apart from the Buddha's assembly, for They are Buddhas turning the Wheel of the Dharma. Because this Wheel of the Dharma encompasses everything in all directions, the Great Ocean, Mount Sumeru, all lands, and all thoughts and things have fully manifested themselves.

Shobogenzo, Muchu Setsumu, Hubert Nearman

 

The reality [i.e. "koan" TB] of eternal buddhas is present; it is, namely, the teaching, practice, and experience of "the thirty-seven elements of bodhi." The entanglement of ascending and descending through their classification is just the entangled state of reality, which we call "the buddhas" and which we call "the patriarchs."

Shobogenzo, Sanjushichi-bon-bodai-bunpo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

 

Our Highest Ancestor in India, Shakyamuni Buddha, once said, "The snowcapped Himalayas are a metaphor for the great nirvana." You need to know that He is speaking metaphorically about something that can be metaphoric. 'Something that can be metaphoric' implies that the mountains and nirvana are somehow intimately connected and that they are connected in a straightforward manner. When He uses the term 'snow-capped Himalayas', He is using the actual snowcapped Himalayas as a metaphor, just as when He uses the term 'great nirvana', He is using the actual great nirvana as a metaphor.

Shobogenzo, Hotsu Mujo Shin, Hubert Nearman

 

Students of the Way, even if you attain enlightenment, do not think that this is now the ultimate and thus abandon your practice of the Way. The Way is endless. Even if you are enlightened, you should still practice the Way. Consider the ancient story of the lecturer Liang Sui calling upon Ma Yu.

Shobogenzo-Zuimonki, (Record of Things Heard, Thomas Cleary)

Once you attain this state of suchness and attain the harmoni­ous unity of activity and understanding possessed by the Buddha-patriarchs, you examine exhaustively all the thoughts and views of this attainment.

Shobogenzo, Sammai-O-Zammai, Waddell & Abe

There are those who say that after bodhisattvas become Buddhas, they discontinue practice because there is nothing left for them to do. Such people are mundane persons who have no direct knowledge of the Way of the Buddhas and Ancestors.

Shobogenzo, Shoho Jisso, Hubert Nearman

Devote your energy to a Way that points directly to suchness. Revere the person of complete attainment beyond all human agency. Gain accord with the enlightenment of the Buddhas.

Fukanzazengi, Waddell and Abe

This Dharma is the very being and spirit of what the Buddhas and Ancestors have personally and correctly Transmitted; It is the very words and phrases used to describe That which the Buddhas and Ancestors directly experienced; It is the very Light in which the Buddhas and Ancestors clearly abide and to which They hold.

Shobogenzo, Senjo, Hubert Nearman

The Buddhas and Ancestors have been many indeed. Their deeds are instructive for teaching others the Way to supreme enlightenment. Among those deeds are not a few examples of 'bone-crushing' diligence. For instance, you can draw instruction from the Second Ancestor Eka's 'severing of his arm'. And do not miss the meaning behind the Buddha's action in a previous life when He covered the mud with His long hair.

Shobogenzo, Keisei Sanshoku, Hubert Nearman

In the house of the Buddhist patriarchs, some experience it directly and some do not experience it directly, but reading sutras and requesting the benefit [of the teaching] are the common tools of everyday life.

Shobogenzo, Kankin, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Good counselors, in every case, are thoroughly versed in the sutras...

...We should know that in the Buddha's truth there are inevitably Buddhist sutras; we should learn in practice, as the mountains and the oceans, their universal text and their profound meaning; and we should make them our standard for pursuing the truth.

Shobogenzo, Bukkyo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

In addition, 'to open a Scriptural text' means that you clarify for yourself what the Buddha taught as the principles for training and practice in both the 'sudden approach' and the 'gradual approach'.

Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Hubert Nearman

Their stories appear one after another in Records of the Torch such as Den[to-roku], Ko[to-roku], Zoku[to-roku], Futo-roku, and so on. When they were liberated from the small vehicle view which is limited thinking about philosophy and precepts and they revered the great truth authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patriarchs, they all became Buddhist patriarchs. People today also should learn from the ancestral masters of the past.

