T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume II

Chapter 26: Daigo - Great Realization

[Chapter Twenty-six]

Daigo

Great Realization

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Translator's Note: Dai means great and go means realization, so daigo means great realization. Many Buddhist scholars, for example Dr. Daisetsu Suzuki, have translated go as

"

enlightenment.

" But the meaning of the word "

enlightenment" is ambiguous and the word has for many years been a stumbling block to the understanding of Buddhism. So it may be better to translate go as realization. The meaning of realization in Master Dōgen '

s theory is also

difficult to understand. Anyway, it is clear that realization is not only intellectual understanding but a more concrete realization of facts in reality. So we can say that realization in Master Dōgen '

s theory is realization in real

life. We can study his thoughts on realization in this chapter. [217] The great truth of buddhas, having been transmitted, is a continuous line of immediacy; and the meritorious conduct of patriarchs, having been revealed, is a level expanse. Therefore, to actualize great realization, to arrive at the truth without realizing it, to reflect on realization and to play with realization, and to forget realization and let go and act: these are just the everyday state of Buddhist patriarchs. [Buddhist patriarchs] experience utilization of the twelve hours, in which they take things up, and they experience being used by the twelve hours, in which they throw things away. Springing out further from this pivot-point, they also experience playing with mud-balls1 and playing with the soul.

2 From their great realization onward, Buddhist patriarchs inevitably master learning in practice that is actualized like this; at the same time, great realization that is totally realization is not seen as a "Buddhist patriarch,

" and a Buddhist patriarch who is totally a Buddhist patriarch is not "total great realization. " A Buddhist patriarch springs out

beyond the boundaries of "great realization, " and great realization is a face

and eyes springing out in the state that is ascendant over "Buddhist patriarchs. "

Still, human makings are of many kinds. Namely, there are "the innately 103

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intelligent,

"3 who, by living, penetrate and get free from life—this, in other words, [whether] at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of life, is a physical realization. There are [people of] "learned intelligence, "4 who, through

learning, master the state of themselves—in other words, they physically realize the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of learning. There are "people of the buddha-intelligence,

" who are beyond innate intelligence and beyond

learned intelligence; transcending the boundaries of self and others, they are limitless at this place and are free from the fetters of subjective or objective intelligence. There are "people of the intelligence that has no teacher"; they neither rely on good counselors nor rely on sutras, they neither rely on the nature nor rely on forms, and they neither deny or change themselves nor convert others; but still they disclose a commanding presence. Of these several kinds, we do not see one kind as keen and see a second kind as dull. The many kinds actualize many corresponding kinds of meritorious conduct. Then what kind of being, sentient or nonsentient, could be incapable of innate intelligence?—we must study this in practice. When there is innate intelligence, there is innate realization, there is innate verification, and there is innate training. Thus, the Buddhist Patriarch, though already the Controller of Humans,

5 has been praised as "[the man of] innate realization"; he is the life that brought realization into being, and so he is described like this. To become satisfied with the state of great realization may be [called] "innate realization"; it is to have learned to bring forth realization, and so it is described like this. 6

This being so, we realize great realization by bringing forth the triple world, realize great realization by bringing forth the four elements, realize great realization by bringing forth the hundreds of weeds, realize great realization by bringing forth the Buddhist patriarchs, and realize great realization by bringing forth the universe.

7 All these are instances of bringing forth great realization and thereby realizing afresh the state of great realization. The time that is just the moment of this [realization] is now.

[221] Great Master Eshō8 of Rinzai-in Temple says,

"If we search

throughout the great kingdom of Tang for someone who does not realize, it is hard to find one person.

"9

[222] What Great Master Eshō expresses now is the authentically propagated skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, in which there can be no wrongness. "Throughout the great kingdom of Tang" means inside10 our own eye: it is 104

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not connected with "the whole universe" and is not stuck in "lands of dust. "

If we search inside this concrete place for a person who does not realize, it is hard to find one. The self of yesterday that is the subjective self is not one who does not realize, and the self of today that is the objective self is not one who does not realize. If we search among mountain people and water people, past and present, looking for nonrealization, we will never find it. Students who study Rinzai's words like this will not be passing time in vain. Even so, we should study further, in experience, what behavior the ancestral founder has in mind. In short, I would like to question Rinzai, for the present: If you know only that someone who does not realize is hard to find, and do not know that someone who does realize is hard to find, that is never enough to be affirmed, and it is hard to say you have fully understood that someone who doesnot realize is hard to find. If we look for someone who does not realize, it is hard to find "one person,

" but have you ever, or have you never,

met with "half a person"11 who is beyond realization and whose face and eyes and easy bearing are imposing and majestic? If we search the great kingdom of Tang for someone who does not realize, it is hard to find one person, but do not think that having difficulty in finding is the ultimate state. We should try searching for two or three great kingdoms of Tang in one person or half a person. Is it difficult? Is it not difficult? When we are equipped with these eyes, we can be affirmed as Buddhist patriarchs who are experiencing satisfaction.

[224] Great Master Hōchi12 of Kegonji in Keichō (succeeded Tōzan; his monk's name was Kyūjō) on one occasion is asked by a monk: "What is it like at the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion?" The master says, "A broken mirror does not again reflect. Fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees. "13

[225] The present question, while it is a question, is like preaching to the assembly—[preaching] not proclaimed except in the order of Kegon, and not possible for anyone except a rightful successor of Tōzan to deliver. Truly this may be the squarely regulated order of a Buddhist patriarch who experiences satisfaction.

"A person in the state of great realization" is not intrinsically in great realization and is not hoarding a great realization realized externally. It is not that, in old age, [the person] meets with a great realization [already] present in the public world. [People of great realization] do not forcibly drag 105

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it out of themselves, but they unfailingly realize great realization. We do not see "not being deluded" as great realization. Neither should we aim, in order to plant the seed of great realization, to become at the outset a deluded being. People of great realization still realize great realization, and people of great delusion still realize great realization. If there is a person in great realization, accordingly there is Buddha in great realization, there are earth, water, fire, wind, and air in great realization, and there are outdoor pillars and stone lanterns in great realization. Now we have inquired into a person in the state of great realization. The question "What is it like at the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion?" truly asks a question that deserves to be asked. And Kegon does not hate [the question]; he venerates the ancient ways of the forest orders—[his conduct] may be the meritorious conduct of a Buddhist patriarch. Let us consider for a while, is the return to delusion of a person in the state of great realization completely the same as a person being in the unenlightened state? At the moment when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion, is [that person] taking great realization and making it into delusion?14 Does [the person] return to delusion by bringing delusion from a distant place and covering great realization?15 Or does the person in the state of great realization, while remaining a whole person and not breaking great realization, nevertheless partake in a return to delusion?16 Again, does "the return to delusion of a person in the state of great realization" describe as "returning to delusion" the bringing forth of a further instance of great realization?17 We must master [these questions] one by one. Alternatively, is it that great realization is one hand, and returning to delusion is one hand?18 In any case, we should know that the ultimate conclusion of our study up to now is to hear that a person in the state of great realization experiences returning to delusion. We should know that there is great realization that makes returning to delusion a familiar experience. Thus, recognizing a bandit as a child does not define returning to delusion, and recognizing a child as a bandit does not define returning to delusion.

19 Great realization may be

to recognize a bandit as a bandit, and returning to delusion is to recognize a child as "a child.

