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.

Dogen's commentary on the Heart Sutra

Based on Master Dogen's Shobogenzo, Maka-hannya-haramitsu (Mahaprajnaparamita), translated by Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

This "commentary" on the Heart Sutra (if it can be considered as such) is Dogen’s earliest writing in the Shobogenzo. The fact that he wrote it first seems to be a good indication that he regarded an accurate understanding of its topic to be of great importance to Zen practitioners. In this relatively short essay, Dogen outlines some of the profoundly evocative implications of emptiness that continued to permeate his works throughout his prolific teaching career. The essay begins:

"When Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara practices the profound prajnaparamita, the whole body reflects that the five aggregates are totally empty." The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. They are five instances of prajna. Reflection is prajna itself. When this principle is preached and realized, it is said that "matter is just the immaterial" and the immaterial is just matter. Matter is matter, the immaterial is the immaterial. They are hundreds of things, and myriad phenomena. Twelve instances of prajna paramita are the twelve entrances [of sense perception]. There are also eighteen instances of prajna. They are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and properties; plus the consciousnesses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. There are a further four instances of prajna. They are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. There are a further six instances of prajna. They are giving, pure [observance of] precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and prajna [itself]. One further instance of prajnaparamita is realized as the present moment. It is the state of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi. There are three further instances of prajnaparamita. They are past, present, and future. There are six further instances of prajna. They are earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. And there are a further four instances of prajna that are constantly practiced in everyday life: they are walking, standing, sitting, and lying down.
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"When Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara1 practices the profound prajnaparamita, the whole body reflects that the five aggregates are totally empty." The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. They are five instances of prajna. Reflection is prajna itself.

The first thing to notice is how Dogen adds the single word "konshin" (translated here as "the whole body") to the first line of the Heart Sutra (which actually reads, "Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, when practicing the profound prajnaparamita, reflects that the five aggregates are totally empty").

The addition of this word serves to highlight a profound implication of the nature of emptiness; the fact that all things are empty means all things are real existence—including the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness), which Dogen asserts, "are five instances of prajna."

Hee-Jin Kim comments on this section of Dogen’s essay, saying, "Once again, Dogen’s interpretation here construes all dharmas as but the perfection of wisdom" (Flowers of Emptiness, p.63). While it is fairly easy to penetrate the meaning behind the teachings that "all dharmas are empty", many get stuck here and fail to follow this truth through to its deeper implication; the fact that this affirms the real existence of form (rather than one-sidedly negating it). As Kim goes on to say:

"’Emptiness’ is the emptiness of self-nature, hence it simultaneously negates and affirms ‘form’ (or existence); All dharmas are at once empty and phenomenal."
(Hee-Jin Kim, Flowers of Emptiness, p.64).

With this in mind, we can grasp the implications of Dogen’s statement about the five aggregates; the very fact that "form (as well as feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness) is emptiness" means that each particular form (feeling, perception, etc.) is real existence itself—each particular thing is in fact "an instance of prajna" (transcendent wisdom). Thus, the flower the Buddha twirled before his assembly, because it is empty, is existent. Mahakyashapa’s smile, is existent—is prajna itself.

Driving this point home, Dogen says, "Reflection is prajna itself." This line in the Heart Sutra, "…reflects that the five aggregates are totally empty", is often translated as, "…clearly saw (or sees) that the five skandhas are empty…" Thus, Thomas Cleary’s translation of Dogen’s text reads, "Clear vision is wisdom (prajna)."

Hee-Jin Kim clarifies the point here, noting, "Avalokitesvara and wisdom (prajna) are not the observer and the observed, but one reality. The luminous vision (reflection, or clear vision) then is the working of Avalokitesvara/wisdom. Avalokitesvara sees Avalokitesvara; wisdom enacts wisdom."
(Hee-Jin Kim, Flowers of Emptiness, p.63).
　
The next line was the one that Shunryu Suzuki showed his appreciation for in his "Zen Mind Beginners Mind." Dogen says:

When this principle is preached and realized, it is said that "matter is just the immaterial" and the immaterial is just matter. Matter is matter, the immaterial is the immaterial. They are hundreds of things, and myriad phenomena.

As Suzuki Roshi pointed our, many of us are familiar with, "matter is just the immaterial, the immaterial is just matter" (form is emptiness, emptiness is form), but Dogen reminds us that "matter is matter, the immaterial is the immaterial" (form is form, emptiness is emptiness). Therefore, "They are hundreds of things, and myriad phenomena."

This teaching is also expounded marvelously in the Diamond Sutra’s formula of, "X is not-X, therefore X is called X" (X is empty of X, thus X is all existence). There are thousand of clear demonstrations of this in the prajnaparamita sutras, yet Dogen’s expression, with the Zen characteristic of immediacy makes a direct impression that is sometimes lost in the drawn-out dialogues of the sutras.

Dogen’s use of the first line of the Heart Sutra instantly reminds us of the relative nature of things, that is, it calls to our mind the Buddhist teaching of "no-self." This teaching reveals the truth that there are no separate, independent entities—that is, all "particular things" are inter-dependent, or relative. However, this teaching can, and often does lead to nihilistic misunderstandings. Much of Dogen’s work concerns clarifying the inter-dependent nature of "things" (dharmas) in the light of the form of form and emptiness of emptiness. As Thomas Cleary points out in his translation of this fascicle:

"However, if it is because of relativity, or conditionality, that all things are ‘empty,’ it is equally true that by the very same conditionality they do exist dependently… A thorough reading of Dogen’s Shobogenzo will reveal that correcting or preventing the tendency toward nihilistic interpretation of emptiness is a major concern of Dogen’s teaching. In this essay, Dogen identifies phenomena themselves with transcendent wisdom (prajnaparamita), emphasizing that within so-called nothing or emptiness all things are found including the facilities, or means, of the Buddhist teachings."
(Thomas Cleary, Introduction to Shobogenzo: Zen Essays by Dogen)