Shobogenzo, Den-E, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

The great Master says, "I call this bamboo and wood." We must completely master, both before it is voiced and after it becomes words, this unprecedented and unrepeatable snippet of an expression.

Shobogenzo, Sangai-Yuishin, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

(Asked by Ejo about the "use" of Nansen killing the cat) If it were not a turning word, we could not say, 'Mountains, rivers, and the great earth, are the marvelously pure illumined mind'; and we could not say, 'The very mind is Buddha.' So in the expression of this turning word, see that the cat is identical to the Buddha-body. Furthermore, hearing these words, a student may suddenly become enlightened.

Shobogenzo-Zuimonki, (Record of Things Heard, Thomas Cleary)

With regard to the realization of this matter of secret talk, not only the World-Honored Sakyamuni has secret talk: all the Buddhist patriarchs have secret talk. A world-honored one always has secret talk. And one who has secret talk inevitably has Mahakasyapa's state of nothing being concealed. We should learn in practice and should not forget the truth that if there are a hundred thousand world-honored ones there are a hundred thousand Mahakasyapas. "Learning in practice" means not intending to understand at once but striving painstakingly hundreds of times, or thousands of times, as if working to cut a hard object. We should not think that when a person has something to relate we will be able to understand it at once.

Shobogenzo, Mitsugo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Dig in the earth to search for heaven; meet with sun face and moon face buddhas. Dig a hole in the sky to plant the seed of a lotus that will blossom neither red not white [without and color]. Play with Linji's lump of red flesh, and penetrate the width of Xuefeng's ancient mirror. Furthermore, burn up Danxia's wooden Buddha, and smelt a hundred times the iron ox at Shanfu. Don't laugh when the cold ash is revived. Return for a while to a warm place [the meditation hall] and deliberate about this.

Eihei Koroku, Leighton & Okumura

Beginners and later students who wish to learn in practice the non-emotional preaching of the Dharma should get straight into diligent research of this story of the National Master.

Shobogenzo, Muju-Seppoi, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Without taking a step bow to the three government offices. The entryway that has long been locked is now wide open. Sit and cut through the billions of tangled vines to penetrate all of the ten thousand functionings and arouse the wind and thunder.

Eihei Koroku, Leighton & Okumura

Remember, we attain the truth when listening to a four-line verse, and we attain the state of truth when listening to a single phrase. Why is it that a four-line verse and a single phrase can have such a mystical effect? Because they are the Buddha-Dharma.

Shobogenzo, Den-E, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Someone with an iron tongue and spike beak can bite through the model koans from ancient or modern times.

Eihei Koroku, Leighton & Okumura

Neither of these venerable patriarchs is of humble ancestry: [Seppo] is a distant descendant of Seigen and [Sansho] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. That they have been dwelling in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They may be a criterion for students of later ages.

Shobogenzo, Kokyo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

There again, many wrong people think, "Spoken teaching and active demeanor are insubstantial matters. The silent and unmoving state is the true reality." Expressions like this also are not the Buddha-Dharma. They are the speculations of people who have heard sutras and teachings of Brahmadeva, Isvara, and the like...

They utterly lack the light of clear discrimination.

Sanjushichi-bon-bodai-bunpo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

National Master Daisho is an excellent disciple of the eternal Buddha of Sokei. He is a great good counselor in heaven above and in the human world. We should clarify the fundamental teaching set forth by the Nation Master, and regard it as a criterion for learning in practice.

Shobogenzo, Soku-Shin-Ze-Butsu, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Don't you see that someone said, "Atop Mount Wutai, the clouds are making steamed rice; below the steps to the Buddha hall, a dog urinates up toward the heavens. At the top of a flagpole, dumplings are cooking; three monkeys a sorting coins in the night."

