T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume III

Chapter 48: Sesshin-sesshō - Expounding the Mind and Expounding the Nature

[Chapter Forty-eight] Sesshin-sesshō Expounding the Mind and Expounding the Nature Translator's Note: Setsu means "teach,

" "

explain,

"

"

or

expound.

" Shin

"

means

mind,

"

and shō means "the essence, "

or

"the nature. " So sesshin "

means

expounding the mind" and sesshō means "

expounding the nature. "

Some Chinese Buddhist monks asserted that expounding the mind and expounding the nature belong within the sphere of intellectual effort, and so to make such effort to explain the mind and essence is not only unnecessary but also detrimental to attainment of the Buddhist truth. They believed that the Buddhist truth could never embrace intellectual understanding. Master Dōgen had a different opinion. He thought that the concepts sesshin and sesshō in Buddhist thought refer to something much more real. He understood sesshin-sesshō as the manifestation of the mind and the manifestation of the nature in the real world. Master Dōgen saw no reason to deny the concepts sesshin and sesshō; instead he used them to explain the fundamental theory of Buddhism. [127] While Zen Master Shinzan Sōmitsu1 is walking with Great Master Tōzan Gohon, 2 Great Master Gohon points to a nearby temple and says, "Inside there is someone expounding the mind and expounding the nature. "

His elder brother3 Sōmitsu says, "Who is it?" Great Master Gohon says, "Being asked one question by you, elder brother, I have directly attained the state of having died completely. "

Brother Sōmitsu says, "That concrete state of expounding the mind and expounding the nature is who. "

Great Master Gohon says, "In death I have come alive. "4

[128] "Expounding the mind and expounding the nature"5 are the universal basis of the Buddha's truth, by virtue of which every buddha and every 73

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patriarch is realized. Unless there is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature,

" [buddhas and patriarchs] do not turn the splendid wheel of Dharma, do not establish the mind and undergo training, and do not realize the truth simultaneously with the whole earth and all sentient beings; and all living beings do not realize the state of being without the buddha-nature. Picking up a flower and winking an eye are "expounding the mind and expounding the nature"; a face breaking into a smile is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature"; doing prostrations and standing in place are "expounding the mind and expounding the nature"; the ancestral master's entry into Liang6 is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature"; and the transmission of the robe in the middle of the night is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature.

" Holding up a staff is just "expounding the

mind and expounding the nature.

" Laying down a whisk is just "expounding

the mind and expounding the nature.

" In sum, the virtues which each buddha

and each patriarch has are all just "expounding the mind and expounding the nature.

" There is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" by normality, 7 and there is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" by fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles. [Moments] when the truth is realized that the arising of mind is the arising of miscellaneous real dharmas and the truth is realized that the passing of mind is the passing of miscellaneous real dharmas, are all moments when the mind is expounding and moments when the nature is expounding. Nevertheless, ordinary folk who do not penetrate the mind and do not master the nature, in their ignorance, not knowing "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" and not knowing discussion of the profound and discussion of the fine, say, and teach to others, that the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs should not include these things. Because they do not know "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" as "expounding the mind and expounding the nature,

" they think of "expounding the mind

and expounding the nature" as expounding about the mind and expounding about the nature.

8 And this is mainly because they do not think critically about whether or not they have penetrated the great truth. [131] Latterly, a certain Sōkō, [titled] Zen Master Daie9 of Kinzan Mountain, has said, "Because people today like to expound about the mind and expound about the nature, and they like to discuss the profound and discuss the fine, they are slow in attaining the truth. When we have simply thrown 74

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away the duality of mind and nature and forgotten both the profound and the fine, so that dualistic forms do not arise, then we really experience the state. "

This [is the] insistence [of one who] has never known the thoughts10 of the Buddhist patriarchs and has never heard of the royal lineage of the Buddhist patriarchs. As a result, because he understands that the mind is only thinking, sensing, mindfulness, and realization but does not understand that thinking, sensing, mindfulness, and realization are the mind, he speaks like this. Wrongly imagining "the nature" to be only clear, calm, peaceful, and quiet, he does not know the existence and nonexistence of the buddha-nature11 and the Dharma-nature,

12 and he has never seen "the nature as it is"13 even in a dream; therefore he has formed such a distorted view of the Buddha-Dharma. The mind that Buddhist patriarchs express is skin, flesh, bones, and marrow; the nature that Buddhist patriarchs retain is a bamboo cane and a staff; the profound that Buddhist patriarchs uniformly experience14 is outdoor pillars and stone lanterns; and the fine that Buddhist patriarchs discuss is wisdom and understanding. Buddhist patriarchs who are really Buddhist patriarchs, from the beginning, hear in action, expound in action, practice in action, and experience in action this state of the mind and the nature. They retain and learn in action this state of the profound and the fine. People in the state like this are called children and grandchildren who are learning the Buddhist patriarchs. Those who are not like this are not learning the truth. For this reason, when it is time to attain the truth, they do not attain the truth, and when it is time to be beyond attainment of the truth they are not beyond attainment of the truth. They stumble through times of both attainment and nonattainment. The words "to forget the duality of mind and nature,

" which that fellow

[Sōkō] has spoken, are a partial attempt to expound the mind—a hundredth, thousandth, ten-thousandth, or hundred-millionth of a part. To speak of "throwing away the profound and the fine,

" is a partial attempt to discuss

the profound and the fine. When, not having learned this pivotal point, he stupidly speaks of forgetting, he thinks it means something leaving the hands; he understands that it means something having departed from the body. 15 He

has not let go of the limited thinking of the Small Vehicle, so how could he penetrate the inner depths of the Great Vehicle, and how much less could he know the pivotal matter of the ascendant state?16 It is hard to say that he has tasted the tea and meals of a Buddhist patriarch. To work earnestly under a 75

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teacher is to investigate physically, in the very moment of the body-mind, and is to investigate in experience, both before the body and after the body, 17

nothing other than "expounding the mind and expounding the nature. " There

is no second or third different example at all. [135] Thereupon the First Patriarch says to the Second Patriarch, 18 "If

you just let external involvements cease and have no panting and gasping in your mind, your mind will be like fences and walls, and you will be able to enter the truth.

" The Second Patriarch makes various efforts to expound the mind and expound the nature, but always fails to experience the state.

19 One day he suddenly attains reflection. At length he addresses the First Patriarch: "This time, for the first time, the disciple has let involvements cease. " The First Patriarch, knowing

that the other is already in the state of realization, does not examine him closely, but only says,

"You have not realized cessation, have you?" The Second Patriarch says,

"No.

"20 The First Patriarch says,

"What is the disciple's situation?" The Second Patriarch says, "I am

always recognizing it very clearly, therefore I cannot express it with words.

" The First Patriarch says,

"That is just the substance of the

mind transmitted by the buddhas and patriarchs of the past. Now you have got it, you yourself must guard it well. "21

[136] There are those who doubt this story, and those who quote it. Among the stories of how the Second Patriarch served the First Patriarch, one story is like this. The Second Patriarch tried persistently to expound the mind and expound the nature, and at first his state did not match the state, 22

but he gradually accumulated merit and heaped up virtue until he finally attained the First Patriarch's state of truth. Common and stupid people have interpreted this as follows: "When at first the Second Patriarch expounded the mind and expounded the nature but did not experience the state, the fault was in the expounding of the mind and expounding of the nature. Later, when he abandoned expounding the mind and expounding the nature, he experienced the state.

" They speak like this because they have not mastered the teaching that "with minds like fences and walls we are able to enter the truth. " They

are especially ignorant of stages in learning the truth. The reason [I say so] is this: From the time we establish the bodhi-mind and direct ourselves toward 76

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training in the Way of Buddha, we sincerely practice difficult practices; and at that time, though we keep practicing, in a hundred efforts we never hit the target once. Nevertheless,

"sometimes following good counselors and sometimes following the sutras, " we gradually become able to hit the target. One

hit of the target now is by virtue of hundreds of misses in the past; it is one maturation of hundreds of misses. Listening to the teachings, training in the truth, and attaining the state of experience are all like this. Even though yesterday's attempts to expound the mind and to expound the nature were a hundred misses, the hundred missed attempts to expound the mind and to expound the nature yesterday are suddenly a hit today. When we are beginners in practicing the Buddha Way, even though, due to lack of training, we have not mastered the Way, we can never attain the Buddha Way by abandoning the Buddha Way and pursuing other ways. It is hard for people who have not mastered the whole process of Buddhist training to clarify this situation as a fact. The Buddha Way, at the time of the first establishment of the will, is the Buddha Way; and at the time of realization of the right state of truth, it is the Buddha Way. The beginning, the middle, and the end are each the Buddha Way. It is like someone walking one thousand miles: the first step is one in a thousand miles and the thousandth step is one in a thousand miles. Though the first step and the thousandth step are different, the thousand miles are the same. Nevertheless, extremely stupid people think that when we are learning the Buddha Way we have not arrived at the Buddha Way; they think that it is the Buddha Way only in the time beyond realization of the effect. They are like this because they do not know that the whole Way is expounding of the Way, they do not know that the whole Way is practice of the Way, and they do not know that the whole Way is experience of the Way. Those who understand that only deluded people realize the great state of realization through Buddhist training and who neither know nor hear that people who are not deluded also realize the great state of realization through Buddhist training, express [the thoughts] described above. Even before experience of the state,