While this teaching is logically straightforward and, with a little effort, fairly easy to grasp intellectually, the history of Zen, if the classic records are accurate, indicate that misunderstanding this aspect of emptiness has proven to be a recurring problem. In the words of Yin-shun:

Yin-shun says, "Most people don’t understand this. They think that ‘emptiness’ means ‘nothing’ and that it can’t produce everything that exists. They don’t realize that if dharmas weren’t empty, no dharmas would ever appear, that what exists would always exist and what doesn’t exist would never exist. But dharmas aren’t like that… The birth and destruction, the existence and non-existence of dharmas is dependent on their lack of self-existence and their fundamental emptiness. Thus, Nagarjuna said, ‘Because of emptiness, all things are possible.’"
Translated by Red Pine.
　
Once we do come to understand this aspect of the nature of emptiness, we can truly appreciate the real existent nature of Buddhist doctrines and methods. Or, as already quoted by Cleary, "within… emptiness all things are found including the facilities, or means, of the Buddhist teachings." Thus Dogen hits us full in the face with a multitude of real existent Buddhist teachings:

Twelve instances of prajna paramita are the twelve entrances [of sense perception]. There are also eighteen instances of prajna. They are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and properties; plus the consciousnesses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. There are a further four instances of prajna. They are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. There are a further six instances of prajna. They are giving, pure [observance of] precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and prajna [itself]. One further instance of prajnaparamita is realized as the present moment. It is the state of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi. There are three further instances of prajnaparamita. They are past, present, and future. There are six further instances of prajna. They are earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. And there are a further four instances of prajna that are constantly practiced in everyday life: they are walking, standing, sitting, and lying down.
　
After laying the groundwork and clarifying the essential points, Dogen goes on to quote a passage that reveals the true significance of the Buddhist doctrines and methods. That is, truly grasping the experience "this state" of emptiness where there is "no appearance and disappearance of real dharmas" means that there really "are understandable explanations" (Buddhist teachings). Dogen cites this passage:

In the order of Sakyamuni Tathagata there is a bhikṣu who secretly thinks, "I shall bow in veneration of the profound prajnaparamita. Although in this state there is no appearance and disappearance of real dharmas, there are still understandable explanations of all precepts, all balanced states, all kinds of wisdom, all kinds of liberation, and all views. There are also understandable explanations of the fruit of one who has entered the stream, the fruit of [being subject to] one return, the fruit of [not being subject to] returning, and the fruit of the arhat. There are also understandable explanations of [people of] independent awakening, and [people of] bodhi. There are also understandable explanations of the supreme right and balanced state of bodhi. There are also understandable explanations of the treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. There are also understandable explanations of turning the wonderful Dharma wheel to save sentient beings." The Buddha, knowing the bhikṣu’s mind, tells him, "This is how it is. This is how it is. The profound prajnaparamita is too subtle and fine to fathom." The bhikṣu’s "secretly working concrete mind" at this moment is, in the state of bowing in veneration of real dharmas, prajna 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, prajna is realized as explanations that can be understood: [explanations] from "precepts, balance, and wisdom," to "saving sentient beings," and so on. This state is described as being without. Explanations of the state of "being without" can thus be understood. Such is the profound, subtle, unfathomable prajna paramita.
　
To be continued (hopefully)
Peace,
Ted

Shobogenzo, Gabyo, Dogen (picture of a rice cake)

A commentary on Shobogenzo, Gabyo, (A Picture of a Rice Cake), Part 1Based on the translation by Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

[TEXT] Buddhas are the state of experience itself, and so things are the state of experience itself. But [buddhas and things] are beyond a single essence and beyond a single state of mind. Although [buddhas and things] are beyond a single essence and beyond a single state of mind, in the moment of experience the experience of each—without hindering the other—is realized. And in the moment of realization, the real manifestation of each—without impinging on the other—is realized. This is the very state of the ancestral founders. We must not confuse intellectual speculation about unity and diversity with their power of learning in practice. Therefore they say that “Barely to penetrate one dharma is to penetrate myriad dharmas.” “The penetration of one dharma” that they describe is not to rip away the features that one dharma has so far retained, is not to make one dharma relative to another, and is not to make one dharma absolute—to make [something] absolute is to hinder it and be hindered by it. When penetration is freed from the hindrance of “penetration,” one instance of penetration is myriad instances of penetration. One instance of penetration is one dharma, and penetration of one dharma is penetration of myriad dharmas.

[COMMENTARY] Dogen begins by first highlighting some familiar Zen axioms on the nature of nonduality in a creatively (very Dogen-like) way. The classic Zen masters assert that, "Buddhas" and "Buddhahood" (the state of experience itself) are nondual, and that, "things and Buddha" are nondual; therefore, Dogen infers, "things are the the state of experience itself" (Buddhahood).
He then clarifies for beginners (and reminds old-timers) that because of emptiness and interdependence, "nonduality" does not mean "one" or "oneness", it means "not-two." It is basic doctrine (common to all Mahayana schools) that, although two (or more) foci in a nondual relationship are co-extensive and co-eternal they are not "merged" together as a single thing, which would amount to annihlation (as Dogen indicates with his comments about "hindering"). Rather, the two foci go "beyond a single essence" by retaining their tension (and thus, their liberating potential) by maintaining their differing aspects--A snake's tail and a snake's head are not the same, yet not seperate. Therefore, "things", "Buddhas", and "the state of experience" are "beyond a single essence... beyond a single state of mind."