Brothers, if you can comprehend this saying, you will know the mind of the three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teaching. Do you want to clearly understand the meaning of the ancestor [Bodhidharma] coming from the west?

After a pause Dogen said: Pierce your nostrils for yourself. Search for the fiery lotus in the water of mind. Study this.

Eihei Koroku, Leighton & Okumura

The sixth patriarch says, "people have south and north, but the Buddha-nature is without south and north." We should take this expression and make effort to get inside the words. We should reflect on the words "south and north" with naked mind.

Shobogenzo, Bussho, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

We should exhaust life after life investigating the intention of these words.

Shobogenzo, Bussho, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

When we examine just this one part of the stories, it is clear that Tando still had not endorsed Soko. Even though time and time again Tando aimed at opening Soko up, the latter ultimately kept missing that one experience, and there is no way of compensating for that, for one cannot omit that experience...

Soko did not thoroughly explore his own statement, "That is precisely what Soko is suspicious of," nor did he drop it off, or break it open, or give rise to the Great Doubt, or break through that doubting...

It is so pitiful how he failed to understand what the Ancestors of the Buddha were saying to him in their talks and writings. He did not grasp that to study and train is to awaken to one's True Self. He did not hear that to delve deeply into the writings of myriad generations is to come to realize what that Self truly is.

Without proper study, there are errors like these and there is self-deception like his.

Because this was the way 'Meditation Master' Soko was, in his assembly there was not a single disciple, or even half a one, who had a trustworthy nose ring, but there were many who were pretend monks.

Failure to intuitively grasp what the Buddha Dharma is and failure to intellectually understand what the Buddha Dharma is are both just like this. Beyond any question, novice trainees here and now should explore the Matter in detail with their Master. Do not be negligent out of pride.

Shobogenzo, Jisho Zammai, Hubert Nearman

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In Shobogenzo, Zazenshin, his most incisive teaching on zazen, Dogen refutes two fallacies about zazen prevalent in his own time - both continue into our own day. First is the wrong view that zazen is "just sitting" and "letting things be" - thoughts, sounds, smells, etc. (e.g. Just let things come and go", "there is nothing special to realize", "just sit and attain peace of mind", etc.).

In recent years, however, stupid unreliable people have said, "In the effort of Zazen, to attain peace of mind is everything. Just this is the state of tranquility." This opinion is beneath even scholars of the small vehicle. It is inferior even to the vehicles of men and gods. How can we call such people of the Buddha-Dharma? In the Great Kingdom of Buddha-Dharma today, people of such effort are many. It is lamentable that the Patriarch's truth has gone to ruin.

Shobogenzo, Zazenshin, Hubert Nearman

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In Shobogenzo, Genjokoan, Dogen describes in detail the fundamental point of Zen (one translation of Genjokoan is, Actualizing the Fundamental Point). Near the end of his exposition, Dogen uses a Zen koan to illustrate the non-dual nature of practice and enlightenment.

Zen Master Hotetsu of Mayoku-zan mountain is using a fan. A monk comes by and asks, "The nature of air is to be ever-present, and there is no place that [air] cannot reach. Why does the Master use a fan?"

The Master says, "You have only understood that the nature of air is to be ever-present, but you do not yet know the truth that there is no place [air] cannot reach."

The monk says, "What is the truth of there being no place [air] cannot reach?"

At this, the Master just [carries on] using the fan. The monk does prostrations.

Shobogenzo, Genjokoan, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Dogen goes on to say:

The real experience of the Buddha-Dharma, the vigorous road of the authentic transmission, is like this.

Shobogenzo, Genjokoan, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

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Understand that to receive this Teaching, keep to It, accurately recite It to others, and explore Its implications is precisely what 'defending and protecting Wisdom' means.

Shobogenzo, Makahannya-haramitsu, Hubert Nearman

Meditation Master Engo once said, "Birth-and-death and coming-and-going are a person's true Real Body." By exploring this expression, we will come to know ourselves and we will give our consideration to the Buddha Dharma.

