Bendowa [5]

Text

4: The Tendai school and Kegon teachings have both came across to this country; they represent the cream of Buddhism. In the Shingon school-transmitted directly from Vairocana Tathagata to Vajrasattva - there is no stain between master and disciple. This school maintains that "this mind is the Buddha", and that "this mind becomes the Buddha"; it does not advocate long step-by-step training. It teaches the simultaneous enlightenment of the five Buddhas. It is unexcelled in Buddhism. In view of all this what superiority does zazen have that you recommend it alone and exclude the other teachings?

A: You must understand that in Buddhism the stress falls on the truth or falsity of the training-not on the excellence or mediocrity of the teaching or the depth or shallowness of the principle. In times past, men were drawn to Buddhism by grass, flowers, mountains, and water. Some received the Buddha seal by grasping dirt, stones, sand, and pebbles. The dimensionless letters overflow all forms, and we can hear the sermon now in a speck of dust. "This mind is the Buddha" - these words are like a moon reflected in water; and the meaning of the words: "sitting cross-legged is itself Buddhism"? Like a figure in the mirror. Do not be victimized by clever manipulation of words. When I recommend the training of immediate enlightenment, I want to make you a true human being by indicating the superior path transmitted by the Buddhas and patriarchs. To transmit the Buddha law you should always make the enlightened person your Zen master. Don't follow a scholar who counts the letters of the scripture. This would be like the blind leading the blind. In the teachings directly transmitted from the Buddhas and patriarchs, the Buddha law is sustained by respect for the enlightened person. When the Gods of darkness and light reject the Zen masters and when the enlightened Arhats ask the path, they provide the means of opening the Buddha Mind. In the other teachings we could not endure it. The followers of Buddhism only have to study the Buddha law.

You must understand that we do not lack the highest wisdom. Though we enjoy it eternally, we do not always harmonize with it. This is because we meet setbacks on the Great Way through clinging to individual opinion and chasing after material things. Through individual opinions various phantoms arise. For example, there are countless views on the 12 chains of transmigration, the 25 worlds, the three vehicles, the five vehicles, the Buddha, and the non-Buddha. Training in the true path does not require learning these opinions. So when we sit cross-legged, depending on the Buddha sign and abandoning all things, we can enjoy great wisdom. We enter at once the superior field beyond delusion and enlightenment - a field without distinction between sage and commoner. How can one who clings to verbal tools rise up to this?

Interpretation
This is a very interesting passage. The questioning now moves to other schools of Buddhism that were dominant in Japan at the time. Tendai, Kegon and Shingon are other Japanese Mahayana schools teaching similar things to Zen but with more emphasis on sutra study and philosophy and a bit less emphasis on zazen. The questioner wants to know why zazen should be superior to the other schools.

Dogen replies by saying that what is important in Buddhism is the effectiveness of the practice not theoretical understanding - variations in doctrine are unimportant because they are not to be understood as dogma. The real meaning of Buddhism goes beyond words and letters and can be equally understood from the forms of nature around us. It is worth noting here that although Dogen sometimes appears rather dogmatic himself - insisting in the previous questions that zazen is the only true gate of Buddhism - here he openly acknowledges the realisation of people in the past, through a variety of phenomena, 'by grasping dirt, stones, sand, and pebbles'. The true meaning of Buddhism goes beyond language. And he warns the questioner not to be fooled by words such as: 'This mind is the Buddha' (given by the quetioner as a Shingon teaching) and 'sitting cross-legged is itself Buddhism' (the Zen teaching Dogen himself is giving) and that they are like 'a moon reflected in water' and 'a figure in the mirror'. That is, they are just devices to help the listener to truly realise the meaning of Buddhism - they are not dogmas or metaphysical claims or philosophical arguments to be pondered. They should not be clung to and they should not be taken literally - they are merely metaphors.

Teachers who are attached to theoretical, dogmatic understanding lead people astray as they don't understand the real meaning themselves. The person to follow is an enlightened person not a scholar.

You must understand that we do not lack the highest wisdom. Though we enjoy it eternally, we do not always harmonize with it.

This is an expression of Dogen's most characteristic teaching - an answer to the doubt he had when he left Japan for China in his youth - "Both the esoteric and external doctrines of the Buddha teach that enlightenment is inherent in all beings from the outset. If this is so, why do all the Buddhas, past, present, and future, seek enlightenment?". This is a theme that comes up again and again in Dogen's work and is the central subject of the Genjokoan.