While every Buddhist can "understand" these fundamental teachings, Zen requires us to actually embody this state. That is to say, this is fairly straightforward, easy to "learn", and "intellectually" satisfying (in its rationality), but the authentic "power of learning in practice" goes beyond "intellectual speculation" to "the very state" itself, which is of course, "the very state of the ancestral founders."

In that state of "actualizing the fundamental point" (Genjokoan) beyond "a single essence", where "things, Buddhas, and the state of experience" are truly realized (made real) in nonduality, “to penetrate one dharma is to penetrate myriad dharmas.” Furthermore, because in nonduality "things" are not annhilated, "penetrating" them does not "rip away the features of that one dharma" (which maintains its differing aspects).

Dogen's sheer mastery of expression is nowhere more evident than in this amazingly illuminating paragraph. A Zen masters Zen master, he skillfully draws the inherent wisdom from the depths of our true nature and leads us to the inevitible truth summed up as, "When penetration is freed from the hindrance of “penetration,” one instance of penetration is myriad instances of penetration. One instance of penetration is one dharma, and penetration of one dharma is penetration of myriad dharmas."

[TEXT] An eternal buddha says, “A picture of a rice cake does not satisfy hunger.”
The patch-robed mountain monks from the present ten directions who study this expression do not form uniform ranks of bodhisattvas and sravakas. Beings with the heads of gods and faces of demons, from other [worlds in] ten directions, have skin and flesh that are [in some cases] thick and [in other cases] thin. This [expression] is past buddhas’ and present buddhas’ learning of the truth. At the same time, it is a vigorous livelihood under a tree or in a thatched hut. For this reason, in order to transmit the authentic traditions of practice, some say that the practice of studying sutras and commentaries does not instill true wisdom, and so [eternal buddhas] speak like this; and some have understood that [eternal buddhas] speak like this to assert that philosophical study of the three vehicles and the One Vehicle is never the way of saṃbodhi. In general, those who understand that an expression like this exists to assert that abstract teaching is utterly useless are making a great mistake. They have not received the authentic transmission of the ancestral founders’ virtuous conduct, and they are blind to the Buddhist patriarchs’ words. If they have not clarified this one saying, who could affirm that they have mastered the words of other buddhas? Saying “a picture of rice cake does not satisfy hunger” is like saying “the non-doing of wrong, the practice of the many kinds of right. . .” or like saying “This is something having come like this,” or like saying “I am always keen at this concrete place.” For the present, let us learn [the expression] in practice, like this. Few people have ever repeatedly looked at the words “a picture of a rice cake,” and no one at all has recognized their full extent. How do I know it? In the past, when I tested one or two stinking skinbags, they were incapable of doubt and incapable of close association. They simply seemed uninterested, as if refusing to lend an ear to a neighbor’s chatter.

[COMMENTARY] Here, Dogen brings up the saying about "a picture of a rice cake" which had long been used as a proverbial refrence to the fact that "learning the teachings" was not enough for Zen realization (Zen, of course does require one to "learn the teachings" but then it demands that the teachings be put into practice and actualized [made actual]).

He first emphasizes the perenial wisdom of this saying by indicating that it is such a fundamental expression of truth that practitioners of all ranks, in all directions "study this expression." This expression, Dogen insists, is itself "past Buddhas' and present Buddhas' learning of the truth", and simultaneously it is the actual practice of people here and now ("under a tree" and "in a thatched hut" are traditionally considered good places for Zazen). Thus, viewed in light of the previous paragraph, our present practice, the expression, the picture of a rice cake, past and present Buddhas' learning, are not-two, not one.

Dogen then lists two methods, or techniques for transmitting the "authentic traditions of practice." These authentic methods include, "the practice of studying sutras and commentaries", and "philosophical study of the three vehicles and the One Vehicle." Dogen not only advocates sutra study, and philosophical study, he goes further and says that anyone who asserts these methods are useless for teaching the "abstract teaching" (Zen) is "making a great mistake", and have not "received the authentic transmission."

Then he makes a very insightful comment, "If they have not clarified this one saying, who could affirm that they have mastered the words of other buddhas?"

Good question!

Next, Dogen gives us late-coming beginners a clue about where or how we might apply ourselves to resolving and assimilating the wisdom of this saying. Moreover, he offers us some encouraging words, "no one at all has recognized" the "full extent" of this expression! In other words, it is one of those Zen expressions that continues to yeild its treasure for a lifetime (or more).

What clues does he offer about this expression? He says it "is like" three other Zen expressions. How is it like them? Does he mean that they too are bottomless? Does he mean that all past and present Buddhas study them? Or does he mean something else? Perhaps he is suggesting that we look at all four of these sayings to see if they have anything in common...

Here are the cases Dogen refers to as, "the non-doing of wrong, the practice of the many kinds of right. . .” “This is something having come like this,” and, “I am always keen at this concrete place.”
--------
Rakuten once asked Dorin, “Just what is the major intention of the Buddha Dharma?”Dorin replied, “Refrain from all evil whatsoever; uphold and practice all that is good.”Rakuten remarked, “If that’s all there is to it, even a child of three knows how to say that!”Dorin replied, “Though a three-year-old child can say it, there are old men in their eighties who still cannot put it into practice.”Upon hearing the matter put this way, Rakuten then bowed in gratitude."Translated by Hubert Nearman
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Bhikkhu Huai Jang, a Dhyana Master, was born of a Tu family in Chin Chou. Upon his first visit to 'National Teacher' Hui An of Sung-Shan Mountain, he was directed by the latter to go to Ts'ao Ch'i to interview the Patriarch. Upon his arrival, and after the usual salutation, he was asked by the Patriarch whence he came. "From Sung Shan," replied he. "What thing is it (that comes)? How did it come?" asked the Patriarch."To say that it is similar to a certain thing is wrong," he retorted."Is it attainable by training?" asked the Patriarch. "It is not impossible to attain it by training; but it is quite impossible to pollute it," he replied. Thereupon, the Patriarch exclaimed, "It is exactly this unpolluted thing that all Buddhas take good care of. It is so for you, and it is so for me as well."The Sutra of the 6 th Patriarch, Hui Neng, (Translated by A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam)
-------------------------------------
Note: Although I am unfamiliar with the above translation, I think it is the same case that I know as:
A monk asked Tozan, "Among the three bodies [of Buddha] [1], what body does not degenerate into numbers?"Tozan said, "I am always most intimate with it." (Translated above as "I am always keen at this concrete place.")
---------
To Be Continued (I hope)...
Peace,Ted