Chosa once said, "The whole universe in all ten directions is a person's true Real Body. The whole universe in all ten directions lies within the radiant brightness of one's own True Self." But, in general, even veteran trainees in present-day Sung China still do not know that they need to explore a saying like this through their training.

Shobogenzo, Sangai Yuishin, Hubert Nearman

Those who have not illuminated each dharma, dharma by dharma, cannot be called clear-eyed, and they are not the attainment of the truth; how could they be called the Buddhist patriarchs of the eternal past and present? Therefore, we should be absolutely certain that the Buddhist patriarchs have, in every case, received the one-to-one transmission of zazen. To be illuminated by the presence of the Buddhist patriarchs' brightness is to exert oneself in the investigation of this sitting in zazen.

Shobogenzo, Komyo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Securing the Marrow and communicating the Dharma inevitably depend on sincere devotion and a trusting heart. Sincerity and trust do not in the least come from outside ourselves, nor is there any place within from which they emerge.

Shobogenzo, Raihai Tokuzui, Hubert Nearman

A monk asks Great Master Shinsai of Joshu, "Does even a dog have the Buddha-nature or not?"

We should clarify the meaning of this question. "A dog" is a dog. The question does not ask whether the Buddha-nature can or cannot exist in the dog; it asks whether even an iron man learns the truth. To happen upon such a poison hand may be a matter for deep regret, and at the same time the scene recalls the meeting, after thirty years, with half a sacred person.

Joshu says, "Mu." When we hear this expression, there are concrete paths by which to learn it: the "Mu" with which the Buddha-nature describes itself may be described like this; the "Mu" which describes the dog itself may be expressed like this; and "Mu," as exclaimed by an onlooker, may be described like this. There may come a day when this "Mu" becomes merely the grinding away of a stone.

Shobogenzo, Bussho, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Meditation Master Daikan Eno of Mount Sokei once gave instruction to Nangaku saying, "What has come about like this?" These words show that Nangaku's being 'such a person' is beyond doubt because he is beyond intellectual understanding. And because "What has come about like this" is the What, you should thoroughly explore through your training that all the myriad things that comprise the universe are, beyond any doubt, the What. And you should thoroughly explore through your training that each and every single thing is, beyond any doubt, the What. The What is not subject to doubt, for It is That Which Comes Like This.

Shobogenzo, Immo, Hubert Nearman

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The language of koans is the language of myth, thus it includes and transcends the ordinary language of literal description. Dogen frequently reminds us to discern the difference between the ordinary language of common speech and that of the Buddhist ancestor. In Bussho, for instance, he explains that the wisdom Zen Master Obaku's words differ from the ordinary literal meaning expressed:

We should not suppose that this expression means what it says... We should exhaust life after life investigating the intention of these words.

Shobogenzo, Bussho, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

(Consider also, Dogen instruction on koan introspection specific to - Sitting with Kyogen's koan, "The Man Up a Tree").

Even so, in thinking about it, if you make use of 'not deliberately thinking about it', as well as of 'not deliberately thinking about anything', your efforts on your meditation cushion will naturally be like those of our dear old friend Kyogen. When you sit as still as a mountain on your own cushion, as our dear friend Kyogen has already done, you too will be exploring this dialogue in detail with him, even though he has not yet opened his mouth. Not only will you be making free use of our dear Kyogen's Eye to look upon the dialogue, but you will also be using It to break through and see the meaning of Shakyamuni Buddha's Treasure House of the Eye of the True Teaching.

Shobogenzo, Soshi Seirai I, Hubert Nearman

(Notice that Dogen goes on to explain that our "breaking through and seeing the meaning" of koans, needs to be inclusive of being able to express it verbally - for instance, with a teacher in the dokusan room).

Until you have actually arrived at That which is above and beyond Buddhahood, you will not have directly experienced That which is above and beyond Buddhahood. Until you can put It into words, you have not directly experienced That which is above and beyond Buddhahood.

