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T2582 Shōbōgenzō The True Dharma-Eye Treasury, Volume IV

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SHŌBŌGENZŌ

THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY VOLUME IV

Front Matters

BDK English Tripiṭaka Series SHŌBŌGENZŌ

THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY Volume IV

(Taishō Volume 82, Number 2582) Translated from the Japanese by

Gudo Wafu Nishijima and

Chodo Cross

BDK America, Inc. 2008

Copyright

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

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

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

BDK America, Inc.

Reprinted by permission of Gudo Wafu Nishijima and Chodo Cross All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means —electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. Third Printing, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-886439-38-2

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008933465 Published by

BDK America, Inc.

1675 School Street

Moraga, California 94556

Printed in the United States of America

A Message on the Publication of the

English Tripiṭaka

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

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

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

NUMATA Yehan

Founder of the English

August 7, 1991 Tripiṭaka Project

Editorial Foreword

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

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

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

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

Publisher’s Foreword

Editorial Foreword

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

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

Chairperson

Editorial Committee of

the BDK English Tripiṭaka

viii

Publisher's Foreword

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

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

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

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

John R. McRae

Chairperson

Publication Committee

Note on the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series

Reprint Edition

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

Shobogenzo, Books 1-4,by Windbell Publications, 1994-1999) in order to make more widely available this exemplary translation of this important text. Volumes I, II, and III of this edition of Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury were published in 2007 and 2008.

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

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka NUMATAYehan v

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

Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury, Volume IV Chapter Seventy-three. Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō:Thirty-seven Elements of Bodhi 3

Chapter Seventy-four. Tenbōrin:Turning the Dharma Wheel 35 Chapter Seventy-five. Jishō-zanmai:Samādhias Experience of the Self 41 Chapter Seventy-six. Dai-shugyō:Great Practice 57 Chapter Seventy-seven. Kokū:Space 71 Chapter Seventy-eight. Hatsu-u:The Pātra 79 Chapter Seventy-nine. Ango:The Retreat 85 Chapter Eighty. Tashintsū:The Power to Know Others' Minds 117 Chapter Eighty-one. Ō-saku-sendaba:A King's Seeking of Saindhava 131 Chapter Eighty-two. Ji-kuin-mon:Sentences to Be Shown in the Kitchen Hall 141

Chapter Eighty-three. Shukke:Leaving Family Life Chapter Eighty-four. Sanji-no-gō:Karma in Three Times Chapter Eighty-five. Shime:The Four Horses Chapter Eighty-six. Shukke-kudoku:The Merit of Leaving Family Life Chapter Eighty-seven. Kuyō-shobutsu:Serving Offerings to Buddhas Chapter Eighty-eight. Kie-sanbō:Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures Chapter Eighty-nine. Shinjin-inga:Deep Belief in Cause and Effect 147 155

169

177

207

235

251

xiii

Translators’ Introduction

Contents

Chapter Ninety. Shizen-biku:The Bhikṣuin the Fourth Dhyāna 263 Chapter Ninety-one. Yui-butsu-yo-butsu:Buddhas Alone, Together with Buddhas 289

Chapter Ninety-two. Shōji:Life and Death Chapter Ninety-three. Dōshin:The Will to the Truth Chapter Ninety-four. Jukai:Receiving the Precepts 299 303

309

Chapter Ninety-five. Hachi-dainingaku:The Eight Truths of a Great Human Being 317

Appendix I. Editions of the Shōbōgenzō 325 Appendix II. Butsu-kōjō-no-ji:The Matter of the Ascendant State of Buddha 329

Appendix III. Ippyakuhachi-hōmyōmon:One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma Illumination 343 Appendix IV. Chinese Masters 359 Glossary of Sanskrit Terms 361 Bibliography 365

Index 373

A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series) 405 xiv

Translators' Introduction

Preface

by Gudo Wafu Nishijima

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

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

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

Translator's Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Translator's Introduction

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

by Chodo Cross

Source Text

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

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

Sanskrit Terms

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

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

" "law,

" "method,

" "things and phenomena"), usually translated

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

xvii

Translator's Introduction

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

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

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

s Shobogenzo,Books 1-4.)

The Meaning of Shōbōgenzō,

"True Dharma-eye Treasury"

Shōmeans "right" or "true.

" Hō,

"law,

" represents the Sanskrit "Dharma.

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

is already there.

Hōgen,

"Dharma-eye,

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

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

"true Dharma-eye,

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

xviii

Translator's Introduction Zō,

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

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

SHŌBŌGENZŌ THE TRUE DHARMA-EYE TREASURY VOLUME IV by

Dōgen

Chapter 73: Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō - Thirty-seven Elements of Bodhi

[Chapter Seventy-three]

Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō

244c3

Thirty-seven Elements of Bodhi Translator's Note: Sanjūshichi-bon means "thirty-seven kinds.

" Bodai represents the Sanskrit bodhi, which means "the truth,

and bunpō means

ele-"

ments

methods.

" So sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō means "thirty-seven

elements of the truth.

" There are two fundamental schools of Buddhism: the Hinayana (Small Vehicle) and the Mahayana (Great Vehicle). The thirty-seven methods are usually said to belong to Hinayana Buddhism, because they are discussed in the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-śāstra, which is one of the primary texts of Hinayana Buddhism. In Japan, and especially among Maha yana Buddhist masters, it was very rare for Buddhist monks to discuss these teachings. But Master Dōgen has his own views on Mahayana and Hinayana. According to him, there exists only the Buddhism that Gautama Buddha taught. He thought that any distinctions between Mahayana and Hinayana are reflections of the different ages and cultures in which the two schools of Buddhism were taught, and he refused to discriminate between the two Buddhist streams. In this chapter Master Dōgen explains the thirty-seven elements of the truth with no division into Hinayana or Mahayana, but based upon the practice of zazen. [3] The reality1 of eternal buddhas is present; it is, namely, the teaching, practice, and experience of "the thirty-seven elements of bodhi. "2 The entanglement

of ascending and descending through their classification is just the entangled state of reality, which we call "the buddhas" and which we call "the patriarchs. "

[4] The Four Abodes of Mindfulness3 The first is the reflection that the body is not pure. The second is the reflection that feeling is suffering. The third is the reflection that mind is without constancy. The fourth is the reflection that dharmas are without self. 3

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Shōbōgenzō Volume IV

[5] "The reflection that the body is not pure": The individual bag of skin reflected as a body in the present is "the whole universe in ten directions";4 because it is "the real body,

"5 it is "the reflection that the body is not pure"

springing up on the road of vivid action. If not for springing up, reflection would be impossible. It would be as if the body did not exist. Action itself would be impossible. The act of preaching would be impossible. The act of reflection would be impossible. But in fact the realization of realized reflection is already present: remember, it is the realized state of vivid springing up. What has been called "realized reflection" is everyday actions: sweeping the ground and sweeping the floor. Because we sweep the ground unaware "what number moon"6 it is, and sweep the ground and sweep the floor aware that "this is just the second moon,

"7 the whole earth is as it is. Reflection on the

body is the body's reflection: it is not that, by means of the body's reflection, something else reflects. Reflection itself, in the very moment of it, is the superlative having arrived. When body reflection is realized, mental reflection is not at all worth groping for and is not realized. Thus, [body-reflection] is diamond samādhi8 and śūraṃgama samādhi,

9 both of which are the reflection that the body is not pure. In general, the principle of seeing the bright star in the middle of the night is expressed as "the reflection that the body is not pure.

" It is not a question of relative purity and impurity. The actual body is not pure. This real body is not pure. In learning in practice like this, when demons become buddha, they utilize the demon to defeat the demon and to become buddha. When buddhas become buddha, they utilize buddha to aim at buddha and to become buddha. When human beings become buddha, they utilize the human being to regulate the human being and to become buddha. We should investigate the truth that a way through exists in the utilization itself. It is like the method of washing a robe, for example: water is dirtied by the robe and the robe is permeated by the water. Whether we use this water and carry on washing or change this water and carry on washing, we are still using water, and still washing the robe. In washing it once and washing it a second time, if it does not look clean, do not linger in idle vacillation! When all the water is used up, we carry on with other water; [even] when the robe is clean, we carry on washing the robe.

10 For water, we use many sorts of

water: all sorts are suitable for washing a robe. We can investigate the truth that when water is impure, we know that there may be fish. 11 As for robes, all

Chapter Seventy-three

sorts of robes need washing. Through effort like this, the reality of washing the robe is realized; and, at the same time, we see what purity is. The point here is that to permeate the robe with water is not necessarily the original aim, and to dirty the water with the robe is not the original aim: it is in using dirty water to wash the robe that the original aim of washing the robe exists. There are also methods of washing the robe and of washing things, by using fire, wind, soil, water, and space. And there are methods of washing and cleaning earth, water, fire, wind, and space by using earth, water, fire, wind, and space. The point of the present "reflection that the body is not pure" is also like this. On this basis, the totality of "body,

" the totality of "reflection,

" and the totality

of "not being pure" are just the kaṣāyato which a mother gives birth. 12 If a

kaṣāyais not the kaṣāyato which a mother gives birth, Buddhist patriarchs never use it—how could Śāṇavāsa be the only one? We should carefully apply our minds to this truth, learning it in practice and perfectly realizing it. [10] "The reflection that feeling is suffering": Suffering isfeeling. It is neither one's own nor from outside; it is not tangible, neither is it intangible. It is the feeling of the living body, the suffering of the living body. It means sweet ripe melons being replaced by bitter13 gourds, which is bitter to the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and bitter to the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, and so on. [This reflection] is mystical power and practice and experience, which are one step ascendant14

—mystical power that springs out

from the entire stem and springs out from the whole root. Thus, "It has been

said that living beings suffer; at the same time, there are suffering living beings.

