Repeat the ceremony-this is very important. And very simple. Only sampai. It is better to repeat the ceremony than only to look. Those who practice do better than those who only observe. It is not the same as when you are at the theater." Ceremony is not the theater. Another question? No? So it is time to stop.
QUESTION: I have a question.
Master: Tomorrow, tomorrow, Madame.
Madame: It is only a little question.
Master: Ah? A little question? Alright, a little question.
Madame: When the kyosakumen gives the kyosaku does he give it as strongly to big people as he does to little people?
Master: No, not the same. The kyosakumen have been taught to give it differently to weak people like you.
Madame: Well, one of the kyosakumen hit me very hard. But before they didn't hit me hard.
Master: So? Never mind. It is better that way. You should say to the kyosakuman: Thank you very much.... Certainly it is because your posture seen from behind looks very strong. In the beginning surely you were weak. But now you are stronger. That is why you now receive a stronger kyosaku. A strong kyosaku is better; it is not a massage, the kyosaku. A soft kyosaku is not at all effective. If I give you the kyosaku, I give it strongly, and you can get satori.
JULY 27 / 8.30 P. M.
EXACT CRITICISM, THE WORDS OF BUDDHA
When we criticize people, it is best that we criticize exactly. In modem civilization mothers are too soft with their children and so we have the modern crisis. Mothers are too soft, they do not give correct criticism, and the children make mistakes. The more intelligent children expect criticism from their parents. But the parents are more stupid than their children, and when the criticism does not come, the children are not happy and soon they leave their families.
One must criticize exactly. But egoistic criticism is not good. Politicians in modern times criticize others for their own advantage. But real criticism is necessary and it can help the future development of civilization. It is so written in Shodoka. The words of criticism, if given exactly, are the nectarean words of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Most people do not like criticism. But they should. They should say thank you.
Yet, most criticism is wrong.
Most people who are crazy-it is because of their mothers. The mother has two lovers in the same house, and the child becomes complicated.... Those who commit suicide, those who are neurotic-the mental hospitals are full of them. Why? Because of the education of the mothers.
The feminine movement is not necessary. Here, during this sesshin, there is one woman who is doing propaganda for the woman's movement. Do it outside, but not during sesshin. There is no point in coming to sesshin to do that.... There is another woman here who has been with us for many years, and now she too helps the woman's movement. She is a "golden" disciple.14 I don't understand. She is heading in the direction of a small disciple.
Dogen's criticism of Rinzai in Shobogenzo is exact. Shobogenzo is not a dramatic work, nor is it theatrical; yet for me it is very interesting.
My disciple, Monsieur Brosse, published a criticism of Professor D.T. Suzuki's Zen. His criticism was exact.
Someone (I don't want to give the name-he's the VicePresident of Zen d'Europe) said that one must not criticize the Professor Suzuki. This Vice-President is not at all intelligent."
In religion it is necessary to criticize. Without enough criticism religion falls. As with Christianity. Christ himself understood this, and he criticized. He made criticisms and he was condemned to death for them, and he still continued to criticize. Christ was big and now he lives for eternity.
Rinzai had been a disciple of Obaku. And he received sixty blows from the kyosaku. Finally he went to visit Master Taigu, the Great Fool.... Then Rinzai returned to Obaku, and the story became famous. And from here on, Rinzai became the number one disciple of Obaku. And Rinzai transmitted the true Zen of Obaku.
Most people believe that Rinzai's Zen is greater than Obaku's Zen. But Rinzai Zen is foolish.
For three years he did not ask one question of his master, Obaku. He was scared to go to Obaku's room, and all he did was zazen. So the shusso insisted he go see the master.
"You have no question to ask?"
"No," said Rinzai.
(Then why become a monk? To become a monk one must have an important question to ask at some time.)
Obaku gave Rinzai the rensaku and Rinzai escaped. "Why did you leave the master's room so quickly?" the shusso asked. "Very painful," replied Rinzai. "The master's kyosaku is very strong and I was afraid."
At this time Rinzai was too weak, too timid-like the woman in the mondo today.
Dogen's cricitisms are deep, strong and exact. If you become a monk, you must concentrate on your own proper problem. It is not necessary to think about the mad woman.
Until today Rinzai hasn't created one real, true phrase. All he did was to imitate other masters. That he hit Obaku, good. Good theater. But in doing this, all Rinzai did was to imitate Master Taigu.16 Taigu educated him, and all Rinzai did after that was to imitate him. Only imitation. To be a great master, you must create.
Goethe wrote Faust; I was impressed by Goethe. But I am not impressed by this kind of acting. Only playing. Only imitating. The successors of Rinzai are only actors. While Goethe, when he wrote Faust, he created it. This is Zen.
One must create from the bottom of mind. This way others are influenced. Actors, when they create from their own experiences, then their acting also influences others. This is art. This is creation. The error of democracy is that people imitate others and do not create anything. They have forgotten to create. To create is very important. During zazen the power of creation arises automatically, unconsciously, naturally. Certainly if you continue zazen your power of creation will become great. I certify this.... So please, continue zazen.... There is only one day and a half left.
