Important principles in Shobogenzo (1) Bendowa
11] (This kind of number suggests the page number of my Shobogenzo in Japanese. The following is the same.)
1) When the buddha-tathågatas, have received the excellent one-to-one transmission of the splendid Dharma, experiencing the supreme bodhi, they possess a subtle method which is supreme and without intention. The reason this [method] is transmitted only from buddha to buddha, without deviation, is that the samådhi of receiving and using the self is its standard.
(The samadhi of receiving and using the self)
The samadhi is a Sanskrit word, which means the balanced state, and fortunately we human beings have found the true meaning of samadhi in 20th Century. The samdhi suggests the balanced state of the autonomic nervous system, and the autonomic nervous system is divided into the two parts, that is, the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. And the parasympathetic nervous system is related with human sensuous perception, and so it is described as receiving the self, and the sympathetic nervous system is related with the human consideration, and so it is described as using the self.
Therefore we can think that samadhi is the balanced state between the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system, which is the fundamental state of human body and mind. And Master Dogen describes the state as a subtle method which is supreme and without intention.
Gautama Buddha has found that the balance of the autonomic nervous system is the fundamental basis of human body and mind, and so he recommends us to practice Zazen as the fundamental basis of Human civilization.
2) For enjoyment of this samådhi, the practice of [Za]zen, in the erect sitting posture, has been established as the authentic gate.
(The practice of Zazen)
And for enjoying the balanced state, to practice Zazen has been maintaied as the fundamental practic of Buddhism for thousands of years.
3) This Dharma is abundantly present in each human being, but if we do not practice it, it does not manifest itself, and if we do not experience it, it cannot be realized.
(The practice of Zazen is action)
The practice of Zazen can never be consideration, nor ever be sensuous perception, but Zazen is just action itself. In the western civilisation, I think, it is very rare for us to have the philosophy of action, but in the case of Buddhism, the main part of philosophy is just the philosophy of action. Therefore if we want to study Buddhism, we should study Buddhism on the basis of philosophy of action.
In the western societies they have the practice, which is called meditation, and many people understand that Zazen is also a kind of meditation. But this interpretation might be very wrong idea. If the meditation includes a kind of thinking, the meditation is completely different from Zazen.
Zazen is just our efforts not to think and not to feel. I think that this idea may be very strange in the western civilization, but in Shobogenzo, for example in Shobogenzo (27) Zazenshin, Master Dogen described the theory so precisely.
In Zazen we concentrate our efforts to have us enter in the regulated posture solely, and sit in our action. This philosophy is the just fundamental basis of Buddhism, and so many Buddhists
practice Zazen so diligently.
4) The effort in pursuing the truth that I am now teaching makes the myriad dharmas real in experience; it enacts the oneness of reality on the path of liberation.
(Realizing Reality)
The aim of Buddhist study is just to realize that the whole Universe is just Reality, therefore in other words to realize that we are just living in Reality.
Gautama Buddha's teachings are that we, human beings, are just living in the real world, or Reality. We, human beings, have been taught that we are just living in the world of idea (Idealism), or the world of mater (Materialism.) for more than thousands of years.
Unfortunately, however, we, Human beings,have loved Idealism, or Materialism, solely for thousands of years, and so almost all people think Realism light, and we have been refused to believe in Reality for thousands of years at least.
However, nowadays, we, human beings, are going to meet an Age of Realism at last, and so we should offer so sincere thanks, to Gautama Buddha, Master Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, Master Dogen, and so forth wholeheartedly. And we should be careful that Realism can never means Materialism.
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5) At last I visited Zen Master Nyojo of Dai-byaku-ho mountain, and there I was able to complete the great task of a lifetime of practice.
(Meeting the True Master)
When Master Dogen 23 years old, he could not find any reliable Buddhist Master in Japan, and so he has to go to China to study true Buddhism. At that time it was very dangerous for a wooden-built ship to navigate the East China Sea. But it was necessary for Master Dogen to go to China to study Buddhism. When he visited China, for the first two years, even though he visited many Buddhist temples, they almost all belong to Rinzai Sect, and so he could not be satisfied at all.
However, he could get a chance to meet Master Tendo Nyojo in Tendo-zan Keitoku-ji on the 1st, May, in 1225. And then he studied Buddhism under Master Tendo Nyojo, and he got the total Buddhist philosophy from Mater Tendo Nyojo himself.
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6) After the ancestral Master came from the west, he directly cut to the source of the confusion, and spread the unadulterated Buddha-Dharma.
(The value of Master Bodidharma's efforts)
In the original sentence "the ancestral Master" means Master Bodhidharma, who introduced the practice of Zazen into China at the begining of the 6th Century for the first time. Before that time even though Buddhist Sutras had been introduced into China so many since the 1st Centry, the practice of Zazen wasn't introduced yet. However, in the case of practicing Zazen, Zazen is never verbal instruction, but it is just the actual practice. Therefore in such a situation Chinese people haden't notiticed the real practice of Zazen since the 1st Century to the beginning of the 6th Century at all. And in such a situation even though there were several kinds of Buddhist intellectual theories, which were studied in China for several Centries, they were completely studies of Buddhism on the basis of theories without the practice of Zazen, and so the Chinese Buddhist theories have been confused enormously at that time, and it was impossible for Chinese people to touch the real Buddhism at all then.
Therefore in such a situation Master Bodhidharma's navigation to China had so valuable importance for Chinese Buddhism, and furthermore it has had so enormous value for the world civilization later.
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7) 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 samådhi, the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha's posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization.
(A human conduct can change the Universe at once)
In Idealistic philosophy the subject and the object are separate, and in Materialistic philosophy the subject and the object are also separate. Therefore both in Idealism and Materialism, the subject and the object are usually independent with each other. (By the way "the three forms of conduct mean the traditional Buddhist concepts of body, mouth(speach), and mind.)
But in the case of Philosophy of Action, the subject and the object can never be separate, therefore Master Dogen said that "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 samådhi, the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha's posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization."
And when we like to understand Buddhism, it is very important for us to notice the excellency of Buddhism, and so if we want to throw away the two interectual philosophies of Idealism and Materialism, it is evitable for us to accept what Master Dogen proclaimes here without fail.
8) [The state] is not dimmed by the views of these individuals themselves, however, because the state in the quietness, without intentional activity, is direct experience.
(The absolute difference of Action from Consideration or Perception)
The former part of the sentence means that "The reason, why [the state] should not be dimned by the practioner's views of recognition or perception, comes from that [the state of Zazen] is no intentional activity in quietness, and it is just the direct experience."
Therefore we should think that the state of Zazen can never be consideration or perception, but it is just the regular posture in the quietness, without intentional activity, therefore it is just direct experience.
9) The standard state of real experience, when activated, allows no idle moment. Zazen, even if it is only one human being sitting for one moment, thus enters into mystical co-operation with all dharmas, and completely pene-trates all times; and it therefore performs, within the limitless Universe, the eternal work of the Buddha's guiding influence in the past, future, and present. For everyone it is completely the same practice and the same expe-rience.
(The identification between a practitioner and the Universe)
When we are practicing Zazen, we have entered into the state, which is perfectly the same as the state of the Universe itself. Therefore even in the case of only one person's practice, the practice is perfectly common with the Rule of the Universe at every moment. And in such a situation all people, who are practicing Zazen at the same moment, can practice Zazen at the perfectly same situation through the world.
10) The practice is not confined to the sitting itself; it strikes space and resonates, [like] ringing that continues before and after a bell.
(Continuity of influece from Zazen)
The influence of practicing Zazen is never limited inside the time of practicing Zazen, but it pervades before and after practicing Zazen like the sound of a bell, which is similar to striking a bell.
