T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume II

SHŌBŌGENZŌ

THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY VOLUME II

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Front Matters

SHŌBŌGENZŌ THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY Volume II (Taishō Volume 82, Number 2582) Translated from the Japanese by

Gudo Wafu Nishijima and

Chodo Cross Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2008

Copyright

Copyright of the Original Edition © 1994-1999 Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross Gudo Nishijima was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1919, and graduated from Tokyo University in 1946. In 1940 he first met Master Kōdō Sawaki, whose teaching he received until the master

'

s death in 1965. During this time he combined the daily practice of zazen and study of the Shōbōgenzō with a career at the Japanese Ministry of Finance and at a securities financing company. In 1973 he became a priest under the late Master Renpo Niwa, and in 1977 he received transmission of the Dharma from Master Niwa (who subsequently became abbot of Eiheiji). Shortly thereafter Nishijima became a consultant to the Ida Ryogokudo company, and in 1987 established the Ida Ryogokudo Zazen Dōjō in Ichikawa City near Tokyo. He continues to give instruction in zazen and lectures, in Japanese and in English, on Master Dōgen '

s

works in Tokyo and Osaka and at the Tokei-in Temple in Shizuoka Prefecture. Chodo Cross was born in Birmingham, England, in 1959. He went to Japan in 1982, after graduating from Sheffield University, met Nishijima Roshi in June 1982, and received the Buddhist precepts in May 1983. In 1994 he returned to England to train as a teacher of the FM Alexander Technique. He formally received the Dharma in 1998 and in the following year established the Middle Way Re-education Centre (www.the-middle-way.org).

Copyright © 2008 by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai and

Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research Reprinted by permission of Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means —electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. Fourth Printing, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-886439-36-8

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008924478 Published by

Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2620 Warring Street

Berkeley, California 94704

Printed in the United States of America

iv

A Message on the Publication of the

English Tripiṭaka

The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha's basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appropriate for the particular suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed.

Ever since the Buddha's Great Demise over twenty-five hundred years ago, his message of wisdom and compassion has spread throughout the world. Yet no one has ever attempted to translate the entire Buddhist canon into English throughout the history of Japan. It is my greatest wish to see this done and to make the translations available to the many English-speaking people who have never had the opportunity to learn about the Buddha's teachings. Of course, it would be impossible to translate all of the Buddha's eightyfour thousand teachings in a few years. I have, therefore, had one hundred thirtynine of the scriptural texts in the prodigious Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon selected for inclusion in the First Series of this translation project. It is in the nature of this undertaking that the results are bound to be criticized. Nonetheless, I am convinced that unless someone takes it upon himself or herself to initiate this project, it will never be done. At the same time, I hope that an improved, revised edition will appear in the future.

It is most gratifying that, thanks to the efforts of more than a hundred Buddhist scholars from the East and the West, this monumental project has finally gotten off the ground. May the rays of the Wisdom of the Compassionate One reach each and every person in the world.

NUMATA Yehan

Founder of the English

August 7, 1991 Tripiṭaka Project

v

Editorial Foreword

In January 1982, Dr. NUMATA Yehan, the founder of Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), decided to begin the monumental task of translating the complete Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka (Buddhist canon) into the English language. Under his leadership, a special preparatory committee was organized in April 1982. By July of the same year, the Translation Committee of the English Tripiṭaka was officially convened. The initial Committee consisted of the following members: (late) HANAYAMA Shōyū (Chairperson), (late) BANDŌ Shōjun, ISHIGAMI Zennō, (late) KAMATA Shigeo, KANAOKA Shūyū, MAYEDA Sengaku, NARA Yasuaki, (late) SAYEKI Shinkō, (late) SHIOIRI Ryōtatsu, TAMARU Noriyoshi, (late) TAMURA Kwansei, URYŪZU Ryūshin, and YUYAMA Akira. Assistant members of the Committee were as follows: KANAZAWA Atsushi, WATA NABE Shōgo, Rolf Giebel of New Zealand, and Rudy Smet of Belgium.

After holding planning meetings on a monthly basis, the Committee selected one hundred thirty-nine texts for the First Series of translations, an estimated one hundred printed volumes in all. The texts selected are not necessarily limited to those originally written in India but also include works written or composed in China and Japan. While the publication of the First Series proceeds, the texts for the Second Series will be selected from among the remaining works; this process will continue until all the texts, in Japanese as well as in Chinese, have been published.

Frankly speaking, it will take perhaps one hundred years or more to accomplish the English translation of the complete Chinese and Japanese texts, for they consist of thousands of works. Nevertheless, as Dr. NUMATA wished, it is the sincere hope of the Committee that this project will continue unto completion, even after all its present members have passed away.

Dr. NUMATA passed away on May 5, 1994, at the age of ninety-seven, entrusting his son, Mr. NUMATA Toshihide, with the continuation and completion of the Translation Project. The Committee also lost its able and devoted Chairperson, vii

Publisher’s Foreword

Editorial Foreword

Professor HANAYAMA Shōyū, on June 16, 1995, at the age of sixty-three. After these severe blows, the Committee elected me, then Vice President of Musashino Women's College, to be the Chair in October 1995. The Committee has renewed its determination to carry out the noble intention of Dr. NUMATA, under the leadership of Mr. NUMATA Toshihide. The present members of the Committee are MAYEDA Sengaku (Chairperson), ISHIGAMI Zennō, ICHISHIMA Shōshin, KANAOKA Shūyū, NARA Yasuaki, TAMARU Noriyoshi, Kenneth K. Tanaka, URYŪZU Ryūshin, YUYAMA Akira, WATANABE Shōgo, and assistant member YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu.

The Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research was established in November 1984, in Berkeley, California, U.S.A., to assist in the publication of the BDK English Tripiṭaka First Series. The Publication Committee was organized at the Numata Center in December 1991. Since then the publication of all the volumes has been and will continue to be conducted under the supervision of this Committee in close cooperation with the Editorial Committee in Tokyo. MAYEDA Sengaku

Chairperson

Editorial Committee of

the BDK English Tripiṭaka

viii

Publisher's Foreword

On behalf of the Publication Committee, I am happy to present this contribution to the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. The initial translation and editing of the Buddhist scripture found here were performed under the direction of the Editorial Committee in Tokyo, Japan, chaired by Professor Sengaku Mayeda, Professor Emeritus of Musashino University. The Publication Committee members then put this volume through a rigorous succession of editorial and bookmaking efforts.

Both the Editorial Committee in Tokyo and the Publication Committee in Berkeley are dedicated to the production of clear, readable English texts of the Buddhist canon. The members of both committees and associated staff work to honor the deep faith, spirit, and concern of the late Reverend Dr. Yehan Numata, who founded the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series in order to disseminate Buddhist teachings throughout the world.

The long-term goal of our project is the translation and publication of the one hundred-volume Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon, plus a few influential extracanonical Japanese Buddhist texts. The list of texts selected for the First Series of this translation project is given at the end of each volume. As Chair of the Publication Committee, I am deeply honored to serve in the post formerly held by the late Dr. Philip B. Yampolsky, who was so good to me during his lifetime; the esteemed Dr. Kenneth K. Inada, who has had such a great impact on Buddhist studies in the United States; and the beloved late Dr. Francis H. Cook, a dear friend and colleague.

In conclusion, let me thank the members of the Publication Committee for the efforts they have undertaken in preparing this volume for publication: Senior Editor Marianne Dresser, Dr. Hudaya Kandahjaya, Dr. Eisho Nasu, Reverend Kiyoshi Yamashita, and Reverend Brian Nagata, President of the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.

John R. McRae

Chairperson

Publication Committee

ix

Note on the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series

Reprint Edition

After due consideration, the Editorial Committee of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series chose to reprint the translation of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzōby Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross (originally published under the title Master Dogen '

s

Shobogenzo, Books 1-4,by Windbell Publications, 1994-1999) in order to make more widely available this exemplary translation of this important text. Volume I of this edition of Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury was published in November 2007. The remaining volumes III and IV will be published in sequence in 2008.

Aside from the minor stylistic changes and the romanization of all Chinese and Japanese characters in adherence to the publishing guidelines of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, this edition reproduces as closely as possible the original translation.

xi

Contents

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka NUMATAYehan v

Editorial Foreword MAYEDASengaku vii Publisher's Foreword John R. McRae ix Note on the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series Reprint Edition xi Translators' Introduction Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross xv

Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury, Volume II Chapter Twenty-two. Busshō:The Buddha-nature 3 Chapter Twenty-three. Gyōbutsu-yuigi: The Dignified Behavior of Acting Buddha 43

Chapter Twenty-four. Bukkyō:The Buddha's Teaching Chapter Twenty-five. Jinzu:Mystical Power 87 Chapter Twenty-six. Daigo:Great Realization 103 Chapter Twenty-seven. Zazenshin:A Needle for Zazen 69 115

Chapter Twenty-eight. Butsu-kōjō-no-ji:The Matter of the Ascendant State of Buddha 135

Chapter Twenty-nine. Inmo:It 151

Chapter Thirty. Gyōji:[Pure] Conduct and Observance [of Precepts] 163 Chapter Thirty-one. Kai-in-zanmai:Samādhi,State Like the Sea 229 Chapter Thirty-two. Juki:Affirmation 243 Chapter Thirty-three. Kannon:Avalokiteśvara 261 Chapter Thirty-four. Arakan:The Arhat 273 Chapter Thirty-five. Hakujushi:Cedar Trees 283 Chapter Thirty-six. Kōmyō:Brightness 293 Chapter Thirty-seven. Shinjin-gakudō:Learning the Truth with Body and Mind 305

xiii

Translators’ Introduction

Contents

Chapter Thirty-eight. Muchū-setsumu:Preaching a Dream in a Dream Chapter Thirty-nine. Dōtoku:Expressing the Truth Chapter Forty. Gabyō:A Picture of a Rice Cake 319 333

343

Chapter Forty-one. Zenki:All Functions 355 Appendix. Chinese Masters 361 Glossary of Sanskrit Terms 365 Bibliography 371 Index 379

A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series) 407 xiv

Translators' Introduction

Preface

by Gudo Wafu Nishijima

The Shōbōgenzōwas written by Dōgen in the thirteenth century. I think that reading the Shōbōgenzōis the best way to come to an exact understanding of Buddhist theory, for Dōgen was outstanding in his ability to understand and explain Buddhism rationally.

Of course, Dōgen did not depart from traditional Buddhist thought. However at the same time, his thought as expressed in the Shōbōgenzōfollows his own unique method of presentation. If we understand this method, the Shōbōgenzō would not be difficult to read. But unless we understand his method of thinking, it would be impossible for us to understand what Dōgen is trying to say in the Shōbōgenzō.

Buddhists revere the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Buddha means Gautama Buddha. Sangha means those people who pursue Gautama Buddha's truth. Dharma means reality. Dōgen's unique method of thought was his way of explaining the Dharma. Basically, he looks at a problem from two sides, and then tries to synthesize the two viewpoints into a middle way. This method has similarities with the dialectic method in Western philosophy, particularly as used by Hegel and Marx. Hegel's dialectic, however, is based on belief in spirit, and Marx's dialectic is based on belief in matter. Dōgen, through the Buddhist dialectic, wants to lead us away from thoughts based on belief in spirit and matter. Dōgen recognized the existence of something that is different from thought; that is, reality in action. Action is completely different from intellectual thought and completely different from the perceptions of our senses. So Dōgen's method of thinking is based on action and, because of that, it has some unique characteristics. xv

Translator's Introduction

First, Dōgen recognized that things we usually separate in our minds are, in action, one reality. To express this oneness of subject and object Dōgen says, for example:

If a human being, even for a single moment, manifests the Buddha's posture in the three forms of conduct, while [that person] sits up straight in samādhi,the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha's posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization. This sentence, taken from the Bendōwachapter (Chapter One), is not illogical but it reflects a new kind of logic.

Secondly, Dōgen recognized that in action, the only time that really exists is the moment of the present, and the only place that really exists is this place. So the present moment and this place—the here and now—are very important concepts in Dōgen's philosophy of action.

The philosophy of action is not unique to Dōgen; this idea was also the center of Gautama Buddha's thought. All the Buddhist patriarchs of ancient India and China relied upon this theory and realized Buddhism itself. They also recognized the oneness of reality, the importance of the present moment, and the importance of this place.

But explanations of reality are only explanations. In the Shōbōgenzō,after he had explained a problem on the basis of action, Dōgen wanted to point the reader into the realm of action itself. To do this, he sometimes used poems, he sometimes used old Buddhist stories that suggest reality, and he sometimes used symbolic expressions.

