I think that for those who are busy with many activities, it is necessary even for their health to get up a little earlier and to go to sleep a little later and do thirty minutes of zazen morning and evening. I must say that those who cannot even sit for thirty minutes morning and evening do not have the necessary desire to do zazen. Those who have a serious desire will abandon everything and earnestly sit for two hours a day. In addition, utilizing even short intervals—while driving a car or riding in a train, while walking, or while waiting for someone—they will regulate their breathing, put their strength into their tanden, tighten their anus, and concentrate on their koan. Those who do this will develop great strength.
When you work, you must throw your entire mind and body into your work. Dogen Zenji said, “Throw your entire mind and body into Buddha’s house.” You must throw your body and mind into your work. When you deal with another person, you must become one with that person. When you read a book, you must go into the book. That is what it means. You must become one with whatever you are doing. In the monastery, there is samu (training with work): cultivating the vegetable garden, cleaning the garden, and so on. By (throwing yourself entirely into samu and) entering samadhi, you can lose yourself and conquer delusion.
If you think of your work as samu, there is no other way to train but to work intently and enter working samadhi completely. Usually people think that sitting is munen muso (no thought) or kuku jaku jaku (the state of quiet emptiness) and thus meant to feel nice and peaceful. They think that zazen is the easy way to enter the Dharma Gate, but they are making a big mistake. Suzuki Shozan has said, “If you are going to do zazen with no kiai, it would be far better to sing utai (a Noh drama text) with vigor.” Further, Hakuin Zenji has said, “If it is the kind of zazen in which you say, ‘Munen muso,’ and enter kuku jaku jaku and feel good, it would be better to gamble with all your might.”
In this way concentrating on your work with a courageous mind is called “working zazen.” There is, however, one thing which you must not forget. If one of these three things—great faith, great doubt, or great determination—is missing, you cannot complete your training. Great faith is unwaveringly to have the conviction that from the beginning we are Buddha. Great doubt is your mind and body becoming a mass of doubt; your entire body and spirit becomes the koan or counting. Great determination is the resolution, “Damn it! I will see this to the end!” You must possess all three. Not one may be missing. If you possess all three, no matter how you train, you will be able to achieve a great and total enlightenment and be able to accomplish the Dharma.
Satori26
If you think that giving the answer to a koan is satori (enlightenment), you are very much mistaken. The answer to a koan is not difficult. If you have a little intelligence, you can give many answers. If that is what you call satori, you don’t have to undergo painful training. To train with all your might and with suffering is to physically experience absolute emptiness. One must train fervently and intently. Satori is to know your True Self. Truly knowing yourself and realizing it, you will have to show it in every action. Then the training that you do after satori will be carried out thoroughly. It takes a long time to get there.
Zen is not merely entering zazen samadhi and sitting like a frog. In the end, it is what is called jyoe enmyo. Jyo is the samadhi that emerges from e, prajna-wisdom (transcendental, intuitive wisdom). The development of prajna-wisdom is the goal of Zen. Enmyo means that samadhi and prajna-wisdom are not different. If you develop prajna-wisdom, you will be able to see things correctly. What is called shoken (correct and true seeing) will emerge. Even in the Rinzai Roku,27 shinsho no kenge (correct and true seeing) is frequently stressed.
The attainment of correct and true seeing is the objective of Zen. With this kind of correct insight, we will be able to make decisions and choices. Without it, it is easy to confuse the correct and incorrect. Especially during these turbulent times, we must be able to see clearly the realities of our environments, our societies, our civilizations. That is our duty.
Training after Realization28
In Zen there is a koan called Hokyo Zammai (Samadhi as a Reflection from the Precious Mirror). It is a koan of a very high degree. A mirror reflects objects. If an object appears, it reflects it. We must become like a mirror. That is Hokyo Zammai. When I passed this koan, the Zen master guided me for three years to use this concretely as my training in my daily life. In this way, I was able to experience first hand the Buddhist doctrine I had understood through koan training.
There is a koan called “sho hen ego zanmai,” sho becomes hen and hen becomes sho. Sho is sameness, and hen is the aspect of difference. Sho and hen alternating freely is the state of sho hen ego zanmai, the blending of sameness and difference. It is not enough to just understand this theoretically. It is said that one must train and experience it for three years. If you train in it for three years, when you meet something, you will just naturally reflect it. In order to really know that what is reflected is really you, you must train in your daily life. If you do this, you will experience first hand that all things are one. I think that is what is called “training after realization.”
Even if you know sho and hen in theory, your knowledge will be abstract and useless. But if you train in daily life, even if you cannot attain it perfectly, you will be able to come close. Here we can say that Buddhist wisdom becomes Buddhist compassion or that from this wisdom, compassion arises. Through actual practice, action emerging from the oneness of wisdom-compas- sion can be realized. If this cannot be done, a universal great compassion will not spontaneously come forth.
If you have a realization, you should make a one hundred eighty degree change. Even after realization, however, life itself is the continuation of one’s training. The theories that you have realized through realization must influence your daily life and your character. Striving to do this kind of after realization training is the principle of training.