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11) The Great Master Shakyamuni exactly transmitted, as the authentic tradi-tion, this subtle method of grasping the state of truth, and the tathågatas of the three times all attained the truth through Zazen. Thus the fact that [Zazen] is the authentic gate has been transmitted and received.
(The reliable proof is just historical facts)
The question has proceeded before the answer is "Why do you see it as the only authentic gate?" However, Master Dogen does not like to show the reason theoretically. Therefore he shows only historical facts in the Past. As a Realist, Master Dogen does not like to show the evidence theoretically. Therefore he wants to show proofs on the earth historically.
12) Reading sutras and reciting the names of buddhas, however, may nat-urally become the causes and conditions of enlightenment. But as for just idly sitting without doing anything, how can that be the means of getting enlightenment?"
I say: If you now think that the samådhi of the buddhas, the supreme and great Dharma, is idle sitting without doing anything, you are a person who insults the Great Vehicle. [Such] delusion is so deep that it is like being in the ocean and saying there is no water. [In Zazen] we are already seated, sta-bly and thankfully, in the buddhas' samådhi of receiving and using the self. Is this not the accomplishment of vast and great virtue?
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13) Reading sutras and reciting the names of buddhas, however, may nat-urally become the causes and conditions of enlightenment. But as for just idly sitting without doing anything, how can that be the means of getting enlightenment?"
I say: If you now think that the samådhi of the buddhas, the supreme and great Dharma, is idle sitting without doing anything, you are a person who insults the Great Vehicle. [Such] delusion is so deep that it is like being in the ocean and saying there is no water. [In Zazen] we are already seated, sta-bly and thankfully, in the buddhas' samådhi of receiving and using the self. Is this not the accomplishment of vast and great virtue?
(Consideration and perception are not important as Action)
We, human beings, usually have common tendency for us to revere our mental consideration or sensuous perception much more than Action, because we, human beings, have been educated with such
tendencies for thousands of years because of so excellent intellectual civilization of Ancient Greek Age.
But a Realist Master Dogen can not rely upon so excellent Idealism or Materialism in the Ancient Greek Age. Therefore in his case the simple fact just sitting in the balance of the autonomic nervous system is much more reliable than reading sutras or reciting the names of buddhas.
13) As a general rule, when right belief emerges in our mind, we should do training and learn in practice. Otherwise, we should rest for a while. Regret the fact if you will, but from ancient times the Dharma has been dry.
(Without belief in Zazen, we should never practice Zazen)
Master Dogen has so stern and exact belief in Zazen, or Buddhism, therefore he does not permit everyone to practice Zazen without sincere belief in it, at all. Therefore we should never practice Zazen for getting fame or profit at all.
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14) Remember, among Buddhists we do not argue about superiority and inferiority of philosophies, or choose between shallowness and profundity in the Dharma; we need only know whether the practice is genuine or arti-ficial.
(Whether the kind of practice is authentic, or not, is the most important)
In Buddhism it is not necessary for us to think about the theory in only one philosophical viewpoint. Because the most important problem in Buddhism, is whether we believe in Idealism, or not, and whether we believe in Materialism, or not. In other words if we believe in Idealism, we can never be Buddhists. And if we believe in Materialism, we can never be Buddhists. This theory is not so clear yet even in our own Buddhist societies today, but in Mulamadhyamaka-karika (MMK) by Nagarjuna, he insists this point in the 1st Verse of the 1st Chapter of MMK. He clearly insists that the subjective philosophy, that is, Idealism, can never Buddhism, and at the same time he ploclaimes that the objective philosophy, that is, Materialism, can never be Buddhism.
This suggests that relying upon Master Nagarjuna's Buddhist thoughts, without denying both Idealism and Materialism, the central opoint of Buddhism, that is, Philosophy of Action, can never be established at all.
Without negating both Idealism and Materialism together, the fundamental Buddhist philosophy of
Phylosophy of Action can never be established, and if it is impossible for us to establish the Philosophy of Action, we can never insist Buddhist Philosophy at all.
15) When we solely sit in Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same pos-ture as the Buddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas of delusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concerned with the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the [intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.
(The real situation in Zazen)
Zazen is just Action, and so it is not consideration or perception, but it is just our Action, that we are keeping the same posture as Gautama Buddha, forgetting everything, and we are just doing Zazen. Then we can transcend the separation between delusion and enlightenment, having no separation between the ordinary and the sacred, and we have begun wandering in the perfect freedom, receiving and utilizing the Great Truth.
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16) [Someone] asks, "Among the three kinds of training there is training in the balanced state, and among the six påramitås there is the dhyåna påramitå, both of which all bodhisattvas learn from the outset and all bod-hisattvas practice, regardless of whether they are clever or stupid. The Zazen [that you are discussing] now is surely [only] one of these. Why do you say that the Tathågata's right Dharma is concentrated in this [practice of Zazen]?"
I say: The question arises because this right-Dharma-eye treasury, the supreme and great method, which is the one great matter of the Tathågata, has been called the "Zen Sect." Remember that this title "Zen Sect" was established in China and the east; it is not heard in India. When the Great Master Bodhidharma first stayed at Shaolin temple in the Sung-shan mountains, and faced the wall for nine years, monks and laymen were still ignorant of the Buddha's right Dharma, so they called [Master Bodhidharma] a Bråhman who made a religion of Zazen. Thereafter, the patriarchs of successive generations all constantly devoted themselves to Zazen. Stupid secular people who saw this, not knowing the reality, talked at random of a Zazen Sect. Nowadays, dropping the word "Za," they talk of just the Zen Sect.
(Zen is just an abbreviation of Zazen)
The word Zen is just an abbreviation of Zazen, but recently so many Buddhists utilize the word Zen, as if there were an independent cocept called Zen really exists. And they are discussing the
problem of Zen so many times, as if there were such kind of problem really, but relying upon the fact that the word Zen is only the abbreviation of Zazen, and so it is completely impossible for us to discuss Zen independently, completely separated from Zazen.
17) Just remember that this [transmission of Zazen] is the whole truth of the Buddha's Dharma; nothing can be compared with it.
(We should never confuse Zen as if it is the same as Zazen at all)
Zen is a kind of fantastic image of concept, which does never really exist on the earth. Therefore we should be very careful in thinking Zen.
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18) [Someone] asks, "Why, in discussing entry into the state of experience, do Buddhists recommend us to practice the balanced state of dhyåna solely by sitting, which is [only] one of the four forms of conduct?"
I say: It is difficult to calculate all the ways that buddhas have successively practiced since ancient times to enter the state of real experience. If we want to find a reason, we should remember that what Buddhists practice is reason in itself. We should not look for [a reason] besides this. But an ancestral master has praised [sitting] by saying, "Sitting in Zazen is the peaceful and joyful gate of Dharma." So in conclusion the reason may be that, of the four forms of conduct, [sitting is the most] peaceful and joyful.
(The selection of the form of sitting might come from sitting is being peaceful and joyful.)
In Buddhism we have idea that the forms of human Action are four kinds, that is, walking, standing, sitting, and lying. And Master Dogen says that it is impossible for him to find the reason, why Gautama Buddha has selected the form of sitting, and he supposes that the reason why Gautama Buddha selects the form of sitting as the posture of the practice might be that sitting is rather peaceful and joyful. And Master Dogen insists that we should not look for another reason other than them.
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19) The thought that practice and experience are not one thing is just the idea of non-Buddhists. In the Buddha-Dharma practice and experience are com-pletely the same. [Practice] now is also practice in the state of experience; therefore, a beginner's pursuit of the truth is just the whole body of the orig-inal state of experience. This is why [the Buddhist patriarchs] teach, in the practical cautions they have handed down to us, not to expect any experi-ence outside of practice. And the reason may be that [practice itself] is the directly accessible original state of experience. Because practice is just experi-ence, the experience is endless; and because experience is practice, the prac-tice has no beginning. This is how both the Tathågata Íåkyamuni and the Venerable Patriarch Mahåkåßyapa were received and used by the practice that exists in the state of experience.
