June 2009 Archives

... we come to No. 5 ...  Meditation .. Dhyana ...

(not to be confused with the 50's song 'Diana' ...

 Hold me, darling, ho-ho hold me tight
Squeeze me baby with-a all your might

Oh, please stay by me, Diana
Oh, please, Diana
Oh, please, Diana
Oh, please, Diana)

Zazen is the spindle which makes the whole record spin, baby!
(for those old folks who remember 'records')



... change that tune!


Like that song says ...


You and I will be as free
As the birds up in the trees
... Dhyana

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Question Five:

Q. [Someone] asks, "Among the three kinds of training [in the precepts, concentration and wisdom] there is training in [concentration], and among the six Paramitas [the Perfections of charity, keeping the precepts, patience, diligence, the practice of meditation and wisdom] there is [included meditation], both of which all bodhisattvas learn from the outset and all bodhisattvas practice, regardless of whether they are clever or stupid. The zazen [that you are discussing] now is surely one of these [and already included]. Why do you say that the Tathagata's [Buddha's] right Dharma is concentrated in this [one practice of zazen]?"

 

A. I say: The question arises because this right Dharma-eye treasury, the supreme and great method, which is the one great matter of the Tathagata has been called the "Zen Sect." Remember that this title"Zen Sect" was established in China and the east; it is not heard in India. When Great Master Bodhidharma first stayed at Shaolin Temple in the Sung-shan mountains and faced the wall for nine years, monks and laymen were still ignorant of the Buddha's right Dharma, so they called [Master Bodhidharma] a Brahman man who made a religion of zazen. Thereafter, the patriarchs of successive generations all constantly devoted themselves to zazen. [Foolish] secular people who saw this, not knowing the reality, talked at random of a Zazen Sect. Nowadays, dropping the word "Za", they talk of just the Zen Sect. This interpretation is clear from records of the patriarchs. [Zazen] should not be [considered to be the concentration and meditation] in the six paramitas and the three kinds of training.

That this Buddha-Dharma is the legitimate intention of the one-to-one transmission has never been concealed through the ages. In the order on Vulture Peak in ancient times, when the Tathagata gave the Dharma to Venerable Mahakasyapa, transmitting the right Dharma-eye treasury and the fine mind of nirvana, the supreme and great method, only to him, the ceremony was witnessed directly by beings among the celestial throng which are present in the world above, so it must never be doubted. It is a universal rule that those celestial beings will guard and maintain the Buddha-Dharma eternally; their efforts have never faded. Just remember that this [transmission of zazen] is the whole truth [and complete path] of the Buddha's Dharma; nothing can be compared with it.

From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]

_____________________________

Question Five:

Q. [Someone] asks, "Among the three kinds of training [in the precepts, concentration and wisdom] there is training in [concentration], and among the six Paramitas [the Perfections of charity, keeping the precepts, patience, diligence, the practice of meditation and wisdom] there is [included meditation], both of which all bodhisattvas learn from the outset and all bodhisattvas practice, regardless of whether they are clever or stupid. The zazen [that you are discussing] now is surely one of these [and already included]. Why do you say that the Tathagata's [Buddha's] right Dharma is concentrated in this [one practice of zazen]?"

 

A. I say: The question arises because this right Dharma-eye treasury, the supreme and great method, which is the one great matter of the Tathagata has been called the "Zen Sect." Remember that this title"Zen Sect" was established in China and the east; it is not heard in India. When Great Master Bodhidharma first stayed at Shaolin Temple in the Sung-shan mountains and faced the wall for nine years, monks and laymen were still ignorant of the Buddha's right Dharma, so they called [Master Bodhidharma] a Brahman man who made a religion of zazen. Thereafter, the patriarchs of successive generations all constantly devoted themselves to zazen. [Foolish] secular people who saw this, not knowing the reality, talked at random of a Zazen Sect. Nowadays, dropping the word "Za", they talk of just the Zen Sect. This interpretation is clear from records of the patriarchs. [Zazen] should not be [considered to be the concentration and meditation] in the six paramitas and the three kinds of training.