Chukai!
JULY 28/7A. M.
THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF RINZAI
I will now explain the Rinzai Shi Ryoken. Shi means four. So the Shi Ryoken are the four principles of the Rinzai sect.
According to the tenth chapter of Rinzai Roku, Rinzai explains the Four Principles as follows: "Sometimes I snatch away the man but not the environment (surroundings, objects); sometimes I snatch away the environment but not the man. Sometimes I snatch away both the man and the environment; (and, fourthly,) sometimes I snatch away neither man nor environment."
This statement has become famous and it is the principles of Rinzai.
Rinzai Roku Chapter Ten continues:
"A monk asked the master: 'How do you snatch away the man but not the environment?'
Rinzai replied: 'The warm sunshine covers the earth in a rug of brocade. The hair of the child is white like a silk thread.'
The monk asked: 'How do you snatch away the environment but not the man?'
Rinzai: 'When the king commands, his orders extend up to the generals on the frontier, and the fighting ceases.'
Monk: 'How do you snatch away both man and environment?'
Rinzai: 'The provinces of Hei and of Fu are cut off entirely, each alone in its own place.'
Monk: 'How do you not snatch away man or environment?'
Rinzai: 'When the king enters his precious palace, the peasants in the field burst into song.' "►'
These are analytic methods of thinking based on four categories.
In European philosophy there exists the material dialectics of the Communists, of Marxism and of Leninism, with their system of the three theses: the thesis, the anti-thesis, the synthesis. There also exists Einstein's theory of relativity.
In the Orient it is more complex; western relativity is dualistic. For occidental science this theory, this affirmation and negation, this thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis, is enough. It is a more intellectual method, a more dualistic method, and so it is less complex than in the Orient.
Western political movements, the masculine-feminine movement-they like
the monsieur-madame dualism.... Women criticizing men.... (Even during sesshin.) Always this dualism. So it is not possible to harmonize.... This works for a while. But then comes the divorce.
There is no way to harmonize these opposing dualities. And so we have the fatality which exists in occidental philosophy.
Even here the women militate for the woman's movement. Even between man-and-man dualism arises: the man becomes a woman. A homosexual. This shows the sickness of the civilization.
Zen is beyond this: there is no man, no woman. During zazen, no female, no male. No masculine, no feminine. The sexual organs are not at all important. Women in zazen are better off-they don't have testicles which get in their way.
Dualism is not good, not convenient.... It is difficult for me in French to distinguish the masculine from the feminine. Some rivers are masculine, others feminine. La Seine, le Rhin. Same with the mountains.
In Indian logic there exist four elements. Rinzai imitated this. The Principles of Rinzai are not at all principles created by Rinzai.
In the Hannya Shingyo we have shiki soku ze ku, ku soku ze shiki (form is emptiness, emptiness is form). Shiki is the first principle (i.e., sometimes I snatch away the man, but not the environment).
So, the first principle is to throw away the man but not the environment. Man is the subjective-while environment, the object, is the objective. So the first principle is the negation of the subjective, and the affirmation of the objective. (To say it differently:) Shiki is the objective, the phenomenon, while ku is the subjective-it is not shiki but the void. (Shiki means phenomenon and ku means emptiness.)
The second principle: sometimes I snatch away the environment, but not the man. The environment is the objective. So we have negation of the object and affirmation of the subject.
So we only have shiki, and not ku.
The third principle: sometimes I throw away both man and environment. This is the negation of both. Here the subject and the object are both denied.
The fourth principle: neither are snatched away. It is the affirmation of both.
So the first is the object, not the subject. The second is the subject, not the object. The third is the negation of both. The fourth is the affirmation of both.
In Rinzai Roku Rinzai explains that he does not reject either. Like this, like that. And Rinzai disciples say that their method of education, that these Four Principles, are very deep philosophy.
But their method of education is not at all creative, not at all fresh, and only imitation taken from ancient Indian logic.
In occidental science you have the synthesis of the three degrees, and for them this is enough.
The world is limited. Secondly, the world is infinite. Thirdly, it is limited but unlimited: man or woman. This is the negation. In this case nothing can be decided, discovered, resolved: this is skepticism. The world is not limited, nor is it infinite.... And fourthly, the world is both limited and unlimited: this is the compromise.
These four categories are necessary.
In dialectics there is no doubt, no skepticism. Only thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. But in our daily lives it is not like this.... I love you. You love me? No. Sometimes love, sometimes not.... So with this, the double personality appears. Much more appears too: doubt, skepticism.... The body loves but the mind does not. From this point of view many complications arise. The thalamus and the frontal brain find themselves in contradiction. We speak nicely, sweetly, but what we say is not what we feel. In daily life we become complicated.
How can we solve this problem in our daily lives? This is not a problem simply of relativity.