(Both practice and experience are completely one, and they can never be separate)
In intellectual philosophy people usually think that the concept practice and the concept experience are separate, but in the philosophy of Action, it is impossible for us to separate Action into two parts of practice and experience. The concepts, practice and experience, can be separate, but in Action, the concepts, practice and experience, can never be separate into two, and Action must always exist only one without any separation.
Therefore in Buddhism we should never forget the perfect oneness of Action between practice and experience. So even now it is just the practice, which is perfectly fused into experience, and then it is impossible for a practice even by a beginner never to be not the total enlightenment itself. Practice is always just enlightenment, and so the enlightenment can never have end, and practice is just enlightenment, the practice of the enlightenment does not have any beginning.
In short, if we continue practice of Zazen everyday, we can never lose the enlightenment at all.
20) Remember that even in the state of attainment of the truth, we should practice.
(Our Zazen exists always in enlightenment)
Therefore we should think that we are always sitting in Zazen just being enlightened.
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21) Therefore we should just hasten to understand the principle that the mental eternal. Even if we passed our whole life in idle sitting, what could we expect to gain? The doc-trine I have expressed like this is truly in accord with the truth of the bud-dhas and the patriarchs, is it not?"
I say: The view expressed now is absolutely not the Buddha's Dharma; it is the view of the non-Buddhist Senika.
(The enlightenment can never be intellectual understanding)
In intellectual philosophy people usually think that the enlightenment in Buddhism might be also a kind of intellectual understanding inevitably. This idea is completely wrong. Buddhism can never belong to any kind of intellectual philosophy, and so the buddhist enlightenment can never belong to a kind of intellectual understanding, but it is just physical and mental state of body and mind.
Therefore if we think that Buddhist enlightenment is just a kind of intellectual understanding, such idea is completely wrong in Buddhism. Therefore Master Dogen insists that a person, who has such a kind of wrong understanding belong to the same thinker as a person, who is called non-Buddhist Senika in the Age of Gautama Buddha.
22) If we equate the present wrong view that mind is eternal but forms perish with the splendid Dharma of the buddhas, thinking that we have escaped life and death when we are promoting the original cause of life and death, are we not being stupid? That would be most pitiful. Knowing that this [wrong view] is just the wrong view of non-Buddhists, we should not touch it with our ears.
(The idea, that mind is eternal but forms perish, can never be Buddhism)
In idealistic philosophy people usually believe that forms must perish, but mind is eternal, however, that kind of idea is completely wrong in Buddhism. If we think that such a wrong idea is just the same as Gautama Buddha's teachings, even though we are making the real cause of worrying
about life and death, we become stupidly satisfied with being deluded by such a wrong idea other than Buddhism. Therefore we should think that such a kind of stupid and wrong idea is just non-
Buddhist idea. We should never have such wrong idea touch our ears at all.
23) Nevertheless, I cannot help wanting to save you from this wrong view and it is only compas-sionate [for me] now [to try]. So remember, in the Buddha-Dharma, because the body and mind are originally one reality, the saying that essence and form are not two has been understood equally in the Western Heavens and the Eastern Lands, and we should never dare to go against it. Further, in the lineages that discuss eternal existence, the myriad dharmas are all eternal existence: body and mind are not divided. And in the lineages that discuss extinction, all dharmas are extinction: essence and form are not divided.
(In Buddhism essence and form can never be divided into two parts at all)
In Buddhism the body and mind are originally one reality, therefore essence and form are believed in India and in the Eastern Lands like China absolutely. Therefore we should never go against the
principle.
And futhermore when we discuss eternity in a division, everything belongs to eternity, therefore it is impossible for us to divide anything sometimes eternal, sometimes extinguish, and when we discuss extinction, we should think the problem on the basis of extinction, it is not permissible for us to divide anything, sometimes eternal, and sometimes extinguish.
24) The principle that body and mind are one reality is being constantly spoken by the Buddha-Dharma. So how could it be, on the contrary, that while this body appears and disappears, the mind independently leaves the body and does not appear or disappear? If there is a time when [body and mind] are one reality, and another time when they are not one reality, then it might naturally follow that the Buddha's preach-ing has been false.
(The oneness between body and mind is just the eternal principle in Buddhism)
Buddhism always believe in the oneness between body and mind. Therefore it is completely impossible for us to insist that when the body vanishes, the mind can only survive alone.
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25) Keeping the precepts, and pure conduct, are the standard of the Zen lineages and the usual habit of Buddhist patriarchs.
(Keeping the precepts, and pure conduct, are inevitable criteria of Buddhism)
The reason, why we, Buddhists, practice Zazen everyday, is, having the autonomic nervous system balanced everyday, we want to keep ourselves in the state of self-regulation to be able to follow morals in our daily life. Therefore we can say that the reason, why we practice Zazen everyday, is that by keeping the autonomic nervous system balanced every moment, we want to maintain our self-regulating ability to follow morals in our daily life.
In spiritual religions there are usually common tendency that it is the most important matter for human beings to be faithful in God, and it is not so important for human beings to follow morals.
But in Buddhism, we think that God is the Universe, and the Universe is God, and so we Buddhists revere following morals so much in our daily life, because morals are the Rule of the Universe, and so morals are orders of God.
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26) [Someone] asks, "Should this practice also be undertaken by lay men and lay women, or is it performed only by people who have left home?"
I say: An ancestral master has been heard to say that, with respect to under-standing of the Buddha-Dharma, we must not choose between men and women, high or low.
(Not only priests or nuns, but both laymen and laywomen should practice Zazen everyday)
Buddhism, or Zazen, does never exist only for Buddhist priets and nuns, but Buddhism, or Zazen, exists for all human beings. It is very important for everyone to have his or her autonomic nervous system balnced. Because when we can keep our autonomic nervous system balanced, we can be
true human beings, and when our sympathetic nervous system a little stronger, we are prone to be a little too much spiritual, and when our parasympathetic nervous system a little stronger, we are prone to be a little too much material.
27) [Someone] asks, "People who leave home get free of all involvements at once, so they have no hindrances in practicing Zazen and pursuing the truth. How can a busy lay person devotedly do training and be at one with the unintentional state of Buddhist truth?"
I say: In general, the Buddhist Patriarch, overfilled with pity, left open a wide and great gate of compassion so that all living beings could experience and enter [the state of truth]; what human being or god could not want to enter?
(Even laymen and laywomen should practice Zazen everyday)
Even in the case of laymen or laywomen, if they do not practice Zazen everyday, they can have someday to have stable days for being balanced, but they have someday to have unstable days, when they can not practice Zazen actually. And in such situations their daily life must be someday balanced, and someday unbalanced, and so their daily life can never be stable constantly at all. Therefore if we want to become happy by practicing Zazen, it is necessary for us to practice Zazen everyday.
Of course in the case of laymen and laywomen, it is usually very busy for them to work for their secular jobs, therefore if we do not want to give up practicing Zazen everyday, even in the case of secular people, we should manage our daily life to become able to practice Zazen everyday.
28) This [practice-and-experience] rests only upon whether or not the will is present; it does not relate to whether the body stays at home or leaves home. Moreover, any person who profoundly discerns the superi-ority or inferiority of things will naturally have belief. Still more, those who think that worldly affairs hinder the Buddha-Dharma only know that there is no Buddha-Dharma in the world; they do not know that there are no worldly dharmas in the state of Buddha.
