When Dogen comes, Dogen appears - Genjokoan

Greetings!
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Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Genjokoan begins with:
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When all things are seen as the buddha-dharma, then there is delusion and enlightenment, there is practice, there is life and there is death, there are buddhas and there are ordinary beings.
When all things are seen as empty of self, there is no delusion and no enlightenment, no buddhas and no ordinary beings, no life and no death.
(trans. Ted Biringer)
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One of my teacher’s recently directed my attention to the significance of Dogen’s meaning of “when” here. Yes! Very instructive. Living and dying, what a ride! So exquisite some-times, so bloody painful some-times. One ticket, please! To say it in the form of an old koan (“One Katsu, Two Katsu, then What?”), we might say:
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Q: "What is the Buddha Dharma?"
A: "When!"
Q: "That's a 'when' on me."
A: "When!"
Q: "One 'when,' two 'whens', then what?"
A: "Uji" (Existence-Time)
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When we arrive in the field of the ineffable, there is just one [concrete] thing and one [concrete] phenomenon, here and now, [beyond] understanding of phenomena and non-understanding of phenomena, and [beyond] understanding of things and non-understanding of things. Because [real existence] is only this exact moment, all moments of existence-time are the whole of time, and all existent things and all existent phenomena are time. The whole of existence, the whole universe, exists in individual moments of time. Let us pause to reflect whether or not any of the whole of existence or any of the whole universe has leaked away from the present moment of time.
Shobogenzo, Uji, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross
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When Kayashata, the eighteenth ancestor in India, so Dogen says (in Shobogenzo, Kokyo), was born, he was already equipped with an ancient mirror. Some-time later, when Kayashata studied in China under the great cat-slayer (this time going by the name of Joshu), he realized that this "Ordinary" mirror was like a precious jewel; when foreigners came foreigners appeared, when Han came, Han appeared. Some-time later, when Joshu went to China and cast off the mind and body of Dogen, he expressed what had not yet been expressed, saying:

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When foreigners come, foreigners appear in It, be they eight thousand or a hundred thousand; when Han come, Han appear in It, be it for a single moment or for all of time. When things of the past come, things of the past appear in It; when things of the present come, things of the present appear in It. When a Buddha comes, a Buddha appears in It; when an Ancestor comes, an Ancestor appears in It.
Shobogenzo, Kokyo, Hubert Nearman
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Then at some existence-time, a monk, apparently worried about the possibility of incurring seven years of bad luck, asked a certain Zen master a question about "broken mirrors." As luck would have it, he also mentioned some business about "fallen flowers" that may shed some light on the phrase Dogen used in Genjokoan to confuse us with:
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Great Master Hochi of Kegonji in Keicho (succeeded Tozan; his monk’s name was Kyujo) on one occasion is asked by a monk: “What is it like at the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion?”
The master says, “A broken mirror does not again reflect. Fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees.”
Shobogenzo, Daigo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross
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An interesting thing to consider--and one of those things that, once seriously considered, is hard to get out from under the saddle! In hopes that you all get a good look at it, here is where two versions of Shobogenzo can be found online--Free! (something which, in itself, justifies the internet). Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross Translation - Hubert Nearman Translation Here are a few tidbits of what Dogen has to say by way of complicating things further:

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“A person in the state of great realization” is not intrinsically in great realization and is not hoarding a great realization realized externally. It is not that, in old age, [the person] meets with a great realization [already] present in the public world. [People of great realization] do not forcibly drag it out of themselves, but they unfailingly realize great realization. We do not see “not being deluded” as great realization. Neither should we aim, in order to plant the seed of great realization, to become at the outset a deluded being. People of great realization still realize great realization, and people of great delusion still realize great realization. If there is a person in great realization, accordingly there is Buddha in great realization, there are earth, water, fire, wind, and air in great realization, and there are outdoor pillars and stone lanterns in great realization. Now we have inquired into a person in the state of great realization. The question “What is it like at the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion?” truly asks a question that deserves to be asked...
The master says, “A broken mirror does not again reflect. Fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees.” This preaching for the multitude expresses the very moment of a mirror being broken. That being so, to concern the mind with the time before the mirror is broken and thereupon to study the words “broken mirror” is not right. [Some] might understand that the point of the words now spoken by Kegon, “A broken mirror does not again reflect, fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees,” is to say that a person in the state of great realization “does not again reflect,” and to say that a person in the state of great realization “cannot climb back onto the trees”—to assert that a person in the state of great realization will never again return to delusion. But [Kegon’s point] is beyond such study...
When fallen blossoms are just fallen blossoms, even if they are rising to the top of a hundred-foot pole, they are still fallen blossoms. Because a broken mirror is a broken mirror just here and now, however many vivid situations it realizes, each similarly is a reflection that “does not again reflect.” Picking up the point that is expressed as “a mirror being broken” and is expressed as “blossoms being fallen,” we should grasp in experience the moment that is “the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion.” In this [moment], great realization is akin to having become buddha, and returning to delusion is akin to [the state of] ordinary beings. We should not study [Kegon’s words] as if they discussed such things as “turning back into an ordinary being” or “traces depending on an origin.”
Shobogenzo, Daigo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross
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That Dogen! Talk about a mouth like a blood bowl! Genjo koan indeed! Falling flowers, spreading weeds, aversion, attachment--sheeesh! Warning friends, Dogen uses these poisonous implements elswhere too:
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[Fundamentally] all people are fully satisfied, each and every one with wholeness fulfilled. Why are the weeds seven feet deep throughout the Dharma hall? Do you want to understand this situation?
After a pause Dogen said: Flowers fall in our attachments, weeds grow following our aversions.

Eihei Koroku, 1:51, Taigen Dan Leighton & Shohaku Okumura
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And, while we have the Eihei Koroku handy, watch out for this little cluster bomb also:

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Everybody should just engage wholeheartedly in this genjokoan, "Full manifestation of ultimate reality." What is this genjokoan? It is just all Buddhas in the ten directions and all ancestors, ancient and present, and it is fully manifesting right now. Do you all see it? It is just our present rolling up the curtain and rolling down the curtain [at the entrance to the practice hall], and getting up and getting down from the sitting platform. Why don't you all join with and practice this excellent genjokoan? Today this mountain monk [Dogen], without begrudging my life or my eyebrows, for the sake of all of you expounds this again and repeatedly.
Dogen pounded the floor with his staff and immediately got down from his seat.
Eihei Koroku, 1:60, Taigen Dan Leighton & Shohaku Okumura
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I remember Joseph Campbell saying something like, "Life is a wonderful, wonderful opera--only it hurts."
One ticket, please.
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Thanks again! (still?)

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Peace,Ted

Dogen's Straight Talk: The Universe, The Self

Dogen's Straight Talk: The Universe, The Self

The whole universe in all ten directions is one’s true Self, and one’s true Self is the whole universe in all ten directions—there is no place to escape to. Were there some way to escape this, it could only be by getting outside of our own physical body. Our present-day seven feet of skull and bones is precisely the form and image of the whole universe in all ten directions. Indeed, the whole universe in all ten directions which trains and enlightens us in the Buddha’s Way is our skull and bones, our physical body with its skin, flesh, bones, and marrow.
Shobogenzo, Komyo, Hubert Nearman

Dogen on Philosophizing

“…Dogen provided us with profound insight into the nature of philosophizing activity. To him what mattered most was not the relative significance of theoretical formulations, but how and what we did with the ideas and values inherited from our past—in other words, the authenticity of our philosophic activity. The issue was not so much whether or not to philosophize as it was how to philosophize—in total freedom with body-mind cast off. The philosophic enterprise was as much the practice of the bodhisattva way as was zazen. And significantly enough, this view implied that philosophic activity itself was a koan realized in life.”
–Hee-Jin Kim, Dogen Kigen: Mystical Realist (1975) (Republished in 2004 as, Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist)
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Some westerners, introduced to Zen Buddhism through the writings of DT Suzuki, Shunryu Suzuki, Phillip Kapleau, and a handful of others, were stunned by their first encounter with the works of Eihei Dogen. The writings of the 13th century master, who most knew only as “the founder of Soto Zen in Japan,” seemed to directly contradict some of the most central tenets of Zen as portrayed to the West. They showed little evidence of the iconoclasm or disdain for verbal and written teachings as had often been suggested as characteristic of Zen. Absent too was the “one method” exponent of “pure Zen”, an unflinching advocate of “just sitting” (shikantaza) who had little use for koans, as the Soto founder was usually portrayed by both Rinzai and Soto representatives.

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In fact, Dogen’s voluminous writings testify to just the opposite. Nearly all of them make extensive use of the classic koan literature, citing it far more than any other source and demonstrating a particularly profound mastery of it. Like many classic Zen masters, Dogen also frequently cites the Buddhist sutras (scriptures) to both clarify and verify his own points. Unlike most masters, however, Dogen also asserts the need for practitioners to engage in extensive, and intensive, study—of sutras as well as the sayings (koans) and records of the ancestral Zen masters. Going further, Dogen’s writings meticulously examine and expose fallacious views that Zen can be realized apart from intellectual effort. Dogen’s work lucidly reveals the fact that asserting, saying, or proclaiming that the truth of Zen cannot be transmitted through verbal and written teachings not only deny the evidence; it is absurd. Anyone ascribing to such a position cannot dispute this. According to Dogen, to truly adhere to such a view compels one to embrace the ultimate futility of language; assertions of dispute would be as meaningless as assertions of admission.