Shobogenzo/Dogen Blog Article at MRI Tech's Blog

Hello everyone,

This blog: Buddhism Dogen and the Shobogenzo, Was included in a recent article on MRI Tech's Health Blog. (Although most of my own recent blogging has been restricted to The Flatbed Sutra Zen Blog)

Titled "50 Best Blogs for Zen-Like Living" the article is begins, "Whether you are a Zen Buddhist or just want to lead a Zen life, these 50 spiritual and simplifying blogs and community web sites will point you down the path of enlightenment..."

It goes on to include links to 50 "Zen like" blogs. Many of which are new to me.

MRI Tech's Health Blog's self description states:

"The MRI Tech's Health Blog aims to be a collaborative forum which introduces new research, ideas, information, resources and technology from within the neuro-science, psychology, health and other related fields to a broader audience. It is our goal to highlight health developments and resources in a straightforward easy to understand way. So we hope you enjoy. "

MRI Tech's Health Blog contains a lot of easily searchable links and information.
Check it out at: MRI Tech's Blog

Peace,Ted

Dogen, Mu, and Ignorance

Follow this link for Dogen on the nature of ignorance and Joshu's Mu.

http://flatbedsutra.com/flatbedsutrazenblogger/?p=2086

Peace,

Ted

The condition of practice-and-enlightenment

“Buddha” describes a person in the activity or condition of practice-and-enlightenment, the deepest meaning of the term "zazen." The keystone of Zen practice is not “sitting meditation” (though that is where it is often first discovered), it is “mustering the whole body-and-mind” and perceiving the world directly.
Seeing and hearing (as well as smelling, tasting, feeling, and thinking) sights and sounds (smells, tastes, sensations, and thoughts) with the ‘whole body-and-mind’ means truly being intimate with them. When we are truly intimate with them, there is no sense of I see that or I hear that. Hence, Dogen tells us that in such a condition “buddhas do not know they are buddhas.” In Shobogenzo, Genjokoan, He says, “It is not like an image reflected in a mirror, and not like the reflection of the moon on water” -- there are not two things (e.g. moon and water).
When we are authentically engaged in practice-and-enlightenment we do not hear a bell, there is simply, booooonngg–boooooongg. The classic Zen koan about escaping heat and cold illustrates this point wonderfully:
A monk asked Tozan, “When cold and heat come, how can we avoid them?”
Tozan said, “Why don’t you go to the place where there is no cold or heat?”
The monk said, “What is the place where there is no cold or heat?”
Tozan said, “When it’s cold, the cold kills you; when it’s hot, the heat kills you.”

Read 19 more posts tagged "Dogen" at the Flatbed Sutra Website

Peace,
Ted Biringer

Dogen, Shobogenzo, and The Flatbed Sutra

Greetings friends,
As of late I have been very busy updating the Flatbed Sutra Website. Consequently, this blog has not received much attention. I hope to get back to regular Dogen/Shobogenzo posts here in the near future. In the meantime, here is a link to a New Dogen Post at Zen International Forum
(March 26th, 2009) called Why Did Dogen Come Back From China

Also, we would love to hear from you over at the Flatbed Sutra Website which includes a blog as well as a number of other online Zen/Buddhist resources. Come on over and visit.

In the pure and clear luminous awareness of your true mind, spiritual practice and ordinary activity are not separate. The vast and fathomless unnamable void meets you wherever you are. When perceptions, feelings, and thoughts arise, you respond harmoniously without ever moving away from the pure and clear luminous awareness of your own mind.
~From The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing
by Ted Biringer

Peace,
Ted

Zen Master Dogen on what to do after enlightinement

Students of the Way, even if you attain enlightenment, do not think that this is now the ultimate and thus abandon your practice of the Way. The Way is endless. Even if you are enlightened, you should still practice the Way.

Record of Things Heard, Classics of Buddism and Zen, Vol.4, p.840, Thomas Cleary

Robert Aitken Roshi has opened a new Blog

Great news for the online Zen community!
Robert Aitken Roshi, the elder statesman of Zen in the West, has opened a new blog.
To read, comment, and learn from this great teacher follow this link:
ROBERT AITKEN ROSHI’S BLOG
The blog site also offers a number of links to great Zen resources.
See you there!
Peace,
Ted Biringer

False teachers? If so, what responsibility?

In a number of places throughout his works, Dogen makes references to students that are "misled" or "led astray" by "false teachers." Such statements often seem to infer an obligation to intervene, or act in some manner in order to help "genuine students" to a correct understanding.

I wonder if some students are being misled today by 'false' or deluded teachers/teachings. If so, what is the responsibility of authentic Buddhist teachers (or of anyone who is aware of false teachers/teachings) to them? I have encountered some that seem to advocate a strict 'hands-off' approach, sometimes offering opinions that students with 'genuine aspiration' will eventually find their way out.