（Getting the Truth does not rely upon whether a practioner is a monk or nun at all)
Master Dogen bravely says that whether a mon or a woman will get the Truth, or not, just relies upon whether he or she has the will to the Truth, or not, and there is no mutual relation between getting the Truth, or not, and whether he or she is a monk or a nun, at all. And furthermore he says that "Moreover, any person who profoundly discerns the superi-ority or inferiority of things will naturally have belief."
And relating with such a problem Master Dogen proclaims that secular societies do not really exist at all. Because the secular societies are only human supposition, which has been produced by human mental ability. And at the same time the secular societies are only sensuous stimuli, which have accidentally occurred in human sensuous organs. In other words we, Buddhists, do never believe in the real existence of continuous thoughts, therefore it is difficult for us to believe in the real existence of constant thoughts. At the same time it is impossible for us to suppose the continuous existence of sensuous stimuli in our sensuous organs. and so it is also impossible for us to affirm the real existence of sensuous stimuli at all.
Therefore we have to think that the Real World can exist only just at the present moment.
In such a meaning it is impossible for us to believe in the continuous thoughts and all, and it is also impossible for us to insist the continuous existence of this world at all.
In short, we can say that we are just living at the present moment, and so the world is also only momentary at the present moment. Therefore we have to think that the secular societies, which we think, do not exist continuously, and the secular societies, which we perceive, do not exists continuously.
29) In the great Kingdom of Sung, the present generation of kings and ministers, officials and common-ers, men and women, all apply their mind to the Patriarch's truth, without exception. Both the military and literary classes are resolved to practice [Za]zen and to learn the truth. Those who resolve it will, in many cases, un-doubtedly clarify the mental state. Thus, it can naturally be inferred that worldly affairs do not hinder the Buddha-Dharma.
(Worldly affairs do not have any power to hinder the Buddhist Rules in the Universe at all)
People usually think that worldly affairs can have power to change the Buddhist Rules in the Universe actually, but such a kind of recognition might be wrong completely. Because what is realized just at the present moment is the Real Facts on the earth themselves, and such a kind of facts can never be worldly affairs at all.
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30) [Someone] asks, "Even in the present corrupt world in this latter age, is it still possible to realize the state of real experience when we perform this practice?"
I say: Philosophers have occupied themselves with such concepts and forms, but in the real teaching of the Great Vehicle, without discriminating between "right," "imitative," and "latter" Dharma, we say that all those who practice attain the state of truth.
(The theory of three kinds of degenerated ages might be apology for lazy, weak Buddhists)
In only theoretical Buddhism, people insist the existence of the three kinds of different ages, "right," "imitative," and "latter", and they insist that it is perfectly impossible for people in "latter" to realize the Truth by Zazen, but Master Dogen insists that such a vulgar theory just has come from people, who belong to only theoretical and enormously lazy Buddhists actually.
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31) The Zen Master says, "Relying upon what words were you able to enter?"
Soku says, "I once asked Seiho: Just what is the student that is I? Seiho said: The children of fire come looking for fire."
Hogen says, "Nice words. But I am afraid that you may not have understood."
Soku says, "The children of fire belong to fire. [So] I understood that their being fire yet looking for fire represented my being myself yet looking for myself."
The Zen Master says, "I have become sure that you did not understand. If the Buddha-Dharma were like that, it could never have been transmitted until today." At this Soku became embarrassed and distressed, and he stood up [to leave]. [But] on the road he thought, "The Zen Master is [respected] throughout the country [as] a good counselor, and he is a great guiding master to five hun-dred people. There must surely have been some merit in his criticism of my wrongness."
[Soku] goes back to the Zen Master to confess and to prostrate himself in apology. Then he asks, "Just what is the student that is I?" The Zen Master says, "The children of fire come looking for fire." Under the influence of these words, Soku grandly realized the Buddha-Dharma. Clearly, the Buddha-Dharma is never known with the intellectual under-standing that we ourselves are just buddha. If the intellectual understand-ing that we ourselves are just buddha were the Buddha-Dharma, the Zen Master could not have guided [Soku] by using the former words, and he would not have admonished [Soku] as he did.
(We should notice the difference between intellectual world and actual World)
The story indicates the absolute difference between the intellectual area and actual area. Soku has understood that it is just enlightenment for a person to understand the meaning of the words "The children of fire come looking for fire." intellectually, and so he has be thinking that he has got the enlightenment many years ago.
But Master Hogen has supposed that such a kind of misunderstanding exists in Soku's mind, and so Master Hogen doubtes whether Soku has got enlightened, or not. After listening to Soku's explanations, Master Hogen has clearly noticed that Soku has understood the meaning of the words just intellectually. Therefore Master Hogen has criticised that Soku hasn't realized the true meaning of the words.
But Soku has had so strong self-confidence in his understaning the words. Therefore, having so strong anger, he has been going to leave the temple. On the way, however, Soku has reflected that
Mster Hogen has been a so famous Buddhist Master in China at that time. So Soku has wanted to ask the same question to Master again once more.
And the most important difference between Soku's former time and the latter time, is the absolute difference in the former intellectual attitude and the latter so sincere actual attitudes. Therefore when he has hear Master Hogen's real words "The children of fire come looking for fire.", Soku has actually understand the true meaning of the words "The children of fire come looking for fire."
And generally speaking Buddhism has always so important dimensional difference between intellectual basis and actual basis, and I think that almost all other philosophies in the world other than Buddhism, does never have such a kind of valuable dimensional difference at all.
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32) I say: We should know that these people of the past and present who clari-fied the mind on seeing forms and who realized the truth on hearing sounds, were all without intellectual doubt in pursuing the truth, and just in the moment of the present there was no second person.
(It is important having no doubt in the Truth, and having no separation in our own personality)
Just before the quotation, Master Dogen insists that there are some examples, which has not rely upon Zazen, when a practitioner has got the Truth. And he proclaims that there are two important conditions, when we realize the Truth. The one is that we should never have any kind of doubt in the real existence of the Truth itself. And the second one is that we should never have the separation of our personality.
In short if we have any doubt about the real existence of the Truth, we can never arrive at the Realization. And in the second case when we have the unbalanced autonomic nervous system, it is always inevitable for us to have the consciousness, which has been separated between the physical Ego and the spiritual Ego. And in kinds of those cases we can never experience of Reality at all.
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33) Just because our country is not a nation of benevolence or wisdom and the people are dull-witted, do not think that it is impossible for us to grasp the Buddha-Dharma. Still more, all human beings have the right seeds of prajnya in abundance. It may simply be that few of us have ex-perienced the real state directly, and so we are immature in receiving and using it.
(It is not necessary for Japanese people to give up getting the Truth)
Master Dogen thinks that even though Japanese people at that time are not so benevolent or clever, and are dull-witted, but it is not necessary for us to think that Japanese people will be impossible to grasp the Truth. Because Master Dogen thinks that all human beings are full of the intuitive ability so sufficiently, and in the case of Japanese people, it has been rather rare for them to meet Reality directly, and haven't experienced yet the the balanced state of the autonimic nervous system yet.
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34) [Within] the frontiers of the spread of that teaching, what place could not be a Buddha-land? Therefore, when we want to disseminate the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs, it is not always necessary to select a [particular] place or to wait for [favorable] circumstances. Shall we just con-sider today to be the starting point?
([Within] the frontiers of the spread of that teaching, what place could not be a Buddha-land?)
Master Dogen proclaims that every place, where the teaching Buddhism pervades in the world, must
be the place of a Buddha-land. Therefore it is not necessary for us selecting the place or waiting a chance for preading Buddhism for spreading Buddhism at all. And we should think that "The present moment is just the time for us beginning it."
And I feel much interest in his last words. Because in Buddhism there is no time, which really exists, other than the present moment. Therefore we have to think that we can begin everything just at the present moment, and we can never begin anything at any time other than the present moment.