Shobogenzo, Soshi Seirai I, Hubert Nearman

Dogen consistently reiterates this throughout his works, for example:

Even if your exploration of the intent behind what Ungan said were one hundred percent, if you are still unable to put It in words, then your have not thoroughly explored the Matter.

Shobogenzo, Kannon, Hubert Nearman

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In Dogen's day the primary corpus of texts was the same for all lineages of Zen. This interrelation of Zen and the classic koan literature of the Zen masters had been popularly recognized long enough to have become victimized by widespread vulgarization. In fact, according to his own account, by Dogen's time the authentic understanding of koan literature had become overshadowed by a debased understanding of it. Similar to his testimony of widespread neglect and aberrant approaches to zazen, Dogen asserted that the "non-Buddhist" notion of Zen koans as being "irrational" was so pervasive that the "few true people" could not correct it.

To understand Dogen's utilization of the traditional Buddhist literature, especially the Zen records, consider how he distinguished the "authentic understanding" of koans by Buddha ancestors from the "non-Buddhist" notions of the many. According to Dogen, Buddha ancestors consider koans intimately; that is, not apart from their own self (i.e. the "true self"). A "non-Buddhist", according to Dogen, considers koans remotely; that is, as apart from their own self (i.e. from the perspective of the "ego-self" which is a misperceived as the "true self").

The misperception or false perspective of the ego-centric self is the first issue Buddhists are instructed about. This is the central topic of the Buddhist doctrines of "no self," which portray the "true self" as empty of any division between "self" and "other than self." Hence, there is no separation between practice and not-practice, thinking and not-thinking, etc. As is characteristic of all Zen masters, Dogen wholeheartedly affirms that from the perspective of the true self, even the "defiling passions" are Buddha nature as it is. Thus, when Buddha ancestors consider koans they do so in the wholeness of their being; excluding no aspect of their true human nature, not the least of which is the human intellect.

Contrary to distorted notions of Zen as a "separate transmission" and "beyond" language, reason, and intellect, and "apart" from words, letters, and verbal teachings, Zen is not separate, beyond, or apart from anything in the whole universe. Thus, to imagine that one could possibly comprehend Zen koans by excluding any aspect of their humanity from the process is simply to add delusion to delusion.

To clarify Dogen's view of koan introspection we can consider his critique of the fallacy that koans are "irrational," or "provisional," and that the use of the intellect is "nonessential." Here is one such account:

In the nation of Great Sung China today, there is a certain type of unreliable person that has now grown to be quite a crowd. They have gotten to the point where they cannot be bested by the few true people. This bunch says such things as the following:

Just like the comments about Eno's walking on water or the one about Nansen's buying a scythe, what is being said is beyond anything that reason can grasp. In other words, any remark that involves the use of intellect is not the Zen talk of an Ancestor of the Buddha, whereas a remark that goes beyond anything that reason can handle is what comprises a 'remark' by an Ancestor of the Buddha. As a consequence, we would say that Meditation Master Obaku's applying a stick to his disciples or Meditation Master Rinzai's giving forth with a loud yell go far beyond rational understanding and do not involve the use of intellect. We consider this to be what is meant by the great awakening to That which precedes the arising of any discrimination. The reason why the ancient virtuous Masters so often made skillful use of verbal phrases to cut through the spiritual entanglements of their disciples was precisely because these phrases were beyond rational understanding.