Peace,

Ted

Dogen's Shobogenzo and its context in Zen Buddhism

Dogen’s Shobogenzo has its context in the literature of the Zen tradition
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From the Introduction to The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing
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Perhaps the greatest contribution of The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing is the insight it offers on the Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma-Eye), the Zen masterpiece by the thirteenth century Japanese master, Eihei Dogen. Louie Wing’s own enlightenment experience was triggered upon hearing this text recited, and he often refers to its teachings, sometimes quoting it at length.
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For a number of reasons, this massive collection of writings is often treated independently of its context within the Zen Buddhist tradition. This kind of treatment has inevitably led to a great deal of misunderstanding. Reading the work of Eihei Dogen without regard to its context within the Zen tradition is like reading the works of Saint Augustine without regard to its context within the Christian tradition. Such an approach obviously lends itself to erroneous interpretations, to say the least.

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Unrestricted by allegiance to institutional authority or the myopia of sectarian bias, Louie Wing discerns the Shobogenzo in its proper context: the traditional and authentic teaching of Buddhism. In a line-by-line analysis of the extraordinary text, Genjokoan, Louie Wing uses clear and convincing, systematic explanations to demonstrate some of the many subtle, and even startling, implications that the Shobogenzo reveals about the teachings of Zen regarding the great questions of life and death. Louie Wing brings to light some of the most profound insights revealed in the Shobogenzo, including the nature of time, the implications of interdependence, the resolution of original vs. acquired enlightenment, the essence and function of Zen koans, the various meanings and implications of zazen, and others.

~Ted Biringer

Dogen On "The Heart of the Matter"

Dogen On "The Heart of the Matter"
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Once you have arrived at the heart of the Matter, the time when you did not understand will not have impeded your arrival. Further, getting to the heart of the Matter has not changed the fact that, previously, you did not understand. Even so, in your getting to the heart of the Matter and in your previous non-understanding, there have been the times of spring and the sounds of autumn. The reason why you have not understood even these is because your ears have been wandering about within their voices, despite the fact that they have been giving expression to It ever so loudly. As a result, their voices have not entered your ears. Your getting to the heart of the Matter will occur when their voices have penetrated your ears and you have entered a meditative state. Do not fancy that your having arrived at the heart of the Matter is of little importance and that your non-understanding was something large. You need to realize that because you will be beyond what you conceived of as being ‘you’, you will not be different from the Lord of Dharma. ~Shobogenzo, Yui Butsu Yo Butsu (Trans. Rev. Hubert Nearman)

Zen Doctrine and Methodology - Progression not Completion

Zen Doctrine and Methodology - Progression not Completion

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The main objective of the criticism inherent to Shobogenzo (as with many literary works) is not concerned with revealing the relative merits of preceding works, teachings, or teachers; it is to establish and clarify its own presuppositions in regard to the nature and characteristics of the actual universe (i.e. the real world).

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Dogen, being a master of language, was well aware of the fact that all propositions are made in reference to or about a universe which presupposes specific characteristics particular to it. In the absence of such presuppositions, the various actual dharmas (things, beings, events) which inform propositions, as well as the assertions themselves, will lack the definitive characteristics necessary for meaningful communication.

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One Zen master was asked by a monk pointing at a lamp, “What is that?” The master retorted, “If three of us say it is a tortoise, it is a tortoise.” Every proposition, if it asserts anything meaningful, must take account of, and harmonize with the actual nature and dynamics of the universe in which it is applied. It is through the mutual awareness and agreement of the speaker (or writer) and the hearer (or reader) on the presuppositions involved that distinguish meaningful assertions from a mere series of sounds (or string of words). A monk that was aware of certain presuppositions could accurately respond to a master’s assertion that, “The tortoise is nearly out of fuel” by refilling the lamp with oil.
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In sum, an assertion can only be regarded as “true” in the specific conditions of its usage, including the background of its presupposed universe.
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Now, contemporary notions of Zen as being, in one way or another, “beyond words,” are not completely unwarranted. The teachings of Zen themselves are permeated with exhortations to be diligent about recognizing the inescapable limitations of expression as well as the dangers of unwise or careless use of language. However, as is evident in the fact that the literature of Zen is by far the most voluminous of any of the Mahayana schools of Buddhism, the classic masters of Zen were fully aware that language was the only vehicle with which Zen could be communicated.

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The fact that the ‘experience itself’ of Zen is ‘beyond words’ is true, but so is the ‘experience itself’ of a sunset, or the scent of freshly mown grass. “Experience itself,” of any kind, is confined to the realm of experience which cannot be ‘captured’ and held onto, much less passed on like a treasured heirloom.

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Thus, the Zen masters, in efforts to undermine deluded notions that equated the “knowledge” of Buddhism with Buddhist “enlightenment,” stressed the incommunicability of experience. Ironically, the very teachings emphasizing the requirement to avoid idolizing knowledge came to be concretized into idols themselves.

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The efforts of formulation and articulation carried out by the Zen masters are characterized by both authority and humility. The clear tone of authority that rings out from the records of Zen has its source in direct personal experience, rather than abstract speculation. That is to say, the speakers/writers of the Zen records, in their refusal to assert anything that they have not personally verified, demonstrate the singular trait essential to authority; authenticity. The sincere humility singing harmoniously with this authority springs from the clear perception of the true nature of the self and the world. Clearly perceiving the infinite, ineffable, limitless potential of the ever advancing universe inspires profound gratitude and even more profound humility.

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Awakened to the infinite potential of the universe, the Zen master seeks to deepen and refine, to expand and clarify—never to finalize or conclude. Their efforts to formulate and articulate seek progression, not completion.

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Peace,

Ted

Dogen On "Mindfulness" and Zen Practice-Enlightenment

In note 25 of Shobogenzo, Sanjushichi-bon-bodai-bunpo, Nishijima Roshi’s view on the significance of “mindfulness” is partially explained:

In Nishijima Roshi’s interpretation, “mindfulness” in zazen means consciousness of reality, which is centered on keeping the spine straight.
Shobogenzo Sanjushichi-bon-bodai-bunpo, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

The Glossary in his translation of Shobogenzo also offers this:

smṛti (mindfulness). Represented by nen, “idea, feeling, desire, attention.” [MW] Remembrance, reminiscence, thinking of or upon, calling to mind, memory; the whole body of sacred tradition or what is remembered by human teachers; the whole body of codes of law as handed down memoriter or by tradition; desire, wish. Ref: Chapter Two [74]; Chapter Seventy-three (Vol. IV); Lotus Sutra, chapter 1 (“remember”), chapter 10 (“heed”), chapter 16 (“thought”), chapter 27 (“care for”).
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms, Vol. 1, Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

Here are a few more samples of Nishijima Roshi’s use and understanding of “mindfulness” (as it was used by Master Dogen):

“The bhikṣu’s “secretly working concrete mind”25 at this moment is, in the state of bowing in veneration of real dharmas, prajnā itself—whether or not [real dharmas] are without appearance and disappearance—and this is a “venerative bow” itself. Just at this moment of bowing in veneration, prajnā is realized as explanations that can be understood…”

[Note 25] Setsu-sa-ze-nen. In the sutra, these characters literally mean “secretly made this thought.” But sa,“make,” also means “to act,” or “to function”; ze, “this,” also means “concrete”; and nen, “thought,” or “image in the mind,” also means “mindfulness,” or “state of mind.” Master Dōgen interpreted nen not as a thought but as the monk’s state of mind, which is prajnā itself, which is the state of action itself.
Shobogenzo, Maka-hannya-haramitsu,Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

The reality 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.”

The Four Abodes of Mindfulness

The first is the reflection that the body is not pure. The second is the reflection that feeling is suffering. The third is the reflection that mind is without constancy. The fourth is the reflection that dharmas are without self…

So all buddhas and bodhisattvas have regarded these four abodes of mindfulness as a sacred womb. Remember, they are the sacred womb of [bodhisattvas of] balanced awareness and the sacred womb of [bodhisattvas of] fine awareness. [The Buddha] has spoken of “all buddhas and bodhisattvas,” and so [the four abodes] may not stop at fine awareness. Even buddhas regard them as a sacred womb. And bodhisattvas who have sprung free from states prior to balanced awareness or beyond subtle awareness also regard these four abodes of mindfulness as a sacred womb. Truly, the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas and the patriarchs are nothing other than the four abodes of mindfulness
Shobogenzo, Sanjushichi-bon-bodai-bunpo, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

This “normal and true view” means deep belief in cause and effect, deep belief in the Three Treasures, and so on. “To intuit buddha” means to be clear in mindfulness of the virtues of buddha [both] in the causal process and in the resultant state.
Shobogenzo, Shukke-kudoku, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

Here is one of Master Dogen’s explanations of “right mindfulness” that is very clear:

Not to lose mindfulness. (It is also called “to keep right mindfulness.” To keep the Dharma and not to lose it is called “right mindfulness” and is also called “not to lose mindfulness.”
Shobogenzo, Hachi-dainingaku, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

In Master Dogen’s list of One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma Illumination (Ippyakuhachi-homyomon), translated by Gudo Nishijima and Mike Cross, the importance of “mindfulness” is asserted in not less than 13 of the 108 “Gates of Dharma.” These include: 8,9,10,11,12,13,52,53,54,60,65,68,81 respectively:

[8] Mindfulness of Buddha is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] reflection of [the state of] Buddha is pure.
[9] Mindfulness of Dharma is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] reflection of the Dharma is pure.
[10] Mindfulness of Sangha is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] attainment of the truth is steadfast.
[11] Mindfulness of generosity is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we do not expect reward.
[12] Mindfulness of precepts is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we fulfill all vows.
[13] Mindfulness of the heavens is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it gives rise to a wide and big mind.