So the chapters of the Shōbōgenzōusually follow a four-phased pattern. First Dōgen picks up and outlines a Buddhist idea. In the second phase, he examines the idea very objectively or concretely, in order to defeat idealistic or intellectual interpretations of it. In the third phase, Dōgen's expression becomes even more concrete, practical, and realistic, relying on the philosophy of action. And in the fourth phase, Dōgen tries to suggest reality with words. Ultimately, these trials are only trials. But we can feel something that can be called reality in his sincere trials when we reach the end of each chapter.

I think this four-phased pattern is related with the Four Noble Truths preached by Gautama Buddha in his first lecture. By realizing Dōgen's method of thinking, xvi

Translator's Introduction

we can come to realize the true meaning of Gautama Buddha's Four Noble Truths. This is why we persevere in studying the Shōbōgenzō. Notes on the Translation

by Chodo Cross

Source Text

The source text for Chapters Twenty-two to Forty-one is contained in volumes four to six of Nishijima Roshi's twelve-volume Gendaigo-yaku-shōbōgenzō (Shōbōgenzō in Modern Japanese). The Gendaigo-yaku-shōbōgenzōcontains Dōgen's original text, notes on the text, and the text rendered into modern Japanese. Reference numbers enclosed in brackets at the beginning of some paragraphs of this translation refer to corresponding page numbers in the Gendaigo-yakushōbōgenzō,and much of the material reproduced in the notes comes from the Gendaigo-yaku-shōbōgenzō.

The Gendaigo-yaku-shōbōgenzōis based upon the ninety-five-chapter edition of the Shōbōgenzō,which was arranged in chronological order by Master Hangyō Kōzen sometime between 1688 and 1703. The ninety-five-chapter edition is the most comprehensive single edition, including important chapters such as Bendōwa(Chapter One, Vol. I) and Hokke-ten-hokke(Chapter Seventeen, Vol. I) that do not appear in other editions. Furthermore, it was the first edition to be printed with woodblocks, in the Bunka era (1804-1818), and so the content was fixed at that time. The original woodblocks are still preserved at Eiheiji, the temple in Fukui prefecture that Dōgen founded.

Sanskrit Terms

As a rule, Sanskrit words such as samādhi(the balanced state), prajñā(real wisdom), and bhikṣu(monk), which Dōgen reproduces phonetically with Chinese characters, read in Japanese as zanmai, hannya,and biku,have been retained in Sanskrit form.

In addition, some Chinese characters representing the meaning of Sanskrit terms that will already be familiar to readers (or which will become familiar in the course of reading the Shōbōgenzō) have been returned to Sanskrit. Examples are hō("reality,

" "law,

" "method,

" "things and phenomena"), usually translated

as "Dharma" or "dharmas"; nyorai("Thus-come"), always translated as "Tathāgata"; and shōmon("voice-hearer"), always translated as "śrāvaka. "

xvii

Translator's Introduction

The Glossary of Sanskrit Terms includes all Sanskrit terms appearing in this volume not included in the Glossary of Sanskrit Terms in Volume I. Chinese Proper Nouns

In general Chinese proper nouns have been romanized according to their Japanese pronunciation—as Dōgen would have pronounced them for a Japanese audience. Thus, we have let the romanization of all names of Chinese masters follow the Japanese pronunciation, while also adding an appendix showing the Chinese romanization of Chinese masters' names. Chinese Text

Dōgen wrote the Shōbōgenzōin Japanese, that is to say, using a combination of Chinese characters (squared ideograms usually consisting of many strokes) and the Japanese phonetic alphabet which is more abbreviated. Chinese of course is written in Chinese characters only. Therefore when Dōgen quotes a passage, or borrows a phrase, from a Chinese text—as he very often does—it is readily apparent to the eye as a string of Chinese ideograms uninterrupted by Japanese squiggles. We attempted to mirror this effect, to some degree, by using italics for such passages and phrases. (Editorial Note: In this BDK English Tripiṭaka Series edition, all such passages appear in quotemarks. Also, in adherence to the publishing guidelines of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, all Chinese characters have been omitted in this reprint edition. Interested readers may consult the original Windbell Publications edition, Master Dogen '

s Shobogenzo,Books 1-4.)

The Meaning of Shōbōgenzō,

"True Dharma-eye Treasury"

Shōmeans "right" or "true.

" Hō,

"law,

" represents the Sanskrit "Dharma.

"

All of us belong to something that, prior to our naming it or thinking about it, is already there. And it already belongs to us. "Dharma" is one name for what

is already there.

Hōgen,

"Dharma-eye,

" represents the direct experience of what is already there. Because the Dharma is prior to thinking, it must be directly experienced by a faculty that is other than thinking. Gen, "eye,

" represents this direct experience that is other than thinking. Shōbōgen,

"true Dharma-eye,

" therefore describes the right experience of what is already there.

xviii

Translator's Introduction Zō,

"storehouse" or "treasury, " suggests something that contains and preserves the right experience of what is already there. Thus, Nishijima Roshi has interpreted Shōbōgenzō,

"true Dharma-eye treasury, " as an expression of zazen itself. Any virtue that this translation has stems entirely from the profoundly philosophical mind, the imperturbable balance, and the irrepressible optimisim and energy of Nishijima Roshi. xix

Contents

SHŌBŌGENZŌ THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY VOLUME II by

Dōgen

Chapter 22: Busshō - The Buddha-nature

[Chapter Twenty-two]

Busshō

91c7

The Buddha-nature

Translator's Note: Butsu meansbuddha andshō means nature, so busshō means buddha-nature. The Chinese characters read in Japanese as busshō represent the meaning of the Sanskrit word buddhatva, or buddha-nature; this was usually understood as the potential we have to attain the truth, or as something which we have inherently and which grows naturally day by day. But Master Dōgen was not satisfied by such interpretations. In his view, the buddha-nature is neither a potential nor a natural attribute, but a state or condition of body and mind at a present moment. Therefore, he saw the buddha-nature neither as something that we might realize in the future, nor as something that we have inherently in our body and mind. From this standpoint, Master Dōgen affirmed and at the same time denied the proposition "We all have the buddha-nature.

" He also affirmed and at the same time

denied the proposition

"We all don

't have the buddha-nature.

" At first sight,

these views appear contradictory, but through his dialectic explanation of the buddha-nature in this chapter, Master Dōgen succeeded in interpreting the concept of the buddha-nature from the standpoint of action or reality. [4] Śākyamuni Buddha says:

All living beings totally have1 the buddha-nature: The Tathāgata abides [in them] constantly, without changing at all. 2

This is the turning of the Dharma wheel, as a lion's roar, of our Great Master Śākyamuni. At the same time it is the brains and eyes of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs. It has been learned in practice for two thousand one hundred and ninety years (it now being the second year of the Japanese era of Ninji), 3

through barely fifty generations of rightful successors (until the late Master Tendō Nyojō).

4 Twenty-eight patriarchs in India5 have dwelled in it and maintained it from one generation to the next. Twenty-three patriarchs in China6 3

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Shōbōgenzō Volume II

have dwelled in it and maintained it from one age to the next. The Buddhist patriarchs in the ten directions have each dwelled in it and maintained it. What is the point of the World-honored One's words that "All living beings totally exist as the buddha-nature"? It is the words "This is something ineffable coming like this"7 turning the Dharma wheel. Those called "living beings, " or called

"the sentient,

" or called "all forms of life,

" or called "all creatures,

" are living

beings and are all forms of existence. In short,

"total existence" is "the buddhanature,

" and the perfect totality of "total existence" is called "living beings. "

At just this moment, the inside and outside of living beings are the "total existence" of "the buddha-nature. " The state is more than only the skin, flesh,

bones, and marrow that are transmitted one-to-one, because "you have got" my skin, flesh, bones, and marrow.

8 Remember, the "existence" [described]

now, which is "totally possessed" by "the buddha-nature, " is beyond the "existence" of existence and nonexistence. "Total existence" is the Buddha's words,

the Buddha's tongue, the Buddhist patriarchs' eyes, and the nostrils of a patchrobed monk. The words "total existence" are utterly beyond beginning existence, beyond original existence, beyond fine existence, and so on. How much less could they describe conditioned existence or illusory existence? They are not connected with "mind and circumstances" or with "essence and form" and the like. This being so, object-and-subject as "living beings-and-total existence" is completely beyond ability based on karmic accumulation, beyond the random occurrence of circumstances, beyond accordance with the Dharma, and beyond mystical powers and practice and experience. If the total existence of living beings were [ability] based on karmic accumulation, were the random occurrence of circumstances, were accordance with the Dharma, and so on, then the saints' experience of the truth, the buddhas' state of bodhi,and the Buddhist patriarchs' eyes would also be ability based on karmic accumulation, the occurrence of circumstances, and accordance with the Dharma. That is not so. The whole universe is utterly without objective molecules: here and now there is no second person at all. [At the same time] "No person has ever recognized the direct cutting of the root"; for "When does the busy movement of karmic consciousness ever cease?"9 [Total existence] is beyond existence that arises through random circumstances; for "The entire universe has never been hidden. "10 "The

entire universe has never been hidden" does not necessarily mean that the substantial world is existence itself. [At the same time] "The entire universe is my 4

Chapter Twenty-two

possession" is the wrong view of non-Buddhists. [Total existence] is beyond originally existing existence; for "it pervades the eternal past and pervades the eternal present.

" It is beyond newly appearing existence; for "it does not accept a single molecule.

" It is beyond separate instances of existence; for it is inclusive perception. It is beyond the "existence" of "beginningless existence"; for "it is something ineffable coming like this.

" It is beyond the "existence" of "newly

arising existence"; for "the everyday mind is the truth. "11 Remember, in the

midst of total existence it is difficult for living beings to meet easy convenience. When understanding of total existence is like this, total existence is the state of penetrating to the substance and getting free.

[10] Hearing the word "buddha-nature,

" many students have misunderstood it to be like the "self" described by the non-Buddhist Senika. 12 This is

because they do not meet people, they do not meet themselves, and they do not meet with a teacher. They vacantly consider mind, will, or consciousness—which is the movement of wind and fire13 —to be the buddha-nature's

enlightened knowing and enlightened understanding. Who has ever said that enlightened knowing and enlightened understanding are present in the buddhanature? Those who realize enlightenment, those who know, are buddhas, but the buddha-nature is beyond enlightened knowing and enlightened understanding. Moreover, in describing the buddhas as "those who realize and those who know,

" we are not describing the wrong views randomly expressed by those others as realization and knowing. And we are not describing the movement of wind and fire as realization and knowing. 14 One or two concrete manifestations of a buddha or concrete manifestations of a patriarch are just realization and knowing. For many ages venerable predecessors have been to India and back and have instructed human beings and gods. From the Han to the Song dynasties they have been as [numerous as] rice plants, flax plants, bamboo, and reeds, but many of them have considered the movement of wind and fire to be the knowing and realization of the buddha-nature. It is pitiful that, because their pursuit of the truth became further and further removed, they are guilty of this error. Later students and beginners in Buddhism today should not be like that. We learn realization and knowing, but realization and knowing are beyond movement. We learn movement, but movement is not "the state like this.

"15 If we are able to understand real movement, we will be able to understand real knowing and understanding. Buddha and nature have 5

92b

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Shōbōgenzō Volume II

arrived at that place and have arrived at this place. 16 The buddha-nature is

always total existence, for total existence is the buddha-nature. Total existence is not smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces, and total existence is not a single rail of iron. Because it is the holding up of a fist, it is beyond large and small. What already has been called "the buddha-nature" should not be equated with "saints" and should not be equated with "the buddha-nature. " [But] there

is one group that thinks as follows: "The buddha-nature is like the seed of a plant or a tree. As the rain of Dharma waters it again and again, its buds and sprouts begin to grow. Then twigs, leaves, flowers, and fruit abound, and the fruit once more bears seeds.

" Views like this are the sentimental thinking of the common person. If we do hold such views, we should investigate that seeds, and flowers and fruits, are all separate instances of the naked mind. 17

In fruits there are seeds. The seeds, though unseen, produce roots, stalks, and so on. Though they do not gather anything to themselves, they grow into a profusion of twigs, branches, and trunks. They are beyond discussion of inside and outside; and in time, past and present, they are not void. 18 Thus, even if

we rely on the view of the common person, roots, stalks, branches, and leaves may all be the buddha-nature that is born with them, which dies with them, and which is just the same as their total existence. [14] The Buddha says,

Wanting to know the meaning of the buddha-nature, We should just reflect19 real time, causes and circumstances. When the time has come,

The buddha-nature is manifest before us. 20

This "wanting to know the meaning of the buddha-nature" does not only mean knowing. It means wanting to practice it, wanting to experience it, wanting to preach it, and wanting to forget it. Such preaching, practicing, experiencing, forgetting, misunderstanding, not misunderstanding, and so on are all "the causes and circumstances of real time. " To reflect "the causes

and circumstances of real time" is to reflect using "the causes and circumstances of real time"; it is mutual reflection through a whisk, a staff, and so on. On the basis of "imperfect wisdom,

" "faultless wisdom,

" or the wisdom

of "original awakening,

" "fresh awakening,

" "free awakening,

" "right awakening,

" and so on, ["the causes and circumstances of real time"] can never 6

Chapter Twenty-two

be reflected.

