Living by Vow

by Shohaku Okumura

  After this survey, the Buddha made up his mind to teach the five monks at Deer Park. In this example, the lotus flower signifies the different capacities of living beings. In another sutra, however, it also represents the Buddha himself. In this sutra the Buddha elucidates the nature of dharma teachings. He said, “I do not dispute with the world; rather, it is the world that disputes with me. A proponent of the Dharma does not dispute with anyone in the world. Of that which the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, I too say that it does not exist. And of that which the wise in the world agree upon as existing, I too say that it exists.”

  The Buddha did not teach some fabricated dogmatic theory with which wise people did not agree. He taught the truth everyone can see if their eyes are open. In another sutra, the Buddha said:

  And what is it, bhikkhus, that the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, of which I too say that it does not exist? Form that is permanent, stable, eternal, and not subject to change: this the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, and I too say that it does not exist. Feeling—Perception—Volitional formation—Consciousness that is permanent, stable, eternal, and not subject to change: this the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, and I too say that it does not exist.

  And what is it, bhikkhus, that the wise in the world agree upon as existing, of which I too say that it exists? Form that is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change; this the wise in the world agree upon as existing, and I too say that it exists. Feeling, perception, volitional formations, consciousness—that is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this the wise in the world agree upon as existing, and I too say that it exists.

  Here the Buddha talks about the reality of the emptiness of all phenomenal things emphasized in Mahāyāna teachings. Nothing is substantial or permanent; therefore everything is subject to change. If we think that this body is permanent, we attach to it, and from this attachment spring our desires. This mistaken idea comes from ignorance, and from ignorance greed, anger, and hatred arise. According to the Buddha, this is the source of suffering in samsara. Not only the body, but feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousness—all five skandhas—are impermanent and without any fixed self-nature. To see the five skandhas (our body and mind) as impermanent and unstable, subject to change and decay, is the way we free ourselves from attachments and liberate ourselves from the three poisonous minds.

  According to the Buddha, to see all beings as fixed is the delusion that causes suffering. On this point there is no difference between early Buddhism and Mahāyāna Buddhism. So we should see the reality of all beings as impermanence, the way the Buddha sees all beings.

  Then the Buddha goes on: “Bhikkhus, just as a blue, red, or white lotus is born in the water and grows up in the water but having risen up above the water, it stands unsullied by the water, so too the Tathāgata was born in the world and grew up in the world, but having overcome the world, he dwells unsullied by the world.”68

  The Buddha was born in this world as the lotus was born in the muddy water and grew in this world as the lotus grows in the water. But the Buddha “rises to the surface.” This is a metaphor of the Buddha’s teaching and way of life. The Buddha was never separated from the muddy water, from this world, and yet he was not defiled by the worldly way of doing things or mundane, selfish desires.

  The verse we are discussing says, “The mind is pure and goes beyond.” The mind goes beyond the muddy water of the dusty world. The Buddha does not escape the world, but the purity of the Buddha’s mind goes beyond the world. It is said that the Buddha and bodhisattvas do not stay in this world because of wisdom and never leave this world because of compassion. The Buddha is here and at the same time not here because of wisdom and compassion. So we venerate the most venerable one.

  One of the basic teachings of the Avataṃsaka Sutra is that there are no differences between the Buddha, the mind, and living beings. These three are one, and there can be no discriminating between them. This is a verse of praise for Buddha. In this verse “the mind” also refers to the nature of bodhisattvas. In the not-yet-matured stages, bodhisattvas are, like us, ordinary human beings. Even though we have aroused bodhicitta, received the bodhisattva precepts, and taken the four bodhisattva vows, we live in the muddy water. We harbor many delusions and fundamental ignorance, and we are not yet completely free of greed, anger, and hatred. We are still defiled in many ways. Our perception is defiled and conditioned. Each of us usually thinks, “I am most important.” We judge things to be good, useful, or valuable to the extent that we find them important, useful, or attractive to us. This is the worldly, conditioned way of viewing things, which is contrary to the Buddha’s teaching. Our individual perspective is empty, so we cannot use it as a yardstick to measure the value or meaning of things. But we do. This is our basic delusion, and we cannot live without it.

  Because all of us measure things with our own yardsticks, we get into arguments. If I think something is important, and you don’t, we have to argue about who is right. If both of us think an object is important, we might fight about who owns it. When we live based on our own yardstick, this becomes a world of competition and argument.

  If we cannot depend on anything man-made or conditioned, how can we live within this society with other people and their yardsticks? One way is to see that my own yardstick is limited. When I recognize my limitations, I create the space to consider that other people have other yardsticks and measure things differently. I can open my heart to them. This is how we can live in muddy water with other people in peace and harmony. This is our practice of letting go of self-centered thoughts. When we live in this way without attachment to objects or to our conditioned way of viewing and judging things, the lotus flower can bloom in our lives.

