T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume I

Chapter 19: Shin-fukatoku - Mind Cannot Be Grasped (The Latter)

[Chapter Nineteen]

Shin-fukatoku

Mind Cannot Be Grasped (The Latter)

Translator's Note: The ninety-five-chapter edition of the Shōbōgenzōhas two chapters with the same title, Shin-fukatokuor Mind Cannot Be Grasped. We usually discriminate between the two chapters with the words "the former,

"

and "the latter.

" The contents of the two chapters are different, but the meaning of the two chapters is almost the same. Furthermore, the end of each chapter records the same date—the summer retreat in 1241. However, while the former chapter says "

preached to the assembly, " this chapter says

"

written.

" So it may be that the former chapter was a shorthand record of Master Dōgen

'

s preaching, and the latter was Master Dōgen '

s draft of his lecture. This is only a supposition, and scholars in future may be able to find a more exact conclusion.

[89] "Mind cannot be grasped" is the buddhas; they have maintained it and relied upon it as their own state of anuttara samyak saṃbodhi. [90] The Diamond Sutrasays, "Past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, and future mind cannot be grasped. "

This is just the realized state of maintaining and relying upon "mind cannot be grasped,

" which is the buddhas themselves. They have maintained it and relied upon it as "triple-world mind cannot be grasped" and as "alldharmas mind cannot be grasped. " The state of maintenance and reliance which makes this clear is not experienced unless learned from buddhas and is not authentically transmitted unless learned from patriarchs. To learn from buddhas means to learn from the sixteen-foot body, 1and to learn from a single stalk of grass.

2 To learn from the patriarchs means to learn from skin, flesh, bones, and marrow,

3and to learn from a face breaking into a smile. 4The import

of this is that when we seek [the truth] under [a teacher who] has evidently received the authentic transmission of the right Dharma-eye treasury, who 297

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has received the legitimate one-to-one transmission of the state in which the mind-seal of the buddhas and the patriarchs is directly accessible, then without fail that [teacher's] bones and marrow, face and eyes, are transmitted, and we receive body, hair, and skin. Those who do not learn the Buddha's truth and who do not enter the room of a patriarch neither see nor hear nor understand this. The method of asking about it is beyond them. They have never realized the means to express it, even in a dream. [92]Tokusan, in former days, when not a stout fellow, was an authority on the Diamond Sutra.People of the time called him Shū, King of the Diamond Sutra.Of more than eight hundred scholars, he is the king. Not only is he especially well versed in the Seiryū Commentaries,he has also edited texts weighing twelve tan.There is no lecturer who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with him. In the story he hears that in the south a supreme truth has been received by rightful successor from rightful successor, and so, carrying his texts, he travels across the mountains and rivers. He takes a rest by the left of the road leading to Ryūtan, and an old woman comes by. Tokusan asks,

"What kind of person are you?"

The old woman says,

"I am an old woman who sells rice cakes. "

Tokusan says,

"Will you sell some rice cakes to me?" The old woman says,

"What does the master want to buy them for?" Tokusan says,

"I would like to buy some rice cakes to refresh my mind. "

The old woman says,

"What is all that the master is carrying?" Tokusan says,

"Have you not heard? I am Shū, King of the Diamond Sutra.I have mastered the Diamond Sutra.There is no part of it that I do not understand. This [load] I am carrying is commentaries on the Diamond Sutra. "

Hearing this, the old woman says, "The old woman has a question. Will the master permit me [to ask] it, or not?" Tokusan says,

"I permit it. You may ask whatever you like. "

She says,

"I have heard it said in the Diamond Sutrathat past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, and future mind cannot be grasped. Which mind do you now intend to refresh with my rice cakes? If the master is able to say something, I will sell the rice cakes. If the master is unable to say anything, I will not sell the rice cakes. "

At this, Tokusan was dumbfounded; he could not find any appropriate reply. The old woman just swung her sleeves and left. In the end, she did not 298

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sell any rice cakes to Tokusan. How regrettable it was that a commentator on hundreds of scrolls [of text], a lecturer for tens of years, on receiving one mere question from a humble old woman, promptly fell into defeat. Such things are due to the great difference between those who have received a master's transmission and those who have not received a master's transmission, between those who visit the room of a true teacher and those who do not enter the room of a true teacher. Hearing the words "cannot be grasped, "

[some] have simply understood that to grasp is equally impossible both for the former group and for the latter group. They totally lack the vigorous path.

5 Again, there are people who think that we say we cannot grasp it because we are endowed with it originally. Such [thinking] has by no means hit the target. This was when Tokusan first knew that rice cakes painted in a picture cannot kill hunger, and understood that for Buddhist training it is always necessary to meet a true person. He also understood that a person who has been uselessly caught up in only sutras and texts is not able to acquire real power. Eventually he visited Ryūtan and realized the way of master and disciple, after which he did indeed become a true person. Today he is not only a founding patriarch of the Unmon and Hōgen [sects], 6 [but also] a guiding teacher in the human world and in the heavens above. [95]When we consider this story, it is evident now that Tokusan in the past was not enlightened. Even though the old woman has now shut Tokusan's mouth, it is also hard to decide that she is really a true person. In brief, it seems that hearing the words "mind cannot be grasped,

" she considers only

that mind cannot exist, and so she asks as she does. If Tokusan were a stout fellow, he might have the power of interpretation. If he were able to interpret [the situation], it would also have become apparent whether the old woman was a true person, but because this is a time when Tokusan was not Tokusan, whether the old woman is a true person also is not known and not evident. What is more, we are not without reasons to doubt the old woman now. When Tokusan is unable to say anything, why does she not say to Tokusan, "Now

the master is unable to say something, so please go ahead and ask [this] old woman. The old woman will say something for the master instead. " Then,

after receiving Tokusan's question, if she had something to say to Tokusan, the old woman might show some real ability. Someone who has the state of effort common to the bones and marrow and the faces and eyes of the ancients, 299

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and [common] to the brightness and the conspicuous form of eternal buddhas, in such a situation has no trouble not only taking hold but also letting go of Tokusan, the old woman, the ungraspable, the graspable, rice cakes, and mind. The "buddha-mind" is just the three times. 7 Mind and the three times

are not separated by a thousandth or a hundredth, but when they move apart and we discuss their separation, then the profound distance [between them] has [already] gone beyond eighty-four thousand. 8 If [someone] says "What

is past mind?" we should say to that person "It cannot be grasped. " If [someone] says "What is present mind?" we should say to that person "It cannot be grasped.

" If [someone] says "What is future mind?" we should say to that person "It cannot be grasped.

" The point here is not to say that there is mind, which we provisionally call ungraspable; we are just saying for the present "It cannot be grasped.

" We do not say that it is impossible to grasp mind; we only say "It cannot be grasped.

" We do not say that it is possible to grasp mind; we only say "It cannot be grasped.

" Further, if [someone] says "What

is the state of 'past mind cannot be grasped'?" we should say "Living and dying, coming and going.

" If [someone] says "What is the state of 'present mind cannot be grasped'?" we should say "Living and dying, coming and going.

" If [someone] says "What is the state of 'future mind cannot be grasped'?" we should say "Living and dying, coming and going. " In sum,

there is buddha-mind as fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles, and all the buddhas of the three times experience this as "it cannot be grasped. " There are only

fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles, which are the buddha-mind itself, and the buddhas experience this in the three times as "it cannot be grasped. " Furthermore there is the state of "it cannot be grasped" itself, existing as mountains, rivers, and the earth. There are [times when] the state of "it cannot be grasped" as grass, trees, wind, and water, is just mind. There are also [times when] "the mind to which we should give rise while having no abode"9 is the state of "it cannot be grasped.

" Still further, mind in the state of "it cannot be grasped" which is preaching eighty thousand Dharma gates through all the ages of all the buddhas of the ten directions, is like this. [99]A further example: At the time of the National Master Daishō, 10

Daini Sanzō11 arrived at the capital12 from the faraway Western Heavens, 13

claiming to have attained the power to know others' minds. 14 In the story the

Tang emperor Shukusō15 orders the National Master to examine [Sanzō]. As 300

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soon as Sanzō meets the National Master, he promptly prostrates himself and stands to the [master's] right. At length, the National Master asks, "Have you got the power to know others' minds, or not?"

Sanzō says,

"I would not be so bold [as to say]. "16

The National Master says,

"Tell me where [this] old monk is now. "

Sanzō says,

"Master, you are the teacher of the whole country. Why are you by the West River watching a boat race?" The National Master, after a while, asks a second time, "Tell me where

the old monk is now.

"

Sanzō says,

"Master, you are the teacher of the whole country. Why are you on Tianjin Bridge17 watching [someone] play with a monkey?" The National Master asks again, "Tell me where the old monk is now. "

Sanzō takes a while, but knows nothing and sees nothing. Then the National Master scolds him, saying, "You ghost of a wild fox,

18 where is your

power to know others' minds?" Sanzō has no further answer. 19

[101] If we did not know of such an episode, that would be bad, and if we were not informed about it, we might have doubts. Buddhist patriarchs and scholars of the Tripiṭaka20 can never be equal; they are as far apart as heaven and earth. Buddhist patriarchs have clarified the Buddha-Dharma, scholars of the Tripiṭaka have never clarified it at all. With regard to [the title] "scholar of the Tripiṭaka, " indeed, there are cases of even secular people being "a scholar of the Tripiṭaka. " It represents, for example, the acquisition of a place in literary culture. This being so, even if [Sanzō] has not only understood all the languages of India and China but has also accomplished the power to know others' minds as well, he has never seen the body and mind of the Buddhist truth, even in a dream. For this reason, in his audience with the National Master, who has experienced the state of the Buddhist patriarchs, [Sanzō] is seen through at once. When we learn mind in Buddhism, the myriad dharmas are mind itself, 21 and the triple world is mind alone. 22

It may be that mind alone is just mind alone, 23 and that concrete buddha is mind here and now.