(End: Bendowa)
1) When the buddha-tathågatas, have received the excellent one-to-one transmission of the splendid Dharma, experiencing the supreme bodhi, they possess a subtle method which is supreme and without intention. The reason this [method] is transmitted only from buddha to buddha, without deviation, is that the samådhi of receiving and using the self is its standard.
(The samadhi of receiving and using the self)
The samadhi is a Sanskrit word, which means the balanced state, and fortunately we human beings have found the true meaning of samadhi in 20th Century. The samdhi suggests the balanced state of the autonomic nervous system, and the autonomic nervous system is divided into the two parts, that is, the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. And the parasympathetic nervous system is related with human sensuous perception, and so it is described as receiving the self, and the sympathetic nervous system is related with the human consideration, and so it is described as using the self.
Therefore we can think that samadhi is the balanced state between the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system, which is the fundamental state of human body and mind. And Master Dogen describes the state as a subtle method which is supreme and without intention.
Gautama Buddha has found that the balance of the autonomic nervous system is the fundamental basis of human body and mind, and so he recommends us to practice Zazen as the fundamental basis of Human civilization.
2) For enjoyment of this samådhi, the practice of [Za]zen, in the erect sitting posture, has been established as the authentic gate.
(The practice of Zazen)
And for enjoying the balanced state, to practice Zazen has been maintaied as the fundamental practic of Buddhism for thousands of years.
3) This Dharma is abundantly present in each human being, but if we do not practice it, it does not manifest itself, and if we do not experience it, it cannot be realized.
(The practice of Zazen is action)
The practice of Zazen can never be consideration, nor ever be sensuous perception, but Zazen is just action itself. In the western civilisation, I think, it is very rare for us to have the philosophy of action, but in the case of Buddhism, the main part of philosophy is just the philosophy of action. Therefore if we want to study Buddhism, we should study Buddhism on the basis of philosophy of action.
In the western societies they have the practice, which is called meditation, and many people understand that Zazen is also a kind of meditation. But this interpretation might be very wrong idea. If the meditation includes a kind of thinking, the meditation is completely different from Zazen.
Zazen is just our efforts not to think and not to feel. I think that this idea may be very strange in the western civilization, but in Shobogenzo, for example in Shobogenzo (27) Zazenshin, Master Dogen described the theory so precisely.
In Zazen we concentrate our efforts to have us enter in the regulated posture solely, and sit in our action. This philosophy is the just fundamental basis of Buddhism, and so many Buddhists
practice Zazen so diligently.
4) The effort in pursuing the truth that I am now teaching makes the myriad dharmas real in experience; it enacts the oneness of reality on the path of liberation.
(Realizing Reality)
The aim of Buddhist study is just to realize that the whole Universe is just Reality, therefore in other words to realize that we are just living in Reality.
Gautama Buddha's teachings are that we, human beings, are just living in the real world, or Reality. We, human beings, have been taught that we are just living in the world of idea (Idealism), or the world of mater (Materialism.) for more than thousands of years.
Unfortunately, however, we, Human beings,have loved Idealism, or Materialism, solely for thousands of years, and so almost all people think Realism light, and we have been refused to believe in Reality for thousands of years at least.
However, nowadays, we, human beings, are going to meet an Age of Realism at last, and so we should offer so sincere thanks, to Gautama Buddha, Master Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, Master Dogen, and so forth wholeheartedly. And we should be careful that Realism can never means Materialism.
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5) At last I visited Zen Master Nyojo of Dai-byaku-ho mountain, and there I was able to complete the great task of a lifetime of practice.
(Meeting the True Master)
When Master Dogen 23 years old, he could not find any reliable Buddhist Master in Japan, and so he has to go to China to study true Buddhism. At that time it was very dangerous for a wooden-built ship to navigate the East China Sea. But it was necessary for Master Dogen to go to China to study Buddhism. When he visited China, for the first two years, even though he visited many Buddhist temples, they almost all belong to Rinzai Sect, and so he could not be satisfied at all.
However, he could get a chance to meet Master Tendo Nyojo in Tendo-zan Keitoku-ji on the 1st, May, in 1225. And then he studied Buddhism under Master Tendo Nyojo, and he got the total Buddhist philosophy from Mater Tendo Nyojo himself.
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6) After the ancestral Master came from the west, he directly cut to the source of the confusion, and spread the unadulterated Buddha-Dharma.
(The value of Master Bodidharma's efforts)
In the original sentence "the ancestral Master" means Master Bodhidharma, who introduced the practice of Zazen into China at the begining of the 6th Century for the first time. Before that time even though Buddhist Sutras had been introduced into China so many since the 1st Centry, the practice of Zazen wasn't introduced yet. However, in the case of practicing Zazen, Zazen is never verbal instruction, but it is just the actual practice. Therefore in such a situation Chinese people haden't notiticed the real practice of Zazen since the 1st Century to the beginning of the 6th Century at all. And in such a situation even though there were several kinds of Buddhist intellectual theories, which were studied in China for several Centries, they were completely studies of Buddhism on the basis of theories without the practice of Zazen, and so the Chinese Buddhist theories have been confused enormously at that time, and it was impossible for Chinese people to touch the real Buddhism at all then.
Therefore in such a situation Master Bodhidharma's navigation to China had so valuable importance for Chinese Buddhism, and furthermore it has had so enormous value for the world civilization later.
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7) 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 samådhi, the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha's posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization.
(A human conduct can change the Universe at once)
In Idealistic philosophy the subject and the object are separate, and in Materialistic philosophy the subject and the object are also separate. Therefore both in Idealism and Materialism, the subject and the object are usually independent with each other. (By the way "the three forms of conduct mean the traditional Buddhist concepts of body, mouth(speach), and mind.)
But in the case of Philosophy of Action, the subject and the object can never be separate, therefore Master Dogen said that "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 samådhi, the entire world of Dharma assumes the Buddha's posture and the whole of space becomes the state of realization."
And when we like to understand Buddhism, it is very important for us to notice the excellency of Buddhism, and so if we want to throw away the two interectual philosophies of Idealism and Materialism, it is evitable for us to accept what Master Dogen proclaimes here without fail.
8) [The state] is not dimmed by the views of these individuals themselves, however, because the state in the quietness, without intentional activity, is direct experience.
(The absolute difference of Action from Consideration or Perception)
The former part of the sentence means that "The reason, why [the state] should not be dimned by the practioner's views of recognition or perception, comes from that [the state of Zazen] is no intentional activity in quietness, and it is just the direct experience."
Therefore we should think that the state of Zazen can never be consideration or perception, but it is just the regular posture in the quietness, without intentional activity, therefore it is just direct experience.
9) The standard state of real experience, when activated, allows no idle moment. Zazen, even if it is only one human being sitting for one moment, thus enters into mystical co-operation with all dharmas, and completely pene-trates all times; and it therefore performs, within the limitless Universe, the eternal work of the Buddha's guiding influence in the past, future, and present. For everyone it is completely the same practice and the same expe-rience.
(The identification between a practitioner and the Universe)
When we are practicing Zazen, we have entered into the state, which is perfectly the same as the state of the Universe itself. Therefore even in the case of only one person's practice, the practice is perfectly common with the Rule of the Universe at every moment. And in such a situation all people, who are practicing Zazen at the same moment, can practice Zazen at the perfectly same situation through the world.
10) The practice is not confined to the sitting itself; it strikes space and resonates, [like] ringing that continues before and after a bell.
(Continuity of influece from Zazen)
The influence of practicing Zazen is never limited inside the time of practicing Zazen, but it pervades before and after practicing Zazen like the sound of a bell, which is similar to striking a bell.
26](2)
11) The Great Master Shakyamuni exactly transmitted, as the authentic tradi-tion, this subtle method of grasping the state of truth, and the tathågatas of the three times all attained the truth through Zazen. Thus the fact that [Zazen] is the authentic gate has been transmitted and received.