However, it occurred to me that there might be some who, by their very nature, were genuinely seeking to study the Way with no regard for fame and gain, as they tried to treat mindfulness as their prime goal, but perhaps they were unfortunately being led astray by some false teacher so that the correct understanding of the Truth was needlessly being kept from them.
Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Rev. Hubert Nearman, O.B.C

Yet if there were any true practitioners who put the will to the truth first, being naturally unconcerned with fame and profit, they might be fruitlessly misled by false teachers and might needlessly throw a veil over right understanding.
Shobogenzo, Bendowa, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

Any thoughts?

Peace,
Ted Biringer

Genjokoan - Dogen's bottomless Zen text

Dogen's Shobogenzo, Genjokoan, is one of those rare Zen texts that seem to be bottomless sources of wisdom and insight. One of the phrases in Dogen's wonderful Genjokoan that has been melting into my mind recently is this:

When a person is experiencing the practice and enlightenment of the buddha-dharma, each practice is complete practice, and meeting each thing is mastering it.

What do we make of such a bold statement? While I am sure that this line (like most of Dogen's work) is much wiser than I can discern, it has come to mean something to me. For me, it seems to be saying that when a person is “experiencing the practice and enlightenment of the buddha-dharma,” each particular practice (moment, thing, or event) is the complete practice of that particular practice. That is to say, when a human being stands up, the whole universe stands up as that particular human being.
Next, the Genjokoan states:

Here, the place exists and the way unfolds, and therefore the area of enlightenment is not conspicuous. For this enlightenment and the buddha-dharma manifest simultaneously and are experienced simultaneously.

This too seems to point out some marvelous implications. Would anyone like to share their ideas, insights, thoughts, etc. on their experience with it?

Peace!

Ted Biringer

What is it to Realize the Buddha-Dharma?

In Shobogenzo, Genjokoan reminds us of what “realizing the Buddha-Dharma” is:

To realize the Buddha-Dharma is to realize your self.

It is surprisingly easy to get caught up in the details of ‘practice and enlightenment’ and lose sight of the fundamental point of Zen. Buddhism is not about a teacher or holy man of long ago and far away, it is not about metaphysical doctrines, it has nothing to do with objective knowledge; it is about us; real live human beings here and now. Enlightenment, wisdom, true-nature, Buddhahood, Zen, etc. are provisional terms employed for directing us to the truth about ourselves. “Buddha” is a term for an awakened human being. If there is any one thing that all the great Zen masters do seem to agree on, it is that Buddha is not separate from us ordinary people. Here are a few of my favorite reminders from the classic Zen Records:

Through endless kalpas without beginning, whatever you do, wherever you are, that’s your real mind, that’s your real buddha. This mind is buddha says the same thing. Beyond this mind you’ll never find another buddha. To search for enlightenment or nirvana beyond this mind is impossible. The reality of your own self-nature, the absence of cause and effect, is what’s meant by mind. Your mind is nirvana. You might think you can find a buddha or enlightenment somewhere beyond the mind, but such a place doesn’t exist.
Red Pine, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Learned Audience, the wisdom of enlightenment [bodhiprajna] is inherent in every one of us. It is because of the delusion under which our mind works that we fail to realize it ourselves, and that we have to seek the advice and the guidance of enlightened ones before we can know our own essence of mind. You should know that so far as buddha-nature is concerned, there is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one. What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it.
Sutra of Hui-Neng, Price, A.F. & Mou-lam, Wong,

Q: If our own Mind is the Buddha, how did Bodhidharma transmit his doctrine when he came from India?
A: When he came from India, he transmitted only Mind-Buddha. He just pointed to the truth that the minds of all of you have from the very first been identical with the Buddha, and in no way separate from each other. That is why we call him our Patriarch. Whoever has an instant understanding of this truth suddenly transcends the whole hierarchy of saints and adepts belonging to any of the Three Vehicles. You have always been one with the Buddha, so do not pretend you can ATTAIN to this oneness by various practices.
The Zen Teaching of Huang-Po, Bloefeld, John

If you want to be no different from the patriarchs and buddhas, then never look for something outside yourselves. The clean pure light in a moment of your mind—that is the Essence-body of the Buddha lodged in you. The undifferentiated light in a moment of your mind—that is the Bliss-body of the Buddha lodged in you. The undiscriminating light in a moment of your mind—that is the Transformation-body of the Buddha lodged in you. These three types of bodies are you, the person who stands before me now listening to this lecture on the Dharma! And simply because you do not rush around seeking anything outside yourselves, you can command these fine faculties.
The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-chi, Watson, Burton

The way of Zen began without the establishment of any sect. It is simply a religion which points to the one original mind of all Buddhas and ordinary people. This mind is nothing other than Buddha nature. To see this nature is what is meant by religious practice. When you realize your Buddha nature, wrong relationships will instantly disappear, words will be of no concern, the dust of the dharma will not stain you. This is what is called Zen. Attaining Zen is becoming a Buddha. This real Buddha is none other than the heart of all beings, the master of seeing, hearing, and perceiving.
Mud and Water, A Collection of Talks by the Zen Master Bassui, Braverman, Arthur

Peace all you Bodhisattvas!

Ted Biringer

It the Zazen of Zen, are all realms vertical?

In Shobogenzo, Sammai-O-Zammai, Master Dogen offers a suggestion on how to apply ourselves to meditation while sitting. He says:

We should investigate: at the very moment we are sitting, are all realms vertical? Are they horizontal? At the very moment we are sitting, what about that sitting? Is it a flip? Is it “brisk and lively”? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making? Is it without making? Are we sitting within sitting? Are we sitting within body and mind? Are we sitting having sloughed off “within sitting,” “within body and mind,” and so on? We should investigate one thousand points, ten thousand points, such as these.
Translated by Carl Bielefeldt

Yes! This is exactly how practitioners with genuine aspiration apply themselves to Zen meditation. Looking deeply, examining exhaustively, not only our own perspective but that of "all realms."