"expounding the mind and expounding the nature" is the Buddha Way; at the same time, it is by "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" that we experience the state. We should not learn that "experiencing the state" describes only a deluded person's first realization of the great state of realization. People in the state of delusion realize the great realization; 77

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people in the state of realization realize the great realization; people who are beyond realization realize the great realization; people who are beyond delusion realize the great realization; and people who are experiencing the state experience the state. Thus, to "expound the mind and expound the nature" is to be straight and true in the Buddha Way. Not having mastered this truth, Sōkō23 says that we should not expound the mind and expound the nature, but his words are not a truth of the Buddha-Dharma. In the great kingdom of Song today no one has arrived even at Sōkō's level. [140] The founding patriarch, Great Master Gohon, as an Honored One alone among the many patriarchs, has mastered the truth that "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature.

" The ancestral masters in all directions who have never mastered it have no expressions like his in the present story: While Brother Sōmitsu and the great master are walking along, [the great master] points to a nearby temple and says,

"Inside there is someone expounding the mind and expounding the nature. " Since the founding patriarch manifested himself in the world, his Dharma descendants have inevitably received the authentic transmission of this expression as the transcendent Way of the patriarchs. Other lineages have not seen or heard it even in a dream. How much less could they know, even in a dream, the method of understanding it? [The method] has only been received in the authentic transmission to rightful successors. How could those who have not received the authentic transmission of this principle master the basis of the Buddha Way? The principle under discussion now is that [the unity of] "in" and "side,

"24 and [the unity of] "the existence of a

human"25 and "a human's existence,

"26 is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature. " [This unity] is "the-mind-as-surface-and-content expounding"27 and is "the-nature-as-surface-and-content expounding. "28 We should

investigate this and consider it. There has never been "expounding" that was separate from "the nature,

" and "the mind" has never existed apart from

"expounding.

" "The buddha-nature" describes all things expounding and "being without the buddha-nature" describes all things expounding. Though we learn that the buddha-nature is "the nature,

" if we do not learn the buddhanature as existence, that is not learning the truth; and if we do not learn the buddha-nature as being without, that is not learning the state in practice. 29

Those who learn in practice that "expounding" is "natural" are the legitimate 78

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descendants of Buddhist patriarchs. Those who believe that "the natural state" is "expounding" itself are Buddhist patriarchs who are legitimate descendants. To say that the mind is shaky but the nature is tranquil is the view of non-Buddhists. To say that the nature remains serene while form changes is the view of non-Buddhists. Buddhist learning of the mind and learning of the nature are not like that. Buddhist practice of the mind and practice of the nature are not the same as in non-Buddhism. Buddhist clarification of the mind and clarification of the nature are beyond non-Buddhists. In Buddhism there is expounding of the mind and expounding of the nature "there being someone,

" and there is expounding of the mind and expounding of the nature "there being no one";30 there is not expounding the mind and not expounding the nature "there being someone, " and there is not expounding the mind and not expounding the nature "there being no one. " There is

expounding the mind or failure to have expounded the mind and expounding the nature or failure to have expounded the nature. If we do not learn the expounding of the mind when there is no person, expounding of the mind has yet to reach fertile ground,

31 and if we do not learn the expounding of

the mind when there is a person, expounding of the mind has yet to reach fertile ground. We learn "the expounding of the-mind-in-which-there-is-noperson, "32 we learn "the-state-in-which-there-is-no-person expounding the mind,

"33 we learn "expounding the mind as the concrete human state, "34

and we learn "a concrete human being expounding the mind. "35 The total

effort that Rinzai expresses is only "a true human being without rank, "36

but he has never mentioned "a true human being who has a rank. " We can

say that he has not yet realized other study and other expressions, and that he has yet to reach the state of exploring the ultimate. 37 Because "expounding

the mind and expounding the nature" is expounding the buddhas and expounding the patriarchs, we should meet it with the ears, and we should meet it with the eyes. Brother Sōmitsu, the story goes, says, "Who is it?"

In realizing this expression, Brother Sōmitsu is able to exploit this expression in the former moment and he is able to exploit this expression in the latter moment.

"Who is it?" is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" which belongs to "that concrete situation.

"38 This being so, a moment in

which "Who is it?" is expressed, or a moment in which "Who is it?" is concretely thought, is "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" itself. 79

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This "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" is something that people of other directions have never known. Because they forget the child and see it as the enemy, they deem enemies to be children. 39 The great master

says,

"Being asked one question by you, elder brother, I have directly attained the state of having died completely. " Hearing these words, most ordinary practitioners think as follows: "Someone who expounds the mind and expounds the nature must directly attain the state of having died completely on being told "it is who!" The reason is that the words "it is who!" are [about] being face-to-face without consciousness of each other, [about] being totally without a view—so they may be a dead phrase. "40 That is not necessarily so.

The people who have utterly mastered this "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" may be few. "Completely having died" is not to have died ten or twenty percent, and for this reason the "state of having died" is "complete.

" At the very moment of "being asked" who can say that this state is not enclosing the whole sky and covering the whole earth? It may be that even illumination of the past is cut off, that even illumination of the present is cut off, that even illumination of the future is cut off, and that even illumination of this very moment is cut off. 41 Brother Sōmitsu says,

"That state

of expounding the mind and expounding the nature is who. " Comparing the

previous "Who is it?" and the present "it is who, " while the name is still the

third son of Zhang's, the man is the fourth son of Li. 42 The great master says,

"Death itself has come alive.

"43 [With] this "death itself" he does not arbitrarily express "who it is"

—hoping to indicate his "direct attainment of the state of having died,

" and so directly indicating [his own] "concrete state of expounding the mind and expounding the nature" —for "it is who" has got rid of the "someone" who expounds the mind and expounds the nature. 44 There may

be something to learn in practice in the assertion that we cannot always expect the complete state of having died. 45 The great master's words "Death itself has come alive" are the manifestation before us of the voice and form of "someone expounding the mind and expounding the nature. " At the same

time, they may also be one or two concrete parts of the complete state of having died.

"Liveliness,

" though it is liveliness of the whole, does not manifest itself as liveliness through a transformation from death; it is simply liberated in the head-to-tail rightness of "coming alive. " In general, in the truth

of the buddhas and the truth of the patriarchs, "expounding the mind and

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expounding the nature" exists and is investigated like this. Progressing further, through dying a complete death we realize the vivid state of coming alive. Remember, from the Tang dynasty until today, there have been many pitiable people who have not clarified the fact that "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" is the Buddha's truth and who, in their ignorance of "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" as teaching, practice, and experience, have produced outlandish explanations and confused sayings. We should save them both before the body and after the body. If I put it in words, "expounding the mind and expounding the nature" is the pivotal essence of the Seven Buddhas and the ancestral masters. Shōbōgenzō Sesshin-sesshō

Preached to the assembly at Kippōji in the Yoshida district of Etsu-shū,

46 Japan, in the

first year of Kangen.

47

81

Notes

1 Master Shinzan Sōmitsu (dates unknown), successor of Master Ungan Donjō. 2 Master Tōzan Ryōkai (807-869), also a successor of Master Ungan Donjō, and the thirty-eighth patriarch in Master Dōgen's lineage. 3 Shihaku, a term of respect for a senior member of one's master's order. Shi means master or teacher. Hakumeans elder brother or uncle. 4 Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 62.

5 Shō, lit.,

"nature" or "essence,

" means the natural state, or a natural function, in concrete reality. For example, in Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,Master Dōgen explains busshō,

"buddha-nature,

" as the state of action.

6 Master Bodhidharma entered China during the time of the Liang dynasty (502-557). See Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji.

7 Hyōjō,frequently used in the phrase hyōjō-shin, "normal mind" or "everyday mind.

"

See for example the opening paragraph of Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō. 8 They think that real manifestation of the mind and the nature, which is done by action itself, means intellectual explanation. 9 Master Daie Sōkō (1089-1163), successor of Master Engo Kokugon. His history is recorded in Chapter Seventy-five (Vol. IV), Jishō-zanmai.His works included Daie Shōbōgenzō(Daie

'

s right Dharma-eye treasury). He was a major instigator of kōan Zen (based on intentional consideration of questions and answers), as opposed to the mokushō Zen (silent, reflective zazen) advocated by his contemporary, Master Wanshi Shōgaku.