How to Train29
There are two ways to train. One is to train through studying the theories of Buddhist doctrine. This is called “Entrance by Reason.” The other way is to actually experience these theories which is “Entrance by Conduct.”
Entering by Reason, one realizes that all existence is like a dream, like an illusion, like foam, like dew, or like thunder. Existence has no concrete form. In Buddhism, we speak of Void and Emptiness, but that is not to say that there is nothing. In Buddhism, all things that exist are living by cause and condition. This is the causal standpoint that is taken.
Buddha renounced the world in which he lived at the age of 29, and at 35 he attained enlightenment. He realized his True Self. From ancient times it is said that in the Garland Sutra, for the first time, he related the substance of his experience to his five friends who had previously forsaken him. The Garland Sutra explains the materialization of existence from the standpoint of the passage of time. From the spatial standpoint of the materialization of existence, the doctrine of reality of the Tendai Sect explains the substance of this existence. Where the doctrine of cause and condition of the Garland Sutra crosses with the doctrine of reality of the Tendai Sect and where the attribute of time crosses with the attribute of space is where all existence is. If you clearly understand this theory of Buddhist philosophy, it is called Entrance by Reason.
Because of conditions, things change. Among the things that change depending on conditions, none has a concrete body. They are always changing. In this world nothing remains static even for a second. For example, even the floor and the walls are not fixed bodies. If there is such a thing as a fixed, unchanging body, why do things get old? Why do they gradually go bad? It is because all things possess an element of time.
Existence changes. If you leave something alone and it gets old, that means that it possesses the trait of time. The fact that it has the character of time means that it has no static substance. That is what we call Void or Emptiness. If you think that this means that nothing is there or th
at this means emptiness in the relative sense, that is contrary to what the Buddha realized. There are, however, many who train in Zen who think that Void or Emptiness means nothingness. That is proof that they have not done any studying. Without entering through Buddhist theory, without studying even a little, can you become enlightened just by sitting like a toad?
Such an idiotic thing cannot happen. There is no Buddhist law that is not supported by Buddhist theory. That is why entering by Reason must be made very clear. As I said before, this means realizing that nothing that exists is a static entity. Everything is always flowing and changing.
Entrance by Conduct means to physically experience Buddhist theory. How do we physically experience this? Our mind and body are the “mother body” that gives rise to 84,000 (infinite) earthly desires. Denouncing that body, we must pull out the 84,000 earthly desires one by one. That is what is called entering by Conduct.
After doing zazen and becoming enlightened, even though you have finished your formal training, there is still after enlightenment training. It is not correct to think that because you have been enlightened, everything is fine. After being enlightened and understanding Buddhist theory, is when your true training begins. It is said that you must train for your whole life.
Training cannot even be accomplished in one lifetime. One must train from rebirth to rebirth. Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888), a great swordsman, calligrapher, statesman, and Zen master, copied the sutra every evening. His younger brother said to him, “Even though you copy the sutra as you do, you will not be able to copy all of them in one lifetime, will you?”
Tesshu answered, “But I will continue to copy them. First I will write them all in the printed style. When that is finished, I will write them in the cursive style. When that is finished, I will write in the more flowing cursive style. I will be reborn many times into this human form to do it.” Tesshu is saying that it does not matter if such a thing can be done. No matter what, it will be done. That was Tesshu’s aspiration for his training.
That is what training is all about. Just having done a little zazen and thinking that you have trained will not amount to anything. After training, realizing your True Self, and completing all the koan, then your true training begins. If you do not do this, you will not know what training really is. Even I finished all the koan of the Tekisui school and received inka (formal approval to carry the Zen lineage from teacher to student). Then when I was told that I had graduated from Zen, I truly understood what training was. Because I had completed the course on koan, I was able to understand the koan system. I was able to get a view from the top. For the first time I realized what training was. From that point on, my real training began. That is what is called Entrance by Conduct. That is the training that continues from rebirth to rebirth to rebirth.
Chapter 6
Teisho:
The World of the Absolute Present
This chapter is a compilation of teisho given by Omori Sogen. A teisho is a talk given by the Zen master to express his understanding of the Dharma before the Buddha. Although metaphysical in content, these talks are not intended to be formal philosophical discourse.
Sanboin - The Three Truths of the Dharma
From ancient times it has been said that there are 84,000 doctrines in Buddhism. To lay bare their secrets or to capture on paper so many doctrines with one phrase is impossible.
Even in Zen, the masters say there are more than 1700 koan we must pass through to realize the True Self. Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, however, when asked, “What is the Dharma principle?” replied “For 49 years I did not say a thing,” and turned away. On the other hand, as if giving Maha Kasho the secret of Buddhism, Shakyamuni held up a flower and said, “I have the all-pervading True Dharma, incomparable Nirvana, exquisite teaching of formless form. It does not rely on letters and is transmitted outside scriptures. I now hand it to Maha Kasho.”1
It has been said that Shakyamuni was irrational for saying such contradictory things, but indeed there is no other way to make people understand the Dharma principle. For 49 years exhausting all explanations, using many tens of thousands of words, Shakyamuni could not explain the Dharma principle. On the other hand, even one word is not necessary to explain the Dharma principle. The Dharma principle has two faces: 1) No matter how many words one uses, one cannot explain the principle. 2) No words are needed in explanation.
