shobogenzokandoのblog

This blog presents Kando Inoue roshi's activities, mainly his dharma talks of shobogenzo in English. Kando is the top advocate of shobogenzo by Zen Master Dogen.

There is a record of a conversation with Sekito Kisen Zenji.

“Our Dharma gate is what Buddha transmitted of old. Irrespective of samadhi or diligence, it directly reaches the wisdom and heart of the Buddha; what the Buddha realized.”
It is written like that. Samadhi and diligence are not discoursed. Samadhi, as I said, is about how to be in the form of zazen, and then about the diligence is continuing to keep the form all the way. For one thing, when we say " being diligent,” whether it is for a long or short period of time, we can probably understand "being diligent" in the same way that working for a long time.
Nevertheless, he is saying that sitting for a long time or keeping a proper shape is not the point. He didn't say it doesn't matter. He doesn't say that it doesn't matter. And that is not the most important central thing. Not to be discussed. If so, what it is, to attain the Buddha's wisdom is that you really touch the truth of what the Buddha has realized, how the true state of yourself is and that this certainty becomes clear to you, which is important, he says.
Everyone has their own truth state, right from the start. Not from now on. Even though you have the true state of you self, you cannot be clear yourself about the true state of yourself, it is a waste or a waste of time, or foolishness, or whatever you want to call it, not knowing yourself what you are is the main reason why you waver when you face various problems to solve it. You will be shaken from within, on what you see, what you hear, what you touch. The true aspect is that you are all in order, but when you suddenly feel that you are not sure if you are right with this, or if this is true, you start to ask seek around these thoughts when such thoughts unexpectedly happen. It's not that way. When that thought arises, the way of Zazen is not to use it, but to stay in the state you yourself are touching. That is the way of Zazen. (By Kando roshi)

Zazenshin

The teaching material is Zazenshin, starting with the second line on page 237. I'll start by reading a little bit down the page.
“Nangaku says, ‘If you learn sitting buddha, it is non-set-form.’ In order to express what should be said is these words such as Nangaku’s. The reason ‘sitting buddha’ appears as one buddha and the second buddha is that it is
solemnized with ‘non-set-form.’ Now, Nangaku’s saying ‘buddha is non-fixed form’ means the form of buddha. Because it is non-fixed-form, it is entirely impossible to escape from sitting buddha. If so, because buddha embellished with non-set-form, if you learn sitting Zen is just sitting buddha. Who, in the Abodeless Dharma, could sort out not being buddha or being buddha? Because it has dropped off before sorting out, it is sitting buddha.”
Well, I guess that's it for now. The master, Nangaku-sama, is talking about this with his disciple, Baso Doitsu Zenji. “If you learn sitting buddha, it is non-set-form.” Doing Zazen is not about making a form, I would say. I think it is appropriate to say that zazen is not a way to spend one's time making and observing the form that has been taught. So, the way to take it is, “In order to express what should be said,” Therefore, as Nangaku-san says, “If you learn sitting buddha, it is non-set-form,” which is the correct way that Dogen-sama treats it.
“The reason ‘sitting buddha’ appears as one buddha and the second buddha is that it is solemnized with ‘non-set-form.’” Can you understand set-form定相, (jyoso) ?(jyo) is(jyo)of禅定(zenjyo):dhyana-samadhi.(so):Phase is form. As the word "non" is used here, the word "non-set-form" means that even though you are sitting like this, when you look at the content, you will see that there is nothing like what you saw before. From the outside, you think there is no change because you have been sitting there with the same shape for a long time. But the contents are completely different.
