Bankei Zen

by Peter Haskel

  “Since the Buddha Mind is perfectly managing all things with the Unborn, it doesn’t know anything about ‘birth and death’ or ‘nirvana.’ From the place of the Unborn, birth and death and nirvana too are just a lot of empty speculation. That’s why even for someone who up till just the other day had been involved in [the realm of] arising and ceasing, if from today on he fully realizes his mistake, and doesn’t exchange the Unborn Buddha Mind for the Three Poisons or involve himself with birth and death or nirvana, he’ll abide in the Unborn Buddha Mind. Then, when the time comes for the elements that compose his physical body to disperse, he’ll just let them go, and die without any attachment. This is a man for whom birth and death are nirvana, a man who is free in birth and death.”

  The original face

  “What’s called one’s ‘original face’11 is also none other than the Unborn Buddha Mind. What you have from your parents innately is the Unborn Buddha Mind alone—there’s nothing else you’ve got innately. This is an expression left behind by a master of old in his attempt to make people realize the fact that the Unborn Buddha Mind is none other than one’s original face. Even what we call ‘father and mother’ are names of traces that have already arisen. The man who has conclusively realized the Buddha Mind abides at the source of father and mother, and that’s why we speak of [that which exists] ‘before father and mother were born.’ This ‘before they were born’ is none other than the Unborn; so the Buddha Mind is the same as your original face. . . .”

  Entrances

  “Now about the Three Refuges:12 for buddha, we take refuge in a particular buddha of our choosing; for Dharma, we take refuge in a particular Dharma; for sangha, we take refuge in a particular sangha. All I tell people about is the Buddha Mind, and that’s why I’m not necessarily limited to any particular school. Differences exist in the way schools formulate their particular doctrines and teach them to people; but the only reason teachings are established is to make people realize for themselves what it is they all intrinsically possess, the Buddha Mind they have from their parents innately. So when it comes to the establishment of various schools, as they’re all entrances to the Path of Buddha Mind, we call them ‘entrances to the teaching.’

  “There are many of you monks gathered here from every quarter for this training period, so you probably belong to many different schools. But I’m sure that as you listen to the sermons I’m giving, there will be those who affirm what I say. There are bound to be others who won’t affirm it, too, and for those of you in the assembly who don’t, so long as you keep from backsliding in your faith, somewhere or other the day will certainly come when you’ll understand. When that happens, I’m sure you’ll remember about me, so you’d better grasp what I’m saying.”

  To practice is hard

  “Even among those in the assembly now who acknowledge what I say, there are some who merely teach the Unborn with their mouths and don’t continually abide in the Unborn, people who only know about the Unborn, people of merely intellectual understanding. From the standpoint of the Unborn, intellectual understanding too is empty speculation, so you can’t say such a person has conclusively realized the Unborn. When you come right down to it, this kind of approach is worthless. Even if you teach others about the Unborn, they won’t realize it. And the reason they won’t is that, to start with, you yourself haven’t left everything to the Buddha Mind’s unborn and marvelously illuminating [activity]; you don’t live by the teaching or function with the Unborn at all times and in all things—you fail to practice it yourself and only teach what you know intellectually, so there’s no way others are going to acknowledge it. If you don’t truly acknowledge my sermon, truly practice it, truly manifest it, but just teach others what you’ve grasped intellectually, they can’t possibly realize it themselves. In the end, this only leads to blaspheming the Dharma. So, although people who’ve experienced some ‘realization’ will turn up from time to time, there hasn’t yet been one who acts according to his realization in all his affairs right here and now. To understand is easy; to practice is hard.”