[52] The body as an abode of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] all dharmas are serene.
[53] Feeling as an abode of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we detach from all miscellaneous feelings.
[54] Mind as an abode of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we reflect that mind is like a phantom.
[55] The Dharma as an abode of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] wisdom is free of blurs.

[60] The faculty of mindfulnessis a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we thoroughly perform many kinds of work.

[65] The power of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we do not [blindly] go along with others.

[68] Mindfulness, as a part of the state of truth, is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it is wisdom that accords with real dharmas.

[81] Right mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we do not consider all dharmas intellectually.
Ippyakuhachi-homyomon, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo (Mike) Cross

I hope this is helpful.

Peace,
Ted

Zen Expressions and Buddhist Philosophy

Zen expressions of interdependence are close relatives of the great Buddhist philosophies. However, the Zen masters provide satisfactory coherence by augmenting and expanding the philosophical methods of expression through the incorporation of more figurative (less literal) language. The limit of the philosophical method is in the very exacting, meticulously precise language that makes its scheme so intellectual attractive. Here we meet one of the most important issues concerning an effective systematic approach to Zen doctrine and methodology; figurative language has a much greater capacity to communicate wisdom than literal language does. Buddhist philosophy achieves its intellectual heights through its rigid adherence to logic, precision, and detail; its language is descriptively accurate. Descriptive accuracy depends on literal accuracy; literal accuracy demands precisely defined boundaries—in a word; abstraction. Clear, abstract, literal accuracy is excellent for recording and conveying knowledge and information; but its capacity to transmit or evoke spiritual wisdom is extremely limited.
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This is not to say that literal, descriptively accurate language has no place in Zen; it has a vital position. Most practical instructions on meditation, for example, are quite literal. However, the true nature of reality cannot be transmitted with a literal explanation using abstract terms and concepts, no matter how descriptively accurate. The figurative language of myth and metaphor has always been the language of wisdom. Reality is permeated by paradox, logical inconsistency, and incommunicable experience. Literal accuracy depends upon consistency of logic, consensually verifiable evidence, and an absence of paradox. In the language of myth and metaphor inconsistent logic and paradox are functional, incommunicable experience is shared. One Buddhist scripture, the Heart Sutra, tells us, “There is no old age and death,” and, “There is no ending of old age and death.” Literally, this is nonsense. Metaphorically, it transmits a profound truth.
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Through the creative development and refinement of the intimate, demonstrative expression of “direct pointing,” the figurative language of Zen (and Dogen) abandons the nets and cages of literalism and conceptualization and transcends the limitations of the great philosophical systems of Buddhism. Where the Huayen master explains how a golden statue of a lion has both “one essence” (gold) and “many characteristics” (a head, claws, hair, etc.) the Zen master simply delivers the lions roar.
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While it is true that figurative language can be just as false and nonsensical as literal language, the fact remains that it is the most effective vehicle, if not the only one, for the transmission of wisdom. The classic literature of Zen exemplifies the potential of this vehicle. Dogen’s Shobogenzo exemplifies one of the greatest realizations of that potential.
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The great Huayen master, Ch’eng Kuan, in one of his marvelous explanations of interdependence wrote:
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On the eighth day of a [lunar] month, half of the moon is bright and the other half is dark; the very appearance of the bright part [the disclosed] affirms but does not negate the existence of the hidden part. Likewise, the manifestation of something always implies the existence of the unmanifested or concealed part of the same thing. At the moment when the bright part of the moon is disclosed, the dark part also "secretly" establishes itself. This is the reason for the so-called simultaneous establishment of concealment and disclosure…” Non-Obstruction of Concealment and Disclosure, by Ch’eng Kuan, The Buddhist Teaching of Totality, Garma C. C. Chang
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In Case 100 of the Blue Cliff Record, a monk asked the Zen master Haryo for an explanation of this same principle:
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A monk asked Haryo, "What is the razor-sharp sword?"

Haryo said, "Each branch of coral supports the moon."

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Peace,

Ted

Enlightened about delusion, deluded about enlightenment

Those who are enlightened about delusion are buddhas. Those who are deluded about enlightenment are ordinary beings.

~Dogen (Shobogenzo, Genjokoan)

Shobogenzo 1 & Shobogenzo 2: Two Texts, or One?

Although the collection of his written works is vast, the large collection of fascicles edited and compiled under the title Shobogenzo; Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, is universally recognized as Dogen’s masterpiece. Consisting mainly of commentaries on a range of Buddhist topics, the fascicles of Shobogenzo are written in Japanese and usually center around one or more of the classic Zen koans and or passages from the Buddhist scriptures. While Dogen’s mastery of Zen expression is also demonstrated in his other works, especially Eihei Koroku, it is primarily in Shobogenzo that Dogen demonstrates an originality and creativity that is not only unique in Zen literature, but may even represent a culmination of Zen thought.

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There are many reasons why this amazing work stands apart from the rest of his writings. Its extensiveness in range and scope is equally matched by its intensity of expression and insight. Widely regarded as Japan’s greatest literary achievement, Shobogenzo offers one of the most extensive treatments of Zen Buddhist doctrine and methodology in the whole of Zen literature. Dogen’s manner of expression in Shobogenzo utilizes a number of original and creative approaches including alternating perspectives, grammatical rearrangement, (apparently) unorthodox interpretation, and many others. Nobody denies that Dogen was an unusually gifted master of language, and few would argue with the suggestion that his works represent a mastery of language unmatched by any other single Zen master.

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While there are classic Zen texts that may be considered as matching or even surpassing Dogen’s work, most of these (e.g. The Platform Sutra; The Linji Lu; The Huang Po; The Record of Matsu; etc.) represent decades, even centuries, of continuous refinement by numerous groups and individuals. While some questions remain concerning Dogen’s intention as to which fascicles were to be included in Shobogenzo, and whether some fascicles have been tampered with (most likely for sectarian reasons), Dogen’s Shobogenzo is largely representative of the work of a single individual. The details of these issues are not relevant here as they do not affect the issue at hand; they are mentioned in the interest of completeness (Steven Heine’s, Did Dogen Go To China, offers the most extensive study of these issues).
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The main point here has been to indicate the reason Shobogenzo is singled out as “the record” Dogen alluded to in his stated intention to transmit the “right Dharma of the Buddha’s lineage.” This brings us to an interesting point; Dogen actually compiled two texts under the name Shobogenzo. His “other” Shobogenzo is a collection of 301 classic Zen koans. Dogen evidently selected the koans from a number of classic Zen texts and, without modification or commentary, organized them into a single work. Many of these koans appear unmodified (in their original Chinese form) in “other” Shobogenzo (the one which includes his commentary).
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Because the most obvious difference between the two “Shobogenzos” is that one includes Dogen’s Japanese commentary, and the other includes only the original Chinese koans, the two “Shobogenzos” are usually differentiated as “Kana” (Japanese) and “Mana” or “Shinji” (Chinese). Note, however, that even in the Shobogenzo that contains commentary by Dogen, the koans remain unmodified in their original Chinese form. Thus, it would be just as accurate to distinguish them as “with” or “without” commentary. In fact, this might be more accurate as the former method can easily mislead people to assume that the two texts are more dissimilar than they are. The fact of the matter is that the similarities that they do share are not just similar—they are identical. That is, the content they share is their title, and a number of specific koans which remain in their original Chinese form in both texts (i.e. the koans are not translated into Japanese in the so-called “Kana” Shobogenzo). The “traditional” method of distinguishing the two texts as “Mana” and “Kana” is, as far as I can tell, based upon a single comment by Ejo, Dogen’s main heir:
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“…I heard him say that he wanted to rework all of the Shobogenzo that had previously been written in Japanese script and also to include some new manuscripts…”
~Shobogenzo, Hachi Dainingaku, Hubert Nearman
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I certainly am not qualified to verify the linguist elements of 13th century Japanese, but it does seem fair to ask if Ejo’s remark actually distinguishes one Shobogenzo as a distinct and separate work from another Shobogenzo with the exact same title, or if it is simply distinguishes the “previously written Japanese script” of Shobogenzo from the original (Chinese) script of the (same) Shobogenzo. Even if Ejo’s intent was certain, it would not follow that such was Dogen’s position. Regardless of whether Dogen regarded Shobogenzo and Shobogenzo as two separate works, the fact that he regarded one or both as the “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye” deserves consideration. In any case, the texts are so intertwined that even if they are “two,” they always go together—if not as closely as the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, at least as closely as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
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For me, the most convincing evidence of the interconnection of the two Shobogenzos comes from my own experience with koan training. This aspect of Zen training provided a greater degree of clarity to Dogen’s writings than all other aspects of Zen training put together. Of course, distinguishing “aspects” of Zen training is a vulgar simplification; koan training cannot be distinguished from dokusan, dokusan cannot be distinguished from zazen, zazen cannot be distinguished from reliable teaching, etc. etc. Be that as it may, I cannot imagine how one could achieve an accurate understanding of Dogen’s written teachings, especially Shobogenzo and Eihei Koroku, without a firm grasp of the classic koans. Both of Dogen’s major records make extensive use of the classic koans, most of which are drawn from the 301 koan collection Shobogenzo.
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Perhaps there is a more important question to consider. For the sake of argument, let us say that an accurate understanding of Dogen’s Shobogenzo could be achieved without assimilating the koans that permeate it. If such was the case, why would Dogen have included them in the first place, and more importantly, why wouldn’t we want to assimilate them anyway? Attempting to study these works without resolving the classic koans—assimilating them, not conceptualizing them—would be like trying to study Paradise Lost without a firm grasp of the Bible. Whatever did seem comprehensible would most likely be a misunderstanding.
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This is not to deny that some of the wisdom of Paradise Lost can be conveyed to people unfamiliar with the Bible. This is achieved daily by teachers and artists, as well as the products of teachers and artists—systems of thought, and works of art. Nevertheless, to successfully transmit the wisdom of sacred literature and major poetry the teachers, artists, and their products must be at the levels of genius, or nearly so. For this reason, the differences between the “teachers” and “artists” as well as the “systems” and “works of art” that succeed in conveying such wisdom is hard to discern. The great teacher’s “system” is a work of art; the great artist’s “picture” is worth a thousand words. Moreover, the student that truly receives what the teacher or artist communicates will only do so with sustained attention and focused effective effort.