Now Dogen brings it back to Zazen - why zazen is the Buddha Gate rather than intellectual opinionating. We get 'out of harmony' because we meet setbacks on the Great Way through clinging to individual opinion and chasing after material things. Through individual opinions various phantoms arise. For example, there are countless views on the 12 chains of transmigration, the 25 worlds, the three vehicles, the five vehicles, the Buddha, and the non-Buddha. Training in the true path does not require learning these opinions. So when we sit cross-legged, depending on the Buddha sign and abandoning all things, we can enjoy great wisdom. We enter at once the superior field beyond delusion and enlightenment - a field without distinction between sage and commoner. How can one who clings to verbal tools rise up to this? Again he makes it clear that attachment to views and philosophy is not true Buddhism - it is dualism, samsara. Only the all-inclusive, non-dualistic mind of someone who sits in open, unattached and inner stillness of zazen realises the Dharma.

Bendowa [4]

Text

3: Such reasons as correct transmission by the unexcelled method of the Tathagatas and following in the footsteps of the patriarchs are beyond common
sense. To ordinary people, reading the sutra and saying the Nembutsu are the
natural means to enlightenment. You just sit cross-legged and do nothing. How is
this a means to enlightenment?

A: You look on the meditation of the Buddhas and the supreme law as just sitting and doing nothing. You disparage Mahayana Buddhism. Your delusion is deep; you are like someone in the middle of the ocean crying out for water. Fortunately we are already sitting at ease in the self-joyous meditation of the Buddhas. Isn't this a great boon? What a pity that your true-eye remains shut-that your mind remains drunk. The world of the Buddhas eludes ordinary thinking and consciousness. It cannot be known by disbelief and inferior knowledge. To enter one must have right belief. The disbeliever, even if taught, has trouble grasping it. For example, when the Buddha was preaching at Grdhrakuta, the disbelievers were allowed to go away. To bring out the right belief in your mind you must train and study. If you cannot do this, you should quit for awhile, regretting that you lack the influence of
the law from a former beneficial relation. What good are such actions as reading
the sutras and saying the Nembutsu. How futile to think that Buddhist merits
accrue from merely moving the tongue and raising the voice. If you think this
covers Buddhism, you are far from the truth. Your only purpose in reading the
sutras should be to learn thoroughly that the Buddha taught the rules of gradual
and sudden training and that by practicing his teachings you can obtain enlightenment. You should not read the sutras merely to pretend to wisdom
through vain intellections. To strive for the goal of Buddhism by reading many
sutras is like pointing the hill to the north and heading south. It is like putting a square peg in a round hole. While you look at words and phrases, the path of your training remains dark. This is as worthless as a doctor who forgets his prescription. Constant repetition of the Nembutsu is also worthless-like a frog in a spring field croaking night and day. Those deluded by fame and fortune, find it especially difficult to abandon the nembutsu. Bound by deep roots to a profit-seeking mind, they existed in ages past, and they exist today. They are to be pitied. Understand only this: if enlightened Zen masters and their earnest disciples correctly transmit the supreme law of the seven Buddhas, its essence emerges, and it can be experienced. Those who merely study the letters of the sutras cannot know this. So put a stop to this doubt and delusion. Follow the teachings of a real master and, by zazen; attain to the self-joyous samadhi of the Buddhas.

Interpretation
When it is suggested that zazen is 'just sitting and doing nothing' Dogen accuses the questioner of delusion and of blindness to what is all around him - you are like someone in the middle of the ocean crying out for water. This is interesting - he is pointing the questioner to reality that is within and all around him - sometimes this is called 'Buddha nature'. This point is even more explicit when he says Fortunately we are already sitting at ease in the self-joyous meditation of the Buddhas. Isn't this a great boon? What a pity that your true-eye remains shut-that your mind remains drunk
To enter one must have right belief. This corresponds directly to the Right View aspect of the Eightfold Path
He then turns the question around and queries how chanting the Nembutsu and reading the sutras in themselves could ever lead to awakening. The Nembutsu practice is chanting the name of Amida Buddha - the Buddha of compassion - in the hope or faith that Amida's will compassionately take one to the 'Pure Land' of Buddhas after death. This form of Buddhism has evolved into a supernatural form not unlike animism or theistic religion. It relies on chanting (rather than understanding) sutras to invoke the aid of imaginary beings for efficacy in taking one to an imaginary and happier place. It is superstitious and dualistic. Repeating them like parrots, they don't understand that the sutras are training instructions. What difference should it make to the universe whether we chant or not. Such practices are captured by dualistic delusions and attachments. With correct communication, enlightenment is something which can be experienced for oneself. So, Dogen urges them to give up doubt and delusion and practice zazen with a zen master to experience this for yourselves.