It is often used, I think, for that Kegon Sutra. It is called Kegon Falls. I wonder if the author Dazai Osamu or someone has ever dealt with it. He must be the one who committed suicide by entering the water, but well, let's leave it. It is a waterfall. A waterfall is called a waterfall when water is flowing, so no matter whenever you go to a waterfall, you always see water flowing down. That is one definite phase, set-form, because we are looking at the external flow. We are looking at a definite figure, non-set-form means that if we look at the content, we see that the water is flowing from top to bottom, so it is impossible to say that the water is flowing as we saw earlier. They are the appearance of different water. If we understand that there is no such thing as the same water flow for all time, then we can understand what is meant by “it is solemnized with ‘non-set-form." You will understand this very well. That's what it is the state of now and that's where you can all catch a glimpse of it. When they freeze up and become the appearance of a frozen waterfall, it won't be the appearance of a flowing waterfall. You'll see it frozen solid now and then because it's cold right now. It is the same with the way that everyone is doing the sitting. The content never stays the same. The contents have all been completely changed. And when it is said "solemnize," how it is solemnized, it is so fresh. So fresh that not a single old thing remains. There are words like "switching," but as you can see from your own experience, when you try it like this, there is no such thing as switching things around. It is the same when you see things with your own eyes. Various things look like this, but they don't get swapped. People remember what they have just seen, so they look at it as if the previous object has been replaced by the next one, but if you look at the contents of the eye, it's amazing, isn't it? You can see it when you try it, but you just see the current state all the time. If you look inside what you can just see now, you just don't see what you saw earlier. But there is not a single appearance that you replaced it with yourself. And when you look for the appearance you saw before, saying where did it go, you can't find it anywhere. So, it's solemnized like this. Isn't it beautiful? There is not a single leftover thing.
“Now, Nangaku’s saying ‘buddha is non-fixed-form means the form of buddha.” This means to receive the content of zazen by saying, " The sitting state of the Buddha is like this." Rather than looking at the external form of zazen, we are receiving the very content of sitting, a lively state of Zazen, which is the content “non-fixed-form of buddha.” “Because it is non-fixed-form of buddha, it is entirely impossible to escape from sitting buddha.” As I am saying now, the content of sitting is so much that it cannot be grasped or discarded, what is it, there is no place to escape. “it is entirely impossible to escape from” There is no other way than the way you are sitting undeniably, when you are sitting. It is the same for everyone, isn't it? However, the human way of thinking is that one is not in the true state of being when one is sitting, letting it go, say "this is so and so," and spend one's time doing whatever comes to one's mind, one is already in the world of thinking, which is a different dimension from the world of sitting. That is something you should pay attention to first.
“If so, because of buddha solemnized with non-set-form,” If you really want to learn zazen, then there is no other state than this one in which you are sitting. If you want to know the truth, if you really want to clarify the truth about yourself, there is no other place to ask than in your present state. And yet, even though you are in the midst of this truth, it is easy to think that there is something else that is real, away from the truth, without paying attention to the truth. Probably, there are more people who see it that way. I would like you to correct that.
“Who, in the Abodeless Dharma, could sort out not being buddha or being buddha? Because it has dropped off before sorting out, it is sitting buddha.” Is it all right with the Abodeless Dharma: non- abiding Dharma? It is just the way you are living now. To put it in a more explanatory way, the way you are living now, as you can see here, is that it never stays anywhere. If it was the way it was just a moment ago, we wouldn't say it's the way it is now. Right? That's what I mean. And the current state itself is also the non- abiding Dharma. It's never stayed there. It's like being out of the bottom. It is just as it is called the great liberation. We are not bound or tied down by anything or anyone, or we don't live a life of inconvenience. That is the kind of activity that is called the Abodeless Dharma. And in the midst of that, it is clear that there is no need to take or discard things like I am a Buddha or I am not a Buddha. I would like to add more, there are many people in the world who see things as you and others. As a matter of common sense, that is true, isn't it? We think of the body we receive as ourselves, and if there is something else, we see it as someone else saying it is not ourselves. However, if you look at the contents of the body carefully, you will see that it is only what your eyes are seeing on your own body, on your own body and mind. You say that there are various things. You say, "That person is here," but if you look at it carefully, you will see that it is just the way your own eyes are working right now. It is not about the appearance of the person on the other side. This is something that is difficult to notice.
Even when we hear a sound, such as a bird singing over there, a dog barking over there, or a car driving over there, we all recognize that it is not our own, but something from the other side. But the fact that we hear sound is nothing more than the function of this ear. This is what makes us hear various sounds. It is the reason why it expresses what is called sound. All is the state of this ear of yourself. We have never heard it anywhere else. We have never heard sound in another person's body. Such a thing is the content called the Abodeless Dharma. So there is no need to take or not to take, to throw away or pick up. Look at yourself from morning to night, 24 hours a day, everything is the state of your own body and mind. If there are things to throw away and things to pick up, it would be strange. After the activity is over, people think it's important or disturbing, so there is a tendency to want to keep it or give it away, but they can't. If you ever had to make a choice, your life is falling to pieces. Isn't that right? If you only take what is important and discard what you think is not important. You would be full of holes for the rest of the day. However, whether you like it or not, whether it is good or bad, it is all your own state of affairs. Without missing anything. That is how different the truth about ourselves is from what humans think and handle. It is this truth that is of use.
