T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume III

Chapter 54: Hōsshō - The Dharma-nature

[Chapter Fifty-four]

Hōsshō

The Dharma-nature

Translator's Note:Hō means Dharma, that is the Buddha

'

s teaching, or the

universe itself. Shō means essence, or nature. So hosshō means the Dharmanature, or the essence of the universe. Needless to say, we are living in the universe. Therefore what the universe means is one of the most important philosophical problems in our life. Some people insist that the universe is something spiritual. Others insist that the universe is something material. But from the Buddhist standpoint, the universe is neither spiritual nor material, but something real. It is, however, very difficult to express the universe as something real using words, because reality usually transcends explanation with words. Master Dōgen undertook this difficult task, in order to express the nature of the universe, in this chapter.

[89] When we learn in practice, sometimes following the sutras and sometimes following good counselors, we realize the truth independently, without a master.

1 Independent realization without a master is the working of the Dharma-nature. Even the innately intelligent2 should, without exception, visit a master and inquire into the truth. And even those without innate intelligence should, without exception, strive in pursuit of the truth. [But] what person is not innately intelligent?3 Each follows the sutras and follows good counselors until arriving at the Buddhist effect, the truth of bodhi. Remember, getting samādhi as the Dharma-nature4 from meeting the sutras and good counselors is called "the innate intelligence" getting samādhias the Dharmanature from meeting samādhias the Dharma-nature. It is to get wisdom that has abided from the past; it is to get the three kinds of illumination;5 it is to experience [the supreme truth of] anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi; it is to learn innate intelligence from meeting innate intelligence; and it is to receive the authentic transmission of untutored wisdom, or natural wisdom, through 171

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meeting untutored wisdom, or natural wisdom. If we were without innate intelligence, even if we met the sutras and good counselors we could not hear the Dharma-nature and could not experience the Dharma-nature. The great truth is not a [limited] principle like a person drinking water and naturally sensing whether it is cold or warm. All buddhas, together with all bodhisattvas and all living beings, by virtue of innate intelligence, are all realizing the great truth of all the Dharma-nature. To be realizing the great truth of the Dharma-nature by following the sutras and good counselors is to be realizing the Dharma-nature by ourselves. The sutras are the Dharmanature, and they are the self. A good counselor is the Dharma-nature and is the self. The Dharma-nature is a good counselor and the Dharma-nature is the self. Because it is the self as the Dharma-nature, it is beyond the falselyconceived selves of non-Buddhists and demons. In the Dharma-nature there is no "non-Buddhist" or "demon,

" but only "Come for breakfast!"

"Come

,

for lunch!"

, and "Come for tea!" Nevertheless, when people who call themselves twenty- or thirty-year veterans witness discussion of the Dharmanature, they stumble on through life in blank oblivion. They climb upon the [master's] round wooden chair, claiming to have become satisfied with monastic life, but when they hear the sound "Dharma-nature" or catch a sight of "Dharma-nature,

" their body-and-mind, object-and-subject, usually

just bob in a pit of confusion. Their state is such that they deludedly imagine that after the triple world and the ten directions which we are experiencing in the present have suddenly dropped away, then the Dharma-nature will appear, and this Dharma-nature will be other than the myriad things and phenomena of the present. The true meaning of the Dharma-nature can never be like that. This universe of things and phenomena, and the Dharma-nature, have far transcended discussion of sameness and difference and have transcended talk of disjunction or union. Because they are beyond past, present, and future; beyond separation and constancy;6 and beyond matter, perception, thought, action, and consciousness, they are the Dharma-nature. [94] Zen Master Baso Daijaku7 of Kōzei in Kōshū says, "All living

beings, for countless kalpas, have never left samādhias the Dharma-nature; they are always in the reality of samādhias the Dharma-nature: putting on clothes and eating meals, speaking and conversing, the working of the six sense organs, and all actions, are totally the Dharma-nature. "8

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"The Dharma-nature" expressed by Baso is the Dharma-nature expressed by the Dharma-nature. It experiences the same state as Baso, and he is in the same state as the Dharma-nature. Having heard, how could we fail to speak? The Dharma-nature is riding on Baso.

9 People eat meals, and meals

eat people. Since the beginning of the Dharma-nature they have never left samādhias the Dharma-nature. After the Dharma-nature they will not leave the Dharma-nature. Before the Dharma-nature they did not leave the Dharmanature. "The Dharma-nature" and "countless kalpas" are samādhi as the Dharma-nature itself; we call the Dharma-nature "countless kalpas. " That

being so, this place here and now is the Dharma-nature, and the Dharmanature is this place here and now. "Putting on clothes and eating meals" are

samādhi as the Dharma-nature putting on clothes and eating meals. The Dharma-nature as clothes is realized, the Dharma-nature as meals is realized, the Dharma-nature as eating is realized, and the Dharma-nature as dressing is realized. Without putting on clothes and eating meals, without speaking and conversing, without the working of the six sense organs, and without the performing of all actions, we are not in samādhias the Dharma-nature and we have not entered the Dharma-nature. The realization of these words of the immediate present, handed on by the buddhas, arrives at Śākyamuni Buddha; and, authentically transmitted by the patriarchs, it has arrived at Baso. Handed on in the authentic transmission from buddha to buddha and from patriarch to patriarch, it has been authentically transmitted to samādhi as the Dharma-nature. The buddhas and the patriarchs, without entering it, cause the Dharma-nature to be a state of vigorous activity. Though literary Dharma teachers have the word "Dharma-nature,

" it is not the Dharmanature expressed by Baso. Effort by living beings who never leave the Dharma-nature to be utterly beyond "the Dharma-nature" —even if [the

effort] is successful—is three or four fresh instances of the Dharma-nature. Speaking, conversing, working, and acting that we think might be other than the Dharma-nature, may in fact be the Dharma-nature itself. The sun and moon for countless kalpas have been the instantaneous passing of the Dharma-nature. So they are in the present and so they will be in the future. When, seeing the quantity of the body-mind as the quantity of the bodymind, we think of it as far from "the Dharma-nature, " this thinking is the

Dharma-nature itself. When, not seeing the quantity of the body-mind as 173

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"the quantity of the body-mind,

" we think of it as beyond "the Dharmanature,

" this thinking is the Dharma-nature itself. The thinking and the not thinking are both the Dharma-nature. Those who understand that, having been called "the nature,

" water will not flow, and trees will stop flourishing and withering, are non-Buddhists.

[98] Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"Form as it is, the nature as it is.

"10 So

opening flowers and falling leaves are just the nature as it is. 11 Stupid people,

however, think that in the world of the Dharma-nature there can be no opening flowers and falling leaves. Now, without directing a question to anyone else, imagine12 your own doubt to be a statement. Treat it as the assertion of another person and investigate it three times over, and you may find that you are rid of it already. The aforementioned thought is not an evil thought; it is just a thought at a time before clarification. And at the time of clarification, there is no effort to get rid of this thought. Opening flowers and falling leaves are naturally opening flowers and falling leaves. Thinking in which it is thought that in the Dharma-nature there can be no "opening flowers and falling leaves,

" is the Dharma-nature itself. It is thinking which has got free of conceptualization, 13 and for this reason it is thinking as the Dharma-nature. Total thinking in thinking about the Dharma-nature has such features. Baso's expression "the whole is the Dharma-nature,

"14 truly, is eighty or ninety percent of realization. At the same time, there is much that Baso has not expressed. Namely, he does not say that all dharma-natures do not depart from the Dharma-nature, he does not say that the totality of all dharmanatures is the Dharma-nature, he does not say that all living beings do not depart from [being] living beings, he does not say that all living beings are in a small part of a dharma-nature, he does not say that all living beings are in a small part of all living beings, he does not say that all dharma-natures actually exist as a small part of a living being, he does not say that a concrete half of a living being is a concrete half of the Dharma-nature, he does not say that the state without "living beings" is the Dharma-nature itself, he does not say that the Dharma-nature is beyond "identity with living beings, " he

does not say that the Dharma-nature has got rid of "the Dharma-nature, " and

he does not say that living beings are free of "living beings. " We can hear

only that living beings do not depart from samādhias the Dharma-nature; he does not say that the Dharma-nature cannot depart from the samādhiof 174

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living beings. There is no assertion that samādhias the Dharma-nature leaves and enters samādhias the state of living beings. Still less have we been able to hear that the Dharma-nature becomes Buddha, or to hear that living beings experience the Dharma-nature, or to hear that the Dharma-nature experiences the Dharma-nature. There is no expression about the non-emotional not leaving the Dharma-nature. Now, I would like to ask Baso: What is it that you call "living beings"? If what you call "living beings" is the Dharmanature, the state is "This is something coming like this. "15 If what you call

"living beings" is living beings, the state is "To describe a thing does not hit the target.