"15 Living beings are beyond self and beyond others; "at the same time, there are suffering living beings": in the end it is impossible to deceive others. Though sweet melons are totally sweet right through to their stems and bitter gourds are totally bitter right to the whole of their roots, suffering is not easily groped. We should ask ourselves: What is suffering? [11] "The reflection that mind is without constancy": The eternal buddha Sōkei says,

"That without constancy is the buddha-nature.

"16 So non constancy,

though [variously] understood by various beings, is always the buddhanature. Great Master Yōka Shinkaku says, "Actions are nonconstancy; all is

empty. Just this is the Tathāgata's great and round realization. "17 The present

"reflection that the mind is nonconstancy" is itself the Tathāgata's great and round realization, and it is the great and roundly realized Tathāgata. Mind, 5

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Shōbōgenzō Volume IV

even if it intends not to reflect, follows the external world completely; therefore, where there is mind there is also reflection. In general, arrival at the supreme truth of bodhi,realiza tion of the supreme right and balanced truth, is just "nonconstancy" and is "reflection of the mind. " The mind is not necessarily constant: because it goes far beyond the four lines18 and transcends the hundred negations,

19 fences, walls, tiles, pebbles, and stones large and small are "the mind" itself, are "nonconstancy" itself, and are "reflection" itself.

[12] "The reflection that dharmas are without self": The long has a long Dharma body, and the short has a short Dharma body. Because they are a realized state of vigorous activity, they are without self. A dog is the buddhanature as being without, and a dog is the buddha-nature as existence. 20 All

living beings are without the buddha-nature. 21 All instances of buddha-nature

are without living beings.

22 All buddhas are without living beings. All buddhas are without buddhas. All instances of the buddha-nature are without the buddha-nature. All living beings are without living beings. Because it is like this, we learn all dharmas being without all dharmas as "the reflection that dharmas are without self.

" Remember, it is a springing free from the whole body of self-entanglement.

[14] Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"All buddhas and bodhisattvas will rest

in this teaching forever, regarding it as a sacred womb. "

So all buddhas and bodhisattvas have regarded these four abodes of mind fulness as a sacred womb. Remember, they are the sacred womb of [bodhisattvas of] balanced awareness23 and the sacred womb of [bodhisattvas of] fine awareness.

24 [The Buddha] has spoken of "all buddhas and bodhisattvas, " and so [the four abodes] may not stop at fine awareness. Even buddhas regard them as a sacred womb. And bodhisattvas who have sprung free from states prior to balanced awareness or beyond subtle awareness also regard these four abodes of mindfulness as a sacred womb. Truly, the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas and the patriarchs are nothing other than the four abodes of mindfulness.

[15] The Four Kinds of Right Restraint26 (Also called the four kinds of right exertion)

The first is to prevent bad that has not yet occurred. The second is to 6

Chapter Seventy-three

cause to be extinguished bad that has already occurred. The third is to cause to occur good that has not yet occurred. The fourth is to promote the good that has already occurred.

[16] "To prevent bad that has not yet occurred": What is called bad does not always have established forms and grades; the term has been established land by land and sphere by sphere. Nevertheless, prevention of that which has not yet occurred is called the Buddha-Dharma, and we have received its authentic transmission. They say that in the understanding of non-Buddhists the prime val self is seen as fundamental, but in the Buddha-Dharma we should not be like that. Now, let us inquire, at the time when "bad has not yet occurred,

" where is it? To say that it will exist in the future is to be forever a non-Buddhist of nihilism.

27 To say that the future becomes the present is

not an insistence of the Buddha-Dharma: the three times would have to be confused. If the three times were confused, all dharmas would be confused. If all dharmas were confused, real form would be confused. If real form were confused, buddhas alone, together with buddhas, would be confused. For this reason, we do not say that the future will, in future, become the present. Let us inquire further: what thing does "bad that has not yet occurred" describe? Who has known it or seen it? For it to be known and seen, there must be a time of its nonoccurrence and a time of something other than its nonoccurrence. In that case, it could not be called something that had not yet occurred. It would have to be called something that has already vanished. Without studying under non-Buddhists or śrāvakas and others of the Small Vehicle, we should learn in practice "the prevention of bad that has not yet occurred. " All the bad

in the universe is called "bad that has not yet occurred, " and it is bad that does

not appear. Nonappearance means "yester day preaching an established rule, today preaching an exception to the rule.

"28

"To cause to be extinguished bad that has already occurred":29 "Already occurring" means totally happening. Totally happening means half-happening. Half-hap pening means what is happening here and now. What is happening here and now is obstructed by happening itself; it has sprung free from the brains of happening. Causing this [bad] to be extinguished describes Devadatta's living body entering hell, and Devadatta's living body attaining affirmation;30 it describes a living body entering a donkey's womb, and a living 7

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body becom ing buddha.

31 Grasping this principle, we should learn in practice what "caus ing extinction" means. Extinction means springing free from extinction and getting clear of it.

[19] "To cause to occur good that has not yet occurred" is satisfaction with the features we had before our parents were born, is clarification prior to the sprouting of creation, and is understanding preceding Majestic Sound. [20] "To promote the good that has already occurred": Remember, this does not speak of causing to occur the good that has already occurred; it is about pro moting [good]. It is [the Buddha], having seen for himself the bright star, going on to make others see the bright star; it is eyes becoming the bright star; it is "confusion being followed by thirty years of not lacking for salt and vinegar.

"32 For example: because we are promoting [good], [good] is already happening, and so "the ravine being deep, the dipper's handle is long,

"33 and "only because we had it did he come.

"34

[21] The Four Bases of Mystical Ability35

The first is volition as a base of mystical ability, the second is mind as a base of mystical ability, the third is forward progression as a base of mystical ability, and the fourth is thinking as a base of mystical ability. [21] "Volition as a base of mystical ability" is the body-mind "aiming to become buddha,

"36 it is "looking forward to the pleasure of a nap, "37 and

it is "why I bow to you.

"38 In sum, volition as a mystical basis is utterly beyond the purposes of a body and mind; it is "birds flying in the boundless sky" and "fish swimming in water that is clear to the bottom. "39

[22] "Mind as a base of mystical ability" is fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles; it is mountains, rivers, and the earth; it is individual instances of the triple world; it is the completely red bamboo and wood of a chair. 40 Because

all [mind] is able to be utilized, the mind of Buddhist patriarchs can exist, the mind of the com mon and the sacred can exist, the mind of grass and trees can exist, and the mind of fantastic apparitions can exist. All mind is mind as a base of the mysti cal.

[23] "Forward progression41 as a base of mystical ability" is "being on top of a hundred-foot pole and stepping straight ahead. " Where is the top of

a hundred-foot pole? They say that we cannot find it without going straight ahead. A step straight ahead is not to be denied, but "this place is the place 8

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where something ineffable exists"

—explain it as going forward or explain it as going back.

42 Just in the moment of "forward progression as a base of the mystical,

" the whole universe in ten directions, following from that mystical base, arrives. Following from that mystical base, it has arrived. [24] "Thinking as a base of mystical ability is all the Buddhist patriarchs, their karmic consciousness43 unclear, having nothing upon which they can originally rely.

"44 There is thinking by the body, there is thinking by the mind, there is thinking by consciousness, there is thinking by straw sandals, and there is thinking by the self that precedes the kalpaof emptiness. These are also called the four bases of free will. 45 They are a state without

hesita tion. Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"Not yet moving and yet having arrived is called the base of free will.

" In conclusion, then, sharpness is like the point of a needle, and squareness is like the side of a chisel. [25] The Five Root-forces46

The first is belief as a root, the second is diligence as a root, the third is mindfulness as a root, the fourth is balance as a root, and the fifth is wisdom as a root.

[25] "Belief as a root,

" remember, is beyond self, beyond others, beyond our own intention, beyond our own contrivance, beyond outside influence, and beyond independently established criteria; thus "it has been transmitted intimately between east and west.

"47 Belief demonstrated with the whole body is called belief. It follows inevitably from the condition of buddhahood, "follow ing circumstances completely"48 and following itself completely. 49

Unless the condition of buddhahood is present, the belief is not realized. For this reason it is said that "The great ocean of the Buddha-Dharma is entered by belief itself.

"50 In sum, the place where the belief is realized is the place where Buddhist patri archs are realized. [27] "Diligence as a root" is to have been concentrating on just sitting; it is to rest without being able to rest; it is to have got rest and still to be getting rest; it is "a terribly hard worker";51 it is "one who does not work so hard";52 it is a terribly hard not-hard-working first and second moon. 53 Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"I have constantly practiced diligence, and for this reason I have already realized anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi. "54 This "constant practicing" is head-to-tail rightness, through the whole past, present, and future. 9

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"I constantly practice diligence" says "I have already realized bodhi. " Because

"I have already realized the supreme truth of bodhi, " "I constantly practice diligence.