(The reliable proof is just historical facts)
The question has proceeded before the answer is "Why do you see it as the only authentic gate?" However, Master Dogen does not like to show the reason theoretically. Therefore he shows only historical facts in the Past. As a Realist, Master Dogen does not like to show the evidence theoretically. Therefore he wants to show proofs on the earth historically.
12) Reading sutras and reciting the names of buddhas, however, may nat-urally become the causes and conditions of enlightenment. But as for just idly sitting without doing anything, how can that be the means of getting enlightenment?"
I say: If you now think that the samådhi of the buddhas, the supreme and great Dharma, is idle sitting without doing anything, you are a person who insults the Great Vehicle. [Such] delusion is so deep that it is like being in the ocean and saying there is no water. [In Zazen] we are already seated, sta-bly and thankfully, in the buddhas' samådhi of receiving and using the self. Is this not the accomplishment of vast and great virtue?
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13) Reading sutras and reciting the names of buddhas, however, may nat-urally become the causes and conditions of enlightenment. But as for just idly sitting without doing anything, how can that be the means of getting enlightenment?"
I say: If you now think that the samådhi of the buddhas, the supreme and great Dharma, is idle sitting without doing anything, you are a person who insults the Great Vehicle. [Such] delusion is so deep that it is like being in the ocean and saying there is no water. [In Zazen] we are already seated, sta-bly and thankfully, in the buddhas' samådhi of receiving and using the self. Is this not the accomplishment of vast and great virtue?
(Consideration and perception are not important as Action)
We, human beings, usually have common tendency for us to revere our mental consideration or sensuous perception much more than Action, because we, human beings, have been educated with such
tendencies for thousands of years because of so excellent intellectual civilization of Ancient Greek Age.
But a Realist Master Dogen can not rely upon so excellent Idealism or Materialism in the Ancient Greek Age. Therefore in his case the simple fact just sitting in the balance of the autonomic nervous system is much more reliable than reading sutras or reciting the names of buddhas.
13) As a general rule, when right belief emerges in our mind, we should do training and learn in practice. Otherwise, we should rest for a while. Regret the fact if you will, but from ancient times the Dharma has been dry.
(Without belief in Zazen, we should never practice Zazen)
Master Dogen has so stern and exact belief in Zazen, or Buddhism, therefore he does not permit everyone to practice Zazen without sincere belief in it, at all. Therefore we should never practice Zazen for getting fame or profit at all.
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14) Remember, among Buddhists we do not argue about superiority and inferiority of philosophies, or choose between shallowness and profundity in the Dharma; we need only know whether the practice is genuine or arti-ficial.
(Whether the kind of practice is authentic, or not, is the most important)
In Buddhism it is not necessary for us to think about the theory in only one philosophical viewpoint. Because the most important problem in Buddhism, is whether we believe in Idealism, or not, and whether we believe in Materialism, or not. In other words if we believe in Idealism, we can never be Buddhists. And if we believe in Materialism, we can never be Buddhists. This theory is not so clear yet even in our own Buddhist societies today, but in Mulamadhyamaka-karika (MMK) by Nagarjuna, he insists this point in the 1st Verse of the 1st Chapter of MMK. He clearly insists that the subjective philosophy, that is, Idealism, can never Buddhism, and at the same time he ploclaimes that the objective philosophy, that is, Materialism, can never be Buddhism.
This suggests that relying upon Master Nagarjuna's Buddhist thoughts, without denying both Idealism and Materialism, the central opoint of Buddhism, that is, Philosophy of Action, can never be established at all.
Without negating both Idealism and Materialism together, the fundamental Buddhist philosophy of
Phylosophy of Action can never be established, and if it is impossible for us to establish the Philosophy of Action, we can never insist Buddhist Philosophy at all.
15) When we solely sit in Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same pos-ture as the Buddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas of delusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concerned with the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the [intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.
(The real situation in Zazen)
Zazen is just Action, and so it is not consideration or perception, but it is just our Action, that we are keeping the same posture as Gautama Buddha, forgetting everything, and we are just doing Zazen. Then we can transcend the separation between delusion and enlightenment, having no separation between the ordinary and the sacred, and we have begun wandering in the perfect freedom, receiving and utilizing the Great Truth.
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16) [Someone] asks, "Among the three kinds of training there is training in the balanced state, and among the six påramitås there is the dhyåna påramitå, both of which all bodhisattvas learn from the outset and all bod-hisattvas practice, regardless of whether they are clever or stupid. The Zazen [that you are discussing] now is surely [only] one of these. Why do you say that the Tathågata's right Dharma is concentrated in this [practice of Zazen]?"
I say: The question arises because this right-Dharma-eye treasury, the supreme and great method, which is the one great matter of the Tathågata, has been called the "Zen Sect." Remember that this title "Zen Sect" was established in China and the east; it is not heard in India. When the Great Master Bodhidharma first stayed at Shaolin temple in the Sung-shan mountains, and faced the wall for nine years, monks and laymen were still ignorant of the Buddha's right Dharma, so they called [Master Bodhidharma] a Bråhman who made a religion of Zazen. Thereafter, the patriarchs of successive generations all constantly devoted themselves to Zazen. Stupid secular people who saw this, not knowing the reality, talked at random of a Zazen Sect. Nowadays, dropping the word "Za," they talk of just the Zen Sect.
(Zen is just an abbreviation of Zazen)
The word Zen is just an abbreviation of Zazen, but recently so many Buddhists utilize the word Zen, as if there were an independent cocept called Zen really exists. And they are discussing the
problem of Zen so many times, as if there were such kind of problem really, but relying upon the fact that the word Zen is only the abbreviation of Zazen, and so it is completely impossible for us to discuss Zen independently, completely separated from Zazen.
17) Just remember that this [transmission of Zazen] is the whole truth of the Buddha's Dharma; nothing can be compared with it.
(We should never confuse Zen as if it is the same as Zazen at all)
Zen is a kind of fantastic image of concept, which does never really exist on the earth. Therefore we should be very careful in thinking Zen.
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18) [Someone] asks, "Why, in discussing entry into the state of experience, do Buddhists recommend us to practice the balanced state of dhyåna solely by sitting, which is [only] one of the four forms of conduct?"
I say: It is difficult to calculate all the ways that buddhas have successively practiced since ancient times to enter the state of real experience. If we want to find a reason, we should remember that what Buddhists practice is reason in itself. We should not look for [a reason] besides this. But an ancestral master has praised [sitting] by saying, "Sitting in Zazen is the peaceful and joyful gate of Dharma." So in conclusion the reason may be that, of the four forms of conduct, [sitting is the most] peaceful and joyful.
(The selection of the form of sitting might come from sitting is being peaceful and joyful.)
In Buddhism we have idea that the forms of human Action are four kinds, that is, walking, standing, sitting, and lying. And Master Dogen says that it is impossible for him to find the reason, why Gautama Buddha has selected the form of sitting, and he supposes that the reason why Gautama Buddha selects the form of sitting as the posture of the practice might be that sitting is rather peaceful and joyful. And Master Dogen insists that we should not look for another reason other than them.
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19) The thought that practice and experience are not one thing is just the idea of non-Buddhists. In the Buddha-Dharma practice and experience are com-pletely the same. [Practice] now is also practice in the state of experience; therefore, a beginner's pursuit of the truth is just the whole body of the orig-inal state of experience. This is why [the Buddhist patriarchs] teach, in the practical cautions they have handed down to us, not to expect any experi-ence outside of practice. And the reason may be that [practice itself] is the directly accessible original state of experience. Because practice is just experi-ence, the experience is endless; and because experience is practice, the prac-tice has no beginning. This is how both the Tathågata Íåkyamuni and the Venerable Patriarch Mahåkåßyapa were received and used by the practice that exists in the state of experience.