24 Whether it is self, or whether it is the external world, we must not be mistaken about the mind of the Buddha's truth. It could never idly flow down to the West River or wander over to Tianjin Bridge. If we 301

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want to maintain and to rely upon the body and mind of the Buddha's truth, we must learn the power which is the wisdom of the Buddha's truth. That is to say, in the Buddha's truth the whole earth is mind, which does not change through arising and vanishing, and the whole Dharma is mind. We should also learn the whole of mind as the power of wisdom. Sanzō, not having seen this already, is nothing but the ghost of a wild fox. So, even the first two times, [Sanzō] never sees the mind of the National Master, and never penetrates25 the mind of the National Master at all. He is a wild fox cub idly playing with no more than the West River, Tianjin Bridge, a boat race, and a monkey— how could he hope to see the National Master? Again, the fact is evident that [Sanzō] cannot see the place where the National Master is. He is asked three times,

"Tell me where the old monk is now,

" but he does not listen to these

words. If he could listen, he might be able to investigate [further], [but] because he does not listen, he blunders heedlessly onward. If Sanzō had learned the Buddha-Dharma, he would listen to the words of the National Master, and he might be able to see the body and mind of the National Master. Because he does not learn the Buddha-Dharma in his everyday life, even though he was born to meet a guiding teacher of the human world and the heavens above, he has passed [the opportunity] in vain. It is pitiful and it is deplorable. In general, how could a scholar of the Tripiṭaka attain to the conduct of a Buddhist patriarch and know the limits of the National Master? Needless to say, teachers of commentaries from the Western Heavens, and Indian scholars of the Tripiṭaka, could never know the conduct of the National Master at all. Kings of gods can know, and teachers of commentaries can know, what scholars of the Tripiṭaka know. How could what commentary-teachers and gods know be beyond the wisdom of [bodhisattvas at] the place of assignment; or beyond [bodhisattvas at] the ten sacred stages and the three clever stages? Gods cannot know, and [bodhisattvas at] the place of assignment26 have never clarified, the body and mind of the National Master. Discussion of body and mind among Buddhists is like this. We should know it and believe it. [105] The Dharma of our great teacher Śākyamuni is never akin to the ghosts of wild foxes—the two vehicles, non-Buddhists, and the like. Still, venerable patriarchs through the ages have each studied this story, and their discussions have survived:

27A monk asks Jōshū,

28 "Why does Sanzō not see where the National

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Master is the third time?" Jōshū says, "He does not see because the National Master is right on Sanzō's nostrils. "

Another monk asks Gensha,

29 "If [the National Master] is already on [Sanzō's] nostrils, why does [Sanzō] not see him?" Gensha says, "Simply

because of being enormously close. "

Kaie Tan30 says,

"If the National Master is right on Sanzō's nostrils, what difficulty could [Sanzō] have in seeing him? Above all, it has not been recognized that the National Master is inside Sanzō's eyeballs. "

On another occasion, Gensha challenges31Sanzō with these words: "You! Say! Have you seen at all, even the first two times?" Setchō Ken32 says, "I

am defeated, I am defeated.

"

On still another occasion, a monk asks Kyōzan, 33 "Why is it that the

third time, though Sanzō takes a while, he does not see where the National Master is?" Kyōzan says,

"The first two times [the master's] mind is wandering in external circumstances; then he enters the samādhiof receiving and using the self,

34 and so [Sanzō] does not see him. "

These five venerable patriarchs are all precise, but they have passed over the National Master's conduct: by only discussing [Sanzō's] failure to know the third time, they seem to permit that he knew the first two times. This is the ancestors' oversight, and students of later ages should know it. [108] Kōshō's (Dōgen)35 present doubts about the five venerable patriarchs are twofold. First, they do not know the National Master's intention in examining Sanzō. Second, they do not know the National Master's body and mind.

[109] Now the reason I say that they do not know the National Master's intention in examining Sanzō is as follows: First the National Master says, "Tell me where the old monk is just now. " The intention expressed [here] is to test whether or not Sanzō has ever known the Buddha-Dharma. At this time, if Sanzō has heard the Buddha-Dharma, he would study according to the Buddha-Dharma the question "Where is the old monk just now?" Studied according to the Buddha-Dharma, the National Master's "Where is the old monk now" asks "Am I at this place?" "Am I at that place?" "Am I in the supreme state of bodhi?" "Am I in the prajñāpāramitā?" "Am I suspended in space?" "Am I standing on the earth?" "Am I in a thatched hut?" and "Am I in the place of treasure?" Sanzō does not recognize this intention, and so 303

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he vainly offers views and opinions of the common person, the two vehicles, and the like. The National Master asks again,

"Tell me where this old monk

is just now.

" Here again Sanzō offers useless words. The National Master asks yet again,

"Tell me where this old monk is just now,

" whereupon Sanzō

takes a while but says nothing, his mind baffled. Then the National Master scolds Sanzō, saying,

"You ghost of a wild fox, where is your power to know

others' minds?" Thus chided, Sanzō still has nothing to say [for himself]. Having considered this episode carefully, the ancestors all think that the National Master is now scolding Sanzō because, even if [Sanzō] knows where the National Master was the first two times, he does not know the third time. That is not so. The National Master is scolding Sanzō outright for being nothing but the ghost of a wild fox and never having seen the Buddha-Dharma even in a dream. [The National Master] has never said that [Sanzō] knew the first two times but not the third time. His criticism is outright criticism of Sanzō. The National Master's idea is, first, to consider whether or not it is possible to call the Buddha-Dharma "the power to know others' minds. "

Further, he thinks "If we speak of 'the power to know others' minds' we must take 'others' in accordance with the Buddha's truth, we must take 'mind' in accordance with the Buddha's truth, and we must take 'the power to know' in accordance with the Buddha's truth, but what this Sanzō is saying now does not accord with the Buddha's truth at all. How could it be called the Buddha-Dharma?" These are the thoughts of the National Master. The meaning of his testing is as follows: Even if [Sanzō] says something the third time, if it is like the first two times—contrary to the principles of the Buddha-Dharma and contrary to the fundamental intention of the National Master— it must be criticized. When [the National Master] asks three times, he is asking again and again whether Sanzō has been able to understand the National Master's words.

[112] The second [doubt]—that [the five venerable patriarchs] do not know the body and mind of the National Master—is namely that the body and mind of the National Master cannot be known, and cannot be penetrated, 36

by scholars of the Tripiṭaka. It is beyond the attainment of [bodhisattvas at] the ten sacred stages and the three clever stages, and it is beyond clarification by [bodhisattvas at] the place of assignment or [in] the state of balanced awareness,

37 so how could the common person Sanzō know it? We must 304

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clearly determine [the truth of] this principle. If [people] purport that even Sanzō might know, or might attain to, the body and mind of the National Master, it is because they themselves do not know the body and mind of the National Master. If we say that people who have got the power to know others' minds can know the National Master, then can the two vehicles also know the National Master? That is impossible: people of the two vehicles can never arrive at the periphery of the National Master. Nowadays many people of the two vehicles have read the sutras of the Great Vehicle, [but] even they cannot know the body and mind of the National Master. Further, they cannot see the body and mind of the Buddha-Dharma, even in a dream. Even if they seem to read and recite the sutras of the Great Vehicle, we should clearly know that they are totally people of the Small Vehicles. In sum, the body and mind of the National Master cannot be known by people who are acquiring mystical powers or getting practice and experience. It might be difficult even for the National Master to fathom the body and mind of the National Master. Why? [Because] his conduct has long been free of the aim of becoming buddha; and so even the Buddha's eye could not glimpse it. His leaving-and-coming has far transcended the nest and cannot be restrained by nets and cages. [114] Now I would like to examine and defeat each of the five venerable patriarchs. Jōshū says that because the National Master is right on Sanzō's nostrils, [Sanzō] does not see. What does this comment mean? Such mistakes happen when we discuss details without clarifying the substance. How could the National Master be right on Sanzō's nostrils? Sanzō has no nostrils. Moreover, although it does appear that the means are present for the National Master and Sanzō to look at each other, there is no way for them to get close to each other. Clear eyes will surely affirm [that this is so]. 38Gensha says,

"Simply because of being enormously close.

" Certainly,

his "enormously close" can be left as it is, [but] he misses the point. What state does he describe as "enormously close"? What object does he take to be "enormously close"? Gensha has not recognized "enormous closeness, "

and has not experienced "enormous closeness.

" In regard to the Buddha-Dharma he is the farthest of the far. Kyōzan says,

"The first two times [the master's] mind is wandering in external circumstances; then he enters the samādhiof receiving and using the self, and so [Sanzō] does not see him.

" Though [Kyōzan's] acclaim as a

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little Śākyamuni echoes on high [even] in the Western Heavens, he is not without such wrongness. If he is saying that when [people] see each other [they] are inevitably wandering in external circumstances, then there would seem to be no instance of Buddhist patriarchs seeing each other, and he would appear not to have studied the virtues of affirmation and becoming buddha. If he is saying that Sanzō, the first two times, was really able to know the place where the National Master was, I must say that [Kyōzan] does not know the virtue of a single bristle of the National Master's hair. Gensha demands,

"Have you seen at all, even the first two times?" This one utterance "Have you seen at all?" seems to say what needs to be said, but it is not right because it suggests that [Sanzō's] seeing is like not seeing. 39

Hearing the above, Zen Master Setchō Myōkaku40 says,

"I am defeated.

I am defeated.

" When we see Gensha's words as the truth, we should speak like that; when we do not see them as the truth, we should not speak like that. Kaie Tan says,

"If the National Master is right on Sanzō's nostrils, what difficulty could [Sanzō] have in seeing him? Above all, it has not been recognized that the National Master is inside Sanzō's eyeballs. " This again discusses [only] the third time. It does not criticize [Sanzō] as he should be criticized, for not seeing the first two times as well. How could [Kaie] know that the National Master is on [Sanzō's] nostrils or inside [Sanzō's] eyeballs? [117] Every one of the five venerable patriarchs is blind to the virtue of the National Master; it is as if they have no power to discern the truth of the Buddha-Dharma. Remember, the National Master is just a buddha through all the ages. He has definitely received the authentic transmission of the Buddha's right Dharma-eye treasury. Scholars of the Tripiṭaka, teachers of commentaries, and others of the Small Vehicles, do not know the limits of the National Master at all; and the proof of that is here. "The power to know

others' minds,

" as it is discussed in the Small Vehicles, should be called "the power to know others' ideas.