"16 Speak at once! Speak at once!

Shōbōgenzō Hōsshō

Preached to the assembly at Kippō Temple in Esshū17 at the beginning of winter18 in the first year of the Japanese era of Kangen.

19

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Notes

1 Mushi-dokugo. See also opening paragraph of Chapter Sixteen (Vol. I), Shisho. 2 Shōchi.This term, which may be Confucian in origin, is also discussed in the opening paragraph of Chapter Twenty-six (Vol. II), Daigo;and in Chapter Ninety (Vol. IV), Shizen-biku.

3 Cf. Chapter Ninety (Vol. IV), Shizen-biku,paragraph 54: "In the writings of Confucius there is the person of innate intelligence. In the Buddha's teaching there are no people of innate intelligence.

" In that chapter, Master Dōgen's point is to emphasize that intelligence or understanding comes with experience of life, not as a birthright. The point here is that every person's mind naturally inclines toward seeking out the truth. 4 Hōsshō-zanmai. Zanmai represents the Sanskrit word samādhi, which means the balanced state in zazen. The word samādhiappears in the titles of three chapters of the Shōbōgenzō: Chapter Seventy-five (Vol. IV), Jishō-zanmai ("Samādhi, State of Experiencing the Self"), expressing samādhifrom the subjective side; Chapter Thirtyone (Vol. II), Kai-in-zanmai ("Samādhi, State Like the Sea"), expressing samādhi as the mutual relation between subject and object in the moment of the present; and Chapter Seventy-two, Zanmai-ō-zanmai("The SamādhiThat Is King of Samādhis), expressing the practice of zazen itself. Together with the present chapter Hōsshō, which adds the objective viewpoint, these can be seen as forming one group of four chapters.

5 Sanmyō ("three kinds of illumination"), from the Sanskrit tisro vidyāh:1) knowing past lives, 2) supernatural vision, 3) the ability to end the superfluous. 6 Danjōmeans materialism and idealism. Danken,lit.,

"view of separation,

" represents

the view that sees all things as isolated instances of time and space, that is, materialism. Jōken,lit.,

"view of constancy" or "view of eternity,

" represents idealism. Dankengedōand jōken-gedōare traditional expressions of the two fundamental non-Buddhist viewpoints, materialism and idealism.

7 Master Baso Dōitsu (704-788), successor of Master Nangaku Ejō. Zen Master Daijaku is his posthumous title.

8 Kōsonshukugoroku,chap. 1.

9 Baso literally means "Horse Patriarch.

"

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10 Nyoze-sō, nyoze-shō,from the Lotus Sutra,Hōben.In the Lotus Sutra,the subject is the reality called "all dharmas": "What is called 'all dharmas' is form as it is, the nature as it is. . . .

" (LS 1.68)

11 Kaike-yōraku,

"opening flowers, leaves falling, " represents the world of changing phenomenal forms which human thinking tends to oppose to the universal essence. 12 Emo. Emeans depend on, follow, or be based upon. Momeans copy, imitate, or model after. Emotherefore suggests the forming of a model, image, representation, or conception of something based upon the thing itself. 13 Emo.See preceding note.

14 Jin-ze-hōsshō.In the quotation, read as kotogotoku kore hōsshō nari,these characters mean "

. . . are totally the Dharma-nature. "

15 Master Daikan Enō's words on first meeting his disciple Master Nangaku Ejō. See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 1; and for example Chapter Sixty-two, Hensan. 16 Master Nangaku Ejō's words to Master Daikan Enō eight years later. Ibid. 17 Corresponds to present-day Fukui prefecture. 18 The tenth month of the lunar calendar. 19 1243.

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Chapter 55: Darani - Dhāraṇī

[Chapter Fifty-five]

Darani

Dhāraṇī

Translator's Note: The Chinese characters pronounced da-ra-ni represent the Sanskrit dhāraṇī, which originally means a spell or incantation that is believed to have mystical omnipotence. But Master Dōgen

'

s interpretation

was more concrete, and especially he esteemed the value of prostrations as dhāraṇī. In this chapter he explains the meaning of prostrations as dhāraṇī. [103] Those whose eyes of learning in practice are clear, are clear in the eye of the right Dharma. Because they are clear in the eye of the right Dharma, they are able to be clear-eyed in learning in practice. The authentic transmission of this pivot is inevitably due to the influence of paying respect to a great good counselor, which is the great purpose itself and the great dhāraṇī itself. "A

great good counselor" means a Buddhist patriarch, to whom, without fail, we should sincerely serve towel and flask.

1 Thus, in "bringing tea" and in "making

tea" the "pivot of the mind"2 is realized, and "mystical powers" are realized. "Bringing a tub of water" and "pouring water away" are the state of "not disturbing circumstances, "3 and of "witnessing everything from the wings.

"4 [To

perform such service] is not only to learn the pivot of the Buddhist patriarchs' mind; it is to meet, inside the pivot of the mind, with one Buddhist patriarch or with two Buddhist patriarchs. It is not only to receive and to use the Buddhist patriarchs' mystical powers; it is to have got, inside the state of mystical power, seven Buddhist patriarchs or Buddhist patriarchs. Thus, all the mystical power of the Buddhist patriarchs is perfectly realized in this one bundle. Every aspect of the pivot of the mind of the Buddhist patriarchs is perfectly realized in this one stroke. For this reason, although it is not wrong to use heavenly flowers and divine incense in paying respect to Buddhist patriarchs, to pay respect and to serve offerings with an act of dhāraṇīin the state of samādhiis just to be a child or grandchild of the Buddhist patriarchs.

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[106] What I have called "the great dhāraṇī" is personal salutations. 5

Because personal salutations are the great dhāraṇī,we mutually encounter the reality of personal salutations. The word for personal salutations, ninji, which represents the sound of the Chinese word, has long been current in civilized society, but [the custom of personal salutations] was neither received from the Brahma Heavens nor received from the Western Heavens; its authentic transmission has been received from the Buddhist patriarchs. It is beyond the limited world of sound and form. Do not discuss it as before or after Buddha King of Majestic Voice. The personal salutations of which I speak are the burning of incense and prostration. We have as our original master the master who made us a monk, or the master who transmitted to us the Dharma. And sometimes the master who transmitted to us the Dharma is the master who made us a monk. Unfailingly to depend upon and pay respect to these original masters is a dhāraṇīthat invokes their teaching. We should, as is often said, practice under them and serve them without wasting a single moment. At the beginning and end of the retreat, at the winter solstice, and at the beginning and middle of the month, we burn incense and do prostrations without fail. The method is as follows: Either before breakfast or just after breakfast, which are the established times, we visit the master's quarters dressed in the dignified manner. Dressed in the dignified manner means wearing the kaṣāya,carrying the prostration cloth, and wearing sandals and socks;6 dressed like this, and carrying a stick of aloes, sandalwood, or other incense, we proceed [to the master's quarters]. When we come in front of the master, we bow with joined hands.

7 Then the attendant monk prepares the incense burner and sets up a candle. If the master is already seated on the master's chair, we may burn incense at once. And if the master is behind the curtain, 8 we may burn incense

at once. At times when the master is lying down, eating, or the like, we may burn incense straight away too. If the master is standing on the ground, as we bow with joined hands we should ask the master to be seated. Or we may ask the master to be comfortable: there are many formulas for asking the master to be seated. After we have got the master to sit on the master's chair, we bow with joined hands, bowing low according to the proper method. Having completed the greeting, we walk up to the front of the incense desk and place in the incense burner the stick of incense that we have been carrying. The incense 180

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to be used is sometimes tucked under the back of the collar, sometimes held in an inside breast pocket, and sometimes carried in the sleeves; it is a matter of individual preference. After the bow of greeting, we take out this piece of incense. If it is wrapped in paper, we turn our shoulders to our right hand side, and remove the wrapping paper. Then we lift the incense up with both hands and stand it in the burner. We should stand it up straight. Do not let it lean to one side. After setting up the piece of incense we fold the hands9 and walk around to the right. When we arrive in front of the master we bow deeply with joined hands according to the proper method, spread the prostration cloth, and do prostrations. We do nine prostrations, or sometimes twelve prostrations. Having completed the prostrations, we fold the prostration cloth and bow with joined hands. In some cases, having spread the prostration cloth once and done three prostrations, we pay the compliments of the season. But for the nine prostrations [described] now, we should just do three rounds of three prostrations with the prostration cloth spread once,

10 and not say the season's

greetings. The above formality has been transmitted from the Seven Buddhas in the distant past, and we have received its authentic transmission as the fundamental teaching. Therefore we practice this formality. Whenever the time comes to do prostrations like this, we do so without fail. [110] In addition, we do prostrations whenever we have been covered by the benevolence of Dharma.