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Peace,

Ted

How we encounter Buddha Ancestors

We need to carefully scrutinize, right now, whether we ourselves are deluded or not, for it is by this that we humbly encounter the Buddhas and Ancestors.
~Shobogenzo, Daigo, Hubert Nearman

Life is Our True Self Revealing Itself Fully

What is life? What is our "True Self"? Dogen expresses the Zen view:

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Our True Self revealing Itself to the full is what life is, and life is our True Self revealing Itself to the full. At the time when our True Self reveals Itself, we can say that there is nothing that is not a full displaying of life, and there is nothing that is not a full displaying of death.

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It is the operating of this True Self that causes life to come about and causes death to come about. At the very moment when we fully manifest this functioning of our True Self, It will not necessarily be something great or something small, or the whole universe or some limited bit of it, or something drawn out or something short and quick. Our life at this very moment is the True Self in operation, and the operating of our True Self is our life at this very moment. Life is not something that comes and life is not something that goes; life is not something that reveals itself and life is not something that is accomplished. Rather, life is a displaying of one’s Buddha Nature to the full, and death is also a displaying of one’s Buddha Nature to the full. You need to realize that both life and death occur in the immeasurable thoughts and things within ourselves.
~Shobogenzo, Zenki, Hubert Nearman
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How do we clarify this Zen "Truth" about Our True Nature"? The same way all those that have clarified it did so--as Dogen puts it:

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All Buddhas, along with all Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings, by the power of their inherent keenness, clarify what the Great Truth of the True Nature of all things is. They clarify what the Great Truth of this True Nature is by following the Scriptures and by following their spiritual friend. In this way, they come to understand their own True Nature. The Scriptures are what True Nature is: they are our true Self. And because True Nature is our true Self, It is not the self that non-Buddhists and devilish beings misunderstand It to be.
~Shobogenzo, Hossho, Hubert Nearman

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Lovely! So clear and direct! How could we fail to be grateful?

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Peace,

Ted

Enlightened about delusion

The Shobogenzo, Genjokoan says:

Those who are enlightened about delusion are buddhas.

In the Shobogenzo, being “enlightened about delusion” means awakening to the reality of delusion. That is, realizing what delusion truly is. It is like when, for example, a person is shown the cause of a magician’s illusions: mirrors, wires, hidden compartments, and so on. The person can then grasp the reality of the illusion. The reality of the illusion, the mirrors, wires, hidden compartments, is existent, and the illusion is a real characteristic of its existence. Similarly, when you realize the cause of delusion: misperception or partial perception, of true nature, you realize the reality of delusion. The reality of delusion, misperception or partial perception of our own true nature is existent, and delusion is a real characteristic of its existence. Those who are “enlightened about” this are called “buddhas.”

~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Koans the hallmark of Dogen's Zen?

[In China at the time Dogen visited] All public monasteries, whether or not their abbacies were reserved for Ch’an monks, had basically the same buildings, bureaucratic structures, schedules of activities, and basic forms of Buddhist discipline and practice. All public monasteries had buddha halls (butsuden), where various offerings and sutra chanting services were held; dharma halls (hattō), where abbots gave lectures and entertained questions; and sangha halls (sōdō), where the main body of monks sat in meditation, ate, and slept at their places on the open platforms. 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.
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To summarize, what the so-called transmission of Zen to Japan in the thirteenth century really amounted to was the wholesale transmission from Sung China of the latest in Buddhist monastic institutions, teachings, and practices.
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The Zen school in Japan, or rather the various Zen schools (plural) that were based on branch lineages, were institutionally separate from the other schools of Japanese Buddhism...
Nevertheless, they were heirs not only to the Chinese Ch’an tradition of dharma lineages and koan study, but to the entire Buddhist monastic tradition as it flourished in Sung China.

Dogen himself stressed in the chapter of his Shobogenzo entitled “The Buddha Way” (Butsudō) that what he was transmitting was not just the “Zen lineage” (zenshū) — a name that he castigated — but true Buddhism in its entirety. At the same time, he boldly asserted that his own line of dharma transmission, passed down through his teacher Ju-ching, preserved the true Buddhism better than any other line.
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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

Peace,
Ted

Dogen - Zen Lineages, Zen Sects

The title which Dogen is most frequently referred to as, “The Founder of the Soto Sect of Zen in Japan,” begs for serious qualification. Dogen’s own writings seem to suggest he might regard this title as ill informed, even irreverent. For Dogen, authentic enlightenment was the standard; not pedigree. Those authentically enlightened are “Buddha Ancestors,” others are not; whether they belong to a particular lineage or no lineage at all.

While Dogen did acknowledge the traditional lineages, tracing his own through that of his Chinese Master, he saw lineages for what they are; convenient identifiers—no more significant than the names of cities or provinces. As with all speculative notions, assumption based merely on lineage (or no lineage) is not only pointless, it is ludicrous. While many of Dogen’s writings illustrate his disdain of sectarianism, in Shobogenzo, nearly the entire fascicle of Butsudo is dedicated to, on one hand, exposing the fallacies of confused notions linking “lineages” with “sects,” and on the other hand, elucidating the “right view” for Buddhists as revealed by the authentic Buddha Ancestors, including Dogen’s Chinese master:

My late Master, an Old Buddha, once ascended the Dharma seat and addressed his assembly, saying, “People nowadays just talk of there being separate traditions and customs, such as those of Ummon, Hōgen, Igyō, Rinzai, and Sōtō, but this is not the Buddha’s Teaching, nor is it what Ancestors and Masters say.”
~Shobogenzo, Butsudo, (Hubert Nearman)

Dogen was a Dharma heir of both Rinzai and Soto Zen, and his writings offer unabashed praise, and revere his teachers in both lineages as “Ancestral Masters.” This attitude is consistent in his writings which repeatedly assert that the authenticity of enlightenment is the only criteria for qualifying Buddha Ancestors. The Butsudo fascicle’s unapologetic contempt of vulgar notions concerning lineage and sectarianism, Dogen offers some the harshest, most colorful, and most humorous expressions in the whole Shobogenzo. One can only imagine the scorn he would heap on some of the outlandish notions assumed by many contemporary Zen institutions. Dogen’s writings freely draw on the wisdom of all lineages, and harshly criticize notions of sectarian division in what he calls the “House of Buddha Ancestors,” including those of a “Soto” sect:

There is no separate Transmission, no separate sect, in addition to this. Our Great Master never showed his Fist or his twinkling Eye to his assembly, calling either ‘the Sōtō sect’. Further, since there were no mediocre trainees mixed in with his family, how could there possibly be any in his family who spoke of a ‘Sōtō sect’!
~Shobogenzo, Butsudo, (Hubert Nearman)

There is little doubt that Dogen would be inspired to articulate some vividly colorful language if he could see some of the recent institutions created under the name of Zen. In their apparent enthusiasm to embrace American entrepreneurism it seems like every westerner that obtains certification to teach “Zen” sets out to initiate, organize, found, or otherwise establish a new branch, no, “brand” of Zen—their own. Just a few decades ago the number of “certified” Zen teachers in America could be counted on one hand, today “Zen masters,” “Dharma-heirs,” “Abbotts,” “Roshis,” and “Founders,” vie for space in glossy magazines to advertise Zen enlightenment in all manner of forms from one-on-one interviews with living Buddhas and catered retreats at multi-million dollar resorts, to trademark protected techniques for instant enlightenment (expensive, but 100% guaranteed!).

Megalomaniacs with delusions of grandeur are apparently not new to Zen; it is to one of them, in fact, that Dogen credits as the deviser of the name “Soto sect.”

When it comes to this name ‘Soto’, clearly some stinking skin bag in an offshoot lineage who fancied himself the equal of Tozan devised the name ‘Soto sect’.
~Shobogenzo, Butsudo, (Hubert Nearman)

What do you make of it?

Peace,
Ted

Genjokoan - Dogen, Master of Zen, Master of Expression

Excerpt From The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing: The Second Ancestor of Zen in the West - Part II – Commentaries of Louie Wing: A deeper examination of Zen - Commentary 1. The Genjokoan

One thing that places Dogen in the company of the greatest of Zen masters is magnificent Zen expression. Few masters before—and none since—have matched his skill for expressing the profound and subtle wisdom of the enlightened mind. Two of his early predecessors, Tozan and his disciple Sozan, earn their inclusion among these few through their elucidation of the classic Zen teaching of The Five Ranks.