" How else could it be "constant practice"? How else could "I have already realized" it? Commentary teachers and sutra teachers cannot see or hear this teaching; how much less could they have learned it in practice. [28] "Mindfulness as a root" is a withered tree as a mass of red flesh. 55

We call a mass of red flesh "a withered tree, " and a withered tree is "mindfulness as a root. " We ourselves who are groping for the mark are mindfulness. There is mindfulness that exists in moments of owning one's body, 56 and

there is mindfulness that exists in moments of having no mind. 57 There is

conscious mindfulness,

58 and there is mindfulness in which there is no body. 59

The very life-root of all the people on Earth is "mindfulness as a root. " The

very life-root of all the buddhas in the ten directions is "mindfulness as a root.

" There can be many people in one state of mindfulness and many states of mindful ness in one person. At the same time, there are people who have mindfulness and there are people who do not have mindfulness. People do not always have mindfulness, and mindfulness is not necessarily connected with people. Even so, through the skillful maintenance of this "mindfulness as a root,

" the virtue of perfect realization exists. [29] "Balance as a root" is keeping one's eyebrows to oneself or "lifting up an eyebrow.

"60 Thus, it is [both] "not being unclear about cause and effect" and "not falling subject to cause and effect"61 —and consequently entering

the womb of a donkey or entering the womb of a horse. 62 It is like a rock

enveloping a jewel: we cannot call it completely rock or completely jewel. It is like the ground bearing moun tains: we cannot call it totally ground or totally mountains. At the same time, it springs out from the brain, and springs in. [30] "Wisdom as a root is not knowing of the existence of the buddhas of the three times" but "knowing the existence of cats and white oxen. "63 We

should not say "Why is it so?" It is beyond expression. In the nostrils exist in-breath and out-breath. In a fist exist fingertips. A donkey maintains and relies upon a donkey, a well meets with a well, 64 and, in conclusion, a root

succeeds to a root.

[31] The Five Powers65

The first is belief as a power, the second is diligence as a power, the 10

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third is mindfulness as a power, the fourth is balance as a power, and the fifth is wisdom as a power.

[32] "Belief as a power" is being duped by ourselves and having no place of escape; it is being called by others and having to turn the head; it is "from birth to old age, being just this";66 it is tumbling over seven times and carrying on regardless; it is falling down eight times and gathering oneself together. Thus, belief is like a crystal. The transmission of Dharma and the transmission of the robe are called "belief.

" It is the transmission of buddhas

and the transmission of patriarchs.

[33] "Diligence as a power is explaining what cannot be practiced and practicing what cannot be explained.

"67 That being so, being able to explain

one inch is nothing more than68 being able to explain one inch, and being able to practice one word is nothing more than being able to practice one word. Getting power in exer tion itself69 is "diligence as a power. "

[34] "Mindfulness as a power" is a "great brute, pulling a person's nostrils. "70 Thus, it is nostrils pulling a person, it is to throw away a jewel and get back a jewel,

71 and it is to throw away a tile and get back a tile. Further, failure to throw it away means thirty strokes.

72 Even if used by all people in

the world, it will never be eroded.

[35] "Balance as a power is like a child getting its mother, "73 or like a

mother getting her child. Or it is like the child getting the child itself, or like the mother getting the mother herself. But it is neither the swapping of a head and a face nor the buying of gold with gold. It is just a song growing gradually louder.

[36] "Wisdom as a power" is of deep and long years, and is like a ferry coming to a crossing. For this reason, it was described in ancient times as "like a crossing getting a ferry.

"74 The point is that a crossing is inevitably

just the fact of the ferry. A crossing not being hindered by a crossing is called a ferry. Spring ice naturally melts ice itself. [37] Seven Limbs of the Balanced State of Truth75 The first is deciding among teachings as a limb of the truth, the second is diligence as a limb of the truth, the third is joy as a limb of the truth, the fourth is elimination as a limb of the truth, the fifth is detachment 11

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as a limb of the truth, the sixth is balance as a limb of the truth, and the seventh is mindfulness as a limb of the truth.

[38] "Deciding among teachings as a limb of the truth" is "If there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation is as great as that between heaven and earth.

"76 Thus, to arrive at the truth is neither difficult nor easy: all that is necessary is to decide for oneself.

[38] "Diligence as a limb of the truth" is never having plundered a market.

78 Both in buying oneself and in expending oneself, there is a definite price and there is recognition of worth. Though we seem to suppress ourselves and to promote others, a blow through the whole body does not break us. While we have not yet ceased expending the self on a word of total transformation, 79 we meet a trader who buys the self as a totally transformed mind.

80 "Donkey business is unfinished, but some horse business comes in. "81

[39] "Joy as a limb of the truth" is the sincerity of a granny's mind when blood is dripping. The thousand hands and eyes of Great Compassion!82 Leave them as they are, immensely busy. Plum flowers are peeping from the December83 snow. In the scenery of coming spring a great master is cold. Even so, he is full of life and belly laughter.

[40] "Elimination84 as a limb of the truth" is, when being in oneself, not getting involved with oneself, and when being in the outside world, not getting in volved with the outside world. It is me having got it, you not having got it. It is ardently expressing ourselves and going among alien beings. [41] "Detachment as a limb of the truth" is "Though I have brought it, others do not accept it.

"85 It is a Chinese person, even when barefoot, walking like a Chinese person. It is Persians from the southern seas wanting to get ivory.

[41] "Balance as a limb of the truth" is, before the moment, preserving the eye that precedes the moment;86 it is blowing our own noses; and it is grasping our own rope and leading ourselves. Having said that, it is also being able to graze a castrated water buffalo.

[42] "Mindfulness as a limb of the truth" is outdoor pillars walking in the sky. Thus, it is the mouth being like an acorn and the eyes being like eyebrows and at the same time it is to burn sandalwood in a sandalwood forest, and it is the roar of a lion in a lion's den.

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[43] The Eight Branches of the Right Path89 The first is right view as a branch of the path, the second is right thinking as a branch of the path, the third is right speech as a branch of the path, the fourth is right action as a branch of the path, the fifth is right livelihood as a branch of the path, the sixth is right effort as a branch of the path, the seventh is right mindfulness as a branch of the path, and the eighth is right balance as a branch of the path. [44] "Right view as a branch of the path" is the inside of the eyes containing the body. At the same time, even prior to the body we must have the eye that is prior to the body.

90 Though the view has been grandly realized in the past, it is realized now as the real universe and is experienced immediately. In sum, those who do not put the body into the eyes are not Buddhist patriarchs. [44] "Right thinking91 as a branch of the path": When [we] establish this thinking, the buddhas of the ten directions all appear. 92 So the manifestation

of the ten directions, and the manifestation of the buddhas, are just the time of the estab lishment of this concrete thinking. 93 When we establish this concrete

thinking we are beyond self and transcending the external world; at the same time, in the very moment of the present, on thinking concrete facts we go straight to Vārāṇasī.

94 The place where the thinking exists is Vārāṇasī. An eternal buddha95 says,

"I am thinking the concrete state of not thinking. " "How

can the state of not thinking be thought?" "It is different from thinking. " This

is right consideration, right thinking.

96 To break a zafu is right thinking.

[45] "Right speech as a branch of the path" is the mute self not being mute. Mutes among [ordinary] people have never been able to express the truth. People in the mute state are not mutes: they do not aspire to be saints, and do not add some thing spiritual onto themselves. [Right speech] is mastery of the state in which the mouth is hung on the wall; it is mastery of the state in which all mouths are hung on all walls; it is all mouths being hung on all walls.

[46] "Right action as a branch of the path" is to leave family life98 and to practice the truth, it is to go into the mountains and to gain experience. Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"The thirty-seven elements are the actions of a monk.

" The actions of a monk99 are beyond the Great Vehicle and beyond 248a

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the Small Vehicle. There are buddha-monks, bodhisattva-monks, śrāvakamonks, and so on. None has succeeded to the right action of the Buddha-Dharma, and none has received the authentic transmission of the great truth of the Buddha-Dharma, without leaving family life. Notwithstanding scant pursuit of the truth by laypeople as upāsakas and upāsikās, 100 there is no past

example of one arriving at the truth. When we arrive at the truth, we inevitably leave family life. How can people who are not able to leave family life succeed to the position of a buddha? Never theless, for the last two or three hundred years in the great kingdom of Song, people calling themselves priests of the Zen sect have habitually said,

"Pursuit of the truth by a layman101 and pursuit

of the truth by one who has left family life102 are just the same. " They are a

tribe of people who have become dogs, for the sole purpose of making the filth and urine103 of laypeople into their food and drink. Sometimes they say to kings and their ministers,

"The mind in conducting the myriad affairs of

state104 is just the mind of patriarchs and buddhas, other than which there is no mind at all.

" Kings and ministers, never having discerned right preaching and right Dharma, delightedly bestow on them gifts such as the titles of master.

105 The monks who speak such words are Devadattas. In order that they might feed upon tears and spit, they produce childish and demented talk like this. They are deplorable. They are not the kindred of the Seven Buddhas. They are demons and animals. They are like this because they have never known learning the truth with body and mind, they do not learn in practice, they do not know leaving family life with body and mind, they are ignorant of rule by kings and ministers, and they have never seen the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs even in a dream. Layman Vimalakīrti106 met the time when the Buddha manifested himself in the world, but there was much Dharma that he left unexpressed and not a little learning that he failed to attain. Layman Hōun107 practiced in a succession of patriarchs' orders, but he was not admitted into the inner sanctum of Yakusan and he could not equal Kōzei.