11 And we do prostrations in order to request

the [master's] teaching on a story.

12 When, in the past, the Second Patriarch

presented his viewpoint to the First Patriarch, that was an example of doing three prostrations.

13 To exhibit the presence of the right Dharma-eye treasury, we do three prostrations. Remember, prostration is the right Dharma-eye treasury, and the right Dharma-eye treasury is the great dhāraṇī.For prostrations when requesting the teaching, recently many people do one prostration in which the head bumps the ground,

14 but the traditional standard is three

prostrations. The prostration of thanks for the benevolence of Dharma is not necessarily nine prostrations or twelve prostrations: it may be three prostrations, or one informal prostration, 15 or six prostrations. All of these are prostrations in which the head is bowed down to the ground16 —in India these

are called "the highest worship.

"17 In doing six prostrations, for instance, we

hit the ground with the head; that is, we strike the forehead upon the ground, 181

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even to the point of bleeding. For these prostrations also, the prostration cloth is laid out. Whether doing one prostration, three prostrations, or six prostrations, we hit the ground with the forehead. This is sometimes called "kowtowing. "18 Such prostration is present in secular society too; in secular society there are nine kinds of prostration. When [requesting] the benevolence of Dharma, we also have continuous prostrations; that is to say, we do prostrations ceaselessly, continuing even for hundreds or thousands of prostrations. All of these are prostrations that have been practiced in the orders of Buddhist patriarchs. In general, we should practice these prostrations according to the proper method, observing the master's directions. In general, while prostrations exist in the world the Buddha-Dharma exists in the world. If prostrations disappear, the Buddha-Dharma will perish.

[112] When we are prostrating ourselves to the master who transmitted to us the Dharma, we prostrate ourselves without selecting a time or worrying about the place: sometimes we do prostrations while [the master] is lying down or eating, or even while [the master] is going to the toilet; sometimes we prostrate from afar, with fences and walls between us, or with mountains and rivers between us; sometimes we prostrate with kalpas between us; sometimes we prostrate with living-and-dying and coming-and-going between us; and sometimes we prostrate with the state of bodhi,and nirvana, between us. While the disciple performs these many kinds of prostration, the master does not return the prostration, but only joins hands.

19 Occasionally [the master] may do a single prostration, but as a general rule [the master] does not. At the time of such prostrations, we always prostrate ourselves facing north. The master, facing south, sits erect. The disciple stands on the ground before the master, facing north, and, aiming at the master, [the disciple] prostrates to the master. This is the original standard. It is an authentic tradition that when devoted right belief emerges in us, a prostration facing north is inevitably the first thing we do. Thus, in the day of the World-honored One, the human multitudes, celestial throngs, and dragon herds that devoted themselves to the Buddha all faced north to venerate and to do prostrations to the Worldhonored One. At the very beginning, the five companions20 —Ājñāta-Kauṇ ḍinya,

21 Aśvajit, Mahānāma, Bhadrika, and Bāṣpa22

—after the Tathāgata had

realized the truth, rose unconsciously to face the Tathāgata and to offer their prostrations to him, facing north. When non-Buddhists and bands of demons 182

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devoted themselves to the Buddha, having discarded the false, they inevitably prostrated themselves facing north, even though they were caused to do so neither by themselves nor by others. Since that time, all those who have come to the orders of the twenty-eight generations of ancestral masters in the Western Heavens and the many generations of ancestral masters in the Eastern Lands, wishing to devote themselves to the right Dharma, have naturally prostrated themselves facing north. This is the state of compliance with the right Dharma; it is beyond the intention of master and disciple. This is the great dhāraṇī itself.

"There is a great dhāraṇī, and it is called round

realization.

23 There is a great dhāraṇī,and it is called personal salutations. There is a great dhāraṇī, and it is a realized prostration. There is a great dhāraṇī,and its name is the kaṣāya.There is a great dhāraṇī,and its name is the right Dharma-eye treasury.

" By this incantation, we have pacified and

protected the whole earth, we have pacified and established the whole universe, we have pacified and manifested the whole sphere of time, we have pacified and built the whole world of Buddha, and we have pacified and realized the inside of our huts and the outside of our huts. We should learn in practice, penetrate, and discern that great dhāraṇī is like this. All dhāraṇīs see this dhāraṇīas their mother-word. As dependents of this dhāraṇī,all dhāraṇīs are realized. All Buddhist patriarchs inevitably experience establishment of the mind, pursuit of the truth, realization of the truth, and turning of the Dharma wheel, through this gate of dhāraṇī.That being so, now that we are already the children and grandchildren of Buddhist patriarchs, we should painstakingly investigate this dhāraṇī.

[116] In sum, that which was covered by the robe of Śākyamuni Buddha is that which has been covered by the robes of all the Buddhist patriarchs of the ten directions. That which was covered by the robe of Śākyamuni Buddha is that which is covered by the kaṣāya.The kaṣāyais the banner of Buddhists. This conclusion is hard to arrive at and hard to meet. Though we are stupid, having received the rare human body in a remote land, the good influence of long-accumulated dhāraṇīhas been realized, and we have been born to meet the Dharma of Śākyamuni Buddha. Though we do prostrations to the selfrealized and externally realized Buddhist patriarchs in a place of one hundred weeds, it is Śākyamuni Buddha's realization of the truth, it is Śākyamuni Buddha's effort in pursuit of the truth, and it is the mystical transformation 183

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of dhāraṇī.Though we do prostrations to past buddhas and present buddhas in countless trillions of kalpas, they are a moment covered by Śākyamuni Buddha's robe. For the kaṣāyato cover the body once is already to have got Śākyamuni Buddha's body and flesh, hands and feet, head and eyes, marrow and brains, state of brightness, and turning of the Dharma wheel. Such is the state in which we wear the kaṣāya.This is the realization of wearing the merit of the kaṣāya.We retain it and rely upon it, we love it and enjoy it, we preserve it and protect it as time passes, and we wear it to do prostrations and serve offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha. In so doing, we definitely realize and perfectly realize triple asaṃkhyakalpas of training. To do prostrations and serve offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha means, in some instances, to do prostrations and serve offerings to the master who transmitted to us the Dharma, or to do prostrations and serve offerings to the master who shaved our head. It is just to meet Śākyamuni Buddha, to serve Śākyamuni Buddha with an offering of Dharma, and to serve Śākyamuni Buddha with an offering of dhāraṇī.My late master Tendō, the eternal buddha, said in his preaching, "Coming over the snow to do prostrations,

24 and remaining amid rice flour25

to do prostrations, are excellent examples. They are the precedents of the ancestors. They are the great dhāraṇī.

"

Shōbōgenzō Darani

Preached to the assembly at Kippōji in Esshū,

26

in the first year of Kangen.

27

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Notes

1 Kinbyō,

"towel and flask,

" are two of a monk's traditional possessions. See Chapter Fifty-six, Senmen.Serving towel and flask means serving in daily life. 2 Keisa-rai, lit.,

"holding up tea and coming, " and shinyō,

"the pivot of the mind, "

allude to a conversation between Master Ryūtan Sōshin and his master, Tennō Dōgo: One day [Sōshin] asked, "Since I came here I have not received any instruction about the pivot of the mind. " [Dō]go said,

"Since you came I have done nothing but demonstrate the pivot of the mind to you. " Master [Sōshin] said, "Where did you demonstrate it?" [Dō]go said,

"You came bringing tea, I received it for you. You came serving food, I received it for you. When you paid your respects (lit., "performed vandana"), then I lowered my head. Where did I not demonstrate the pivot of the mind?" Master [Sōshin] lowered his head for a while. (Keitokudentōroku,chap. 14) 3 Sha-sui-rai,

"pouring water away, " and fu-dōjaku-kyō, "not disturbing circumstances, "

allude to a story about Master Nansen Fugan and Master Godai Impō (also known as Tō Impō): Nansen one day sees Tō Impō approaching. He points to a water jar and says,

"The jar is circumstances. Inside the jar there is water. Without disturbing the circumstances, bring some water to this old monk. " Im[pō] then brings the jar of water before Nansen and pours. Nansen leaves it at that. The story is recorded in Shinji-shōbōgenzō, pt. 1, no. 64; Chapter Eighty-one (Vol. IV), Ō-saku-sendaba. 4 Tensa-rai,

"making tea,

" jinzū,

"mystical powers,

" kansui-rai,

"bringing a tub of

water,

" and amen-ryōchi,

"witnessing everything from the wings, " all allude to a

story about Master Isan Reiyū and his disciples, Master Kyōgen Chikan and Master Kyōzan Ejaku: After Master Isan had woken up from a nap Kyōzan brought him a tub of water to wash his face. Kyōgen said that he had been watching from the wings, and had witnessed everything clearly. Master Isan asked him to express his understanding of the situation. Kyōgen went to make some tea. Isan praised them, saying, "The mystical powers and the wisdom of you two disciples are far superior to those of Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. " The story is recorded in Chinese characters in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 61, and is paraphrased by Master Dōgen in Japanese in Chapter Twenty-five (Vol. II), Jinzū. 5 Ninjirefers to a monk's salutation to his master, by burning incense and doing prostrations. 6 Socks of thick white material are still part of the formal attire of monks and priests in Japan today.