" We see great realization as "a bit being added in the state of abundance.

" When "a bit is taken away in the state of scarcity,

" that is

returning to delusion. In sum, when we grope for and completely get a grip on someone who returns to delusion, we may encounter a person in the state 106

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of great realization. Is the self now returning to delusion? Is it beyond delusion? We must examine it in detail, bringing it here. This is to meet in experience the Buddhist patriarchs.

[229] The master says,

"A broken mirror does not again reflect. Fallen

blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees.

" This preaching for the multitude

expresses the very moment of a mirror being broken. That being so, to concern the mind with the time before the mirror is broken and thereupon to study the words "broken mirror" is not right. [Some] might understand that the point of the words now spoken by Kegon,

"A broken mirror does not again

reflect, fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees, " is to say that a

person in the state of great realization "does not again reflect, " and to say

that a person in the state of great realization "cannot climb back onto the trees"

—to assert that a person in the state of great realization will never again return to delusion. But [Kegon's point] is beyond such study. If it were as people think, [the monk's question] would be asking, for example, "How is

the everyday life of a person in the state of great realization?" And the reply to this would be something like "There are times of returning to delusion. "

The present episode is not like that. [The monk is asking] what it is like at "the time" when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion; therefore he is calling into question20 the very moment itself of returning to delusion. The actualization of an expression of the moment like this is: "A broken mirror does not again reflect. Fallen blossoms cannot climb back onto the trees.

" When fallen blossoms are just fallen blossoms, even if they are rising to the top of a hundred-foot pole, they are still fallen blossoms. 21

Because a broken mirror is a broken mirror just here and now, however many vivid situations it realizes, each similarly is a reflection that "does not again reflect.

"22 Picking up the point that is expressed as "a mirror being broken"23 and is expressed as "blossoms being fallen,

" we should grasp in experience

the moment that is "the time when a person in the state of great realization returns to delusion.

" In this [moment], great realization is akin to having become buddha, and returning to delusion is akin to [the state of] ordinary beings. We should not study [Kegon's words] as if they discussed such things as "turning back into an ordinary being" or "traces depending on an origin. "24

Others talk about breaking the great state of enlightenment and becoming an ordinary being. Here, we do not say that great realization is broken, do not 107

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say that great realization is lost, and do not say that delusion comes. 25 We

should never let ourselves be like those others. Truly, great realization is limitless, and returning to delusion is limitless. There is no delusion that hinders great realization, [but] having brought forth three instances of great realization, we create half an instance of small delusion.

26 In this situation, there are

[Snow Mountains] realizing great realization for the sake of Snow Mountains; trees and stones are realizing great realization relying on trees and stones; the great realization of buddhas is realizing great realization for the sake of living beings; and the great realization of living beings is greatly realizing the great realization of buddhas: it cannot be related to before and behind. 27

Great realization now is beyond self and beyond others. It does not come; at the same time,

"it fills in ditches and fills up valleys.

" It does not go; at

the same time,

"we keenly hate pursuit that follows an external object. "28

Why is it so? [Because] we "follow objects perfectly. "29

[232] Master Keichō Beiyu30 has a monk ask Kyōzan, 31 "Does even a

person of the present moment rely upon realization, or not?" Kyōzan says, "Realization is not nonexistent, but how can it help falling into the second consciousness?"32 The monk reports this back to Beiyu. Beiyu profoundly affirms it.

33

[233] "The present moment" of which he speaks is the now of every person. Although [instances of] "causing ourselves to think of the past, the present, and the future" occur in thousands and tens of thousands, even they are present moments, are now. The state of each person is inevitably the present moment. Sometimes eyes have been described as the present moment, and sometimes nostrils have been described as the present moment. "Do we

rely upon realization, or not?" We must investigate these words quietly; we should replace our heart with them and replace our brain with them. Recent shavelings in the great kingdom of Song say,

"To realize the truth is the original aim,

" and, so saying, they vainly wait for realization. But they seem not to be illuminated by the brightness of the Buddhist patriarchs. Indolently, they disregard the need solely to comprehend in experience under a true good counselor. Even during the ancient buddhas' appearance in the world, they might not have attained salvation. The present words "Do we rely upon realization, or not?" neither say that realization does not exist, nor say that it exists, nor say that it comes: they say "Do we rely on it, or not?" They are 108

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akin to asserting that the realization of a person of the present moment, somehow, has already been realized. If we speak, for example, of attaining realization, it sounds as if [realization] did not used to exist. If we speak of realization having come, it sounds as if that realization used to exist elsewhere. If we speak of having become realization, it sounds as if realization has a beginning. We do not discuss it like this and it is not like this; even so, when we discuss what realization is like, we ask if we need to rely on realization. Thereupon, with regard to "realization, " [Kyōzan] has said,

"What can it do

about falling into the second consciousness?" He is thus saying that the second consciousness also is realization. By "the second consciousness, " he

seems to mean "I have become realization, " or "I have attained realization, "

or "realization has come.

" He is saying that even "I have become" and even "it has come" are realization. So, while regretting the fact of falling into the second consciousness, he seems to be denying that second consciousness exists! Second consciousness produced from realization, at the same time, may be taken to be true second con sciousness. In that case, even if it is second consciousness, and even if it is consciousness [divided into] hundreds of thousands, it may be the state of realization. It is not true that for the second consciousness to exist it must be left over from previously existing primary consciousness. For example, while I see the "I" of yesterday as myself, yesterday I called [the "I" of] today a second person. 34 We do not say that present

realization was not there yesterday; neither has it begun now. We should grasp it in experience like this. In sum, heads of great realization are black, and heads of great realization are white. 35

Shōbōgenzō Daigo

Preached to the assembly at Kannondōri-inkōshōhōrinji on the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month in the third year of Ninji. 36

Written, and preached to a great gathering of human beings and gods, during a stay at the old Kippō Temple in Etsu,

37 on the twenty-seventh

day of the first lunar month in the second year of Kangen.

38

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I copied this on the twentieth day of the third lunar month, in the spring of the same second year [of Kangen], while serving as [the master's] attendant in the inner sanctums of Kippō Temple in Etsu—Ejō

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Notes

1 Rō-teidensuggests the performance of mundane daily tasks in the balanced state. 2 Rō-zeikon.In Chapter Sixty-eight (Vol. III), Udonge,Master Dōgen describes zazen as playing with the soul. 3 Shōchi,which generally means "innate intelligence" or "natural sage" (see Vol. I, Appendix Two, Fukanzazengi), can also be interpreted as "knowing through life. "

In his explanation, Master Dōgen utilizes the ambiguity of shō,which as an adjective means "innate" or "inborn, " as a noun means "birth" or "life, " and as a verb means

"to live" or "to be born. " In Master Dōgen's commentary, "innate" does not mean

innate in a naturalistic sense; it means naturally present but at the same time realized by effort in life. See also Chapter Ninety (Vol. IV), Shizen-biku,paragraph 54: "In the Buddha's teaching, there are no people of innate intelligence. "

4 Gakujichi,like shōchi,is originally a Confucian concept. See Chapter Ninety (Vol. IV), Shizen-biku,paragraph 56. 5 Chōgo-jōbu,representing the Sanskrit puruṣa-damya-sārathi,is one of ten epithets of the Buddha. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. The ten are listed in Chapter Eightyseven (Vol. IV), Kuyō-shōbutsu. 6 Realization, even though it is innate or natural, has to be realized through effort in life, and so it is described as shōgo,which means both "innate realization" and "realization through living. " See note 3.