108 He merely poached a reputation for learning in prac tice: the reality of learning in practice was not present in him. Others such as Ri Fuma109 and Yō Bunkō110 each felt that they had experienced satisfaction, but they never tasted dairy-cake, much less tasted picture-cake. How much less could they have eaten the gruel and rice111 of a Buddhist patriarch? They never possessed the pātra.It is pitiful that their whole life as a bag of skin 14

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was in vain. I universally recommend heavenly beings, human beings, dragon beings, and all living beings, throughout the ten directions, longingly to venerate the distant Dharma of the Tathāgata, and without delay to leave family life and practice the truth, and thus to succeed to the position of a buddha and the position of a patriarch. Do not listen to the inadequate words of "Zen masters" and the like. Because they do not know the body and do not know the mind, they speak such words. That is to say, utterly lacking compassion for living beings, having no desire to preserve the Buddha-Dharma, and solely wishing to feed upon the urine and filth of laypeople, they have become evil hounds, and those dogs with human faces and dogs with human skin speak such words. Do not sit with them and do not speak with them. Do not abide with them. Their living bodies have already fallen into the state of animals. If monks had urine and filth in abundance, they would say that monks were superior. Because the urine and filth of monks are not enough for these animals, they speak such words. Among the writings of the more than five thousand scrolls,

112 we find neither evidence nor any principle that the lay mind and the mind that leaves family life are the same. There is no such trace in more than two thousand years. The Buddhist patriarchs of fifty generations, and of forty ages and more,

113 have never said so. Even to become a bhikṣu

who breaks the precepts or who has no precepts, and who is without Dharma and without wisdom, may be better than possess ing wisdom and keeping the precepts as a layperson. The reason is that a monk's action is wisdom itself, realization itself, the truth itself, and the Dharma itself. Although laypeople may have good roots114 and virtues appro priate to their station, in the good roots and virtues of the body-mind they are scant. During the whole life of the teaching, no one at all has attained the truth as a layperson. This is because lay life has never been a good place for learning the Buddha's truth, and because the obstacles it presents are many. When we look into the bodies and minds of those who insist that a mind for state affairs and the mind of the ancestral masters are the same, they are never bodies and minds of the Buddha-Dharma: they may not have received the transmission of the Buddhist patriarchs' skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. It is pitiful that, even while meeting the Buddha's right Dharma, they have become animals. Because this is the way it is, the eternal buddha of Sōkei left his parent at once and went in search of a master. This is right action. Before he heard the Diamond Sutra 15

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and established the mind, he lived in a family as a woodcutter. When he heard the Diamond Sutraand was influenced by the lingering fra grance115 of the Buddha-Dharma, he threw down his heavy burden and left family life. Remember, when the body-mind possesses the Buddha-Dharma it is impossible to remain in lay life. This has been so for all the Buddhist patriarchs. We can say that people who assert that it is unnecessary to leave family life commit a sin even heavier than the grave sins,

116 and they are even more

wicked than Devadatta. Knowing them to be worse than the group of six bhikṣus, the group of six nuns, the group of eighteen bhikṣus, and so on, do not converse with them. A lifetime is not long; there is no time to be spent conversing with such demons and animals. Furthermore, this human body, received as a result of the seeds of seeing and hearing the Buddha-Dharma in past ages, is like a tool of the universe: it is neither to be made into a demon nor to be aligned with demons. Remembering the profound benevo lence of the Buddhist patriarchs, and preserving the goodness of the milk of Dharma, do not listen to the howling of the evil hounds, and neither sit with nor eat with the evil hounds. When the founding patriarch of the Sūzan Mountains, the eternal buddha, left the Buddha's kingdom of India far behind him and came from the west to the remote country of China, the right Dharma of the Buddhist patriarchs was transmitted in his person. If he had not left family life and attained the truth, such a thing would not have been pos sible. Before the ancestral master came from the west, living beings, human and divine, in the Eastern Lands, had never seen or heard the right Dharma. So remember, the authentic transmission of the right Dharma is solely [due to] the merit of leaving family life. When Great Master Śākyamuni graciously relinquished his father's throne, he declined the succession not because the position of a king has no value but because he wished to succeed to the most valuable position of all: the position of a buddha. The position of a buddha is just the position of one who has left family life; it is a position to which all the gods and human beings of the triple world bow their heads in reverence. 117 It is a seat not shared

by King Brahmā or by King Śakra. How much less could it be a seat shared by the human kings and dragon kings of lower worlds? It is the position of the supreme, right, and balanced truth. The position itself is able to preach Dharma to save the living, and to radiate brightness and manifest aus picious phenomena. All actions in this position of one who has left family life are 16

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right action itself, they are actions to which the many buddhas and the Seven Buddhas have long been attached, and they are not perfectly realized except by buddhas alone, together with buddhas. People who have yet to leave family life should pay homage to and provide for those who have already left family life, they should bow down their heads in respect, and they should serve offerings by sacrificing body and life. Śākyamuni Buddha says, "To

leave family life and receive the precepts is to be the seed of Buddha. It is to be a person who has already attained salvation.

" So remember, salvation

means leaving family life. Those who have not left family life are in a depressed state. We should feel sad for them. In general, it is impossible to enumerate the instances on which, during his lifetime of preaching, the Buddha has praised the merit of leaving family life; Śākyamuni preaches it wholeheartedly, and all the buddhas certify it. People who have left family life, even if they break the precepts and neglect training, can attain the truth. No layperson has ever attained the truth. When emperors do prostrations to monks and nuns, monks and nuns do not return the prostration. When gods do prostrations to people who have left family life, the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs never return the prostration. This is because the merit of leaving family life is preeminent. If they received the prostrations of bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs who have left family life, the palaces, radiance, and good fortune of the gods in heaven would collapse at once, and so [the custom] is like this. In sum, since the Buddha-Dharma spread to the east, while attainment of the truth by people who have left family life has been as [prevalent as] rice, flax, bamboo, and reeds, no one has attained the truth as a lay person. Once the Buddha-Dharma has reached a person's eyes and ears, they urgently endeavor to leave family life. Clearly, the state of a layperson is not a place where the Buddha-Dharma abides. Those who say, on the contrary, that the body and mind in conducting state affairs is just the body-mind of the Buddhist patri archs, have never seen and heard the Buddha-Dharma, they are sinners in darkest hell, they are stupid people who do not even see and hear their own words, and they are enemies of the nation. The reason they would like to establish the principle that a mind for state affairs and the mind of the Buddhist patriarchs are the same is that emperors—because the Buddha-Dharma is preeminent—are delighted at such an assertion. We should remember that the Buddha-Dharma is preeminent. It may happen that a mind in conducting state affairs is the 17

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same as the mind of the Buddhist patriarchs; however, in the rare instance when the body-mind of the Buddhist patriarchs has become a body-mind conducting state affairs, it can never be the body and mind of conducting state affairs.

"Zen masters" and the like who say that a mind for state affairs and the mind of Buddhist patriarchs are the same, are totally ignorant of how a mind actually works and how it is. How much less could they see, even in a dream, the mind of the Buddhist patriarchs. As a universal principle, [I recommend to] King Brahmā, King Śakra, human kings, dragon kings, demon kings, and every other kind of king: do not attach to the direct and indirect results of conduct in the triple world but soon leave home, receive the precepts, and practice the truth of the buddhas and the patriarchs, and this will be a cause of buddhahood for vast eons. Do you not see that if Old Man Vimalakīrti had left family life, we would be able to meet with one more excellent than Vimalakīrti: that is, Vimalakīrti Bhikṣu. Today we are barely able to meet [bhikṣus] like Subhūti,

118 Śāriputra,

119 Mañjuśrī, and Maitreya,

120 but we never

meet half a Vimalakīrti. How much less could we meet three, four, or five Vimalakīrtis? Without meeting or knowing three, four, or five Vimalakīrtis, we can never meet, know, or maintain and rely upon the state of a Vimalakīrti.

121 Never having maintained and relied upon the state of a Vimalakīrti we do not meet Vimalakīrti as Buddha. If we do not meet Vimalakīrti as Buddha, then Vimalakīrti as Mañjuśrī, Vimalakīrti as Maitreya, Vimalakīrti as Subhūti,

122 Vimalakīrti as Śāriputra, and so on can never be.

How much less could there be Vimalakīrti as mountains, rivers, and the earth, or Vimalakīrti as grass, trees, tiles, and pebbles; wind, rain, water, and fire; past, present, and future; and so on. The reason that such brightness and virtues are not visible in Vimalakīrti is that he did not leave family life. If Vimalakīrti had left family life, such virtues would be present in him. "Zen

masters" and the like at the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, never having arrived at this principle, have randomly cited Vimalakīrti, considering that what he did was right and saying that what he said was right. These cronies, pitifully, do not know the spoken teaching and are blind to the Buddha-Dharma. Furthermore, many of them have gone so far as to consider and to say that the words of Vimalakīrti and of Śākyamuni are equal. Again, these have never known, or considered, the Buddha-Dharma, the patriarchs' truth, or even Vimalakīrti himself. They say that Vimalakīrti's silence in addressing 18