  For me, this is the meaning of our practice of zazen: letting go of thought. Letting go of thought is letting go of my yardstick. But this doesn’t mean I should discard this yardstick, because it’s all I can use. Letting go doesn’t mean it disappears; it is still there, but we know that it is relative and limited. That is the way we can see things in a broader perspective. Our minds become more flexible. The Buddha is the model for us bodhisattvas, children of the Buddha, and we make prostrations to this Buddha. This means we give up clinging to our own personal yardsticks. To make prostrations to the Buddha means to let go of our system of values and to trust in the reality of all beings.

  The verse ends with “Thus we bow to Buddha.” The original expression is “Ki shu rin bujōson.” Ki shu rin is the deepest bow or prostration, called gotai-tōchi (lit: gotai, five parts of the body; tōchi, are cast on the ground) We place our forehead and both knees and elbows on the floor. We hold our hands upward at the height of our ears. This means we receive the Buddha’s feet on our hands. This is a most humble way to show respect to the Buddha. Our head is the highest point of ourselves, and the Buddha’s foot is the lowest point of the Buddha, bujōson, the most venerable one. We make prostrations to the Buddha to become free from our egocentricity, our clinging, and our selves. We open our hands and venerate the reality of all beings that is the Dharmakāya Buddha.

  When we understand the meaning of these verses in the meal chants and wholeheartedly practice, our meals become an essential practice of the Buddha’s teaching.

  MAHĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITA HṚDAYA SUTRA

  Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva

  When practicing deeply the prajñā-pāramitā

  Perceived that all five skandhas are empty

  And was saved from all suffering and distress.

  “O Śāriputra, form does not differ from emptiness;

  Emptiness does not differ from form.

  That which is form is emptiness;

  That which is emptiness, form.

  The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

  “O Śāriputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;

  They do not appear or disappear,

  Are
neither tainted nor pure,

  Do not increase or decrease.

  “Therefore in emptiness, no form,

  No feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness;

  No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;

  No color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;

  No realm of eyes and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness;

  No ignorance and also no extinction of it, and so forth until no old age and death and also no extinction of them;

  No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path;

  No cognition, no attainment.

  With nothing to attain

  The bodhisattva depends on prajñā-pāramitā

  And the mind is no hindrance.

  Without any hindrance no fears exist;

  Far apart from every perverted view the bodhisattva dwells in nirvana.

  “In the three worlds all buddhas depend on prajñā-pāramitā

  And attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

  “Therefore know the prajñā-pāramitā

  Is the great transcendent mantra,

  Is the great bright mantra,

  Is the utmost mantra,

  Is the supreme mantra,

  Which is able to relieve all suffering

  And is true, not false.

  So proclaim the prajñā-pāramitā mantra,

  Proclaim the mantra that says:

  Gate, gate, pāragate, pārasamgate! Bodhi, svāha!”

  THE Mahāprajñāpāramita Hṛdaya Sutra, one of the most well known sutras, is commonly called the Heart Sutra. Most people who are interested in Buddhism have heard of it and many recite or chant it regularly. More than a hundred commentaries have been published, and many are available in any Japanese bookstore. Despite its popularity, I think the Heart Sutra is very difficult to understand.

  I first read this sutra when I was sixteen years old. I was interested in everything related to religion, philosophy, and literature, and so I was interested in Buddhism. One of my uncles, a Shingon Buddhist priest, lent me a commentary on the Heart Sutra from his library. I read it but couldn’t understand it. Even so, I found it very attractive, so I learned it by heart, memorizing all 268 Chinese characters. School didn’t interest me, so during class I would write out the sutra although I didn’t really understand what it meant. When I took a walk, I enjoyed chanting this sutra without thinking about the meaning. That was my first encounter with the Heart Sutra.

  When I studied the teachings of early Buddhism at Komazawa University, I was surprised by what I learned about this sutra. It says that Avalokiteśvara saw that the five skandhas—the five mental and material elements of which we are composed—are empty and do not exist. It also says that the eighteen elements of our consciousness do not exist. This refers to the six sense organs, their six objects (color and shape, smell, sound, taste, touch, and objects of mind), and the six perceptions that arise when the six sense organs interact with their objects.

  The sutra continues, “No ignorance and also no extinction of it, and so forth until no old age and death.” Ignorance is the first of the twelve causes of suffering, and old age and death is the last. The sutra denies the existence of all twelve. Next it says, “No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.” It claims that these four noble truths, the basic teachings of the Buddha, do not exist. The Heart Sutra denies the existence of the five skandhas, the eighteen elements of our experience, the twelve links of dependent origination, and the four noble truths. Yet it claims to be the true teaching of the Buddha. I was amazed and confused. How could the author of this sutra negate the Buddha’s teachings and still call himself a student of the Buddha? After studying Mahāyāna Buddhism as a philosophy I understood the meaning of this sutra in an abstract sense. Only in the last few years have I understood its significance for my own practice. This question of why the Heart Sutra negates the teachings of the Buddha is essential to its understanding.