7 Kōan.See Chapter Three (Vol. I), Genjō-kōan. 8 Master Rinzai Gigen (815?-867), a successor of Master Ōbaku Kiun. Great Master Eshō is his posthumous title. 9 A slightly different version of Master Rinzai's words is quoted in the Kosonshukugoroku,chapter 5: "Even if we break the kingdom of Tang searching for someone who does not understand, we cannot find one person. "

10 Ri,lit.,

"backside" or "inside,

" appears in Master Rinzai's words as "throughout. "

11 Hannin,

"half a person,

" is opposed to ichinin, "one person,

" in Master Rinzai's

words. Master Dōgen often uses han, "half,

" to represent concrete reality. 12 Master Kegon Kyūjō, successor of Master Tōzan Ryōkai. Great Master Hōchi is his posthumous title.

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13 Keitokudentōroku,chapter 17. "Fallen blossoms do not return to their branches; a broken mirror does not again reflect" (rakuge eda ni kaerazu, hakyō futatabi terasazu) is a proverb still heard in Japan today. 14 For example, making a problem out of natural desire (idealistic phase). 15 For example, throwing away Buddhist effort and drinking beer (materialistic phase). 16 For example, reading fiction (behavior in day-to-day life). 17 Suggests that it is ultimately difficult to discriminate between delusion and realization. 18 Ichi-seki-shu,

"one hand,

" represents a concrete thing. Master Dōgen brought his discussion back into the area of concrete things. 19 Zoku,

"bandit,

" may be interpreted as an enemy of the Buddha's teaching, and shi, "child,

" may be interpreted as a disciple of the Buddha. The point of the sentence is that delusion is an inclusive state, and therefore not only a matter of mistaken recognition. 20 Mishin,or ibukashi,means not yet clarified in detail. In stories in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō, the words ibukashi,

"I do not understand,

" are often spoken by monks to ask a master for further clarification. Here Master Dōgen uses the compound unconventionally as a verb, mishin suru.

21 Rakuge,

"fallen flowers,

" describes the momentary real state of flowers, which is irrelevant to their relative position. 22 Fu-jū-shō,

"does not again reflect,

" describes the state in a moment of the present; it is not concerned with the future. 23 Hakyō,

"broken mirror" or "a mirror being broken, " and rakuge,

"fallen flowers" or

"flowers being fallen,

" here represent the momentary state of action of concrete things. 24 "Turning back into an ordinary being" describes a process and "traces depending on origin" describes a separation in time or space, but Master Kegon's words describe a momentary state.

25 Again,

momentary state.

"delusion comes" describes a process, but Master Dōgen saw delusion as a 26 For example, after making something to eat, having an alcoholic drink with it. 27 Great realization is not related to the past and future—because it is a momentary state.

28 Because pursuing the truth is returning to ourselves. 29 Zuitako,

"follow objects perfectly" or "follow others out, " is a common expression

in the Shōbōgenzōof the state that is completely harmonized with circumstances. 112

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30 Master Keichō Beiyu, a successor of Master Isan Reiyū. 31 Master Kyōzan Ejaku (807-883), also a successor of Master Isan Reiyū. 32 Dai-ni-tō,lit.,

"head number two,

" means divided consciousness.

33 Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 7; Rentōeyō,chapter 8; Wanshijuko,no. 62. 34 Because there is only the reality of the present moment, even divided consciousness is also realization. But consideration based on the assumption of past, present, and future gives rise to the distinction between realization and second consciousness, or self and second person.

35 Black heads and white heads suggest the heads of young people and of old people. The sentence suggests that all people are in the state of great realization, whether we realize it or not.

36 1242.

37 Corresponds to present-day Fukui prefecture. 38 1244.

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Chapter 27: Zazenshin - A Needle for Zazen

[Chapter Twenty-seven]

Zazenshin

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A Needle for Zazen

Translator's Note: Shin means a bamboo needle that was used for acupuncture in ancient China. So shin means a method of healing body and mind, and the word came to be used as a maxim that has the power to cure a human being of physical and mental discomfort. Subsequently, the word shin was used to describe short verses useful in teaching the important points of a method of training. In this chapter Master Dōgen first explained the true meaning of zazen, quoting and commenting on a famous exchange between Master Nangaku and Master Baso. Then he praised a Zazenshin written by Master Wanshi Shōgaku, and finally, he wrote his own Zazenshin. [3] While Great Master Yakusan Kōdō1 is sitting, a monk asks him, "What

are you thinking in the still-still state?"2 The master says, "Thinking the concrete state of not thinking.

" The monk says,

"How can the state of not thinking

be thought?" The master says,

"It is non-thinking.

"3

[4] Experiencing the state in which the words of the great master are like this, we should learn in practice "mountain-still sitting, "4 and we should receive

the authentic transmission of "mountain-still sitting": this is the investigation of "mountain-still sitting" that has been transmitted in Bud dhism. "Thinking

in the still-still state" is not of only one kind, but Yakusan's words are one example of it. Those words are "Thinking the concrete state of not thinking. "

They include "thinking" as skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and "not thinking" as skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. The monk says, "How can the state of not

thinking be thought?" Truly, although "the state of not think ing" is ancient, still it is "How can it be thought about!"5 "In the still-still state" how could it be impossible for "thinking" to exist? And why do [people] not understand the ascendancy6 of "the still-still state"? If they were not the stupid people of vulgar recent times, they might possess the power, and might possess the 115

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thinking, to ask about "the still-still state. " The great master says,

"It is nonthinking.

" This use of "non-thinking" is brilliant; at the same time, whenever we "think the state of not thinking,

" we are inevitably using "non-thinking.

"

In "non-thinking" there is someone, and [that] someone is main taining and relying upon me.

"The still-still state,

" although it is I, is not only "thinking": it is holding up the head of "the still-still state. " Even though "the still-still

state" is "the still-still state,

" how can "the still-still state" think "the still-still state"? So "the still-still state" is beyond the intellectual capacity of Buddha, beyond the intellectual capacity of the Dharma, beyond the intellectual capacity of the state of realization, and beyond the intellectual capacity of understanding itself. The one-to-one transmission to Yakusan in the state like this is the thirtysixth, already, in a line of direct descent from Śākya muni Buddha; and when we trace upward from Yakusan, there is, after thirty-six generations, the Buddha Śākyamuni. Having been authentically transmitted like this, "thinking the concrete state of not thinking" is present already. In recent years, however, stupid unreliable people7 have said,

"In the effort of zazen, to attain peace of mind8 is everything. Just this is the state of tranquility. " This opinion is beneath even

scholars of the Small Vehicle. It is inferior even to the vehicles of humans and gods. How can we call such people students of the Buddha-Dharma? In the great kingdom of Song today, people of such effort are many. It is lamentable that the Patri arch's truth has gone to ruin. There is another group of people [who say]: "Sitting in zazen to pursue the truth is an essential mechanism9 for beginners and late-learners, but it is not necessarily the action of Buddhist patriarchs. For them,