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7 Monjin,lit., to ask [how someone is] or to inquire after [someone's health], represents the Sanskrit pratisammodana.Concretely, monjinmeans to bow either with the palms of the hands together (gasshō-monjin) or with the left hand curled round the thumb and the right hand covering the back of the left hand (shashu-monjin). 8 The master's room would sometimes be divided by a cloth curtain thin enough to see through.

9 Shashu.See note 7.

10 Itten-sanpai o sandō arubeki,

"there should be three rounds of one spreading and three prostrations.

" Taken literally, this seems to suggest that the prostration cloth should be spread and folded three times, but it is natural to assume that the cloth was spread once for all nine prostrations.

11 Hō-eki,

"Dharma benevolence" means a master's preaching of Dharma. 12 Innen,

"causes and circumstances,

" originally meant the concrete causes and circumstances pertinent to a violation of the precepts (see explanation of nidāna in Chapter Twenty-four [Vol. II], Bukkyō). By extension it came to mean any Buddhist story or episode such as the ones recorded by Master Dōgen in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō. 13 See Chapter Forty-six, Kattō,paragraph 90.

14 Ton-ippai. Ton means a prostration in which one places one's head on the ground. Ippaimeans "one prostration.

"

15 Sokurai-ippai. Soku means to touch. Rai means bow. In this case, the prostration cloth, still folded into four, is placed on the ground, and only the forehead touches the prostration cloth. Sokurai,lit.,

"touching bow,

" is opposed to tenpai,lit.,

"unfolded

prostration,

" which is a formal prostration done with the prostration cloth completely unfolded.

16 Keishu-hai. Keimeans to strike, hit, or tap; shumeans the head or the neck. Keishu represents the Sanskrit vandana.See Vol. I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. In performing this prostration the forehead is lowered to the ground and the palms are turned upward and raised as if to receive the feet of the person being bowed to. 17 Saijō-raihairepresents the meaning of the Sanskrit anuttara-pūjā.See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

18 Tonshu-hai. Tonis explained in note 14.

19 20 Gasshō.In gasshōthe palms are brought together in front of the chest, with the tips of the fingers roughly in line with the nostrils. See also note 7. The group of five ascetic practitioners whom Śākyamuni joined in ascetic training. It is said that when he left them to pursue the truth on his own, they felt he had given up. But when the Buddha returned after realizing the truth they were so struck by his 186

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21 22 23 24 25 dignity that they all prostrated themselves to him facing north. Then he preached the Four Noble Truths to them, and they became the first members of the sangha. Some sources give the fifth of the five companions not as Bāṣpa but as Daśabala-Kāśyapa. In Pāli, the five are Āññāta-Koṇḍañña, Assaji, Mahānāman, Bhadiya, and Vappa (or Dasabala-Kassapa).

Anyakyōjinnyo represents in Chinese characters the sound of the original Sanskrit name Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya. Because he was the first to recognize the meaning of the Buddha's first teaching, Ājñāta, which means "known, " was prefixed to his original

name Kauṇḍinya. For each of the five names, the original text contains a note in small characters giving a Chinese abbreviation of the Sanskrit. In this case the abbreviated version is Korin.

Bafu is a transliteration of the Sanskrit Bāṣpa. The note in small characters, however, gives Riki-Kashō. This stands for Jūriki-Kashō, lit., "Ten-Powers Kāśyapa,

" that is,

Daśabala-Kāśyapa.

U-dai-darani, myō-i-engaku alludes to the sutra Daihōkōengakushutararyōgikyō which says mujō-hō-ō-u-darani-mon, myo-i-engaku, "The supreme Dharma King

possesses the gate of dhāraṇī, which is called round realization. " In the sutra, umeans

"possesses,

" but in Master Dōgen's sentences, because there is no subject, umeans "there is.

"

It is said that when Master Taiso Eka first met Master Bodhidharma at Shōrin Temple the mountain was covered in thick snow. Master Daikan Enō, who was a woodcutter before entering the order of Master Daiman Kōnin, could not afford to live with the other monks, so he supported himself by pounding rice in a hut in the monastery. 26 Modern-day Fukui prefecture.

27 1243.

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Chapter 56: Senmen - Washing the Face

[Chapter Fifty-six]

Senmen

Washing the Face

Translator's Note: Sen means to wash, and men means the face. Idealistic religions generally revere only the spiritual side of the world; everyday activities such as eating meals, getting dressed, washing the face, and taking a bath are not considered to be religious practices. Buddhism, however, is a religion based on the real world; these everyday activities are important religious practices without which there can be no Buddhist life. This is why, when a Chinese Buddhist master was asked by his disciple, "What is the fundamental principle of Buddhism?" the master answered "Wearing clothes and eating meals.

" Master Dōgen put the greatest value on the practice of washing the face. In this chapter he explains the Buddhist meaning in the daily activities of taking a bath and washing the face. [121] The Sutra of the Flower of Dharmasays: [The bodhisattva] applies oil to the body, Having bathed away dust and dirt,

And puts on a fresh and clean robe:

Totally clean within and without.

1

[122] This is the Dharma that the Tathāgata, in the order of the Flower of Dharma, preaches to practitioners of the four peaceful and joyful practices. 2

It is not on the level of preaching in other orders, and it cannot be equaled by other sutras. So to bathe the body-mind, to apply fragrant oil, and to get rid of dust and dirt, are Buddha-Dharma of the highest priority. To put on a fresh and clean robe is a method of purification. When we bathe away dust and dirt and apply fragrant oil to the body, inside-and-outside will be totally clean. When inside-and-outside is totally clean, object-and-subject is pure and clean.

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[123] Nevertheless, stupid people who neither hear the Buddha-Dharma nor enter into the Buddha's truth say: "Bathing merely washes the body's skin, but inside the body there are the five viscera3 and six entrails. 4 Without

bathing each of these, we cannot be pure and clean. So we need not necessarily bathe the body's surface.

" People who speak like this have never known or

heard the Buddha-Dharma, have never met a true teacher, and have never met a child or grandchild of the Buddhist patriarchs. [124] Now, throwing away such words of people of wrong views, we should learn in practice the right Dharma of the Buddhist patriarchs. The limits of all dharmas have never been determined, and the inside and outside of the elements5 are impossible to grasp. Therefore, the inside and outside of the body-mind also are impossible to grasp. Even so, when a bodhisattva in the ultimate body is just about to sit upon a bodhi-seat and realize the truth, [the bodhisattva] first washes the kaṣāyaand then bathes the body-mind. This is the dignified behavior of the buddhas of the ten directions in the three times. Bodhisattvas in the ultimate body are different from other beings in all matters: their virtue, wisdom, and adornment of the body-mind, are all supremely venerable and supremely high. The same may be true of their methods of bathing and washing. Moreover, people's bodies and minds, and the limits thereof, differ according to time. It is said that during one sitting the three-thousand worlds are all sat away, and although, during that time, this is so, it is beyond the supposition of self or others: it is a virtue of the Buddha-Dharma. The dimension of the body-mind [that is bathed], again, is beyond "five feet" or "six feet,

" because five feet or six feet are beyond what has been decided as "five feet" or "six feet.

