T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume III

Chapter 50: Shohō-jissō - All Dharmas are Real Form

[Chapter Fifty]

Shohō-jissō

All Dharmas are Real Form Translator's Note:Sho expresses plurality; it means "

all,

" "

various,

"

or

"

many.

" Hō means

"dharmas,

" both physical things and mental phenomena. Jitsu means

"

real.

" Sō means form. The Lotus Sutra teaches the most important and fundamental theory in Buddhism, that " all things and phenomena are real form.

" Because Buddhism is a philosophy of realism, its viewpoint is different from idealism and materialism. The idealist sees only phenomena, which cannot be confirmed to be substantially real. Idealists thus doubt that phenomena are real form. The materialist looks at the detail, breaking things into parts, thus losing the meaning and value that is included in the whole. Buddhism says that reality is all things and phenomena existing here and now and reveres them as real substance: reality itself. This teaching is found in the Lotus Sutra, expressed with the words "

all dharmas are real

form.

" In this chapter, Master Dōgen explains the meaning of the Lotus Sutra's teaching.

[201] The realization of the Buddhist patriarchs is perfectly realized real form. Real form is all dharmas. All dharmas are forms as they are, 1 natures

as they are, body as it is, the mind as it is, the world as it is, clouds and rain as they are, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, as they are; sorrow and joy, movement and stillness, as they are; a staff and a whisk, as they are; a twirling flower and a smiling face, as they are; succession of the Dharma and affirmation, as they are; learning in practice and pursuing the truth, as they are; the constancy of pines and the integrity of bamboos, as they are. [203] Śākyamuni Buddha says, "Buddhas alone, together with buddhas, are directly able to perfectly realize that all dharmas are real form. What is called 'all dharmas' is forms as they are, natures as they are, body as it is, energy as it is, action as it is, causes as they are, conditions as they are, effects 109

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as they are, results as they are, and the ultimate state of equilibrium of substance and detail, as it is. "2

The Tathāgata's words "the ultimate state of equilibrium of substance and detail" are the self-expression of "the real form of all dharmas, " are the

self-expression of an ācārya,and are the learning in practice of total equilibrium. Because learning in practice is in the state of total equilibrium, "buddhas alone, together with buddhas, " are "the real form of all dharmas"; and "the real form of all dharmas" is "buddhas alone, together with buddhas. "

"Buddhas alone" are "real form, " and "buddhas together" are "all dharmas. "

Hearing the words "all dharmas, " we should understand them neither as a description of the one nor as a description of the many. Hearing the words "real form,

" we should learn them neither as a negation of voidness3 nor as a negation of nature.

4 "The real" is "buddhas alone, " and "form" is "buddhas

together.

" "Directly being able" is "buddhas alone, " and "perfect realization" is "buddhas together.

" "All dharmas" are "buddhas alone, " and "real form"

is "buddhas together.

" We call the state in which "all dharmas" are just "all dharmas" "buddhas alone" and we call the state in which "all dharmas" are just "real form" "buddhas together. " Thus, there are "forms as they are" and there are "natures as they are" in which "all dharmas" exist as "all dharmas" themselves. And there are "forms as they are" and there are "natures as they are" in which "real form" is just "real form. " "Appearance in the world"5 as "buddhas alone, together with buddhas, " is the preaching, practice, and experience of "all dharmas are real form. " This preaching is the "perfect realization" of "momentarily being able. " Though it is "perfect realization, "

at the same time, it may be a "momentary ability. "6 Because it is beyond

beginning, middle, and end, it is "forms as they are" and "natures as they are,

" and for this reason it is called "good in the beginning, middle, and end.

"7 The meaning of "perfect realization" as "momentarily being able" is "real form as all dharmas.

" "Real form as all dharmas" is "forms as they are.

" "Forms being as they are" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize natures as they are. "8 "Natures being as they are" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize body as it is. " "Body being as it is" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize energy as it is. " "Energy being as it is"

is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize action as it is. " "Action being

as it is" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize causes as they are. "

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"Causes being as they are" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize conditions as they are.

" "Conditions being as they are" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize effects as they are. " "Effects being as they are" is

"momentarily being able to perfectly realize results as they are. " "Results

being as they are" is "momentarily being able to perfectly realize the ultimate state of equilibrium of substance and detail as it is. " Because the expression

"the ultimate state of equilibrium of substance and detail" is truly the realization of "reality as it is, "9 "effects,

" that is, individual and real effects, 10

are beyond the effects of "cause and effect. " For this reason, the effects of cause-and-effect are just "effects, " that is, individual and real effects. Because these "effects" and "forms, natures, body, " and "energy" directly obstruct

each other, the "form, nature, body, " and "energy,

" and so on of "all dharmas"

—however countless and boundless they may be—are "real form. " And

because these "effects" do not restrict "forms, natures, body, " and "energy,

"

the "form, nature, body,

" and "energy" of "all dharmas" each are "real form. "

When these "forms, natures, body, energy, " and so on, and "effects, results, causes, conditions,

" and so on, are left to obstruct each other, there is expression of eighty- or ninety-percent realization. And when these "forms, natures, body, energy,

" and so on, and "effects, results, causes, conditions, " and so

on, are left not to restrict each other, there is expression of total realization. What has been called "forms as they are"11 is not a single form, and "form as it is" is not a uniform reality as it is: it is countless, boundless, inexpressible, and unfathomable reality as it is. As a measure, we should not use a measure of hundreds and thousands. We should use as a measure the measure of "all dharmas,

" and we should use as a measure the measure of "real form. " The

reason is that "buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can12 perfectly realize that all dharmas are real form"; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are the real nature; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real body; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real energy; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real action; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real causes; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real conditions; buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real effects; 111

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buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are real results; and buddhas alone, together with buddhas, can perfectly realize that all dharmas are the real ultimate state of equality of substance and detail.

[210] Because of the existence of truths like these, "the buddha lands

of the ten directions"13 are only "buddhas alone, together with buddhas, "

and there is no one, or even half a one, who is other than "buddhas alone, together with buddhas.

" The relation between "alone" and "together" is, for example,

"body" being provided with "body" and "forms" having experienced "forms. " Or it is like "natures,

" through "body,

" being maintained as

"natures.