" To have thought that a Small Vehicle scholar

of the Tripiṭaka, with the power to know others' minds, might be able to know a single bristle or half a bristle of the National Master's hair, is a mistake. We must solely learn that a Small Vehicle scholar of the Tripiṭaka is totally unable to see the situation of the virtue of the National Master. If [Sanzō] knew where the National Master was the first two times but did not know a third time, he would possess ability which is two-thirds of the whole 306

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and he would not deserve to be criticized. If he were criticized, it would not be for a total lack [of ability]. If [the National Master] denounced such a person, who could believe in the National Master? [The National Master's] intention is to criticize Sanzō for completely lacking the body and mind of the Buddha-Dharma. The five venerable patriarchs have such incorrectness because they completely fail to recognize the conduct of the National Master. For this reason, I have now let the Buddha's teaching of "mind cannot be grasped" be heard. It is hard to believe that people who are not able to penetrate this one dharmacould have penetrated other dharmas. Nevertheless, we should know that even the ancestors have [made] such mistakes that are to be seen as mistakes.

[118] On one occasion a monk asks the National Master, "What is the

mind of eternal buddhas?" The National Master says, "Fences, walls, tiles,

and pebbles.

"41 This also is "mind cannot be grasped. " On another occasion

a monk asks the National Master, "What is the constant and abiding mind of the buddhas?" The National Master says, "Fortunately you have met an old monk's palace visit.

"42This also is mastery of the state of mind which "cannot be grasped.

" The god Indra, on another occasion, asks the National Master, "How can we be free from becoming?"43The National Master says, "Celestial

One! You can be free from becoming by practicing the truth. " The god Indra

asks further,

"What is the truth?" The National Master says, "Mind in the

moment is the truth.

" The god Indra says,

"What is mind in the moment?" Pointing with his finger, the National Master says, "This place is the stage of

prajñā.That place is the net of pearls. " The god Indra does prostrations. [120] In conclusion, in the orders of the buddhas and the patriarchs, there is often discussion of the body and of the mind in the Buddha's truth. When we learn them both together in practice, the state is beyond the thinking and the perception of the common person and sages and saints. [So] we must master in practice "mind cannot be grasped. "

Shōbōgenzō Shin-fukatoku

Written at Kōshōhōrinji on a day of the sum mer retreat in the second year of Ninji. 44

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Notes

1 The sixteen-foot golden body of the Buddha, an image of the perfect state. 2 A concrete thing.

3 Master Bodhidharma told his four disciples that they had got his skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. See Chapter Forty-six (Vol. III), Kattō. 4 Master Mahākāśyapa's face broke into a smile when the Buddha showed his audience an uḍumbaraflower. See Chapter Sixty-eight (Vol. III), Udonge.Master Dōgen frequently used the words skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and a face breaking into a smile as symbols of the transmission from Buddhist patriarch to Buddhist patriarch. 5 Katsuro. The Fukanzazengicontains the words shusshin no katsuro, path of getting the body out.

"

"the vigorous

6 The Unmon sect traces its lineage back to Master Unmon Bun'en (864-949), a successor of Master Seppō Gison, who was a successor of Master Tokusan. The Hōgen sect traces its lineage back to Master Hōgen Bun'eki (885-958), a successor of Master Rakan Keichin, who was a successor of Master Gensha Shibi, who was a successor of Master Seppō Gison.

7 Past, present, and future; eternal existence.

8 Reality includes all things and phenomena without separation, but if we try to understand it intellectually we lose the state of reality completely. 9 Ō-mu-shojū-ji-shō-go-shin,or in Japanese pronunciation, masani jusho naku shi te sono kokoro o shozu beshi,lit.,

"While having no abode still we should cause the mind to arise.

" These words are from the Diamond Sutra.When Master Daikan Enō happened to hear them recited in a market place, he decided at once to leave home and become a monk. See Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji.

10 Master Nan'yō Echū (675?-775). A successor of Master Daikan Enō. Posthumously titled by the emperor as "National Master Daishō. "

11 Sanzōrepresents the meaning of the Sanskrit Tripiṭaka, the three baskets of Sutra (scriptures), Vinaya (precepts), and Abhidharma (commentaries). The title Sanzō was given to a person who was accomplished in studying the Tripiṭaka. 12 The ancient capital of modern-day Luoyang province. 309

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13 Saiten(Western Heavens): India.

14 Tashintsū.See Chapter Eighty (Vol. IV), Tashintsū. 15 The third son of Emperor Gensō; reigned from 756 until his death in 762; also mentioned in Chapter One, Bendōwa,and Chapter Eighty-six (Vol. IV), Shukke-kudoku. 16 Sanzō suggested that he had the ability, but modesty forbade him from daring to say so.

17 Tianjin is a large city and port in Hopeh province, southeast of Beijing. 18 Yakozei.In Chapter Eight, Raihai-tokuzui, "the ghost of a wild fox" symbolizes the natural and mystical quality of a person who has got the Dharma. In this case, it refers to Sanzō's mystical pretensions.

19 This story, together with the comments of the five venerable patriarchs, is also quoted in Chapter Eighty (Vol. IV), Tashintsū.In the present chapter Master Dōgen wrote the story in Japanese; in Tashintsūthe story is quoted in Chinese characters only. The story is originally recorded in the Keitokudentōroku, chapter 5. 20 "Scholars of the Tripiṭaka" is sanzō.See note 11. 21 Banpō-sokushin.

22 Sangai-yuishin.See Chapter Forty-seven (Vol. III), Sangai-yuishin.The two expressions in this sentence are traditional expressions. 23 Yuishin kore yuishin.

24 Zebutsu-soku-shin.The two expressions in this sentence are Master Dōgen's variations on traditional expressions. In Chapter Six, Soku-shin-ze-butsu,Master Dōgen uses the four characters soku-shin-ze-butsuin several different combinations. However, the combination used here, zebutsu-soku-shin,does not appear in Chapter Six. 25 Tsūzu.The same character, as a noun, appears in the phrase jintsū, one of which istashintsū,

"the power to know others' minds.

"

"mystical powers,

"

26 Hosho,short for isshō-hosho no bosatsu, lit., "a bodhisattva at the place of assignment in one life,

" that is, a bodhisattva who is about to become a buddha. In the imagery of ancient India, bodhisattvas live their last lives in Tuṣita Heaven before descending to the world to become buddhas.

27 The five following stories are contained in one paragraph in the source text. 28 Master Jōshū Jūshin (778-897), successor of Master Nansen Fugan. See for example Chapter Thirty-five (Vol. II), Hakujushi. 29 Master Gensha Shibi (835-907), successor of Master Seppō Gison. See for example Chapter Four, Ikka-no-myōju.

30 Master Kaie Shutan (1025-1072), successor of Master Yōgi Hōe. 310

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31 Chō sumeans to solicit [an opinion]. At the same time, chōis sometimes used interchangeably with another character pronounced chō, which means to chastise. 32 Master Setchō Jūken (980-1052), a successor of Master Chimon Kōso. His comment is in praise of Master Gensha's comment. Master Setchō is known for promoting the teachings of the Unmon sect (founded by Master Unmon Bun'en [864-949]). Master Setchō quoted a hundred stories, or kōans, from the Keitokudentōrokuand praised them with poems. Master Engo Kokugon (1063-1135) later based his popular commentary the Hekiganroku(Blue Cliff Record) on Master Setchō's book. Master Daie Sōkō (1089-1163), thought to be the originator of so-called kōanZen, was a student of Master Engo Kokugon. After Master Setchō's death, Master Setchō's disciples compiled his works in the Iroku(Bequeathed Records), in seven volumes. 33 Master Kyōzan Ejaku (803-887). A successor of Master Isan Reiyū. The Goroku,a record of his words, is in one volume.

34 Jijuyō-zanmai,that is, the state of natural balance. See Chapter One, Bendōwa. 35 Kōshō. At the time, Master Dōgen was the master of Kōshōhōrinji. 36 Tsūzu.See note 25.

37 A bodhisattva is said to pass through fifty-two stages before becoming a buddha: ten stages of belief; then thirty states classed as the three clever stages; then ten sacred stages; then the penultimate state; and finally the ultimate state. The penultimate state is tōkaku,

"balanced awareness.

" The ultimate state is myōkaku,

"subtle awareness.

"

The ultimate state is also called hosho;see note 26. 38 These five short paragraphs criticizing the five masters are contained in one paragraph in the source text.

39 Master Dōgen is concerned with the area beyond seeing and not seeing—that is, realization of the practical state. 40 Another name of Master Setchō Jūken. While still living, he was awarded the title Zen Master Myōkaku.

41 See Chapter Forty-four (Vol. III), Kobusshin. Kobutsuliterally means "past/ancient buddhas,

" but in that chapter Master Dōgen says that kobutsumeans buddhas who transcend the past and present and belong directly to eternity. 42 In other words,

"Fortunately, you have met the old monk who became master of this temple.

" Sandai,

"palace visit,

" means going to the palace to receive the emperor's permission to become the master of a temple.

43 U-i,from the Sanskrit saṃskṛta.See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 44 1241.

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Chapter 20: Kokyō - The Eternal Mirror

[Chapter Twenty]

Kokyō

81c3

The Eternal Mirror

Translator's Note:Ko means "

ancient"

"

or

eternal"

and kyō means

"

mir-"

ror,

so kokyōmeans

"the eternal mirror.

" And what "the eternal mirror "

means is the question. In this chapter Master Dōgen quoted Master Seppō Gison

'

s words

"When a foreigner comes in front of the mirror, the mirror reflects the foreigner. " From these words we can understand the eternal mirror as a symbol of some human mental faculty. The eternal mirror suggests the importance of reflection, so we can suppose that the eternal mirror is a symbol of the intuitional faculty. In Buddhist philosophy, the intuitional faculty is called prajñā,or real wisdom. Real wisdom in Buddhism means our human intuitional faculty on which all our decisions are based. Buddhism esteems this real wisdom more than reason or sense perception. Our real wisdom is the basis for our decisions, and our decisions decide our life, so we can say that our real wisdom decides the course of our life. For this reason, it is very natural for Master Dōgen to explain the eternal mirror. At the same time, we must find another meaning of the eternal mirror, because Master Dōgen also quoted other words of Master Seppō Gison, "Every monkey has the eternal mirror on its back.

" Therefore we can think that the eternal mirror means not only human real wisdom but also some intuitional faculty of animals. So we must widen the meaning of the eternal mirror, and understand it as a symbol of the intuitional faculty that both human beings and animals have. Furthermore Master Seppō Gison said, "When the world is ten feet wide, the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. When the world is one foot wide, the eternal mirror is one foot wide. " These words suggest the eternal mirror is the world itself. So we can say that the eternal mirror is not only a symbol of an individual faculty but is also something universal. From ancient times Buddhists have discussed the eternal mirror. In this chapter Master Dōgen explains the meaning of the eternal mirror in Buddhism, quoting the words of ancient Buddhist masters.