  The crow and the cormorant

  “That’s why, when it comes to my disciples in permanent residence at the temple, if they haven’t opened the Eye of the Way, if they lack the eye that sees into men, I forbid them to teach. If they are teaching like this, they’re only mimicking my words. As the saying goes, when a crow tries to imitate a cormorant, his black coloring may be the same, but once he’s in the water, he’s unable to function freely the way the cormorant does. In exactly the same way, just as the crow’s black coloring is like the cormorant’s, students who imitate the way I speak may be able to mouth things about the Unborn Buddha Mind. But since those whose eye hasn’t opened to the marvelously illuminating [activity] of this Buddha Mind lack the eye that sees into men, when they have to respond to people’s questions, somehow they find themselves tongue-tied and can’t function freely. It’s the same as the crow when he gets in the water and can’t function freely the way the cormorant does. That’s why I strictly forbid my disciples to teach. It’s because, without knowing the Unborn, people just stay on the plane of understanding, of what’s seen or heard, felt or thought,13 and exchange the Buddha Mind for notions. This is what’s meant by delusion.”

  Let it be

  “The reason people misunderstand the difference between thoughts and delusions is that everyone imagines thoughts all exist at the bottom and arise from there; but originally there’s no actual substance at the ‘bottom’ from which thoughts arise. Instead, you retain the things you see and hear, and from time to time, in response to circumstances, the impressions created by these experiences are reflected back to you in precise detail. So when they’re reflected, just let them be, and refrain from attaching to them. Even if evil thoughts come up, just let them come up, don’t involve yourself with them, and they can’t help but stop. Isn’t this just the same as if they didn’t arise? That way, there won’t be any evil thoughts for you to drive out forcefully, or any remorse about having had them.

  “Because the Buddha Mind is marvelously illuminating, mental impressions from the past are reflected, and you make the mistake of labeling as ‘delusions’ things that aren’t delusions at all. Delusions means the anguish of thought feeding on thought. What foolishness it is to create the anguish of delusion by changing the precious Buddha Mind, pondering over this and that, mulling over things of no worth! If there were anyone who actually succeeded at something by pondering it all the way through, it might be all right to do things that way; but I’ve never heard of anyone who, in the end, was able to accomplish anything like this! So, pondering over things is useless, isn’t it? It’s utterly useless! The main thing is always to be careful not to stir up thoughts and change the Unborn Buddha Mind for a fighting demon, a hell-dweller, a hungry ghost, a beast, and the like. If you do, you won’t have another chance to be born a human, not in ten thousand or even one hundred thousand kalpas!”

  The lawsuit

  “Luckily, I happen to recall something in this connection, so let me tell you all about it. I’ve got a temple, the Fumonji,14 at Hirado in Hizen province. Last year, when I was giving sermons at this temple, the people from three or four ri15 around came to listen, and we had as big a crowd as the one that comes to the Nyohōji16 in Ōzu in Iyo. [At this time,] there were two merchants from Hirado, an uncle and nephew, who were embroiled in a lawsuit. The uncle had filed a formal petition of complaint with the magistrate and was pressing it determinedly, but, whatever the nature of the suit, it proved a difficult one, and even the magistrate was hard put to resolve it and had become fed up with the whole affair. For three years the case dragged on, bitterly deadlocked. Meanwhile, having failed to reach any settlement, the uncle and nephew stopped exchanging visits and broke off all relations.

  “Then, one day, the uncle came to hear my sermon, and gradually became convinced by what he heard.

  “‘Truly,’ he considered, ‘up till now I’d never dreamed I wa
s exchanging the Buddha Mind I have from my parents innately for a fighting demon, a hell-dweller, a beast or a hungry ghost! I’m sure there’s no greater unfiliality toward one’s parents! What’s more, a nephew is an intimate member of the family, just like one’s own son—it’s not as if he were a stranger. Yet, the truth is that, because of the baseness of my own desires, I’ve been indulging in self-centeredness, which isn’t at all innate, attached to worldly concerns. How could I ever let things come to this—uncle and nephew turned into mortal enemies, about to condemn themselves to transmigrate forever, dying and being reborn amid the Three Evil Realms!’ Reflecting like this, without even returning home, he went straight from where I was giving the sermon to see the magistrate and told him: ‘I have put your Honor to much trouble in this lawsuit with my nephew and am sincerely grateful for all you’ve done. However, today for the first time I heard the Venerable Bankei’s sermon, and I’ve realized my mistake. Misled by my own petty desires, with no shame about what people might say, I brought charges against my own nephew before your Honor, pressing them relentlessly, filled only with hatred and lacking any sympathy at all. Now that I’ve realized my error, I feel completely ashamed. Hearing the Venerable Bankei’s instruction, I was truly saved, so from here on I’m abandoning my lawsuit. I therefore humbly request your Honor to return to me the petition I gave you.’