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bodhisattvas123 is the same as the Tathāgata's use of silence to teach people. This is to be grossly ignorant of the Buddha-Dharma. We can say that they have no capacity for learning the truth. The speech of the Tathāgata is, of course, different from that of others, and his silence also can never be like that of other types. That being so, the total silence of the Tathāgata and the total silence of Vimalakīrti do not deserve even to be compared. When we examine the ability of the cronies who have conceived that although the spoken teachings were different, the silences might have been alike, they do not deserve even to be seen as people in the vicinity of Buddha. It is sad that they have never experienced sounds and forms. How much less could they have experienced the brightness that springs from within sound and form? They do not even know that they should learn the silence in silence, and they do not even hear that it exists. In general, even among various types there are differences in movement and stillness; how could we say that Śākyamuni and miscellaneous types are the same, or discuss them as dissimilar? People who do not learn in practice in the inner sanctum of a Buddhist patriarch engage in such discus sion. There again, many wrong people think, "Spoken

teaching and active demeanor are insubstantial matters. The silent and unmoving state is the true reality. " Expressions like this also are not the Buddha-Dharma. They are the speculations of people who have heard sutras and teachings of Brahmadeva, Īśvara,

124 and the like. How could the Buddha-Dharma be caught by move ment and stillness? In the Buddhist state of truth is there movement and stillness, or is there no movement and stillness? Do we contact movement and stillness, or are we contacted by movement and stillness? Painstakingly research it in practice. Practitioners of later ages who are present now, do not let up. When we look at the great kingdom of Song today, people who have learned in practice the great truth of the Buddhist patriarchs appear to have become extinct; there are not [even] two or three of them. There are only people who believe that Vimalakīrti, being right, had total silence, and that we today who are not totally silent are inferior to Vimalakīrti. They utterly lack the vigorous road of the Buddha-Dharma. Likewise, there are only people who think that Vimalakīrti's total silence is just the same as the World-honored One's total silence. They utterly lack the light of clear discrimination. We can say that people who think and speak like this have no experience at all of learning in practice to see and hear the 19

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250b

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250c

Buddha-Dharma. Do not think that, just because they are people of the great kingdom of Song, they must be of the Buddha-Dharma. The reason may be easy to clarify: right action is the action of a monk. It is beyond the knowledge of commentary teachers and sutra teachers. The action of a monk means effort inside the cloud hall, prostrations inside the Buddha hall, washing the face inside the washroom,

125 and so on. It means joining hands and bowing, burning incense, and boiling water. This is right action. It is not only to replace a tail with a head;126 it is to replace a head with a head; it is to replace the mind with the mind; it is to replace buddha with buddha; and it is to replace the truth with the truth.

127 This is just "right action as a branch of the path.

" If appreciation of the Buddha-Dharma is faulty, the eyebrows and whiskers fall down and out, and the face falls apart. [62] "Right livelihood as a branch of the path" is early-morning gruel and noon rice,

128 is to stay in a temple's grounds and to let the soul play, 129

and is to demonstrate it directly upon the round wooden chair. 130 The less

than twenty members of Old Jōshū's order are the realization of right livelihood; the less than ten members of Yakusan's order are the lifeblood of right livelihood; and the seven or eight members of Fun'yō's131 order are the constant on which right livelihood hangs—because they are divorced from all forms of wrong livelihood. Śākyamuni Buddha says, "Śrāvakas have never

attained right livelihood.

" So the teaching, practice, and experience of a śrāvakaare never right livelihood. The flotsam of recent times, however, have said that we should not distinguish between śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. Contending that we should rely upon the dignified forms and the precepts of each of the two, they judge the dignified forms and behavior that are the rule for a bodhisattva of the Great Vehicle by the rules of a śrāvakaof the Small Vehicle. Śākyamuni Buddha says,

"A śrāvaka's keeping of the precepts is a

bodhisattva's violation of the precepts.

" So the śrāvakaprecepts that śrāvakas

have considered to be keeping of the precepts, when viewed against the bodhisattva precepts, are all violations of the precepts. The other [practices]—balance and wisdom132 —are also like this. Though such [precepts]

as "Do not kill living things" are apparently the same in form for a śrāvaka and for a bodhisattva, there is necessarily a difference be tween them that is beyond the separation between heaven and earth. How much less could the principles authentically transmitted from buddha to buddha and from patriarch 20

Chapter Seventy-three

to patriarch be the same as those of śrāvakas? There is not only right livelihood but also pure livelihood. In conclusion, just to learn in practice from a Buddhist patriarch may be right livelihood. Do not rely upon the views and opinions of commentary teachers and the like. Because "they have never attained right livelihood,

" they are not truly living their own lives.

[65] "Right effort as a branch of the path" is action that gouges out a whole body, and it is the fashioning of a human face in the gouging out of the whole body.

133 It is to ride upside down around the Buddha hall, doing one lap, two laps, three, four, and five laps, so that nine times nine comes to eighty-two. It is repeatedly to repay [the benevolence of] others, thousands and tens of thousands of times; it is to turn the head in any direction of the cross, vertically or horizontally; it is to change the face vertically or horizontally, in any direc tion of the cross; it is to enter the [master's] room and to go to the Dharma hall. It expresses "having met134 at Bōshutei Pavilion, having met on Usekirei Peak, having met in front of the monks' hall, "135 and

having met inside the Buddha hall—there being two mirrors136 and three kinds of reflection.

[66] "Right mindfulness as a branch of the path" is the eighty- or ninetypercent realization of the state of being duped by ourselves. To learn that wisdom occurs following from mindfulness is "leaving the father and running away.

"137 To learn that wisdom occurs within mindfulness itself is to be fettered in the extreme. To say that being without mindfulness is right mindfulness is non-Buddhism. Neither should we see the animating soul of earth, water, fire, and wind as mindfulness. Upset states of mind, will, and consciousness are not called mind fulness. "You having got my skin, flesh, bones,

and marrow"138 is just "right mindfulness as a branch of the path. "

[67] "Right balance as a branch of the path" is to get free of Buddhist patriarchs and to get free of right balance. It is others being well able to discuss. It is to make nose holes139 by cutting out the top of the head. It is the twirling of an uḍumbaraflower inside the right Dharma-eye treasury. It is the presence inside the uḍumbaraflower of a hundred thousand faces of Mahā kāśyapa breaking into a smile. Having used [this] state of vigorous activity for a long time, a wooden dipper is broken.

140 Thus, [right balance]

is six years of floundering in the wilderness141 and a night in which a flower opens.

142 It is, [when] "the holocaust at the end of a kalpais blazing and the 251a

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great-thousand world is being totally destroyed, just to follow circumstances. "143

[69] These thirty-seven elements of bodhiare the very eyes and nostrils, the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and the hands, feet, and real features of the Bud dhist Patriarch. We have been learning in practice, as the thirty-seven elements of bodhi,the Buddhist Patriarch's whole person. At the same time, they are the realization of one thousand three hundred and sixty-nine realities, 144 [each of] which is a constituent element of bodhi.We should sit them away and we should get free of them. Shōbōgenzō Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō Preached to the assembly at Kippō Temple in Etsu-u,

145 on the twenty-fourth day of the second lunar month in the second year of Kangen. 146

Notes

1 Kōan.See Chapter Three (Vol. I), Genjō-kōan. 2 Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō,from the Sanskrit saptatriṃśad-bodhipakṣa-dharma. The original meaning of pakṣais wing, side, or flank, so that bodhipakṣa-dharma means "dharmas that are as wings to bodhi"; i.e., dharmas (matters or practices) that are constituent parts of bodhi(the balanced state of truth which is perfectly realized by the practice and experience of sitting in zazen—see Fukanzazengi). In the Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra(LS 3.290), the thirty-seven elements are rendered as sanjūshichi-bon-jodō-hō,lit.,

"thirty-seven kinds of dharmas that aid the truth" (The Threefold Lotus Sutrahas: "thirty-seven kinds of aids to the Way"). 3 Shi-nen-jū.The source text contains a note in small characters (added possibly by Master Dōgen, probably by a later editor) that the four are also called shi-nen-jo, which also means the four abodes of mindfulness. In Theravāda Buddhism today, they are usually called the four foundations of mindfulness. In Sanskrit, the four are: 1) kāya-smṛtyupasthāna,the body as an abode of mindfulness; 2) vedanā-smṛtyupasthāna,feelings as an abode of mindfulness; 3) citta-smṛtyupasthāna,mind as an abode of mindfulness; and 4) dharma-smṛtyupasthāna,dharmas (real things and phenomena) as an abode of mindfulness. The Sanskrit smṛtimeans "calling to mind, "

"consciousness of,

" or "mindfulness,

" and upasthānameans "approaching" or "abode. "

See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 4 Jin-juppō-kai.

5 Shinjitsu-tai. Master Chōsha Keishin said jin-juppō-kai-shinjitsu-nin-tai:"The whole universe in the ten directions is the real human body. " See Chapter Fifty (Vol. III), Shohō-jissō,paragraph 222.

6 Dai-iku-getsu,the words of Master Ungan Donjō, quoted in the Keitokudentōroku, chap. 14: While Master [Ungan] is sweeping, Isan says, "What a terribly hard worker!"

The master says,

"You should know that there is one who does not work so hard. "

Isan says,

"In that case, the second moon is present. " The master stands the broom

on end, and asks,

"What number moon is this?" Isan bows and leaves. Hearing of this, Gensha says,

"That was just the second moon. "

7 Sho-ze-dai-ni-getsu,the words of Master Gensha Shibi. Ibid. Dai-ni-getsu, moon,

" suggests divided consciousness. "the second

8 Kongō-jō(diamond samādhi), from the Sanskrit vajra-samādhi,means samādhias a state of great stability.

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9 Shuryōgon-jō(śūraṃgama samādhi) means samādhias a state of valiant onward progress. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms and also Chapter Seventy-four, Tenbōrin, note 9.