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[123] 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 image2 and the same cast;3 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.

[125] The eighteenth patriarch, Venerable Geyāśata, is a man from the kingdom of Magadha in the western regions. His family name is Uzuran, his father's name is Tengai, and his mother's name is Hosho. 4 His mother once

has a dream in which she sees a great god approaching her and holding a big mirror. Then she becomes pregnant. Seven days later she gives birth to the master. Even when he is newborn, the skin of the master's body is like polished lapis lazuli, and even before he is bathed, he is naturally fragrant and clean. From his childhood, he loves quietness. His words are different from those of ordinary children; since his birth, a clear and bright round mirror has naturally been living with him. "A round mirror" means a round mirror.

5 It is a

matter rare through the ages. That it has lived with him does not mean that the round mirror was also born from his mother's womb.

6 The master was

born from the womb, and as the master appeared from the womb the round mirror came and naturally manifested itself before the master, and became like an everyday tool. The form of this round mirror is not ordinary: when the child approaches, he seems to be holding up the round mirror before him with both hands, yet the child's face is not hidden. When the child goes away, he seems to be going with the round mirror on his back, yet the child's body is not hidden. When the child sleeps, the round mirror covers him like a flowery canopy. Whenever the child sits up straight, the round mirror is there in front of him. In sum, it follows [all his] movements and demeanors, active and passive. What is more, he is able to see all Buddhist facts of the past, future, and present by looking into the round mirror. At the same time, all problems and issues of the heavens above and the human world come cloudlessly to the surface of the round mirror. For example, to see by looking in this round mirror is even more clear than to attain illumination of the past 314

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and illumination of the present by reading sutras and texts. Nevertheless, once the child has left home and received the precepts, the round mirror never appears before him again.

7Therefore [people of] neighboring villages

and distant regions unanimously praise this as rare and wonderful. In truth, though there are few similar examples in this sahāworld, we should not be suspicious but should be broadminded with regard to the fact that, in other worlds, families may produce such progeny. Remember, there are sutras which have changed into trees and rocks,

8 and there are [good] counselors

who are spreading [the Lotus Sutra] in fields and in villages;9 they too may be a round mirror. Yellow paper on a red rod10here and now is a round mirror. Who could think that only the master was prodigious? [129] On an outing one day, encountering Venerable Saṃgha nandi, 11

[Master Geyāśata] directly proceeds before Venerable [Saṃgha]nandi. The Venerable One asks,

"[That which] you have in your hands is expressing what?"12 We should hear "is expressing What?" not as a question, 13 and we

should learn it as such in practice.

The master says:

The great round mirror of the buddhas

Has no flaws or blurs, within or without.

[We] two people are able to see the same.

[Our] minds, and [our] eyes, are completely alike. So how could the great round mirror of the buddhas have been born together with the master? The birth of the master was the brightness of the great round mirror. Buddhas [experience] the same state and the same view in this round mirror. Buddhas are the cast image of the great round mirror. The great round mirror is neither wisdom nor reason, neither essence nor form. Though the concept of a great round mirror appears in the teachings of [bodhisattvas at] the ten sacred stages, the three clever stages, and so on, it is not the present "great round mirror of the buddhas. " Because "the buddhas" may be beyond wisdom, buddhas have real wisdom, [but] we do not see real wisdom as buddhas. Practitioners should remember that to preach about wisdom is never the ultimate preaching of the Buddha's truth. Even if we feel that the great round mirror of the buddhas is already living with us, it is still a fact that we can neither touch the great round mirror in this 315

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life nor touch it in another life; it is neither a jewel mirror nor a copper mirror, neither a mirror of flesh nor a mirror of marrow. Is [the verse] a verse spoken by the round mirror itself or a verse recited by the child? Even if it is the child who preaches this four-line verse, he has not learned it from [other] people, either by "following the sutras" or by "following [good] counselors. "

He holds up the round mirror and preaches like this, simply [because] to face the mirror has been the master's usual behavior since his earliest childhood. He seems to possess inherent eloquence and wisdom. Was the great round mirror born with the child, or was the child born with the great round mirror? It may also be possible that the births took place before or after [each other]. "The great round mirror" is just a virtue of "the buddhas. " Saying that this

mirror "has no blurs on the inside or the outside" neither describes an inside that depends on an outside, nor an outside blurred by an inside. There being no face or back,

"two individuals14 are able to see the same.

" Minds, and

eyes, are alike.

"Likeness" describes "a human being" meeting "a human being.

" In regard to images within, they have mind and eyes, and they are able to see the same. In regard to images without, they have mind and eyes, and they are able to see the same. Object and subject which are manifest before us now are like each other within and like each other without—they are neither I nor anyone else. Such is the meeting of "two human beings, "

and the likeness of "two human beings.

" That person is called "I,

" and I am

that person.

"Minds, and eyes, are totally alike" means mind and mind are alike, eyes and eyes are alike. The likeness is of minds and of eyes; this means, for example, that the mind and the eyes of each are alike. What does it mean for mind and mind to be alike? The Third Patriarch and the Sixth Patriarch.

15What does it mean for eyes and eyes to be alike? The eye of the truth being restricted by the eye itself.

16 The principle that the master is

expressing now is like this. This is how [Master Geyāśata] first pays his respects to Venerable Saṃghanandi. Taking up his principle, we should experience in practice the faces of buddhas and the faces of patriarchs in the great round mirror, which is akin to the eternal mirror. [134] The thirty-third patriarch, Zen Master Daikan, in former days when toiling in the Dharma order on Ōbaizan, presented the following verse to the ancestral master,

17 by writing it on the wall:18

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In the state of bodhithere is originally no tree, Neither does the clear mirror need a stand. Originally we do not have a single thing, Where could dust and dirt exist? [134] So then, we must study these words. People in the world call the Founding Patriarch Daikan "the eternal buddha. " Zen Master Engo19 says,

"I bow my head to the ground before Sōkei, 20 the true eternal buddha.

"21 So

remember [the words] with which the Founding Patriarch Daikan displays the clear mirror: "Originally we do not have a single thing, At what place could dust and dirt exist?" "The clear mirror needs no stand": this contains the lifeblood; we should strive [to understand it]. All [things in] the clearclear state22 are the clear mirror itself, and so we say, "When a clear head

comes, a clear head will do.

"23 Because [the clear mirror] is beyond "any place,

" it does not have "any place.

"24 Still more, throughout the universe in the ten directions, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the mirror? On the mirror itself, does there remain one speck of dust that is not the mirror? Remember, the whole universe is not lands of dust;25 and so it is the face of the eternal mirror.

[136] In the order of Zen Master Nangaku Daie26 a monk asks, "If a mirror is cast into an image, 27 to what place does its luster return?" The master says,

"Venerable monk, to what place have the features you had before you became a monk departed?" The monk says,

"After the transformation, why does it not shine like a mirror?"

The master says,

"Even though it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot delude others one bit.

"28

[137] We are not sure of what these myriad images29 of the present are made. But if we seek to know, the evidence that they are cast from a mirror is just [here] in the words of the master. A mirror is neither of gold nor of precious stone, neither of brightness nor of an image, but that it can be instantly cast into an image is truly the ultimate investigation of a mirror. 30

"To what place does the luster return?" is the assertion that "the possibility31 of a mirror being cast into an image" is just "the possibility of a mirror being cast into an image"; [it says,] for example, [that] an image returns to the 317

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place of an image, and [that] casting can cast a mirror. 32The words "Venerable monk, to what place have the features you had before you became a monk departed?" hold up a mirror to reflect [the monk's] face. 33At this time, which momentary face34 might be "my own face"? The master says, "Even though

it is not shining like a mirror, it cannot delude others one bit. " This means

that it cannot shine like a mirror; and it cannot mislead others. Learn in practice that the ocean's drying can never disclose the seabed!35 Do not break out, and do not move! At the same time, learn further in practice: there is a principle of taking an image and casting a mirror. Just this moment is miscellaneous bits of utter delusion, 36 in hundred thousand myriads of shining mirror reflections.

37

[139] Great Master Seppō Shinkaku38 on one occasion preaches to the assembly,

"If you want to understand this matter, 39 my concrete state is like one face of the eternal mirror. [When] a foreigner comes, a foreigner appears. [When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears. "

Then Gensha40 steps out and asks, "If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, what then?"

The master says,

"The foreigner and the Chinese person both become invisible.

"

Gensha says,

"I am not like that.

"

Seppō says,

"How is it in your case?" Gensha says,

"Please, master, you ask. "

Seppō says,

"If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it be then?" Gensha says,

"Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces!" [141] Now the meaning of Seppō's words "this matter" should be learned in practice as "this is something ineffable. "41 Let us now try to learn Seppō's eternal mirror. In the words "Like one face of the eternal mirror. . . , " "one

face" means [the mirror's] borders have been eliminated forever and it is utterly beyond inside and outside; it is the self as a pearl spinning in a bowl. 42 The

present "[when] a foreigner comes, the foreigner appears" is about one individual redbeard.

43 "[When] a Chinese person comes, a Chinese person appears": although it has been said since the primordial chaos, 44 since [the reign of] Banko (Ch. Panku),

45 that this "Chinese person" was created from the three elements and five elements, 46 in Seppō's words now a Chinese person whose virtue is the eternal mirror has appeared. Because the present Chineseperson 318

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is not "a Chinese person,

" "the Chinese person appears.

" To Seppō's present

words "The foreigner and the Chinese person both become invisible, " he

might add,

"and the mirror itself also becomes invisible.

" Gensha's words

"Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces" mean "the truth should be expressed like that, but why, when I have just asked you to give me back a concrete fragment, did you give me back a clear mirror?" [142] In the age of the Yellow Emperor there are twelve mirrors. 47According to the family legend, they are gifts from the heavens. Alternately, they are said to have been given by [the sage] Kōsei of Kōdōzan. 48 The rule for

using49 the twelve mirrors is to use one mirror every hour through the twelve hours, and to use each mirror for a month through the twelve months, [and again] to use the mirrors one by one, year by year through twelve years. They say that the mirrors are Kōsei's sutras. When he transmits them to the Yellow Emperor, the twelve hours and so on are mirrors with which to illuminate the past and to illuminate the present. If the twelve hours were not mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the past? If the twelve hours were not mirrors, how would it be possible to illuminate the present? The twelve hours, in other words, are twelve concrete sheets [of mirror], and the twelve concrete sheets [of time] are twelve mirrors. The past and present are what the twelve hours use.