  “The magistrate readily agreed, and, filled with admiration, declared: ‘Truly, his Reverence’s superior virtue is not limited only to Buddhism but is able to manage worldly affairs and government as well! On your part, too, how extraordinary that you acknowledged his teaching, forgiving your nephew and abandoning the lawsuit.’ With these words of praise, he handed back the petition.

  “The uncle, having received the petition from the magistrate, first returned to his home, and then, placing the petition inside his robe, [went off to see] the nephew whom he hadn’t visited for three years.

  “Since the uncle had come entirely on his own, putting aside his stubborn willfulness, he took the nephew completely by surprise.

  “‘Strange,’ he thought to himself, dumbfounded: ‘This uncle files a lawsuit against me for three years, severs all contact between us, doesn’t pay a single visit, and now he comes to see me this way! Why? It certainly is hard to figure. What’s going on? It just doesn’t feel right.’

  “Still, there was his uncle, and, even while they might not have been on speaking terms, now that he had arrived and announced himself, there was no way the nephew could escape, so he told him: ‘Welcome. Please come in.’ And while the nephew was thinking: ‘I wonder what he’s got to say?’ his uncle declared:

  “‘I realize my coming here must seem strange, but I had to tell you this: You and I are uncle and nephew, but, old as I am, I’ve acted like a child, setting myself against you who are young, wrongfully starting a lawsuit and breaking off all relations between us for three years. But today, after hearing the Venerable Bankei’s wonderful teaching, I’m completely ashamed of myself. I’ve behaved disgracefully in front of everyone, and now, filled with remorse, I’ve come here to offer my apologies, so please forgive me for the wrong I’ve done. And to prove to you that I’m not going to prosecute this lawsuit any further, today, as soon as I left the place where the Venerable Bankei was delivering his talk, I went straight to the magistrate, took back the petition I’d given him, and brought it here to show to you and set your mind at ease. Here, see for yourself!’ the uncle said, drawing the lawsuit from his robe.

  “Thinking, ‘Well, I’d never expected him to behave like such a model uncle!’ the nephew said: ‘What could be more wonderful! I was at fault for failing to accord you the respect due as my senior. I’ve truly violated Heaven’s will and feel completely ashamed. I have no parents now, so, whatever it was, it was my duty to ask your advice and accept your orders and instructions. Instead, my behavior has been unmentionable. Whatever you told me, it was my duty to obey you, without any protest, but I opposed you and drove you to file a lawsuit with the magistrate. To have acted like this was unmindful of the Way of Heaven, heedless of the gods and buddhas. There is nowhere I can hide my shame before my own dead father. Please forgive me! I quarreled and broke off relations with you, my respected uncle, and then, “once the ship was under way, there was no turning back,” no choice except to stop seeing one another till now. If the truth be told, it was for me to come to you and present my apologies. The fact that, in the end, it was you, my uncle, who came here and spoke to me like this shows the most shameless behavior on my part. How grateful I feel!’ So saying, he poured forth tears and declared: ‘In all our quarrels before, the fault was entirely my own, uncle, so I beg you to forgive me!’

  “When the nephew had spoken, the uncle said: ‘No, no! Not at all! The fault is mine, and it’s I who ask for forgiveness. When one is young, as you were, it’s common, whoever it is, to act rashly, not knowing what’s good or bad, right or wrong in the world, not caring what others may think. But even though you weren’t grown, I turned against you, believing you were a detestable character—and you too, in your turn, must have become convinced that I was behaving heartlessly, so that both of us nearly condemned ourselves to transmigrate forever, with no hope of escape, sunk in an eternity of accumulated sin! How ashamed I feel now when I think of it!’