10 Kenshō.These characters, which are rare, literally mean "blue thread, " of the sort

used in ancient times to bind Chinese texts. The words are therefore a concrete symbol of thoughts.

11 Busshō;see Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō. 12 Hōsshō;see Chapter Fifty-four, Hōsshō. 13 Nyozesōappears in the Lotus Sutra,Hōben("Expedient Means") chapter (LS 1.68). See also Chapter Seventeen (Vol. I), Hokke-ten-hokke; Chapter Fifty, Shohō-jissō. 83

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14 Shōkai. Shōmeans experience. Kaimeans pledge, promise, accord, or binding agreement and, by extension, the state which is exactly the same as the state of Gautama Buddha. See also Chapter Sixteen (Vol. I), Shisho. 15 To be conscious that something has gone is not to have forgotten it. 16 Kōjō no kanreisu,the words of Master Ōbaku Kiun, discussed at length by Master Dōgen in the final paragraph of Chapter Twenty-eight (Vol. II), Butsu-kōjō-no-ji. 17 Shinsen-shingo,

"before the body and after the body, " suggests intuitive reflection immediately preceding and following an action. At the same time, it suggests endless continuation of Buddhist effort in eternity. 18 Master Bodhidharma is speaking to Master Taiso Eka. 19 Shōkai.See note 14.

20 Muexpresses general negation: "No!" At the same time it literally means "there is nothing" or "I have nothing. "

21 Keitokudentōroku,chap. 3. 22 Sōkai,a variation of shōkai;see note 14. Sōexpresses mutual relation between two factors.

23 Kōkō, literally,

used for monks.

"Mister Kō.

" Kō is from the name Sōkō. Kōis a title not generally 24 Wakuri-wakumen.In the story, "inside" is rimen. Rimeans "backside" or "inside. "

Menmeans "face" or "surface. " In the story the compound rimenis used colloquially, but here Master Dōgen separates the characters riand menby the characters waku . . . waku. . . ,which mean "either . . . or . . . " or "sometimes . . . and sometimes. . . . "

He thus suggests reality as the combination of meaningful content ("in") and objective form ("side").

25 Unin, translated in the story as "there is someone. " Umeans "there is" or "existence. "

Ninmeans "person,

" or "human.

"

26 Ninu. By reversing the order of the characters in the story, Master Dōgen again suggests two faces of reality—the idea of there being someone, and the concrete existence of a human being. 27 Menri-shin setsu,literally, "the side-in mind expounding. "

28 Menri-sho setsu,literally, "the side-in nature expounding. "

29 Ubusshō,

"having the buddha-nature" or "the buddha-nature as concrete existence, "

and mubusshō,

"being without the buddha-nature" or "the buddha-nature as the state of being without,

" are two contradictory expressions of the buddha-nature (see Chapter Twenty-two [Vol. II], Busshō). In this sentence, Master Dōgen recommends us to realize the shōof sesshin-sesshōas the shōof busshō,realizing it not as a concept but as a real state that has two sides. 84

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30 Muninis contrasted to uninin the story (see note 25). "Expounding of the mind and expounding of the nature there being no one" suggests the manifestation of the Buddhist state by nature itself. 31 Mi-tō-denchi. Mi means "not yet. " Tō means "reach.

" Den, which means "paddy field,

" often represents a source of happiness—as for example in the poem in praise of the kaṣaya ("Formless, field of happiness, robe!"). Chi means 1) earth, land, or ground; and 2) state [of body-mind]. 32 Setsu shin-mu-nin,literally, "expounding the-mind-without-person. " In Chapter Three

(Vol. I), Genjō-kōan,for example, Master Dōgen recommends us to realize the state in which we forget ourselves. 33 Munin sesshin,literally, "no-person expounding the mind. " In Chapter Nine (Vol. I), Keisei-sanshiki,for example, Master Dōgen teaches that the voices of the river valley and the form of the mountains manifest the buddha-mind. 34 Sesshin-zenin,literally, "expounding the mind—concrete person. "

35 Zenin-sesshin,literally, "a concrete person expounds the mind. " In Chapter Seventytwo, Zanmai-ō-zanmai,for example, Master Dōgen says that sitting in the full lotus posture is the buddha-mind-seal. 36 Quoted in the Rinzaizenjigoroku (Record of the Words of Zen Master Rinzai Gigen). 37 Mi-tō-santetsu-chi.Alludes to the parallel phrase discussed in note 31. Here Master Dōgen substitutes santetsu, "exploring the ultimate, " for den,

"paddy field.

"

38 Nari. Ri,literally,

or a concrete situation. "the backside" or "the inside" (see note 24), means a concrete place 39 Because they do not understand that the straight and direct Buddhist state is like the state of a child who asks "Who is it?" they recognize as the Buddha's true disciples people who are causing complicated misunderstanding of the Buddha's teachings. 40 Shiku,

"dead phrase,

" means a comment which has no vital, concrete, or practical meaning. Ordinary practitioners do not notice the real meaning of Master Sōmitsu's straightforward question. 41 Saidan,

"cut off,

" means momentary. Each point of time is cut off from all other points in the past and future, and so all processes are momentary. 42 Ko[re] ta [zo], or zesui, "Who is it?"

,

"Concretely who?"

, or "It is 'who,

'" can be

interpreted in at least two ways: 1) As a straightforward invitation to Master Tōzan to make his words more concrete ("Who is it?" or "Concretely who?"), and 2) as a denial of the possibility of expressing in words the state of a person who expounds the mind and expounds the natural state ("It is 'who'"). This sentence says the word zesuiis the same in both cases but the meaning is different. 43 Shichū-toku-katsu.In the story, read as shichū[ni] katsu[o] e[tari], these characters suggest the meaning "In death I have come alive. " However, Master Dōgen's 85

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44 45 46 interpretation is that there is no personal subject in the word shichū,which literally means "the inside of death, " and hence "the real state of death" or "death itself. "

In the context of the story, "death" represents the momentary extinction of all worries and fears.

In other words, the balanced state of action—not a personal subject—expounds the mind and expounds the nature. Suggests the problem of attachment to the goal of detachment. Corresponds to present-day Fukui prefecture. 47 1243.

86

[Chapter Forty-nine] Butsudō

The Buddhist Truth Translator's Note:Butsu means "buddha

"

and dō originally means "Way,

"

but also

"

morals

"

and "the truth. " So butsudō means "the Buddha

'

s truth"

or

"the Buddhist truth. " The concept of "the Buddhist truth" is central to Master Dōgen

'

s theory, and it is helpful to examine the meaning from each of the four phases of Buddhist philosophy. In the first (subjective) phase, the Buddhist truth is embodied in the Buddhist philosophical system. In the second (objective) phase, the Buddhist truth is the external world, or nature. In the third phase (based on action), the Buddhist truth is ethical or moral conduct in everyday life; that is, everyday life as we live it. In the ultimate phase, the Buddhist truth is ineffable, the complicated; the state in zazen, or reality itself. In this chapter, however, Master Dōgen does not try to explain these meanings of "the Buddhist truth" ; he simply asserts that there is only one Buddhism— that which was established by Gautama Buddha. Based on his assertion, although there are several Buddhist sects, we do not need to use the titles that these sects have been given. Master Dōgen insists that the title "the Buddha

'

s

truth"

or

"Buddhism

" is sufficient, and that it is wrong to use such titles as the Unmon sect, the Hōgen sect, the Igyō sect, the Rinzai sect, and the Sōtō sect. We usually think of Master Dōgen as belonging to the Sōtō sect, but he himself did not approve of the use of even the title "Sōtō sect.

"

[152] The eternal buddha Sōkei1 on one occasion preaches to the assembly, "From Enō to the Seven Buddhas there are forty patriarchs. "2 When we investigate these words, from the Seven Buddhas to Enō are forty buddhas. When we count the buddhas and the patriarchs, we count them like this. When we count them like this, the Seven Buddhas are seven patriarchs, and the thirtythree patriarchs are thirty-three buddhas. Sōkei's intention is like this. This is the right and traditional instruction of the Buddha. Only the rightful successors 87

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of the authentic transmission have received the authentic transmission of this counting method. From Śākyamuni Buddha to Sōkei there are thirty-four patriarchs. Each of the transmissions between these Buddhist patriarchs is like Kāśyapa3 meeting the Tathāgata and like the Tathāgata getting Kāśyapa. Just as Śākyamuni Buddha learns in practice under Kāśyapa Buddha, each teacher and disciple exists in the present. Therefore, the right Dharma-eye treasury has been personally transmitted from rightful successor to rightful successor, and the true life of the Buddha-Dharma is nothing other than this authentic transmission. The Buddha-Dharma, because it is authentically transmitted like this, is perfectly legitimate in its transmission. This being so, the virtues and the pivotal essence of the Buddha's truth have been faultlessly provided. They have been transmitted from India in the west to the Eastern Lands, a hundred thousand and eight miles, and they have been transmitted from the time when the Buddha was in the world until today, more than two thousand years. People who do not learn this truth in practice speak randomly and mistakenly. They randomly call the right Dharma-eye treasury and the fine mind of nirvana that have been authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patriarchs "the Zen sect"; they call the ancestral master "the Zen patriarch"; they call practitioners "Zen students" or "students of dhyāna";4 and some of them call themselves "the Zen schools.