So it says, “Because it has dropped off before sorting out, it is sitting buddha.” Even before we take or throw anything away on human thoughts, from the very beginning, from the very first, even before we do such a thing, “Because it has dropped off” we are detached from such a thing. We live a life completely free from that kind of boring life. That is what we are doing when we are sitting right now. Being in it means that you are doing Zazen. It would be superfluous to say that it is directly connected to the truth of oneself, but it is the very state of oneself from the very beginning. However, to go somewhere to ask for it, to search for it, would be to make a mistake in Zazen. You will be away from Zazen.
Let's move on to the next one. “Nangaku says,” Furthermore, the master says, “If you are sitting buddha, this is just killing buddha.” I would say that's how we learn. “If you are sitting buddha, this is just killing buddha.” Reading it down, that is what it says. If you sit, you will kill the Buddha. Killing buddha. So, Dogen Zenji wanted to make sure that there would be no mistake about the word for "killing" in "killing buddha.” In the next page, Dogen Zenji first says about the word "kill", “Even if the word “to kill” is the same as that of an ordinary man, we should not equate it with that of an ordinary man.” Although we generally use the word "kill," the word "kill" is used, but he says that the usage of the word is different from the meaning of the one used in general, so please be careful. Well, there is an expression that says "to hold one's breath," right? Thoughts and discernment cease to arise, when one's breath stops coming out. That's what it means to die. However, dying in general really means that one ceases to breathe, and thoughts and discernment inevitably cease, but here we use the term "killing" to refer to the situation during life in which thought and discernment cease. This is what differentiates it from the ordinary person.
So when we say " Jyobutsu: Enlightenment", the dictionary says it means that a person has passed away, right? The real Jyobutsu: Enlightenment is different. A living person becomes a Buddha. It is not that a person becomes a Buddha after death. It means that a living person, just like a dead person, has the power so to live like this, being carefree from being kicked around, being told terrible things, and so on. When you are alive. That is the state of becoming a Buddha, being enlightened. However, if a person dies in the same way, there is no response to kicking, punching, or cursing, because he or she is already dead. Which is replaced with the word "death." However, as Dogen Zenji said, the way ordinary people perceive killing and the way the Buddhas use it are completely different.
So, I will go on to the next one, “What is called further, when thoroughly studying “sitting buddha”, the virtue of “killing buddha” is present.” When we say the merit of killing Buddha, that's what it means. It means something like "killed, dead and useless, never to come up to life again," but this is the state of a living person, this one. That's not the state of a dead person, those things are in the state of a living person. Living is never lived by taking up what has just been done. It is always just the way things are now. What we're referring to as "what just happened" is itself what's going on right now. The things that you mention that happened yesterday are what's going on now. Even the things that we say will happen tomorrow are all about what's happening now. Similar things, like "Yesterday it was like that, and the time before that it was like that," we think to ourselves and say as if it is similar, but it is every time a new situation. Unless you look at this carefully, you won't understand it. What you are saying is what you are thinking, but your thoughts are, possibly, designed to create a wrong way of looking at things. You will know better when you see the actual activity. This is how it is shown now, this is how it will be shown. One at a time, this is how it is now. There is no room to touch on what happened previously. But you think he is doing the same kind of thing. The fingers don't change. The same person is doing it. So, somewhere, the same thing is being done like this, you think. That is common sense, but if you take a closer look, you will see that it is the same person, but it is not the same. The time is conveniently set by humans to explain it, and when we say, "This is not the same body as before," the body is not the same body as before. By saying, "Even though it looks like the same body," we have come to understand it a little better. This is the merit of killing Buddha. That's what killing means. It is completely dead. It's just that the thing is done at that time, and it will never come up again in the same way.
“The precise moment of ‘sitting buddha’ is ‘killing buddha.’” It is not only when you are sitting, but when you are sitting, it is really the state of your truth. The reason why we know this is because we are in the truth of what we are acting on, without crossing over into thoughts and discernment. Discernment is centered on what we have experienced, and since that is the starting point for our thinking, it recognizes things that remain somewhere. Actual things cannot be recognized that remain in place. It is really only for that moment. Everything is done exactly the way it should be done at that time, and everyone lives so orderly that nothing is ever touched and redone. Such a thing is killing Buddha. “The good features and the light of grace of ‘killing buddha’ are,” Its contents. The wonderful form, coloring, and workings of the Buddha are “The good features and the light of grace.” “if we want to search for, always sitting buddha.” If you want to see what the content is, there is no other way than to look at the truth of your own present state. And I have just read, “Even if the word “to kill” is the same as that of an ordinary man, we should not equate it with that of an ordinary man.”