'walking also is Zen, and sitting also is Zen. In talking and silence, movement and rest, the body is at ease. '10 Do not associate [Buddhist

patriarchs] exclusively with this effort [of zazen]. " Many who call themselves

followers of Rinzai are of this opinion. They speak like this be cause they have been remiss in receiving the transmission of the true life of the Buddha-Dharma. What is "a beginner"? Which [sort] is not a beginner? At what place do they locate a beginner?11 Remember, as the established [method of] investigation in learning the truth, we pursue the state of truth in zazen. The point, in manifest form, is that there is acting buddha which does not expect to become buddha. Because acting buddha is utterly beyond becoming buddha, the universe is realized. The body-buddha is utterly beyond becoming buddha, [but] when nets and cages are broken, sitting buddha does not hinder becoming buddha 116

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at all. Just at this moment, the power is originally present, through a thousand ages and ten thousand ages, to enter [the state of] Buddha or to enter [the state of] demons. And forward steps and backward steps possess the capacity intimately to fill ditches and to fill valleys. [9] Zen Master Daijaku of Kōzei,

12 after receiving the immediate transmis sion of the mind-seal13 while learning in practice under Zen Master Daie of Nangaku,

14 constantly sits in zazen. Nangaku on one occasion goes to Daijaku's place and asks him,

"Virtuous monk! What are you aiming at, sitting in zazen?"15 We should quietly consider and investigate this ques tion. That is, we should consider in detail whether [Nangaku] is asking: Is there an aim that might be superior to sitting in zazen? Beyond the framework of sitting in zazen, has there never yet been a state of truth to aim at? Should we not aim at anything at all? Just in the moment of sitting in zazen, what kind of aim is being realized? More than we love a carved dragon, we should love the real dragon.

16 We should learn that the carved dragon and the real dragon both possess the potency of clouds and rain. Do not hold the remote17 in high regard, and do not hold the remote in low re gard: be accustomed to it as the remote. Do not hold the close18 in high regard, and do not hold the close in low regard: be accustomed to it as the close. Do not think light of the eyes, and do not attach importance to the eyes. Do not attach importance to the ears, and do not think light of the ears. Make the ears and eyes sharp and clear. 19

[11] Kōzei says,

"Aiming to become buddha.

"20 We should clarify and

master these words. When he says "becoming buddha" just what does he mean? Does "becoming buddha" describe becoming buddha being done by a buddha? Does "becoming buddha" describe becoming buddha being done to a buddha? Does "becoming buddha" describe the manifestation of one instance and the manifestation of two instances of "buddha"? Is "aiming to be come buddha,

" being the dropping off [of body and mind],

"aiming to

become buddha" as dropping off? Does "aiming to become buddha" describe that even though "becoming buddha" is of myriad kinds, it continues to be entan gled21 with this "aiming"? Remember, the words of Daijaku are that to sit in zazen is, in every case,

"aiming to become buddha.

" To sit in zazen is,

in every case,

"becoming buddha" as "aiming.

" The "aiming" may be before

the "be coming buddha,

" may be after the "becoming buddha,

" and may be

just the very moment of "becoming buddha.

" Let us ask for a while: How

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many instances of "becoming buddha" does one such instance of "aiming" entangle? This entanglement is further entwining with entanglement. At this time, all cases of entanglement—as totally "becoming buddha" in separate instances, and as totally "becoming buddha" always being exactly itself— are individual instances of "aiming.

" We cannot flee from a single instance

of "aiming.

" At a time when we flee from a single instance of "aiming, " we

lose body and life. [But even] the time when we lose body and life is an instance of entangle ment as "aiming.

"

[13] Nangaku then picks up a tile and starts to polish it on a stone. Daijaku eventually asks,

"What is the master doing?" Truly, who could fail to see that he is polishing a tile? But who can see it as polishing a tile? Rather, the polishing of a tile has [always] been questioned like this: "What are you doing!" The "doing" of "what" is always the polishing of a tile. In this land and other worlds, different though they are, polishing a tile may possess an im port that has never ceased. It is not simply a matter of not fixing to our own views as our own views: we perfectly ascertain that in the myriad kinds of work there is import to be learned in practice. Remember, we witness buddha without knowing or understanding buddha, just as we see waters without knowing them and see mountains without knowing them. [Nevertheless,] if we hastily conclude that there can be no path of penetra tion to the Dharma before our eyes, that is not Buddhist study. [14] Nangaku says,

"Polishing to make22 a mirror.

" We should clarify

the meaning of these words. In "polishing to make a mirror" Buddhist truths are always present and the realized universe is present: it is never an empty pretense. Though tiles are tiles and mirrors are mirrors, we should know that when we are striving to master the truth of polishing, [polishing] pos sesses a limitless abundance of distinguishing features. It may be that even the eternal mirror and the clear mirror23 are made into mirrors by polishing a tile. If we do not know that mirrors derive from polishing a tile, we are without a Buddhist patriarch's expression of the truth, we have not experi enced a Buddhist patriarch's mouth opening, and we are not seeing and hearing a Buddhist patriarch's exhalations.

[15] Daijaku says,

"How can polishing a tile realize a mirror?" Truly,

polishing a tile, as [the work of] an iron man, does not rely upon the resources of others. Even so,

"polishing a tile" is not "to realize a mirror.

" The realization

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of a mirror—though it is nothing other than itself—may be [described as] instantaneous.

[16] Nangaku says,

"How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha?" Clearly, there is a truth that zazen does not expect to become buddha. The principle is evident that to become buddha is irrelevant to zazen. [16] Daijaku says,

"Just what is right, here and now?" These words look like a question only about this concrete place, but they are also asking about rightness here and now at any other place. Remember, for example, the moment when a close friend meets a close friend: [his] being my close friend is [my] being his close friend.

"Just what is right, here and now,

" is direct

manifestation [of both sides] at once. [17] Nangaku says,

"If, when a person is riding in a cart, the cart does not move, is it right to prod the cart, or is it right to prod the ox?" Now, as to the meaning of "If the cart does not move, " what is a cart moving and what is a cart not moving? For example, is water flowing a cart moving? Is water not flowing a cart moving?24 We might say that flowing is water not moving. 25 It

may also be that water moving is beyond "flowing. " Thus, when we in vestigate

the words,

"if the cart does not move,

" we may find that there is "not moving, "

and we may find that there is no "not moving" —because [the cart] must be in

time.

26 The words "if it does not move" have not one-sidedly expressed only not moving. [Nangaku] says,

"Is it right to prod the cart, or is it right to prod the ox?" Can there be both prodding the cart and prodding the ox? Must prodding the cart and prodding the ox be equivalent, or might they be not equivalent? In the secular world there is no method of prodding the cart. 27 Though the common person has no method of prodding the cart, we have seen that in Buddhism there is a method of prodding the cart—it is the very eyes of learning in practice. And though we learn that there is a method of prodding the cart, [prodding the cart] cannot be com pletely the same as prodding the ox. We should consider this in detail. Though methods of prodding the ox are present in the ordinary world,

28 we should investigate further and learn in practice the prodding of the ox in Buddhism. Is it the prodding of a castrated water buffalo?29 Is it the prodding of an iron ox?30 Is it the prodding of a mud ox?31 Should a whip32 do the prodding? Should the whole universe do the prodding? Should the whole mind do the prodding? Should the marrow be beaten flat? Should a fist33 do the beating? There should be fist beating fist, and there should be ox beating ox. 34

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[20] Daijaku makes no reply, a state that we should not idly overlook. It is "throwing away a tile and pulling in a jewel";35 it is "turning the head and changing the features.