"14 On this basis [the Buddha] says,

"I, and buddhas in the ten directions, am directly able to know these things. "15 Thus, the very moment of

"directly being able to perfectly realize" and the very moment of "directly being able to know this" are both individual instances of existence-time. If "I" were different from "buddhas in the ten directions, " how could "I" realize

the expression "and buddhas in all directions"? Because at this concrete place there are no "ten directions,

" "the ten directions" are this concrete place. Therefore,

"real form" meeting "all dharmas" means spring getting into flowers, a person meeting spring, the moon illuminating the moon, and human beings meeting themselves. Again, a person looking into water is this same truth of mutual realization.

16 For this reason, we see the learning in practice of "real form" by "real form" as the Dharma succession of Buddhist patriarchs by Buddhist patriarchs. It is the affirmation of "all dharmas" by "all dharmas. " "Buddhas alone" transmit the Dharma for the benefit of "buddhas alone.

" "Buddhas together" receive the Dharma for the benefit of "buddhas together.

" On this basis living-and-dying and coming-andgoing exist. On this basis the establishment of the mind, training, bodhi, and nirvana exist. Utilizing the establishment of the mind, training, bodhi, and nirvana, we investigate in practice and clinch in action that "living-anddying and coming-and-going are the real human body"; and as we do so, we hold firm and we let go. With this as their lifeblood, flowers open and fruits are borne. With this as their bones and marrow, Mahākāśyapa and Ānanda exist.

"The forms as they are" of wind, rain, water, and fire are "perfect realization" itself. "The natures as they are" of the blue, the yellow, the red, and the white are "perfect realization" itself. Relying upon this concrete 112

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"body-energy,

" we turn the common into the sacred. Relying upon these concrete "effects-and-results,

" we transcend buddha and go beyond patriarchs. Relying upon these concrete causes-and-conditions, soil is grasped and made into gold. Relying upon these concrete effects-and-results, the Dharma is transmitted and the robe is given.

[213] The Tathāgata speaks of "preaching for others the seal of real form.

"17 Let me interpret this: he practices for others the seal of real form; he hears for others the seal of real nature; and he experiences for others the seal of real body. We should investigate [his words] like this, and we should perfectly realize them like this. The state they indicate is, for example, like a pearl spinning around a bowl and like the bowl spinning around the pearl. 18

[214] Buddha Sun Moon Light19 says:

The truth that all dharmas are real form

Has been preached for you all.

20

Learning this expression in practice, we should realize that the Buddhist patriarchs have inevitably seen preaching the truth of real form as "the one great matter.

"21 Buddhist patriarchs proclaim the truth of real form in each of the eighteen spheres.

22 Before their body-mind, after their body-mind, and at the very moment of their body-mind, they preach real form, nature, body, energy, and so on. Those who do not perfectly realize real form, who do not preach real form, who do not understand real form, and who do not transcend understanding of real form, are not Buddhist patriarchs. They are bands of demons, and animals.

[215] Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"The anuttara samyaksaṃbodhiof all

bodhisattvas totally belongs to this sutra. This sutra opens the gate of expedient methods and reveals true real form.

"23

"All bodhisattvas" means all buddhas. Buddhas and bodhisattvas are not different species; they are without differences in maturity and without differences in excellence. This bodhisattva and that bodhisattva are not two people,

24 they are beyond self and others, and they are not personages of the past, present, and future; rather, becoming buddha is their Dharma-behavior of "practicing the bodhisattva way.

"25 They realize buddha in their first establishment of the mind, and they realize buddha in the state of fine reflection. 26

There are bodhisattvas who have become buddha countless hundred thousand 113

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myriad koṭis of times. Those who say that after becoming buddha [bodhisattvas] cease practice and have nothing further to do are common people who have never known the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs. Those who have been called "all bodhisattvas" are the original ancestors of all buddhas, and all buddhas are the original masters of all bodhisattvas. This supreme bodhi of the buddhas—whether they practice and experience it in the past or practice and experience it in the present or practice and experience it in the future, whether they practice and experience it in the moment before the body or practice and experience it in the moment after the mind—is in every case, in the beginning, middle, and end,

"this sutra.

" The subject of "belonging"

and the object of "belonging" are both "this sutra. " At this very moment,

"this sutra" really experiences "all bodhisattvas. " The sutra is not sentient,

the sutra is not insentient, the sutra is not the product of doing and the sutra is not the product of nondoing. Even so, when it experiences bodhi,experiences people, experiences real form, and experiences "this sutra, " it "opens

the gate of expedient methods.

" "The gate of expedient methods" is the

supreme virtue of the Buddha's ultimate state, it is "the Dharma abiding in the Dharma's place,

" and it is "the form of the world abiding in constancy. "27

The gate of expedient methods is not a temporary artifice; it is the learning in practice of the whole universe in ten directions, and it is learning in practice that exploits the real form of all dharmas. Although this gate of expedient methods is manifesting itself such that it covers the whole universe in ten directions with the universe in ten directions, those other than "all bodhisattvas" are not in its orbit. [219] Seppō28 says,

"The whole earth is the gate of liberation, but people are not willing to enter even if they are dragged. "29 So remember, even though

the whole earth and the whole world is a gate, it is not left and entered easily, and the individuals who get out of it and get into it are not many. When people are dragged they do not get in and do not get out, and when they are not dragged they do not get in and do not get out. The progressive blunder and the passive falter. Going further, what can we say? If we take hold of the person and force it to leave or to enter the gate, the gate becomes more and more distant. If we take hold of the gate30 and get it to enter the person, there are chances for departure and entry. "Opening the gate of expedient

methods" means "revealing true real form.

" "The revealing of true real form"

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covers the whole of time, and it is separated into moments of beginning, middle, and end. In "opening the gate of expedient methods, " the principle

of momentary "opening" opens the gate of expedient methods through the whole universe in ten directions. When, at this very moment, we glimpse the whole universe in ten directions, the situation is one that we have never experienced before: by grasping the whole universe in ten directions once and twice as a concept and a third and fourth time as a concrete thing, we cause it to open the gate of expedient methods. It may appear to follow from this that [the universe in ten directions] is completely the same as "the opening of the gate of expedient methods,

" but it seems to me that limitlessly abundant

universes in ten directions have borrowed a small fraction of "the opening of the gate of expedient methods" to use as their real features. Such elegance is entirely by virtue of "belonging to the sutra.

" "To reveal true real form"

means to overhear the saying that all dharmas are real form spoken through the whole universe, and to realize the truth through the whole universe. It means making the truth that "real form is all dharmas" evident to the whole of humanity and making it manifest through the whole of the Dharma. In sum, the supreme truth of bodhiof the forty31 buddhas and forty patriarchs totally belongs to "this sutra.