It is like drinking water. The person who drinks knows whether it is hot or cold. Unless a person realizes the Dharma principle through his own training, it has no meaning. At the same time from another perspective, it is also true that the power to persuade others of the [reality of the] Dharma principle is necessary. For this reason, in India, the logic of Buddhism was developed. If not saying a thing is true, then the 84,000 doctrines are also true. How shall we explain the Dharma principle even provisionally?
Without exception the things of this world can be considered from two perspectives: space-being and time-being. In the final analysis, the essence of a thing can be clarified from the perspective of time, looking at the stages of development, or from the perspective of space, looking at the reason for something being where it is. For example, through understanding the occurrence, change and development of phenomenon as progression in time, we can understand why phenomena exist as they are. On the other hand, from the perspective of space, we can analyze things into their elements, reconstitute them, and scientifically investigate their nature. Looking at phenomena through time is engiron, the doctrine of dependent origination (cause and conditions), and looking at phenomena through space is jissoron, the doctrine of the real state of all things. Even if this is said, in the actual world the temporal and spatial aspects of tangible objects cannot be separated. The relation between time and space is like that between water and waves. Time and space, like appearance and substance, are one thing. If we try to understand phenomenon intellectually or theoretically, however, there is no way to do this other than through the two perspectives described earlier. What is called knowledge is originally based on the judgment that there is time and space.
From this relative perspective, understanding the doctrines of Buddhism in terms of time is the first of the three truths: All phenomenal things are impermanent. To grasp the doctrines of Buddhism in terms of space is the second truth: Phenomenal things exist only by conditions; they have no substance in themselves. The third truth is: Nirvana is the state of tranquility. These three are the sanboin, the three truths of Buddhism. The three truths are definite and unchanging. They are the absolute truths of Buddhism. I think that any teachings that differ from this are heresy. The three truths are the standard which separate Buddhism from other teachings.
To understand being in terms of time is to see occurrence, change, and development (engiron). To see being in terms of space is to see the real state of all things (jissoron). But as I have said before, like water and waves, or substance and appearance, time and space cannot be considered as separate. For a moment, however, let us separate the two. Then we have the Hosso Sect (the Consciousness-only School), which follows Vasubandhu’s teaching and stands on the principle of engiron. Vasubandhu’s commentaries on the Avatamsaka Sutra were translated into Chinese. Based on them the Juji School was established. From this school the Kegon School (Chi Hua-yen) emerged. Accordingly the principle of the Kegon is engiron.
In contrast the Sanron Sect follows Nargajuna’s teaching and stands on the principle of jissoron. Historically in China the philosophy of the Tendai Sect has a very deep relation to the Sanron Sect and belongs to the jissoron category. Emon (Huiwen),2 the monk who lived in the Northern and Southern Dynasty (420–589), was a famous scholar of the Sanron Sect (Chin. San-lun-tsung) and established the basis of the Tendai Sect (Chin. T’ien-t’ai). These, however, are just temporary separations and cannot be maintained in the strict, scholarly sense. Both these doctrines (engiron and jissoron) are like two strands inter-twined to make a single rope.
If we o
veremphasize the temporal perspective of engi, we lean towards differentiation. If we overemphasize the spatial perspective, we lean towards non-differentiation, the equality of all things. At the meeting of time and space, at that point there is the absolute present, the Middle Way, the tranquility of Nirvana. The three truths are to be understood three dimensionally. [ed. note: Time is like a vertical axis, and space a horizontal axis. At the intersection of the two is Nirvana, but on a higher, third dimension.]
Shogyo Mujo - All Things are Impermanent
This is the first truth. Gyo refers to the Sanskrit term for samsara, meaning “all things.” At the same time gyo means adhva-samsara, or “always changing.” The first truth indicates that there is nothing which remains constant; everything is flowing and changing. Nothing is absolutely fixed.
Ordinarily we think that the world we come into contact with is a fixed reality. The world, however, is like the water of a river always flowing, never stopping for a moment. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Everything changes.” Everything has time in it, therefore everything changes.
Time is not something which exists independent of things; it is within things themselves. For example, if there is a pen here, it will gradually get older and be worn away. In the end it cannot be used. In Buddhism there are four kalpas, jo (creation), ju (existence), e (destruction), and ku (annihilation). Everything goes through this process of four stages because everything has time. Truly we can say that because everything flows and changes, everything has life. For example, if a single grain of rice or a small piece of meat is fixed and unchanging, human life cannot continue even for a day. The rice grain becomes cooked rice; it is digested and becomes liquid. The nutrients are then absorbed into and nourish the body. This is because the rice grain is not fixed but changing.
Omori Sogen Page 13