" These are all twigs and

leaves rooted in a distorted view. Those who randomly call themselves by the name "Zen sect,

" which has never existed in India in the west or in the Eastern Lands, from the past to the present, are demons out to destroy the Buddha's truth. They are the Buddhist patriarchs' uninvited enemies. [154] Sekimon's Rinkanroku5 says:

Bodhidharma first went from the land of the Liang dynasty to the land of the Wei dynasty. He passed along the foot of Sūzan Mountain and rested his staff at Shōrin [Temple]. He just sat in stillness facing the wall, and only that—he was not learning Zen meditation. He continued this for a long time but no one could understand the reason, and so they saw Bodhidharma as training in Zen meditation. Now, dhyāna6 is only one of many practices: how could it be all there was to the Saint? Yet on the basis of this [misunderstanding] the chroniclers of that time subsequently listed him among those who were learning Zen meditation: they grouped him alongside people like withered trees and 88

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dead ash. Nevertheless, the Saint did not stop at dhyāna;and at the same time, of course, he did not go against dhyāna—just as the art of divination emerges from yinand yangwithout going against yinand yang. 7

[155] Calling him the twenty-eighth patriarch is on the basis that [Mahā] kāśyapa is the first patriarch. Counting from Vipaśyin8 Buddha, he is the thirtyfifth patriarch. The Seven Buddhas' and twenty-eight patriarchs' experience of the truth should not necessarily be limited to dhyāna. Therefore the master of the past says,

"Dhyānais only one of many practices; how could it be all there was to the Saint?" This master of the past has seen a little of people and has entered the inner sanctum of the ancestral patriarchs, and so he has these words. Throughout the great kingdom of Song these days [such a person] might be difficult to find and might hardly exist at all. Even if [the important thing is] dhyānawe should never use the name "Zen sect. " Still more, dhyānais

never the whole importance of the Buddha-Dharma. Those who, nevertheless, willfully call the great truth that is authentically transmitted from buddha to buddha "the Zen sect" have never seen the Buddha's truth even in a dream, have never heard it even in a dream, and have never received its transmission even in a dream. Do not concede that the Buddha-Dharma might even exist among people who claim to be "the Zen sect.

" Who has invented the name

"Zen sect"? None of the buddhas and ancestral masters has ever used the name "Zen sect.

" Remember, the name "Zen sect" has been devised by demons and devils. People who have called themselves a name used by demons and devils may themselves be a band of demons; they are not the children and grandchildren of the Buddhist patriarchs. [157] The World-honored One, before an assembly of millions on Vulture Peak, picks up an uḍumbaraflower and winks. The assembly is totally silent. Only the face of Venerable Mahākāśyapa breaks into a smile. The World-honored One says,

"I have the right Dharma-eye

treasury and the fine mind of nirvana; along with the saṃghāṭīrobe, 9

I transmit them to Mahākāśyapa.

10

The World-honored One's transmission to Mahākāśyapa is "I have the right Dharma-eye treasury and the fine mind of nirvana. " In addition to this

there is no "I have the Zen sect and I transmit it to Mahākāśyapa. " He says

"along with the saṃghāṭīrobe;" he does not say "along with the Zen sect. "

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Thus, the name "Zen sect" is never heard while the World-honored One is in the world.

[158] The First Patriarch,

11 at that time, addresses the Second Patriarch:

"The buddhas' supreme and fine truth is to persevere for vast kalpas in difficult conduct and painful conduct, and to be able to endure what it is hard to endure. How can one hope to seek the true vehicle with small virtue and small wisdom, and with a trivial and conceited mind?"12 On another occasion he says,

"The Dharma seal13 of the buddhas is not got from other people. "

And on another occasion he says,

"The Tathāgata transmitted the right

Dharma-eye treasury to [Mahā]kāśyapa.

"

[159] What has been indicated now is "the supreme and fine truth of the buddhas, the right Dharma-eye treasury, and the Dharma seal of the buddhas.

" At this time, there has been no instance at all of using the name "Zen sect,

" and no cause of or condition for using the name "Zen sect" has ever been heard. This "right Dharma-eye treasury" has been passed on in the face-to-face transmission by the raising of an eyebrow and the winking of an eye; it has been given with body, mind, bones, and marrow; it has been received with body, mind, bones, and marrow; it has been transmitted and received "before the body and after the body";14 and it has been transmitted and received "on the mind and outside of mind. "15 The name "Zen

sect" is not heard in the order of the World-honored One and Mahākāśyapa; the name "Zen sect" is not heard in the order of the First Patriarch and the Second Patriarch; the name "Zen sect" is not heard in the order of the Fifth Patriarch and the Sixth Patriarch; and the name "Zen sect" is not heard in the orders of Seigen and Nangaku.

16 There is nothing to indicate who began

using the name, and from what time. People out to destroy the Dharma and to steal the Dharma, who could not be numbered as practitioners even though they were among practitioners, may have secretly initiated the name. If practitioners of later ages randomly use the name that Buddhist patriarchs have never permitted, they will corrupt the lineage of the Buddhist patriarchs. Further, there will appear to be another method called "the Zen sect" besides the method of the buddhas and the patriarchs. If there is any method which is other than the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs, it may be a method of non-Buddhists. As already the children and grandchildren of Buddhist patriarchs, we should learn in practice the bones, marrow, and facial features of the 90

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Buddhist patriarchs. We have devoted ourselves to the Buddhist patriarchs' truth; we should not flee from this place and learn non-Buddhism. We have retained the rarely retained body-mind of a human being. This is by virtue of pursuing the truth in the past. If, having received this benevolent influence, we mistakenly promote non-Buddhism, we will not be repaying the benevolence of the Buddhist patriarchs. In great Song [China] in recent ages, common folk throughout the country have heard this wrong name "Zen sect, "

and so the vulgar usually use the wrong names "Zen sect, " "Bodhidharma

sect,

" and "Buddha's Mind sect,

" rumors of which vie to be heard and to disturb the Buddha's truth. These [names] are the confused expressions of people who have never known the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs, and who neither perceive nor believe that the right Dharma-eye treasury even exists. How could anyone who knows the right Dharma-eye treasury call the Buddha's truth by a wrong name? [162] For this reason. . .

Great Master Musai17 of Sekitō-an Temple on Nangakuzan, in formal preaching in the Dharma hall, addresses the assembly as follows: "My Dharma gate18 has been transmitted and received from past buddhas; it is, without discussing the balanced state of Zen or diligence, 19 solely to master the

wisdom of the Buddha.

"20

Remember, Buddhist patriarchs who possess the authentic transmission from the Seven Buddhas and the many buddhas speak like this. The only words realized are that "My Dharma gate has been transmitted and received from past buddhas.

" There is no realization of the words "My Zen sect has been transmitted and received from past buddhas. " Without distinguishing separate instances of "the balanced state of Zen and diligence, " he causes us "solely to

master the wisdom of the Buddha. " That which he has solely mastered— without spurning the balanced state of Zen and diligence—is the wisdom of the Buddha. This is expressed as "I possess the right Dharma-eye treasury and I transmit it.

"21 [Sekitō's] "My"22 is [the Buddha's] "I possess. "23 "The Dharma

gate" is "the right Dharma.

" "My,

" "my possession,

" and "my marrow"24 are

"the transmission"25 which "you have got. "26 Great Master Musai is a disciple of the founding patriarch Seigen, the only one to have entered Seigen's inner sanctum. And he is the Dharma child of the eternal buddha Sōkei who shaved his head.

27 So the eternal buddha Sōkei is his forefather and his father, and 91

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the founding patriarch Seigen is his elder brother and his teacher. As a hero in the truth of the Buddha and in the order of the patriarchs, Great Master Musai of Sekitō-an Temple stands alone. Only Musai has solely mastered the authentic transmission of the Buddha's truth: every fruition and every element of the realization of his words is the timelessness of an eternal buddha and the everlasting presentness of an eternal buddha. We should see him as the eye of the right Dharma-eye treasury, and we should not compare him with others. That people who do not know compare him with Daijaku of Kōzei28 is wrong. So remember, the Buddha's truth transmitted and received from past buddhas is not even called "the balanced state of Zen"; how much less could it be called, or discussed as,

"the Zen sect"? Clearly remember,

to call it "the Zen sect" is the most enormous error. Inept people, thinking that [the Buddha's truth] might be like a materialist sect29 or an immaterialist sect,

30 regret that unless a name is given to a sect it is as if there is nothing to learn. The Buddha's truth cannot be like that. We should be absolutely certain that [the Buddha's truth] has never been called "the Zen sect. " Nevertheless, the common folk of recent ages, in their stupidity, do not know the old customs, and people who have not received the transmission of past buddhas wrongly say,

"Within the Buddha-Dharma there are the lineages

and customs of the five sects.