" It belongs to "this sutra" and "this sutra"

belongs to it. The state in which a round cushion and a zazen board32 are the supreme truth of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhitotally belongs to "this sutra. "

The picking up of a flower and a face breaking into a smile, and prostrations and attainment of the marrow, both "totally belong to this sutra. " They are

the belongings of "this sutra.

" They "open the gate of expedient methods

and reveal true real form.

"

[222] Nevertheless, recent unreliable people in the great kingdom of Song, not knowing a place to settle down and not seeing the place of treasure, treat the words "real form" as if they were empty elaboration, and so they go on to study the sayings of Laozi33 and Zhuangzi,

34 and they say that these

are the same as the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs. Furthermore, they say that the three teachings35 may be of one conclusion. Or they say that the three teachings are like the three legs of a tripod, which would overturn if even one were missing. There is nothing to use as an example of the enormity of their foolishness. We should not concede that people in whom such words are present have ever listened to the Buddha-Dharma. Why? Because the 115

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origin of the Buddha-Dharma is India in the west. For eighty years in the world and for fifty years of preaching the Dharma, [the Buddha] did his utmost to educate human beings and gods; "he transformed all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha's truth.

"36 Thereafter the authentic

transmission was received by the twenty-eight patriarchs. We esteem this as the utmost, as the subtle and fine, and as the supremely venerable. All kinds of non-Buddhists and celestial demons were completely defeated. Unknown numbers of human beings and gods realized buddha and became patriarchs. But they never said that, because they had not investigated Confucianism and Daoism in China, the Buddha's truth was insufficient for them. If the three teachings are inevitably of one conclusion, then when the Buddha-Dharma manifested itself Confucianism and Daoism should have manifested themselves in India at the same time. But the Buddha's Dharma is that "In the heavens and under the heavens, I alone am the Honored One. "37 We

should think back to the events of that time; we should not make mistakes through forgetfulness. Talk of the three teachings reaching one conclusion is worth less than the babbling of little children. It is [talk] of people who are out to destroy the Buddha-Dharma. People like this are very numerous. Some have manifested the purport of being the guiding teachers of human beings and gods, and some have become the masters of emperors and kings. It is the time of the degeneration of the Buddha-Dharma in great Song [China]. My late master, the eternal buddha, strongly cautioned against this matter. Such people are the embryos of the two vehicles and non-Buddhists. Their kind has already passed two or three hundred years without even knowing that "real form" might exist. They speak only of learning the right Dharma of the Buddhist patriarchs in order to depart from the cycle of life and death. Many of them do not even know what it is to learn in practice the right Dharma of the Buddhist patriarchs; they believe that just to live in a temple is to emulate the ancients. It is pitiful that the truth of the ancestral patriarchs has died out. Venerable patriarchs in whom the truth is present greatly regret it. We should not listen to the sayings spouted by people like those mentioned earlier; we should feel sorry for them. Zen Master Engo38 says, "Living-anddying, coming-and-going, is the real human body. " Picking up this expression,

we should know ourselves and should consider the Buddha-Dharma. Chōsha39 says,

"The whole universe in the ten directions is the real human body. The 116

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whole universe in the ten directions is inside the brightness of the self. " Old

veterans in all quarters of the great kingdom of Song today generally do not even know that an expression like this is a truth to be learned; how much less could they [actually] learn it? If we quoted it to them, they would only go red in the face and be without words.

[227] My late master, the eternal buddha, says,

"Old veterans in all directions today have no illumination of the past and no illumination of the present; they have never possessed the truths of the Buddha-Dharma. 40 The whole

universe in ten directions and suchlike are showing themselves like this! How can they be known? In other orders they seem never to have listened. "

After hearing this I questioned old veterans in all directions and, in truth, few had listened. It is pitiful that they desecrate positions in which they have been installed without reason.

[228] Zen Master Ōan Donge41 on one occasion addresses the venerable monk Tokki,

"If you want to understand easily, just keep facing the state of arising mind and moving images through the twelve hours. 42 When, just following this movement of images, you suddenly gain insight here and now, the ungraspable is like vast space. At the same time it is without spatial form and demarcation. Outside and inside are oneness. Intelligence and objects both disappear. Profundity and lucidity both vanish. The three times are in equilibrium. Those who arrive at this state43 are called 'people at ease in the truth who are through with study and free of doing. '"44

These are words spoken by Old Man Ōan in the state of using all his energy to express the truth. But it seems that he is only chasing shadows and never knows rest. When we are not in the state of "oneness of outside and inside,

" can there be no Buddha-Dharma? What is this outside and inside? Furthermore, that "space has form and demarcation" is an expression of Buddhist patriarchs. What does he see as "space"? It may be supposed that Ōan has never known space, has never seen space, has never grasped space, and has never struck space. He speaks of "arising mind and moving images, "

but there is a truth that the mind never moves: how could there be "arising mind" through the twelve hours? "Mind" cannot come into the reality of the twelve hours,

45 and "twelve hours" do not enter the reality of the mind of the [concrete] twelve.

46 How much less could there be "arising mind"? And what are "moving images"? Do images move and not move, or are they 117

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beyond movement and non-movement? What is movement like? Again, what is non-movement like? What does he call "images"? Do images exist in the reality of the twelve hours? Do the twelve hours exist inside the image of reality?47 Is it possible for there to be a time beyond the two factors? He says that "if we just keep facing . . . through the twelve hours, it will be easy to understand,

" but what is the matter to be understood easily? Does "easy understanding" refer to the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs? If so, [he should know that] the Buddha's truth is beyond easy understanding and difficult understanding. That is why Nangaku and Kōzei long pursued the truth following their masters. [Ōan] speaks of "suddenly gaining insight into the ungraspable,

" but he has never seen the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs even in a dream. How can one of such ability be up to "wanting to understand easily"? Clearly, he has not mastered the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs. If the Buddha-Dharma were like that, how could it have reached today? Even Ōan is like this. If we search among the old veterans of mountain-temples of the present for a person like Ōan, even in consecutive kalpas we will not meet one. Even if we searched until our eyes were growing dim, we might not find another old veteran to equal Ōan. Most people of recent times affirm Ōan, but it is hard for me to affirm that the Buddha-Dharma reached him. I would say only that he is [worth] a junior's seat in the monastery and that he is of average standard. Why? Because Ōan has the mental agility to be able to know a person. People today do not have the ability to know a person, because they do not know themselves. Even though Ōan has not arrived, he has experience of learning the truth. The old veterans of today have no experience of learning the truth. Ōan hears good words; it is just that they do not enter his ears and he does not see them with his ears: [further,] they do not enter his eyes and he does not hear them with his eyes. 48 Although Ōan used

to be like this, now, through his own efforts, he may be in the state of realization. Old veterans in the mountain temples of great Song [China] today do not glimpse the inside or the outside of Ōan; their sounds and features are completely foreign to his state. Such people cannot even recognize whether the "real form" expressed by Buddhist patriarchs is the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs or is not the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs. For this reason, the old veterans and unreliable people of the last two or three hundred years have neither seen nor spoken of "real form" at all.