"36 Nothing at all can filch this state of no reply. [21] Nangaku teaches further,

"Your learning sitting dhyāna37 is learning sitting buddha.

" Investigating these words, we should grasp them as just the pivotal essence38 of the ancestral patriarchs. We were not aware of an exact definition of "learning zazen,

" but [now] we have seen that it is "learning sitting buddha.

" How could anyone but the child and grandchild of rightful successors assert that "learning zazen" is "learning sitting buddha"? Truly, we should know that a beginner's zazen is the first zazen; and the first zazen is the first sitting buddha.

[21] Describing zazen, he says,

"When we are learning sitting dhyāna, that dhyānais beyond sitting and lying down. " What he is saying now is that

zazen is zazen, not sitting or lying down. After we have received the one-toone transmission of [the teaching] that [zazen] is beyond sitting and lying down, unlimited instances of sitting and lying down are ourself. Why should we seek life-blood in the familiar or unfamiliar? Why should we discuss delusion and realization? Who wishes to pursue an intellectual conclusion? [22] Nangaku says,

"When you are learning sitting buddha, buddha is beyond any set form.

" When we want to say what these words say, [the ex pression] is like this. The reason sitting buddha appears as one buddha and a second buddha is that it is adorned with "transcendence of any set form. "

[Nangaku's] saying now that "buddha is beyond any set form" expresses the form of buddha; and because it is buddha beyond any set form, it is utterly impossible for it to escape [the form of] sitting buddha. In sum, because buddha is adorned with transcendence of any set form, when it is learning sit ting dhyānait is just sitting buddha. [23] Who, in the nonabiding Dharma, 39 could have preference or aversion for not being buddha or preference or aversion for being buddha? Because it has dropped off [preference and aversion even] before the moment of pref erence and aversion, [sitting buddha] is sitting buddha. [24] Nangaku says,

"When you are [practicing] sitting buddha, that is just killing buddha.

" This says further that when we are investigating sitting buddha, the virtue of killing buddha is present. The very moment of sitting buddha is the killing of "buddha. " If we want to explore the good features 120

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and the brightness of killing buddha, they are always present in sitting buddha. The word "to kill" is as [used by] the common person, but we should not blindly equate [its usage here] with that of the common person. Further, we should investigate the state in which sitting buddha is killing buddha, [asking:] "What forms and grades does it have?" Taking up [the fact] that, among the virtues of buddha, killing buddha is already present, we should learn in practice whether we ourselves are killing a person or not yet killing a person. [25] "To attach to the sitting form is not to have attained the principle of that [sitting].

" This "to attach to the sitting form" means to reject the sitting form and to defile the sitting form. The fundamental principle here is that when we are already practicing sitting buddha, it is impossible not to be attached to the sitting form. Because it is impossible not to be attached to the sitting form, although attachment to the sitting form is something brilliant, it may be "not to have attained the principle of that [sitting]. " Effort

like this is called "the dropping off of body and mind. " Those who have

never sat do not pos sess this state of truth. It exists in the moment of sitting, it exists in the per son who is sitting, it exists in the buddha that is sitting, and it exists in the buddha that is learning sitting. The sitting that is performed only as the sitting and reclining of human beings is not this state of sitting buddha. Even if human sitting naturally appears to be sitting buddha, or a buddha sitting, it may be a case of a human being becoming buddha, 40 or a

case of a human being of becoming buddha.

41 There are human beings of

becoming buddha, but all human beings are not of becoming buddha. Buddha is not a state of all human beings. All buddhas are not simply all humanity. There fore, a human being is not always a buddha, and buddha is not always a human being. Sitting buddha also is like this, and Nangaku and Kōzei, excellent master and stout disciple, are like this. Sitting buddha realizes the experience of becoming buddha: this is Kōzei's case. For the benefit of becoming buddha, sitting buddha is demonstrated: this is Nangaku's case. In Nangaku's order there is effort like this. In Yakusan's order there are the assertions [quoted] previously. Remember, what has been described as "the pivotal essence of every buddha and every patriarch" is just sitting buddha. Those who are already the buddhas and the patriarchs used this pivotal essence. Those who have never [used it] have simply never seen it, even in a dream.

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[28] In general, in the Western Heavens and the Eastern Lands, that the Buddha-Dharma has been transmitted has always meant that sitting buddha has been transmitted. That is because [sitting buddha] is the pivotal essence. When the Buddha-Dharma has not been transmitted, sitting dhyāna(zazen) has not been transmitted. What has been transmitted and received from rightful successor to rightful successor is only this principle of zazen. Those who have not received the one-to-one transmission of this principle are not Buddhist patriarchs. Without illuminating this one dharma,we do not il luminate the myriad dharmas, and do not illuminate the myriad deeds. Those who have not illuminated each dharma,dharmaby dharma,cannot be called clear-eyed, and they are not the attainment of the truth; how could they be Buddhist patriarchs of the eternal past and present? Therefore, we should be absolutely certain that the Buddhist patriarchs have, in every case, received the one-to-one transmission of zazen. To be illuminated by the presence of the Buddhist patriarchs' brightness is to exert oneself in the in vestigation of this sitting in zazen. Stupid people mistakenly think that the Buddha's state of brightness might be like the brightness of the sun and the moon, or like the luminance of a pearl or a flame. The brilliance of the sun and moon is only karmic manifestation of the turning of the wheel through the six worlds; it cannot compare to the Buddha's state of brightness at all. "The Buddha's

brightness" means accepting, retaining, and hearing a single phrase; maintaining, relying on, and upholding a single dharma;and re ceiving the oneto-one transmission of zazen. If [people] are not able to be illuminated by the brightness, they lack this state of maintenance and reliance and they lack this belief and acceptance. This being so, even since ancient times, few people have know that zazen is zazen. On the moun tains of the great kingdom of Song today, leaders of top-ranking temples who do not know zazen and who do not learn of it are many; there are some who know [zazen] clearly, but they are few. In many temples, of course, times for zazen are laid down, and everyone from the abbot to the monks regards sitting in zazen as the main task. When recruiting students, too, they urge them to sit in zazen. Even so, those abbots who know [zazen] are rare. For this reason, while there have been, from ancient times to recent generations, one or two old veterans who have written Zazenmei42 ("Mottoes of Zazen"), and one or two old veterans who have edited Zazengi43 ("Standard Methods of Zazen"), and one or two 122

Chapter Twenty-seven

old veterans who have written Zazenshin44 ("Maxims of Zazen"), the "Mottoes of Zazen" are all devoid of any redeeming feature, and the "Standard Methods of Zazen" remain unclear as to its actual performance. They were written by people who do not know zazen, and who have not received the one-to-one transmission of zazen. [I refer to] the "Maxims of Zazen" in the Keitokudentōroku, 45 the "Mottoes of Zazen" in the Kataifutōroku,