" This is a degeneration that has been left to

follow its natural course. There has been not one person nor half a person to redeem it. My late master Tendō, the eternal buddha, is the first to have shown pity for this situation. This is his mission as a human being, and it is his mastery of the Dharma. [166] My late master, the eternal buddha, in formal preaching in the Dharma hall, addresses the assembly as follows: "That individuals today talk solely of there being differences in the customs of the lineages of Unmon, Hōgen, Igyō, Rinzai, Sōtō, and so on is not the Buddha-Dharma and is not the truth of the ancestral master.

"

The realization of these words is hard to meet [once] in a thousand years, for only my late master expresses it, and is hard to hear through the ten directions, for only his consummate order hears it. This being so, among one thousand monks there is no listening ear and no seeing eye; how much less is there any who listens with the whole mind; and how much less is there any who listens with the body? Even if they listened with their whole body-mind 92

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for hundreds of millions of myriad kalpas, they could never utilize the thoroughly realized body-mind of my late master to listen, to experience, to believe, and to get free. It is pitiful that everyone throughout the ten directions of the great kingdom of Song has considered my late master to be on a par with the old veterans of other districts. Should we see the people who think like this as equipped with eyes? Or should we see them as not equipped with eyes? Again, some have considered my late master to be on a par with Rinzai and Tokusan. It must be said that these people have never seen my late master and have never met with Rinzai. Before I performed prostrations to my late master, the eternal buddha, I had intended to investigate the profound teachings of the five sects, but after performing prostrations to my late master, the eternal buddha, I clearly knew the principle that the five sects are random names. That being so, when the Buddha-Dharma flourished in the great kingdom of Song there were no names of five sects. There was never an ancient who proclaimed the names of five sects or who mentioned sectarian customs. Since the Buddha-Dharma has weakened the names of five sects have occurred at random. The situation is like this because people are negligent in learning in practice and not keen in pursuing the truth. To each individual monk who pursues real mastery in practice, I issue a stern warning: Do not retain the random names of the five sects, and do not retain any concept of lineages or customs belonging to five sects. How much less should there be "the three kinds of profundity,

"31 "the three pivots,

"32 "the four thoughts,

"33 "the

four relations between reflection and action,

"34 "the nine standards,

"35 and

so on. How much less should there be "the three phrases, "36 "the five relative

positions,

"37 and "the ten kinds of shared true wisdom.

"38 The truth of Old

Master Śākyamuni is not small thinking like that, and it does not esteem thinking like that as great. The words have never been realized. They have not been heard at Shōrin [Temple] or on Sōkei [Mountain]. It is pitiful that they are repeated by shavelings who, in the present degenerate age, do not hear the Dharma, their body-mind and eyes being dark. The children and grandchildren of the Buddhist patriarchs, and their embryos, must not express such words. Masters who abide in and retain the state of Buddhist patriarchs have never let these words of madness be heard. Recent second-rate teachers, people who have never heard the whole truth of the Buddha-Dharma, who lack complete devotion to the truth of the patriarchs, and who are ignorant 93

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in regard to their own state, being excessively proud of one or two mere trifles, establish names of sects like those mentioned earlier. Once the names of sects are established, small children, because they have not learned the Way to pursue the substance, vainly follow the shadow. They do not have the spirit which adores the ancients; they have behavior which is corrupted by secular customs. Even secular people warn of the vileness of following the secular customs of the world.

[172] King Bunnō39 asks Minister Taikō,

"Why is it that though a lord

endeavors to employ sages, he does not reap the benefit, but social disorder gets more and more extreme, putting [the nation] in peril?" Taikō says,

"He employs sages but does not use them. So although he employs wise advisers in name, he does not get the real effect of their wisdom. "

Bunnō says,

"Where does the fault lie?"

Taikō says,

"The fault is in [the lord's] fondness for using those who are praised by the world, instead of obtaining for himself true sages. "

Bunnō says,

"What does it mean to like to use those who are praised by the world?"

Taikō says,

"To like to listen to those who are praised by the world is to think the unwise wise, to think the unintelligent intelligent, to think the disloyal loyal, and to think the untrustworthy trustworthy. If the lord sees those who are praised by the world as wise and intelligent, and sees those who are reviled by the world as unworthy, people who have many accomplices will advance, and people who have few accomplices will recede. Thus, when the false band together and block out the wise, loyal retainers die having committed no crime, and false retainers use empty reputations to seek court rank. For these reasons social disorder becomes more and more extreme, and so the nation cannot escape peril.

"40

[173] Even secular people regret it when their nation and their principles are in peril. When the Buddha-Dharma and the Buddha's truth are in peril, the Buddha's disciples must inevitably regret it. The cause of peril is arbitrary following of the customs of the world. When we listen to the praises of the world, we do not find true sages. If we want to find true sages, we should adopt a strategy of wisdom that illuminates the past and looks into the future. Those who are praised by the world are not always wise and not always 94

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sacred. Those who are reviled by secular people are not always wise and not always sacred. Observing three times the case in which the wise invite vilification and the case in which the false are praised, we should not confuse those cases. Not to use the wise is the nation's loss, and to use the unworthy is a matter for the nation's regret. The present establishment of the names of five sects is an aberration of the secular world. Those who follow the customs of this secular world are many, but those who have understood the secular as the secular are few. We should see those who reform the secular as saints. To follow the secular may be the utmost foolishness. How could people who are willing to follow the secular know the Buddha's right Dharma? How could they become buddhas and become patriarchs? [The Buddha-Dharma] has been received by rightful successor from rightful successor since the Seven Buddhas: how could this be similar to the establishment of the five versions of the Vinaya41 by people in India whose understanding depended upon sentences? So remember, the ancestral masters who made the right life of the Buddha-Dharma into [their own] right lives have never said that there are five sects. Someone who learns that there are five sects in Buddhism is not an authentic successor of the Seven Buddhas.

[175] My late master addresses the assembly: "In recent years the truth of the patriarchs has degenerated. Bands of demons, and animals, are many. They frequently discuss the lineages and customs of five sects. It is very distressing, very distressing. "

Thus, clearly, the twenty-eight generations of India in the west and the twenty-two patriarchs of China in the east have never proclaimed five sects. All ancestral masters who are fit to be called ancestral masters are like this. Those who uphold the names of five sects, claiming that each sect has its own fundamental principle, are those who "deceive and delude people of the world" and are those of "scant knowledge and sparse understanding. "

If everyone in Buddhism established their own individual truth, how could the Buddha's truth have arrived at the present day? Mahākāśyapa would have established one of his own, and Ānanda would have established one of his own. If the principle of independent establishment were the right way, the Buddha-Dharma would have died out in the early days in India. Who could venerate principles that individuals had established independently? Among principles that individuals had established independently, who could 95

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decide between the true and the false? If unable to decide between the true and the false, who could consider [a principle] to be the Buddha-Dharma or not to be the Buddha-Dharma? Without clarifying this truth it is hard to call anything Buddhism. The names of the five sects were not established during the lifetimes of the respective ancestral masters. Since the deaths of the ancestral masters who are called the ancestral masters of the five sects, flotsam in the stream of their lineages—people whose eyes were not clear and whose feet did not walk—without asking their fathers, and going against their forefathers, have established the names. The principle is evident and anyone can know it.

[177] Zen Master Daien42 of Daiizan43 is a disciple of Hyakujō Daichi44 and he lives as master of Isan Mountain at the time of Hyakujō, but he never says that the Buddha-Dharma should be called the Igyō45 sect. And Hyakujō does not say to Isan,

"From your time onward, living as master of Isan Mountain, you should use the name 'Igyō sect. '" Neither the master46 nor the patriarch47 uses the name, and so we should remember that it is a wrong name. And even though people arbitrarily use his name in the title of a sect, we should not necessarily single out Kyōzan.

48 If it were appropriate [for Isan

and Kyōzan] to call [a sect] by their own names, they would use their own names. Because it is not appropriate to use personal names, personal names were not used in the past, and personal names are not used today. We do not speak of the Sōkei sect, the Nangaku sect, the Kōzei sect, or the Hyakujō sect.

49 It was impossible for Isan, in his time, to differ from Sōkei; he could neither surpass Sōkei nor be equal to Sōkei. And the relation between Kyōzan and one word or half a phrase spoken by Daii is not always one staff being carried on the shoulders of two people.