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[234] My late master Tendō, the eternal buddha, says one night during informal preaching in the abbot's quarters:

There are calves49 on Tendō Mountain tonight, And golden-faced Gautama is manifesting real form. If we wanted to buy it, how could we afford the impossible price? The cry of a cuckoo above50 a solitary cloud. Being like this, those who are accomplished in the Buddhism of venerable patriarchs speak of "real form.

" Those who do not know the Buddha-Dharma,

and in whom there is no learning in practice of the Buddha's truth, do not speak of "real form.

" The above words [come about] as follows: It is approaching the fourth watch51 of a night in the third lunar month in the spring of the second year of the great Song era of Hōgyō,

52 when three beats of the drum

sound from above.

53 Taking the prostration cloth, and putting on the kaṣaya, I leave the cloud hall through the front entrance, and [find that] the sign for entry into the [master's] room has been hung up. First I follow other monks to the vicinity of the Dharma hall. Via the west wall of the Dharma hall, I climb the west stairs of Jakkōdō, the Hall of Serene Light. 54 I pass before

the west wall of the Hall of Serene Light and climb the west stairs of Daikōmyōzō, the Vault of Great Brightness.

55 The Vault of Great Brightness

is the abbot's quarters. Via the southern end of a screen along the west side, I reach the incense stand, and burn incense and do prostrations. I am expecting that lines will have formed here for entry into the [master's] room, but I do not see even one monk. The myōkōdai,the elevated stage, 56 has been screened

off by bamboo blinds. The Dharma sound of the abbot, the Great Master, is faintly audible. Then Supervising Monk Sokon57 from Saisen58 arrives and he also burns incense and does prostrations. After that, peering stealthily toward the elevated stage, [we see that] monks are standing in a packed audience without regard to east or west. The informal preaching is now in progress, so we stealthily enter behind the other monks and, standing up, we listen. The story of the life in the mountains of Zen Master Hōjō of Daibai59 is quoted. At the part about his wearing clothes made from lotus leaves and eating pine nuts,

60 many of the monks shed tears. The story of Śākyamuni Buddha's retreat on Vulture Peak is quoted in detail. Many in the audience shed tears.

"The retreat on Tendōzan is approaching. Now it is spring, and 119

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it is neither cold nor hot. It is a lovely time to sit in zazen. Brothers, how could we not sit in zazen?" After such informal preaching, there is the poem. On finishing the poem, [the master] strikes the right arm of his zazen chair once with his right hand and says,

"You may enter.

"61 For the interview, he says,

"A

cuckoo cries and bamboos on the mountain split.

" The words of the interview

are [only] like this; there is no other talk. The monks present, though many, say nothing; they are just awed. This method of entering the [master's] room was never practiced in other districts. Only my late master Tendō, the eternal buddha, practiced this method. During the informal preaching the [master's] chair was surrounded by screens around which the monks stood in a crowd. All the monks remained standing while the interviews continued from whichever monk was ready to enter, and people who had completed their interview left through the doors of the abbot's quarters in the usual manner. The people who remained, still standing as before, could witness everything—the dignified behavior of stepping forward and stopping by the person entering for the interview, together with the behavior of the venerable abbot and his talk in the interview. This method has never been present in other districts, and it may be a method impossible for other old veterans to realize: During entry into the room of other masters, people wanted to enter the room before other people. In the case of this entry into the [master's] room, people want to enter the room after other people. We should not forget [that there are such] differences in people's minds and ways. From that time until this first year of the Japanese era of Kangen, 62 in an atmosphere of brightness, all of eighteen years have swiftly passed. I have no idea how many mountains and rivers there are between Tendō Mountain and this mountain here, but the scene expressed as "real form" in those beautiful expressions and wonderful words has remained engraved on my body, mind, bones, and marrow. I imagine that the informal preaching and the entry into the [master's] room that took place that night have been unforgettable for most of the monks present. On that night a crescent moon came peeping out from behind the high temple buildings, and even though the cuckoos were crying frequently, the night was silent.

[240] While Great Master Shūitsu63 of Gensha-in Temple is preaching informally,

64 he hears the chirping of swallow chicks, and says,

"[This is]

profound preaching of real form, and skillful expounding of the pivot of the Dharma.

" He gets down from his seat.

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Afterward a monk requests instruction, saying "I do not understand. "

The master says,

"Go away! No one believes you.

"65

As regards the meaning of "profoundly preaching real form, " we might

interpret Gensha's words as saying that only the swallow chicks are profoundly preaching real form. But that is not so. During the informal preaching, the chirps of swallow chicks are heard. It is not that the swallow chicks profoundly preach real form, it is not that Gensha profoundly preaches real form, and it is not a cross between the two factors: rather, the ineffable state just in the moment is "profound preaching of real form. " We should take a short while

to investigate this episode. Informal preaching is in progress. The chirping of swallow chicks is heard. The words "profoundly preaching real form, and skillfully expounding the pivot of the Dharma" are spoken. There is the act of getting down from the seat. Afterward there is the monk's request for instruction: "I do not understand.

" And there is the master's statement "Go away! No one believes you.

" "I do not understand" need not always be a request for instruction on real form, but it is the very lifeblood of the Buddhist patriarchs and the bones and marrow of the right Dharma-eye treasury. Remember, even if this monk, in requesting instruction, says "I have understood it" or says "I can expound it,

" in every case Gensha should still say to him "Go away! No one believes you.

" The reason he says "Go away! No one believes you" is not that [the monk] has understood but requests instruction by pretending not to understand. Truly, though it may be any third son of Zhang or fourth son of Li other than this monk, and though all [other] dharmas are [also] real form, at the time and place that someone cuts directly through to the lifeblood of the Buddhist patriarchs, learning in practice of real form is realized like this.

66 In Seigen's lineage this state has been realized. 67 Remember,

real form is the right lifeblood that has been transmitted and received from rightful successor to rightful successor; all dharmas are the perfectly realized state of buddhas alone, together with buddhas; and the state of buddhas alone, together with buddhas, is the loveliness of form as it is. Shōbōgenzō Shohō-jissō

Preached to the assembly at Kippōji in Esshū, 68

Japan, on a day in the ninth lunar month in the first year of Kangen.