(Both practice and experience are completely one, and they can never be separate)
In intellectual philosophy people usually think that the concept practice and the concept experience are separate, but in the philosophy of Action, it is impossible for us to separate Action into two parts of practice and experience. The concepts, practice and experience, can be separate, but in Action, the concepts, practice and experience, can never be separate into two, and Action must always exist only one without any separation.
Therefore in Buddhism we should never forget the perfect oneness of Action between practice and experience. So even now it is just the practice, which is perfectly fused into experience, and then it is impossible for a practice even by a beginner never to be not the total enlightenment itself. Practice is always just enlightenment, and so the enlightenment can never have end, and practice is just enlightenment, the practice of the enlightenment does not have any beginning.
In short, if we continue practice of Zazen everyday, we can never lose the enlightenment at all.
20) Remember that even in the state of attainment of the truth, we should practice.
(Our Zazen exists always in enlightenment)
Therefore we should think that we are always sitting in Zazen just being enlightened.
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21) Therefore we should just hasten to understand the principle that the mental eternal. Even if we passed our whole life in idle sitting, what could we expect to gain? The doc-trine I have expressed like this is truly in accord with the truth of the bud-dhas and the patriarchs, is it not?"
I say: The view expressed now is absolutely not the Buddha's Dharma; it is the view of the non-Buddhist Senika.
(The enlightenment can never be intellectual understanding)
In intellectual philosophy people usually think that the enlightenment in Buddhism might be also a kind of intellectual understanding inevitably. This idea is completely wrong. Buddhism can never belong to any kind of intellectual philosophy, and so the buddhist enlightenment can never belong to a kind of intellectual understanding, but it is just physical and mental state of body and mind.
Therefore if we think that Buddhist enlightenment is just a kind of intellectual understanding, such idea is completely wrong in Buddhism. Therefore Master Dogen insists that a person, who has such a kind of wrong understanding belong to the same thinker as a person, who is called non-Buddhist Senika in the Age of Gautama Buddha.
22) If we equate the present wrong view that mind is eternal but forms perish with the splendid Dharma of the buddhas, thinking that we have escaped life and death when we are promoting the original cause of life and death, are we not being stupid? That would be most pitiful. Knowing that this [wrong view] is just the wrong view of non-Buddhists, we should not touch it with our ears.
(The idea, that mind is eternal but forms perish, can never be Buddhism)
In idealistic philosophy people usually believe that forms must perish, but mind is eternal, however, that kind of idea is completely wrong in Buddhism. If we think that such a wrong idea is just the same as Gautama Buddha's teachings, even though we are making the real cause of worrying
about life and death, we become stupidly satisfied with being deluded by such a wrong idea other than Buddhism. Therefore we should think that such a kind of stupid and wrong idea is just non-
Buddhist idea. We should never have such wrong idea touch our ears at all.
23) Nevertheless, I cannot help wanting to save you from this wrong view and it is only compas-sionate [for me] now [to try]. So remember, in the Buddha-Dharma, because the body and mind are originally one reality, the saying that essence and form are not two has been understood equally in the Western Heavens and the Eastern Lands, and we should never dare to go against it. Further, in the lineages that discuss eternal existence, the myriad dharmas are all eternal existence: body and mind are not divided. And in the lineages that discuss extinction, all dharmas are extinction: essence and form are not divided.
(In Buddhism essence and form can never be divided into two parts at all)
In Buddhism the body and mind are originally one reality, therefore essence and form are believed in India and in the Eastern Lands like China absolutely. Therefore we should never go against the
principle.
And futhermore when we discuss eternity in a division, everything belongs to eternity, therefore it is impossible for us to divide anything sometimes eternal, sometimes extinguish, and when we discuss extinction, we should think the problem on the basis of extinction, it is not permissible for us to divide anything, sometimes eternal, and sometimes extinguish.
24) The principle that body and mind are one reality is being constantly spoken by the Buddha-Dharma. So how could it be, on the contrary, that while this body appears and disappears, the mind independently leaves the body and does not appear or disappear? If there is a time when [body and mind] are one reality, and another time when they are not one reality, then it might naturally follow that the Buddha's preach-ing has been false.
(The oneness between body and mind is just the eternal principle in Buddhism)
Buddhism always believe in the oneness between body and mind. Therefore it is completely impossible for us to insist that when the body vanishes, the mind can only survive alone.
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25) Keeping the precepts, and pure conduct, are the standard of the Zen lineages and the usual habit of Buddhist patriarchs.
(Keeping the precepts, and pure conduct, are inevitable criteria of Buddhism)
The reason, why we, Buddhists, practice Zazen everyday, is, having the autonomic nervous system balanced everyday, we want to keep ourselves in the state of self-regulation to be able to follow morals in our daily life. Therefore we can say that the reason, why we practice Zazen everyday, is that by keeping the autonomic nervous system balanced every moment, we want to maintain our self-regulating ability to follow morals in our daily life.
In spiritual religions there are usually common tendency that it is the most important matter for human beings to be faithful in God, and it is not so important for human beings to follow morals.
But in Buddhism, we think that God is the Universe, and the Universe is God, and so we Buddhists revere following morals so much in our daily life, because morals are the Rule of the Universe, and so morals are orders of God.
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26) [Someone] asks, "Should this practice also be undertaken by lay men and lay women, or is it performed only by people who have left home?"
I say: An ancestral master has been heard to say that, with respect to under-standing of the Buddha-Dharma, we must not choose between men and women, high or low.
(Not only priests or nuns, but both laymen and laywomen should practice Zazen everyday)
Buddhism, or Zazen, does never exist only for Buddhist priets and nuns, but Buddhism, or Zazen, exists for all human beings. It is very important for everyone to have his or her autonomic nervous system balnced. Because when we can keep our autonomic nervous system balanced, we can be
true human beings, and when our sympathetic nervous system a little stronger, we are prone to be a little too much spiritual, and when our parasympathetic nervous system a little stronger, we are prone to be a little too much material.
27) [Someone] asks, "People who leave home get free of all involvements at once, so they have no hindrances in practicing Zazen and pursuing the truth. How can a busy lay person devotedly do training and be at one with the unintentional state of Buddhist truth?"
I say: In general, the Buddhist Patriarch, overfilled with pity, left open a wide and great gate of compassion so that all living beings could experience and enter [the state of truth]; what human being or god could not want to enter?
(Even laymen and laywomen should practice Zazen everyday)
Even in the case of laymen or laywomen, if they do not practice Zazen everyday, they can have someday to have stable days for being balanced, but they have someday to have unstable days, when they can not practice Zazen actually. And in such situations their daily life must be someday balanced, and someday unbalanced, and so their daily life can never be stable constantly at all. Therefore if we want to become happy by practicing Zazen, it is necessary for us to practice Zazen everyday.
Of course in the case of laymen and laywomen, it is usually very busy for them to work for their secular jobs, therefore if we do not want to give up practicing Zazen everyday, even in the case of secular people, we should manage our daily life to become able to practice Zazen everyday.
28) This [practice-and-experience] rests only upon whether or not the will is present; it does not relate to whether the body stays at home or leaves home. Moreover, any person who profoundly discerns the superi-ority or inferiority of things will naturally have belief. Still more, those who think that worldly affairs hinder the Buddha-Dharma only know that there is no Buddha-Dharma in the world; they do not know that there are no worldly dharmas in the state of Buddha.
（Getting the Truth does not rely upon whether a practioner is a monk or nun at all)
Master Dogen bravely says that whether a mon or a woman will get the Truth, or not, just relies upon whether he or she has the will to the Truth, or not, and there is no mutual relation between getting the Truth, or not, and whether he or she is a monk or a nun, at all. And furthermore he says that "Moreover, any person who profoundly discerns the superi-ority or inferiority of things will naturally have belief."