" The place where it exists also is beyond limited and unlimited areas such as "this world,

" "the external world,

" "the whole world,

"

and "the infinite universe,

" because "This concrete place is where something

ineffable exists—explain it as fine or explain it as coarse. "6 The dimension

of the mind, again, cannot be known by thinking and discriminating, and cannot be fathomed by not thinking and not discriminating. Because the dimension of the body-mind is like this, the dimension of bathing is also like this. To grasp this dimension and to practice and experience it is that which the buddhas and the patriarchs guard and desire. We should not see our conception of ourselves as foremost, and we should not see our conception of ourselves as real. Thus, when we bathe and wash like this we perfectly realize 190

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the dimension of body and the dimension of mind and we make them pure and clean. Whether [the body-mind] is the four elements, 7 the five aggregates,

8

or the immortal essence, in bathing it can be totally pure and clean. This is not to say that we should see ourselves as pure and clean only after we have brought water and washed. How could water be originally pure or be originally impure? Even if it is originally pure or originally impure, we do not claim that it causes the place we bring it to be pure or impure. The fact is simply that, when we maintain and rely upon the practice and experience of the Buddhist patriarchs, buddha-methods such as using water to wash and bathing in water are transmitted. When we practice and experience on this basis, we transcend purity, pass through impurity, and get free of non-purity and nonimpurity. Thus, the practice of washing and bathing even though we have not become dirty, and of washing and bathing even though we are already wholly pure and clean, is maintained and relied upon only in the Buddhist patriarchs' truth: it is beyond the knowledge of non-Buddhists. If it were as stupid people say, even if we ground the five viscera and six entrails to a dust as fine as air and used all the water of the great ocean to wash them, unless we also washed inside each particle of dust how could they be pure and clean? Without washing the inside of emptiness,

9 how can we realize "cleanness within and without"?

Stupid fellows can never know the method of bathing emptiness. We utilize emptiness to bathe emptiness and utilize emptiness to bathe the body-mind. Those who believe in bathing as the Dharma are maintaining and relying upon the practice and experience of the Buddhist patriarchs. That is to say, in the right Dharma authentically transmitted by rightful successors, buddha to buddha and patriarch to patriarch, when we practice bathing, the body-mind within and without, the five viscera and six entrails, the duality of object and subject, and the inside, the outside, and the middle of the Dharma world and space, are instantly pure and clean. When we use incense or flowers for purification, the past, the present, and the future, causes-and-circumstances, and practice, are instantly pure and clean. The Buddha says,

Bathing three times, spreading fragrance three times,

The body-mind is pure and clean.

10

Thus, the method of purifying the body and of purifying the mind is, inevitably, to bathe once and to spread fragrance once, and to do likewise 191

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again and again,

"bathing three times, spreading fragrance three times, " then

to bow to buddhas, to read sutras, to sit in zazen, and to practice walking. 11

After walking, when we are ready once more to sit erect in zazen, it is said that we must always wash the feet. Even though the feet are not dirty or defiled, the method of the Buddhist patriarchs is like this. In general, in the words "Bathing three times and spreading fragrance three times, " bathing

once means taking one bath,

12 that is, bathing the whole body. After so doing,

and getting dressed as usual, we burn some fine incense in a small censer and spread the fragrance inside the lapels, over the kaṣāya,around our sitting place, and so on. After that, we take another bath and spread fragrance again. To do this three times is a method that accords with the Dharma. At this time, although the six sense organs and their six objects do not newly arrive, the virtue of purity is present; it manifests itself before us and is beyond doubt. The fact that, although we had not intended to dispel the three poisons13 and the four upset states,

14 the virtue of purity has manifested itself before us at once, is the Buddha-Dharma. Who could fathom it with the common intellect? What person could glimpse it with common eyes? For example, when we clean and purify aloes,

15 we must not break it into fragments to wash it and

we must not grind it into particles to wash it; we can make it pure and clean by washing its body.

[130] In the Buddha-Dharma, without fail, washing methods have been prescribed. We wash the body, wash the mind, wash the feet, wash the face, wash the eyes, wash the mouth, wash the anus and urethra, wash the hands, wash the pātra,wash the kaṣāya,and wash the head. All these are the right Dharma of the buddhas and the patriarchs of the three times. When we are going to serve offerings to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, bringing assorted incense, we first wash our hands, then rinse the mouth and wash the face, put on clean clothes, get some fresh water in a clean basin, and wash the incense; after that, we serve offerings to the domain of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. We hope to be able to serve to the Three Treasures offerings of sandalwood incense from the Malaya Mountains,

16 washed in water of the

eight virtues17 from Lake Anavatapta.

[132] Washing the face has been transmitted from India in the west, and it has spread through China in the east. Though [the method] is clarified in various collections18 of the precepts, that which is transmitted and retained 192

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by the Buddhist patriarchs may be still more authentic and traditional. Not only has it been practiced by buddhas and by patriarchs for hundreds of years; it is spread throughout koṭis of thousand myriad kalpas of the past and future. Not only is it to get rid of grime and grease; it is the lifeblood of the Buddhist patriarchs. [Sutras] say that, without washing the face, it is wrong both to receive a prostration and to make a prostration to others. I prostrate myself, and prostrate to him;

Subject of prostration and object of prostration:

[One] nature empty and serene,

19

The nature is to get free.

20

Therefore, we must unfailingly wash the face. As regards a time for washing the face, in some cases the fifth night watch, 21 and in some cases

dawn, are the times. When my late master was master of Tendō Temple, he established the third period22 of the third watch as the time. Carry skirt23 and jacket24 with you to the washstand. The hand towel25 is a sheet of cloth with a length of one joand two shaku.

26 Its color must not be white; white

is prohibited. The Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Forms says, "There

are five points to observe in using the hand towel: 1) Use the top and bottom ends for wiping. 2) Use one end for wiping the hands and the other end for wiping the face. 3) Do not wipe the nose with it. 4) Wash [the hand towel] at once after it has been used to wipe grease or dirt. 5) Do not use it to wipe the body; when taking a bath, each person should have their own towel. "

When carrying the hand towel, hold it as follows: Fold the hand towel in two and hang it over the left forearm near the elbow. Half the hand towel is for wiping the face and half for wiping the hands. Not to wipe the nose means not to wipe the inside of the nose or nasal mucus. Do not use the hand towel to wipe the armpits, the back, the belly, the navel, the thighs, or the lower legs. When it becomes soiled with dirt and grease, wash it. When it becomes wet or damp, dry it by a fire or in the sun. Do not use the hand towel when taking a bath. The cloud hall washroom is the rear washstand, 27

and the rear washstand is located to the west of the illuminated hall28 —this

is the building layout which has been transmitted to us. For huts in the temple grounds and single quarters, [a washstand] is built at a convenient place. An abbot washes the face in the abbot's quarters. Washstands are suitably 193

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provided at the residences of aged monks and retired veteran monks. While lodging in the cloud hall, an abbot will wash at the rear washstand. When you arrive at the washstand, hang the center of the hand towel around the back of your neck, and pull the two ends forward over the left and right shoulders. Then, with left and right hands, bring the left and right ends of the hand towel under the left and right armpit and around to the back. Cross the two ends over behind your back, then bring the left end across to your right and the right end across to your left, and tie them together in front of your chest. Thus, the collar of the jacket is covered by the hand towel, and the sleeves are tucked up above the elbows by the hand towel. Below the elbows, the forearms and hands are exposed. For example, it is like having the sleeves tucked up by a tasukisash.

29 After that, if in the rear washstand, take a washbowl to the cauldron and get a bowlful of hot water, then come back and place it on the washstand. If somewhere else, put hot water from a hot water tub into the washbowl.

30

[136] Next use the willow twig. In the mountain-temples of the great kingdom of Song today the practice of chewing the willow twig, having long since died out, is not transmitted, and so they have no places for chewing the willow twig. But today at Eiheiji on Kichijōzan31 we have a place for chewing the willow twig—it is a new arrangement. On arriving there the first thing we should do is chew the willow twig. Taking a willow twig in the right hand, make a dhāraṇī-vow. The "Pure Conduct" chapter of the Garland Sutrasays: Taking the willow twig in the hand,

Pray that all living beings

Will get the right Dharma in their mind,

And be naturally pure and clean.

After reciting this sentence and before proceeding to chew the willow twig, recite as follows:

Chewing the willow twig at dawn,

Pray that all living beings

Get conquering teeth,

To chew up troubles.

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After reciting this sentence, chew the willow twig. The length of the willow twig is the width of four fingers, of eight fingers, of twelve fingers, or of sixteen fingers. The Precepts for the Great Sangha, 32 article thirty-four,

says,

"Use a twig for the teeth of suitable size, sixteen fingers at the longest, and four fingers at the shortest.

" Remember, [the twig] should not be made

shorter than four fingers, and longer than sixteen fingers is not a suitable size. The thickness is "the thickness of the little finger. " At the same time, there

is nothing to prevent [the twig] being thinner. The shape is "the shape of the little finger": one end is thick, the other end is thin. The thicker end is chewed into fine fibers. The Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Forms says, "The

chewed end must not exceed three bu.