50 If people were going to establish

the name of a sect, they should call it the Isan sect, or they should call it the Daii sect. There has never been any reason to use the name Igyō sect. If it were appropriate to use the name Igyō sect, the name should have been used when the two venerable patriarchs were in the world. What obstacle was it that caused them not to use a name that they might have used when they were in the world? Those who go against the truth of their father51 and their forefather52 and use the name Igyō sect, which was not used when the two were in the world, are disloyal children and grandchildren. This name is neither the original hope of Zen Master Daii nor the original intention of Old 96

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Man Kyōzan. It has no authentic transmission from a true master. The fact is evident that it is a wrong name used by a group of wrong people. Never let it be heard through the whole universe in ten directions. [180] Great Master Eshō,

53 abandoning a sutra-lecturing school, became a disciple of Ōbaku.

54 He tasted Ōbaku's staff on three occasions, [receiving] sixty strokes altogether, and realized the state of realization while practicing in Daigu's order.

55 In the story he is in residence as the master of Rinzai-in Temple in Chinshū. Though not having perfectly realized Ōbaku's mind, he still never says one word, or says half a word, to the effect that the Buddha-Dharma he has received should be called the Rinzai sect; he does not [say so] by holding up a fist and does not [say so] by picking up a whisk. Nevertheless, flotsam among the members of his order, failing to preserve the conduct of their father and failing to keep the Buddha-Dharma, soon wrongly establish the name "Rinzai sect. " If it had been contrived during the human life of Great Master Eshō there would have been discussion to prevent the establishment of that name—because it clearly goes against the teaching of the ancestral patriarch himself. Moreover, as Rinzai is about to die, he entrusts [the Dharma] to Zen Master Sanshō Enen, 56 saying,

"After my death, do not

destroy my right Dharma-eye treasury. " Enen says,

"How could I dare to

destroy the master's right Dharma-eye treasury?" Rinzai says, "If someone

suddenly questions you, how will you answer?" Enen at once lets out a yell. Rinzai says,

"Who is there that knows that my right Dharma-eye treasury, which is passing toward this blind donkey, will be destroyed?"57 [182] The words spoken by master and disciple are like this. Rinzai never says "Do not destroy my Zen sect, " never says "Do not destroy my

Rinzai sect,

" and never says "Do not destroy my sect. " He only says,

"Do

not destroy my right Dharma-eye treasury. " We should clearly remember

that the great truth authentically transmitted from buddha to buddha must not be called "the Zen sect" and must not be called "the Rinzai sect. " We

must never even dream of calling it "the Zen sect. " Though "cessation"58 is

the essence and form of the right Dharma-eye treasury, the transmission is passed on like this.

"Being destroyed as it passes toward a concrete blind donkey" is truly the "Who knows?" state of the transmission. In Rinzai's lineage Sanshō is alone. We should neither associate him with nor align him with his elder and younger brothers in the Dharma; truly "his place is under 97

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a bright window.

"59 The story of Rinzai and Sanshō is [a story of] Buddhist patriarchs. The Rinzai transmission today is the Vulture Peak transmission of olden days. Thus, the principle that we should not use the name "Rinzai sect" is evident.

[183] Great Master Kyōshin60 of Unmonzan practiced in the past under Venerable Patriarch Chen,

61 and so he may have been a descendant of Ōbaku. Thereafter, he succeeded Seppō. This Master [Unmon] also does not say that the right Dharma-eye treasury should be called "the Unmon sect. " But members of his lineage also, not knowing that the wrong names "Igyō sect" and "Rinzai sect" are wrong names, have established the new name "Unmon sect.

" If the fundamental intent of Great Master Kyōshin aspired to a name that would establish a sect, then it would be difficult to affirm that he was the body-mind of the Buddha-Dharma. When people now use the name of the sect, it is as if they are calling an emperor a peasant. 62

[184] Zen Master Dai Hōgen63 of Seiryō-in Temple is the rightful successor of [the master of] Jizō-in Temple, 64 and a Dharma grandchild of [the

master of] Gensha-in Temple:65 he possesses the fundamental teaching and is without wrongness. Dai Hōgen is the master's title he uses when signing his name. There is not one word in a thousand words, and not one saying in ten thousand sayings, in which he has advocated the establishment of the name "Hōgen sect,

" using his own title as a title for the right Dharma-eye treasury. However, members of this lineage also have established the name "Hōgen sect.

" If Hōgen could influence the present, he would eradicate the speaking of the present wrong name "Hōgen sect. " Since Zen Master Hōgen

has passed away already, there is no one to cure this disease. Even thousands or tens of thousands of years hereafter, people who wish to be loyal disciples of Zen Master Hōgen must refuse to treat this name "Hōgen sect" as a name. That is to remain fundamentally loyal to Zen Master Dai Hōgen. Broadly, the likes of Unmon and Hōgen are the distant descendants of the founding patriarch Seigen; the bones of the truth have been transmitted and the marrow of the Dharma has been transmitted to them.

66

[186] The founding patriarch Great Master Gohon67 received the Dharma from Ungan.

68 Ungan was the rightful successor of Great Master Yakusan. 69

Yakusan was the rightful successor of Great Master Sekitō. 70 Great Master

Sekitō was the founding patriarch Seigen's only son: there was no second 98

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or third to equal to him; the conduct of the truth was authentically transmitted to him alone. That the right life of the Buddha's truth has survived in the Eastern Lands is by virtue of Great Master Sekitō having faultlessly received the authentic transmission. The founding patriarch Seigen, at the time of the eternal buddha Sōkei, taught on Seigen [Mountain] the teachings of Sōkei. To be asked to manifest himself in the world71 while [Sōkei] was in the world, and to experience manifestation in the world in that generation, he must have been a rightful successor above rightful successors and a founding patriarch among founding patriarchs: it is not true that the better course is learning under one's master and the inferior course is manifesting oneself in the world. [But] practitioners should take note that the average in those days would be outstanding today. When the eternal buddha Sōkei was about to teach human beings and gods by manifesting his parinirvāṇa,

72 Sekitō, the story goes,

steps up from his seat at the back73 and asks whom he should rely upon as a teacher. The eternal buddha then says "Visit [Gyō]shi. " He does not say "Visit

[E]jō.

" This being so, the eternal buddha's right Dharma-eye treasury is the authentic transmission of the founding patriarch Seigen alone. Although we acknowledge the excellent members of the order who attained the truth together with him, the founding patriarch walks alone as a truly excellent member.

74 The eternal buddha Sōkei has made his own child into Seigen's child, who, as the father of the father of the father of the child [Tōzan], 75 evidently had attained the marrow and evidently was the rightful successor of the ancestral patriarchs. Great Master Tōzan, as the legitimate fourth-generation heir of Seigen, has received the authentic transmission of the right Dharma-eye treasury, and has opened his eyes to the fine mind of nirvana. Besides this, there is no separate transmission and no separate sect. The great master has never shown to the assembly any fist or wink of an eye that advocated the use of the name "Sōtō sect. " Furthermore, there was no flotsam

mixed in among his disciples, and so there was no disciple who used the name "Tōzan sect.

" How much less could they speak of a "Sōtō sect"? The name "Sōtō sect" may be the result of including the name Sōzan. 76 In such

a case, Ungo77 and Dōan78 would have to be included too. Ungo is a guiding master in the human world and in the heavens above, and he is more venerable than Sōzan. We can conclude, in regard to this name "Sōtō, " that

some stinking skinbag belonging to a side lineage, seeing himself as equal 99

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[to Tōzan], has devised the name "Sōtō sect.

" Truly, though the white sun

is bright, it is as if floating clouds are obscuring it from below. [189] My late master says,

"Now there are many who ascend the lion

seats of many districts and many who act as teachers of human beings and gods, but there is no one at all who knows the truths of the Buddha-Dharma. "

Therefore, those who vie to uphold a sect among the five sects, and who remain wrongly stuck in words among sayings and words, are really the enemies of the Buddhist patriarchs. In another case, a school has been named after Zen Master Nan of Ōryū,

79 and has begun to be called "the Ōryū sect,

"

but before long that school will know their wrongness. In general, while the World-honored One was in the world, he never named a "Buddha sect, " nor

named a "Vulture Peak sect,

" nor spoke of a "Jetavana Park sect,

" nor spoke

of a "My Mind sect,

" nor spoke of a "Buddha's Mind sect.