10 Sui-jin-kō-yō-sui nari. E-jō-kō-kan-e nari.This is in the style of a quotation from a Chinese text, with only the copulas (nari) written in phonetic Japanese characters. However, as no source has been traced, it is not clear whether these sentences are 1) a quotation from a Chinese source, 2) Master Dōgen's own expression, 3) a combination of both the above. There are many such instances of Chinese text in this chapter. Quotemarks have been used only when it is certain that Master Dōgen is quoting directly from a Chinese source.

11 Sui-daku-chi-u-gyo;that is to say, fish can only live in water that is tainted by the presence of something for them to eat. Source not traced; see note 10. 12 Jōshō-gesa,

"the kaṣāyaborn of a mother,

" alludes to the legend that Master Śāṇavāsa,

the third patriarch in India, was born wearing the kaṣāya.See Chapter Twelve (Vol. I), Kesa-kudoku,paragraph 74.

13 Ku, nigai,

"bitter,

" is also the character for "suffering.

14 Ichijō no jinzū,i.e., a mystical power that has sprung up from the intellec tual sphere into the area of reality. The words of Master Isan Reiyū quoted in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 61. See also Chapter Twenty-five (Vol. II), Jinzū,paragraph 186. 15 The words of Master Kyōsei Dōfu, quoted in the Rentōeyo,chap. 24. 16 See Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,paragraph 38. 17 Quoted from the Shōdōkaby Master Yōka Genkaku. "Great and round realization"

is dai-en-gaku,or in other words, the great and whole state of truth. Kakucan mean 1) to perceive, to be aware, to realize, etc.; 2) a reflection or objective truth that has been real ized—as in the "Eight Truths of a Great Human Being"; see Chapter Ninetyfive, Hachi-dainingaku; 3) the state of Buddhist truth or realization—as in the phrase mujō-shōtō-kaku,

"the supreme right and balanced state of truth" representing the Sanskrit anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi.

18 Shi-kumeans the four lines of a Buddhist verse, or gāthā. 19 Hyappimeans the hundreds of negations of Buddhist philosophy. 20 Refers to Master Jōshū Jūshin's two responses to the question "Does a dog have the buddha-nature?" In the first instance he said mu:"It is without, " and in the second

instance he said u:"It exists.

" See Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,paragraphs 82 and 85.

21 Issai-shujo mu busshō,the words of Master Isan Reiyū discussed in detail in Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,paragraph 66. Master Dōgen's teaching in that chapter is that all living beings, without anything covering them, are just the buddha-nature itself.

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22 An instance of the buddha-nature is nothing other than an instance of the buddhanature. 23 Tōkaku,

"balanced state of truth" (see note 17), is the fifty-first of the fifty-two stages through which a bodhisattva is supposed to pass on the road to buddhahood. 24 Myōkaku,elsewhere translated as "fine state of truth, " is the fifty-second and last

stage of a bodhisattva before becoming a buddha. 25 Nenin this context suggests mindfulness in zazen and our daily life. The Sanskrit smṛti(Pāli: sati) is defined in Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionaryas "remembrance, thinking of or upon, calling to mind. " The rendering "mindfulness,

which is now generally used by Buddhist teachers in the west for smṛtiand sati,is credited to T.W. Rhys Davids in his translations for the Pāli Text Society. In Nishijima Roshi's interpretation,

"mindfulness" in zazen means consciousness of reality, which is centered on keeping the spine straight. 26 Shi-shō-dan,from the Sanskrit catvāri samyakprahāṇāṇi.The note in small characters says that they are also called shi-shō-gon.The Sanskrit samyak(in compounds for samyañc) means correct, true, right; prahāṇameans 1) ceasing, giving up, or 2) exertion. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 27 Danmetsuken,lit.,

"view of extinction,

" representing the Sanskrit uccheda-dṛṣṭi, expresses the viewpoint of materialistic determinism. See also Chapter Eighty-nine, Shinjin-inga.

29 In other words, fushō,

"nonappearance,

" describes the state at the moment of the present. The expression sakujitsu-setsu-jōhō, konnichi-setsu-fujōhō, "yesterday preaching

an established rule, today preaching an exception to the rule, " also appears in Chapter

Four (Vol. I), Ikka-no-myōju,paragraph 101, but the original source has not been traced.

29 In the original text, the first two kinds of restraint are included in one paragraph. 30 31 Devadatta, one of the Buddha's cousins, is said to have fallen into hell because he com mitted the five grave sins. Nevertheless, in the twelfth chapter of the Lotus Sutra Daibadatta("Devadatta"), the Buddha says, "Devadatta also, in future, after countless ages have passed, will be able to become a buddha. " (LS 2.208)

The Hokkuhiyukyō,chap. 1, contains the story of Śakra-devānām-indra entering the womb of a donkey, then taking refuge in the Buddha, returning to his or her original form, and entering the first stage of buddhahood. 32 Master Baso Dōitsu, expressing satisfaction with his life as a monk, said, "In the

thirty years that followed confusion, I have never lacked for salt and vinegar. " See

Keitokudentōroku,chap. 9.

33 Kei-shin-shaku-hei-chō.See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 83, and Chapter Thirty-nine (Vol. II), Dōtoku,paragraph 201. "To promote" is zō-chō,literally, "increase-long.

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34 Shi-i-u-sho-i-rai are the words of Master Yakusan Igen quoted in the Keitokudentōroku, chap. 14. Master Yakusan's intention was that Master Bodhidharma did not introduce something new into China; he revealed to his Chinese disciples the Dharma that was already there.

35 Shi-jin-soku,lit.,

"four mystical feet,

" from the Sanskrit catur-ṛddhipāda,are four faculties forming the basis for the kinds of mystical powers described in Chapter Twenty-five (Vol. II), Jinzū,and Chapter Eighty, Tashintsū.In Sanskrit they are: 1) chanda,2) citta,3) vīrya,and 4) mīmāṃsā.The Sanskrit ṛddhimeans mystical power and pādameans a foot or a fourth part of something (the foot of a quadruped being one out of four). See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 To-sa-butsu.Master Baso's words, quoted for example in Chapter Twenty-seven (Vol. II), Zazenshin,paragraph 11.

To-sui-kai.The words of Master Sekitō Kisen, quoted in Chapter Sixty-four (Vol. III), Kajō,paragraph 101.

In-ga-rai-jiis the third line of a poem by Master Tendō Nyojō, also quoted in Chapter Sixty-four (Vol. III), Kajō,paragraph 108. Alludes to a verse by Master Wanshi Shōgaku quoted in Chapter Twenty-seven (Vol. II), Zazenshin,paragraph 34.

The master's ceremonial chair, used for precepts ceremonies etc., is bright red. Shin, susu[mu] literally means to advance, progress, move forward. Here it represents the compound shōjin,

"diligence, effort, fortitude,

" which in turn represents the

Sanskrit vīrya.

Alludes to a conversation between Master Rinzai Gigen and Master Chinshū Fuke 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'?" [Fuke] duly overturns the dinner table. [Rin]zai says,

"Very coarse person!" [Fuke] says,

"This concrete place is where

it is—explain it as coarse or explain it as fine. " Master Chinshū Fuke (a successor of Master Banzan Hōshaku, d. ca. 860) is some times identified as Hōtai, the original fat laughing monk featured in the "Happy Buddha" statues. See also Chapter Twentytwo (Vol. II), Busshō,paragraph 45; Chapter Fifty-six (Vol. III), Senmen,paragraph 124.

43 Gosshiki,

"karmic consciousness,

" means consciousness as the result of past behavior, that is, concrete consciousness in the present. 44 Master Isan Reiyū said,

"All living beings, having only karmic consciousness, are unclear and have nothing upon which they can originally rely. " See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,

pt. 2, no. 30.

45 There is no paragraph break here in the original text. 26

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46 Gokon("five root-forces"), from the Sanskrit pañcendriyāṇi.In Sanskrit they are: 1) śraddhendriya,2) vīryendriya,3) smṛtindriya,4) samādhindriya,and 5) prajñendriya. The Sanskrit indriyahas the connotation of inherent strength or force. See Volume III, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 47 The poem Sandōkaiby Master Sekitō Kisen begins with the words, "The mind of

the Great Saint of India,/Has been transmitted intimately between east and west. "

48 Zuitakois a traditional expression of a compliant attitude to all challenges posed by the outside world. The phrase is used, for example, by Master Daizui Hōshin (732-824) in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 24. See note 143. 49 Zuijiko,suggesting independence, is Master Dōgen's variation. 50 Quotation from the Daichidoron,the Chinese translation of the Mahāprajñā pāra mitopadeśa. 51 Tai-ku-ku-shō,the words of Master Isan Reiyū; see note 6. 52 Fu-ku-ku-sha,the words of Master Ungan Donjō. Ibid. 53 Tai-ku-fu-ku-ichigetsu-nigetsusuggests the state of real activity which is not always black and white.

54 Lotus Sutra, Ju-gaku-mugaku-nin-ki("Affirmation of Students and People Beyond Study"). LS 2.128-30.

55 Koboku no shaku-niku-dan. Koboku, "withered tree,

" suggests a person sitting in the state of detachment—a temple's zazen hall was sometimes called kobokudō, "withered

tree hall.