The Four Rinzai Ryoken (the four kinds of judgment) is more developed than Einstein's theory of relativity. The four factors are deeper than what we have here in the West. Nevertheless, they are still only an imitation.
In Soto we have the Five Go-i, the Five Degrees. One step, one principle, has been added (to the four of Rinzai). I have explained the go-i many times. She is the subject, hen is the object. So you have She chu he- which became very well known in the time of Tozan and Sozan. The object in the subject and the subject in the object. Sho chu rai is only the subject. Hen chu she is only the object. Ken chu to is both.
But for master Dogen, not only the Four Rinzai Ryoken, but also the Five Soto Goi are childish methods. Rinzai's method is very practical for koan discussion. But this method, and the Soto method, are only a question of philosophy and they activate nothing but the frontal brain.
The way of Buddha is beyond rich or poor, abundance or scarcity, writes Dogen in Genjo Koan, however there is birth and death, illusion and satori, sentient beings and Buddha. But even if this is so, even if we love the flower, it will die. Even if we hate the weed, and even if we abandon this hate of the weed, it will grow.
Dogen's philosophy is very deep, very deep.
What I have been saying is very complicated and many here are sleeping. But this is an important point, nonetheless. What is the Zen of Dogen? And that of Rinzai? And physics? And metaphysics?
Most religions are metaphysical, and philosophies have always been intrigued by metaphysics: does this exist or does it not exist? Such a method-such questions as these, are of no use in our daily lives.
What is important? What is the use of the actualization of satori? The here and now. How we act, here and now. It is the phenomenon which is important.
Philosophies and metaphysics are topics of discussion in most religions, but they are not important. How do we act? How can we experience? How do we practice? It is this which is important. The problem of here and now.
This is Soto Zen. The now is important. Not the past or the future. Now, here. How do we do.
But many think of others and forget themselves. Even during zazen. Even during zazen they think of other things, and they forget to look at themselves.
JULY 28/10A.M.
BEYOND THE FOUR PRINCIPLES
Many people have not come for zazen today. The kyosakumen must verify in the rooms and take names, and find out why these people did not come to zazen. Why? Sick? Fifteen people sick?
This is only the second day of the first sesshin.
(Thirty minutes later the master says:)
Kyosaku! (No kyosakumen appear.)
There are no kyosakumen!?
They haven't returned yet.
Now it is they who are resting.
Zazen is effective. And if you are tired and if you continue your zazen, then it is even more effective.
Magic power means will power. When you are in difficulty, force yourself and you can obtain magic power.
(Addressing the kyosakumen, who have since returned:) For the older people, and for those who are in difficulty, the kyosakumen must massage their waists and their shoulders.
Dogen's Genjo Koan does not discuss metaphysics. It solves practical problems: how we must function in our daily lives. It discusses how we solve the contradictions existing in our lives. The contradiction which exists between our consciousness and our subconsciousness.
Most people who are influenced by complicated matters develop a double personality. Their thinking, their words, their actions: none of them are the same.
All people have desires which cannot be realized. But this civilization stimulates these desires, desires such as unrealized love, and so people become more complicated. These unsatisfied desires become what is known as the collective unconsciousness.
In the brain there exist many contradictions. In zazen these contradictions can be resolved.
After a sesshin our eyes become clear, our face pure.
The sesshin is short, but if you concentrate, it can be very effective.
How must we do to be here now? We must be beyond, beyond logical formulas. In philosophy you have thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Only logic. All else is negated. This is dualism.
However, in the stream of history contradictions arise, changes occur. So it is not possible to decide against something.
Reality must become the ideal. But again this is a contradiction. The world of Buddha, of God, and our daily lives are not the same. Between illusion and satori the difference is great. The world of the son and the world of the mother are far apart. We always feel the contradiction between the ideal and the real. So how do we harmonize? This is the problem, the koan.
During zazen man becomes Buddha. Reality and ideality become unity.
In Hokyo Zan Mai (Samadhi of the Precious Mirror, by Master Tozan) it is said that to run after, or to escape-both are mistaken. Touch the flame and we get burned; escape the flame and we get cold.
We must be beyond both, beyond shiki and beyond ku, existence and non-existence. Neither are true. One must also be beyond Rinzai's Four Principles.
Don't think of after or of before. This is the secret of kendo. Only of here and now. During a combat, don't think of defeat, nor of victory, but be in the freedom of here and now.
If we obtain one thing, we loose another. One thing is everything. Everything is one thing.
What is satori? My master Kodo Sawaki always asked this. Satori is to undergo a loss. It is nonprofit. Mushotoku.
If we look from the coffin, we can see the highest dimension.
Even if we love flowers, they die. Even if we reject weeds, they grow. A flower is a flower. It does not think. Even if people love the flower, even if they hate the weed, they grow old and die.
At the dead person's house the disciple Zangen pointed out the coffin to his master Dogo. "Is this dead or alive?"
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