"Just reflecting" is not connected with the subject that reflects or the object of reflection and it should not be equated with right reflection, wrong reflection, and the like: it is "just reflection" here and now. Because it is "just reflection" here and now it is beyond subjective reflection and it is beyond objective reflection. It is the oneness of "real time and causes and circumstances" itself; it is transcendence of "causes and circumstances"; it is the buddha-nature itself—the buddha-nature rid of its own substance; it is Buddha as Buddha himself; and it is the natural function as the natural function itself. People in many ages from the ancient past to the present have thought that the words "when the time has come. . . " are about waiting for

a time in the future when the buddha-nature might be manifest before us. [They think that,] continuing their practice with this attitude, they will naturally meet the time when the buddha-nature is manifest before them. They say that, because the time has not come, even if they visit a teacher and ask for Dharma, and even if they pursue the truth and make effort, [the buddhanature] is not manifest before them. Taking such a view they vainly return to the world of crimson dust21 and vacantly stare at the Milky Way. People like this may be a variety of naturalistic non-Buddhists. The words "Wanting to know the meaning of the buddha-nature" mean, for example, "Really

knowing the meaning of the buddha-nature just here and now. "22 "Should

just reflect real time, causes and circumstances" means "Know causes and circumstances as real time, just here and now!" If you want to know this "buddha-nature,

" remember,

"causes and circumstances as real time" are

just it.

"When the time has come" means "The time has come already! What could there be to doubt?" Even if there is a time of doubt, I leave it as it is— it is the buddha-nature returning to me. Remember,

"the time having come"

describes not spending any time in vain through the twelve hours: "when it has come" is like saying "it has come already.

" And because "the time has

come,

" "buddha-nature" does not arrive. Thus, now that the time has come, this is just the manifestation before us of the buddha-nature, whose truth, in other words, is self-evident. In summary, there has never been any time that was not time having come, nor any buddha-nature that was not the buddhanature manifesting itself before us. [19] The twelfth patriarch, Venerable Aśvaghoṣa, in preaching the ocean of buddha-nature to the thirteenth patriarch,

23 says,

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The mountains, rivers, and the earth,

All relying on it, are constructed.

Samādhiand the six powers

Depending upon it, manifest themselves. 24

So these mountains, rivers, and earth are all the ocean of buddha-nature. As to the meaning of "All relying on it, are constructed, " just the moment of

construction itself is the mountains, rivers, and earth. He has actually said "All are constructed relying on it"; remember, the concrete form of the ocean of buddha-nature is like this: it should never be related with inside, outside, and middle. This being so, to look at mountains and rivers is to look at the buddha-nature. And to look at the buddha-nature is to look at a donkey's jaw or a horse's nose. We understand, and we transcend the understanding, that "all rely" means total reliance, and reliance on the total. 25 "Samādhiand the

six powers manifest themselves depending upon this. " Remember, the manifestation, the coming into the present, of the various states of samādhi,is in the same state of "all relying on the buddha-nature. " The "dependence upon

this,

" and the nondependence upon this, of all six powers, are both in the state of "all relying on the buddha-nature.

" "The six mystical powers" are not

merely the six mystical powers mentioned in the Āgama sutras. 26 "Six"

describes "three and three before and three and three behind"27 as the six mystical-power pāramitās. 28 So do not investigate the six mystical powers as "Clear, clear are the hundred things; clear, clear is the will of the Buddhist patriarchs.

"29 Even if the six mystical powers hold us back, they are still governed by the ocean of buddha-nature. [22] The Fifth Patriarch, Zen Master Daiman, 30 is a man from Ōbai in

the Kishū district.

31 Born without a father, he attains the truth as a child. Thereafter he becomes "the one who practices the truth by planting pine trees.

" Originally he plants pine trees on Seizan in the Kishū district. The Fourth Patriarch happens to visit there, and he tells the practitioner, "I would

like to transmit the Dharma to you. But you are already too old. If you return [to this world] I will wait for you.

" Master [Daiman] agrees. At last he is conceived in the womb of a daughter of the Shū family, who, the story goes, abandons [the baby] in the dirty water of a harbor. A mystical being protects him, and no harm comes to him for seven days. Then [the family] retrieves [the baby] and looks after him. When the boy reaches seven years of age, on 8

Chapter Twenty-two a street in Ōbai he meets the Fourth Patriarch, Zen Master Daii. 32 The patriarch

sees that, though only a small child, the master has an exceptionally shaped skull, and he is no ordinary child. When the patriarch meets him, he asks, "What is your name?" The master answers, "I have a name, but it is not an ordinary name. "

The patriarch says, "What name is it?" The master answers, "It is buddha-nature. "

The patriarch says, "You are without the buddha-nature. "

The master replies, "The buddha-nature is emptiness, so we call it being without.

"

The [Fourth] Patriarch recognizes that he is a vessel of the Dharma and makes him into an attendant monk. Later [the Fourth Patriarch] transmits to him the right-Dharma-eye treasury. [The Fifth Patriarch] lives on the East Mountain of Ōbai, mightily promoting the profound customs. [25] Thus, when we thoroughly investigate the words of these ancestral masters, there is meaning in the Fourth Patriarch's saying "What is your name?"33 In the past there were people [described as] "A person of 'What' country" and there were names [described as] "a 'What' name" —[one person]

was stating to another, "Your name is 'What'!"34 It was like saying, for example, "I am like that, and you are also like that. "35

The Fifth Patriarch says, "I have a name, but it is not an ordinary name. "

In other words,

"Existence is the name"36 —not an ordinary name, for an ordinary name is not right for "existence here and now. "37

In the Fourth Patriarch's words, "What name is it?" 38 "What" means

,

"This,

" and he has dealt with "This" as "What, " which is a name. The realization of "What" is based on "This, " and the realization of "This" is the function of "What. " The "name" is "This, " and is "What.

" We make it into mugwort tea, make it into green tea, and make it into everyday tea and meals. The Fifth Patriarch says, "It is buddha-nature. " The point here is that "This" is "the buddha-nature. " Because it is "What, " it is in the state of "buddha.

" How could the investigation of "This" have been limited to naming it "What"? Even when "This" is not right, 39 it is already "the buddha-nature. "

Thus,

"This" is "What,

" and it is "buddha"; and at the same time, when it has become free and has been bared, it is always a "name. " Just such a name is Shū. But it is not received from a father, it is not received from a grandfather, 9

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and it is not the duplication of a mother's family name. How could it be equated with a bystander?40

The Fourth Patriarch says,

"You are without the buddha-nature. " These

words proclaim that "You are not just anyone, and I leave [your name] up to you, but, being without, you are the buddha-nature!"41 Remember the following, and learn it: At what moment of the present can we be "without" "the buddhanature"? Is it that at the start of Buddhist life42 we are "without" "the buddhanature"? Is it that in the ascendant state of Buddha we are "without" "the buddha-nature"? Do not shut out clarification of the seven directions, and do not grope for attainment of the eight directions! "Being without the buddhanature" can be learned, for example, as a moment of samādhi. We should ask, and should assert, whether when the buddha-nature becomes buddha it is "without the buddha-nature, " and when the buddha-nature first establishes the mind it is "without the buddha-nature. " We should make outdoor pillars ask, we should ask outdoor pillars, and we should make the buddha-nature ask this question. Thus, the words "being without the buddha-nature" can be heard coming from the distant room of the Fourth Patriarch. They are seen and heard in Ōbai, they are spread throughout Jōshū district, and they are exalted on Daii [Mountain].

43 We must unfailingly apply ourselves to the words "being without the buddha-nature.

" Do not be hesitant. Though we should trace an outline of "being without the buddha-nature, " it has the standard that is "What, " the real

time that is "You,

" the devotion to the moment that is "This, " and the name,

common to all, that is "Shū": it is direct pursuit itself. The Fifth Patriarch says,

"The buddha-nature is emptiness, 44 so we call

it being without.

"45 This clearly expresses that "emptiness" is not nonexistence. 46 To express that the buddha-nature is emptiness, we do not say it is half a pound and we do not say it is eight ounces, but we use the words "being without.

" We do not call it "emptiness" because it is void, and we do not call it "being without" because it does not exist; because the buddha-nature is emptiness, we call it "being without. "47 So real instances of "being without" are the standard for expressing "emptiness, " and "emptiness" has the power

to express "being without.

" This emptiness is beyond the emptiness of "matter is just emptiness.

"48 [At the same time,] "matter is just emptiness" describes neither matter being forcibly made into emptiness nor emptiness being divided up to produce matter. It may describe emptiness in which emptiness is just 10

Chapter Twenty-two

emptiness.

"Emptiness in which emptiness is just emptiness" describes "one stone in space.

"49 This being so, the Fourth Patriarch and the Fifth Patriarch pose questions and make assertions about the buddha-nature being without, about the buddha-nature as emptiness, and about the buddha-nature as existence. [31] When the Sixth Patriarch in China, Zen Master Daikan of Sōkeizan, 50

first visited Ōbaizan, the Fifth Patriarch, 51 the story goes, asks him,

"Where

are you from?"

The Sixth Patriarch says,

"I am a man from south of the Peaks.

"52

The Fifth Patriarch says,

"What do you want to get by coming here?" The Sixth Patriarch says,

"I want to become buddha.

"

The Fifth Patriarch says,

"A man from south of the Peaks is without the buddha-nature. How can you expect to become buddha?"53 [32] These words "A man from south of the Peaks is without the buddhanature" do not mean that a man from south of the Peaks does not have the buddha-nature, and do not mean that a man from south of the Peaks has the buddha-nature. They mean that the man from south of the Peaks, being without, is the buddha-nature.

"How can you expect to become buddha?" means "What kind of becoming buddha are you expecting?" Generally, the past masters who have clarified the truth of the buddha-nature are few. It is beyond the various teachings of the Āgama sutras and it cannot be known by teachers of sutras and commentaries: it is transmitted one-to-one by none other than the descendants of the Buddhist Patriarch. The truth of the buddha-nature is that we are not equipped with the buddha-nature before we realize the state of buddha; we are equipped with it following realization of the state of buddha. The buddhanature and realization of buddha inevitably experience the same state together. We should thoroughly investigate and consider this truth. We should consider it and learn it in practice for thirty years or twenty years. It is not understood by [bodhisattvas] in the ten sacred stages or the three clever stages. To say "living beings have the buddha-nature, " or "living beings are without the

buddha-nature,

" is this truth. To learn in practice that [the buddha-nature] is something that is present following realization of buddha, is accurate and true. [Teaching] that is not learned like this is not the Buddha-Dharma. Without being learned like this, the Buddha-Dharma could not have reached us today. Without clarifying this truth we neither clarify, nor see and hear, the realization 11

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of buddha. This is why the Fifth Patriarch, in teaching the other, tells him, "People54 from south of the Peaks, being without, are the buddha-nature. "55

When we first meet Buddha and hear the Dharma, [the teaching] that is difficult to get and difficult to hear is "Living beings, being without, are the buddhanature. " In "sometimes following [good] counselors and sometimes following the sutras,

" what we should be glad to hear is "Living beings, being without, are the buddha-nature.

" Those who are not satisfied in seeing, hearing, realizing, and knowing that "All living beings, being without, are the buddha-nature, "

have never seen, heard, realized, or known the buddha-nature. When the Sixth Patriarch earnestly seeks to become buddha, the Fifth Patriarch is able to make the Sixth Patriarch become buddha—without any other expression and without any other skillful means—just by saying "A man from south of the Peaks, being without, is the buddha-nature.

" Remember, saying and hearing the words

"being without the buddha-nature" is the direct path to becoming buddha. In sum, just at the moment of "being without the buddha-nature, " we become

buddha at once. Those who have neither seen and heard nor expressed "being without the buddha-nature" have not become buddha. [35] The Sixth Patriarch says,

56 "People have south and north, but the

buddha-nature is without south and north.