"33 Chew the twig thoroughly, and then

rub and wash the front of the teeth and the back of the teeth, as if polishing them. Rub and polish, and wash and rinse, again and again. Thoroughly polish and wash the base of the teeth, above the gums. Carefully scrape clean the gaps between the teeth, and wash them clean. If the mouth is rinsed out repeatedly, [the teeth] will be rinsed clean. Next, scrape the tongue. The Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Formssays,

"There are five points in scraping

the tongue: 1) Do no more than three sets. 2) Stop if blood appears on the surface of the tongue. 3) Do not dirty the saṃghāṭīrobe, or the feet, by waving the hand too far. 4) Do not throw away the willow twig on a path where people walk. 5) Always be in a secluded place.

" "Three sets of scraping the

tongue" means that we rinse the mouth with water then scrape and scrape the tongue, and repeat this three times. It does not mean to do [only] three scrapes. Heed the warning to stop if blood appears. Concerning the need to scrape the tongue thoroughly, the Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Forms says,

"Cleansing the mouth means chewing the willow twig, rinsing out the mouth, and scraping the tongue.

" Thus, the willow twig has been guarded

and retained by Buddhist patriarchs and by the children and grandchildren of Buddhist patriarchs.

[139] The Buddha was living at Veṇuvana Park34 in Rājagṛha, 35 together

with one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus. It was the first of December, on which day King Prasenajit36 was preparing a meal. Bright and early in the morning, with his own hand he offered the Buddha a willow twig. The Buddha accepted it and when he had finished chewing 195

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it he threw what remained onto the ground. It at once started to grow. With roots and shoots springing forth in profusion, and twigs and leaves spreading like a cloud, it rose to a height of five hundred yojanas. Its circumference was of the same order. By and by it produced flowers too, [each] as big as a carriage wheel. Finally it also bore fruits, [each] the size of a five-gallon jar.

37 The roots, branches, twigs, and leaves

were solely of the seven treasures, whose assorted colors shone with extraordinary beauty. Brightness emanating from the colors eclipsed the sun and moon. To the taste, the fruit was more delicious than nectar. 38

The fragrance filled the four quarters, and all who sensed it felt glad in their hearts. A fragrant breeze came blowing, whereupon, pushing and prodding each other, the twigs and leaves all gave out a melodious sound, which unfurled the pivot of the Dharma, and which listeners never grew tired of hearing. The reverence and belief of all people who witnessed this transformation of the tree grew more and more pure and deep. The Buddha thereupon preached the Dharma, and their minds, receptive to his intention, were all enlightened. Those pursuing the state of Buddha attained the effect and were born in heaven—their numbers were very great.

39

[142] The method of serving offerings to the Buddha and to the sangha is, of necessity, to offer a willow twig at dawn. After that, various other offerings are prepared. There are many examples of willow twigs being offered to the Buddha, and many examples of the Buddha using the willow twig, but for now I shall just quote the story of King Prasenajit offering the willow twig with his own hand, and the story of the tall tree, because they deserve to be known. It was also on this day that the six non-Buddhist teachers40 were each defeated by the Buddha; they ran away in astonishment and awe, and finally each of the six teachers "threw himself into a river to drown. Nine koṭis of followers of the six teachers all came seeking to be disciples of the Buddha. The Buddha said,

"Welcome bhikṣus!" and their beards and hair

fell away naturally, the Dharma robe covered their bodies, and they all became śramaṇas.

41 The Buddha preached to them the Dharma and demonstrated the pivot of the Dharma. They ended the superfluous, dissolved [all] bonds, and attained arhathood.

"42 Thus, because the Tathāgata was already in the

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habit of using the willow twig, humans beings and gods offered the willow twig to him. Clearly, chewing the willow twig is a practice which buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the Buddha's disciples unfailingly retain. If we fail to practice it, the method will be lost. Would that not be regrettable? [144] The Sutra of the Pure Net Bodhisattva Preceptssays: Disciples of the Buddha! Always practice dhūta43 in two periods of the year, sit in zazen in winter and summer, and observe the summer retreat. 44

Always use the willow twig, [powdered] beans for washing, the three robes, a water bottle, the pātra,a prostration cloth, a staff, 45 an incense

burner, a bag for filtering water, a hand towel, a knife, a flint, tweezers, a rope stool,

46 sutras, precepts, a buddha image, and a bodhisattva statue. When bodhisattvas go practicing dhūta,and when they travel, even if the journey is hundreds of miles or thousands of miles, these eighteen things should always go with them. The dhūtalast from the fifteenth of the first lunar month to the fifteenth of the third lunar month, and from the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month to the fifteenth of the tenth lunar month. During these two periods, the eighteen articles should always be with you. They should be as wings to a bird. [145] None of these eighteen articles should be missing. If any were missing, it would be like a bird having lost a wing. Even with one wing remaining, it could never fly. Its conditions would not be those of the way of the birds. Bodhisattvas are also like this. Unless equipped with these eighteen wings, they cannot practice the bodhisattva way. And among the eighteen, the willow twig occupies first place: it should be supplied first. People who have clarified whether or not this willow twig is necessary may be bodhisattvas who have clarified the Buddha-Dharma. People who have never clarified [this matter] may never have seen the Buddha-Dharma even in a dream. This being so, to meet the willow twig is to meet the Buddhist patriarchs. For instance, if a person were to ask "What is your intention?" [I would reply,] "You have been lucky to meet old man Eihei's chewing of the willow twig. "

The buddhas and bodhisattvas of the past, present, and future, without exception, have received and retained, in the past, present, and future, these Pure Net Bodhisattva Precepts.That being so, they have also received and retained, in the past, present, and future, the willow twig.

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[147] The Pure Criteria for Zen Monasteries47 says:

Read, recite, and thoroughly understand both the ten major precepts and the forty-eight minor precepts of the Pure Net Sutraof the Great Vehicle, and thus know well what is observance and what is violation, what is permissible and what is forbidden. Rely only upon the sacred words of the golden mouth.

48 Do not follow ordinary people arbitrarily.

Remember this. The principles authentically transmitted by the buddhas and the patriarchs are like this. Anything that goes against this is not the Buddha's truth, is not the Buddha-Dharma, and is not the truth of the patriarchs. Nevertheless, in the great kingdom of Song today we do not see the willow twig at all. In the fourth lunar month of the sixteenth year of Kajō, 49

when I first visited the mountains and temples of great Song [China], there was no monk who knew of the willow twig, and the whole nation, government and people, high and low, did not know of it. Because monks were completely ignorant of it, if I asked about the method of using the willow twig, they would grow pale and lose composure. It is pitiful that pure methods50 have been lost. People who at least scantily rinse their mouths use [a device] in which hair from a horse's tail has been cut into lengths of an inch or so and then planted, like a horse's mane, into the top two inches of an ox horn; this has been cut square in cross section to a thickness of approximately three bu,

51 and is six or seven sun in length.

52 They only clean the teeth with it.

[But this] is hardly to be used as the utensil of a monk. It may be a vessel of impurity. It is not a vessel of the Buddha-Dharma. Even pious secular people might be disgusted by it. Such devices are used by both secular people and monks as a tool for sweeping dust off shoes; and also for brushing hair— there are slight variations in size, but it is the same thing. Even this device is used by only one person in ten thousand. So monks and lay people throughout the country have terribly bad breath. When people speak from two or three feet away, the stench from their mouth is difficult to bear. Even those famed as venerable patriarchs who possess the truth, and those titled as guiding teachers of human beings and gods, do not know even of the existence of the practices of rinsing the mouth, scraping the tongue, and chewing the willow twig. Judging from this situation, we cannot guess in how many ways the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs may now visibly be degenerating. 198

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Even if, not begrudging our present dewdrop life to the thousands of miles of blue waves, we traverse the mountains and rivers of foreign lands, intending to search for the truth, the unfortunate situation [described above] will give us cause for sadness. How many pure methods have been lost already? It is regrettable. It is very regrettable. Through the whole of Japan, by contrast, both monks and laypeople experience the willow twig. This may be to experience the Buddha's brightness. At the same time, our chewing of the willow twig does not accord with the proper method, and the method of scraping the tongue has not been transmitted to us, so it may be that we are slipshod. Even so, those who know the necessity of using the willow twig—in contrast to the Chinese who do not know of the willow twig—have naturally come to know a method of the excellent ones. In the methods of the mountain hermits, 53 too, they use the willow twig. Remember, it is, in all cases, an implement beyond dust, 54 and a tool of purification.

[151] The Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Formssays: In using the willow twig, there are five points: 1) It should be cut to the proper scale. 2) It should be split according to the proper method. 3) The chewed end must not exceed three bu.4) For odd teeth, it should be centered and chewed three times.