Fellows who talk like this have never met a genuine teacher, nor do they have an eye for learning through training. They are foolish puppies who are not even worth discussing. For the past two or three centuries in the land of Sung China, such devilish imps and 'little shavers' like the Gang of Six have been many. Alas, the Great Way of the Buddha's Ancestors has become diseased! This explanation of those people cannot compare even with that of the shravakas who follow the Lesser Course; it is even more confused than that of non-Buddhists. These fellows are not laity nor are they monks; they are not gods or humans. And when it comes to exploring the Buddha's Way, they are more befuddled than beasts. The stories which the 'little shavers' refer to as going beyond anything that reason can grasp only go beyond anything their reason can grasp: it was not that way for any Ancestor of the Buddha. Just because they said that such stories are not subject to rational understanding, you should not fail to learn through your training what the intellectually comprehendible pathways of the Ancestors of the Buddha are. Even if these stories were ultimately beyond rational understanding, the understanding that this bunch has cannot hit the mark. Such people are in great number everywhere in Sung China, as I have personally witnessed. Sad to say, they did not recognize that the phrase 'the use of intellect' is itself a use of words, nor realize that a use of words may liberate us from the use of our intellect. When I was in Sung China, even though I laughed at them for their foolish views, they had nothing to say for themselves; they were simply speechless. Their present negation of rational understanding is nothing but an erroneous view. Who taught them this? Even though you may say that they have not had someone to teach them of the true nature of things, nevertheless, the fact remains that, for all intents and purposes, they still end up being offspring of the non-Buddhist notion that things arise spontaneously, independent of any form of causality.

Shobogenzo, Sansuikyo, Hubert Nearman

Here, and through all his writings, Dogen does not hesitate to use the harshest language to disparage the "diseased" notions about Zen as some kind of mystical cult that negates "rational understanding" or "intellectually comprehendible pathways." Dogen's harsh, often humorous ridicule of "devilish imps" and "little shavers" offering vulgar views minimizing the value of words, writings, and intellectual endeavors are characteristic of his works. In any case, it should be clear that, regardless of Dogen's position on the nature and function of koans, he regarded them as essential to authentic Zen practice-enlightenment.

When Ancestors of the Buddha wholeheartedly do the meditation of Buddhas and Ancestors and undertake to put into practice the Truth that the Buddhas and Ancestors have expressed, Their expression of what They have realized represents the effort of three years, or eight years, or thirty or forty years, as They express what They have realized with all Their might. Within these time spans, however many decades long they may have been, there has been no disparity in how 'such a one' has expressed what he or she has realized. Thus, when you become fully awake, what you will realize through your direct encounter with It will be the Truth. Because this encounter confirms as true the direct encounters of former times, when we now express what we have realized, it is beyond doubt. Thus, our expressing what we have realized in the present is supported by That which we directly met with in former times, and we support That which we directly met with in former times by expressing our realization today. This is why we can now express what we have realized, for we have personally met with It through our own experience. The expression of our realization in the present and our direct seeing in the past are as a single iron bar whose ends are ten thousand miles apart. Our present efforts are directed by what we have realized of the Way and by what we have personally encountered.

Shobogenzo, Dotoku, Hubert Nearman

Therefore, once having understood, you should read the Sage's Teachings many times. And having heard the words of the teacher, still you should listen to them again. The mind should grow deeper and deeper.

Shobogenzo-Zuimonki, (Record of Things Heard, Thomas Cleary)

Accordingly, when persons who have doubts about learning the Buddha's Way encounter the phrase 'a vision being expressed within a vision', they vainly imagine that it probably refers to dreaming up things that actually do not exist, or they suppose that it may be like piling delusion upon delusion. But this is not so. Even though one says that there is also delusion within delusion, by all means we need to thoroughly explore, with utmost effort, the path that penetrates through this expression to the comprehension of what is really meant by 'piling delusion upon delusion'.

Shobogenzo, Muchu Setsumu, Hubert Nearman

So, clearly, we should preserve and take care of the teaching that the thoughts and sayings of the Buddha's Ancestors are the tea and rice of everyday life. The homely fare of everyday life is the thoughts of Buddhas and the sayings of Ancestors. The Buddhas and Ancestors prepare the tea and rice, and the tea and rice help sustain and take care of the Buddhas and Ancestors. Since this is so, we, for our part, do not need to rely on anything apart from the potency of this tea and rice of Theirs. Simply, we do not squander the strength of the Buddhas and Ancestors that resides within the partaking of this tea and rice.