46 and so on. It is pitiful

that [such people] spend a life time passing in succession through the monasteries of the ten directions, and yet they have not experienced the effort of one sitting. Sitting is not in them; their effort does not meet with themselves at all. This is not because zazen hates their own body and mind, but because they do not aspire to the genuine effort [of zazen], and they are quickly deluded. Their collections seem only to be about getting back to the source or returning to the origin, about vainly endeavoring to cease thought and become absorbed in serenity. That is not equal to the stages of reflection on, training in, assuming the fragrance of, and cultivation of [dhyāna];47 it is not equal to views on the ten states and the balanced state of truth:48 how could [those people] have re ceived the one-to-one transmission of the zazen of the buddhas and the patriarchs? Chroniclers of the Song dynasty were wrong to have recorded [their writings], and students in later ages should discard them and should not read them. As a maxim for zazen, the one written by Zen Master Wanshi Shōgaku49 of Tendōkeitokuji on Daibyakumyōzan50 in Kyōgenfu51 City in the great kingdom of Song, and this alone, is the patriarchs, is a [true] needle for zazen, and is a fit expression of the truth. Only his is the brightness [that illuminates both] outside and inside of the Dharma world. He is a Buddhist patriarch among the Buddhist patriarchs of the eternal past and present. Former buddhas and later buddhas continue to be spurred by this needle. Through this needle, patriarchs of the present and patriarchs of old are realized. The Zazenshinin question is as follows: [34] Zazenshin

Written by Shōgaku, who was posthumously titled,

by imperial decree, Zen Master Wanshi

Pivotal essence of every buddha,

Essential pivot of every patriarch.

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Not touching things, yet sensing, Not opposing circumstances, yet being illuminated. Not touching things, yet sensing: The sensing is naturally subtle. Not opposing circumstances, yet being illuminated: The illumination is naturally fine. The sensing is naturally subtle: There has been no discriminating thought. The illumination is naturally fine: There has been not the slightest dawning. There has been no discriminating thought: The sensing, without any duality, is singular. There has been not the slightest dawning: The illumination, without any grasping, is complete. The water is clean right to the bottom, Fishes are swimming, slowly, slowly. The sky is wide beyond limit, And birds are flying, far, far away. [35] The point52 of this needle for zazen is that "the Great Function is already manifest before us,

" is "the dignified behavior that is ascendant to sound and form,

"53 is a glimpse of "the time before our parents were born, "54

is that "not to insult the Buddhist patriarchs is good, " is "never to have avoided

losing body and life,

" and is "the head being three feet long and the neck being two inches.

"55

[37] "Pivotal essence of every buddha. " "Every buddha" without exception sees "buddha at every moment"56 as "the pivotal essence. " That "pivotal

essence" has been realized: it is zazen. [37] "Essential pivot of every patriarch. " "The late master did without such words"57

—this principle itself is "every patriarch. " The transmission

of Dharma and the transmission of the robe exist. In general, every instance58 of "turning the head and changing the features" is the pivotal essence of every buddha. And every individual case59 of changing the features and turning the head is the essential pivot of every patriarch. 124

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[38] "Not touching things, yet sensing. " "Sensing" is not sense perception; sense perception is small-scale. Neither is it intellectual recognition; intellectual recognition is intentional doing. Therefore, "sensing" is "beyond touching things, " and that which is "beyond touching things" is "sensing. " We should

not consider speculatively that it is universal awareness, and we should not think narrowly that it is self-awareness. This "not touching things" means "When a clear head comes, a clear head does. When a dull head comes, a dull head does";60 it means "to break by sitting the skin that our mothers bore. "

[39] "Not opposing circumstances, yet being illuminated. " This "being

illuminated" is not the illumination of enlightened understanding and is not spiritual illumination.

"Not to oppose circumstances" is described as "being illuminated.

" Illumination does not merge into circumstances—because circumstances are just illumination. The meaning of "non-opposition" is "the whole universe never having been hidden, " is "a broken world not showing its head,

" is "the subtle,

" is "the fine,

" and is "[the state beyond] complicated and uncomplicated.

"

[40] "The sensing is naturally subtle: There has been no discriminating thought.

" The state in which "thought" is "sensing" is not always reliant on ex ternal assistance.

"The sensing" is concrete form, and concrete form is moun tains and rivers. These mountains and rivers are "subtlety. " This "subtlety"61 is "the fine. "62 When we use [this state] it is totally vigorous. When we become a dragon, whether we are inside or outside the Dragon Gate63 is irrelevant. To use even one mere instant of the present "sensing" is to garner the mountains and rivers of the whole universe and, exerting total effort, to "sense" them. Unless our own "sensing" is in the state of direct familiarity with mountains and rivers, there cannot be a single instance of sensing or half an instance of understanding. We should not grieve about "discriminating thought" being late in arriving. "Every buddha,

" in the state of already having discrimination, has already been realized. The "nonexistence of what has occurred"64 is "already" having occurred, and "already having occurred"65 is realization. In sum,

"there having been no discrimination" is [the state of] "not meeting a single person.

"66

[41] "The illumination is naturally fine: There has been not the slightest dawning.

" "The slightest"67 means the whole universe. Still, [the illumination] is naturally the fine itself and is naturally illumination itself, and for 125

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this reason it seems never to have fetched anything to itself. Do not doubt the eyes, but do not necessarily trust the ears. 68 The state of "You must directly clarify the fundamental outside of principles; do not grasp for stan dards in words"69 is illumination. For this reason "there is no duality" and for this reason "there is no grasping. " While having dwelled in and retained this state as "singularity" and having maintained and relied upon it as "completeness, "

[those descriptions] I still doubt. [42] "The water is clean right to the bottom. Fishes are swimming, slowly, slowly.

" As to the meaning of "the water is clean, "70 water suspended in space71 is not thoroughly72 "clean water. " Still less is water that becomes deep and clear in the vessel world,

73 the water of "the water is clean. " [Water] that is not bounded by any bank or shore: this is "water that is clean right to the bottom. " When

fish move through this water, "swimming" is not nonexist ent. 74 "Swimming,

"

for however many tens of thousands of distances it progresses, is unfathomable and is unlimited. There is no bank from which to survey it, there is no air to which it might surface, and there is no bottom to which it might sink. Therefore, there is no one who can fathom it. If we want to discuss its measurements, [we say] only that "the water is clean right to the bottom. " The virtue of sitting in

zazen is like this swimming of fishes: who can estimate it on a scale of thousands or tens of thousands? The course of action that penetrates to the bottom is the whole body not follow ing the way of the birds. 75

[44] "The sky is wide beyond limit. And birds are flying, far, far away. "

"The sky is wide" does not describe what is suspended in the firmament. 76 The

sky suspended in the firmament is not "the wide sky. " Still less is that which

per vades that place and this place universally77 "the wide sky. " [The sky] not

hidden or revealed by any outside or inside: this is "the wide sky. " When birds

fly through this sky, flying in the sky is the undivided Dharma. Their action of flying in the sky cannot be measured. Flying in the sky is the whole universe— because the whole universe is flying in the sky. We do not know the extent of this "flying,

" but in expressing it with words which are be yond the realm of estimation, we describe it as "far, far away. " "Straightaway, there should be no strings under the feet.

"78 When the sky is flying away, the birds also are flying away; and when the birds are flying away, the sky also is flying away. Words that express mastery of flying away are "It only exists at this concrete place.