The doctrine expressed as The Five Ranks is one of the most influential Zen expressions of all time. The subject of that doctrine—the function and essence of the enlightened mind—is and has always been the summum bonum of Buddhism. Every genuine Buddhist expression is grounded on this central principal. The presentation of this principal by Tozan, further refined by Sozan, as The Five Ranks, marks one point where the expression of the central truth of Buddhism evolved.
Dogen’s Shobogenzo marks another such point.

Dogen’s genius for expression is displayed nowhere better than in Genjokoan. His views, on every major aspect of the Buddha-Dharma, are revealed, either explicitly or implicitly, in this extraordinary essay. Genjokoan is a skeleton key that can be used to unlock the Shobogenzo, literally “Treasury of the True Dharma-Eye.

The opening lines of Genjokoan outline the fundamental aspects of reality: the interdependence and interpenetrating aspects of the one and the many, the individual and the universal.

When all things are seen as the Buddha-Dharma, then there is delusion and enlightenment, there is practice, there is life and there is death, there are Buddhas and there are ordinary beings.

This line affirms the relative aspect of reality. Here, “the Buddha-Dharma” denotes all-inclusive reality. “When all things are seen as the Buddha-Dharma,” indicates one way of perceiving the Buddha-Dharma (reality). In this way of perceiving the Buddha-Dharma, “all things” (the myriad dharmas) are seen. That is, reality appears as a multitude of separate individual things. From this perspective of reality there is, “delusion and enlightenment, there is practice, there is life and there is death, there are Buddhas and there are ordinary beings.“ There are people, animals, houses, stars, and all the other kinds of things.

Dogen, more than most Zen masters, delves deeply into the implications of this aspect of reality. While many Zen masters and Buddhist texts give short shrift to the relative aspect of experience, often simply dismissing it as the experience of delusion, Dogen methodically articulates how this aspect of reality affirms the ultimate significance of every particular thing. The Shobogenzo repeatedly directs us to this truth; because everything is the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha-Dharma is every thing. For Dogen, every thing has ultimate significance as the Buddha-Dharma; including even such things as broken tiles, pebbles, dreams, illusions, and doubts…

~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Peace,

Ted

3 Recent Dogen Posts on Flatbed Sutra Zen Blog

Links to 3 recent Dogen posts at Flatbed Sutra Blog

Dogen on the liberating potential of concepts and intellectual effort in Zen

Is Dogen Dead? The Presence of Buddhas and Zen Ancestors

Dogen, on the need to Choose, Decide, & Discriminate

Peace,

Ted

Dogen - The Nature of being Human

Manifesting sympathy means not making differences, not treating yourself as different and not treating others as different. For instance, the Tathagata was a human being just like other human beings.

Shobogenzo, Bodaisatta Shishobo, Hubert Nearman

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You and I, right now, are human beings who are the real Body of the whole universe in all ten quarters.

Shobogenzo, Shinjin Gakudo, Hubert Nearman
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To meet my former Master face-to-face was to encounter an ordinary human being.

Shobogenzo, Gyoji, Hubert Nearman

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The present statement of the Great Master that all human beings, without exception, have the Light within themselves is not saying that It is something that will manifest at some time in the future, or that It was something that existed in some past generation, or that It is something that is fully manifesting Itself in front of some onlooker now. We need to clearly hear and remember his statement that all human beings, without exception, have the Light within themselves...
The Brightness is what all human beings are. Taking hold of this Brightness, they turn It into external conditions and internal tendencies.

Shobogenzo, Komyo, Hubert Nearman

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Peace,

Ted Biringer

Dogen On Koans, Buddha Nature, & Practice

[Introductory Comment] The Bussho (Buddha-nature) fascicle, written by Zen Master Dogen, is one of longest fascicles in Shobogenzo, and also on of the richest. Its structure, as well as its context offer a wide variety of perspectives in which it can be read (e.g. as a single aspect of the whole Shobogenzo, as a 'unity' that stands on its own, as a collection of teachings on Buddha-nature, etc.).

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While it is probably best to read it in context of the whole Shobogenzo (and Shobogenzo's context in the Zen/Buddhist literature), breaking it into parts seems more suitable for a blog.

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In the following section of Bussho, Master Dogen cites two classic koans to illustrate some extremely profound implications of the Zen/Buddhist teachings on Buddha-Nature. In my view, this section of Bussho contains some of Master Dogen's most powerful, creative, and evocative uses of Zen koan literature in his entire corpus of writings. This particular section not only serves to illumine some remarkable, and often overlooked aspects of Buddha-Nature, it also provides a number explanations on the significance of Zen koans, practical instructions on how to approach them, and a whole array of clues on how they can be skillfuly used.

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[Begin Excerpt of Shobogenzo, Bussho]

Ōbaku was sitting in Nansen’s Abbatical reception room, when Nansen asked Ōbaku, “What do you think of the principle enunciated in the Great Scripture on the Buddha’s Parinirvana that, if one trains oneself equally in meditative practice and in spiritual wisdom, one will clearly see one’s Buddha Nature?”

Ōbaku replied, “Within all the hours of the day, It does not depend on a single thing, so we have It right from the start.”

Nansen said, “You aren’t saying this as the view of an elder monk, are you?”

Ōbaku replied, “I daren’t say so.”

Nansen said, “Setting aside for the moment the matter of payment for your rice broth, to whom are you to return payment for your straw sandals?”

Thereupon, Ōbaku remained silent.

‘Training equally in meditative practices and spiritual wisdom’ does not mean that, since training in meditative practices does not interfere with pursuing spiritual wisdom, Buddha Nature can be clearly seen when training in both equally. Rather, when we clearly see our Buddha Nature, then we will be training equally in meditation practice and spiritual wisdom. So Nansen stated, “What do you think of this principle?” This would be the same as saying, for instance, “Who is it that sees one’s Buddha Nature clearly?” Or it can be stated by saying, “How about the principle that Buddha Nature’s equal pursuit of both is what causes us to realize our Buddha Nature?”

The point of Ōbaku’s saying “Within all the hours of the day, It does not depend on a single thing” is that even though twenty-four hours exist within the span of a whole day, It is not dependent on them. Since Buddha Nature’s not depending on a single thing extends over all the hours of a day, It can be clearly seen. As to this ‘within all the hours of a day’ of his, would you ask at what specific time It will show up or in what country? These twenty-four hours that we are speaking of, would they have to be a human being’s twenty-four hour day? Or do they exist as a day in some other particular place? Or are they the kind of day that can occur for a while in Samantabhadra’s Silver Realm? Whether it be in this land or some other world, It does not depend on either. It is already within the twenty-four hours of any day and does not depend on anything.

Nansen’s asking, “You aren’t saying this as the view of an elder monk, are you?” is the same as asking, “You aren’t saying that this is your view, are you?” Although Nansen asked whether this is the view of an elder monk, Ōbaku should not turn to Nansen and affirm that it is indeed his own view. Although the statement was appropriate, it did not apply to Ōbaku alone, because Ōbaku is not the only person who held this view, as the views of many elder monks make abundantly clear.

As to Ōbaku’s replying, “I daren’t say so,” when someone in Sung China is asked whether he is capable of doing something, he uses this phrase, “I daren’t say so,” to acknowledge in a humble way his ability to do so. Thus, to say, “I daren’t say so,” does not mean that one doubts one’s abilities. What this expression says is not to be taken literally. Whether ‘the view of an elder monk’ refers to some other elder monk or whether ‘the view of an elder monk’ refers to Ōbaku, in either case the answer should be that he daren’t say so. It should be like a water buffalo coming out from the water and bellowing “Mu.” To put it like this is to affirm It. You should try and see if you can say, in your own words, the Principle that Ōbaku is affirming.

Nansen said, “Setting aside for the moment the matter of payment for your rice broth, to whom are you to return payment for your straw sandals?” In other words, the cost of your rice gruel is put aside for the moment, but who gets paid for the cost of your straw sandals? We should spend life after life exploring the intent of this statement through our training. We should keep our minds diligently investigating what he meant by ‘whatever the cost of the broth, don’t worry about it for the moment’. Why was he so concerned about the cost of straw sandals? It is as if he had asked, “In all the years that you have spent traveling as a mendicant monk, how many pairs of straw sandals have you worn out?” to which Ōbaku might answer, “If I had not paid back the cost, I would not still be wearing straw sandals,” or, then again, he might reply, “Two or three pairs.” Either way could be how he expressed the Matter. Each way would correspond to his intent.

The statement that Ōbaku thereupon remained silent simply means that he desisted from speaking. He did not remain silent because what he said was negated by Nansen, nor did he remain silent because he was negating what Nansen said. A patch-robed monk of true color is not like that. Keep in mind that silence speaks, just as laughter can wield a sword. This is Buddha Nature clearly seeing that there is enough gruel and enough rice.

In citing this story, Isan asked his disciple Kyōzan, “Don’t you think this shows that Ōbaku was no match for Nansen?”

Kyōzan replied, “Not so. We should recognize that Ōbaku had the wherewithal to capture the tiger alive.”

Isan said, “My disciple’s perceptiveness has excelled itself in this.”