He is similarly scornful of 'reading many sutras', saying that it is merely intellectual vanity and that the only purpose of it is 'to learn thoroughly that the Buddha taught the rules of gradual and sudden training and that by practicing his teachings you can obtain enlightenment'. It's interesting to note that Dogen at least considers both gradual and sudden training to be valid. Other than that he has so far insisted that there is just one gate: zazen.

Bendowa [3]

Overview
Dogen now very kindly uses a very modern-seeming device - Frequently Asked Questions.

Text

1: I have heard of the superior merits of zazen. But an ordinary person
will have doubts and say there are many gates in Buddhism. Why do you urge only
zazen?
A: Because it is the right gate to Buddhism - this is my answer to
him.
2: Why is it the only right gate?
A: The great teacher Sakyamuni
handed down this unexcelled method of enlightenment. And the Tathagatas of the
past, present, and future were similarly enlightened by zazen. They, too,
transmitted it as the right gate. The patriarchs in India and China were also
enlightened by zazen. For this reason, I now indicate the right gate for human
beings and heaven.

Interpretation
Dogen's claim that zazen is the only way to realise enlightenment is quite radical and controversial. The Pali Canon teaches that the path of Buddhism is an Eightfold Path:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

Zazen only covers the last two or maybe three of these. Why does Dogen emphasise a 'Onefold Path'? Also there were (and are) schools with similar claims about their own methods - in Rinzai Zen, satori by koan practice (but still supported by zazen) is the gate to Buddhism and in Pure Land Buddhism chanting the name of Amida Buddha is the gate. Dogen here validates zazen as the only method of realisation by invoking the authority of the lineage of patriarchs back to Shakyamuni Buddha, claiming that zazen was the method of realisation for them all. But it isn't that he says the other aspects of the path are not necessary, - elsewhere he talks of the importance of the precepts, and of following a disciplines monk's life, and he uses koans in his writings - it's just that he gives zazen paramount importance.

Bendowa [2]

Text

On awakening of the desire to seek the way, I visited Buddhist masters in
all parts of the country. Finally I met Zenko (Myozen, disciple of Eisai) at
Kennin temple. The nine years that If served as his follower passed quickly.
From him I heard about the Rinzai style. Zenko, as the leading disciple of
Eisai, truly transmitted the highest Buddhism. Other disciples could not compare
with him. I also went to China, visited Zen masters of both Cheh-chiang
(Chekiang, formerly divided into east and west), and heard about the styles of
the five schools. Finally I studied with Zen master Ju-sting (Nyojo) on Ta-p'ein
(Taihaku) peak. In this was I completed the valuable training for my life. After
that at the beginning of the Shotei period (1227), I returned to Japan. Because
I had the idea of spreading the Law and saving all beings, I was like a man
carrying a heavy burden. Then I thought of abandoning this idea of spreading the
Law and wait for a more propitious time. I wandered here and there for some time
sincerely trying to teach the style of the former Zen master. There are true
trainees who deliberately shun fame and profit and concentrate on the search for
the way. But unfortunately they are misled by false masters, so real
understanding is veiled and the trainees uselessly become drunk with self-
madness and drown for long years in the world of delusion. How can the right
seed of wisdom sprout and the chance for enlightenment be grasped? I am now
wandering here and there like a cloud or water grass - what mountain or river
shall I visit? Because I sympathize with such seekers, I went to China, saw the
form and style of the monasteries, and received the essence of the Zen teaching.
Gathering and recording all this, I am leaving it for the trainees so that they
may be helped toward knowing the essence of Buddhism.

Interpretation
This is a straightforward summary of Dogen's personal quest to understand true Buddhism and spread it in Japan.

Text

Isn't this the core of Zen? Buddha Sakyamuni transmitted the right law to
Mahakasyapa on Grdhrakuta Mountain, and a long line of patriarchs handed it down
to Bodhidharma. And Bodhidharma went to China and transmitted the right law to
Hui-k'o (Eka).