" We should take this expression

and make effort to get inside the words. We should reflect on the words "south and north" with naked mind. The words of the Sixth Patriarch's expression of the truth have meaning in them: they include a point of view that "People become buddha, but the buddha-nature cannot become buddha" —does the

Sixth Patriarch recognize this or not? Receiving a fraction of the superlative power of restriction57 present in the expression of the truth "being without the buddha-nature,

" as expressed by the Fourth Patriarch and the Fifth Patriarch, Kāśyapa Buddha and Śākyamuni Buddha and other buddhas possess the ability, in becoming buddha and in preaching Dharma, to express "totally having the buddha-nature.

" How could the "having" of "totally having" not receive the Dharma from the "being without" in which there is no "being without"? So the words "being without the buddha-nature" can be heard coming from the distant rooms of the Fourth Patriarch and the Fifth Patriarch. At this time, if the Sixth Patriarch were a person of the fact, he would strive to consider these words "being without the buddha-nature. " Setting aside for

a while the "being without" of "having and being without, " he should ask,

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"Just what is the buddha-nature?" He should inquire, "What concrete thing

is the buddha-nature?" People today also, when they have heard of the buddhanature, do not ask further, "What is the buddha-nature?" They seem only to discuss the meaning of the buddha-nature's existence, nonexistence, and so on. This is too hasty. In sum, the "being without" that belongs to various denials of existence should be studied under the "being without" of "being without the buddha-nature.

" We should sift through two times and three times, for long ages, the Sixth Patriarch's words, "People have south and north, but

the buddha-nature is without south and north. " Power may be present just in

the sieve.

58 We should quietly take up and let go of the Sixth Patriarch's words "People have south and north, but the buddha-nature is without south and north.

" Stupid people think,

"The human world has south and north because it is hindered by physical substance, whereas the buddha-nature, being void and dissolute, is beyond discussion of south and north. " Those who guess that

the Sixth Patriarch said this may be powerless dimwits. Casting aside this wrong understanding, we should directly proceed with diligent practice. [38] The Sixth Patriarch preaches to disciple Gyōshō, 59 "That without

constancy is the buddha-nature. That which has constancy is the mind that divides all dharmas into good and bad. "60

"That without constancy"61 expressed by the Sixth Patriarch is beyond the supposition of non-Buddhists, the two vehicles, and the like. Founding patriarchs and latest offshoots among non-Buddhists and the two vehicles are without constancy, though they cannot perfectly realize it. Thus, when "that without constancy" itself preaches, practices, and experiences "that without constancy,

" all may be "that without constancy. " If people can now be saved

by the manifestation of our own body, we manifest at once our own body and preach for them the Dharma.

62 This is the buddha-nature. Further, it may be sometimes the manifestation of a long Dharma body and sometimes the manifestation of a short Dharma body. Everyday63 saints are "that without constancy" and everyday commoners are "that without constancy. " The idea that

everyday commoners and saints cannot be the buddha-nature may be a stupid view of small thinking and a narrow view of the intellect. "Buddha" is a bit

of body, and "nature" is a bit of action. 64 On this basis, the Sixth Patriarch says "That without constancy is the buddha-nature. " "The constant" is the

unchanging. The meaning of "the unchanging" is as follows: even though we 13

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turn it into the separating subject and transform it into the separated object, because it is not necessarily connected with the traces of leaving and coming, it is "the constant.

"65 In sum,

"that without constancy" of grass, trees, and forests is just the buddha-nature. And "that without constancy" of the bodyand-mind of a human being is the buddha-nature itself. National lands and mountains and rivers are "that without constancy" because they are the buddhanature. The truth of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi,because it is the buddhanature, is "that without constancy. " The great state of parinirvāṇa,because it is "that without constancy,

" is the buddha-nature. The various people of small views of the two vehicles, together with scholars of the Tripi ṭaka who teach sutras and commentaries and the like, might be astonished, doubting, and afraid at these words of the Sixth Patriarch. If they are astonished or doubting, they are demons and non-Buddhists. [42] The fourteenth patriarch, the Venerable Ryūju, called Nāgārjuna66 in Sanskrit, and called either Ryūju, Ryūshō, or Ryūmō in Chinese, 67 is a man

from western India, and he goes to southern India. Most people of that nation believe in karma for happiness. The Venerable One preaches for them the subtle Dharma. Those who hear him say to each other, "The most important

thing in the human world is that people possess karma for happiness. Yet he talks idly of the buddha-nature. Who can see such a thing?" The Venerable One says,

"If you want to realize the buddha-nature, you must first get rid of selfish pride. "

The people say,

"Is the buddha-nature big or is it small?" The Venerable One says,

"The buddha-nature is not big and not small, it is not wide and not narrow, it is without happiness and without rewards, it does not die and it is not born.

"

When they hear these excellent principles, they all turn from their original mind. Then the Venerable One, from his seat, manifests his free body, which seems like the perfect circle of a full moon. All those gathered only hear the sound of Dharma; they do not see the master's form. In that assembly is a rich man's son, Kāṇadeva.

68 He says to the assembly,

"Do you know what

this form is or not?"

Those in the assembly say,

"The present [form] is something our eyes have never before seen, our ears have never before heard, our minds have never before known, and our bodies have never before experienced. "

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Kāṇadeva says,

"Here the Venerable One is manifesting the form of the buddha-nature to show it to us. How do we know this? It may be presumed that the formless state of samādhi69 in shape resembles the full moon. The meaning of the buddha-nature is evident and it is transparently clear. "

After these words, the circle disappears at once, and [the master] is sitting on his seat. Then he preaches the following verse: [My] body manifests the roundness of the moon, By this means demonstrating the physique of the buddhas. The preaching of Dharma has no set form. The real function is beyond sounds and sights. [45] Remember, the true real function is beyond the momentary manifestation of sounds and sights, and the real preaching of Dharma has no set form. The Venerable One has preached the buddha-nature for others far and wide, innumerable times, and now we have quoted just one such example. "If you want to realize70 the buddha-nature, you must first get rid of selfish pride.

" We should intuit and affirm the point of this preaching without fail. It is not that there is no realization; realization is just "getting rid of selfish pride.

" "Selfishness" is not of only one kind. "Pride" too has many varieties.

Methods of "getting rid" also may be of myriad diversity, but they are all "realization of the buddha-nature,

" which we should learn as realization through the eyeballs and seeing71 with the eyes. Do not associate the words "buddha-nature is not big and not small. . . " with those of the common person

or the two vehicles. To have thought, one-sidedly and stubbornly, that the buddha-nature must be wide and great, is to have been harboring a wrong idea. We should consider, as we hear it now, the truth which is restricted just in the moment of the present by the expression "Beyond big and beyond small.

" For we are able to utilize [this] hearing as consideration. Now let us listen to the poem preached by the Venerable One, in which he says, "My

body manifests the roundness of the moon,/By this means demonstrating the physique of the buddhas.

" Because his "manifestation of a body" has already "by concrete means demonstrated the physique of the buddhas, " it is "the

roundness of the moon.

" So we should learn all length, shortness, squareness, and roundness as this "manifestation of a body. "72 Those who have become

more and more unfamiliar with "body" and with its "manifestation" are not 15

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only ignorant of "the roundness of the moon, " but are also other than "the

physique of the buddhas.

" Stupid people think that what the Venerable One calls "the roundness of the moon" is the manifestation of a fantastically transformed body. This is the wrong idea of types who have not received the transmission of the Buddha's truth. At what place and at what moment might there be another manifestation of a different body? Remember, at this time the Venerable One is simply seated upon his high seat. The manner in which his body manifests itself is just the same as in the case of any person seated here now. This body is just "the roundness of the moon" manifesting itself. "The

body manifesting itself" is beyond square and round, beyond existence and nonexistence, beyond invisibility and visibility, and beyond the eighty-four thousand skandhas: it is just the body manifesting itself. "The roundness of

the moon" describes the moon of "This place is the place where something ineffable exists; explain it as fine or explain it as coarse!"73 Because this body manifesting itself "first must have got rid of selfish pride, " it is not that of

Nāgārjuna: it is "the physique of the buddhas. " And because it "demonstrates

by concrete means"74 it lays bare "the physique of the buddhas. " That being

so, the periphery of "buddhas" is irrelevant. Though the buddha-nature has "transparent clarity" which "in shape resembles the full moon, " there is no

arranging of a round moon form.

75 Furthermore,

"the real function" is beyond

sounds and sights.

"The body manifesting itself" also is beyond the visual body and beyond the world of aggregation. Its appearance is the same as that of the world of aggregates, but it is "demonstration by concrete means"; it is "the physique of the buddhas. " Such is the aggregation of Dharma preaching, which "has no set form. " When that which "has no set form" further becomes "the formless state of samādhi, " it is a "body manifesting itself. "

The reason that although the whole assembly is now watching the distant form of the round moon,

"the eyes have never before seen it, " is that it is the

totality of Dharma preaching transforming the moment, and it is "the manifestation of a free body" being "beyond sounds and sights. " "Momentary

disappearance"76 and momentary appearance are the stepping forward and stepping back of a circle.

77 "Then, from his seat, he manifests his free body, "

just at which moment,

"all those gathered only hear the sound of Dharma; they do not see the master's form. " The Venerable One's rightful successor, Venerable Kāṇadeva, clearly "knows this" as the form of the full moon, he 16

Chapter Twenty-two

"knows this" as the roundness of the moon, he "knows this" as the body manifesting itself, he "knows this" as the nature of the buddhas, and he knows this as the physique of the buddhas. Though there are many who have entered [the master's] room and had their pots filled, there may be none to equal Kāṇadeva. Kāṇadeva is a venerable one [worthy] of a half-seat, 78 and is a

guiding master to the order, a complete authority in an auxiliary seat. 79 His

having received the authentic transmission of the right-Dharma-eye treasury, the supreme and great Dharma, is similar to the case of Venerable Mahā kāśyapa who was the chief seat on Vulture Peak. Nāgārjuna had many disciples before his conversion, when he belonged to the teachings of non-Buddhism, but he has bid them all farewell. Having become a Buddhist patriarch, Nāgārjuna authentically transmits the great Dharma-eye treasury to Kāṇadeva as the one rightful successor to be given the Dharma: this is the one-to-one transmission of the Buddha's supreme truth. Nevertheless, wrong groups of usurpers often boast,

"We also are the heirs to the Dharma of the great Nāgārjuna. " They make commentaries and put together interpretations, often having feigned the hand of Nāgārjuna himself. [These works] are not the works of Nāgārjuna. Groups discarded long ago [by Master Nāgārjuna] disturb and confuse human beings and gods. Disciples of the Buddha should solely recognize that [teachings] not transmitted by Kāṇadeva are not the truth of Nāgārjuna. This is right belief and the right conclusion. But many accept what they know to be fake. The stupidity of living beings who insult the great prajñāis pitiful and sad.

[52] Venerable Kāṇadeva, the story goes, indicating Venerable Nāgārjuna's body manifesting itself, tells the assembly, "Here the Venerable One

is manifesting the form of the buddha-nature to show it to us. How do we know this? It may be presumed that the formless state of samādhiin shape resembles the full moon. The meaning of the buddha-nature is evident and it is transparently clear.

" Among the skinbags of the past and present who

have seen and heard the Buddha-Dharma that has now spread through the heavens above, through the human world, and through the great thousand Dharma worlds, who has said that a body manifesting its form is the buddhanature? Through the great thousand Dharma worlds, only Venerable Kāṇadeva has said so. The others only say that the buddha-nature is not seen by the eyes, not heard by the ears, not known by the mind, and so on. They do not 17

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know that the body manifesting itself is the buddha-nature, therefore they do not say so. The ancestral master does not begrudge them [the teaching], but their eyes and ears are shut and so they cannot see or hear it. Never having established body-knowing, they cannot make out [the teaching]. As they watch from afar "the formless state of samādhi" whose "shape resembles the full moon,

" and as they do prostrations to it, it is "something their eyes have never before seen.

" "The meaning of the buddha-nature is evident and

it is transparently clear.

" So the state in which the body manifesting itself preaches the buddha-nature is "transparently clear" and is "evident. " And

the state in which the preaching of the buddha-nature is a body manifesting itself is "demonstration, by concrete means,

" of "the physique of the buddhas.

"

Where could there be one buddha or two buddhas who failed to realize as "the buddha-physique" this "demonstration by concrete means"?80 "The buddha-physique" is "a body manifesting itself.

" The buddha-nature exists

as "a body manifesting itself.

" Even the thinking of a buddha or the thinking

of a patriarch, which expresses and understands [the buddha-nature] as the four elements and the five aggregates, is also moments of "a body manifesting itself.

" [Master Nāgārjuna] has spoken of "the physique of the buddhas": the world of aggregation is a state like this, and all virtues are this virtue. The buddha-virtue is to master this state of "a body manifesting itself, " and to

bag it conclusively.