That this Buddha-Dharma is the legitimate intention of the one-to-one transmission has never been concealed through the ages. In the order on Vulture Peak in ancient times, when the Tathagata gave the Dharma to Venerable Mahakasyapa, transmitting the right Dharma-eye treasury and the fine mind of nirvana, the supreme and great method, only to him, the ceremony was witnessed directly by beings among the celestial throng which are present in the world above, so it must never be doubted. It is a universal rule that those celestial beings will guard and maintain the Buddha-Dharma eternally; their efforts have never faded. Just remember that this [transmission of zazen] is the whole truth [and complete path] of the Buddha's Dharma; nothing can be compared with it.

From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]

.... yet the stone Buddha rises, dances and lives life!

This is the reason I repeatedly emphasize that our Way is stillness in action ... effort without effort ...

No, not at all!


On the other hand, we have to do something, to greet each other somehow, read some words, dress some way. Why not do such things? As I often say, for example, we have to do something with our hands when practicing 'walking Zazen' (Kinhin) ... why not hold them in the traditional manner of Shashu (I mean, better than sticking 'em in your pockets)?

As well, there are parts of our practice which we do BECAUSE we resist (for example, when visiting a temple for Retreat, I usually put my heart fully into ceremonies and arcane rituals BECAUSE I resist and think some of it silly or old fashioned). Ask yourself where that kind of resistance is to be found (here's a clue, and it is right behind your own eyes).

What is more, there is method to the madness, and many (not all) customs have centuries of time tested benefits ... embody subtle perspectives ... that support and nurture Zazen Practice at the core. Many parts of our Practice, though "exotic", are worth keeping, even if they strike someone as strange at first. Bowing, statues, rigid decorum in the Zen Hall and, yes, weird talks about Koans all fit in that category. They may seem like unnecessary "Japanese" or "Esoteric" elements at first, until you understand the role they serve. I have given talks on all these things recently, for example ...

Bowing ...

http://blog.beliefnet.com/treeleafzen/2 ... eat-3.html

On the other hand again, it is okay to abandon or reject many practices. However, KNOW very well what you are rejecting before you reject it.  Absorb what is useful and discard the rest. For example, I think Oryoki [formal meal ritual] is another example of a great practice, and worth keeping..

Some things I keep out of respect for TRADITION [the robes, the ways of doing some ceremonies]. It is important to keep ties to where we come from and to respect our 'roots'. Some things also have a special symbolic meaning if you look into them, so worth keeping [for example, a Rakusu]

But other stuff, no need to keep: For example, I usually avoid to chant in Japanese or Chinese [except once in awhile, out of respect for tradition]. Tatami mats and Paper screens have nothing to do with Zen practice particularly [but I happen to live in an old Japanese building, so ... well, tatami and paper screens!} Some things I think are just dumb (except symbolically), like the Kyosaku stick. Incense is great, until it was recently shown to cause cancer. Many beliefs of Buddhism are rather superstitious things that were picked up here and there. I abandon many of those.

The outer wrap of Zen Buddhism is changing greatly as it moves West. The greater emphasis on lay practice over monastics, the greater democracy in what was a feudal institution (arising in societies where the teacher's word was law ... oh, those were the days! ), giving the boot to a lot of magico-supersticio hocus-pocus bunkum, the equal place of women ... heck, the use of the internet to bring teachings that were once the preserve of an elite few into everyone's living room.Those are good and great changes to the outer wrapping (you can read about them in books like this one (author interview here: http://atheism.about.com/library/books/ ... anChat.htm ). The coreless core, however, remains unchanged.

Do not throw out the baby with the bath water. Many completely "Japanese" or other exotic practices which seem silly at first are worth keeping. ...