You would do well to explore with great diligence the remark about not looking back to previous emperors of legendary times such as Yu, T'ang, Yao, and Shun. You would also do well to explore how to let the question as to whether there is any word or phrase that you may have for the benefit of others spring forth from the crown of your head. You should experiment through your training with your Master to see if you can get it to spring forth.

Shobogenzo, Kajo, Hubert Nearman

The truth expressed now in the founding Patriarch's words "What people are able to hear the non-emotional preaching the Dharma" should be painstakingly researched through the effort of one life and many lives.

Shobogenzo, Muju-Seppoi, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

Speaking more broadly, those who assert that provisional Teachings are completely useless are greatly mistaken. They have not had the meritorious behavior of Ancestors in our tradition genuinely Transmitted to them, so they are in the dark about the sayings of Buddhas and Ancestors. Since they have not clarified what this one saying is about, who could affirm that they had thoroughly explored the sayings of other Buddhas?

Shobogenzo, Gabyo, Hubert Nearman

has never met 'such a person', and, because of this, he has arbitrarily compiled sayings without picking out just the sayings of those who are 'such a person'. It is obvious that he does not know what 'such a person' is.

Shobogenzo, Butsudo, Hubert Nearman

"The Buddha's brightness" means accepting, retaining, and hearing a single phrase, maintaining, relying on, and upholding a single dharma, and receiving the one-to-one transmission of zazen. If [people] are not able to be illuminated by the brightness, they lack this state of maintenance and reliance and they lack this belief and acceptance. This being so, even since ancient times, few people have known that zazen is zazen.

Shobogenzo, Komyo, GudoNishijima & Mike Cross

This is why the Buddhas and Ancestors, when singling out an Ancestor of the Buddha, invariably ask, "Can that person express their realization or not?"

Shobogenzo, Dotoku, Hubert Nearman

'Not speaking about something' does not mean 'not expressing something', for being able to express something is not the same as being able to put it in words.

Shobogenzo, Kaiin Zammai, Hubert Nearman

By exploring through your training what the Buddha is saying in the present instance, you will fully realize what the assembly of all Buddhas is, for what He is saying is not a metaphor. The wondrous Dharma of Buddhas is simply that of each Buddha on His own, just as it is for all the Buddhas. Therefore, all things, both in a dream state and in an awakened one, are manifestations of the Truth.

Shobogenzo, Muchu Setsumu, Hubert Nearman

You need to thoroughly investigate expressions like this so that you may learn to express the Matter yourself. By asking questions like this, you come to your own understanding of the Matter. And by investigating the experience of others, you can come to have your own experience of the Truth. -Shobogenzo, Sangai Yuishin, Hubert Nearman

To give expression to the Dharma for the sake of others and to put the Dharma into practice for oneself is to hear the Dharma, to clarify what It is, and to realize It for many lives. Even in this life, if we are sincere in giving expression to It for the sake of others, it will be easy for us to realize the Dharma...

At the same time, if you have not yet fully clarified the Matter, do not think that you cannot express It for someone's sake. Were you to wait until you had fully clarified It, you would not be equal to the task even for immeasurable eons.

Shobogenzo, Jisho Zammai, Hubert Nearman

Ever since ancient times, no one has been called 'such a person' who has not uttered at least a single word to express It.

Shobogenzo, Shin Fukatoku, Hubert Nearman

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[N]onduality did not primarily signify the transcendence of duality so much as it signified the realization of duality. When one chose and committed oneself to a special course of action, one did so in such a manner that the action was not an action among others, but the action-there was nothing but that particular action in the universe so that the whole universe was created in and through that action...

As we incorporate these observations on Dogen's view of the body-mind understanding into what I have said about activities and expressions, it is evident that activities, expressions, and understanding were one and the same for Dogen. It was not that we acted first and then attempted to understand, nor was it even that action was a special mode of understanding; all modes of understanding were necessarily activities and expressions.

~Hee-Jin Kim, Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist

Porcupine asked, "Do you have any last words for us?"

Raven said, "Trust."

~Robert Aitken Roshi, Zen Master Raven