“Furthermore, we should also inquire in practice what form is the state that sitting buddha is killing buddha.” When each one of you says what the truth of your sitting is like when you are sitting, there is no other way but to know by yourself how you are sitting. I have added some explanations on your behalf, so you can rely on them, but you have to see for yourself the truth of yourself, not your thoughts, but the real thing, how your real thing is living while you are sitting right now. When there is a sound outside, you instantly become like the sound, depending on the thing that is making the sound. You don't change like that. Chirp! Chirp! Caw! It is always like that. That is “what form,” form, and shape of this thing. You don't even think you're hearing it that way, but that's the way it is. Because we are sitting like this with our eyes open, what is in front of us is exactly as it is. We are not looking at it, but it is there as our own present state. That is what it means “we should also inquire in practice what form is.” We just heard Chirp! Chirp! but there is no sign of it remaining anywhere, is also a form of kata-dan. This is the way you are sitting now.
“Taking up the fact that the virtue of buddha has already been killing buddha,” we'd like to take up this kind of appearance, “we should thoroughly clarify whether we ourselves are a person of killing or not yet a person of killing.” It's really happening or not, it's about oneself. When we are sitting. The word is " killing" or "not killing," but the content of the word is thinking or non-thinking. You know. Killing is not thinking and non-thinking. Not killing is a person's state of being when he or she is in consideration. It's a half-killed, right? Not killing? Because it is half-killed, consciousness remains there. Because there is a world that crosses over into discernment, things become unclear when they cross over into discernment. As I have always said, the real thing is not attached to any discernment, perspective, or thought that we humans think of.
For example, even with regard to a single flower, there is nothing attached to it that says it is beautiful or dirty. When the viewer looks at it from his or her own perspective, he or she simply evaluates it by saying, "This is beautiful," or "This is not so beautiful.” And that is the way each one of us sees things, so even if we see the same thing, if we see it that way, although it is one thing, you think that it looks different to each person who sees it. It's not that what you see is different. It is because there is only one thing. It is not that what you see looks different from what everyone else sees. We see things exactly as they are, but the reason why we understand them differently from what others see is that there is no appearance of other people in what each of us is seeing right now. It's just that the way you see it is different. The Buddha Way is not about the way you look at things, but about what is seen in this way. A person who spends his time like this is called the state of killing. The term not killing means that those who think they are doing this or that are doing that are not killing. If you don't practice and learn from it, even if you sit in Zazen, it will not be effective if you are not doing zazen in a non-thinking way, as is really shown here. If you do not practice what you are told correctly, you will not be able to derive the correct results. It is impossible if you are just sitting there, not paying attention to how you are really sitting, you know.
Let's move on. “If attached to the sitting form,” If you are attached to sitting form, if you are attached with sitting form, you can use the letter “に:ni” or "を:o." It could also be read as “If attached with the sitting form, it is not to reach the principle of Zazen.” When saying to attach to sitting form, it conveys the form of zazen. The legs are crossed, and even in the full lotus position, it says that the right leg should be on the left thigh and the left leg on the right thigh, or the right leg on the left thigh and the left leg pushing on the right thigh, or something like that. Well, the expression is a little different, but that's the way it's described. There are also things such as thighs should be equal, and the right and left legs should not be out of alignment. And the shape of the hands, the posture, condition of the mouth, the way the eyes look, and many other things are considered as the sitting form, but what is said to be attached to the sitting form first and foremost is to keep these things in proper alignment for 30 minutes or an hour without even the slightest movement. If you waver or move even a little, you may be scolded. But as Nangaku Zenji says here, that is not the true meaning of Zazen. Then we have failed to reach the truth.
There is a record of a conversation with Sekito Kisen Zenji, who is mentioned as the subject of thinking or non-thinking. There, he wrote about thoughts, not thinking, or non-thinking. He left the following message. I would like to show it on the screen later.