  While I was in Japan, I had a chance to give a series of lectures on Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō to a group of Japanese Catholic laymen. I intended to talk first on “Genjōkōan” (Actualization of Reality), the first and most popular chapter of Shōbōgenzō. The second chapter of the seventy-five-volume version of Shōbōgenzō is “Maka Hannya Haramitsu” (Mahā Prajñā Pāramitā), a commentary by Dōgen Zenji on the Heart Sutra. Since my audience knew nothing about Buddhism, I needed to talk about the Heart Sutra before discussing Dōgen’s commentary. While preparing these lectures I studied “Genjōkōan,” “Maka Hannya Haramitsu,” and the Heart Sutra together. It was then that I first realized that the Heart Sutra is very important to an understanding of Dōgen Zenji’s “Maka Hannya Haramitsu” and “Genjōkōan.” If we have a deep understanding of the Heart Sutra and “Maka Hannya Haramitsu,” we can see that “Genjōkōan” is a clear and practical expression of prajñā-pāramitā.

  The sutra’s full title is Mahāprajñāpāramita Hṛdaya Sutra. Mahā means “great” or “vast.” It also means “absolute” in the sense of beyond comparison or discrimination.Mahāyāna means “great vehicle,” which can transport not just one person but many. Mahāyāna is also used as a synonym of “one vehicle” (eka yāna), which includes the three vehicles (śrāvaka-yāna, pratyekabuddha-yāna, and bodhisattva-yāna).69 Prajñā means “wisdom.” Wisdom and compassion are the two main aspects of Buddhism and must always go together. Without wisdom, compassion doesn’t work, and without compassion wisdom has no meaning; it’s not alive. This sutra is about the wisdom that sees emptiness.

  Hṛdaya means “heart.” In this context it means a part of our body and also the essence or most important point. The heart is the most important part of our body. If it stops, everything stops, and the whole body dies. Today many consider the brain to be more important. They believe that when the brain stops a person is dead, and their organs can be transplanted. But historically for Buddhists the heart is the basis for judging whether a person is alive or not. In Japan brain death is not recognized, and so heart transplants are still very uncommon. To remove a heart before it has stopped has been considered murder. There is a serious controversy among Japanese doctors over the proper way to determine death.70 Since “heart” means the most important or essential point, the Heart Sutra is very short. The Prajñāpāramitā Sutra cycle is a six-hundred-volume collection of sutras. It’s said that the Heart Sutra is the essence of those six hundred volumes.

  Sutra means scripture or written expression of the Buddha’s teachings. Pāramitā, usually translated as “perfection,” is a word that is vital to an understanding of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The title of this sutra is usually translated as “Perfection of Great Wisdom.” According to Chinese Buddhist philosophers, perfection or pāramitā means to cross the river to the other shore. It implies that we are living on this shore of samsara, and there is a river we must cross to reach nirvana. On this shore we transmigrate through the six realms of samsara: the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras (fighting spirits), human beings, and heavenly beings. We transmigrate according to our deeds. Nirvana is beyond these realms. Pāramitā, reaching the other shore, is a transformation of our way of life. The six pāramitās are commonly considered to be the method for transformation, but sometimes they are considered to be the transformed way of life instead of the means to reach there.

  In samsara, our lives are based on desires. We chase after happiness. We want satisfaction, so we pursue our desires. We run after things we want and away from things we dislike. Sometimes we succeed and we are happy. Sometimes we fail and we are unhappy. This constant upand-down is samsara.

  Many people believe in transmigration from one lifetime to another. I don’t believe in this, but I know we transmigrate within this life. Sometimes we feel like heavenly beings, sometimes like hell dwellers. Often we are like hungry ghosts, craving satisfaction, constantly searching for more. When our stomachs are full and we have nothing to do, we becom
e sleepy and lazy like animals. Sometimes we are like asuras or fighting spirits. As human beings we work to acquire fame and profit. Even when our stomachs are full, we are not satisfied. We need something more, such as fame or wealth. Heavenly beings are like millionaires whose desires are completely fulfilled. They look happy but I think such people are rather bored. There’s no challenge for them because all their desires are fulfilled.

  Within this constant transmigration there is no peaceful basis for our lives. This way of life is a vain attempt to satisfy our egos. A life based on this constant search for satisfaction is filled with meaningless suffering. Suffering means not just physical or mental pain but also meaningless effort. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, “Everything is suffering.” This is the first of the four noble truths.

  According to the Buddha, the reality of our life is impermanence and egolessness. Nothing is fixed, and there is nothing that doesn’t change. In Buddhism, ego refers to the idea that there is something that is changeless. Our bodies and minds change continually from birth, and yet we believe there is something that doesn’t change. When I was born in 1948, I was a tiny baby; since then I have gone through many different stages of human life: a boy, a teenager, a young adult, a middle-aged person, and then a senior citizen. The conditions of my body and mind have changed in each stage and yet I think, “That was me and this is me. There is something that doesn’t change.” For Buddhists, the ego as an unchanging entity that is the owner and operator of the body and mind is an illusion. The Buddha taught that there is no such thing, that ego is an abstract fabrication.