81 The going and coming of all the countless and boundless virtues are individual moments of this "body manifesting itself. " But since

the time of Nāgārjuna and Kāṇadeva, master and disciple, the many people who have done Buddhist practice through all directions of the three countries82 in former ages and in later ages have never said anything to equal Nāgārjuna and Kāṇadeva. How many sutra teachers, commentary teachers, and the like have blundered past the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs? Since long ago in the great kingdom of Song, whenever [people] have tried to depict this story, it has been impossible for them to depict it with body, to depict it with mind, to depict it in space, or to depict it on a wall. Vainly painting it with brushes, they have drawn above the Dharma seat a circle like a round mirror, and have seen this as the present "body of Nāgārjuna manifesting the roundness of the moon.

" While the frosts and flowers of several hundred years have appeared and fallen, [their pictures] have been trying to form splinters of metal in people's eyes, but no one has called them mistaken. It is pitiful. 18

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Myriad matters have been bungled like this. If anyone understands that "the body manifesting the roundness of the moon" is a circle, that is a genuine case of a painted rice cake.

83 If we made fun of such a person, we might die of laughter. It is regrettable that among laypeople and monks throughout the great kingdom of Song, not even one has heard and understood the words of Nāgārjuna or penetrated and realized the words of Kāṇadeva. How much less could they be directly familiar with the state of "the body manifesting itself"? They are blind to the round moon, and they have lacked the state of the full moon. This is due to negligence in emulating the ancients, and deficiency in venerating the ancients. Past buddhas and recent buddhas must just experience the real state of "the body manifesting itself, " and never savor a

pictured rice cake. Remember, in the depiction of the image of "the body manifesting the roundness of the moon, " there must be the body manifesting its form upon the Dharma seat. [Depiction of] raising of the eyebrows and winking of an eye should be straight and direct. The skin, flesh, bones, and marrow that are the right-Dharma-eye treasury must inevitably be sitting in the mountain-still state. The face breaking into a smile should be conveyed, because it makes buddhas and makes patriarchs. 84 If these pictures are different

from the form of the moon, then they lack "the shape of reality, "85 they do

not "preach Dharma,

" they are without "sounds and sights, " and they have

no "real function.

" If we seek the state of "a body manifesting itself" we should picture "the roundness of the moon, " and when we picture "the roundness of the moon" we should indeed picture "the roundness of the moon, "

because "a body manifesting itself" is "the roundness of the moon. " When

we picture "the roundness of the moon" we should picture the form of "the full moon,

" and we should manifest the form of "the full moon. "86 However,

[people] do not depict "a body manifesting itself, " do not depict "the round

moon,

" do not depict "the form of the full moon, " do not picture "the physique

of the buddhas,

" do not physically realize "demonstration by concrete means, "

and do not picture the preaching of Dharma. They vainly picture a painted rice cake. What function does [such a picture] have? Putting on the eyes at once and looking at it, who could directly arrive at the present and be satisfied and without hunger? The moon is a round shape, and round is the state of "the body manifesting itself.

" In learning roundness, do not learn it as [the roundness of] a coin, and do not liken it to [the roundness] of a rice cake. 19

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"The body manifesting itself" is "the roundness of the moon, " and "the shape

of reality" is the full moon's shape. We should study a coin and a rice cake as round.

87

[58] Traveling as a cloud in former days, I went to the great kingdom of Song. It is around the autumn of the sixteenth year of Kajō88 when I arrive at Kōri Zen Temple on Aikuōzan.

89 On the wall of the west corridor I see paintings of the transformed figures of the thirty-three patriarchs of India and China. At this time I have no clear view [about them]. Later, during the summer retreat in the first year of Hōgyō,

90 I go there again, and while walking down

the corridor with Guest Supervisor91 Jōkei from west Shoku, 92 I ask the guest

supervisor,

"Just what kind of transformation is this?" The guest supervisor says,

"It is Nāgārjuna's body manifesting the form of the round moon. " In

saying this he has no nostrils in his complexion and no words in his voice. I say,

"This really seems to be a picture of a rice cake!" At this the guest supervisor laughs loudly, but there is no sword in his laughter to break the painted cake. Thereafter the guest supervisor and I discuss [the picture] several times, while visiting the śarīrahall93 and the six beautiful places in the temple, but he is not even capable of doubt. Most other monks who happen to comment on it also completely miss the point. I say,

"I shall try to ask the abbot.

" At

the time the abbot is Master Daikō.

94 The guest supervisor says,

"He has no

nostrils. He will not be able to answer. How could he know?" So I refrain from asking the veteran Kō. Although brother Kei speaks like this, he too is unable to understand. Other skinbags who hear our talk also have nothing to say. Former and recent heads of the dining table are not perplexed to see [the picture] and they do not correct it. They probably could not even paint it themselves. The Dharma, in general, cannot be depicted. If we are going to depict it, we should depict it directly. Yet no one has ever painted "the roundness of the moon" as "a body manifesting itself.

" In sum, because [people] do not

wake up from views and opinions that the buddha-nature is related with the thinking, sensing, mindfulness, and realization [described] now, they seem— in regard to the words "having the buddha-nature" and in regard to the words "being without the buddha-nature"

—to have lost the boundary of clear understanding. Few even learn that they should speak the words. Remember, this state of neglect comes from their having stopped making effort. Among heads of the table in many districts there are some who die without once in their life 20

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voicing the expression of the truth "the buddha-nature. " Some say that those

who listen to teachings discuss the buddha-nature, but patch-robed monks who practice Zen should not speak of it. People like this really are animals. Who are the band of demons that seeks to infiltrate and to defile the truth of our buddha-tathāgata? Is there any such thing as "listening to teachings" in the Buddha's truth? Is there any such thing as "practicing Zen" in the Buddha's truth? Remember that in the Buddha's truth there has never been any such thing as "listening to teachings" or "practicing Zen. "

[62] National Master Saian95 from the Enkan district of Kōshū96 is a venerable patriarch in Baso's lineage. One day he preaches to the assembly, "All

living beings have the buddha-nature!"97 These words "all living beings" should be investigated at once. The actions, ways, circumstances, and personalities of "all living beings" are not only one, and their views are miscellaneous. "Common people,

" "non-Buddhists,

" "the three vehicles,

" "the five vehicles,

" and so on may be concrete

individuals. The meaning of "all living beings, " as described now in Buddhism, is that all those that have mind are "living beings, " for minds are just "living

beings.

" Those without mind may also be "living beings, " for "living beings"

are just mind.

98 So minds all are "living beings, " and "living beings" all "have the buddha-nature.

"99 Grass, trees, and national lands are mind itself; because they are mind, they are "living beings, " and because they are "living beings" they "have the buddha-nature.

" The sun, the moon, and the stars are mind itself; because they are mind, they are "living beings, " and because they are

"living beings" they "have the buddha-nature. " The "having buddha-nature"

of which the National Master speaks is like this. If it is not like this, it is not the "having buddha-nature" of which we speak in Buddhism. The point expressed now by the National Master is only that "all living beings have the buddha-nature.

" Those who are utterly different from "living beings"100 might be beyond "having the buddha-nature. " So now let us ask the National Master: "Do all buddhas have the buddha-nature, or not?" We should question him and test him like this. We should research that he does not say "All living beings are the buddha-nature itself,

" but says "All living beings have the buddhanature. " He needs to get rid of the havein "have the buddha-nature. " Getting

rid is the single track of iron, and the single track of iron is the way of the birds.

101 Then the nature of all buddhas possesses living beings. This principle 21

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not only elucidates "living beings" but also elucidates "the buddha-nature. "

The National Master is not struck by realization of [this] understanding while he is expressing the truth, but that is not to deny that he will be struck by the realization in time. Neither is his expression of the truth today without meaning. Moreover, we do not always understand ourselves the truths with which we are equipped, but the four elements and the five aggregates are present nonetheless, and skin, flesh, bones, and marrow are present nonetheless. This being so, there are cases in which expressions are expressed by a whole life, and there are individual moments of life which are dependent upon their expression.

[66] Zen Master Daien102 of Daiizan one day preaches to the assembly, "All living beings are without the buddha-nature.

"103

Among the human beings and gods who hear this, there are those of great makings who rejoice, and there is no absence of people who are astonished and doubtful. The words preached by Śākyamuni are, "All living beings

totally have the buddha-nature.

" The words preached by Daii are,

"All living

beings are without the buddha-nature.

" There may be a great difference

between the meaning of "have" and "are without" as words, and some might doubt which expression of the truth is accurate and which not. But only "All living beings are without the buddha-nature" is the senior in Buddhism. Although Enkan's words about "having the buddha-nature" seem to stretch out a hand together with the eternal buddha, the situation may be a staff being carried on the shoulders of two people. Now Daii is not like that: the situation may be the staff swallowing the two people. Moreover, the National Master is Baso's disciple, and Daii is Baso's grandson-disciple. Yet the Dharma grandson is a veteran of the truth of his grandfather master, and the Dharma son is a youngster in the truth of his father master. The conclusion that Daii expresses now is that he has seen "All living beings are without the buddhanature" as the conclusion. He is never describing a nebulous state that is wide of the mark: he possesses the state in which he is receiving and retaining like this a concrete sutra within his own house. We should grope on further: How could all living beings be the buddha-nature? How could they have the buddha-nature? If any have the buddha-nature they might be a band of demons. Bringing a demon's sheet, they would like to lay it over all living beings. Because the buddha-nature is just the buddha-nature, living beings are just 22

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living beings. Living beings are not originally endowed with the buddhanature. Even if they want to be endowed, the point is that the buddha-nature cannot start coming to them. Do not say that Mr. Zhang drinks sake and Mr. Li gets drunk.

104 If [a being] were to have "the buddha-nature" it would never be a living being.

105 And [a state] in which "living beings" are present is ultimately other than the buddha-nature. 106 For this reason, Hyakujō107 says,

"To

preach that living beings have the buddha-nature is to insult Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. And to preach that living beings are without the buddha-nature is also to insult Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. " So to say "have the buddhanature" and to say "are without the buddha-nature" both become an insult. Even if they become an insult, we should not refrain from saying them. Now I would like to ask you, Daii and Hyakujō, "I do not deny that it is an insult,

but have you been able to explain the buddha-nature or not?" If they are able to explain, [the explanation] will restrict the explanation itself. If there is an act of explaining, it will experience the same state as the act of hearing. Further, I would like to say to Daii,

"Although you have expressed the truth

that 'All living beings are without the buddha-nature, ' you have not said that

'All the buddha-nature is without living beings, ' and you have not said that

'All the buddha-nature is without the buddha-nature. ' Still more, you have

never seen even in a dream that all buddhas are without the buddha-nature. Let us see you try [again].

"

[71] Zen Master Daichi of Hyakujōzan preaches to the assembly, "Buddha

is the supreme vehicle. It is the highest wisdom. The truth of this [state of] buddha establishes the person. This buddha has the buddha-nature. It is a guiding teacher. It has command of the style of behavior that is free of hindrances. It is unhindered wisdom. Hence it is able to utilize cause-and-effect, and it is free in happiness and wisdom. It becomes the carriage that carries cause-and-effect. In life it is not subject to detention by life. In death it is not subject to detention by death.

108 In the five aggregates it is like a gate opening: unhindered by the five aggregates, it departs and stays freely, and leaves and enters without difficulty. If the state can be like this—regardless of relative rank, superiority or inferiority, for even the body of an ant can be like this— then this is totally the pure and fine land, and is the unthinkable. "109

These then are the words of Hyakujō.

"The five aggregates" are the

immortal body of the present. The moment of the present is "a gate opening. "

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"It is beyond being hindered by the five aggregates. " When we utilize life,

we are not detained by life. When we utilize death, we are not hindered by death. Do not be unduly in love with life, and do not be unreasonably afraid of death. They are just the place where the buddha-nature exists, and those who are disturbed or offended [at this] are non-Buddhists. To affirm [the buddha-nature] as the miscellaneous circumstances manifest before us is "to command the style of behavior that is free of hindrances. " Such is "this

buddha,

" which is "the supreme vehicle. " The place where this "this buddha" exists is "the pure and fine land" itself. [73] Ōbaku110 is sitting in Nansen's111 tea room. Nansen asks Ōbaku, "If

we equally practice balance and wisdom, we clearly realize the buddhanature: How about this theory?" Ōbaku says,

"Through the twelve hours,

112 without relying on a single thing, we have got it already. "

Nansen says,

"That is not the patriarch's113 own viewpoint, is it?" Ōbaku says,

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

Nansen says,

"For the present, I will waive the cost of your soy and water, but what person can I get to return to me the cost of your straw sandals?"114 Ōbaku then desists.