Master Dogen is not alone; all of the outstanding figures of Zen history testify to the eternal quest that is the source of what, who, where, when, how, and why---the very essence and function of the vast unnamable fathomless void. Zen meditation (Zazen) illumines the wonder and mystery of being alive.

Even the non-dharma does not exist

The section in Shobogenzo, Genjokoan about how awakening to the truth that "the many things actualize awareness of the self" is the function of Zen practice (indicating that our true nature is the true nature of the universe). The text goes on to indicate the nature and function of enlightenment and delusion. Genjokoan states:

Those who are enlightened about delusion are buddhas.

So being "enlightened about delusion" means awakening to the reality of delusion. That is, realizing what delusion truly is. This could be likened to being shown the cause of a magician’s illusions: mirrors, wires, hidden compartments, etc., thus being able to 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 realizing the cause of delusion: misperception or partial perception, of true nature, we 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."

Next, the Genjokoan says:

Those who are deluded about enlightenment are ordinary beings.

To be "deluded about enlightenment" is to view enlightenment as being something outside or apart from ourselves or the everyday world. Those who are aware of their true nature are called buddhas; those who are unaware of their true nature are called ordinary beings. Flowers fall, weeds flourish; cocks crow, dogs bark. The Genjokoan goes on:

There are people who continue to realize enlightenment based on enlightenment.

Dogen’s emphasis on post-kensho practice and enlightenment is rarely matched in Zen literature. In many places throughout his works he insists that the initial experience of enlightenment is just the beginning of genuine practice-enlightenment. Of course, enlightenment for Dogen is only authentic as practice and enlightenment. In his works, he often refers to realizing enlightenment based upon enlightenment (often using the Zen ancestors of the past as examples of how to approach the lifetime process of deepening and refining our realization). The Genjokoan continues:

There are people in the midst of delusion adding to delusion.

Dogen does not seem here to be simply repeating himself, but to be indicating something else. In Shobogenzo, Keisei-Sanshiki, Dogen uses the same phrase (as best as I can tell) in a manner that suggests a deeper implication:

When [a person] tells people who do not know the will to the truth about the will to the truth, the good advice offends their ears, and so they do not reflect upon themselves, but [only] bear resentment towards the other person. As a general rule concerning actions and vows, which are the bodhi-mind, we should not intend to let worldly people know whether or not we have established the bodhi-mind or whether or not we are practicing the truth; we should endeavor to be unknown. How much less could we boast about ourselves? Because people today rarely seek what is real, when the praises of others are available, they seem to want someone to say that their practice and understanding have become harmonized, even though there is no practice in their body, and no realization in their mind. "In delusion adding to delusion" describes exactly this.
Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross, Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Keisei-Sanshiki, Book 1, p. 91 (italics added)

In this passage, Dogen seems to define the condition of "increasing delusion in the midst of delusion" as the denial of delusion. That is to say, when people in delusion deny they are deluded (or assert they are enlightened) they are "in delusion adding to delusion." Looking at Case One of the Blue Cliff Record may shed some light on this particular condition. The koan reads:

Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma, "What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truths?"
Bodhidharma said, "Vast emptiness, nothing holy."
The Emperor asked, "Who is facing me?"
Bodhidharma responded, "I don’t know."
The Emperor did not understand. After this Bodhidharma crossed the Yangtse River and traveled to the kingdom of Wei.
Later the Emperor asked Master Chih about it.
Master Chih asked, "Do you know who this man is?"
The Emperor said, "I don’t know."
Master Chih said, "He is the great bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara, transmitting the confirmation of the buddha-mind."
The Emperor was regretful and wanted to send an envoy to bring Bodhidharma back.
Master Chih said, "Don’t say you will send someone to bring him back. Even if everyone in China went after him, he would not return."

Commenting on the line "The Emperor did not understand," Engo (Yuanwu - the editor of the Blue Cliff Record) says, "Too bad! Still, he’s gotten somewhere." (Cleary & Cleary) Might the meaning of Engo’s comment, "Still, he’s gotten somewhere," illumine what Dogen means by "in delusion adding to delusion"? In following the reasoning here, Emperor Wu could be understood as "adding to delusion" when he thought he knew something (or asserted his enlightenment). However, (although he is still in delusion) after his meeting with Bodhidharma, he admits that he does "not understand," that is, he does not deny his own delusion. The Emperor is in delusion (i.e. not enlightened), but he is no longer adding to delusion (by asserting his enlightenment).

Clearly, recognizing and acknowledging the reality of our own delusion is a prerequisite to enlightenment. For how or why would one aspire to, or arouse the will for enlightenment if they failed to recognize and acknowledge their own delusion? Hence, Dogen’s words, "Those who are enlightened about delusion are buddhas" could be read as meaning that the recognition and acknowledgement of delusion is simultaneous with enlightenment. Throughout the Shobogenzo, Dogen continuously asserts the nondual nature of delusion and enlightenment; but he never says (to the best of my knowledge) that buddhas are free from delusion, as is often implied by much of the contemporary literature of Zen. Indeed, as Genjokoan goes on to say:

When buddhas are buddhas, they do not know they are buddhas.

This line reminds us that when buddhas are experiencing the condition of Buddhahood, there is nothing but Buddha in the whole universe. This condition is sometimes described in Buddhist literature as the state where the known and the knower (or actor and action) are one. Obviously, for a buddha to have the thought, "I am a buddha," they would have to perceive themselves as something (buddha) in opposition to something else (not buddha), hence; they would not be in the condition of Buddhahood. That does not mean there are no buddhas, as the Genjokoan points out next:

Nevertheless, buddhas are buddhas and continuously actualize Buddhahood.