" This is a needle for the still-still state. Tens of thousands of distances traveled vie to tell us,

"It only exists at this concrete place. "

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[46] Such is the Zazenshinof Zen Master Wanshi. Among [the maxims of] veteran patriarchs through the ages, there has never been a Zazenshin like this one. If stinking skinbags in all directions wished to express the like of this Zazenshin,even if they exhausted the effort of a lifetime or of two life times, they would not be able to express it. Through all directions today, we do not find [any other]: there is this maxim alone. When my late master held formal preaching in the Dharma hall, he would constantly say, "The

eternal buddha Wanshi!" He never spoke like this of other men at all. When we have the eyes to know a person, we can also know the sound of a Buddhist patriarch. Truly we have seen that in [the lineage of] Tōzan, a Buddhist patriarch exists. 79 Now it is eighty years or so since [the death of] Zen Master Wanshi. Admiring his Zazenshin,I have written the following Zazenshin. Now it is the eighteenth day in the third lunar month in the third year of Ninji.

80 When I count [the years] between this year and the eighth day of the tenth lunar month in the twenty-seventh year of Shōkō, 81 it is only eightyfive years. The Zazenshinthat I have written now is as follows: [47] Zazenshin

Pivotal essence of every buddha,

Essential pivot of every patriarch.

Beyond thinking, realizing,

Beyond complication, realization.

Beyond thinking, realizing:

The realizing is naturally immediate.

Beyond complication, realization:

The realization is naturally a state of experience. The realizing is naturally immediate:

There has been no taintedness.

The realization is naturally a state of experience: There has been no rightness or divergence. There has been no tainting of the immediacy: That immediacy is without reliance yet it gets free. There has been no rightness or divergence in the experience: That state of experience is without design yet it makes effort. 127

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The water is clean, right down to the ground, Fishes are swimming like fishes. The sky is wide, clear through to the heavens, And birds are flying like birds. [49] The Zazenshinof Zen Master Wanshi is never imperfect in expression, but I would like to express it further like this. In sum, children and grand children of the Buddhist patriarchs should unfailingly learn in practice that sitting in zazen is the one great matter. This is the authentic seal that is received and transmitted one-to-one. ShōbōgenzōZazenshin

Written at Kōshōhōrinji on the eighteenth day of the third lunar month in the third year of the Ninji era.

82

Preached to the assembly at Kippō Temple in the Yoshida district of Esshū, 83 in the eleventh

lunar month, during the winter of the fourth year of the same era.

84

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Notes

1 Master Yakusan Igen (745-828), successor of Master Sekitō Kisen. 2 Gotsu-gotsu-chi. Gotsu,repeated for emphasis, literally means "high and level, "

"lofty,

" or "motionless.

" The word originally suggests a table mountain, and hence something imposing and balanced. 3 Keitokudentōroku,chapter 14; Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 24. 4 Gotsu-za.See note 2.

5 The state is unthinkable at each moment. 6 Kōjōmeans "ascending" or "being beyond. " (See Chapter Twenty-eight, Butsu-kōjōno-ji.) Sitting in stillness is ascendant to, or beyond, both thinking and not thinking. 7 Zusan,lit.,

"composed by Zu, or To,

" means slipshod, careless, unreliable. Zu, To stands for To Moku, a Chinese poet who ignored literary conventions. 8 Kyōkin [no] buji. Kyōkinmeans bosom, heart, or mind. Bujimeans peacefulness, or absence of incident. The words imply a sweeping negation of thinking, based on the idealistic view.

9 Yōki,

"pivotal essence.

" The same characters appear later in this chapter in the Zazenshinof Master Wanshi and Master Dōgen. See also note 38. 10 The words in quotemarks are quoted from the Shōdōkaby Master Yōka Genkaku. 11 "Beginner" is shoshin,lit.,

"beginning mind" or "beginner's mind, " and is the usual

term for a beginner himself or herself. 12 Master Baso Dōitsu (704-88), successor of Master Nangaku Ejō. Kōsei (Jiangxi) is the name of a province in southeast China where Master Baso lived. Zen Master Daijaku is his posthumous title. 13 Shin-in.In Chapter Seventy-two (Vol. III), Zanmai-ō-zanmai, Master Dōgen identifies the buddha-mind-seal with the full lotus posture. 14 Master Nangaku Ejō (677-744), successor of Master Daikan Enō. Nangaku is the name of the mountain on which he had his order. Zen Master Daie is his posthumous title. 15 The original story is quoted in the Keitokudentōroku,chapter 5; and in Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 8. Master Dōgen quoted the first half of the story at the end of Chapter Twenty (Vol. I), Kokyō.

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16 Chōryū,

"carved dragon,

" symbolizes representation or explanation of zazen. Shinryū, "real dragon,

" symbolizes zazen itself. Master Dōgen emphasizes the need for both kinds of dragons.

17 On,

turies ago.

"remote" or "distant,

" suggests, for example, sutras recorded in India many cen-18 Kin, "close,

" means, for example, our own experience in zazen. 19 In general, eyes suggests seeing concrete things, or the perceptive function, and ears suggest hearing words, or the intellectual function. 20 Sabutsu [o] haka[ru], or tosabutsu. To, haka[ru] means 1) to aim or to plan to do something, and 2) to make effort in line with an aim or plan. Sa, tsuku[ru], na[su] means to make, to make something into something, to become, or to do. 21 Kattō suru. Kattō, which literally means "[the entanglement of] arrowroot and wisteria" and hence "complications" or "the complicated, " is the title of Chapter Forty-six (Vol. III). Simply thinking, we become buddha when we are free of intention. In this paragraph, however, Master Dōgen suggests that the real relation between intention (aiming) and liberated action (becoming buddha) is complicated. 22 Sa, na[su], as in sabutsu, "becoming buddha,

" and sa-somo,

"doing what.

"

23 Kokyō,

"eternal mirror,

" and meikyō,

in Chapter Twenty (Vol. I), Kokyō. "clear mirror,

" allude to a story quoted at length 24 If a river is running alongside a cart, or a cart is moving alongside a lake, because the water and the cart are in mutual relation, it is not possible to say that one element is moving and one element is not moving. 25 Action (flowing) transcends relative movement. 26 Time is a series of instants (see Chapter Eleven [Vol. I], Uji). In each instant there is no movement, but the progression from instant to instant is continuous movement. 27 A method of prodding the cart means a method of regulating the physical state, for example, zazen.

28 A method of prodding the ox means a method for motivating the mind, for example, the offering of rewards.

29 Master Enchi Daian said, "I have lived on Isan Mountain for thirty years, eating Isan meals, shitting Isan shit, but not studying Isan Zen. I just watched over a castrated water buffalo. . . .

" Keitokudentōroku,chapter 10. See Chapter Sixty-four (Vol. III), Kajō. 30 Master Fuketsu Enshō said, "The mind-seal of the ancestral masters is like the stuff of a molded iron ox.

" Hekiganroku(Blue Cliff Record), no. 38. 31 Master Ryūzan said,

"I saw two mud oxen. They fought and entered the sea. There has been no news of them since. " Quoted in the Ryūzanoku (Ryūzan '

s Record).

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32 For discussion of the meaning of a whip, see Chapter Eighty-five (Vol. IV), Shime. 33 Kentō,a symbol of action.

34 Gyū-ta-gyū,

"ox prods ox" or "ox beats ox, " means ox exists as it is. Taliterally means to strike, beat, prod, etc., but the character often represents action itself, for example in Master Baso's words shikantaza, "just sitting.