... other things, like some of the arcane incense, bell & drum filled rituals, take them or leave them.

Gassho (an Asian custom of "Pressed Palms"), Jundo (a Dharma name)

_____________________________

Question Four:

... we should remember that from the beginning we have never lacked the supreme state of Bodhi [meaning "enlightenment"], and we will receive it and use it forever. At the same time, because we cannot perceive it directly we are prone to beget intellectual ideas, and because we chase after these as if they were real things, we vainly pass by the great state of truth. From these intellectual ideas emerge all sorts of flowers in space [meaning "phantom ideas"]; we think about the twelvefold cycle and the twenty-five spheres of existence; and ideas of the three vehicles and the five vehicles [meaning various details of Buddhist philosophy] or of having and not having are endless. We should not think that the leaning of these intellectual ideas is the right path of practice. When we solely sit in Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same posture as the Buddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas of delusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concerned with the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the [intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.  How could those caught in the trap of words compare [with this]?

From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]

... It is so easy in this practice to become very 'self' centered, doing this mostly for ourself.

SMALL CAUTION: Due to a TECHNICAL GLITCH, the recording is divided into 2 parts this time as follows:

00:00 - 00:50 CEREMONY (HEART SUTRA / SANDOKAI) & ZAZEN
00:50 - 01:00 KINHIN
01:00 - 01:40 ZAZEN
01:40 - 01:50 KINHIN
01:50 - 02:30 DHARMA TALK & ZAZEN
02:30 - 02:40 KINHIN
02:40 - 03:20 ZAZEN  < (RECORDING STOPS MIDWAY IN THIS SITTING. PLEASE SELF TIME)
03:20 - 03:30 KINHIN < (NOT RECORDED)

Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link:

_____________________________

Question Four:

Q: Someone asks, "[The Hokke (Tendai) and Kegon School Teachings] have now been transmitted into this country, are [said to be] both ultimate expressions of the Great Vehicle. Moreover, in the case of the Shingon Sect, [the transmission] passed directly from the Tathagata Vairocana to Vajrasattva, and so [the transmission from] master to disciple [without deviation]. Quoting the principles whch it discusses that "Mind here and now is buddha"and "This mind becomes buddha," [the Shingon sect] proclaims that we realize the right realization of the five buddhas in one sitting, without undergoing many kalpas of training. We can say that this is the ultimate refinement of the Buddha's Dharma. What is so excellent then about the practice which you now solely recommend, to the exclusion of these other [practices]?"

 

A: I say: Remember, among Buddhists we do not argue about superiority and inferiority of philosophies, or choose between shallowness and profundity in the Dharma; we need only know whether the practice is genuine or [false].  Some have entered into the stream of the Buddha's truth at the invitation of grass, flowers, mountains, and rivers. Some have received and maintained the stamp of Buddha by grasping soil, stones, sand, and pebbles. Furthermore, the Vast and Great Word is even more abundant than the myriad phenomena. And the turning of the great Dharma-wheel is contained in every molecule. This being so, the words "Mind here is buddha"are only the moon in water, and the idea "Just to sit is to become buddha" is also a reflection in a mirror. We should not be caught by the skillfulness of the words. Now, in recommending the practice in which bodhi is directly experienced, I hope to demonstrate the subtle truth that the patriarchs have transmitted one-to-one, and thus to make you into people of the real state of truth. Moreover, for transmission of the Buddha-Dharma, we must always take as a teacher a person who has experienced the [Buddha's] state. It is never enough to take as our guiding teacher a scholar who counts words; that would be like the blind leading the blind. In this, the lineage of the authentic transmission of the Buddhist patriarchs, we all revere wise masters who have attained the truth and [accord with enlightenment], and we cause them to dwell in and to maintain the Buddha-Dharma. That is why, when Shintoists of [the lineages of] yin and yang come to devote themselves, arhats who have experienced the effect come to ask for Dharma, we give each of them, without fail, the means of clarifying the mental state. That is something that has never been heard in other lineages. The disciples of the Buddha should just learn the Buddha-Dharma. Furthermore, we should remember that from the beginning we have never lacked the supreme state of Bodhi,and we will receive it and use it forever. At the same time, because we cannot perceive it directly we are prone to beget intellectual ideas, and because we chase after these as if they were real things, we vainly pass by the great state of truth. From these intellectual ideas emerge all sorts of flowers in space; we think about the twelvefold cycle and the twenty-five spheres of existence; and ideas of the three vehicles and the five vehicles or of having and not having are endless. We should not think that the leaning of these intellectual ideas is the right path of practice. When we solely sit in Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same posture as the Buddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas of delusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concerned with the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the [intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.  How could those caught in the trap of words compare [with this]?