And relating with such a problem Master Dogen proclaims that secular societies do not really exist at all. Because the secular societies are only human supposition, which has been produced by human mental ability. And at the same time the secular societies are only sensuous stimuli, which have accidentally occurred in human sensuous organs. In other words we, Buddhists, do never believe in the real existence of continuous thoughts, therefore it is difficult for us to believe in the real existence of constant thoughts. At the same time it is impossible for us to suppose the continuous existence of sensuous stimuli in our sensuous organs. and so it is also impossible for us to affirm the real existence of sensuous stimuli at all.
Therefore we have to think that the Real World can exist only just at the present moment.
In such a meaning it is impossible for us to believe in the continuous thoughts and all, and it is also impossible for us to insist the continuous existence of this world at all.
In short, we can say that we are just living at the present moment, and so the world is also only momentary at the present moment. Therefore we have to think that the secular societies, which we think, do not exist continuously, and the secular societies, which we perceive, do not exists continuously.
29) In the great Kingdom of Sung, the present generation of kings and ministers, officials and common-ers, men and women, all apply their mind to the Patriarch's truth, without exception. Both the military and literary classes are resolved to practice [Za]zen and to learn the truth. Those who resolve it will, in many cases, un-doubtedly clarify the mental state. Thus, it can naturally be inferred that worldly affairs do not hinder the Buddha-Dharma.
(Worldly affairs do not have any power to hinder the Buddhist Rules in the Universe at all)
People usually think that worldly affairs can have power to change the Buddhist Rules in the Universe actually, but such a kind of recognition might be wrong completely. Because what is realized just at the present moment is the Real Facts on the earth themselves, and such a kind of facts can never be worldly affairs at all.
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30) [Someone] asks, "Even in the present corrupt world in this latter age, is it still possible to realize the state of real experience when we perform this practice?"
I say: Philosophers have occupied themselves with such concepts and forms, but in the real teaching of the Great Vehicle, without discriminating between "right," "imitative," and "latter" Dharma, we say that all those who practice attain the state of truth.
(The theory of three kinds of degenerated ages might be apology for lazy, weak Buddhists)
In only theoretical Buddhism, people insist the existence of the three kinds of different ages, "right," "imitative," and "latter", and they insist that it is perfectly impossible for people in "latter" to realize the Truth by Zazen, but Master Dogen insists that such a vulgar theory just has come from people, who belong to only theoretical and enormously lazy Buddhists actually.
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31) The Zen Master says, "Relying upon what words were you able to enter?"
Soku says, "I once asked Seiho: Just what is the student that is I? Seiho said: The children of fire come looking for fire."
Hogen says, "Nice words. But I am afraid that you may not have understood."
Soku says, "The children of fire belong to fire. [So] I understood that their being fire yet looking for fire represented my being myself yet looking for myself."
The Zen Master says, "I have become sure that you did not understand. If the Buddha-Dharma were like that, it could never have been transmitted until today." At this Soku became embarrassed and distressed, and he stood up [to leave]. [But] on the road he thought, "The Zen Master is [respected] throughout the country [as] a good counselor, and he is a great guiding master to five hun-dred people. There must surely have been some merit in his criticism of my wrongness."
[Soku] goes back to the Zen Master to confess and to prostrate himself in apology. Then he asks, "Just what is the student that is I?" The Zen Master says, "The children of fire come looking for fire." Under the influence of these words, Soku grandly realized the Buddha-Dharma. Clearly, the Buddha-Dharma is never known with the intellectual under-standing that we ourselves are just buddha. If the intellectual understand-ing that we ourselves are just buddha were the Buddha-Dharma, the Zen Master could not have guided [Soku] by using the former words, and he would not have admonished [Soku] as he did.
(We should notice the difference between intellectual world and actual World)
The story indicates the absolute difference between the intellectual area and actual area. Soku has understood that it is just enlightenment for a person to understand the meaning of the words "The children of fire come looking for fire." intellectually, and so he has be thinking that he has got the enlightenment many years ago.
But Master Hogen has supposed that such a kind of misunderstanding exists in Soku's mind, and so Master Hogen doubtes whether Soku has got enlightened, or not. After listening to Soku's explanations, Master Hogen has clearly noticed that Soku has understood the meaning of the words just intellectually. Therefore Master Hogen has criticised that Soku hasn't realized the true meaning of the words.
But Soku has had so strong self-confidence in his understaning the words. Therefore, having so strong anger, he has been going to leave the temple. On the way, however, Soku has reflected that
Mster Hogen has been a so famous Buddhist Master in China at that time. So Soku has wanted to ask the same question to Master again once more.
And the most important difference between Soku's former time and the latter time, is the absolute difference in the former intellectual attitude and the latter so sincere actual attitudes. Therefore when he has hear Master Hogen's real words "The children of fire come looking for fire.", Soku has actually understand the true meaning of the words "The children of fire come looking for fire."
And generally speaking Buddhism has always so important dimensional difference between intellectual basis and actual basis, and I think that almost all other philosophies in the world other than Buddhism, does never have such a kind of valuable dimensional difference at all.
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32) I say: We should know that these people of the past and present who clari-fied the mind on seeing forms and who realized the truth on hearing sounds, were all without intellectual doubt in pursuing the truth, and just in the moment of the present there was no second person.
(It is important having no doubt in the Truth, and having no separation in our own personality)
Just before the quotation, Master Dogen insists that there are some examples, which has not rely upon Zazen, when a practitioner has got the Truth. And he proclaims that there are two important conditions, when we realize the Truth. The one is that we should never have any kind of doubt in the real existence of the Truth itself. And the second one is that we should never have the separation of our personality.
In short if we have any doubt about the real existence of the Truth, we can never arrive at the Realization. And in the second case when we have the unbalanced autonomic nervous system, it is always inevitable for us to have the consciousness, which has been separated between the physical Ego and the spiritual Ego. And in kinds of those cases we can never experience of Reality at all.
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33) Just because our country is not a nation of benevolence or wisdom and the people are dull-witted, do not think that it is impossible for us to grasp the Buddha-Dharma. Still more, all human beings have the right seeds of prajnya in abundance. It may simply be that few of us have ex-perienced the real state directly, and so we are immature in receiving and using it.
(It is not necessary for Japanese people to give up getting the Truth)
Master Dogen thinks that even though Japanese people at that time are not so benevolent or clever, and are dull-witted, but it is not necessary for us to think that Japanese people will be impossible to grasp the Truth. Because Master Dogen thinks that all human beings are full of the intuitive ability so sufficiently, and in the case of Japanese people, it has been rather rare for them to meet Reality directly, and haven't experienced yet the the balanced state of the autonimic nervous system yet.
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34) [Within] the frontiers of the spread of that teaching, what place could not be a Buddha-land? Therefore, when we want to disseminate the truth of the Buddhist patriarchs, it is not always necessary to select a [particular] place or to wait for [favorable] circumstances. Shall we just con-sider today to be the starting point?
([Within] the frontiers of the spread of that teaching, what place could not be a Buddha-land?)
Master Dogen proclaims that every place, where the teaching Buddhism pervades in the world, must
be the place of a Buddha-land. Therefore it is not necessary for us selecting the place or waiting a chance for preading Buddhism for spreading Buddhism at all. And we should think that "The present moment is just the time for us beginning it."
And I feel much interest in his last words. Because in Buddhism there is no time, which really exists, other than the present moment. Therefore we have to think that we can begin everything just at the present moment, and we can never begin anything at any time other than the present moment.
(End: Bendowa)
posted by GUDO NISHIJIMA | 8:25 AM
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