69

121

Notes

1 Nyoze-sōmeans "form as it is" or "forms as they are. "

2 Lotus Sutra,Hōben.See LS 1.68. 3 Kyo,

"void,

" is opposed to the jitsu, "real,

" of jissō,

"real form.

"

4 Shō,

"nature,

" is opposed to the sō, "form,

" of jissō,

"real form.

"

5 Shutsugen-o-se.See, for example, LS 1.88-90. 6 Nainō,

"momentary ability, " is translated in the quotation as "are directly able. " In

the Lotus Sutrathe function of nai, sunawa[chi] is emphatic; thus in The Threefold Lotus Sutra (LSW), for example, the character is ignored in translation: "Only a buddha together with a buddha can fathom the reality of all existence. " At the same

time, nai, sunawa[chi] expresses direct juxtaposition in a logical sequence ("accordingly") or direct juxtaposition in time ("whereupon"). By extension, in Master Dōgen's usage, it expresses instantaneousness. The point of this sentence is that, even though buddhas have attained perfection, their ability is instantaneous or momentary. 7 Sho-chū-ko zen.See LS 1.40. 8 Reality itself, and the subject's ability to realize reality, cannot be separated. 9 Nyoze,used here as a noun: "reality as it is. " This usage also occurs, for example, in Chapter Seventeen (Vol. I), Hokke-ten-hokke,note 85. 10 Kaka no ka,literally, "effects that are effect-effect. " The point is to distinguish between effects as reality and effects as a concept. 11 Nyoze-sō.See note 1. 12 Nainō.See note 6. 13 Juppō-butsudō.See LS 1.106. 14 Shōmeans "nature, " or "essence.

" In Master Dōgen's philosophy, however, shōmeans not an abstract essence but a natural state, or natural function, which includes both essential character and its physical manifestation in action. See, for example, Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō. 15 Ga-gyū-juppō-butsu, nai-nō-chi-ze-ji.See LS 1.70. 16 The person looks into the water and the water reflects the person. 123

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17 Lotus Sutra, Hōben: "I, body adorned with signs,/And brightness illuminating the world,/Am worshipped by countless multitudes/For whom I preach the seal of real form.

" (LS 1.108.) "The seal of real form" is jisso-in, from the Sanskrit dharmasvabhāva-mudrā,which literally means "the seal of reality itself. " See Glossary of

Sanskrit Terms. A seal suggests the concrete as opposed to the abstract. 18 Alludes to the words of Master Engo Kokugon quoted in Chapter Sixty-six, Shunjū. A pearl spinning around a bowl and the bowl spinning around the pearl suggests a very vigorous situation in which subject and object are in mutual relation. 19 Jitsugetsutōmyōbutsu, from the Sanskrit Candrasūryapradīpa. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

20 Lotus Sutra, Jo("Introductory") chapter: "When the Buddha [Sun Moon Light] had preached this Flower of Dharma/And caused the assembly to rejoice,/Then he, on that very day,/Proclaimed to the gathering of gods and people:/'The truth that all dharmas are real form/Has been preached for you all. . . . '" (LS 1.58)

21 Ichidaiji. See LS 1.88-90.

22 The six sense organs, the six objects of the sense organs, and the six sense functions. 23 Lotus Sutra,Hōsshi ("A Teacher of the Dharma"). See LS 2.156. "The gate of expedient

methods" is hōben-mon, from the Sanskrit dvāra-bhūtāni.See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

24 They are in the same state.

25 Gyō-bosatsudō.See, for example, LS 3.20.

26 Myōkaku-chi,the ultimate state of a bodhisattva.

27 Lotus Sutra,Hōben:"The Dharma abides in its place in the Dharma,/And the form of the world is constantly abiding./Having recognized this in a place of the truth,/Guiding teachers teach it by expedient means. " (LS 1.120.)

28 Master Seppō Gison (822-907), successor of Master Tokusan Senkan. 29 Rentōeyō,chap. 21.

30 Mon o ko shi te,

"to take hold of the gate,

" means to focus on practice itself.

31 Forty suggests the seven ancient buddhas plus the historical patriarchs to the thirtythird patriarch, Master Daikan Enō. 32 Zenpan.This is a board used as a support in zazen when a practitioner is sitting for a long time and gets tired. The board is held close to the body, with the chin resting on top of the board, and the bottom of the board resting in the hands. Traditionally its length is one shakuand seven or eight sun(about 55 cm), its width is two sun(6 cm), and its thickness is three or four bu(1.2 cm). It has a hole cut out at the top. In some temples the practitioner lays the board down on the zazen platform, at right angles to the wall, and uses the hole to make a reference point on the floor for the eyes. 124

Chapter Fifty

33 Laozi (born ca. 604 B.C.E., during the Zhou dynasty), the founder of Daoism. His name, rōshi,literally means "aged child"; legend says that he spent eighty-one years in the womb and emerged with gray hair.

34 Zhuangzi. Over a hundred thousand words of Daoist philosophy were attributed to him.

35 Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

36 Alludes, for example, to Lotus Sutra,Hōben:"[Buddhas] appear in the world because they desire to cause living beings to enter the truth that is the wisdom of the Buddha. "

(LS 1.88-90)

37 Legend says that when the Buddha was born he took seven steps in each of the four directions and, pointing to the sky with one hand and pointing to the ground with the other, he said these words.

38 Master Engo Kokugon (1063-1135), successor of Master Goso Hōen. 39 Master Chōsha Keishin (?-868), successor of Master Nansen Fugan. See Chapter Sixty, Juppō.

40 The truths of the Buddha-Dharma are, for example, the principle of practicing for the sake of practice itself, the law of cause-and-effect, the oneness of subject and object in action, and the principle that just sitting is beyond intellectual understanding. 41 Master Ōan Donge (d. 1163), successor of Master Kokyū Shōryū. 42 That is, twenty-four hours, all day long.

43 Denchi.See Chapter Forty-eight, Sesshin-sesshō,note 31. 44 Zetsugaku mui[no] kandō-nin.In the poem Shōdōka,Master Yōka Genkaku says: "A person at ease in the truth, who is through with study and free of doing, does not try to get rid of delusion and does not want to get reality. " Ōandongezenjigoroku

(Record of the Words of Zen Master Ōan Donge), chap. 7. 45 Jūni-ji-chū.In Master Ōan's words chumeans "during" or "through, " but here Master

Dōgen uses the character to mean "the reality of. " This usage of chūoccurs frequently

in Shōbōgenzō. See, for example, Chapter Thirty-eight (Vol. II), Muchū-setsumu. 46 Jūni-shin-chū.Here a definite number (twelve) represents the concrete and definite as opposed to the general.