" In which of the

Buddha's words is a Buddhist sect named? For what reason do people today use the name "Buddha's Mind sect"? Why should the World-honored One necessarily call the mind a sect? And why should a sect inevitably be related to the mind? If there is a Buddha's Mind sect, there should be a Buddha's Body sect, there should be a Buddha's Eye sect, there should be a Buddha's Ear sect, there should be sects for the Buddha's nose, tongue, and so on. There should be a Buddha's Marrow sect, a Buddha's Bones sect, a Buddha's Legs sect, a Buddha's Realm sect, and so on. Now there are no such things. Remember, the name "Buddha's Mind sect" is a false name. When Śākyamuni Buddha cites that all dharmas through the whole of the buddha lands in ten directions are real form, and when he preaches the whole of the buddha lands in ten directions, he does not preach that in the buddha lands in ten directions he has established some sect. If the naming of sects were the method of Buddhist patriarchs, it would have taken place in the Buddha's reign. If it had taken place in the Buddha's reign, the Buddha would have preached it. The Buddha did not preach it. Clearly, it was not a tool in the reign of the Buddha. The patriarchs do not speak of it. Clearly, it is not a utensil in the domain of the patriarchs. You might not only be laughed at by others, but also thwarted by the buddhas, and even laughed at by yourselves. So, please, do not give names to sects, and do not say that there are five sects in the Buddha-Dharma. [193] Latterly there has been an infantile man named Chisō80 who made a collection of one or two sayings of ancestral masters and described the five 100

Chapter Forty-nine

sects. He called [this collection] Eyes of Human Beings and Gods. 81 People

have not recognized it for what it is; beginners and late learners have thought it to be true, and there are even some who carry it hidden in their clothes. It is not the eyes of human beings and gods; it darkens the eyes of human beings and gods. How could it have the virtue of blinding the right Dharma-eye treasury? The aforementioned Eyes of Human Beings and Godswas edited by veteran monk Chisō at Mannenji on Tendaizan82 in around the twelfth lunar month of [the sixth year] of the Junki era.

83 Even a work produced latterly, if its words are true, should be approved. [But] this work is deranged and stupid. It has no eyes of learning in practice and no eyes of a journey on foot. How much less could it have the eyes of meeting Buddhist patriarchs? We should not use it. We should not call [the author] Chisō, which means "Wise and Clear"; we should call him Gumō—

"Stupid and Dark.

" One who

does not know a true person, and who does not meet a person, has gathered together sayings without picking up the sayings of people who are true people. It is clear that he does not know a person.

84 The cause of students of the

teaching in China using the names of sects was the presence of [masters of] this and that [lineage] who could rival each other. Now the transmission of the Buddhist patriarchs' right Dharma-eye treasury has passed from rightful successor to rightful successor, with whom there can be no rival. There are no [other masters of] this and that [lineage] who might be included in the same class. Even so, unreliable old veterans today constantly use the names of sects at random. Scheming in their own interests, they are not in awe of the Buddha's truth. The Buddha's truth is not your own Buddha's truth; it is the Buddha's truth of the Buddhist patriarchs, and it is the Buddha's truth of the Buddha's truth. Minister Taikō says to King Bunnō, "The whole country is not the whole country of one person: it is the whole country of the whole country.

"85 Thus, even a layman has this wisdom and has these words. Children in the house of the Buddhist patriarchs must not arbitrarily allow the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs to follow the stupid and the dark, by calling themselves a sect. That is a great violation, and [one who commits it] is not a person of the Buddha's truth. If we should call ourselves by the name of a sect the World-honored One himself would have used the name. Given that the World-honored One did not name his own sect, what reason could we have, as his descendants, to use names after his death? What person 187c

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187b

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could be more skillful than the World-honored One? Those without skillfulness are likely to produce no benefit. Again, given that the Buddhist patriarchs have not contravened the time-honored truth by establishing their own sects, who among the Buddha's descendants could see their own sect as a sect? Learn in practice by illuminating the past and reflecting the present; do not be arbitrary. Hoping not to differ one jot from the World-honored One when he was in the world, his bereaved disciples solely have in their mind the regret of not being able to achieve or the joy of having achieved, and the desire not to go against, even a millionth [of his teaching]. Thus we should vow to find him and to serve him in many lives. Thus we should desire to meet Buddha and to hear the Dharma in many lives. Those who would deliberately go against the teaching of the World-honored One when he was in the world and establish the name of a sect are neither the disciples of the Tathāgata nor the descendants of the ancestral masters. [Their sin] is heavier than the heavy and the deadly [sins].

86 By rashly disregarding the

importance of the Tathāgata's supreme truth of bodhiand by acting only in the selfish interests of their own sect, they make light of their predecessors and go against the predecessors. We can say that they do not even know the predecessors, and they do not believe in the virtues that were present in the World-honored One's day. The Buddha-Dharma cannot abide in their houses. In conclusion, if you want to receive the authentic transmission of the conduct of the truth as one who follows the Buddha, do not see or hear the names of sects. That which every buddha and every patriarch transmits and authentically receives is the right Dharma-eye treasury and the supreme truth of bodhi.The Dharma that the Buddhist Patriarch possessed has been transmitted in its entirety by buddhas, and there are no innovations to be added to the Dharma at all. This principle is the bones of the Dharma and the marrow of the truth.

188a

Shōbōgenzō Butsudō

Preached to the assembly at Kippōji in the

Yoshida district of Esshū, on the sixteenth day

of the ninth lunar month in the first year of

Kangen.

87

102

Notes

1 Master Daikan Enō (638-713), successor of Master Daiman Kōnin. He is the thirtythird patriarch, and the Sixth Patriarch in China. 2 Paraphrased in Japanese from the Rokusodaishihōbōdankyō (Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'

s Dharma Treasure).

3 Kāśyapa Buddha is the sixth of the seven ancient buddhas, the seventh being Śākyamuni. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso. 4 Zenna-su. Zenna is a transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyāna, literally, reflection.

" Suliterally means "child" or "disciple.

"

"thought or

5 Sekimonrinkanroku (Sekimon

'

s Forest Record) is a two-volume work first published in 1107. It was compiled by Master Kakuhan Ekō (1071-1128), who is also sometimes referred to as Sekimon, which was the name of the district where his temple was located.

6 Zennais another transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyāna. 7 The same passage is quoted in Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji, paragraph 193. 8 Vipaśyin Buddha is the first of the Seven Buddhas. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso.

9 The large robe. See Chapter Twelve (Vol. I), Kesa-kudoku. 10 Quoted from the Nenge("Picking Up of a Flower") chapter of the Daibontenōmonbutsuketsugikyō (Sutra of Questions and Answers between Mahābrahman and the Buddha). See also Shinji-shōbōgenzō, pt. 3, no. 54; Chapter Sixty-eight, Udonge. 11 Master Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch in China. 12 This story is also quoted in Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji,paragraph 216. The wording is slightly different in the two versions. 13 Hōin(Dharma seal) represents the meaning of the Sanskrit dharmoddānaor dharmauddāna (see Glossary of Sanskrit Terms). Sometimes three seals are enumerated, namely investigation of reality as anitya(inconstant, impermanent), as anātman(not self, non-spiritual), and as nirvana (extinct, devoid of illusion). A teaching that does not bear these three "seals,

" or distinguishing features, is not regarded as the Buddha-Dharma. 103

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14 Shinsen-shingo,

"before the body and after the body, " suggests the momentary continuation of Buddhist effort endlessly into the past and future. See also Chapter Fortyeight, Sesshin-sesshō,note 17. 15 Shinjō-shinge, or "on [the basis of] the mind and outside [the conceptual area] of mind.

"

16 Master Seigen Gyōshi (d. 740) and Master Nangaku Ejō (677-744) were both disciples of the Sixth Patriarch in China, Master Daikan Enō. Master Dōgen's Sōtō lineage is through Master Seigen. The Rinzai lineage is through Master Nangaku. 17 Master Sekitō Kisen (700-790), successor of Master Seigen Gyōshi. Great Master Musai is his posthumous title. 18 Hōmonmay be interpreted as "gate to the Dharma, " i.e.,

"way of teaching Buddhism. "

The translation "Dharma gate" has been preferred, however, to avoid any suggestion of separation of means (gate) and end (Dharma). In the FukanzazengiMaster Dōgen describes zazen as anraku [no] hōmon, "peaceful and joyful gate of Dharma. "

19 Zenjō-shōjin,

"zen-balance and diligence, " represent the Sanskrit dhyānaand vīrya. These are two of the six pāramitās, viz., dāna (free giving), śīla (moral integrity), kṣanti (fortitude), vīrya (diligence), dhyāna (balanced reflection), and prajñā (real wisdom).

20 Keitokudentōroku,chap. 14. 21 Go-u-shōbōgenzō-fuzoku.These characters are taken from the Buddha's preaching quoted in paragraph 157: "I have the right Dharma-eye treasury . . . and I transmit. . . . "

22 Go-shi. Shifunctions as a particle which makes go, "I,

" into "my.

"

23 Go-u,

"I have,

" "I possess,

" or "my possession.