This started the transmission of Zen
Buddhism to the East. Transmitted thus in its essential purity, it came down by
a natural route to the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-neng. At this time true Buddhism was
transmitted to China, and it expressed a meaning free from trivialities. The
Sixth Patriarch had two outstanding disciples- Nan-yueh Huai-jang and
Ch'ing-yuan Hsing-ssu. Together they transmitted the Buddha seal; they were
leaders of man and heaven. These two schools spread, and five styles of Zen
appeared. They were the schools of Fa-yen, Wei-yang, Ts'ao-tung, Yun-men, and
Lin-chi. In present-day China only the Lin-chi (Rinzai) school is flourishing.
Although the five schools differ, they are all based on the single seal of the
Buddha Mind. From the later Han period to the present in China, the scriptures
of the other teachings were propagated, but it was impossible to determine which
was best. With the coming of Bodhidharma from India the root of the conflict was
abruptly cut, and pure Buddhism spread. We must also try to do the same in our
country. All the Buddhas and patriarchs who transmitted Buddhism considered
sitting and practicing self-joyous meditation the true way of enlightenment. The
enlightened ones in both the East and West followed this style. This is because
the masters and their disciples correctly transmitted this superior method from
person to person and received the uncorrupted truth.

Interpretation
Dogen is describing the transmission of awakening from Shakyamuni Buddha to his present day and the history of the Zen schools. He also describes 'self-joyous' meditation as the way of enlightenment.

Bendowa [1]

Overview
The Bendowa is the first section of the Shobogenzo and is an introduction and summary of the rest of the work. The title can be translated as 'A Talk about Pursuing the Truth'. The first part of Bendowa is called Jijiyuzammai (self-joyous meditation).

Text

The various Buddhas and Tathagatas have a most enlightened way of realizing superior wisdom and transmitting the supreme law. When transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, its mark is self-joyous meditation. To enter this meditation naturally, right sitting is the true gate. Though each man has Buddha-nature in abundance, he cannot make it appear without practice or live it without enlightenment. If you let it go, it fills your hand; it transcends the one and many. If you talk about it, it fills your mouth; it is beyond measurement by height and width. All Buddhas eternally have their abode here without becoming attached to one-sided recognition. All beings are working here without attachment to sides in each recognition. The devices and training that I teach now manifest all things in original enlightenment and express unity in action. And when you thoroughly understand, why cling to such trifles as these?

Interpretation
The true understanding of Buddhism has been spread from one buddha to another by a method of meditation characterised by joy which is not dependent on external conditions. Sitting in the correct way is neccessary.

Though each man has Buddha-nature in abundance, he cannot make it appear without practice or live it without enlightenment.
Everyone has Buddha-nature, but Buddhist practice is required to make it appear.

If you let it go, it fills your hand
Even when we do not pursue it or try to understand it, it is intimate to existence.

it transcends the one and many
It is limited to neither oneness nor multiplicity.
This non-dualism of the ordinary and enlightened perspectives (or relative and absolute or samsara and nirvana) comes up again and again in the Shobogenzo and other Mahayana Buddhist texts, for example in the Heart Sutra, the expression 'Form is emptiness, emptiness is form'. Even though this understanding emerged out of the Pali Canon, sometimes earlier forms of Buddhism taught in a dualistic manner with a clear distinction between Buddhas and ordinary beings, pure and impure, practice and attainment etc - treating each of these as if it had independent existence. This is dharma from the perspective of samsara. Mahayana Buddhism attempts to indicate something beyond this.

it is beyond measurement by height and width.
It is the reality that lies beyond definition and measurement - beyond conceptual and linguistic convention.

All Buddhas eternally have their abode here without becoming attached to one-sided recognition.
One-sided recognition is understanding of reality only in terms of either conventional (relative)description or only in terms of absolute reality ('oneness' or 'emptiness'), both of these are incomplete, dualistic understanding. True understanding of Buddhism includes both of these and allows freedom to move between these two perspectives and beyond all dualities.

And when you thoroughly understand, why cling to such trifles as these?
Dogen is teaching the means to enlightenment but when enlightenment is attained, we will have such a perspective that his teachings will seem too trivial to be attached to. When liberation is attained we can go beyond even Buddhism itself.

Introduction

With this blog I intend to go through the Shobogenzo analysing the text in detail. I'm not an authority on Dogen or Buddhism nor do I know Japanese, although I am a practicing Zen Buddhist. The real purpose of this blog is to further my own understanding. Hopefully this will be useful for other students of Dogen and I would really appreciate any feedback.

The Shobogenzo is a long and, at times, difficult text. While much of it is relatively conventional there are sections (such as the Genjokoan), which consist of sometimes paradoxical style of poetic philosophy which is difficult to make sense of without reference to Buddhist texts which may now be obscure.

Let me be clear. I don't think that the deep meaning of Buddhism can be grasped with the intellect, however it can be indicated. If we can't even see the finger clearly, how will we find the moon it points to?