" Dan,

"mass" or "group,

" sometimes expresses not only aggregation but also integration—as for example in the compound danketsu,which means "unity" or "solidarity.

56 Ushin,

"owning one's body" or "being in the body, " means having consciousness of one's real physical presence. 57 Mushin,

"having no mind,

" means being free of self-consciousness. 58 Ushin no nen,

"mindfulness in which there is mind, " suggests, for example, consciousness of oneself in zazen. 59 Mushin no nen,

"mindfulness in which there is no body, " suggests the balanced state of seemingly effortless action. 60 Sakki-bimōalludes to the story of the meeting between Master Piṇḍola and King Prasenajit. It is a symbol of positive behavior. See, for example, Chapter Fifty-nine (Vol. III), Baike,paragraph 217. 61 Fumai-inga,

"not being unclear about cause and effect, " and furaku-inga,

"not falling

subject to cause and effect, " express dialectically opposite views about causation. See the story of Master Hyakujō and the wild fox in Chapter Seventy-six, Dai-shugyō. 27

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62 Entering the womb of a donkey or horse represents the process of samsara, the cyclical passage through successive states that we undergo even as Buddhists. 63 Master Nansen Fugan said,

"I do not know about the existence of the buddhas of the three times, but I know the existence of cats and white oxen. " (Shinji-shōbōgenzō,

pt. 3, no. 93.) Accord ing to the Kenzeiki(Kenzei' s Record,a biography of Master

Dōgen written by the thirteenth abbot of Eiheiji, Master Kenzei), Master Eisai said these words to Master Dōgen in response to a question about the buddha-nature. 64 65 66 67 68 69 In the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 25, a conversation describes the mutual relation between subject and object as represented by a donkey looking into a well and the well looking at the donkey. Master Dōgen extends the imagery of the story to suggest that in the state of wisdom, all things are as they are. The story is quoted in the notes to Chapter Ten (Vol. I), Shoaku-makusa,paragraph 11. Goriki("five powers"), from the Sanskrit pañca-balāni,are the five elements of the previous list viewed as actual powers rather than root-faculties. In Sanskrit they are: 1) śraddhā-bala,2) vīrya-bala,3) smṛti-bala,4) samādhi-bala,and 5) prajñā-bala. The Sanskrit balameans power, might, vigor. See Volume II, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

The words of Master Baso quoted in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 4, and Chapter Seventy-seven, Kokū,paragraph 139. A similar phrase is spoken by Master Seki tō Kisen in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 3, no. 100: Master Goei Reimoku visits Seki tō's order and asks, "If [you say] a word [that] is fitting, then I will stay; otherwise, I will leave.

" Sekitō does not take any notice. Master [Reimoku] swings his sleeves and sets off. He gets out as far as the three gates. [Sekitō] calls, "Ācārya!" The master

turns his head. Sekitō says,

"From birth to death it is just this! What is the use of you turning your head and changing your mind?" At this, the master becomes amenable to realization.

The words of Master Tōzan Ryōkai, recorded in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 77: Master Daiji Kanchū preaches to the assembly, "Being able to explain one jo(ten

shaku) is inferior to practicing one shaku(ten sun). Being able to explain one shaku is inferior to practicing one sun(about an inch). " Tōzan says,

"I explain what I am

unable to practice and practice what I am unable to explain. " See also Chapter Thirty

(Vol. II), Gyōji,paragraph 159.

Funyo.These characters (read in Japanese as gotoku nara zu) usually mean "is not like,

" "does not equal,

" or "is inferior to" (as in Master Kanchū's words in the preceding note). But sometimes funyo(read in Japanese as shika zu) means "at best. " Master

Dōgen's intention here has been interpreted on the basis of the second usage. See also discussion in Chapter Forty-three (Vol. III), Kūge,of sangai no sangai o genzuru ni shika zu,

"It is best to see the triple world as the triple world. "

Riki-ri toku-ri. Riki, chikaraincludes the meaning of 1) power or ability, and 2) exertion or effort.

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70 Alludes to a story recorded in the Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 3, no. 49, and discussed at length in Chapter Seventy-seven, Kokū,in which Master Shakkyō Ezō yanks the nose of Master Seidō Chizō in order to explain the meaning of space. 71 Hō-gyoku-in-gyoku,lit.,

"to throw away a jewel and pull in a jewel, " is Mas ter Dōgen's

variation of the expression hō-sen-in-gyoku, "to throw away a tile and pull in a jewel, "

which appears in the Keitokudentōroku,chap. 10: Jōshū says, "Tonight I have given

the answer. Anyone who understands the question should come forward. " A monk

steps forward and prostrates himself. Jōshū (not impressed) says, "Just before I threw

away a tile to pull in a jewel, but instead I have drawn out a lump of clay. " See also

Chapter Twenty-seven (Vol. II), Zazenshin,paragraph 20. Master Dōgen's idea of mindfulness is a condition in which things are as they are. 72 If during the course of Buddhist training mindfulness arises, we should not attach to it. 73 Nyo-shi-toku-go-bo,from the Lotus Sutra, Yaku-ō-bosatsu-honji("The Story of Bodhi sattva Medicine King"). See LS 3.200. 74 Nyo-to-toku-sen. Ibid.

75 Shichi-tokakushi("seven limbs of the balanced state of truth"), also called simply shichi-kakushi,

"seven limbs of bodhi,

" from the Sanskrit sapta bodhyaṅgāni.See Volume II, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. They are: 1) dharmapravicaya-sambodh yaṅga, 2) vīrya-sambodhyaṅga,3) prīti-sambodhyaṅga,4) praśrabdhi-sambodh yaṅga,5) upekṣā-sambodhyaṅga,6) samādhi-sambodhyaṅga,and 7) smṛti-sambodh yaṅga.The Sanskrit prefix sam,which expresses conjunction, union, integration, etc., is here represented by tō,which literally means equality, equivalence, balance. Kakurepresents the Sanskrit bodhi(see note 17). Shi, "branch,

" represents the Sanskrit aṅga,which means a limb of the body.

76 Quoted from the Shinjinmei,by the Third Patriarch in China, Kanchi Sōsan. The poem begins, Shidō-munan, yui-ken-kenjaku./Tada-zō-ai nakere ba, tōnen to shi te meihaku nari./Gōri mo sa are ba, tenchi harukani heda taru:"To arrive at the truth is not difficult: just avoid preference./Just when there is no hate and love, [all] will be revealed./[But] if there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation will be as great as that between heaven and earth. " These opening lines point us back to the simple state of just acting and caution against irresolution or indecision. 77 Shidō fu nan-i, yui-yō-ji-kenjaku.This is Master Dōgen's variation on the opening line of the Shinjinmei.

78 Alludes to Master Gensha's words "It is forbidden for anyone to plunder a market. "

See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, no. 38. 79 Ichitengo,

"word(s) of transformation" or "a turning word, " is a traditional phrase;

it appears for example in the story of Master Hyakujō and the wild fox quoted in Chapter Seventy-six, Dai-shugyō.

80 Ichitenshinis Master Dōgen's variation. 29

Shōbōgenzō Volume IV

81 Master Chōkei Eryō asks Master Reiun Shigon, "Just what is the Great Intent of the Buddha-Dharma?" Master Reiun says, "Donkey business being unfinished, but horse business coming in.

" See Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 2, no. 56. 82 Daihi,

"Great Compassion,

" represents the Sanskrit Mahākaruṇā, another name of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. See Chapter Thirty-three (Vol. II), Kannon. 83 Rōmeans the twelfth lunar month, which was probably the coldest month. In Tokyo today plum flowers usually first bloom around the beginning of February, which is the coldest month in the modern calendar. 84 Jo, nozo[ku] means to clear away, be rid of, exclude, eliminate. However, it represents the Sanskrit praśrabdhi(Pāli: passaddhi). The Pāli Text Society's Pāli-English Dictionarydefines passaddhias "calmness, tranquility, repose, serenity, " and in its list

of the seven sambo-jjahnga(Sanskrit: sambodhyaṅga) it gives passadhias "tranquility. "

The Bukkyo-jitengives jo kakushi, "cutting rough or heavy states to get a light, sharp, peaceful and serene state,

" as one translation of the Sanskrit praśrabdhi-sambodhyaṅga. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 85 From a verse by Master Tōzan Ryōkai recorded in the Rentōeyo,chap. 30. 86 Kisen[no] gan,

"eyes that precede the moment, " suggests intuition.

87 Alludes to the words of Master Enchi Daian. See Chapter Sixty-four (Vol. III), Kajō, paragraph 110.

88 Shishiku,

"lion's roar,

" is a symbol of the Buddha's preaching. 89 Hasshō-dōshi,from the Sanskrit āryāṣṭāṅga-mārga,the eightfold noble path preached by the Buddha in his first preaching after realizing the truth. A note in small characters says that they are also called hasshōdō, "noble eightfold path.

" In Sanskrit they are:

1) samyag-dṛṣṭi,2) samyag-saṃkalpa,3) samyag-vāc,4) samyak-karmānta, 5) samyagājīva,6) samyag-vyāyāma,7) samyak-smṛti,and 8) samyak-samādhi.See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.