"

24 Gozui,

"my marrow,

" alludes to Master Bodhidharma's words to Master Taiso Eka: nyotoku-gozui,

"you have got my marrow. " See Chapter Forty-six, Kattō. 25 Fuzoku,taken from the Buddha's words ("I transmit. . . "), suggests the transmission from the Buddha to Master Mahākāśyapa. The transmission from the Buddha, from Master Bodhidharma, and from Master Sekitō Kisen is the same transmission. 26 Nyotoku.Master Bodhidharma's words nyotoku-gozui, "you have got my marrow, "

symbolize the state of oneness of subject and object in the transmission of the Dharma. 27 Master Daikan Enō died in 713, when Master Sekitō was thirteen or fourteen years old. After that, Master Sekitō became the disciple of Master Daikan Enō's successor, Master Seigen.

28 Master Baso Dōitsu (709-788), successor of Master Nangaku Ejō and a contemporary of Master Sekitō. The Rinzai lineage is through Master Baso. 29 Ushū. Umeans existence or possession. Shūmeans sect or religion. 104

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30 Kūshū. Kū means that which is empty, void, or immaterial: for example, spiritual essence or abstract ideals. The opposition of kūshūand ushūsuggests the opposing standpoints of idealism and materialism.

31 Sangen ("three kids of profundity"), in the Rinzaizenjigoroku(Record of the Words of Zen Master Rinzai Gigen).

32 Sanyō ("three pivots"), also contained in Rinzaizenjigoroku. 33 Shiryōken ("four thoughts") are four ways of considering subject and object in Buddhist training: 1) to take away the person but not to take away circumstances; 2) to take away circumstances but not to take away the person; 3) to take away both person and circumstances; and 4) not to take away either person or circumstances. Also contained in the Rinzai zenjigoroku.

34 Shishōyō("four relations between reflection and action") is another teaching of Master Rinzai concerning a master's guidance of a disciple: 1) reflect first, act later; 2) act first, reflect later; 3) reflect and act simultaneously; 4) reflect and act beyond simultaneousness. 35 Kyutai, lit.,

"nine belts,

" are nine standards established by Master Fuzan Hōen for

testing or guiding a disciple.

36 Sanku. In the Unmon sect, for example, three short phrases conceived by Master Unmon were used in the training of monks.

37 Go-i, five relative positions of the absolute and the relative, expounded by Master Tōzan and modified by Master Sōzan. See also Chapter Sixty-six, Shunjū. 38 Ju-dōshinchi,expounded by Master Fun'yō Zenshō.

39 The Zhou dynasty was the predominant dynasty in China for 867 years from the reign of King Buō, which began in 1122 B.C.E. Bunnō was Buō's predecessor as head of the Zhou dynasty.

40 From the Daoist text Rikutō(Six Strategies).

41 Ritsu no gobu.It is said that, by the time of Master Upagupta (the fourth patriarch in India), five separate versions of the Vinaya had been established in India, namely: 1) the Vinaya of the Dharmaguptakas; 2) the Vinaya of the Sarvāstivādins; 3) the Vinaya of the Mahīsāsakas; 4) the Prātimokṣa-sūtraof the Kāśyapīyas; and 5) the Vinaya of the Vāsīputrīyas. See Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary:goburitsu. 42 Master Isan Reiyū (771-853), successor of Master Hyakujō Ekai. The Tang emperor Sensō awarded him the posthumous title Zen Master Daien.

43 Daiizan, Great Isan Mountain. In Master Dōgen's commentary Master Isan is referred to either as Isan or as Daii.

44 Master Hyakujō Ekai (749-814), successor of Master Baso Dōitsu. Zen Master Daichi is his posthumous title.

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45 Igyō. This represents the combination of the names of Master Isan Reiyū and his disciple Master Kyōzan Ejaku—taking "i"from Isan and " gyō"("kyō") from Kyōzan.

46 Master Isan.

47 Master Hyakujō.

48 Master Kyōzan Ejaku (807-883), successor of Master Isan Reiyū. 49 These four names follow the lineage from Master Daikan Enō who lived on Sōkei Mountain, to Master Nangaku Ejō, to Master Baso Dōitsu who lived in Kōzei district, to Master Hyakujō Ekai. Master Isan Reiyū, as a successor of Master Hyakujō Ekai, is a fourth-generation descendant of Master Daikan Enō. 50 In a monastery two monks might carry a heavy bucket of water, for example, by bearing each end of a staff on their shoulders. Master Dōgen used this as a symbol of oneness of two factors.

51 Master Kyōzan.

52 The patriarch Isan.

53 Master Rinzai Gigen (815?-867), successor of Master Ōbaku Kiun. Great Master Eshō is his posthumous title.

54 Master Ōbaku Kiun (d. between 855 and 859), like Master Isan Reiyū, is a successor of Master Hyakujō Ekai.

55 Master Kōan Daigu (dates unknown), successor of Master Kisū Chijō. See Shinjishōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 27. 56 Master Sanshō Enen (dates unknown), successor of Master Rinzai. 57 Gotōegen,chap. 9.

58 Mekkyaku, translated in the story as "destroy. " Metsu appears in the compound

shōmetsu,

"arising and passing,

" which expresses the instantaneousness of the universe, and it is also the third of the Four Noble Truths, ku, shū, metsu, dō, "suffering,

accumulation, cessation, and the Way. "

59 Under a bright window is a convenient location for reading sutras. These words might have been said to an attendant monk by a master who has recognized the potential of an excellent student. The source, however, has not been traced. 60 Master Unmon Bun'en (864-949), successor of Master Seppō Gison. Great Master Kyōshin is his posthumous title.

61 Master Bokushū Dōmyō (dates unknown), successor of Master Ōbaku Kiun. 62 Hippu,lit.,

"single husband"; that is, a man who is the husband of only one woman. To ancient Chinese, that represented a man of low social status. 106

Chapter Forty-nine

63 Master Hōgen Bun'eki (885-958), successor of Master Rakan Keichin. He received the title Zen Master Dai Hōgen by imperial decree during his lifetime. 64 Master Rakan Keichin (867-928), successor of Master Gensha Shibi. His posthumous title is Great Master Shinō of Jizō-in.

65 Master Gensha Shibi (835-907), successor of Master Seppō Gison. 66 Whereas the lineages of Masters Isan and Rinzai stem from Master Nangaku Ejō, the lineages of Masters Unmon and Hōgen stem from Master Seigen Gyōshi. Master Dōgen's own lineage, that through Master Tōzan Ryōkai, also stems from Master Seigen Gyōshi.

67 Master Tōzan Ryōkai (807-869).

68 Master Ungan Donjō (782-841).

69 Master Yakusan Igen (745-828).

70 Master Sekitō Kisen (700-790), successor of Master Seigen Gyōshi. 71 Shusse,

"to manifest oneself in the world,

" means to become a temple master.

72 When Master Daikan Enō was about to die. 73 At the time of Master Daikan Enō's death, Master Sekitō would have been in his early teens, so he would have been seated relatively far from the master. 74 Shō-jinsoku no doppo nari,literally,

"he is a true mystical foot's solitary step. " This

is a play on the expression jinsoku,

"mystical foot" (from the Sanskrit ṛddipāda), which was used to describe an excellent member of a Buddhist order. See Vol. I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

75 Master Sekitō was the master of Master Yakusan Igen, who was the master of Master Ungan Donjō, who was the master of Master Tōzan Ryōkai. 76 Master Sōzan Honjaku (840-901). The first character of of Sōtō is the " sō"of Sōzan

and the second character is the "tō" of Tōzan. Master Sōzan was a successor of Master Tōzan, but Master Dōgen's lineage is through another of Master Tōzan's successors, Master Ungo Dōyō. 77 Master Ungo Dōyō (835?-902).

78 Master Dōan Dōhi (dates unknown), successor of Master Ungo Dōyō. 79 Master Ōryū Enan (died in 1069, at the age of sixty-eight), successor of Master Jimyō Soen.

80 Also known as Zen Master Kaigen Chisō. 81 Ninden[no] ganmoku(Eyes of Human Beings and Gods), three volumes published in 1188. The first two volumes outline the so-called five Chinese sects and evaluate the words of ancient masters categorized as belonging to those sects. 107

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82 A mountain in Zhekiang province where Master Tendai Chigi (538-597) established the original training place of the Tendai sect. 83 1188. Here Master Dōgen uses the Chinese dating system only. 84 Hito o shiru,

"to know a person,

" means the intuitive ability to know whether or not a person is true. Master Dōgen esteemed this ability very highly. See the end of Chapter Fifty-two, Bukkyō. 85 From the Rikutō(Six Strategies). 86 Jūgyakustands for jū-jūzai, "ten heavy sins" (i.e., killing, stealing, adultery, lying, flattery, abusive speech, duplicitous speech, greed, anger, and wrong views) and gogyakuzai, "five deadly sins,

" (i.e., to kill one's mother, to kill one's father, to kill a sacred person, to cause the Buddha's body to shed blood, and to disrupt and divide a Buddhist order).

87 1243.

108