“Our Dharma gate is what Buddha transmitted of old. Irrespective of samadhi or diligence, it directly reaches the wisdom and heart of the Buddha; what the Buddha realized.” It is written like that. Samadhi and diligence are not discoursed. Samadhi, as I said, is about how to be in the form of zazen, and then about the diligence is continuing to keep the form all the way. For one thing, when we say " being diligent,” whether it is for a long or short period of time, we can probably understand "being diligent" in the same way that working for a long time.
Nevertheless, he is saying that sitting for a long time or keeping a proper shape is not the point. He didn't say it doesn't matter. He doesn't say that it doesn't matter. And that is not the most important central thing. Not to be discussed. If so, what it is, to attain the Buddha's wisdom is that you really touch the truth of what the Buddha has realized, how the true state of yourself is and that this certainty becomes clear to you, which is important, he says.
Everyone has their own truth state, right from the start. Not from now on. Even though you have the true state of you self, you cannot be clear yourself about the true state of yourself, it is a waste or a waste of time, or foolishness, or whatever you want to call it, not knowing yourself what you are is the main reason why you waver when you face various problems to solve it. You will be shaken from within, on what you see, what you hear, what you touch. The true aspect is that you are all in order, but when you suddenly feel that you are not sure if you are right with this, or if this is true, you start to ask seek around these thoughts when such thoughts unexpectedly happen. It's not that way. When that thought arises, the way of Zazen is not to use it, but to stay in the state you yourself are touching. That is the way of Zazen.
n response to Nangaku's statement, “If attached with the sitting form, it is not to reach the principle of Zazen.” Dogen Zenji said something like this, “What is called “if attached to the sitting form,” To be attached to sitting the sitting form means to abandon sitting form. “is to abandon the sitting form and to touch the sitting form.” The character for "touch" means, when you look at it on a human being, touching means to touch, right? When you touch an object that is over there, something other than yourself, the sensation of touch is generated when you touch it. This is called touch. When we say touched, when we touch like this, the appearance of touching suddenly comes out there. You can tell. If you hold something hot like this, you can feel its temperature. If you let go of it, you can touch its state when you let go like this. That kind of thing is called touch. Saying, “to touch the sitting form” means that we are setting up the other side and this side, the self and things other than the self, and dealing with things that may or may not come together, which is called being attached to sitting form, you are treating sitting form. He says that such Zazen is not good enough. Thankfully, when we sit, we can't help but become completely the appearance of sitting. That's fine. There is no such thing as you make it like sitting after you sit, is there? It's been already done. f I do this with my hands, it becomes immediately like what I did. There is nothing to do later. Doing it this way could have been done by the thing itself, when it was done this way. Am I wrong? If I say, " Do it this way," if you do it this way, you'll just be like this. You don't do anything else. Just by doing it like this, it become like this. Would you do this later? You would not do it. So, when you do Zazen, it will suddenly become like that, and when you sit down, it will be fine as it is.
“This principle is” Is it a saying, the way things are, can I say fact? Principle is.
“This principle is that when you are already sitting buddha, it is impossible not to be attached to the sitting form.” So, I suppose you can't say that you will leave the way you are sitting now. If you sit. That's what you mean by “not to be attached to the sitting form.” When you're sitting, you can't leave the way you're sitting. We say, "Let's not get attached to it," but it is non-attachment. They say, "Let's not get attached," but when you sit, all you have is the appearance of sitting. Try it. If you sit down, it is impossible to get away from the sitting state. “Because it is impossible not to be attached to the sitting form,” Whenever you sit, you can't leave your sitting state, “even if being attached to the sitting form is serene,” If you really sit, it's like you're sitting. It must be very clear. “it should be not to reach the truth.” It never reaches the principle. There is no such thing as from now on. It's called not reaching the truth. Is there such a thing as sitting and becoming as if you were sitting from now on? No, there is no such thing. It is a wonder that as soon as you sit down, you are already in the sitting state. There is no way to say that it will be like that from now on. “it should be not to reach the truth.” Not to reach that truth. After you sit down and finally understand it, will you come up with something like, oh it really does happen? CLAP! After you hear it, do you finally come to understand the sound that was really struck just now? When we hear a sound, we understand that it is exactly what it sounds like. But it is different from ordinary understanding. Normal understanding is, what is it, reaffirmation? But this is the understanding that it sounds on the spur of the moment. Isn't it right? When you do it this way, it's good to say that you understand what you have done as you have done. When you look at it this way, the fact that you can see it as it is means that you understand it, doesn't it? But that is not the end of the story for human beings. If you don't have something comparing it with your own memory and knowledge in your mind, making you think, "I see...", you don't feel like you understand it. If we replace this on a small child and look at it one more time like this, the child is also in the world as seen in this way when we do this. But they live every day with just this. They don't use the understanding of "I see" or "I understand", just live with just becoming like this. That's just as it is in life. So, when I do this, when the same thing comes up, they respond properly. That's how they have grown up. It's really interesting, isn't it?