The condition of Buddhahood is not something that is gained, but something that is discovered and activated; that is, the nature of delusion is illumined and our original Buddhahood is realized. Of course, this experience is only called Buddhahood to differentiate it from delusion. When speaking of a state beyond delusion we call it "Buddhahood." However, in the absolute sense, as in Dogen’s opening lines to Genjokoan, there is nothing to be grasped (no buddhas, no ordinary beings, etc.) and in the transcendent sense, buddhas and ordinary beings always contain and include each other.

The classic Zen records tell us that in the actual experience of Buddhahood all names and labels are meaningless; for from the perspective of oneness or emptiness, differentiation does not exist. Even "oneness" is a relative term–that is, oneness is relative and only valid in contrast to multiplicity. Therefore, when differentiation is truly dissolved so, too, is Buddhahood. One wonderful Zen expression of this principle is a verse attributed to Ananda, one of Buddha’s disciples and the traditional Second Ancestor of Zen in India:

When we are awake to the truth, even the non-dharma does not exist.
The Transmission of the Lamp, Sohaku Ogata, p. 10

Peace!

Ted Biringer

Giving Dogen - and Shobogenzo - their due respect

While many of Dogen’s writings are complex, subtle, and profound, they are not mysterious, mystical, or irrational. It is true that they demand sustained, active, intensive and extensive investigation and maybe some interpretation, but they do not require decoding. Like all great literature, Shobogenzo will only yield its treasure through genuine, rational, and sustained exploration.

As Shobogenzo is not only great literature, but also a soteriological device, genuine understanding also demands personal experimentation. As great literature, it must be read by employing a variety of reading skills. That is, it must be read from the various levels or dimensions of what the educator Mortimer J. Adler called "active reading." (Mortimer J. Adler, How To Read a Book). He delineated four general "levels" of reading: Elementary, Inspectional, Analytical, and Syntopical. These "levels" of reading correspond to a certain extent with the three basic "points" outlined in Dale S. Wright’s landmark book, Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism. The reader that applies the "levels" of Adler, or the "points" of Wright (or both) to Shobogenzo will certainly attain a better understanding than many so-called Dogen specialists have demonstrated. This kind of reading is extremely effective because, as Professor Wright says:

In the Language of Zen, it calls forth "the one who is right now reading," and refuses to allow the reader to cling to his or her own invisibility."
(Dale S. Wright, Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism)

When this kind of active reading is combined with a reliable method of spiritual practice/realization, it augments and enhances ones experience, understanding, and enjoyment of literature. In the case of Shobogenzo, following a regular practice of meditation is certainly necessary for achieving anything more than a superficial overview.

Anyone that would claim to understand, or be an adherent of Dogen’s teaching clearly needs to look very, very closely at what he said. In so doing, his work deserves the respect accorded to all great literary figures; that is, it must be evaluated from within its literary, cultural, and historical context. Any assertions about Dogen’s work short of at least this much would be vulgar, to say the least, especially by anyone identifying themselves as adherents of "Dogen’s Zen." Just as an understanding of Zen is meaningless without actual practice, the practice of Zen is meaningless without actual understanding. To assume an understanding of Dogen’s Zen based on a mere handful of his writings would be absurd, and an understanding based only on faith in the assertions of authorities is merely an imitation of understanding, which Dogen (and many Zen masters) considered as a mockery of genuine understanding.

As one of the most influential figures in the history of Buddhism, Dogen deserves to be given his due. Regardless of our intentions, before we venerate or condemn his teachings, we must do our utmost to clarify our understanding, to get to the truth of what Dogen actually taught. A quote attributed to Herbert Spencer sums up the point nicely, "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

It seems to me that to honestly give Dogen his due we must first approach Shobogenzo as if it actually is what he said it is—The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, that is, the authentic truth of the Buddhism. This would mean that all the fascicles constituting Shobogenzo must, to the best of our ability, be read as Dogen intended them to be read; not as independent treatises, but as parts of a unity—the unity of Shobogenzo. Corollary to this is that each fascicle must, for the most part, be gauged by the same standard and granted equal authority concerning the genuine meaning of the whole Shobogenzo, or of any part of that whole. We would not expect to understand any one chapter of the Lotus Sutra outside its context in the whole, or the whole of the Sutra apart from its chapters, likewise with Shobogenzo.

The inference of this seems clear; the more unfamiliar, neglected fascicles of Shobogenzo, because they far outnumber the familiar, popularized fascicles, provide more than just the bulk of its content, they provide the bulk of its meaning. This does not mean that those teachings that have been revealed and propagated based on a relatively minor selection from Shobogenzo are widely off the mark—I believe they are not. Just as several chapters from the Lotus Sutra could reveal the genuine, if partial, message of that sutra, so too with Shobogenzo.

Fortunately, the language, reason, and methods of the fascicles constituting Shobogenzo are extraordinarily consistent, not only with each other, but also with Dogen’s other works and with those of Mahayana Buddhism (especially Ch’an [J. Zen]) generally. Yet, when all the fascicles of Shobogenzo are taken into account, not only is the scope of Dogen’s message expanded, many of the ambiguities concerning his teaching are resolved. In short, approaching Shobogenzo as a unified whole broadens and clarifies its genuine message.

In my view, Dogen’s records exemplify Zen’s characteristically freehanded approach to doctrines and systems of all kinds. This Zen characteristic is sometimes referred to in the classic records as, "Taking up with one hand, letting go with the other." The misunderstanding of this technique has evidently contributed to popular false notions of Zen as anti-doctrinal and iconoclastic. I have not seen any valid evidence that Zen in any way advocates the destruction of traditional teachings, forms of practice, systems of thought, or established institutions. To me it seems that Zen simply asserts that they should be employed, and applied in a useful manner.