115

The point of this "equal practice of balance and wisdom" is not that as long as the practice of balance does not hinder the practice of wisdom there is clear realization of the buddha-nature in their equal practice. 116 [The point

is that] in the state of clearly realizing the buddha-nature there is practice, which is the equal practice of balance and wisdom. 117 [Nansen] says,

"How

about this theory?" This may be the same as saying, for example, "Clearly

realizing the buddha-nature is the action of Who?"118 To say "The buddhanature's practice of equality119 clearly realizes the buddha-nature: How about this theory?" would also be an expression of the truth. Ōbaku says, "The

twelve hours do not rely on a single thing. " The point here is that although "the reality of the twelve hours"120 is located in "the reality of the twelve hours,

" it is "beyond reliance.

" Because the state of "not relying on a single thing" is "the reality of the twelve hours, " the buddha-nature is clearly realized. As the arrival of what moment, and as the existence of what national land, should we see this "reality of the twelve hours"? Must "the twelve hours" 24

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mentioned now be "the twelve hours" of the human world? Do "the twelve hours" exist in far distant places? Have "the twelve hours" of a world of white silver just come to us temporarily? Whether they are of this land or whether they are of other worlds, they are "beyond reliance. " They are "the

reality of the twelve hours" already, and [so] they may be "beyond reliance. "

Saying "That is not the patriarch's own viewpoint, is it?" is like saying "You do not say that this is [your] viewpoint, do you?"121 Though [Nansen] says "Is it the patriarch's own viewpoint?" [Ōbaku] cannot turn his head [to Nansen] and say "It is mine,

" because, while it is exactly befitting to himself, it is not Ōbaku's, Ōbaku is not always only himself, and "the patriarch's viewpoint" is the state of "being disclosed in complete clarity. "122 Ōbaku

says,

"I would not be so bold.

" In the land of Song when you are asked about

an ability that you possess, you say these words "I would not be so bold" to suggest that the ability is [your own] ability. So the expression "I would not be so bold" is not a lack of confidence. We should not suppose that this expression means what it says. Though the patriarch's viewpoint is the patriarch himself, though the patriarch's viewpoint is Ōbaku himself, in expressing himself he should not be so bold. The state may be a water buffalo coming up and mooing. To speak in this state is speech. We should also try to express, in other speech that is speech, the principle that [Ōbaku] expresses. Nansen says,

"For the present, I will waive the cost of your soy and water, but what person can I get to return to me the cost of your straw sandals?" In other words,

"Let us set aside for a while the cost of your broth, but who can I get to return to me the cost of your straw sandals?"123 We should exhaust life after life investigating the intention of these words. We should apply the mind and diligently research why he is not concerned for the present about the cost of soy and water.

124 Why is he concerned about the cost of straw

sandals, [as if to say,] "In your years and months of wayfaring, how many straw sandals have you trod through?" Now [Ōbaku] might say, "I have

never put on my sandals without repaying the cost!" Or he might say, "Two

or three pairs.

" These could be his expressions of the truth, and these could be his intentions. [But] "Ōbaku then desists.

" This is desisting. It is neither

to stop because of not being affirmed [oneself] nor to stop because of not affirming [the other]: a monk of true colors is not like that. Remember, there are words in desisting, as there are swords in laughter. [Ōbaku's state] is the 25

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buddha-nature clearly realizing satisfaction with morning gruel and satisfaction with midday rice.

[79] Quoting this story, Isan125 asks Kyōzan, 126 "Ōbaku is not able to hold his own against Nansen, is he?" Kyōzan says,

"That is not so. We should know that Ōbaku has the resourcefulness to trap a tiger. "

Isan says,

"The disciple's viewpoint has become as excellent as this!" Daii's words mean,

"Was Ōbaku, in former days, unable to stand up to Nansen?" Kyōzan says that Ōbaku has the resourcefulness to trap a tiger. Being already able to trap a tiger, he might stroke the tiger's head. 127 To trap

a tiger and to stroke a tiger are to go among alien beings. 128 Is to clearly

realize the buddha-nature to open an eye? Or is the buddha-nature's clear realization the loss of an eye? Speak at once! Speak at once! "The buddhanature's viewpoint has become as excellent as this!" For this reason, half things and complete things are "beyond reliance, " a hundred thousand things are "beyond reliance,

" and a hundred thousand hours are "beyond reliance. "

And for this reason, I say: Traps are a unity,

129

Real time is the [concrete] twelve. 130

Reliance and the state beyond reliance, Are like vines clinging onto a tree. 131

The reality of the universe and the whole universe itself, At last are prior to the occurrence of words. [82] A monk asks Great Master Shinsai132 of Jōshū, "Does even a dog

have the buddha-nature or not?"133 We should clarify the meaning of this question. "A dog" is a dog.

134 The

question does not ask whether the buddha-nature can or cannot exist in the dog; it asks whether even an iron man learns the truth. 135 To happen upon

such a poison hand136 may be a matter for deep regret, and at the same time the scene recalls the meeting, after thirty years, with "half a sacred person. "137

Jōshū says,

"It is without.

"138 When we hear this expression, there are concrete paths by which to learn it: the "being without" with which the buddhanature describes itself may be expressed like this; the "not having" which describes the dog itself may be expressed like this; and "there is nothing, " as

26

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exclaimed by an onlooker, may be expressed like this. 139 There may come a

day when this "being without" becomes merely the grinding away of a stone. 140

The monk says,

"All living beings totally have the buddha-nature. Why is the dog without?" The intention here is as follows: "If all living beings did not exist, then the buddha-nature would not exist and the dog would not exist. How about this point? Why should the dog's buddha-nature depend on 'nonexistence'?"

Jōshū says,

"Because it has karmic consciousness. "141 The intention of

this expression is that even though "the reason it exists" is "karmic consciousness" and "to have karmic consciousness" is "the reason it exists, "142

the dog is without anything, and the buddha-nature is without anything. "Karmic consciousness" never understands intellectually what the dog is, so how could the dog meet the buddha-nature? Whether we cast away duality or take up both sides, the state is just the constant working of "karmic consciousness. "

[85] A monk asks Jōshū,

"Does the buddha-nature exist even in a dog or not?"143

This question may be the fact that this monk is able to stand up to Jōshū. Thus, assertions and questions about the buddha-nature are the everyday tea and meals of Buddhist patriarchs. Jōshū says, "It exists.

"144 The situation of

this "It exists" is beyond the "existence" of scholastic commentary teachers and the like, and beyond the dogmatic "existence" of the Existence school. 145

We should move ahead and learn the Buddha's existence. The Buddha's existence is Jōshū's "It exists. " Jōshū's "it exists" is "the dog exists, " and "the

dog exists" is "the buddha-nature exists. "

The monk says,

"It exists already—then why does it forcibly enter this concrete bag of skin?" This monk's expression of the truth poses the question of whether it is present existence, whether it is past existence, or whether it is "existence already";146 and although "existence already" resembles the other "existences,

" "existence already" clearly stands alone. Does "existence already" need to force its way in? Or does "existence already" not need to force its way in?147 The action of "forcibly entering this concrete bag of skin" does not accommodate idle heedless consideration. Jōshū says,

"Because it knowingly commits a deliberate violation!" As a secular saying these words have long since spread through the streets, but 27

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now they are Jōshū's expression of the truth. What they discuss is deliberate violation. Those who do not doubt this expression of the truth may be few. The present word "enter" is difficult to understand; at the same time, the word "enter" is itself unnecessary. 148 Moreover,

"If we want to know the

immortal person in the hut,/How could we depart from this concrete skinbag here and now?"149 Even if "the immortal person" is anyone, at what moment is it [necessary to say] "Do not depart from your skinbag!"? A "deliberate violation" is not always "entry into a skinbag, " and "to have forcibly entered

a concrete skinbag" is not always "to knowingly commit a deliberate violation. " Because of "knowing,

" there can be "deliberate violation. " Remember,

this "deliberate violation" may contain the action of getting free of the body— this is expressed as "forcibly entering. " The action of getting free of the body, at just the moment of containment, contains self and contains other people. At the same time, never complain that it is impossible to avoid being "a person before a donkey and behind a horse. "150 Still more, the founding patriarch Ungo151 says, "Even to have learned matters on the periphery of the Buddha-Dharma is to have adopted a mistaken approach already. "152 That

being so, although we have been making the mistake for a long time—which has deepened into days and deepened into months—of half-learning matters on the periphery of the Buddha-Dharma, this may be the state of the dog that has forcibly entered a concrete skinbag. Though it knowingly commits a deliberate violation, it has the buddha-nature. [89] In the order of Master Chōsha Keishin, 153 government official Jiku154

asks,

"An earthworm has been cut into two, and the two parts are both moving. I wonder in which part is the buddha-nature. "

The master says,

"Do not be deluded.

"

The official says,

"What should we make of their moving?" The master says,

"It is only that wind and fire have not dissipated. "155

Now when the official says "An earthworm has been cut into two" has he concluded that before it was cut it was one? In the everyday life of Buddhist patriarchs the state is not like that. An earthworm is not originally one, and when an earthworm has been cut it is not two. We must strive to learn in practice the meaning of the words one and two. He says, "The two parts

together156 are moving.

" Has he understood that two parts are a unity before being cut, or has he understood that the ascendant state of buddha is a unity? 28

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Regardless of whether or not the official understands the words "two parts, "

we should not discard the words. Is it that two parts which have been separated are made into a unity and thereafter a unity exists? In describing the movement, he says "both moving.

" [Though] "Balance moves it and wisdom removes it,

"157 it may be that both are movement. "I wonder in which part is the

buddha-nature.

" This might be expressed,

"The buddha-nature has been cut

into two. I wonder in which part is the earthworm. " We should clarify this

expression of the truth in detail. Does saying "The two parts are both moving. In which part is there the buddha-nature?" mean that if both are moving they are unfit as a location for the buddha-nature? Does it mean that if both are moving, although movement takes place in both, the location of the buddhanature must be one or the other of them? The master says, "Do not be

deluded.

" What might be his point here? He says, "Do not be deluded.

" That

being so, does he mean that when the two parts are both moving they are without delusion, or beyond delusion? Or does he simply mean that the buddha-nature is without delusion? We should also investigate whether he is just saying "There are no delusions!" without touching upon discussion of the buddha-nature and without touching upon discussion of the two parts. Do the words "What should we make of their moving?" say that, because they are moving, an extra layer of buddha-nature should be laid upon them? Or do the words assert that because they are moving they are beyond the buddha-nature? Saying "Wind and fire have not dissipated" may cause the buddha-nature to manifest itself. Should we see it as the buddha-nature? Should we see it as wind and fire? We should not say that the buddha-nature and wind-and-fire both appear together, and we should not say that when one appears the other does not appear. We should not say that wind and fire are just the buddha-nature. Therefore Chōsha does not say "An earthworm has the buddha-nature" and he does not say "An earthworm is without the buddha-nature.

" He only says,

"Do not be deluded" and says,

"Wind and fire

have not dissipated.

" To fathom the vigorous state of the buddha-nature, we should use Chōsha's words as the standard. We should quietly consider the words "Wind and fire have not dissipated. " What kind of truth is present in

the words "not dissipated"? Does he say "not dissipated" to express that wind and fire have accumulated but there has not yet come a time for them to disperse? That could not be so. 158 "Wind and fire have not dissipated" is Buddha 29

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preaching Dharma, and "undissipated wind and fire" are the Dharma preaching Buddha. For example, one sound preaching Dharma is the moment having arrived, and Dharma preaching as one sound is the arrived moment—for Dharma is one sound, and one sound is Dharma. Furthermore, to think that the buddha-nature exists only in the time of life, and that it will vanish at the time of death, is extremely naive and shallow. The time of living is the buddhanature as "existence" and is the buddha-nature as "being without. " The time

of dying is the buddha-nature as "existence" and is the buddha-nature as "being without.

" If we are able to discuss the dissipation and nondissipation of wind and fire, that may be [discussion of] the dissipation and nondissipation of the buddha-nature. The time of dissipation may be "existence" as the buddha-nature and may be "being without" as the buddha-nature. The time of nondissipation may be "existence" as the buddha-nature, and may be "being without" as the buddha-nature. Those who have wrongly attached to the contrary view, that the buddha-nature may or may not exist depending upon movement and non-movement, may or may not be divine depending upon consciousness and nonconsciousness, and may or may not be the natural function depending on knowing and not knowing, are non-Buddhists. Since the kalpawithout a beginning, many stupid people have seen consciousness of the divine as the buddha-nature, and as the original human state. A person could die laughing! To express the buddha-nature further, although it need not be "getting covered in mud and staying in the water, " it is fences, walls,

tiles, and pebbles. When we express it in the further ascendant state, just what is the buddha-nature? Have you fully understood? Three heads and eight arms!