50 [The legend] suggests this principle. Even though it is a secular saying, it is in [the reality of] the twelve hours during which "the Chinese person" appears.

[144] Kenen (Ch. Xuanyuan),

51 the Yellow Emperor, crawls forward on

Kōdō [Mountain] and asks Kōsei about the Way. Thereupon, Kōsei says, "Mirrors are the origin of yinand yang;they regulate the body eternally. There are naturally three mirrors: namely, the heavens, the earth, and human beings.

52 These mirrors are without sight and without hearing. 53 They will

make your spirit quiet, so that your body will naturally become right. Assured of quietness and of purity, your body will not be taxed and your spirit will not be agitated. You will thus be able to live long. "54

[145] In former times, these three mirrors are used to regulate the whole country, and to regulate the great order. One who is clear about this great order is called the ruler of the heavens and the earth. A secular [book]55 says, "The Emperor Taisō56 has treated human beings as a mirror, and thus he fully illuminates [all problems of] peace and danger, reason and disorder. " He

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uses one of the three mirrors. When we hear that he treats human beings as a mirror, we think that by asking people of wide knowledge about the past and present, he has been able to know when to employ and to discharge saints and sages—as, for example, when he got Gichō (Ch. Weizheng) and got Bōgenrei (Ch. Fang Xuanling).

57 To understand it like this is not [truly to understand] the principle which asserts that Emperor Taisō sees human beings as a mirror. Seeing human beings as a mirror means seeing a mirror as a mirror, seeing oneself as a mirror, seeing the five elements58 as a mirror, or seeing the five constant virtues59 as a mirror. When we watch the coming and going of human beings, the coming has no traces and the going has no direction: we call this the principle of human beings as a mirror. 60The myriad

diversity of sagacity and ineptitude is akin to astrological phenomena. Truly, it may be as latitude and longitude.

61 It is the faces of people, the faces of

mirrors, the faces of the sun, and the faces of the moon. The vitality of the five peaks and the vitality of the four great rivers passes through the world on the way to purifying the four oceans, and this is the customary practice of the mirror itself.

62 They say that Taisō's way is to fathom the universal grid by understanding human beings. [But this] does not refer [only] to people of wide knowledge.

[147] "Japan, since the age of the gods, has had three mirrors; together with the sacred jewels and the sword they have been transmitted to the present.

63 One mirror is in the Grand Shrines of Ise,

64 one is in the Hinokuma

Shrine in Kii-no-kuni,

65 and one is in the depository of the Imperial Court. "66

[148] Thus it is clear that every nation transmits and retains a mirror. To possess the mirror is to possess the nation. People relate the legend that these three mirrors were transmitted together with the divine throne and were transmitted by the gods. Even so, the perfectly refined copper [of these mirrors] is also the transformation of yinand yang. 67 It may be that [when]

the present comes, the present appears [in them], and [when] the past comes, the past appears [in them]. [Mirrors] that thus illuminate the past and present may be eternal mirrors. Seppō's point might also be expressed, "[When] a

Korean comes, a Korean appears; [when] a Japanese comes, a Japanese appears.

" Or,

"[When] a god comes, a god appears; [when] a human being comes, a human being appears.

" We learn appearance-and-coming like this,

in practice, but we have not now recognized the substance and details of this 320

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appearance: we only meet directly with appearance itself. We should not always learn that coming-and-appearance is [a matter of] recognition or [a matter of] understanding. Is the point here that a foreigner coming is a foreigner appearing? [No,] a foreigner coming should be an instance of a foreigner coming. A foreigner appearing should be an instance of a foreigner appearing. The coming is not for the sake of appearing. Although the eternal mirror is [just] the eternal mirror, there should be such learning in practice. [149] Gensha steps out and asks,

"What if suddenly it meets the coming

of a clear mirror?"68 We should study and clarify these words. What might be the scale of the expression of this word "clear"? In these words, the "coming" is not necessarily that of "a foreigner" or of "a Chinese person. " This

is the clear mirror, which [Gensha] says can never be realized as "a foreigner" or as "a Chinese person.

" Though "a clear mirror coming" is a "clear mirror

coming,

" it never makes a duality.

69 Though there is no duality, the eternal

mirror is still the eternal mirror, and the clear mirror is still the clear mirror. Testimony to the existence of [both] the eternal mirror and the clear mirror has been expressed directly in the words of Seppō and Gensha. We should see this as the Buddha's truth of essence-and-form. We should recognize that Gensha's present talk of the clear mirror coming is totally penetrating, 70 and

we should recognize that it is brilliant in all aspects. 71 It may be that in his

encounters with human beings, [Gensha] directly manifests [himself], and that in manifesting directness he can reach others. So should we see the clear of the clear mirror and the eternal of the eternal mirror, as the same, or should we see them as different? Is there eternity in the clear mirror, or not? Is there clarity in the eternal mirror, or not? Do not understand from the words "eternal mirror" that it must necessarily be clear. The important point is that "I am like that, and you are also like that.

" We should practice without delay, polishing the fact that "all the patriarchs of India were also like that. "72An ancestral master's expression of the truth73 says that, for the eternal mirror, there is polishing. Might the same be true for the clear mirror? What [do you say]? There must be learning in practice that widely covers the teachings of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs.

[151] Seppō's words,

"The foreigner and the Chinese person both

become invisible" mean that the foreigner and the Chinese person, when it is the clear mirror's moment, are "both invisible.

" What is the meaning of

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this principle of "both being invisible"? That the foreigner and the Chinese person have already come-and-appeared does not hinder the eternal mirror, so why should they now "both be invisible"? In the case of the eternal mirror, "[when] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears, " and "[when] a Chinese person

comes a Chinese person appears,

" but "the coming of the clear mirror" is naturally "the coming of the clear mirror" itself; therefore the foreigner and the Chinese person reflected in the eternal mirror are "both invisible. "74 So even

in Seppō's words there is one face of the eternal mirror and one face of the clear mirror.

75 We should definitely confirm the principle that, just at the moment of "the clear mirror coming, " [the clear mirror] cannot hinder the foreigner and the Chinese person reflected in the eternal mirror. 76 [Seppō's]

present assertion, about the eternal mirror, that "[When] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears,

" and "[When] a Chinese person comes a Chinese person appears,

" does not say that [the foreigner and the Chinese person] come-andappear "on the eternal mirror, " does not say that they come-and-appear "in the eternal mirror,

" does not say that they come-and-appear "on the exterior of the eternal mirror,

" and does not say that they come-and-appear "in the same state as the eternal mirror.

" We should listen to his words. At the moment when the foreigner and the Chinese person come-and-appear, the eternal mirror is actually making the foreigner and the Chinese person come. To insist that even when "the foreigner and the Chinese person are both invisible, " the

mirror will remain, is to be blind to appearance and to be remiss with regard to coming. To call it absurd would not be going far enough. [153] Then Gensha says,

"I am not like that.

" Seppō says,

"How is it in

your case?" Gensha says,

"Please, master, you ask.

" We should not idly pass

over the words "Please, master, you ask" spoken now by Gensha. Without father and son having thrown themselves into the moment, how could the coming of the master's question, and the requesting of the master's question, be like this? When [someone] requests the master's question, it may be that "someone ineffable"77 has already understood78 decisively the state in which the question is asked. While the state of the questioner is already thundering, there is no place of escape.

[154] Seppō says,

"If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it be then?" This question is one eternal mirror which father and son are mastering together. 322

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[155] Gensha says,

"Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces!" These words mean smashed into hundred thousand myriads of bits and pieces. What he calls "the moment,

79 when suddenly a clear mirror comes along,

" is

"smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces!" That which is able to experience the state of "smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces" may be the clear mirror. When the clear mirror is made to express itself, [the expression] may be "smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces.

" Therefore, the place where smashed

bits and pieces are dangling is the clear mirror. Do not take the narrow view that formerly there was a moment of not yet being smashed to bits and pieces and that latterly there may be a moment of no longer being smashed to bits and pieces. [The expression] is simply "smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces!" Confrontation with the hundreds of smashed bits and pieces is a solitary and steep unity. 80This being so, does this "smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces" describe the eternal mirror, or does it describe the clear mirror?— I would like to ask further for words of transformation. 81At the same time, it

neither describes the eternal mirror nor describes the clear mirror: though [hitherto] we have been able to ask about the eternal mirror and the clear mirror, when we discuss Gensha's words, might it be that what is manifesting itself before us as only sand, pebbles, fences, and walls has become the tip of a tongue, and thus "smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces"? What form does "smashing" take? Eternal blue depths; the moon in space. [157] Great Master Shinkaku of Seppō Mountain and Zen Master Enen of Sanshōin Temple82are walking along when they see a group of apes. Thereupon Seppō says, "These apes are each backed with one eternal mirror. "83

[157] We must diligently learn these words in practice. "Ape" means

monkey.

84 How are the apes that Seppō sees? We should ask questions like this, and make effort further, not noticing the passing of kalpas. "Each is

backed with one eternal mirror": though the eternal mirror is the face of Buddhist patriarchs, at the same time, the eternal mirror, even in the ascendant state, is the eternal mirror. That it backs each individual ape does not mean that there are big mirrors and small mirrors according to individual differences; it is "one eternal mirror.

" As to the meaning of "backed,

" for example we

say that a painted image of a buddha is "backed" with what we stick behind it. When the backs of apes are backed, they are backed with the eternal mirror. "What kind of paste could have been used?"85To speak tentatively, the backs 323

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of monkeys might be backed with the eternal mirror. Is the back of the eternal mirror backed with monkeys? The back of the eternal mirror is backed with the eternal mirror, and the backs of monkeys are backed with monkeys. The words that "each back has one face"86 are never an empty teaching: they are the truth expressed as the truth should be expressed. So apes or eternal mirrors? Ultimately, what can we say? Are we ourselves originally apes? Or are we other than apes? Who can we ask? Whether we are apes is beyond our knowledge and beyond the knowledge of others. Whether we are ourselves is beyond [intellectual] groping.