47 Nenri. Rimeans "inside,

" "backside,

" or "in the concrete place of.

" See also Chapter

Forty-eight, Sesshin-sesshō, notes 24 and 38. Nen has two meanings: 1) abstract image, idea, thought, wish, etc. For example, in the Fukanzazengi, Shinpitsubon, Master Dōgen writes,

"Cease intellectual consideration of images, thoughts, reflections, " and "If an image arises, just be conscious. If you are conscious of it, it will vanish at once.

" 2) The image, or the mental face of, reality itself. For example, in the Fukanzazengi, Shinpitsubon, Master Dōgen writes shōnen-genzen, "the right

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image manifesting itself before us.

" Further, in the corresponding section of the later Fukanzazengi, Rufubon,he writes of shōbō-ji-genzen, "the right Dharma naturally

manifesting itself before us.

" In this way, Master Dōgen uses nen,

"image,

" and hō,

"Dharma, reality,

" interchangeably, in order to describe the same experience in zazen. 48 Seeing with the ears and hearing with the eyes suggests intuitive perception. 49 Calves symbolize Buddhist practitioners in a peaceful state. 50 Ue,

"above,

" receives emphasis in the original Chinese by being the last character of the last line—the poem leaves the reader thinking upward and onward. 51 In China and Japan, the night was divided into five watches of two hours each. 52 1226.

53 The abbot's quarters were located high up the mountain; see Volume I, Appendix V, Traditional Temple Layout.

54 Jakkōdō is a proper name. The location of this hall would correspond to that of the hall for patriarchs' images (3) or the donors' hall (9) in the ground plan shown in Volume I, Appendix V, Traditional Temple Layout. 55 Daikōmyōzō is also a proper name.

56 Myōkōdaiis literally "fine and high stage. " The abbot's quarters were likely divided by bamboo blinds into the elevated stage and an area for waiting and burning incense. 57 The inō, supervisor of monks in the zazen hall, or rector; represents the Sanskrit karma-dāna.The job of the inōcenters on maintaining discipline in the zazen hall. 58 A region of Sichuan province in southwest China. 59 Master Daibai Hōjō (752-839), successor of Master Baso Dōitsu. Master Dōgen quotes the story in Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji,paragraph 141. 60 Master Daibai's poem says: "I shall never outwear the lotus leaves in the pond./The flowers of a few pines are more than a meal./Now my abode has been discovered by people in the world./I shall move my shack deeper into seclusion. " Ibid.

61 Nyushitsu,

"to enter the room,

" means to have an interview with the master of a temple. In this case, since the monks are already on the elevated stage with Master Tendō, it means to come forward one by one before the master's chair. The master's chair was likely surrounded by screens forming three sides of a square. 62 1243.

63 Master Gensha Shibi (835-907), successor of Master Seppō Gison. 64 Sanis short for shōsan,which means unscheduled informal preaching, usually done in the master's room.

65 Rentōeyō,chap. 23; Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 3, no. 42. 126

Chapter Fifty

66 67 68 In the state of not understanding. Master Gensha is a seventh-generation descendant of Master Seigen Gyōshi. Master Dōgen also belongs to Master Seigen's lineage. Corresponds to modern-day Fukui prefecture. 69 1243.

127

Chapter 51: Mitsugo - Secret Talk

[Chapter Fifty-one] Mitsugo

192b3

Secret Talk

Translator's Note:Mitsu means "

"

"

secret,

or

mystical,

" in the sense of not apparent to the senses or the intellect, but experienced directly or immediately—as if two things are touching. Go means "

words

"

or

"talk.

" So mitsu go means "

secret talk,

" that is, something communicated directly without sound. In Buddhism it is said that there is secret talk that can be recognized and understood even though it has no sound. So "

secret talk"

suggests the

existence of intuitive perception. It is a fact that we can sometimes discover meaning, or secrets, without receiving any external stimuli, but we need not see the fact as particularly mystical. An analogy that helps to understand such facts is the sympathetic resonance of tuning forks. [3] When the great truth, "that which buddhas guard and desire, "1 is realized as the real universe, the state [expressed] "You are like this, I am like this, "

and "each must guard it well, "2 is experienced exactly in the present. [4] Great Master Kōkaku3 of Ungozan, the story goes, is served offerings by a government official, who asks, "The World-honored One has secret talk;4 for Mahākāśyapa nothing is concealed. What is the World-honored One's secret talk?" The great master calls out, "Minister!"

The man responds. The great master says, "Do you understand or not?" The official says, "I do not understand. "

The great master says, "If you do not understand, it is the World-honored One's secret talk. If you understand, it is Mahākāśyapa's state of nothing being concealed. "

[5] The great master, manifesting himself as the legitimate descendant, after five generations, of Seigen, 5 is a master of gods and human beings and 129

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a great good counselor through the whole universe in the ten directions. He transforms the sentient and transforms the insentient. As the forty-sixth buddha in the legitimate succession of buddhas, he preaches the Dharma for Buddhist patriarchs.

6 At his hermitage on Sanpō Mountain, he was sent offerings from the kitchens of gods. But after receiving the transmission of the Dharma and attaining the truth, he transcended the state which is sent [heavenly] offerings. 7 The expression quoted now that "The World-honored One has secret talk; for Mahākāśyapa nothing is concealed, " is the legacy of fortysix buddhas. At the same time, as the original features of the forty-six buddhas, "it is not got from others,

" "it does not come from outside,

" "it is not inherent,

"

and "it has never been something new.

"8 With regard to the realization of

this matter of secret talk, not only the World-honored Śākyamuni has secret talk: all the Buddhist patriarchs have secret talk. A World-honored One always has secret talk. And one who has secret talk inevitably has Mahākāśyapa's state of nothing being concealed. We should learn in practice and should not forget the truth that if there are a hundred thousand World-honored Ones there are a hundred thousand Mahākāśyapas. "Learning in practice" means

not intending to understand at once but striving painstakingly hundreds of times, or thousands of times, as if working to cut a hard object. We should not think that when a person has something to relate we will be able to understand at once. It may be that now, having already become the World-honored One, [the master of] Ungozan is equipped with secret talk and possesses the state of Mahākāśyapa in which nothing is concealed. Do not learn that calling "Minister!" and the official's response, are secret talk itself. 9

[7] The great master, in the story, says to the minister, "If you do not

understand, it is the World-honored One's secret talk. If you understand, it is Mahākāśyapa's state of nothing being concealed. " We should resolve

unfailingly to pursue the truth of this expression for many kalpas. He is saying "When you are in the state beyond understanding, that is the Worldhonored One's secret talk"; he does not call being momentarily dumbfounded "not understanding,

" and he does not call ignorance "not understanding. "

The principle of the words "If you do not understand. . . " is to sanction a

course of quietly learning in practice. We should consider this through effort in pursuit of the truth.