90 Shinsen[no] gen,

"the eye that precedes the body, " suggests the ability to regulate our physical actions even before we are conscious of them. See also note 86. 91 Shō-shi-i. Shi, omo[u] covers a range of mental activities, perhaps even wider than the English word "think,

" including wishing and hoping. On the one hand i, omonmi[ru] means to ponder, reflect on, think over, and so the compound shi-ihas a somewhat general and reflective feeling. On the other hand, the Sanskrit saṃkalpa,which shi-irepresents, seems to carry some sense of definite purpose; see Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 92 Kono shi-i o nasu toki, juppō-butsu kai gen nari.This looks very much like a quotation from a sutra, although the source has not been traced. 93 "Establishment of this concrete thinking" is sa ze shi-i.In a sutra these char acters (read as kono shi-i o nasu) would simply mean "to have this thought" or "making this my thought"

—see, for example, LS 3.36. But Master Dōgen uses the characters 30

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94 95 96 97 98 99 here to suggest that "right thinking" is the state in zazen, a state that is different from ordinary think ing, and that this state should be our standard. Ze-ji o shi-i se ba, sunawachi Harana ni omomuku nari.Again this is in the style of a quotation from a sutra, but no source has been traced. In the year he attained the truth, the Buddha is said to have spent his first rainy season retreat at a deer park near Vārāṇasī. The "Verse for Laying out the Pātra" recited at mealtimes begins: Busshōka-pi-ra, Jō-dō-ma-ka-da, Seppō-ha-ra-na. . . .("The Buddha was born in Kapilavastu, realized the truth in Magadha, preached the Dharma in Vārāṇasī. . . . ") So Vārāṇasī

symbolizes a place where the Buddha-Dharma is being preached. Shiryō-ko-fushiryō-tei, fushiryō-tei ikan ga shiryō, hi-shiryō,the famous words of Master Yakusan Igen which Master Dōgen used to express the secret of zazen (see Chapter Twenty-seven [Vol. II], Zazenshin;Chapter Fifty-eight [Vol. III], Zazengi; etc.). Shiryōas a compound generally means the same as shi-i:thinking or consideration. At the same time, ryō, haka[ru], which means to measure, fathom, or calculate, has a more concrete feeling than i, omonmi[ru]. Kore shō-shiryō, shō-shi-i nari.The apposition seems to con firm that Master Dōgen saw the two phrases as equivalent terms.

Suggests the situation in the zazen hall. The following poem is number eighteen in a collection of one hundred and twenty-five verses by Master Dōgen recorded at the end of the Eiheikōroku:"The innate subtle wisdom is itself true reality./Why should we rely on Confucian commentaries and Buddhist texts?/Sitting upon the quiet floor, I hung my mouth on the wall./Awareness of sound arrived at this place and took away "

my vacancy.

Shukkeis literally "to leave home" or "to get out of a family" —that is, to become a

monk (using the term "monk" to include both male and female monastics). See Chapter Eighty-three, Shukke;Chapter Eighty-six, Shukke-kudoku. Sōmeans 1) sangha, and 2) monk.

100 Gonji nannyorepresents the Sanskrit upāsaka(layman) and upāsikā(laywoman). Upāsakaoriginally meant "servant" or "follower. " See Volume I, Glossary of Sanskrit

Terms.

101 Zaike,literally,

"one who resides at home" or "one who resides in a family. "

102 Shukke,i.e., a monk.

103 Shinyō,filth and urine, are used as concrete symbols of fame and profit that are surplus to the real needs of a monk.

104 Banki no shin. Kiis as in the compound kibi,which means niceties, subtleties, intricacies. 105 That is, the titles "Zen Master So-and-So" or "Great Master So-and-So. "

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106 Vimalakīrti is the subject of the Vimalakīrti Sutra(Sanskrit: Vimalakīrtinirdeśa). See for example Chapter Six (Vol. I), Soku-shin-ze-butsu,paragraph 129; Chapter Thirtytwo (Vol. II), Juki,paragraph 56. 107 Layman Hōun (d. 808) first practiced in the order of Master Sekitō Kisen and eventually became a successor of Master Baso Dōitsu. Quoted in Chapter Twenty-five (Vol. II), Jinzū,paragraph 194. See also Shinji-shōbōgenzō,pt. 1, nos. 5, 88, 99. 108 Master Baso.

109 Ri Fuma (d. 1038) first practiced in the order of Master Kokuon Unso and became his successor. He later maintained a close association with Master Jimyō Soen. He compiled the Tenshōkōtōroku,one of the sequels to the Keitokudentōroku. 110 Also known as Layman Yōoku, a disciple of Master Kōe. 111 In temples in China at that time,

"gruel and rice" meant breakfast and the midday meal. 112 Gosen-yo-jiku,

"five thousand and more scrolls,

" suggests the whole treasury of the

sutras. The Kaigenshakkyōroku,compiled in 730 by the monk Chishō (658-740), listed five thousand and forty-eight fascicles of Buddhist sutras. 113 Fifty generations suggests the fifty generations from Master Mahākāśyapa to Master Tendō Nyojō. Forty ages suggests the ages of the Seven Buddhas and the thirty-three patriarchs from Master Mahākāśyapa to Master Daikan Enō. 114 Zenkon,

"roots of good,

" representing the meaning of the Sanskrit kuśala-mūla,means good conduct as the root of happiness.

115 Kunmeans 1) the fragrance that remains after incense has been burned, and, by ex tension, 2) the lingering effect of Buddhist practice under a true teacher. See also the notes on kunzen,

"assuming the fragrance of dhyāna,

" in Chapter Twenty-seven (Vol.

II), Zazenshin,paragraph 28; and on kunju, "instilling [of true wisdom], in Chapter Forty (Vol. II), Gabyō,paragraph 211.

116 Zōgyaku. Zōmeans to commit and gyakustands for go-gyakuzai, "five grave sins,

namely, to kill one's father, to kill one's mother, to kill an arhat, to shed the Buddha's blood, and to cause a schism in the sangha. 117 Chōdai-kugyō. Chōdailiterally means humbly to receive some venerated object, such as the kaṣāya,upon the head (see Chapter Twelve [Vol. I], Kesa-kudoku). Here it suggests bowing at a buddha's feet. 118 Kūshō, lit.,

"Born of Emptiness,

" is a Chinese epithet of Subhūti, who, among the ten great disciples of the Buddha, was said to be foremost in understanding of śūn yatā(the state that is like emptiness). 119 Also one of the ten great disciples. The list in full is Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Aniruddha, Subhūti, Pūrṇa, Kātyāyana, Upāli, Rāhula, and Ānanda. Subhūti and Śāriputra are cited as examples of monks who lived at the time of the historical Buddha.

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120 Mañjuśrī and Maitreya are legendary bodhisattva-monks who appear in the Buddha's retinue in Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra. 121 See also the discussion of three or four concrete moons and one conceptual moon in Chapter Forty-two (Vol. III), Tsuki,paragraph 10. 122 Zengen,lit.,

"well manifest" or "healthy in appearance, " approximates the meaning

of the Sanskrit subhūti,which means well-being or welfare. 123 The Vimalakīrti Sutrarelates how Vimalakīrti attempted to refute monks in the Buddha's order based on the viewpoint of śūnyatā. 124 Jizaiten,

"God of Freedom" or "Almighty,

" represents the Sanskrit Īśvara, which is an epithet of Śiva, the god of destruction and regeneration in the Hindu triad of Brahmā (creator), Śiva, and Viṣṇu (preserver). "Sutras and teachings of Brahmadeva, Īśvara, and the like" suggests Indian idealism. See Volume I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 125 Koka,literally,

"rear stand.

" See Chapter Fifty-six (Vol. III), Senmen. 126 I-tō-kan-bi,

"replacing a tail with a head,

" here suggests bringing one's at tention back down to practical matters—for example, remembering the importance of eating and digesting meals. Elsewhere in the Shōbōgenzō, i-to-kan-birepresents impractical or nonsensical behavior; see for example Chapter Sixty-six (Vol. III), Shunjū,paragraph 127. 127 I-dō-kan-dō,

"replacing the truth with the truth, " suggests the value system of a true Buddhist monk—one who pursues the balanced state of action just for its own sake. 128 A monk's meals.

129 Rōzeikon,

"letting the soul play" or "playing with the soul, " is explained in Chapter

Sixty-eight (Vol. III), Udonge,paragraph 167, as follows: "Playing with the soul means just sitting and dropping off body and mind. Becoming a buddha and becoming a patriarch is called playing with the soul. Putting on clothes and eating meals is called playing with the soul.

130 Kyoku-boku-za,

preaching.

"round wooden chair,

" means the chair used in a temple for formal 131 Master Fun'yō Zenshō (947-1024), successor of Master Shuzan Shōnen, and the fourth-generation descendant of Master Rinzai. 132 Refers to sangaku,

"three practices,

" from the Sanskrit tisraḥ śikṣāḥ:precepts (śīla), balance (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā). See Volume I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms. 133 In other words, right effort is effort that makes us more truly human in the process of Buddhist training. Cf. the words of Master Tendō Nyojō in Chapter Sixty-three (Vol. III), Ganzei,paragraph 88: "Gouging out Bodhidharma's Eye, I make it into a mud ball and work it into a person. "

134 Sōken-ryō,

"having met each other.

" Sō,which expresses a mutual or reciprocal relation, here suggests union of subject and object. 33

Nguồn: BDK America — English Tripiṭaka (bdkamerica.org).