[159] Sanshō says,

"It has been nameless for successive kalpas. Why

would you express it as the eternal mirror?" This is a mirror, a concrete instance, with which Sanshō has certified his realization of the eternal mirror. "For successive kalpas" means before a mind or a moment of consciousness has ever appeared; it means the inside of a kalpanot having shown its head. "Nameless" describes "the successive kalpas'"sun-faces, moon-faces, and eternal mirror-faces; and describes the face of the clear mirror. When "the nameless" is really "the nameless,

" the "successive kalpas" are never "successive kalpas. " Given that "the successive kalpas" are not "successive kalpas,

" Sanshō's expression cannot be an expression of the truth. Instead, "before a moment of consciousness has ever appeared" means today. We should train and polish without letting today pass in vain. Frankly, though the fame of this "nameless for successive kalpas" is heard on high, it expresses the eternal mirror as what? A dragon's head with a snake's tail!87 [161] Seppō might now say to Sanshō,

"The eternal mirror! The eternal

mirror!" Seppō does not say that; what he says further is, "A flaw has

appeared,

" or in other words,

"a scratch has emerged.

"88 We are prone to

think "how could a flaw appear on the eternal mirror?" At the same time, [in saying that] the eternal mirror has borne a flaw [Seppō] may be calling the expression "It has been nameless for successive kalpas" a flaw. The eternal mirror described by "a flaw has appeared" is the total eternal mirror. Sanshō has not got out of the cave of a flaw appearing on the eternal mirror, and so the understanding which he has expressed is utterly a flaw on the eternal mirror. This being so, we learn in practice that flaws appear even on the eternal mirror and that even [mirrors] on which flaws have appeared are the eternal mirror; this is learning the eternal mirror in practice. 324

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[162] Sanshō says,

"What is so deadly urgent that you are not conscious of the story?"89The import of these words is "why [are you in] such a deadly hurry?" We should consider in detail and learn in practice whether this "deadly emergency" is [a matter of] today or tomorrow, the self or the external world, the whole universe in ten directions or [a concrete place] inside the great kingdom of Tang?90As to the meaning of "story" in the words "You are not conscious of the story,

" there are stories that have continued to be told, there are stories that have never been told, and there are stories that have already been told completely. Now, the truths which are in "the story" are being realized. Has the story itself, for example, realized the truth together with the earth and all sentient beings?91 It is never restored brocade. 92Therefore it is

"not conscious"; it is the "nonconsciousness" of "the man facing the royal personage";93 it is being face-to-face without consciousness of each other. It is not that there are no stories; it is just that the concrete situation is "beyond consciousness.

" "Nonconsciousness" is red mind in every situation94 and, further, not-seeing with total clarity. 95

[163] Seppō says,

"It is the old monk's mistake.

" Sometimes people say

these words meaning "I expressed myself badly, " but [the words] need not

be understood like that.

"The old monk" means the old man who is master in his house;96 that is to say, [someone] who solely learns in practice the old monk himself, without learning anything else. Though he experiences a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations, heads of gods and faces of demons, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move. 97Though

he appears as a buddha and appears as a patriarch, at every moment and for ten thousand years, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move.

"Mistakes" are his "abundant jobs as temple master. "98Upon reflection,

Seppō is an outstanding member99 of [the order of] Tokusan, and Sanshō is an excellent disciple100 of Rinzai. Neither of the two venerable patriarchs is of humble ancestry: [Seppō] is a distant descendant of Seigen and [Sanshō] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. 101 That they have been dwelling in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They may be a criterion102 for students of later ages. [165] Seppō preaches to the assembly, "[If] the world is ten feet103 wide, the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. [If] the world is one foot104 wide, the eternal mirror is one foot wide.

"

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At this, Gensha, pointing to the furnace, says, "Tell me then, how wide

is the furnace?"

Seppō says,

"As wide as the eternal mirror.

"

Gensha says,

"The Old Master's heels have not landed on the ground. "105

[166] He calls ten feet the world; the world is ten feet. He sees one foot as the world; the world is one foot. He describes the ten feet of the present, and describes the one foot of the present, never any other unfamiliar foot or tens of feet. When [people] study this story, they usually think of the width of the world in terms of countless and boundless three-thousand-great-thousandfold worlds or the limitless world of Dharma, but that is only like being a small self and cursorily pointing to beyond the next village. In taking up this world [here and now], we see it as ten feet. This is why Seppō says, "The

width of the eternal mirror is ten feet, and the width of the world is ten feet. "

When we learn these ten feet [here and now], we are able to see one concrete part of "the width of the world.

" In other cases, when [people] hear the words "eternal mirror" they envisage a sheet of thin ice. But it is not like that. 106

The ten foot width [of the eternal mirror] is at one with the ten foot width of the world, but are the form and content [of the eternal mirror and the world] necessarily equal, and are they at one, when the world is limitless?107 We should consider this diligently. The eternal mirror is never like a pearl. Never hold views and opinions about whether it is bright or dull, and never look at it as square or round. Even though "the whole universe in ten directions is one bright pearl,

"108 this cannot match "the eternal mirror. " So the eternal

mirror, regardless of the coming and the appearance of foreigners or Chinese, is every thing [that happens] through the length and breadth of [this state of] brilliance.

109 [But] it is not numerous and not large. "Width" refers to this

[real] quantity; it does not mean extent. "Width" means what is expressed

as two or three ordinary inches and counted, for example, in sevens and eights. In calculation of the Buddha's truth, when we calculate it in terms of great realization or nonrealization we clarify [a weight of] two pounds or three pounds; and when we calculate it in terms of buddhas and patriarchs we realize five things or ten things. 110 One unit of ten feet is the width of the eternal mirror, and the width of the eternal mirror is one thing. 111 Gensha's

words,

"How wide is the furnace?" are an unconcealed expression of the truth, which we should learn in practice for a thousand ages and for ten thou-326

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sand ages. To look now into the furnace is to look into [the furnace] having become a person who is "Who?"112 When we are looking into the furnace, it is not seven feet and it is not eight feet. This [story] is not a tale of agitation and attachment; it is about the realization of a singular state in a fresh situation—[as expressed,] for example, "What is it that comes like this.

"113When

the [meaning of] the words "what amount of width. . . " has come to us, the

"what amount [of width]" may be different from "how [wide]" [as we have understood it] hitherto.

114We must not doubt the fact of liberation at this concrete place. We must hear in Gensha's words the fundamental point that the furnace is beyond aspects and dimensions. Do not idly allow the one dumpling before you now to fall to the ground. Break it open! This is the effort. [170] Seppō says,

"As wide as the eternal mirror.

" We should quietly

reflect on these words. Not wanting to say "the furnace is ten feet wide, " he

speaks like this. It is not true that saying ten feet would be the fit expression of the truth whereas "as wide as the eternal mirror" is an unfit expression. We should study actions that are "as wide as the eternal mirror. " Many people

have thought that not saying "the furnace is ten feet wide" was unfitness of expression. They should diligently consider the independence of "width"; they should reflect that the eternal mirror is a concrete thing; and they should not let action which is "reality" pass them by. 115 [Seppō] may be "manifesting

behavior in the way of the ancients, never falling into despondency. "116

[171] Gensha says,

"The Old Man's heels have not landed on the ground.

"117The point here is, whether we call him "the Old Man" or whether we call him "the Old Master,

" that is not always Seppō himself, because Seppō may be "a [real] Old Man.

" As to the meaning of "heels,

" we should

ask just where they are.

118 We should master in practice just what "heels" means. Does mastering ["heels"] in practice refer to the right Dharma-eye treasury, or to space, or to the whole ground, or to the lifeblood? How many ["heels"] are there? Is there one? Is there a half? Are there hundred thousand myriads? We should do diligent study like this. "They have not landed on

the ground": what kind of thing is "the ground"?119We provisionally call the present earth "ground,

" in conformance with the view of our own kind. There are other kinds that see it, for instance, as "the Dharma gate to unthinkable salvation,

"120 and there is a kind that sees [the earth] as the buddhas' many enactments of the truth. So in the case of the "ground" upon which heels 327

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should land, what does [Gensha] see as the "ground"? Is the "ground" the real state of being, or is it the real state of being without? Further, we should ask again and again, and we should tell ourselves and tell others, whether it is impossible for even an inch or so of what we generally call "the ground" to exist within the great order? Is heels touching the ground the right state, or is heels not landing on the ground the right state? What situation leads [Gensha] to say "they have not landed on the ground?" When the earth is without an inch of soil,

121 [the words] "touching the ground" may be immature122 and [the words] "not having landed on the ground" may be immature. This being so,

"the Old Man's heels not having landed on the ground" is the [very] exhalation and inhalation of the Old Man, the [very] moment of his heels.

123

[174] Zen Master Kōtō124 of Kokutai-in Temple, on Kinkazan in the Bushu125 district, the story goes, is asked by a monk, "What is the eternal

mirror like before being polished?"126

The master says,

"The eternal mirror.

"

The monk says,

"What is it like after being polished?"

The master says,

"The eternal mirror.

"127

[174] Remember, the eternal mirror under discussion now has a time of being polished, a time before being polished, and [a time] after being polished, but it is wholly the eternal mirror. This being so, when we are polishing, we are polishing the eternal mirror in its entirety. We do not polish by mixing in mercury or anything else other than the eternal mirror. This is neither polishing the self nor the self polishing; it is polishing the eternal mirror. Before being polished the eternal mirror is not dull. Even if [people] call it black, it can never be dull: it is the eternal mirror in its vivid state. In general, we polish a mirror to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a tile; and we polish a mirror to make it into a tile.

128 There are [times when] we polish without making anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make something, but we are unable to polish.

129All equally are the traditional work of Buddhist patriarchs. [175] When Baso130 of Kōzei,

131 in former days, was learning in practice under Nangaku,

132 Nangaku on one occasion intimately transmits to Baso the mind-seal. This is the beginning of the beginning of "polishing a tile. "133

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Baso has been living at Denpōin Temple, sitting constantly in zazen for a matter of ten or so years. We can imagine what it is like in his thatched hut on a rainy night. There is no mention of him letting up on a cold floor sealed in by snow. Nangaku one day goes to Baso's hut, where Baso stands waiting. Nangaku asks,

"What are you doing these days?" Baso says,

"These days Dōitsu just sits. "

Nangaku says,

"What is the aim of sitting in zazen?" Baso says,

"The aim of sitting in zazen is to become buddha. "134

Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso's hut.

Baso, on seeing this, asks,

"What is the master doing?"

Nangaku says,

"Polishing a tile.

