No Reality without Truth and Sincerity

Dear Master Gudo Wafu Nishijima,

We can enjoy now your so valuable explanations on important principles in Shobogenzo,
thank you! Here some questions today.


(Gudo) Dear Mr Siegfried Hohlfeld,

Thank you very much for your clear and important questions. My answers are as follow.

Gudo Wafu Nishijima


Q1: How to put out the fire of a perfectly lost belief in the existence of the Truth
in the head of modern mankind?

(Gudo) If we want to find the ultimate Truth of Realism, we need recognize that Idealistic philosophy can never be real, and Materialistic philosophy can never be real.

How to get rid of the habits of defective actions for fame and profit?

(Gudo) If we want to forget desires for fame and profit, it is necessary for us to make our ANS balanced. The cause of stronger desire for fame comes from the stronger SNS, and the cause of stronger desire for profit comes from the stronger PNS.

How to re-establish the will to the Truth, the surrender to Sincerity?

(Gudo) The will to the Truth is our human natural desire, and so if we notice that desires for fame and profit are our childish fantastic dreams, then we can notice that the Universe is just the Truth.

Q2: How to find self-control, a refuge, some kind of rigid indifference to stop mind
from involvement with wrong worldly affairs and be taken away from our daily
Zazen-practice?

(Gudo) The balance of ANS is just the cause of self-control itself. The balanced ANS guards us from all extremity, and so we can always live in a refuge. When ANS is balanced, the strength of SNS and PNS have become equal, therefore the strength of desire for fame and profit have to become plus/minus=zero. Zazen is the action having ANS balanced. Therefore Zazen is the cause of making ANS balanced. So Master Dogen described Zazen as the practice to estaplish the Truth just in the delusion.

Q4: How to get away from intellectual consideration?

(Gudo) Zazen is the practice to stop thinking and feeling. Zazen is never thinking or feeling, but Zazen is just action, which can save us from thinking and feeling. By keeping us in the authentic posture, by such an action we can throw away thinking and feeling. Therefore we can be saved from thinking and feeling.

Q5: How to re-establish the will to the Truth?

(Gudo) The will to the Truth is our innate tendency, and so if we have thrown away our desire for fame and profit, the will to the truth may be maintained alone.

Q6: Could our belief in Reality keep us away from Reality?

(Gudo) No. I think that the situation is opposite. By keeping the belief in Reality, we can always live in Reality.

Can we drop all imagination and value for an open Intuition?

(Gudo) In Buddhism intuition is revered so much. We think that intellectual consideration or sensuous perception are not so reliable, but human ability of intuition in the balanced state of ANS is the most reliable basis of decision. I think that such a kind of reverence to intuition does not exist in the western civilization, but the reverence of intuition is necessary in Buddhism because of its philosophical system.


Thank you for your time listening,good health, best wishes

Siegfried



(Gudo) Thank you very much for your nice questions. I couldn't find your question (3), and so I am worrying about whether it is OK, or not.

With best wishes Gudo Wafu Nishijima