10 Further, when he says "If you understand. . . " he is

not discussing a state of now having understood already. 11 In learning the

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Buddha-Dharma in practice, there are many processes. Among them there are the pivotal matters of understanding the Buddha-Dharma and of not understanding the Buddha-Dharma. Those who, not having met a true teacher, do not even know that [these matters] exist, have misunderstood that secret talk exists at random, in conjunction with eyes and ears that are cut off from sight and hearing.

12 [Master Ungo] is not saying that you understanding is a condition for Mahākāśyapa's state of nothing being concealed: there are also cases of nothing being concealed in non-understanding. Do not learn that anyone can observe nothing being concealed: the state here and now is already nothing being concealed—[or] it may be that there is no place where nothing is concealed.

13 Just at the moment of the present we should investigate this by experiment. Thus, we have not been learning that states which are unknown to us are secret talk. The very moment of not understanding the Buddha-Dharma is one concrete instance of secret talk. It is, in every case, the Worldhonored One's existence, 14 and the existent World-honored One.

15

[9] Nevertheless, people who do not hear the instruction of a true teacher, although they sit upon the lion seat,

16 have never seen this truth even in a

dream. They speak without reason as follows:

"The World-honored One has secret talk" describes his picking up a flower and winking an eye before the assembly of millions on Vulture Peak. That is because verbal Buddhist preaching is shallow and seemingly concerned with name and form, but picking up a flower and winking an eye, being non-verbal preaching, are instances of establishing the teaching with secret talk. The assembly of millions cannot comprehend [the non-verbal preaching]. Therefore, for the assembly of millions, it is secret talk.

17 "Mahākāśyapa's state of nothing being concealed" describes Mahākāśyapa breaking into a smile as if he knew beforehand that the World-honored One would pick up a flower and wink an eye. Therefore it is said that, to Mahākāśyapa, nothing is concealed. This is the true essence of the teaching, which has been transmitted and received one-to-one. People who believe this when they hear it are as [numerous as] rice plants, flax plants, bamboos, and reeds; they make up the monasteries of the nine states.

18 It is pitiful. That the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs has been 131

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ruined originally stems from this cause. A man of clear eyes should surely be able to defeat [these opinions] one by one. If the World-honored One's speech is seen as shallow, picking up a flower and winking an eye must also be shallow. If people consider the speech of the World-honored One to be [mere expression of] name and form, they are not students of the Buddha-Dharma. They know that speech is names and forms, but they have not yet realized that the World-honored One is free of name and form: they have yet to shed the sentiments of the common person. All that is permeated by the body-mind of a Buddhist patriarch is liberation, is the preaching of Dharma, and is verbal preaching; and it turns the Dharma wheel. Those who gain benefit from witnessing it are many. People of devotional practice19 and of Dharma practice20 are covered by its influence at places where there are Buddhist patriarchs and they share in its influence at places where there are no Buddhist patriarchs. How could the assembly of millions fail to witness picking up a flower and winking an eye as picking up a flower and winking an eye? [The assembly of millions] may be on the same level as Mahākāśyapa and they may be living the same life as the World-honored One. They may be experiencing the same state and establishing the mind at the same time as the assembly of millions. They are in the same state of truth and in the same national land. They are meeting Buddha and hearing the Dharma with knowing wisdom and they are meeting Buddha and hearing the Dharma with unknowing wisdom. Having initially met one buddha, they will go on to meet buddhas as numerous as sands of the Ganges. There may be multitudes [numbering] millions of koṭis in attendance at every single Buddhist gathering. Revelations by each of the buddhas of the picking up of a flower and the winking of an eye may all be witnessed taking place in the same moment. Eyes are not dim. Ears are sharp. We have mental eyes and physical eyes. We have mental ears and physical ears. How do those others understand Mahākāśyapa's breaking into a smile? Let them try to say something! If it is as they say, this [smile] should also be called "secret talk. " But they call

it "nothing being concealed.

" This is doubly foolish.

21 Later the Worldhonored One says,

"I have the right Dharma-eye treasury, and the fine mind of nirvana. I transmit them to Mahākāśyapa.

" Is such an expression speech

or is it non-verbal communication? If the World-honored One hated speech but loved picking up flowers, he would have picked up a flower at the later 132

Chapter Fifty-one

time too. [And even in that case,] how could Mahākāśyapa fail to understand, and how could the assembly fail to hear? The tales told by the people described above are not to be relied upon.

[14] In sum, the World-honored One has secret talk, secret action, and secret experience. Stupid people, however, think that "secret" means other people do not know but the subject knows, and that there are initiated people and uninitiated people. Learning in practice of the Buddha's truth has never been present in those who have thought and said so in India in the west and in the Eastern Lands, from the ancient past till the present. In such a case, both in the secular world and beyond the secular world22 there would be much secrecy among the uneducated and little secrecy among the learned. For people of wide learning can nothing be secret? Still more for those equipped with supernatural eyes, supernatural ears, Dharma-eyes, Dharmaears, the Buddha's eyes, the Buddha's ears, and so on, we would have to say that there could be no secret talk and no secret will at all. Secret talk, secret will, secret action, and so on in the Buddha-Dharma are beyond such reasoning. When we meet a human being, that is just when we hear secret talk and talk secret talk. When we know ourselves, we know secret action. Moreover, a Buddhist patriarch is able thoroughly to penetrate and to discern the secret will and the secret talk described previously. Remember, in the momentary state of a Buddhist patriarch, secret words and secret acts vie to be realized. What has been described as "secret" is the truth of immediacy. 23 It is

the absence of any gap. It is total containment24 of a Buddhist patriarch, total containment of you, total containment of me, total containment of action, total containment of an age, total containment of virtue, and total containment of secrecy. Even the Buddha's eyes cannot glimpse the coming together of secret talk and a human being in the secret state. Action in the secret state is beyond the recognition of self and others; only I in the secret state can know it; and every other individual in the secret state "does not understand" it. 25