55 5) The sap should be used to

bathe the eyes.

Our present custom of cupping in the right hand, and bathing the eyes with, the water used in chewing the willow twig and rinsing the mouth, is originally just the teaching of the Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Forms. Nowadays in Japan it has become a longstanding household tradition. The practice of scraping the tongue was imported by Master Eisai. 56 When you

have finished using the willow twig, before throwing it away split the twig into two, tearing it with both hands from the chewed end. Place the sharp edge of the split twig crossways on the tongue's surface, and then scrape. That is to say, scoop water into the mouth with the right hand and rinse the mouth, then scrape the tongue. Repeatedly rinse the mouth and scrape the tongue, scraping and scraping with the edge of the split willow twig as if aiming to draw blood. While rinsing the mouth, secretly recite the following sentence. The Garland Sutrasays:

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Washing out the mouth and cleaning the teeth,

Pray that all living beings

Proceed to the gate of pure Dharma

And realize ultimate liberation.

Repeatedly rinsing the mouth, use the flesh of the first, second, or third fingers of the right hand to cleanse inside and outside the lips, under the tongue, and to the roof of the mouth, leaving them as if thoroughly licked. Shortly after eating oily food, use honey locusts.

57 As soon as you have

finished with the willow twig, throw it away in an unobtrusive place. Then, after disposing of the willow twig, snap the fingers three times. In the rear washstand there should be a box for discarded willow twigs. Elsewhere, discard [the twig] in some unobtrusive spot. Spit out the water used to rinse the mouth somewhere other than the washbowl.

[153] Next, wash the face itself. Scooping hot water from the washbowl with both hands, wash all over, starting with the forehead, then the eyebrows, the eyes, the nostrils, the inside of the ears, the cheekbones, and the cheeks. First douse them thoroughly with hot water, and after that scrub and wash them. Do not let tears, spit, or nasal mucus fall into the hot water in the washbowl. While washing like this, do not use up the hot water immoderately, spilling or splashing it from the washbowl so that it runs out too soon. Wash until free of dirt and rid of grease. Wash inside the ears, for they are not [usually] able to contact water. Wash inside the eyes, for they cannot [be cleaned] through contact with sand. Sometimes we wash as far as the hairline or the scalp. This is dignified behavior itself. Having washed the face and thrown away the hot water left in the washbowl, again snap the fingers three times. [155] Next wipe the face dry with one end of the hand towel. After that, take off the hand towel again, then fold it into two and hang it over the left forearm. In the washroom behind the cloud hall there are face towels for common use—a long bolt58 of cloth is provided and there are charcoal braziers. Monks have no worries about lack [of a towel] for wiping the face. We may wipe the head and face with that [common towel], or we may use our own hand towel; each is the proper method. While washing the face, do not make a noise by clanking the dipper loudly against the washbowl. And do not get the surrounding area wet by making a mess with the hot and cold water. Secretly reflect that, although we were born after the five hundred years59 200

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and although we live on a remote island, the good we have accumulated in the past has not decayed; we should wholeheartedly rejoice that, receiving the authentic transmission of the dignified behavior of eternal buddhas, we can enjoy untainted practice and experience. On the way back to the cloud hall the footsteps should be light and quiet. The cottages of aged monks of long-accumulated virtue should always have a washstand. Not washing the face goes against the Dharma. There are methods for the use of facial medications at washtime. [156] In sum, chewing the willow twig and washing the face are the right Dharma of eternal buddhas and people who are devoted to practicing the truth with the will to the truth should practice and experience them. To use cold water when hot water is not available is an ancient custom, a timehonored method. If it is totally impossible to obtain hot water or cold water, then early in the morning we wipe the face thoroughly and apply fragrant herbs, powdered incense, or the like, after which we may bow to the Buddha, recite sutras, burn incense, and sit in zazen. Before we have washed the face, to perform any of the various practices is impolite.

Shōbōgenzō Senmen

Preached to the assembly at Kannondōri kōshōhōrinji on the twenty-third day of the tenth lunar month in the first year of Enō.

60

[157] In India and China, kings, princes, ministers, and officials, laypeople and monks, men and women of the government and the public, farmers and common folk, all wash the face. They possess washbowls, sometimes of silver and sometimes of tin, among their household goods. They perform the service of washing the face every morning at religious shrines and spirit houses. They also offer the service of washing the face at the stupas of Buddhist patriarchs. After they have washed their faces and straightened their clothing, laypeople and monks bow to gods, bow to spirits, bow to their ancestors, and bow to their parents. They bow to their teachers, they bow to the Three Treasures, and they bow to the myriad souls of the triple world and the good guardians61 of the ten directions. Nowadays, even farmers and workers in the fields, fishermen and woodcutters, never forget to wash the face. But they do not chew the willow twig. In Japan, kings and ministers, 209c

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the old and the young, the government and the public, the high and the low among laymen and monks, all unfailingly chew the willow twig and rinse the mouth. But they do not wash the face. Where they have one, they have lost the other. To maintain now both washing the face and chewing the willow twig is replenishment where there was insufficiency and is the illuminating presence of the Buddhist patriarchs. Preached again to the assembly on the twentieth day of the tenth lunar month in the first year of Kangen62 at Kippōji in the Yoshida district of Esshū.

63

Preached to the assembly on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in the second year of Kenchō64 at Eiheiji on Kichijōzan in the Yoshida district of Esshū.

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Notes

1 Lotus Sutra,Anrakugyō("Peaceful and Joyful Practice"). LS 2.258. 2 Shi-anraku-gyō,

"four peaceful and joyful practices, " are described in detail in the Lotus Sutra,Anrakugyō. They are: 1) "peaceful and joyful practice through bodily action, "

e.g., not associating closely with kings and ministers; preaching Dharma without expectation; always liking to sit in zazen and to be in a quiet place; reflecting all dharmas as bare, as the form of reality as it is; etc. (LS 2.244-48); 2) "peaceful and joyful practice through speech,

" e.g., not discussing other people's good and bad conduct or merits and demerits (LS 2.256); 3) "peaceful and joyful practice of mind, " e.g., to have great

compassion for all living beings (LS 2.262); and 4) "peaceful and joyful practice through vowing,

" namely vowing that,

"Though those people neither hear, nor believe in, nor understand this sutra, when I attain the truth of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi,wherever I am, through mystical power and through the power of wisdom, I will lead them and cause them to be able to abide in this Dharma. " (LS 2.266)

3 Gozō:the liver, heart, lungs, kidney, and spleen. 4 Roppu:the throat, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, gall bladder, and bladder. 5 Shodai.For example, shidai,

"four elements,

" from the Sanskrit catvāri mahābhūtāni, are earth, water, fire, and wind. Godai, "five elements,

" from the Sanskrit pañca

mahābhūtāni,are earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Rokudai, "six elements,

" from

the Sanskrit ṣaḍ dhātavaḥ, are earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. 6 Alludes to an episode involving Master Rinzai Gigen and his disciple Kōke Sonshō recorded in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō, pt. 1, no. 96: Fuke and Rinzai go to a patron's house for a midday meal. [Rinzai] asks, "A hair swallows the vast ocean and a mustard seed includes Mount Sumeru. Should we see this as 'the mystical powers and wondrous function' or should we see this as 'reality as it is. '" Master [Fuke] duly overturns the dinner table. [Rin]zai says,

"Very coarse person!" Master [Fuke] says, "This concrete

place is where it is—explain it as coarse or explain it as fine. " Whereas here Master

Dōgen writes shimo[no] shozai,in Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,paragraph 45, he writes nan[no] shozai,and the Shinji-shōbōgenzōversion has simply nan[no] shozai.Each of the three expressions means "the place where 'What?' exists, " or "the

place where something ineffable exists. "

7 Shidai(four elements): earth, water, fire, and wind. See note 5. 8 Go-un("five aggregates"), from the Sanskrit pañca skandha,are 1) form or matter 203

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(rūpa), 2) perception or feeling (vedana), 3) thinking (saṃjñā), 4) action or formation of habits (saṃskāra), and 5) consciousness (vijñāna). See Chapter Two (Vol. I), Makahannya-haramitsu. 9 Kūchūmeans "the inside of emptiness" or "the real state of emptiness, " that is, the

balanced state in which things are allowed to be as they are. Kū, "emptiness" or "the

immaterial,

" expresses the mental face of reality: to be pure and clean is a matter of both mind and body.

10 Source not traced.

11 Kinhin, from the Sanskrit caṅkrama.The traditional rule for kinhinin Japan is issokuhanpo, "one breath per half-step.

"

12 Master Dōgen explained the more general single character used in the verse, moku, lit.,

"to wash,

" with a more specific compound mokuyoku, "to bathe" or "to have a

bath.