So I'll move on to the next. “Such effort is called dropping off body and mind.” Saying that you are in a state of being like this is “Such effort.”To put oneself in a state that is really agreeable is that one is completely away from this body and mind, and although one recognizes this so-called self, even though one recognizes the workings of body and mind, even being with this body and mind which is one's own, what is called human is still act in a way that is separate from that sort of things. Which is called "body-mind castoff." All are activities of this thing, body and mind. It is the state of this thing, but this one acts in the way away from saying this one is. Isn't that right?
It is the same with the eye. We can see things because we have eyes, but when we see things, we don't use any of the things that we can see because we have our own eyes. You don't know that. And moreover, they don't come out when you look at things. You're supposed to be seeing with your own eyes. All you see is the appearance of seeing things. If your own eyes are glimpsed there among the things you are seeing, that's strange. It's just what you think is the other side. When you are looking at it, you are assuming that there is the appearance of this side and the appearance of that side, so when you are looking at it, you are aware that there is only the appearance of that side, but when you are really watching, it is not what is happening only on the other side, but only what you are seeing. There is not the appearance of this side, on the appearance of the person who is looking at it. That is the state of the person who is looking at. That is how much body and mind are detached. You are engaged in activities that are detached from body and mind.
But if you don't understand that, when you hear someone talking, you will start listening to them as if he is saying such-and-such. He is not there. Neither is this guy. The only thing that's unfolding is the sound of it. There's no sign that you're listening here. You only hear it like the sound is sounding where it is sounding.  If you hear a sound far away, it will sound like a sound far away, and if you hear a sound near you, it will only sound like a sound near you. When you hear it, there is no indication that I am listening. There is nothing like me, just the way the sound is. Then, if one were to ask where the appearance of the sound itself is, all that would come out is that it is the appearance of the place where the sound is made. It would not appear as if it were in mine. There is no problem because you are so detached from what seems to be your own self. There is no sign of conflict. It's not like "What is he talking about?”
Well, if you look at such things in detail like this, “Such effort is called dropping off body and mind.” There is no other way dropping off the body and mind. This is always unfolding in the truth of the present self. When you truly realize it, you say your eyes have been opened. There are many ways to describe it, such as "becoming aware," "becoming enlightened," and so on. There are many expressions, but the question is whether the content is truly acceptable, certain, and unquestionable. We know this when we live our lives. If you aren't clear when you live your life, there is bound to be a problem. You know. I guess that's the proof that there are leftovers somewhere. And to go honestly and without being deceived with it is the way to truly complete the practice.
“There is not this way for those who have never sat.” That is true. If you have never been sitting, all you can do is listen to what is said, read what is written, and understand it in your head, then there is no way you can know the content. You just think this or that, but you can't help how much you do that kind of thing. So it says, “It exists in the moment of sitting,” It is when you are sitting, it is there on the person who is sitting. It can also be said that it is on the sitting buddha. “It exists in the sitting buddha who is learning.” The thing is unfolding on top of the truth of each one of us being present.
“The sitting that people sit and lie on is not this sitting of Buddha.” Dogen Zenji has this expression. “The sitting that people sit and lie on” That's sitting as the expression that of sitting or lying down in a somewhat usual way. It is different from Zazen. Zazen, as I have just said, is not dealing with thoughts and ideas that come to mind, but rather the actual thing itself in which you are active. That is different from the sitting that you normally do when you just sit, sleep, or lie down. “is not this sitting of Buddha.” That's what's different about zazen, first of all. So when you are sitting normally, you are spending your time with the thoughts that come up when you are sitting as this is your chance. That's how you normally spend your time when you are sitting. Isn't it? Ordinary people do not sit in such a way as to be in the truth itself without dealing with the thoughts that come up. There was some talk about whether this was the right thing to do, whether there was a better way to spend time, and whether it was okay to just do this. Even those who have studied zazen for a little while are not sure if such a way of sitting is appropriate, and they start to spend their time dealing with thinking without knowing it. You have to be careful. I am surprised. You are dealing with the way of thinking. I was taught this way, but I am sitting like this, but I am not sure if this is the right way or not, it could be different, and you become to spend your time in your way of thinking without knowing it.