Because secrecy surrounds you, everything relies on secrecy, and a single or half a thing relies on secrecy. We should consider such truths in detail and learn them in practice. In conclusion, that places of teaching people and moments of intuition and affirmation are, in every case, the manifestation of secrecy, is the authentic tradition transmitted by buddhas and patriarchs. Because the present is an ineffable moment26 it is secret to the self, it is secret 133

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to others, it is secret to Buddhist patriarchs, and it is secret to alien beings. For this reason, [the present,] on the basis of secrecy, is newly secret. Because teaching, practice, and experience like this are just the state of a Buddhist patriarch, they clear up and pass through the secrecy of a Buddhist patriarch, and thus they clear up and pass through secrecy itself. [18] My master's master Setchō27 addresses the assembly: The World-honored One has secret talk, For Mahākāśyapa nothing is concealed. Through the night a rain of falling flowers, Water flowing through the city is fragrant. 28

Here and now, Setchō's expression "Through the night a rain of falling flowers,/Water flowing through the city is fragrant" is immediacy itself. Picking it up, we should examine the eyeballs and the nostrils of a Buddhist patriarch. It is beyond Rinzai and Tokusan. We should explore the opening of nostrils in the eyes and should sharpen the tip of the nose in the ears. 29

Indeed, it is inside the ears, the nose, and the eyes that we realize the whole body-mind which is neither old nor new. We esteem this as the truth that "the raining of flowers is the occurrence of the world. "30 In the Old Master's words

"Water flowing through the city is fragrant, " the body is concealed yet its

figure is ever more conspicuously revealed. 31 Thus, in everyday life inside

the house of the Buddhist patriarchs, we investigate and pass through "the World-honored One's having secret talk" and "Mahākāśyapa's nothing being concealed.

" The Seven World-honored Buddhas are learning it in practice as [we are] now. Mahākāśyapa and Śākyamuni alike have penetrated and discerned it as [we are doing] now. Shōbōgenzō Mitsugo

Preached to the assembly at old Kippō Temple in the Yoshida district of Esshū, 32 on the twentieth day of the ninth lunar month in the first year of Kangen.

33

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Notes

1 Master Daikan Enō said to Master Nangaku Ejō,

"Just this untainted state is that

which buddhas guard and desire. You are also like this. I am also like this. And the ancestral masters of India were also like this.

" Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 1; Keitokudentōroku,chap. 5. See also Chapter Seven (Vol. I), Senjō. 2 Zen-ji-goji.From Master Bodhidharma's words to Master Taiso Eka: "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.

" See Chapter Forty-eight, Sesshin-sesshō.

3 Master Ungo Dōyō (835?-902), successor of Master Tōzan Ryōkai. 4 Mitsugo. Mitsumeans "secret" or "close.

" Master Dōgen explains later in this chapter

that mitsudescribes the state of direct contact with reality, which is "secret" only in the sense that it is beyond explanation—it is not esoteric. Go is literally "words. "

Here it means not only verbal communication but "talk, " as in the sense of "birdtalk,

" or as in the sense that a tree talks to us.

5 Master Seigen Gyōshi (d. 740), successor of Master Daikan Enō. 6 Master Ungo is the forty-sixth buddha in Master Dōgen's lineage counting from Vipaśyin Buddha, the first of the Seven Buddhas. See Chapter Fifteen (Vol. I), Busso. 7 Alludes to the legend that when practitioners are pursuing enlightenment they are served meals by angels. See also Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji, paragraph 132. 8 These four aphorisms are in the style of quotations from Chinese, but their source has not been traced.

9 Secret talk is not just communication in words. 10 Kufu-bendōmeans zazen.

11 By "understanding" Master Ungo means practical realization in the moment, not intellectual understanding.

12 People misunderstand that secret talk is something esoteric. According to Master Dōgen, however, secret talk is a mystery in that it is real, and therefore cannot be explained, but it is open to everyone—because reality is always talking secret talk. 13 Master Dōgen described the same reality with two opposing expressions. 14 Seson-u,translated in the story as "The World-honored One has. . . . "

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15 U-seson.

16 Shishi-za means a buddha's seat of preaching. See, for example, LS 2.186-88. 17 In this (wrong) view "secret" means esoteric, inaccessible to the uninitiated. 18 Kyūshū,the nine states of China. 19 Shingyō,

"devotional practice" or "practice based on belief" suggests, for example, the practice of the Pure Land sects. 20 Hōgyō,

called Zen sects.

"practice based on Dharma,

" suggests, for example, the practice of the so-21 The interpretation that "secret words" must mean nonverbal, esoteric conduct is foolish. But on the basis of that interpretation, the conduct of Master Mahākāśyapa should also be called "secret words, " so to call it nothing being concealed is doubly foolish.

22 Seken-shusseken;that is, both among laypeople and among monks. 23 Shinmitsu. Shin means intimacy or familiarity. Mitsu means secrecy or closeness. Shinmitsumeans intimacy, closeness, or immediacy. 24 Gaias a noun means a lid or a cover, and as a verb means to cover as if with a lid; to cover totally.

25 Fu-e su,that is,

"transcends understanding of it" —as in the story.

26 Nan no jisetsu,literally, and minutes, a real time.

"what time,

" that is, a time that cannot be expressed in hours 27 Master Setchō Chikan (1105-1192), successor of Master Tendō Sōgyoko. Shiō,lit., "master old man,

" is a term of respect for the master of one's own master—Master Setchō was the master of Master Tendō Nyojō. 28 Kataifutōroku,chap. 17.

29 We should make our sight (or intuition) and hearing (or discernment) vivid and accurate. 30 Ke-u-sekai-ki.The usual expression is ke-kai-sekai-ki, "the opening of flowers is the occurrence of the world.

" These words of Master Prajñātara describe the oneness of phenomena and reality. Master Dōgen substituted u, "to rain,

" from Master Setchō's

poem, for kai,

"to open.

"

31 Mi o zō shi te kage iyo-iyo arawa ruru.A related expression appears in Chapter Twenty-eight (Vol. II), Butsu-kōjō-no-ji,paragraph 68: "Dōyō springs in through his brain and conceals himself in his body. And while concealed in his body, he conspicuously reveals his figure. " Also, in Chapter Forty-six, Kattō,paragraph 100, Master Dōgen describes the transmission between Mahākāśyapa and Ānanda as Ānanda concealing his body in Mahākāśyapa and Mahākāśyapa concealing his body in Ānanda. 136

Chapter Fifty-one 32 33 1243.

Corresponds to modern-day Fukui prefecture. 137