"

Baso says,

"What is the use of polishing a tile?" Nangaku says,

"I am polishing it into a mirror. "135

Baso says,

"How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror?"136 Nangaku says,

"How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha?"137 [178] For several hundred years, since ancient times, most people interpreting this story—great matter that it is—have thought that Nangaku was simply spurring Baso on. That is not necessarily so. The actions of great saints far transcend the states of common folk. Without the Dharma of polishing a tile, how could the great saints have any expedient method of teaching people? The power to teach people is the bones and marrow of a Buddhist patriarch. Although [Nangaku] has devised it, this [teaching method] is a common tool. [Teaching methods] other than common tools and everyday utensils are not transmitted in the house of Buddha. Further, the impression on Baso is immediate. Clearly, the virtue authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patriarchs is directness. Clearly, in truth, when polishing a tile becomes a mirror, Baso becomes buddha. When Baso becomes buddha, Baso immediately becomes Baso. When Baso becomes Baso, zazen immediately becomes zazen. This is why the making of mirrors through the polishing of tiles has been dwelled in and retained in the bones and marrow of eternal buddhas; and, this being so, the eternal mirror exists having been made from a tile. While we have been polishing this mirror—in the past also—it has never been tainted. Tiles are not dirty; we just polish a tile as a tile. In this state, the virtue of making a mirror is realized, and this is just the effort of 329

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Buddhist patriarchs. If polishing a tile does not make a mirror, polishing a mirror cannot make a mirror either.

138Who can suppose that in this "making"

there is [both] "becoming" buddha and "making" a mirror?139 Further, to express a doubt, is it possible, when polishing the eternal mirror, to mistakenly think that the polishing is making a tile? The real state at the time of polishing is, at other times, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, because Nangaku's words must exactly express the expression of the truth, it may be, in conclusion, simply that polishing a tile makes a mirror. People today also should try taking up the tiles of the present and polishing them, and they will certainly become mirrors. If tiles did not become mirrors, people could not become buddhas. If we despise tiles as lumps of mud, then we might also despise people as lumps of mud. If people have mind, tiles must also have mind. Who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] tiles come, tiles appear? And who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] mirrors come, mirrors appear?

Shōbōgenzō Kokyō

Preached to the assembly at Kannondōri kōshōhōrinji, on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the second year of Ninji.

140

330

Notes

1 Buddhist patriarchs and the eternal mirror. 2 Zō,like the English word "image, " includes two meanings: 1) a phenomenal form, and 2) a statue, that is, an image that has been cast from a mold. 3 In Master Dōgen's time, mirrors were not made of glass; they were cast from copper and kept highly polished. 4 Uzuran is the phonetic representation in Chinese characters of the original name. The derivation of the Chinese characters tengai, "celestial canopy,

" and hōshō,

"exact

and sacred,

" is uncertain.

5 Enkan towa enkyō nari.Master Dōgen explained the less familiar character kanwith the more familiar character kyō. 6 Dōshōliterally means either "lived with" or "born with. " Master Dōgen clarified that the meaning here is "lived with. "

7 The implication is that after becoming a Buddhist monk he already had the criteria for behavior naturally.

8 "Trees and rocks" alludes to the story of the young "Child of the Himalayas. " See

note 159 in Chapter Twelve, Kesa-kudoku. 9 Nyakuden-nyakuri ni rufu suru chishiki ari.See LS 3.72-74. Chishiki, lit., knowledge or acquaintance, represents the Sanskrit kalyāṇamitra. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 10 Yellow paper on a red rod means a Buddhist sutra. 11 The seventeenth patriarch in India. See Chapter Fifteen, Busso. 12 Literally,

"[That which] you have in your hands has the expression of what?" Master Saṃghanandi invited Master Geyāśata to express his state. 13 "What?" suggests ineffable reality. 14 The poem says ryōnin, "two people.

" This says ryōko,

concrete things"; kois a counter for inanimate objects. "two individuals,

" or "two

15 The Third Patriarch in China was called Kanchi, "Mirror Wisdom,

" and the Sixth

Patriarch in China was called Daikan, "Great Mirror.

" Both names contain the character kan,

"mirror.

"

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16 In other words, the Buddhist viewpoint realized as it is. 17 Master Daiman Kōnin (688-761), the thirty-second patriarch (the Fifth Patriarch in China). See Chapter Fifteen, Busso.

18 It was the custom at the temple for a monk who wanted to express an idea to paste up some words on the wall of the southern corridor. In the middle of one night, Ācārya Jinshū, the most intelligent member of the order, secretly took a lantern and posted up the following poem: "The body is the bodhitree,/The mind is like the stand of a clear mirror./At every moment we work to wipe and polish it/To keep it free of dust and dirt.

" A boy from the temple recited Jinshū's poem as he passed by the temple servant's cottage where Master Daikan Enō lived and worked, pounding rice for the monks. Hearing the poem, Master Daikan Enō thought that comparing Buddhist practice to keeping a mirror clean was too intellectual or artificial, so he had someone paste up his own poem. All the monks were astonished at the excellence of the laborer's poem. The story is contained in the Rokusodaishihōbōdangyō(Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'

s Dharma Treasure).

19 Master Engo Kokugon (1063-1135). A successor of Master Goso Hōen and an eleventh-generation descendant of Master Rinzai. He received the title of Zen Master Bukka from the Song emperor Kisō (r. 1101-1126), and the title Zen Master Engo from the Southern Song emperor Kōsō (r. 1127-1163). His successors included Master Daie Sōkō.

20 Master Daikan Enō. Sōkei was the name of the mountain where he lived. 21 Also quoted in Chapter Forty-four (Vol. III), Kobusshin. 22 Mei-mei,lit.,

"clear-clear,

" from mei-mei[taru] hyaku-so-to,lit.,

"hundreds of weeds

in the clear-clear state.

" These are the words of Master Chinshū Fuke, quoted in Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,suggesting the state in which each miscellaneous concrete thing is conspicuously clear as it is. Master Chinshū Fuke was nicknamed Hōtei or "Cloth Bag" because he wandered freely from temple to temple carrying all his belongings in a sack. In Japan the fat laughing monk depicted in "Happy Buddha" statues is called Hōtei.

23 Also the words of Master Chinshū Fuke, or Hōtei, the Happy Buddha. See Shinjishōbōgenzō,pt. 1 no. 22. 24 "Any place" is izure no tokoro,Japanese words representing the characters doko, "where" or "at what place,

" in the last line of the poem.

25 Jinsetsu,or "lands as numerous as dust particles.

"

26 Master Nangaku Ejō (677-744), a successor of Master Daikan Enō. Zen Master Daie is his posthumous title.

27 Again, it should be remembered that in those days mirrors were cast from copper which was also used to make images or statues.

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28 Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 16. 29 Banshō,

graph,

"myriad phenomena.

" Here "images" means phenomena; in the rest of this para-"image" means statue. See note 2. 30 Master Dōgen praises the monk's viewpoint. 31 "Possibility" is nyo or[ga] goto[ki], translated in the story as "If. . . . "

32 The monk's question is not only abstract speculation but includes recognition of possibilities as they are, of concrete things as they are, and of the state of action that makes all things possible.

33 The monk's question was philosophical, so Master Nangaku brought the discussion back down to the monk's own experience. 34 Men-men,lit.,

"face-face.

"

35 Because if the sea dries up, what was formerly the seabed is now land. That the ocean's drying cannot reveal the seabed was an expression of reality in China. 36 Man-man ten-ten,lit.,

"delusion-delusion, point-point.

" The characters manand ten

appear in Master Nangaku's words. 37 "Shining mirror reflections" is kanshō,lit., "mirror-shine.

" These characters also

appear in the story ("shine like a mirror"). The last sentence suggests concrete reality which is different from abstract thinking. 38 Master Seppō Gison (822-907), a successor of Master Tokusan Senkan. Great Master Seppō Shinkaku is the title he received from Emperor Isō (r. 860-874). 39 Kono ji,or "the matter of this, " "the state of reality.

"

40 Master Gensha Shibi (835-907). The Shinji-shōbōgenzōcontains many conversations between Master Seppō and Master Gensha, of which this one is typical—with Master Seppō preaching very sincerely and Master Gensha being somewhat cynical. 41 Ko[re] nan[no] jialludes to Master Daikan Enō's words, ko[re] shimo-butsu[ka] inmorai, "What is it that comes like this?" or "This is something [ineffable] coming like this. "

See Chapter Twenty-nine (Vol. II), Inmo;and Chapter Sixty-two (Vol. III), Hensan. 42 A pearl spinning in a bowl symbolizes constant movement (see for example Chapter Sixty-six [Vol. III], Shunjū,paragraph 135); or, in this context, busy daily life. 43 To Chinese people, redbeards were foreigners and foreigners were redbeards. See for example Chapter Seventy-six (Vol. IV), Dai-shugyō. 44 Konton,the state of chaos that existed before the forces of yinand yanghad become distinct.

45 Banko appears in the Daoist book Sangoryakuki (History of the Three [Elements] and Five[Elements]). He is the emperor who ruled at the beginning of creation. 333

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46 The heavens, the earth, human beings; wood, fire, earth, metal, water. 47 The Yellow Emperor (approximate dates 2697-2597 B.C.E.) was the third emperor in the legendary age of the five rulers (2852-2205 B.C.E.). Volume 8 of the Chinese book Jibutsugenki(Record of the Origins of Things),says, "According to the Yellow

Emperor's confidential account, when the emperor met his mother at the royal palace, he cast twelve great mirrors, which he used one month at a time. "

48 Daoist legend says that the Yellow Emperor visited Kōsei at Kōsei's hermit's cave on Kōdōzan, to ask for the secret of immortality. See Chapter Fourteen, Sansuigyō. 49 In the Far East, the use of a mirror represents the function of decision-making. 50 The idea of past and present is subordinate to the twelve hours of today which, as the ordinary time of concrete daily life, have real substance—in Chapter Eleven, Uji, Master Dōgen urges us to learn real time as the twelve hours of today. 51 Kenen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Yellow Emperor's personal name. 52 Again it should be stressed that in the Far East a mirror means a standard. In this context, for example, the criteria of astrology, geography, and economics could be called mirrors.

53 They are intuitional.

54 Summarized quotation from vol. 4 of the Daoist text Sōshi. 55 The Jōkanseiyō(Jōkan Era[Treatise] on the Essence of Government). 56 The second Tang dynasty emperor (r. 627-650).

