When the buddhas – those who live fully in the present – each of
whom has learned the Buddha’s truth from a real person, realise what
the truth is, they achieve it by the best method there is. This method,
in which there is no intention of reaching an aim, is subtle, and is only
taught by one buddha to another buddha. It never deviates from this.
It is a practice that balances the active and the passive, and it sets the
body-and-mind right. The authentic form of this practice, which is
known as Zazen, is sitting in an upright posture. Although we each
have the natural state, if we do not return to it in this practice, it does
not show itself, and if we do not experience it, we do not realise what
it is. It comes to us and fills us as soon as we give up our intentions,
and is not a discriminative state. When we speak, this state expresses
itself through our mouth in complete freedom. Buddhas live in and
maintain themselves in this natural state in which they do not separate
reality into two parts: mental and physical. People who do not separate
reality into two parts are buddhas. The way I am teaching now to
follow the Buddha’s truth is a way that allows us to really experience
everything clearly as it is, and gives us a state of wholeness that brings
true freedom. When you get rid of everything that hinders you and
find this freedom, these words that you are reading now will have no
relevance.
Establishing in myself a firm resolve to search for the Buddha’s truth, I
travelled to many parts of Japan to meet teachers who I hoped would
help me in my search. One of these was Master Myozen, who lived at
Kennin Temple. I stayed as his student for nine years, learning the
teachings of the Rinzai lineage. Master Myozen was the most excellent
of Master Eizai’s students, and had received the teachings of the
Buddha’s truth directly from him. None of the other students were
comparable. Then I travelled to China, searching east and west for a
good teacher, and learned of the traditions of the five lineages that
practice Zazen. Finally, I visited the temple on Mt. Dai-byaku-ho and
met Zen Master Nyojo, with whom I finally completed the great task
of a lifetime’s practice. Then in 1228, I returned to Japan determined to
spread the truth that I had found to others in order to save them. I felt
as if a heavy burden had been placed on my shoulders. But while
waiting for favourable circumstances to carry me forward, I thought
that I might spend some time wandering from place to place, following
the flow of events, like wise teachers of old have done. But I also
felt that there may be people who were already sincerely practicing
Zazen and seeking for what is true, people who were not seeking for
fame or wanting to get something, and those people might be misled
by teachers who were not genuine, whose teachings would only lead
them away from a correct understanding of what is true. They might
then deceive themselves with those wrong ideas and become caught
by their own delusions. How could they then strengthen their intuitive
ability to know what is true, and have the chance to practice what
is true? If I just wandered around waiting for the right time, where
would they be able to find a true place to practice? This seemed to me
a very sad situation, and so I have decided to write down all the customs
and criteria that I myself experienced during my visits to the Zen
monasteries in China, together with the teachings from my master,
Tendo Nyojo, which I have received and put into practice. I will then
leave these writings for people who learn by actually doing things,
and who find it easy to live in reality, so that they will know the true
teachings of the Buddha that have been passed on from person to
person. I feel that this task may be of great importance.