What Isan was saying is, “Wasn’t Ōbaku able to match Nansen?” Kyōzan said that Ōbaku had the wherewithal to capture the tiger alive. If he had already captured the tiger, he could probably have stroked the tiger on its head. To capture a tiger and to pet a tiger are to engage in two totally different things. Is clearly seeing Buddha Nature the same as opening the Eye? Is one’s Buddha Nature seeing clearly the same as losing one’s Eye? Quick, quick, speak! The perceptiveness of Buddha Nature excels Itself in this. As a result, It does not depend on half a thing or on its whole. Nor does It depend on hundreds of thousands of things or on hundreds of thousands of occasions. For this reason it can be said:

The snares and traps of passion are but a single face of It.
On no time within a day does It depend, nor is It outside of time;
Rather, It is like wisteria and kudzu entwined about a tree.
All within the universe and the universe itself are still bereft of words for It, you see.

~Shobogenzo, Bussho, Hubert Nearman - Online at:
http://www.shastaabbey.org/shobogenzo1.htm

[End Excerpt of Bussho]

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[Closing Comment]

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Dogen certainly offers up a rich and juicy harvest here, I am sure you will agree...

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What do you make of Dogen's comment immediately following the first koan? In Dogen's language here, so it seems to me, utilizes that old reliable tool in the kit of all the great teachers: "a pretention to naiveté." In my experience, Dogen usually uses this tactic when he wants to be very sure that something is not overlooked or misunderstood. Notice how he carefully states and re-states the point that accurate "Training..." (even if authentic, like the "balanced" method mentioned here) does not mean that Buddha Nature can be seen. Notice also how is careful to state both, what that means, as well as what it does not mean. Here is the part:

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"‘Training equally in meditative practices and spiritual wisdom’ does not mean that, since training in meditative practices does not interfere with pursuing spiritual wisdom, Buddha Nature can be clearly seen {even TB} when training in both equally..."

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His manner of seemingly "overstating" the issue almost comes across in a way that a teacher might speak to a class of 1st graders--as if very clearly articulating the obvious. Thus he wipes away any dust and dirt, then makes a very clear, direct statement on what this does mean, here:

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"Rather, when we clearly see our Buddha Nature, then we will be training equally in meditation practice and spiritual wisdom..."

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It is notable that Dogen's emphasis on this point is not unique to the Bussho fascicle. He frequently stresses the fact that simply being able to perform Zen/Buddhist "practice" accurately is not the same as "authentic" practice-realization. This is often discussed in terms of a "non-Buddhist" Indian teaching of "Naturalism" (which is suspiciously very similar to some Tendai "Hongaku" teachings of Dogen's own place and time). These "non-Buddhist" teachings, by failing to fully incorporate the teachings of emptiness, nonduality, and coorigination fostered notions suggesting that since everyone is already, or "originally" enlightened, spiritual effort and practice was superfolous.

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Such teachings were given some credibility at the time (and are widely active today) by mixing in a certain number of accurate views with the false ones. The most obvious, most damaging, and most difficult to uproot was (and is) based on the unity of "practice and enlightenment." The "non-Buddhist heretical view" included (includes) the "orthodox Zen/Buddhist" view that practice and enlightenment are (is) "one", but failed (fails) to apply the basic principles of nonduality which require the acknowledgement that the "oneness" of practice and enlightenment is dependent on the distinctions, or the "not-oneness" of practice and enlightenment.

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In short, practice and enlightenment are nondual according to the "authentic Zen view"; thus, their "oneness" depends on the maintainence of their differing and distinct aspects; thus, "practice is practice-and-enlightenment", and "enlightenment is practice-and-enlightenment."

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In the "non-Buddhist" view on the other hand, practice and enlightenment are fully merged--that is, each is viewed as substantially identical to the other; thus in the heretical view, "practice is enlightnment" and "enlightenment is practice." The unenlightened implications of this fallacy are not difficult to imagine.

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I hope that this is useful.

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Peace,

Ted

Zen Master Honzhi's Christmas Advice

Christmas message from Hongzhi (1091-1157:

Separate yourself from disturbance and face whatever appears before you. Not one iota seeps through from outside. The two forms (yin and yang) have the same root, and the ten thousand images have one substance. Following change and going along with transformation the whole is not clouded over by previous conditions. Then you reach the foundation of the great freedom. Wind blows and moon shines, and beings do not obstruct each other. Afterwards, settle back within and take responsibility. Wisdom returns and the principle is consummated. When you forget about merit your position is fulfilled. Do not fall for occupying honorable stations, but enter the current of the world and join with the delusion. Transcendent, solitary, and glorious, directly know that transmitting is merit, but having transmitted is not your own merit.
~Hongzhi (1091-1157?)

Dogen on the mind that cannot be grasped

The wisdom of Dogen, excerpts from, Shobogenzo, Shin fukatoko:

The Mind that cannot be grasped is what all Buddhas are, for They personally rely upon It as supreme, fully perfected enlightenment. As the Diamond-Cutting Scripture says, “The mind of the past cannot be retained; the mind of the present cannot be held onto; the mind of the future cannot be grasped.” This expression points to the Buddha’s reliance upon the Mind that cannot be held onto, which is what all Buddhas do. It is what They have come to rely upon, saying that It is the unretainable mind of past, present, and future, and that It is the ungraspable Mind of all thoughts and things. If you do not learn from the Buddhas what They are relying upon, which is what makes this matter clear, you will not directly experience It...

There are people who, upon hearing the phrase ‘cannot be grasped’, have simply assumed that there is nothing to be attained in either case, for these people lack the living pathway of practice. Further, there are those who say that It cannot be grasped because it is said that we already possess It from the first. How does that hit the mark?

...What we call ‘Buddha Mind’ is synonymous with the three temporal worlds of past, present, and future. This Mind and the three temporal worlds are not separated from each other by so much as one single hair’s breadth. Even so, when we are discussing the two as things that are distinct and separate from each other, then they are farther apart than eighteen thousand breadths of hair.
Shobogenzo, Shin Fukatoku (written version), Hubert Nearman

Peace,
Ted

Walking the Razor's Edge of Zen Practice-Realization

Like many Medieval Japanese Buddhists, Dogen was greatly interested in and influenced by the Buddhist teachings of "Hongaku" (original enlightenment). While Dogen fully appropriated elements of hongaku thought, he vehemently disparaged views he considered as inauthentic or outright aberrant.

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Distorted teachings and superficial interpretations of hongaku popularly advanced notions that minimized or denied the significance of ethical codes and spiritual practices. Many interpreted “original enlightenment” simplistically, making the false assumption that because all beings are Buddha-nature as they are, all beings are enlightened as they are. Such shallow interpretations were not only used to justify the abandonment of spiritual practice, but to engage in harmful and immoral behavior.

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Dogen consistently sought to expose the fallacies of one-sided (naturalistic, and essentialist) notions throughout his teaching career. Keenly aware of the dangers of provoking the antagonism of the volatile political, religious, and military powers, thus his criticism, ostensibly, was directed at "non-Buddhist doctrines Naturalism”, particularly as proclaimed by the Indian teacher, Senika.

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This doctrine proclaimed that living beings were innately endowed with an inherent “spiritual intelligence”, or “divine nature”, which alone was real. This “divine nature”, according to Senika, was the only reality. It infused all living beings, was unchanging, eternal, and was not subject to birth and death. Birth was simply a matter of this “nature” entering a material body which would simply be sloughed off at the time of death like an old set of clothing.

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If “divine nature” is replaced with “Buddha-nature”, the viewpoint proposed by those advocating distorted explanations of “original enlightenment”, was almost exactly that of Senika’s “Naturalism”, thus it furnished Dogen with an ideal pretext to repudiate these distortions. “Naturalism”, along with “Senika” (and sometimes Ta-hui), appear throughout Dogen’s works as symbols of heresy, superstition, narrow-mindedness, and stupidity.

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Senika’s "Naturalism" and the superficial notions of "Hongaku" both suggested that the world was divided up into mind and matter, or essence and form; the human body was viewed as temporal, while the mind was supposed to be eternal. In Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Dogen responds to a questioner that asks about this view:

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If we equate the present wrong view that “mind is eternal but forms perish” with the splendid Dharma of the buddhas, thinking that we have escaped life and death when we are promoting the original cause of life and death, are we not being stupid? That would be most pitiful. Knowing that this [wrong view] is just the wrong view of non-Buddhists, we should not touch it with our ears.

Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

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Dogen goes on in the same fascicle to vehemently, and convincingly argue that views suggesting a real division between “essence and form” or “mind and body” are not only misguided, they are harmful. Dogen points out that all the Buddhist "lineages" (not just Zen) have clearly proclaimed the nonduality of mind/body, essence/form--what is true of mind is true of body, both arise and perish moment to moment:

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"So remember, in the Buddha-Dharma, because the body and mind are originally one reality, the saying that essence and form are not two has been understood equally in the Western Heavens and the Eastern Lands, and we should never dare to go against it. Further, in the lineages that discuss eternal existence, the myriad dharmas are all eternal existence: body and mind are not divided. And in the lineages that discuss extinction, all dharmas are extinction: essence and form are not divided. How could we say, on the contrary, that the body is mortal but the mind is eternal? Does that not violate right reason? Furthermore, we should realize that living-and-dying is just nirvana; [Buddhists] have never discussed nirvana outside of living-and-dying. Moreover, even if we wrongly imagine the understanding that “mind becomes eternal by getting free of the body” to be the same as the buddha-wisdom that is free of life and death, the mind that is conscious of this understanding still appears and disappears momentarily, and so it is not eternal at all. Then isn’t [this understanding] unreliable? We should taste and reflect. The principle that body and mind are one reality is being constantly spoken by the Buddha-Dharma. So how could it be, on the contrary, that while this body appears and disappears, the mind independently leaves the body and does not appear or disappear? If there is a time when [body and mind] are one reality, and another time when they are not one reality, then it might naturally follow that the Buddha’s preaching has been false."

Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

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Dogen's teaching is consistent with all the classic Zen masters in the affirmation of the dynamic nonduality of body and mind. In Dogen’s works "jin" (body) and "shin" (mind) are frequently combined as "jinshin" (body-mind). This method of combining two (or more) foci (plural of "focus") to underscore nonduality is a common feature in Dogen’s works.

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With a deep understanding of nonduality we can see why Dogen was so adamantly committed to exposing biased views. Comprehending the simultaneity of both the “unity” and “particularity” of body-and-mind (as well practice-and-realization, emptiness-and-form, expression-and-understanding, etc.) is central to the transmission of the True-Dharma Eye.

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According to Dogen, authentic practice-realization is only possible at, and as the very pivot-point of here-and-now. Traversing the “razor’s edge”, so to speak, between Buddha-nature and the myriad dharmas— without denying or reifying either. The mind is established here and now with the body-mind. The real body-mind is the body-mind as it is—and the as it is is the real body-mind here and now.

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The relative "here and now," is not universalized, and the universal "here and now," is not particularized—they are not one, not two.

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This is often demonstrated in Dogen’s works with his adaption (and slight modification) of the dynamic Huayen Buddhist doctrine of “mutual penetration and non-obstruction.” Here is one lovely example:

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Grass, trees, tiles, and pebbles, and the four elements and five aggregates, are all equally “the mind alone,” and are all equally “real form.” The whole universe in ten directions, and the true and real buddha-nature, are both the Dharma abiding in the Dharma’s place. In the true and real buddha-nature, how could there be such things as “grass” and “trees”? How could grass, trees, and so on not be the true and real buddhanature? All dharmas are beyond “intentional doing” and beyond “nondoing”; they are real form. Real form is real form as it is, and the as-it-is is the body-mind here and now. With this body-mind we should establish the mind. Do not be averse to treading in water or treading on rocks. Just to take one stalk of grass and make it into the sixteen-foot golden body, or to take one particle of dust and construct an eternal buddha’s stupa or shrine, is the establishment of the bodhi-mind itself. It is to meet Buddha, to listen to Buddha, to meet Dharma, to listen to Dharma, to become Buddha, and to act as Buddha.

Shobogenzo, Hotsu-mujoshin, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

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Peace,

Ted

Dogen and Louie on the Eternal Mirror

Hearing, Seeing, Dogen and Louie on the Eternal Mirror
By Ted Biringer, on November 3rd, 2009

Undifferentiated and able to differentiate

The vast, unnamable, fathomless void is imperceptible, formless, intangible, and unmoving; it was never born and can never die. Though it is not separate from the myriad things, the myriad things do not alter it; like a clear mirror, it adapts to all things while fundamentally remaining unchanged by them. Similarly, your own basic awareness is able to perfectly perceive all things, without becoming entangled with them. The unnamable true nature or your own mind is, at once, undifferentiated and able to differentiate all things. When the neighbor’s dog barks unexpectedly, your clear awareness spontaneously comprehends it; when a spider walks along the back of your neck, your luminous mind registers it. Who hears the dog? Who feels the spider?
~Louie Wing, ~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

What all the buddhas and all the patriarchs have received and retained, and transmitted one-to-one, is the eternal mirror. They1 have the same view and the same face, the same image and the same cast; they share the same state and realize the same experience. A foreigner appears, a foreigner is reflected—one hundred and eight thousand of them. A Chinese person appears, a Chinese person is reflected—for a moment and for ten thousand years. The past appears, the past is reflected; the present appears, the present is reflected; a buddha appears, a buddha is reflected; a patriarch appears, a patriarch is reflected.~Dogen, Shobogenzo, Kokyo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

Peace,
Ted

Dogen, Learning in Practice, Secret Talk, and Zazen

Shobogenzo, Mitsugo
Read the full fascicle here: Online Shobogenzo (Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross)

[3] When the great truth, “that which buddhas guard and desire,” is realized as the real universe, the state [expressed] “You are like this, I am like this,” and “each must guard it well,” is experienced exactly in the present.

[4] Great Master Kokaku of Ungozan, the story goes, is served offerings by a government official, who asks, “The World-honored One has secret talk; for Mahakasyapa nothing is concealed. What is the World-honored One’s secret talk?”

The great master calls out, “Minister!”

The man responds.

The great master says, “Do you understand or not?”

The official says, “I do not understand.”

The great master says, “If you do not understand, it is the World-honored One’s secret talk. If you understand, it is Mahakasyapa’s state of nothing being concealed.”

The great master, manifesting himself as the legitimate descendant, after five generations, of Seigen, is a master of gods and human beings and a great good counselor through the whole universe in the ten directions. He transforms the sentient and transforms the insentient. As the forty-sixth buddha in the legitimate succession of buddhas, he preaches the Dharma for Buddhist patriarchs. At his hermitage on Sanpo Mountain, he was sent offerings from the kitchens of gods. But after receiving the transmission of the Dharma and attaining the truth, he transcended the state which is sent [heavenly] offerings. The expression quoted now that “The World-honored One has secret talk; for Mahakasyapa nothing is concealed,” is the legacy of forty-six buddhas. At the same time, as the original features of the forty-six buddhas, “it is not got from others,” “it does not come from outside,” “it is not inherent,” and “it has never been something new.” 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 at once. It may be that now, having already become the World-honored One, [the master of] Ungozan is equipped with secret talk and possesses the state of Mahakasyapa in which nothing is concealed. Do not learn that calling “Minister!” and the official’s response, are secret talk itself.
(Shobogenzo, Mitsugo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross)

[COMMENT]

Following Jordan’s suggestion, I will break this down into a series of smaller posts. This is the first part (about 1/5th) of the Shobogenzo fascicle, “Mitsugo” (Secret Talk).

Dogen, as usual, jumps right in:

When the great truth, “that which buddhas guard and desire,” is realized as the real universe, the state [expressed] “You are like this, I am like this,” and “each must guard it well,” is experienced exactly in the present.

Notice how the various phrases combine to define each other. For example:

“The great truth” is: “the real universe”, “desired by buddhas”, “a state that can be experienced”, etc.

And, “The real universe” is: “something that can be realized”, “can be experienced exactly in the present”, “the same state that is expressed as ‘each must guard it well’”, etc.

And, “You are like this, I am like this” is: “an expression of the great truth”, “the same as, ‘each must guard it well’”, “that which buddhas realize”, etc.

Next, Dogen cites a koan:

Great Master Kokaku of Ungozan, the story goes, is served offerings by a government official, who asks, “The World-honored One has secret talk; for Mahakasyapa nothing is concealed. What is the World-honored One’s secret talk?”

The great master calls out, “Minister!”

The man responds.

The great master says, “Do you understand or not?”

The official says, “I do not understand.”

The great master says, “If you do not understand, it is the World-honored One’s secret talk. If you understand, it is Mahakasyapa’s state of nothing being concealed.”

Before looking at Dogen’s comment I will just point out the similarity of the structure of this case and case 22 in the Mumonkan:

Ananda asked Mahakasyapa, “When the World Honored One transmitted the robe to you, did he transmit anything else?

Mahakasyapa calls out, “Ananda!”

Ananda responded, “Yes!”

Mahakasyapa said, “Knock down the flagpole!”

Okay, back to the Dogen:

The great master, manifesting himself as the legitimate descendant, after five generations, of Seigen, is a master of gods and human beings and a great good counselor through the whole universe in the ten directions. He transforms the sentient and transforms the insentient. As the forty-sixth buddha in the legitimate succession of buddhas, he preaches the Dharma for Buddhist patriarchs. At his hermitage on Sanpo Mountain, he was sent offerings from the kitchens of gods. But after receiving the transmission of the Dharma and attaining the truth, he transcended the state which is sent [heavenly] offerings.

While Dogen’s format here seems pretty typical of Zen masters introducing the ‘persons’ in a case (giving a brief bio/Dharma career overview), he does not waste the opportunity to offer some turning words. Couching some fantastic claims inside an ‘ordinary’ introduction precludes the listener’s distraction (or reader’s skimming) and forces us to look closely in an effort to get at the meaning. Not just a master revered throughout the whole world, “a master of gods and human beings and a great good counselor through the whole universe in the ten directions.” He does not simply transform all beings, “He transforms the sentient and transforms the insentient.” Etc. Furthermore, what is the state which is sent heavenly offerings?

Dogen continues:

The expression quoted now that “The World-honored One has secret talk; for Mahakasyapa nothing is concealed,” is the legacy of forty-six buddhas. At the same time, as the original features of the forty-six buddhas, “it is not got from others,” “it does not come from outside,” “it is not inherent,” and “it has never been something new.”

Here, Dogen reminds us of some of the facts of Being-Time (Uji), essential for getting to the heart of all the Shobogenzo fascicles, as well as resolving koans. This ‘expression’ is the legacy of ancestors (something passed on, or handed down), and, at the same time, it is the ‘original’ features of the ancestors (integral, particular, characteristics they had before they were born). This is beyond existence, beyond non-existence. He names four such features that each of these buddhas ‘originally’ have. The translators note says they could not trace the quotes, but I would be surprised if they did not come from Yuanwu’s commentary on case 22 of the Hekiganroku, where he relates Seppo’s enlightenment experience on Tortoise Mountain.

Dogen goes on:

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.