Shōbōgenzō Busshō

Preached to the assembly at Kannondōri kōshōhōrinji in Kyoto prefecture on the fourteenth day of the tenth lunar month in the second year

of Ninji.

159

30

Notes

1 "Totally have" is shitsu-ū. Shitsu, kotogoto[ku], means "totally. " Ū, a[ru], as a verb,

means "have" or "possess" and also "exist"; as a noun it means "being" or "existence. "

In his commentary Master Dōgen interprets shitsu-ūin his own way, as an adjective and noun suggesting reality itself: "total existence. "

2 Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra,chapter 27. 3 1241. See also following note. 4 The two phrases in parentheses are in small characters in the source text. Senshi, "late

master" is Master Dōgen's usual way of referring to Master Tendō Nyojō, so it may be that the phrases were added by Master Dōgen himself. 5 Saiten,

"Western Heavens,

" means India.

6 Tōchi,

"Eastern Lands,

" means China.

7 Master Daikan Enō's words to Master Nangaku Ejō. See, for example, Chapter Sixtytwo (Vol. III), Hensan. 8 Master Dōgen emphasized the inclusiveness of the state. See Chapter Forty-six (Vol. III), Kattō.

9 Quoted from Master Yōka Genkaku's poem Shōdōka("Song of Experiencing the Truth"). In the original poem the object that no one has ever recognized is the valuable pearl (mani-ju), i.e., zazen. Kongen o jiki[ni] ki[ru], "direct cutting of the root" comes from the following lines: "Direct cutting of the root is what the Buddha affirmed; It is impossible for me to pick up leaves and look for branches. "

10 Master Sekisō Keisho's words, quoted in the Keitokudentōroku, chapter 15. 11 Master Nansen Fugan's words, quoted in Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 19, and Vol. IV, Appendix Two, Butsu-kōjō-no-ji. 12 A Brahmanist who questions the Buddha from an idealistic standpoint in the Garland Sutra.He also appears in chapter 39 of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra.See, for example, Chapter One (Vol. I), Bendōwa. 13 Here the movement of wind and fire symbolizes the material basis of mind, which idealists fail to recognize. 31

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14 Having dealt with the idealistic misinterpretation of the buddha-nature, Master Dōgen now turns to deal with the materialistic misinterpretation. 15 Inmo,the ineffable state at the moment of the present. (In the moment of the present it is not possible to speak of movement from one point to another point.) See Chapter Twenty-nine, Inmo.

16 They are not abstractions. 17 Sekishin,lit.,

"red mind,

" expresses the state of sincerity, i.e., the mind as it is. 18 The causes of the buddha-nature exist as real facts in this world. 19 "Should just reflect" is tōkan.In the quotation, tō,masa[ni] means "should" or "must. "

The same character sometimes means "just, " i.e.,

"just at the moment of the present" or "here and now.

" Master Dōgen picked up this second meaning in his commentary. Kan,

"reflect,

" represents the Sanskrit vipaśyanā. 20 Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra,chapter 28. 21 The area that is colorful but not valuable. 22 Master Dōgen changed yoku-chi, just here and now"; see note 19. "wanting to know,

" into tō-chi,

"really knowing

23 Master Kapimala. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso. 24 With this quotation, Master Dōgen's explanation of the buddha-nature moves from his theoretical outline of what the buddha-nature is to preaching of the buddha-nature as the concrete world.

25 "All relying" in the second line of the poem is kai-e.Master Dōgen explained the characters from the subjective side as zen-e, "total reliance,

" or complete faith, and

from the objective side as e-zen, "reliance on the total,

" or belief in the universe. 26 Pāli sutras, which are very old, and consequently reflect the fondness of ancient Indians for mystical expressions. 27 Zen sansan, go sansan,

"three and three before, three and three behind, " suggests

random concrete facts as opposed to general abstractions. See, for example, Shinjishōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 27: Monju asks Mujaku: "Where have you come from?" Mujaku says: "The south.

" Monju says: "How is the Buddha-Dharma of the south dwelled in and maintained?" Mujaku says: "Few bhikṣus in the age of the latter Dharma observe the precepts.

" Monju says: "How big is the sangha?" Mujaku says: "In some cases three hundred, in some cases five hundred. " Mujaku asks Monju: "How is the Buddha-Dharma here dwelled in and maintained?" Monju says: "The common and the sacred live together, and dragons and snakes mix in confusion. " Mujaku says: "How big is

the sangha?" Monju says: "Three and three before, three and three behind. "

28 The Sanskrit pāramitāmeans gone to the opposite shore, crossed over, traversed, perfected. The six pāramitās, or "perfections, " are listed in Chapter Two (Vol. I), 32

Chapter Twenty-two

Maka-hannya-haramitsu.The six mystical powers are listed in Chapter Twenty-five, Jinzū.

29 See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 88. The expression is quoted here as an example of a cliché, or a generality. 30 Master Daiman Kōnin (688-761). 31 In modern-day Hopeh province in east central China. 32 Master Daii Dōshin (580-651). There is some doubt about the historical dates of the two masters. It may be that the story of Master Daiman Kōnin's rebirth was invented to account for the historical discrepancy in the dates. 33 The Fourth Patriarch's question is nanji [wa] nan [no] sei [zo]. Nanjimeans "you, "

nanimeans "what,

" and seimeans "family name. " Master Dōgen interpreted the characters not only as the question "What is your name?" but also as the statement "Your name is What!" that is, "You are someone who cannot be labeled with a name. "

34 In Keitokudentōroku,chapter 27, for example, someone asks Master Sōga of Shishu, "What [is your] name?" The master replies, "My name is What.

" [The questioner]

asks the master further, "[You] are a person of what country?" The master says, "I

am a person of What country. "

35 Master Daikan Enō's words to Master Nangaku Ejō. See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 1; Chapter Seven (Vol. I), Senjō;Chapter Sixty-two (Vol. III), Hensan;etc. The origin of the words can also be traced back to Buddhism in India. In the Majjhimanikāya(translated by the Pāli Text Society as "Middle Length Sayings") the Buddha quotes the words of his former teacher Ālāra, "This doctrine that I have realized, you too have realized. As I am, so you are; as you are, so am I. . . . "

36 The Fifth Patriarch's answer, "I have a name,

" is sei[wa] sunawa[chi] a[ri]. In the quotation seimeans "family name, " sunawa[chi] is emphatic, and a[ri] means "I have,

" so the quotation is literally, "A family name indeed I have. " Here Master Dōgen

has reversed the order of the characters to u-soku-sei,so that umeans "existence" and sokumeans "is just" —

"Existence is just the family name. "

37 Soku-u.Here soku,

noun.

"here and now,

" is used as an adjective, and u, "existence,

" is a

38 The Fourth Patriarch's question is ko[re] nan[no] sei[zo]. In the story ko[re] means "it,

" but in Master Dōgen's commentary, the same character zemeans "the concrete, "

"this concrete situation here and now, " or "this [reality].

" In the story, nanimeans "what,

" but in the commentary the same character gameans "that which cannot be described with words,

" or "the ineffable state of What. "

39 "This" is zeand "not right" is fu-ze.The effect of the play on words is to emphasize that this concrete reality here and now, in any circumstance, is always just the buddhanature. 33

Shōbōgenzō Volume II

40 Though reality is different from intellectual concepts, Master Dōgen also affirmed the real function of concepts, or names. See, for example, Chapter Forty, Gabyō. 41 The Fourth Patriarch's words "You are without the buddha-nature" are nanji-mubusshō. Mumeans "do not have" or "be without. " The Fourth Patriarch seemed simply to deny that the Fifth Patriarch had the buddha-nature. But the Fourth Patriarch's real intention was to use muand busshōlike two nouns in apposition: "You are the real state which is without anything superfluous or lacking, and you are the buddhanature. "

42 Buttō,lit.,

"the tip of Buddha.

"

43 Ōbai, Jōshū, and Daii indicate the orders of Master Daiman Kōnin, Master Jōshū Jūshin, and Master Isan Reiyū, respectively. 44 "Emptiness" is kū,which means the sky, space, air, or emptiness. At the same time, it represents the Sanskrit śūnyatā.The first definition of śūnyatāgiven in the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionaryis "emptiness. " Other, seemingly more philosophical, definitions reflect idealistic thought: "nothingness, nonexistence, nonreality, illusory nature (of all worldly phenomena). " But the real philosophical meaning of śūnyatāis emptiness; the bare, bald, naked, raw, or transparent state, that is, the state in which reality is seen as it is. See Chapter Two (Vol. I), Maka-hannya-haramitsu; Chapter Forty-three (Vol. III), Kūge. 45 "Being without" is mu.The original Chinese pictograph depicts a piece of paper above some flames: musuggests the denial that something is possessed or the denial that something exists.

46 In this sentence Master Dōgen denies the interpretation that kū, or śūnyatā,is "nothingness, nonexistence, or nonreality. " He says kū wa mu ni ara zu,

"kūis not mu,

"

"śūnyatāis not nonexistence.

" In Master Dōgen's teaching śūnyatāis not the denial of real existence—it expresses the absence of anything other than real existence. 47 In this sentence "emptiness" and "void" are both translations of kū,and "being without" and "does not exist" are both translations of mu. 48 Shiki soku ze kū,quoted from the Heart Sutra.In this sentence of the Heart Sutra, the meaning of "emptiness" is more philosophical: it suggests "the immaterial" face of reality as opposed to matter. The sutra says that the immaterial and the material are two faces of the same reality. See Chapter Two (Vol. I), Maka-hannya-haramitsu. 49 A monk asks Master Sekisō Keisho, "What was the ancestral master's intention in coming from the west?" The master says, "One stone in space. . . .

" See Keitokudentōroku, chapter 15. "Space" is also a translation of kū. 50 Master Daikan Enō.

51 Master Daiman Kōnin.

52 The Five Peaks. In Japanese pronunciation they are Taiyu, Shian, Ringa, Keiyo, and another Keiyo.

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Chapter Twenty-two

53 At that time, in the Tang dynasty, the center of government and civilization was in the north of China, and people from the south were sometimes looked down upon as primitive. At the same time, in his youth Master Daikan Enō lived in poverty, supporting his aged mother as a woodcutter. So the Fifth Patriarch's words invite the understanding that Master Daikan Enō was too primitive to have the buddha-nature, although that was not his true intention. 54 The original word in the story nin, hito, "person,

" "people,

" can be either singular or

plural, male or female. So the Fifth Patriarch's words include both the general principle and words directed at Master Daikan Enō himself. 55 Suggests that the act of becoming buddha, for example practicing zazen, means getting free of what does not originally belong to us. 56 This quotation is a continuation of the previous story. Rokusodaishihōbōdankyō(Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch' s Dharma Treasure), chapter 1, has a different version of the story. It is not clear from where Master Dōgen quoted the story, but from the account in Rokusodaishihōbōdankyōwe can assume that the conversation took place on the same occasion.

57 Keige no rikiryō,

"power of restriction,

" means the ability to realize things as they are. Master Dōgen uses the formula "reality restricted by reality" to suggest reality as it is.

58 Master Dōgen affirmed the means, not only the end. 59 A disciple of Master Daikan Enō. This monk's name was Kōzei Shitetsu. Gyōshō was his personal name in secular life. 60 Keitokudentōroku,chapter 5.

61 Mujō,which represents the Sanskrit anitya. Mujōis usually understood as an attribute such as impermanence, transience, inconstancy, etc., but the Sixth Patriarch's intention is to describe reality itself at the moment of the present. 62 Alludes to the Lotus Sutra, Kanzeon-bosatsu-fumon("The Universal Gate of Bodhisattva Regarder of the Sounds of the World"). See LS 3.252; Chapter Seventeen (Vol. I), Hokke-ten-hokke;Chapter Thirty-three, Kannon. 63 "Everyday" is jō,literally,

"constant,

" "everyday,

" or "usual.

"

64 Throughout the Shōbōgenzō,in general, shodoes not mean "nature" or "essence" in an abstract sense but rather "the natural state" or "the natural function. " See also

Chapter Forty-eight (Vol. III), Sesshin-sesshō;Chapter Fifty-four (Vol. III), Hosshō, etc.