"

13 Sandoku ("three poisons"): 1) passion or greed (Sanskrit rāga), 2) hatred or anger (dveṣa), and 3) delusion or ignorance (moha). 14 Shitō ("four upset states"): 1) seeing the impermanent as eternal, 2) indulging in suffering as if it were joyful, 3) seeing the impure as pure, and 4) seeing that which is without self as having self.

15 Jinkōwas relatively expensive incense. Jinliterally means "sunk"; the incense was sometimes obtained from waterlogged wood. 16 A mountain range in southern India famous for its sandalwood incense. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

17 Water that has the eight virtues is sweet, cold, soft, light, clear, not brackish, not harmful to the throat, and not harmful to the stomach. 18 Bu, lit.,

"part,

" here represents the Sanskrit nikāya, which means a collection. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

19 Master Dōgen's record of his years in China, the Hōgyōki (Hōgyō Era Record), no. 10, says: "Master [Tendō] once summoned me and preached, 'Although you are a

recent student, you possess in abundance the air of the ancients. You should just live in a secluded valley deep in the mountains and nurture the sacred womb of the Buddhist patriarchs. You will definitely arrive at the state experienced by the ancient masters. '

Then Dōgen rose and made a prostration under the master's foot. The master called out,

'Subject of prostration and object of prostration have a nature empty and serene. The empathy between us is difficult to think about. ' Then the master widely preached the action of the Buddhist patriarchs of the Western Heavens and Eastern Lands. Dōgen's tears of gratitude made his collar wet. " "Empathy" is kannō-dokō,

"empathic

communication of the truth"; the term is discussed in Chapter Thirty-seven (Vol. II), Shinjin-gakudō.

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20 Shō-datsuraku. Datsuraku,

"get free" or "drop off,

" usually appears in the description of zazen as shinjin-datsuraku,

"getting free of body and mind.

" "Getting free of body

and mind" means experiencing the self as a whole and thereby getting free of the misconception of "body" and "mind" as separate entities. 21 The night was divided into five watches of two hours each, so the fifth watch was the last watch before dawn.

22 Each watch was further divided into five periods. So the third period of the third watch was the middle of the night.

23 Kun,

"skirt" or "hem"; more usually written as kunzu, "hemmed thing,

" represents

the Sanskrit nivāsana, which means "a kind of raiment" (see Glossary of Sanskrit Terms).

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Hensan, a long jacket usually of black cotton. The skirt and jacket may have been separate or they may have been sewn together as one long black gown with wide sleeves (jikitotsu) of the kind worn by monks and professional priests in Japan today. See also notes to Chapter Seven (Vol. I), Senjō. Shukin.The shukinwas used as a hand and face towel, and also as a sash to keep up the sleeves.

Ichijō-nishaku.One jo(9.94 feet; 3.03 meters) is ten shaku,so the length of the towel is 11.93 feet, or 3.64 meters.

Koka,so called because it is located to the rear of the zazen hall, is number 48 on the temple ground plan in Volume I, Appendix V, "Traditional Temple Layout.

"

Shōdō.A senior monk would use this area for instructing other monks while the master of the temple was otherwise occupied. The illuminated hall (number 57 on the temple ground plan, Volume I, Appendix V, "Traditional Temple Layout") directly separates the zazen hall and the washroom. Whereas the (longer) hand towel is knotted in front of the chest, a tasukiis knotted behind the back. The tasukimethod would have been more familiar to Japanese of Master Dōgen's time, and is still used in Japan today. At a wash place that had no cauldron, there would be a tub filled with hot water from, for example, the kitchen.

According to the records at the end of the penultimate and final paragraphs of the chapter, this chapter was first preached in 1239, and preached for a second time in 1243, before Master Dōgen moved to Eiheiji. The third time it was preached, in 1250, Master Dōgen was living at Eiheiji. It seems probable that Master Dōgen added this part during the third preaching of the chapter. The Makasōgiritsu,also quoted in Chapter Seven (Vol. I), Senjō. Sanbu,three bu,is 0.36 inches (0.91 cm.). 205

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34 Chiku-on, lit.,

"Bamboo Wood,

" represents the meaning of the Sanskrit Veṇuvana. This was a park that lay to the north gate of Rājagṛha and which King Bimbisāra donated to the Buddha's order soon after the order's establishment. 35 Ōshajō,

"City of Royal Palaces,

" represents the Sanskrit Rājagṛha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha. Its site is 70 km southwest of Patna, near the present-day small town of Rājgir. It was the most powerful royal city of northern India after Śrāvastī, the capital of the kingdom of Kośala. 36 King Prasenajit was the ruler of the kingdom of Kośala. See also Chapter Fifty-nine, Baike.

37 To,

"gallon,

" is a measure of capacity that has varied from age to age. 38 Kanrō,lit.,

"sweet dew,

" represents the Sanskrit amṛta,the nectar supposedly relished by ancient Indian gods.

39 Quoted from the chapter about how the Buddha defeated the six non-Buddhist teachers, in volume two of the Kengukyō(Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish). 40 Rokushi-gedō, the six non-Buddhist teachers, are: 1) Sañjaya-Vairāṭīputra, a skeptic; 2) Ajita-Keśakambala, a materialist; 3) Maskari-Gośalīputra, a fatalist; 4) Pūraṇa-Kāśyapa, a negator of moral virtue, a moral relativist; 5) Kakuda-Kātyāyana, a sensualist; and 6) Nirgrantha-Jñātiputra, the founder of Jainism. 41 The Sanskrit śramaṇa (lit., "striver") originally described a wandering mendicant who was not of the brahman caste—as distinct from a parivrājaka,a wandering religious mendicant of brahman origin. The Buddha applied the term śramaṇato Buddhist monks.

42 Also quoted from the Kengukyō. 43 Zuda, representing the Sanskrit dhūta, has two meanings: 1) the twelve ancient practices (recorded in Chapter Thirty [Vol. II], Gyōji), and 2) the practice of begging for food every day and not accepting invitations, which is the first of the twelve dhūtas. In this case, dhūtasuggests the second meaning. 44 Ge-ango,

Ango.

"summer retreat,

" from the Sanskrit vārṣika(which literally means "belonging to the rainy season") is described in detail in Chapter Seventy-nine (Vol. IV), 45 Shakujō,literally,

"tin staff.

" Tin refers to metal rings which dangle from three holes in the embossed top of the stick. These jangle as the monk walks along, serving to scare away bears.

46 A folding stool with a rope seat. 47 The Zen

'

enshingi, completed by Master Chōro Sōsaku in 1103. The work was based on Master Hyakujō's Koshingi(Old Pure Criteria). 48 Kinku,

"golden mouth,

" means the mouth of the Buddha. 206

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49 1223.

50 Byakubō,literally, "white methods.

"

51 Sanbu.See note 33. 52 Roku-shichi-sunis between and seven and nine inches. One sun(ten bu) is approximately 1.2 inches (3.03 cm.). 53 Sen-nin,

"mountain-dwelling wizard, " expresses the ideal of the Daoist sage. 54 Shutsu-jin,lit.,

world.

"getting out of dust, " suggests, in general, transcendence of the secular 55 Where there is a gap between the teeth, the willow twig should be centered between upper and lower teeth, so as not to damage or loosen teeth by forcing the willow twig into a gap between them. 56 Sōjō-esai. Sōjō,

"chief administrator of monks" (see notes to Chapter Eight [Vol. I], Raihai-tokuzui) was the title of the highest-ranking monk in the ancient Buddhist hierarchy (sōgō) which was established in 624, based on the Chinese model. The system was formally abandoned following the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Master Eisai (1141-1215) went to China in the generation before Master Dōgen, and introduced the teachings of the Rinzai sect into Japan as the master of Kenninji and other temples. 57 Honey locusts (Gleditsia japonica) are small, irregularly shaped green vegetables, roughly equal in size to green beans. Here they would be used to clean oil from inside the mouth. In Chapter Seven (Vol. I), Senjō,Master Dōgen explains the use of honey locusts in washing the hands. 58 Ippiki,one hiki.A hikiis a unit of cloth length. It is roughly the length of cloth needed to make one kimono; that is, just over twenty meters of cloth. 59 Alludes to the belief that in the age of right Dharma—the first five hundred years following the Buddha's death—the Dharma would flourish, after which it would decline. 60 1239.

61 Shinsai means gods and benevolent spirits who are imagined to guard and protect the Buddha-Dharma.

62 1243.

63 Modern-day Fukui prefecture. 64 1250.

207