Give up the operation of mind; sensation, discrimination, cognition. Stop measuring with Nensokan; consciousness, thoughts and views. Do not think good or bad. Do not judge true or false. We have been taught many things, but some of us may not realize that we are doing the exact opposite of that without even realizing it. If one doesn't understand that in order to sit properly, one cannot do it because one doesn't know whether one is really sitting properly or not, I think many of us spend our time doing this with the way of thinking. From the outside, you still haven't left your way of thinking, and you are in a world where you are all clued up with your way of thinking.a I hope you can see what I'm talking about here.
“Although the sitting of a human being is similar to that of sitting buddha or a sitting of buddha,” Sitting in Zazen means that everyone can form a visible shape in the same way. If you follow the manual of the form taught to you, there are many people who are doing Zazen, and they are all doing it. They look exactly the same. It's amazing. But when we look at the content, “it is like there is a human being becoming buddha, or a human being of becoming buddha.” There are those who are really sitting and those who spend their time making up what they are supposed to be do as hard as they can. “Although there are people who become buddhas, all people are not buddhas,” Although they spend their time trying their best to look like the Buddha, like the Buddha they were taught to be, “Although there are people who become buddhas, all people are not buddhas,” Are you really able to say that you are in your truth itself? You never create your own truth. There is nothing to come from now on. There is no distance to go looking for it. There is no place. That's how it is. It is your truth itself, right now. That is the way it is when you sit. "You should not ask, nor inquire." Don't ask, don't seek, don't peek, are the first things you learn in Zazen. “and buddha is not all people.” That is true, isn't it? Can you say that everyone is a Buddha? Can you all believe that I am a Buddha? Are you now in the same state of enlightenment as the Buddha? Are you free completely from doubts? Are you living a life without doubts? You will know better if you list them all. All people are not Buddhas. You are not aware of it. Theoretically, logically, we must all be made like the Buddha, we must all be living like that, but as long as you are not aware of yourself, you will not be convinced of that. No matter how much people tell me. So you are forced to do it by all means yourself. Even if you are told not to practice, it is impossible to reach that point without doing it yourself. But thankfully, it is certain that one's truth is there even if one does not do anything about it, so there is a way to realize one's truth immediately through a certain method or means, not to say that one arrives at one's truth in this way. That is Zazen.
“Because all buddhas are not just all people, a person is not always a buddha, and a buddha is not always a person. The sitting buddha is also like this.” It may sound like a troublesome expression, but what he is trying to say is that when you look at the truth of yourself in this way, there are those who are at a point in their lives where they are still not truly convinced, and there are those who have come to the point where they say, "You are right, you really are." Of course, it varies. If you reach a point where you feel satisfied with yourself, you can say unconditionally that you really feel satisfied with yourself without any help from anyone else. There is nothing to lie or hide. You know yourself best. You know best how you really are. And the other thing is, the truth about what you are really like when you really leave the way of thinking, when you don't use it, will only come out when you really stop using your own way of thinking. You know. Therefore, when we leave our own thinking and become intimate with the truth, the present fact itself, the truth of things becomes clearer when we are in this way, not in the way we think. That's the way to do it. CLAP! (He clapps his hands.) There is not a single marker that says it is big or small. It's just that the sound is exactly what is heard as it is. But, like this, CLAP! If I ask you how it sounds compared to the sound you just heard, you can tell the difference. There is no leftover sound, though. There is no sound left, but when I do this, CLAP! you can tell that it's different from the sound you just heard. It is so even if I drink a cup of tea, (Drinking a cup of tea) I can tell the difference between what I  just drank and what I am drinking now. The reason why we know this is because there is currently no appearance of the drinking earlier. It is clarified because there is only the appearance of drinking right now. Well, I guess I'll leave it at that.

Zazenshin

Then, when all this talk was over, Nangaku-san said, "Well, if that's the case," and he put forward the following story.
“Nangaku says, ‘If when a person is riding in a cart, the cart does not move, is it right to prod the cart, or is it right to prod the ox?’” He mentions the scene when a person is riding in a car, or in the old days, a carriage, pulled by a horse or an ox. Now, it could be a car. It could be a private car. At that time, if the car does not run, if it does not go forward, do you hit the car or the cow that is pulling the car? In the old days, when the engine would not start, the driver would kick it and it would start. Well, it reminds me of that kind of thing. The question is, "What should we do?”