It is not difficult to understand why there is such widespread misunderstanding about Zen’s use of language, doctrine, and methodology; many are profoundly subtle and difficult to grasp (much more so to employ). Indeed, it seems to me that many of the more subtle doctrines and techniques of Zen are concerned with the transmission and development of the skillful use of language and doctrine. Throughout the literature of Zen, one finds a great deal of emphasis on the necessity of developing the skill to use systems without being used by systems.

In my own view, it seems important to understand that Zen literature, including Dogen’s work does not merely acknowledge language as unavoidable; it embraces it as the dynamic, liberating vehicle of Buddha-Dharma itself. "Katto" translated into English as "entangling vines" or "entwining vines," is a term that is often used in Zen to indicate hindrances associated with attachment to, and/or conceptualization aroused by words, explanations, doctrines, etc. While many of the classic Zen records implicitly acknowledge the positive, even necessary role of language and doctrines (if only tacitly by the sheer fact of their existence), Dogen voices it clearly:

Generally speaking, the saintly all devise some method of training whereby they sever the roots of whatever vines are entangling them. But they might not explore how to cut off entangling vines by using the very vines themselves, for they may not have used these embracing vines as the means to understand their being entangled. (Shobogenzo, Katto, Hubert Nearman)

This seems to be precisely the same point indicated by that great visionary of western tradition, William Blake, where, in his Jerusalem, he has Los declare:

Striving with Systems to deliver Individuals from those System;
That whenever any Spectre began to devour the Dead,
He might feel the pain as if a man gnawd his own tender nerves. (William Blake, Jerusalem)

It is not language, doctrine, methodology, or conceptual constructs in themselves that are rejected by the Zen masters; it is their misuse. In his writings, Dogen insists that helping others reach liberation is best achieved by "giving voice" to the truth of Buddha nature, which should not be confused with giving voice to a rigid view, or formula; sometimes it is tall, sometimes it is short:

Those who can help others reach the Other Shore through manifesting their True Self will manifest It and give voice to the Dharma for that purpose: this is Buddha Nature. Further, sometimes they will display the Dharma Body as something tall and sometimes they will display It as something short. (Shobogenzo, Bussho, Hubert Nearman)

To use a Zen simile, a rabbit running into a stump may be a meal, but a meal is not a rabbit running into a stump. A meal is berries on a vine, cultivated radishes, steamed rice, and myriad other forms. While an expression is Buddha-Dharma, Buddha-Dharma is not an expression. As Dogen points out:

You need to realize that the genuine functioning of the Dharma is beyond any immediate display of what is said or how It is put. A genuine voicing of the Dharma has no set form. (Shobogenzo, Bussho, Hubert Nearman)

Dogen consistently disparaged anything that even hinted at rigid adherence to systems of thought or attachment to methodologies or devices, even devices developed by the Zen ancestors. Far from being beneficial as an approach to Shobogenzo, reducing Dogen’s teaching to intellectually manageable patterns neutralizes its dynamic potential for pushing us beyond our limited view and actually expanding the horizons of our experience.

Reading Shobogenzo through any systematic screen is only possible if one imagines that the message of Shobogenzo is something to be explained. As students of literature tell us, the authentic message of any truly sacred text, like that of authentic poetry, inherently defies explanation. If the authentic message of a sacred text could truly be grasped through an explanation, it should have been written as an explanation to begin with. Obviously, if a sacred text conveyed nothing but what could be grasped by the ordinary human intellect, that text would hardly qualify as sacred. A literary work that does not speak to the heart as well as the mind and does nothing to actually expand our understanding, realization, and experience of life offers, at best, nothing more than a quantity of information, a mere number of trivial facts.

The tendency to categorize and systemize Dogen’s writings is not simply restricted to the sectarian factions of Soto Zen; traces of it appear in nearly every field of Dogen, and Japanese Zen studies. A veritable plethora of labels have been applied to Dogen and his works in a variety of attempts to systematically explain "Dogen’s Zen." Attaching significance to perceived connections between his writings and when he wrote them, many modern Dogen scholars subscribe to one or the other of the so-called "Renewal" and "Decline" theories. These categorizations are established by compartmentalizing Dogen’s work according to when he wrote them. When using this system, Dogen’s work is usually divided into the categories of "early and late" periods or "early, middle and late" periods. One prominent Dogen scholar suggests dividing these three periods into seven sub-divisions (Early Early, Late Early, Early Middle, Middle Middle, Late Middle, Early Late, and Late Late). (Steven Heine, Did Dogen Go to China?)

Because of its role, scholarship is more than justified in dividing, and categorizing the subject of its research, yet students and practitioners should be aware of the nature and function of those investigations. Scholarship can and does illumine important facets of Dogen’s life and work, but it is important to remember that, like a finely cut diamond, Shobogenzo is more than the sum of its facets. After all, the language of Shobogenzo, like that of all truly sacred literature, is mythological. For myth is the language of deliverance and liberation; a living dynamic expression with the potential of rendering transparent the interface of the temporal and the eternal, the finite and the infinite, all beings and Buddha, in Zen terms: the Gateless Barrier.

To read mythic expression as ordinary prose is to misread it.

Sacred text is inevitably addressed to the whole of our being and it is only through the whole of our being that we can receive it. Failing to respect the integrity of Shobogenzo by subjecting it to differentiation, discrimination, and conceptualization inevitably renders it opaque, nullifying its liberating potential.

Shobogenzo, like a necklace made of pearls, is at once ‘the many’ and ‘the one.’ Exploring Shobogenzo through divisions or systems of thought is like examining a necklace only after dividing and organizing the pearls into groups and patterns. There is no doubt that Dogen’s Shobogenzo is one of the most complex and multi-faceted works in all of the world’s literature, but aside from a few uncertain points its message is consistent, and its inherent design is exquisite.

Peace,
Ted Biringer