"

35 Master Jōshū Jūshin says,

"Tonight I have given the answer. Anyone who understands the question should come forward. " A monk steps forward and prostrates himself. The master says,

"Just before I threw away a tile to pull in a jewel, but instead I have drawn out a lump of clay.

" (Keitokudentōroku,chapter 10.) Master Dōgen suggests that Master Baso's not saying anything is valuable effort, like that of Master Jōshū. 36 Koube[o] megura[shite] omote[o] ka[uru] symbolizes normal behavior. 37 Zazen, lit.,

"sitting dhyāna,

" is rendered in Master Dōgen's commentary (and in the chapter title) as "zazen.

"

38 Yōki. Yō, kaname,as a noun, means pivot or main point, and as an adjective, means pivotal or essential. Kimeans a mechanism (of a machine) or (human) potentiality, stuff, makings. It also means an opportunity or an occasion, and thus has connotations of a state at the moment of the present. 39 Mujū[no] hō,or "abodeless Dharma, " means reality that only exists at the moment of the present.

40 Nin-sabutsu,

"a human being making [himself or herself] into buddha. " Negating the

naturalistic view, Master Dōgen suggests that whether we are in the state of buddha or not depends on our own effort. 41 Sabutsu-nin,

"a becoming-buddha human being, " that is, a man or woman of zazen. 42 Zazenmei.

43 Zazengi.Master Dōgen recorded his own Zazengiin Chapter Fifty-eight (Vol. III). See also the independent work Fukanzazengi(Vol. I, Appendix Two). 44 Zazenshin,as in the title of the present chapter. Shinmeans 1) a needle, and by extension, 2) a saying, maxim, or verse that provides a spur, a warning, or an exhortation. Shinhas been translated either as "needle" or as "maxim. " Also, in some cases the

original term zazenshinhas been preferred. 45 The Keitokudentōroku(Keitoku Era Record of the Transmission of the Torch), the first of the Gotōroku(Five Records of the Torch) compiled during the Song era (960-1279). It contains records of one thousand and seventy-one Buddhist practitioners from the seven ancient buddhas to Master Hōgen Bun'eki. The editing was completed by the monk Sodo Gen, in the first year of the Keitoku era (1004-1008). 46 Kataifutōroku(Katai Era Record of the Universal Torch), the last of the Gotōroku, 131

Shōbōgenzō Volume II

in thirty chapters, including stories of Buddhist laymen as well as monks. It was completed by Master Raian Kochu in the first year of the Katai era (1201-1205). 47 Kan-ren-kun-jurefers to four stages of zazen taught in the Tendai sect: 1) kanzen, reflecting on dhyāna; 2) renzen,training in dhyāna; 3) kunzen, assuming the fragrance of dhyāna; and 4) shuzen,cultivating dhyāna.

48 Refers to the stages accomplished by a bodhisattva on the way to buddhahood. 49 Master Wanshi Shōgaku (1091-1157), successor of Master Tanka Shijun. His family name was Li. He became a monk at age eleven, and became a disciple of Master Tanka Shijun at the recommendation of Master Koboku Hōjō. He became a head monk at age thirty-one, and at thirty-nine he became the master of Keitokuji on Mount Tendō, where he remained until his death at the age of sixty-six. Zen Master Wanshi is his posthumous title. The Wanshizenjigoroku,a record of Master Wanshi's words in nine volumes, includes one hundred eulogies to ancient masters. These one hundred articles were published as the Shōyōroku.

50 Daibyakumyōzan, lit.,

"Great White Famous Mountain,

" is another name for Tendōzan.

Keitokuji on Tendōzan is the temple where Master Dōgen eventually met Master Tendō Nyojō.

51 Present-day Ningbo in northern Zhekiang.

52 Shin.See note 44.

53 A variation of the words of Master Kyōgen Chikan. See Chapter Nine (Vol. I), Keisei-sanshiki. 54 Fubo-mishō-zen, a commonly occurring expression for the eternal past. 55 The Buddha's body is said by legend to have been sixteen feet long. These measurements derive from that legend: two inches is the distance between the Buddha's chin and collarbone.

56 Butsu-butsu, translated in the Zazenshinas "every buddha. "

57 Tesshi Kaku, a disciple of Master Jōshū, said to Master Hōgen Bun'eki, "The late

master [Jōshū] did without such [abstract] words.

" The principle is that the teaching

of patriarchs is not only abstract words.

58 Men-men. Men, omotemeans face or features. At the same time it is used as a counter for flat thin objects (such as mirrors) and for Buddhist patriarchs. 59 Tō-tō. Tō, kaubemeans head. At the same time it is used as a counter for concrete individual objects and creatures.

60 Meitōrai-meitōda, antōrai-antōda.Master Chinshū Fuke (Hōtei, the so-called Happy Buddha) said these words as he wandered from place to place with his sack on his back. See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 22.

"Does" is ta, da;see note 34. Meitōda

means leaving clear-headedness as it is, and just acting. At the same time dais contrasted with fushoku, "not touching.

"

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61 Bimeans slight, fine, infinitesimal, delicate, faint, subtle. 62 Myōalso means subtle, and at the same time mysterious, wondrous, fine, wonderful (as in Myōhōrengekyō, the full title of the Lotus Sutra). These two characters, biand myō, often form the compound bimyō,which means subtle, fine, exquisite. In the context of the poem, bican be interpreted as a description of the mental side of zazen, and myōas the physical side, which is not separate from the mental side. The same pattern is repeated in Master Dōgen's Zazenshinwith the separation of the compound genjō,

"realization,

" into gen,

"realizing,

" and jō,

"being realized,

" or "realization.

"

63 Ūmon, Ū Gate, also known as Ryūmon, Dragon Gate, is the name of a set of rapids on the Yellow River in China. Legend says that a fish that swims up through the rapids becomes a dragon.

64 Sō-mu. The poem says ka[tsute] na[shi], "there has not been" or "there has never been.

" Individually, however, the character so, ka[tsute] means what has occurred before and muexpresses nonexistence; therefore, sō-musuggests the nonexistence of what has gone before, that is, the nonexistence of the past. 65 Isō. Imeans already. Sō, ka[tsute] means past, formerly, having occurred; grammatically, it represents the present perfect. Isōtherefore suggests what is already present, that is, the reality of the moment. 66 In other words, the state of an independent person living in reality. 67 Gōkotsu,lit.,

"one thousandth or one hundred-thousandth, " means an infinitesimal bit.

68 In general, eyes suggest seeing concrete things, or the perceptive function, and ears suggest hearing words, or the intellectual function. 69 Source of quotation not traced. 70 Sui-sei. Sei, kiyo[i] means 1) spiritually pure, 2) physically clear, and 3) clean in the sense of being empty, transparent, without anything. 71 That is, water understood as matter. 72 Seisui ni futettei,or "not right to the bottom as clean water. " Tettei,lit.,

to the bottom,

" is the usual Japanese term for "thoroughness. "

"getting right

73 Kikai,

"vessel world,

" suggests the world as an inclusive or spiritual whole. 74 In other words, the reality of action exists. In the poem, "swimming" is gyō,which

means not only to go but also to act—as for example in the title of Chapter Twentythree, Gyōbutsu-yuigi. 75 Chōdō,the way of the birds, generally suggests the transcendent state, but in this case Master Dōgen contrasted it with the concrete state on the ground. 76 That is, the sky seen from the materialist view. 77 That is, abstract space.

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