If all buddhas and ancestors have secret talk, AND, someone who has secret talk ‘inevitably’ has Mahakasyapas state of nothing being concealed, what does that tell us? Even if we follow this, we “should learn it in practice” – really and truly get to the bottom of it, more let it get to the bottom of us. It is possible. Just sit with it, examine it, let it sit, pick it up, get to know it intimately. Is there a gap between Mahakasyapa’s state and our state? Where could it possibly be ‘concealed’? Also, we should ‘not forget’ the truth spoken by secret talk.

Dogen says:

“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 at once. It may be that now, having already become the World-honored One, [the master of] Ungozan is equipped with secret talk and possesses the state of Mahakasyapa in which nothing is concealed. Do not learn that calling “Minister!” and the official’s response, are secret talk itself.

Here, Dogen offers a particularly colorful description of how one is supposed to “learn in practice”, which is one of his standard demands. I have heard a number of ‘Soto Zen’ adherents insist that Dogen was opposed to koan-introspection during zazen.

Try this: imagine you are a monk in Dogen’s assembly. You left your home, your family, and gave up everything in hopes of resolving the great matter of life and death. You perform zazen daily, because you’re at Dogen’s monastery, you perform a LOT of zazen. Your teacher holds the keys to your greatest aspiration.

There he is, on the high-seat exhorting you to get to the bottom of this story about ‘Mahakasyapa’s state’, saying that you must “strive painstakingly hundreds, or thousands of times, as if trying to cut something hard.” Dogen finishes his teisho and the head monk rings the bell – time for three hours of zazen. What do you think is going to happen when you sit on the cushion?

I have never seen anything to indicate that Dogen opposed koan-introspection (just the opposite), but for arguments sake, let’s just say that the head monk, or even Dogen himself gives everyone a reminder as they enter the meditation hall, “Remember! Don’t contemplate that koan!”

If you make it for more than five minutes without wondering what the hell Dogen meant by saying, “Do not learn that calling ‘Minister!’ official’s response, are secret talk itself”, then you are either a fully enlightened Buddha, or a corpse…

Okay, more on this next time...

Remember, read the full fascicle here: Shobogenzo

Peace,
Ted

Dogen's Fundamental Point

For Dogen, the Dharmadhatu (realm of reality) is an infinite source of creative energy (brightness) permeating Being-Time (Uji); continuously and impartially manifesting itself according to causes and conditions. Its permeation precludes entry, or attainment and prohibits evasion; thus, Dogen’s creative mis-reading of the Mahaparinirvana-sutra’s, “All sentient beings have Buddha nature”, as “All beings the Buddha-nature of existence.”

Being impartial, Dharmadhatu neither encourages nor inhibits the manifestation of any particular ‘form.’ That is, while the Dharmadhatu is the essence, or ‘equality’ of each and every dharma (thing), the appearance, or ‘particularity’ of each and every dharma is determined by its causes and conditions. This rationale is asserted in Shobogenzo with phrases like, “Right and wrong are Time, but Time is not right or wrong.”

The point to grasp here is the fact that the Dharmadhatu (where we live) is as equally capable of sustaining bondage as it is of actualizing liberation. This quality of Dharmadhatu is expressed in Shobogenzo as, “there is turning the sutra, there is being turned by the sutra” (and, there is using the twelve hours, or being used by the twelve hours, etc.). To be turned by the sutra is to be controlled, restrained, wholly compelled to follow its dictates. Turning the sutra is to command, guide, and skillfully direct its course. Zen literature often indicates these two aspects with allusions to the puppet and puppeteer, or the positions of guest and Host.Ignorance of Dharmadhatu and its characteristics of permeation, impartiality, and infinitely creative potential inevitably confine us to the ‘position of guest’, to being turned by it. Enlightened to the nature and characteristics of Dharmadhatu activates our capacity to turn the sutra; no longer ‘puppets’ confined to being used by the twelve hours, we freely use the twelve hours to ‘actualize the fundamental point’ (genjokoan).

Peace,
Ted

The “Unity” of Shobogenzo (Part Two)

In part one of this series of posts on the unity of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo (The “Unity” of Shobogenzo - Part One) we explored the significance of approaching Shobogenzo as a 'unity.'

To summarize briefly, we suggested that Master Dogen intended his masterpiece, Shobogenzo, to be a singular canon (rather than a collection of miscellaneous writings). We also discussed how the meaning of any 'part' of a singular literary work is dependent on the whole of the text (just as the meaning of the whole must take into account all of its parts). In short, the meaning of any fascicle included in Shobogenzo depends on its context in the whole Shobogenzo.

Today (part two of this series), we explore what 'reading in context’ implies, and how to do it.

Reading and listening to a speaker (and even thinking to a great extent) is first concerned with following a sequence of words. It makes no difference if it is a four verse gatha or the voluminous Avatamsaka sutra, we will not be able to accurately evaluate the meaning until we reach the end of the sequence. For instance, look at the third "Maxim of Master Han Shan":

3. Neither are they correct who dedicate themselves to exposing the fraud of every sensory object they encounter. True, perceptions of material objects give rise to wild desire in the heart. True, once it is understood how essentially worthless such apparent objects are, wild desires are reduced to timid thoughts. But we may not limit our spiritual practice to the discipline of dispelling illusion. There is more to the Dharma than understanding the nature of reality.

~Han Shan

Can you see how the last four sentences add substance and detail which serves to clarify the meaning of the first sentence? Try it, I will wait... Now, look at how different the meaning of the last sentence might be read outside the context of the preceding sentences. The same can be seen of the other sentences, and finally even down to each word, each punctuation. "True perceptions of material objects..." means something much different than, "True, perceptions of material objects..."

Once we come to the end of the sequence of words however, we are in possession of a single 'unit' or image; each part serving to flesh out and clarify the real meaning that the speaker or writer is attempting to convey. We can, as they say, "see the whole picture."

True, the real meaning of the Maxim we used in our example would certainly become clearer if read in the context of Han Shan's whole list of Maxim's, and clearer still if read in context of all his works. While it served its purpose as a simple illustrative example, imagine what kind of meaning it might have if read out the context of Buddhism as a whole, say by a Christian that had never heard or read anything about Buddhism.

By now it should becoming clear how easily it would be to misunderstand the real meaning of any single fascicle of Shobogenzo outside its context within the whole.

While this post may seem to be dwelling on something that is ridiculously obvious, it is not doing so without reason. Dogen's works generally, and particularly Shobogenzo, are the frequent victims of "selective authority." This is done for the same reasons, and in the same way that "religious" extremists in the West have used "selective authority" to hijack the Holy Bible for rationalizing or selling their own narrow, often quite unchristian agendas.

Today there are a number of popular "Zen" books whose authors "confirm the accuracy" of their views by evoking the "authority" of Dogen by offering short quotes (often paraphrases) from his works coupled with assertions like, "Dogen said this or that...", or "Dogen taught such and such...", or even assuring us that, "Dogen believed so and so..." (which seems to imply the author's skill in mind-reading). Not only do such claims often fail to provide any context of "Dogen's words", they frequently fail to note, or even acknowledge the sources from which they were "selected" (cherry-picked)...
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As time and space seem to be running short we will postpone the discussion on "how" to go about reading Shobogenzo "in context" until next time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it is useful in some way.
Peace,
Ted

The “Unity” of Shobogenzo

The “Unity” of Shobogenzo (Part One)

Dogen’s successor, Ejo, added the following explanation to Shobogenzo, Hachi Dainingaku:

This was our Master’s last discourse, drafted when he was already ill. Among other things, I heard him say that he wanted to rework all of the Shobogenzo that had previously been written in Japanese script and also to include some new manuscripts, so that he would be able to compile a work consisting altogether of one hundred discourses.
Shobogenzo, Hachi Dainingaku, translated by Hubert Nearman

This statement by Ejo, supported by research and widely accepted by scholars and Soto authorities, reveals a vastly important aspect of Shobogenzo that is too often ignored: Dogen intended Shobogenzo as a singular canon. Students of literature know why this is so vitally important; a written work that is intended as a ‘unity’ can only be understood if read as a ‘unity.’

One scene, or even one act in a play by Shakespeare cannot be accurately comprehended outside of its context within the whole play becuase even the last scene can and often does change the meaning of earlier scenes.

This potential is utilized in popular novels and films. The first 95% of the movie “The Sixth Sense” for instance, takes on a whole new significance in light of the final 5% of the film. Other obvious examples include the films of Quentin Tarantino, a master of applying the implications of ‘unity’ (e.g. “Pulp Fiction”, “Reservoir Dogs”).

The point is this; any particular scene, essay, chapter, book, or part of a ‘unity’ that is read apart from the ‘unity’ it belongs to cannot be accurately understood. This is true of any written unity, be it a massive sutra or a single poem. Each chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Moby Dick, or The Razor’s Edge depends on every other chapter for its true meaning.

Dogen wrote a vast number of texts that he did not include in Shobogenzo. If he had meant Shobogenzo to simply be a collection of miscellaneous texts, he could have easily included enough to reach his goal of 100. While the exclusion of a particular writing from a unity can be regarded as intentional or unintentional, inclusion can only be regarded as an assertion of approval.

In light of this, every fascicle admitted to Shobogenzo, regardless of its length, date, or subject must be read as part of a unified whole inherently consistent with Dogen’s intention.

Therefore, if any fascicles of Shobogenzo seem to be at odds with each other we need to reevaluate our own approach and understanding of Dogen’s meaning rather than simply ignoring them or dismissing them as inconsistencies in Dogen’s teaching.

NEXT: What reading ‘in context’ implies, and how it is done.