  “They didn’t stop at merely ending the lawsuit, but with each of them insisting like this on taking all the blame, they patched up their three years’ breach. The uncle lingered leisurely at the nephew’s house and was lavishly feasted before returning home; and later, the nephew put on his formal attire and returned the courtesy by going to visit his uncle. The result was that, after this, they became even closer to one another than they had been before the lawsuit. This sort of thing can really happen!

  “All who witnessed the sincere relationship between the uncle and nephew were amazed and deeply moved. Those in the neighboring towns who were conducting lawsuits of their own, on hearing about this, yielded to reason, gave way in their selfish insistence and went each and every one to withdraw the lawsuits they’d presented. Some seventeen petitions had been submitted to the magistrates, but, nevertheless, I understand that all seventeen were withdrawn. In fact, as someone from Hirado told me, this uncle had always been a thoroughly hard-nosed character—not at all the sort you’d expect to go to the nephew! But those who are hard-nosed will also give way easily.

  “Considering the whole matter of this lawsuit between the uncle and nephew, don’t you think it’s pathetic the way they became deluded as a result of their shameless selfishness toward one another and the strength of their self-centeredness, not even realizing that others were regarding them with scorn and speaking badly of them, making them the object of all kinds of talk? Of course, when it’s someone else’s suits and litigations, you can talk glibly about the rights and wrongs; but when you’re the one concerned, it’s not so easy! Because of selfish desire, to rationalize your own position just to get what you want, acting willfully and wrongfully, changing the precious Buddha Mind for desire and falling into the realm of hungry ghosts, obscuring the marvelously illuminating Buddha Mind and becoming a beast—this is the greatest unfiliality you can show your parents.

  “I’m telling you people this sort of thing in the hope it will prove instructive to all of you too. The uncle’s having instantly given way and been saved when he heard a single sermon was also entirely due to the dynamic function you intrinsically possess, the precious Buddha Mind you have from your parents innately!”

  Mu

  A monk who had gone to see the Master in private interview said: “I received the koan ‘Jōshū’s Mu’17 from a certain Zen teacher and worked at it for many years, applying myself single-mindedly, exerting all my strength, never leaving it from my mind even when moving my hands or feet; but, try as I did, I couldn’t solve it. What’s more, even though I drove myself so hard that afterward I was ill for quite some time, nothing special happened. In fact, on the contrary, I
became a sick man, and, after a whole year of being exhausted by illness, gave up my work on the Mu koan. When I simply kept my mind like the empty sky, I felt remarkably easy in both mind and body, and gradually recovered my health. Today, then, I’m no longer working on the Mu koan, and, while I don’t feel I’ve solved it, since I always keep my mind like the empty sky, I’m quite content. Still, I’d very much like to receive your instruction.”

  The Master replied: “To put aside the koan Mu and keep your mind like the empty sky isn’t bad since it’s [at least] an expression of your own spiritual power. But, while it’s all right, it’s hardly the ultimate. Since your Unborn Buddha Mind hasn’t been realized, you can’t manage smoothly in your actual daily affairs. In exchanging it for something like ‘the empty sky,’ you’re obscuring the marvelously illuminating Buddha Mind, and the result is, you lack the eye that sees into men. Unless you open the eye that sees into men, you’re a blind man and won’t be able to see into others. How about it? I’m sure the minds of others must be quite invisible to you.”

  The monk said: “Yes, it’s true.”

  The Master told him: “It’s only natural! So do as I say, thoroughly affirm what I’m telling you. When you accept what you’ve heard and conclusively realize it, then and there the eye that sees into men will appear, and you won’t make any mistake about things. That moment is the complete realization of the Dharma.”

  The crows go kaa-kaa, the sparrows, chuu-chuu