From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]

_____________________________

Question Four:

Q: Someone asks, "[The Hokke (Tendai) and Kegon School Teachings] have now been transmitted into this country, are [said to be] both ultimate expressions of the Great Vehicle. Moreover, in the case of the Shingon Sect, [the transmission] passed directly from the Tathagata Vairocana to Vajrasattva, and so [the transmission from] master to disciple [without deviation]. Quoting the principles whch it discusses that "Mind here and now is buddha"and "This mind becomes buddha," [the Shingon sect] proclaims that we realize the right realization of the five buddhas in one sitting, without undergoing many kalpas of training. We can say that this is the ultimate refinement of the Buddha's Dharma. What is so excellent then about the practice which you now solely recommend, to the exclusion of these other [practices]?"

 

A: I say: Remember, among Buddhists we do not argue about superiority and inferiority of philosophies, or choose between shallowness and profundity in the Dharma; we need only know whether the practice is genuine or [false].  Some have entered into the stream of the Buddha's truth at the invitation of grass, flowers, mountains, and rivers. Some have received and maintained the stamp of Buddha by grasping soil, stones, sand, and pebbles. Furthermore,[words that express the vasteness of reality are] even more abundant than the myriad phenomena. And the turning of the great Dharma-wheel is contained in every molecule. This being so, the words "Mind here is buddha"are only the moon in water, and the idea "Just to sit is to become buddha" is also a reflection in a mirror. We should not be caught by the skillfulness of the words. Now, in recommending the practice in which bodhi is directly experienced, I hope to demonstrate the subtle truth that the patriarchs have transmitted one-to-one, and thus to make you into people of the real state of truth. Moreover, for transmission of the Buddha-Dharma, we must always take as a teacher a person who has experienced the [Buddha's] state. It is never enough to take as our guiding teacher a scholar who counts words; that would be like the blind leading the blind. In this, the lineage of the authentic transmission of the Buddhist patriarchs, we all revere wise masters who have attained the truth and experienced the state, and we cause them to dwell in and to maintain the Buddha-Dharma. That is why, when Shintoists of [the lineages of] yin and yang come to devote themselves, arhats who have experienced the effect come to ask for Dharma, we give each of them, without fail, the means of clarifying the mental state. That is something that has never been heard in other lineages. The disciples of the Buddha should just learn the Buddha-Dharma. Furthermore, we should remember that from the beginning we have never lacked the supreme state of Bodhi,and we will receive it and use it forever. At the same time, because we cannot perceive it directly we are prone to beget intellectual ideas, and because we chase after these as if they were real things, we vainly pass by the great state of truth. From these intellectual ideas emerge all sorts of flowers in space; we think about the twelvefold cycle and the twenty-five spheres of existence; and ideas of the three vehicles and the five vehicles or of having and not having are endless. We should not think that the leaning of these intellectual ideas is the right path of practice. When we solely sit in Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same posture as the Buddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas of delusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concerned with the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the [intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.  How could those caught in the trap of words compare [with this]?

From: Bendowa - A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  - Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]