65 Master Dōgen interpreted both mujō, "absence of constancy,

" and jō,

"the constant,

"

as descriptions of the state just in the moment of the present. Because reality at the present moment is cut off from the past and the future, it cannot be said to remain constant and cannot be said to change. 35

Shōbōgenzō Volume II 66 Master Nāgārjuna lived ca. 150-250 C.E. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso. 67 The three Chinese names for Master Nāgārjuna are Ryūju, "Dragon Tree,

" Ryūshō,

"Dragon Excellence, " and Ryūmō,

"Dragon Might.

" The Sanskrit nāgameans "dragon.

"

68 Master Kāṇadeva, the fifteenth patriarch. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso. 69 Musō zanmai. Mumeans "without, " sōmeans form, and zanmairepresents phonetically the Sanskrit samādhi,which means "concentration" or "the balanced state. " Musō

zanmaidoes not mean that the state has no form, i.e., that the master was invisible. It means that the master's state was not restricted to any specific fixed form. 70 Ken,literally,

"to see" or "to meet. "

71 This "seeing" represents another character, to,which can be used interchangeably with ken.But the question "Who can see it?" in the story includes this character, whereas Master Nāgārjuna's words include the character ken.So a distinction may be drawn between ken,which includes the whole attitude of the viewer, and to,which just means seeing. 72 In the poem the master simply used the character shin, "body or person,

" to refer to

himself. So shinsuggests the master's whole body-and-mind. This sentence suggests that reality has concrete attributes and at the same time it is a whole entity. "The

physique of the buddhas" is shobuttai.The character taialso means "body" but it is sometimes more concrete, substantial, or real: for example, it is used in the compounds tairyoku,

"physical strength, " taikaku,

"physique" or "physical constitution, " and

taiken,

"real experience.

"

73 In response to a question from Master Rinzai, Fuke overturns a dinner table. Master Rinzai says,

"Very coarse person!" Fuke says, "This place is the place where something ineffable exists. Explain it as coarse or explain it as fine. " (Shinji-shōbōgenzō, pt. 1, no. 96.)

74 "It demonstrates by concrete means" is i-hyō,translated in the poem as "by this means to demonstrate.

" Imeans "with,

" "by means of,

" or "by relying on something. " Master

Dōgen emphasized that real demonstration relies on some concrete means. 75 En-getsu-sō,translated in the poem as "roundness of the moon, " is literally "round moon form,

" but this sentence indicates that the words of the poem describe a state, not a geometric form. 76 Soku-in,translated in the story as "disappears at once. "

77 They are the usual state of a circle, not something strange. 78 Hanza,lit.,

"half-seat,

" refers to the Buddha sharing his seat with Master Mahākāśyapa. 79 Zen-za no bun-za,lit., "complete-seat part-seat, " that is, a master in an auxiliary position but with ability to lead the whole order. 36

Chapter Twenty-two

80 Kono i-hyō o buttai se zaran,literally, "not to buddha-physique this demonstration by [concrete] means.

" Buttai suis used as a verb, "to buddha-body,

" with i-hyō,

"demonstration by means,

" as its direct object—the usage is also unconventional in Japanese.

81 Nōkatsu. Nōmeans a sack, and katsumeans to fasten. 82 India, China, and Japan.

83 In general, gabyō,or "a picture of a rice cake, " symbolizes something that cannot stop real hunger. In Chapter Forty, Gabyō, Master Dōgen considers the problem in more detail.

84 Alludes to the transmission between the Buddha and Master Mahākāśyapa. See, for example, Chapter Sixty-eight (Vol. III), Udonge. 85 "The shape of reality" is gyō-nyo,translated in the story as "in shape resembling. . . . "

Gyōmeans "shape" or "form.

" Nyomeans "like,

" "as,

" "as it is,

" and sometimes

"reality as it is.

"

86 In zazen.

87 We should study them as real (not only as circular). 88 1223.

89 Mount Ikuō in the modern-day province of Zhekiang was one of the five mountains designated by the Song government as centers of Buddhism. In 282 a man called (in Japanese) Ryu Sakka had found a tower on this mountain, and believed the tower to be one of those established by King Aśoka. The mountain was named Aikuōzan, meaning "King Aśoka's Mountain. "

90 1225.

91 Shika, one of the assistant officers in a big temple. 92 A district in modern-day Sichuan province in southwestern China. 93 A hall for Buddhist relics (śarīra). 94 Dates and personal history not known. 95 Master Enkan Saian (?-842), a successor of Master Baso Dōitsu. He is said to have died at an old age while practicing zazen. 96 In modern-day Zhekiang province in eastern China. 97 Rentōeyō,chapter 7; Shinji-shōbōgenzō, pt. 2, no. 15. 98 For example, a bamboo chair can be thought of as a living being, because all beings, animate and inanimate, and mind are one. See Chapter Forty-seven (Vol. III), Sangai-yuishin. 37

Shōbōgenzō Volume II

99 U-busshō,

"have the buddha-nature" or "are the buddha-nature as existence. "

100 That is, buddhas.

101 In other words, getting rid is what makes the world one, and to make the world one is the transcendent way.

"Getting rid" is datsuraku;these characters appear in Master Tendō Nyojō's often-quoted words that zazen is getting rid of body and mind. 102 Master Isan Reiyū (771-853), successor of Master Hyakujō Ekai. Master Hyakujō, like Master Enkan, was a successor of Master Baso Dōitsu. Master Isan became a monk at the age of fifteen, and studied under Master Hyakujō from the age of twentythree. His disciples included Masters Kyōzan Ejaku, Kyōgen Chikan, and Reiun Shigon. Daien was the posthumous title given to him by the Tang dynasty emperor Sensō.

103 Rentōeyō,chapter 7; Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 15. 104 The dimension of thinking and the dimension of reality are absolutely different; we should not confuse the two.

105 Because it would belong to the area of thinking. 106 Because it is not a real state.

107 Master Hyakujō Ekai (749-814), successor of Master Baso. His disciples include Master Isan Reiyū and Master Ōbaku Kiun. Zen Master Daichi is his posthumous title.

108 It is not worried by life and death. 109 Kosonshukugoroku (Record of the Words of the Venerable Patriarchs of the Past), chapter 1.

110 Master Ōbaku Kiun (d. ca. 855), successor of Master Hyakujō. 111 Master Nansen Fugan (748-834), successor of Master Baso. His disciples include Master Jōshū Jūshin and Master Chōsha Keishin. 112 The whole day; twenty-four hours.

113 "The patriarch" means "you.

" Master Nansen thought Master Ōbaku's words were so excellent that he wondered if they were Master Ōbaku's own idea. 114 Master Nansen's words are ironic praise. 115 Tenshōkōtōroku,chapter 8; Keitokudentōroku, chapter 8. 116 The two practices should not be seen as separate. 117 Suggests the practice of zazen.

118 "Who" means a person who does not have individual self-consciousness. Master Nansen asked about the ineffable state. 38

Chapter Twenty-two

119 "Equal" is tō, hito[shii], which generally expresses the equality or similarity of two factors. At the same time tōsometimes expresses the balanced state—as in the phrase mujōshōtōkaku,

"the supreme and right balanced state of truth" —so busshō tōgaku,

"the

buddha-nature's equal practice,

" suggests the practice of zazen in the balanced state. 120 Master Ōbaku's words are jūniji chū,which can be interpreted as "throughout the twelve hours,

" or "the reality of the twelve hours,

" or "the twelve hours themselves.

"

Chū,as a preposition, means "during" or "throughout, " but Master Dōgen often uses

it as an emphatic suffix to emphasize the reality of the noun that precedes it. 121 Master Dōgen simply explained the meaning of the Chinese characters in Japanese. 122 Rokeikeiare the words of Master Enchi Daian, quoted in Chapter Sixty-four (Vol. III), Kajō.Here Master Dōgen emphasizes that "viewpoint" does not describe only a subjective view.

123 Again, Master Dōgen clarified the meaning of the Chinese characters of the story with a Japanese sentence.

124 For example, we should consider if meals are indispensable or not. 125 Master Isan Reiyū (771-853). He is referred to in the commentary as "Daii. "

126 Master Kyōzan Ejaku (807-883), successor of Master Isan. 127 Master Dōgen esteemed not only the ability to defeat an opponent but also the ability to tame an opponent.

128 I-rui-chū-gyō,

"going among alien beings,

" describes independent action.

129 In other words, the whole universe is a hindrance. "Traps" is rarō,silk nets and

bamboo cages used to trap birds and fish. The words (elsewhere translated as "restrictions and hindrances") appear frequently in the Shōbōgenzō. 130 Master Ōbaku said jūniji chū,using jito mean "hours" and chūto mean "throughout the period.

" Master Dōgen said jichū jūniusing jichūto mean "time itself" or "real time.

" See also note 120.

131 Vines clinging to a tree suggests something too complicated to be understood intellectually. See Chapter Forty-six (Vol. III), Kattō. 132 Master Jōshū Jūshin (778-897), a successor of Master Nansen Fugan. Great Master Shinsai is his posthumous title.

133 The conversation is recorded in the second half of the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 14. It is also recorded in the Wanshizenjigoroku,chapter 1; Rentōeyō,chapter 6. 134 Master Dōgen explained the Chinese characters ku-suwith the Japanese word inu. 135 An iron man symbolizes someone who is very singleminded in pursuing the truth. The monk was not looking for a simple "yes" or "no" but wanted to ask about the area beyond ordinary thinking.

39

Shōbōgenzō Volume II

136 In other words, such a severe question. 137 Master Shakkyō Ezō (a student of Master Baso Dōitsu) says, "For thirty years my

bow has been stretched and my arrow set. I have just been able to shoot half a sacred "

person.

138 Mu.

139 Master Dōgen considered various meanings of the character mu—real state, lack of possession, and absence.

140 The problem of the meaning of mucan be solved by following a concrete process. 141 "Karmic consciousness" is gōshiki. Gōrepresents the Sanskrit karma, which means action. Shikimeans consciousness. Gōshikimeans consciousness that exists in the present as the concrete result of actions in the past. Thus Master Jōshū used gōshiki to suggest the concrete, real state at the moment of the present. 142 I-ta-u.In the story these words mean "Because it has. . . . "

143 In this conversation (recorded in the first half of the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 14), the monk's question is exactly the same as the question in the previous conversation. Understood simply, the conversation is as follows: "Does even a dog have the buddhanature or not?" "It has. " "[The dog] has the buddha-nature already. Why has it forced its way into this bag of skin?" "Because it commits a deliberate violation. "

144 U.Master Jōshū's answer looks like a simple affirmative answer ("Does a dog have the buddha-nature?" "It has.

"). But Master Dōgen's interpretation is that the word u is just the direct preaching of real existence ("Existence!"). 145 Ubu,

"Existence school,

" means the Śārvāstivāda, a school founded by Kātyāyanī putra around three hundred years after the Buddha's death. Generally, Master Dōgen esteemed the teachings of the Śārvāstivāda relatively highly; see Chapter Eightyseven (Vol. IV), Kuyō-shōbutsu.Their teachings are represented in Chinese by the words ga-kū-hō-u,

"the self is empty, the Dharma exists, " san-ze jitsu-u,

"the three

times are real existence,

" and hottai-gō-u,

"the universe is eternal existence. "

146 Ki-u,lit.,

"already existence,

" means what is there already, real existence. 147 When living in reality, is it necessary to make intentional effort or not? 148 In several chapters of the Shōbōgenzō, Master Dōgen denies (having sometimes also affirmed) that we "enter" reality. See, for example, Chapter Seventeen (Vol. I), Hokketen-hokke. 149 From a poem in Master Sekitō Kisen's book Sekitōsoan-no-uta(Songs from Sekitō' s

Thatched Hut). The immortal person in the hut means a person who realizes the eternal state in a simple life.

150 A person who is not special. 40

Chapter Twenty-two

151 Master Ungo Dōyō (?-902), successor of Master Tōzan Ryōkai. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso.

152 Rentōeyō,chapter 23.

153 Master Chōsha Keishin (?-868), a successor of Master Nansen Fugan. 154 A lay student in Master Chōsha's order. His title shōshoindicates that he was a mandarin charged with promulgating official documents. 155 See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 20. The story is also recorded in the Keitokudentōroku, chapter 10; Rentōeyō,chapter 6.

156 Gu, tomo[ni] means either "both" or "together. " In his commentary, Master Dōgen

wonders if the official was able to understand the character in the second meaning. 157 The Nirvana Sutrasays,

"Just as in removing a firm stake, first we move it with the hands, then it comes out easily, so it is with balance and wisdom of bodhisattvas: first [bodhisattvas] move [an emotional interference] with the balanced state, then they remove it with wisdom.

"

158 "Not dissipated" is misan. Mi, ima[da] literally means "not yet, " but misandescribes

the state that is real at the moment of the present (not related to the past). 159 1241.

41