57 Gichō and Bōgenrei were two high officials in Emperor Taisō's government. 58 Gogyō.Wood, fire, earth, metal, water.

59 Gojō.Paternal righteousness, maternal benevolence, friendship as an elder brother, respect as a younger brother, and filial piety.

60 Human beings, as they are, are a criterion; in other words, reality is the criterion. 61 Again, the point is that concrete facts are universal criteria. 62 The five peaks are five mountains in China. The four great rivers are the Yellow River, the Yangzi River, and the Waisui and Saisui Rivers. The four oceans are the oceans of the north, south, east, and west. This part suggests Master Dōgen's optimism about the progress of human society.

63 Refers to Japan's three sacred treasures: the mirrors, the sacred jewels, and the "grassmowing sword. "

64 The Inner Shrine at Ise, considered the abode of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, still houses one of the sacred mirrors.

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65 Kii-no-kuni,present-day Wakayama prefecture, where the Hinokuma Shrine still houses the second of the three mirrors. 66 The third of the three mirrors, calledYata-no-kagami,is still housed in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The original text is in the style of a quotation, written in Chinese characters only.

67 It is just a physical substance.

68 The original story is quoted in Chinese characters only. Here Master Dōgen represents Master Gensha's words in Japanese.

69 Nimai,that is, two mirrors—the eternal mirror, and the clear mirror. 70 Shichitsū-hattatsu,lit.,

tinations.

"

"penetrating the seven directions and arriving at the eight des-71 Hachimen-reirō.The original meaning of reirōis the sound of golden bells, and hence something clear, bright, and serene.

72 Master Daikan Enō's words to Master Nangaku Ejō. See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 1, and Chapter Seven, Senjō.

73 See the two stories quoted at the end of this chapter. 74 The images of the foreigner and the Chinese person are no longer relevant. 75 Master Seppō did not only affirm the eternal mirror—both masters affirmed both sides.

76 The simile of the clear mirror does not deny the simile of the foreigner and Chinese person appearing in the eternal mirror. Both similes can coexist independently. 77 Inmonin.See Chapter Twenty-nine (Vol. II), Inmo. 78 "Has already understood" is nyaku-e su. Nyakuoriginally expresses possibility, but this usage reflects Master Dōgen's identification of what is possible and what is already there. Master Dōgen explains that nyakumeans "already" in Chapter Twentytwo (Vol. II), Busshō,no. 14. 79 Ji, toki,means time or moment. In Master Gensha's original question it is translated as "then.

"

80 Koshun no itsu. Itsu,

"one" or "unity,

" suggests reality as the one, in contrast to Master Gensha's expression which suggests reality as miscellaneous things and phenomena in their own concrete forms. Koshunexpresses the mental aspect (solitude) and concrete aspect (steepness) of the real state.

81 Ichitengo, lit.,

"one-turn words,

" i.e., words that can change a situation completely. Master Dōgen expected the answer "Both the eternal mirror and the clear mirror. "

82 Master Sanshō Enen (dates unknown), a successor of Master Rinzai. 335

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83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 See Shinji-shōbōgenzōpt. 3, no. 95. Also Hekiganroku,no. 68. In the following paragraphs, the rest of the story is quoted line by line. Master Dōgen explained the relatively uncommon Chinese characters that appear in the story, mikō,with the familiar Japanese word saru. The question is written in Chinese characters only, but a source earlier than Master Dōgen has not been traced.

Master Seppō's words are ichimen no kokyō o hai se ri,lit., "backed with one face

of eternal mirror,

" with men,

"face,

" used as a counter. Master Dōgen's comment suggests that all individual things have one reality in common. Master Dōgen first of all affirmed Master Sanshō's words, because they say that the eternal mirror is never a concept. But in conclusion he was not impressed by Master Sanshō calling the eternal mirror "nameless for successive kalpas. "

Master Dōgen explained the meaning of the Chinese character ka, kizu, with the Japanese kana(kizu).

"Story" is watō. Wameans "story. " Tō,

"head,

" is added to make the expression more concrete. In the Rinzai sect, stories (or so-called kōans) such as those recorded by Master Dōgen in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō, are called watō. We should learn whether, in reality, there is anything to be hasty about. The Buddha said that when he realized the truth the earth and all sentient beings realized the truth at the same time. See for example Chapter Sixty-nine (Vol. III), Hotsumujōshin.Master Dōgen emphasized that the story is not only abstract words, but the representation of something real. The story is not to be fussed and worried over. When Master Bodhidharma arrived in China from India, he was presented to Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty. The emperor said to him, "Who is the man facing the royal personage?" Master Bodhidharma replied, "I do not know.

" See Hekiganroku,no. 1.

In the Emperor Wu story,

"I do not know" or "I am not conscious [of myself]" or "I do not understand [myself intellectually]" is fushiki,as in Master Sanshō's words. Master Sanshō's words sound like a complaint that Master Seppō is not listening to him. But Master Dōgen interpreted the word fushikias ironic praise of Master Seppō's state.

Jōjō no sekishin.This is a variation on Master Dōgen's usual expression sekishinhenpen, or "naked mind at every moment. "

95 Meimei no fuken,lit.,

"clear-clear not-seeing.

"

96 That is, his own master, the master of himself. 97 Ichijakumeans one placement of a stone in a game of go—suggesting one action at one time and place.

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98 Sanshō asks Seppō,

"The golden-scaled fish that passes through the net: what does it feed on?" Seppō says,

"When you have got free of the net, I will tell you. " Sanshō

says,

"The good counselor to fifteen hundred people is not conscious of the story!" Master Seppō says,

"The old monk's jobs as temple master are abundant. " See Shinjishōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 52.

99 Ikkaku,lit., one horn.

100 Jinsoku,lit.,

"mystical foot,

" from the Sanskrit ṛddhipāda.See the Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. See also Chapter Eight, Raihai-tokuzui,note 33. 101 Master Seigen Gyōshi (660-740) and Master Nangaku Ejō (677-744) were both disciples of Master Daikan Enō. 102 Kikyō,lit.,

"turtle mirror.

" Chinese soothsayers used to heat a turtle shell and use the positions of the cracks thus caused to divine a future course of action. 103 Ichijō.One jōis about ten feet.

104 Issahaku.One shakuis almost exactly one foot, and ten shakuequals one jō. 105 See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 9. 106 Some people think about the eternal mirror too abstractly; others can only conceive it as something material.

107 In Master Seppō's example, the eternal mirror and the world are a unity within the area of ten feet. Master Dōgen asked if it would be true if the world were limitless. 108 Master Gensha's expression of the truth. See Chapter Four, Ikka-no-myōju. 109 Reirōsuggests the universe itself. See note 71. 110 "Thing" is mai,which is used as a counter for thin flat objects such as sheets of paper, layers of clothing, mirrors, etc., and sometimes as a counter for generations of Buddhist patriarchs.

111 This sentence can be contrasted with the opening sentence of the paragraph. In this case Master Dōgen changed the final element in the sentence from ichijō, "one unit

of ten feet,

" to ichimai,

"one thing,

" emphasizing that the eternal mirror is concrete. 112 Tare hito,a person who has lost self-consciousness, a person whose state is beyond words or understanding.

113 Ko[re] shimo-butsu [ka] inmo-rai.Master Daikan Enō spoke these words to Master Nangaku Ejō when Master Nangaku entered his order. See also note 41. 114 Master Gensha said hiroki koto tashō,or katsu-tashō.In Chinese tashō, lit., "largesmall,

" is the usual way of asking how big something is, how expensive something is, etc. However, Master Dōgen understood Master Gensha's words not only as an ordinary question, but also as a statement that the furnace was a real quantity. 337

Shōbōgenzō Volume I

115 Master Seppō said nyo-kokyō-katsu.Master Dōgen considered the real meaning of each of the three elements independently. As an adverb, nyomeans "as" or "like, " but

as a noun it means "real state, " or "reality"

—for example, in the compound ichinyo, "oneness" or "one reality.

" Here Master Dōgen repeats the character, nyo nyo,for emphasis: reality.

116 The words of Master Kyōgen Chikan. See Chapter Nine, Keisei-sanshiki. 117 In the story "ground" is chi, or "great earth.

"

"ground" or "earth.

" "The earth" is daichi,

"big ground"

118 In general, heels are symbols of the concrete. 119 Chimeans "ground" or "earth"; at the same time, it means "the concrete" or "concrete state.

"

120 Fushigi-gedatsu-hōmon,the words of Vimalakīrti, a lay student of the Buddha. 121 When the earth is realized as it is. 122 "Immature" is imadashi,lit., original sentence.

"not yet.

" This is the negative used in Master Gensha's 123 In this paragraph, Master Dōgen urges us to consider what each of Master Gensha's words really expresses. In conclusion, Master Gensha's words describe Master Seppō's real state, his concrete existence. 124 Master Kokutai Kōtō, a successor of Master Gensha Shibi; dates unknown. 125 A district in Chekiang province in east China. 126 Because in those days mirrors were made of copper, it was natural to think of a mirror as something that needs polishing. 127 See Shinji-shōbōgenzōpt. 2, no. 17. 128 Sometimes our idealism is like polishing a mirror in order to try and make an ideal mirror, sometimes our behavior is as meaningless as trying to polish a tile into a mirror, sometimes we realize concrete things through Buddhist practice, and sometimes our action transcends idealism completely. 129 Two examples of real situations in daily life. 130 Master Baso Dōitsu (709-788). After receiving the Dharma from Master Nangaku Ejō, he lived on Basozan in the Jiangxi district, where he taught more than one hundred and thirty disciples, including Hyakujō Ekai, Seidō Chizō, Nansen Fugan, and Daibai Hōjō.

131 Jiangxi, a province in southeast China. 132 Master Nangaku Ejō (677-744). 338

Chapter Twenty 133 Masen.The words first appear in the story of Masters Nangaku and Baso in vol. 5 of the Keitokudentōroku.See also Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 8. 134 Sabutsu. Sa, tsukuru,[to] nasumeans to produce, to make, to become, or to act as. 135 Ma-sa-kyo,or mashi te kagami to nasu. ceding note. "Into" represents sa,[to] nasu, as in the pre-136 Jōkyō,or kagami [to] nasu. "Make it into" is in this case represented by the character jō, nasu,lit., "to accomplish, " "to realize, " or "to make. "

137 "Make you into a buddha" is sabutsu,translated previously as "to become buddha. "

138 Because polishing makes the mirror—whether the object is a tile or a mirror is not important.

139 Making and becoming are the same character, sa. 140 1241.

339