Before that, since we are talking about cars. I often use the term, this one lump that is called the body and mind of each one of us, which is expressed "I", this "I" is a top-class car that carries you for a lifetime. So we will never get out of this car again for the rest of our lives. This is the car body that is called the body and mind. We will never leave it and go somewhere else. This is the car, the body and mind of the self. You wouldn't leave your body and mind at home and wander around somewhere else, would you? And there is only one in the world. That's why you have to take good care of it. It would be nice if there were parts that could be replaced. What is even more interesting is that, as I have just mentioned, it is absolutely impossible for someone else to get in and drive this masterpiece of a car called "one's own body and mind. If it were an ordinary private car, there would be many cases where the rider changes. But this one car that is treated in the Buddhist Way is, you see, of such a high quality. The name "Dai Byakugo Sya: Great Urna-Car" is mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. It is also mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as a car pulled by a big white ox, a top-class car. Then Dogen Zenji refers to the “the cart does not move," which means that if the car does not go. “What is cart moving? And what is cart not moving,” What does it mean for a car to move, and what does it mean for a car not to move? I will continue to read. “for example, is water flowing cart moving? Is water not flowing cart moving?” When water is flowing, a river, or even a stream, saying that water is flowing, we see that it is moving to the other side, flowing away and we take that to mean that the car is moving. Or, this time the water not flowing is what it is when the car is running. There will be things like this. In the Genjo-koan: the Realized Law of the Universe, it is written, “When a man rides in a boat and he moves his eyes to the shore, he misapprehend the shore is moving. When he closely keeps his eyes fixed on the boat, he knows that the boat is moving forward.” That's what he's saying. When you look at one side alone, it seems that one of the two is not moving. That's what he's saying. Is it a nursery rhyme? There is a nursery rhyme that goes like this: "The fields are flying, the houses are flying," when you look out the window of a train, you see the scenery outside changing rapidly. At that time, you don't think that the train you are on is moving. This is what is meant by the expression "Is water not flowing cart moving?”

“flowing is," to say that water flows is, “We could say water not moving.” it should be water moving is not flowing. This time it's the other way around, that water flows, which means it doesn't move. “it should be water moving is not flowing.” I wonder if people will understand if I talk about it like this. We look at an object as if it is placed there and does not move like a still object, but in order to reproduce a situation where an object is placed there and does not move all the time, you have to draw hundreds of similar pictures and turn them around quickly. It looks as if there is an object there without moving. It is the same with film.
It would be the same with film. If you want to project a still image on the screen, you take thousands of pictures of a still image and send them at a speed of thousands per second like this, we can see the situation as if there is an object standing still and not moving. If you look at the contents, they are changing that much, actually. If you put the unchanged contents as it is, it doesn't look like that. It is the same with the flow of a waterfall. We tend to look at waterfalls as if they are flowing smoothly, but they do not flow all the time, and the same water does not flow but completely different water flows, which makes the waterfalls look like they are flowing. This is probably what it means in this part of his talk. Well, I am sure there are many other things that you may feel.
“If so, we practically master the words, ‘if it does not move,’ we should practice as there is not moving, and we should practice as there is without not moving, because it must be the time.” Both are ways of being in time. Time never overlaps, either when it stays or when it moves. More specifically, it has never stayed in place. There is no way for it to remain. Time is not a movement that comes and goes. The "now" is an activity that has no such thing as coming and no such thing as going away. “The saying ‘if it does not move’ has not solely expressed only not moving.” Generally, if one says something like "it doesn't go," it is easy to understand it that way, "Oh, it doesn't move," but he says it's not like that.
So let's move on to the next, “’Is it right to prod the cart, is it right to prod the ox?’” is said, and when we look at the translation at the bottom of this page, the seventh one, prodding cart refers to zazen and prodding ox refers to becoming buddha. If we were to quote from the text of the Zazenshin, it would be better to read prodding the cart as becoming buddha and prodding the ox as polishing to make a mirror. Zazen is really good if you do zazen, or Nangaku Zenji puts a tile against a stone like this and polishes it, and says that it will become a mirror. This kind of thing is the most obvious, isn't it?
So, here's the thing, “can there be prodding the cart and can there also be prodding the ox? Must prodding the cart and prodding the ox be equal, or must they be not equal?” He reminds us that many things are said, whether they are different or the same, though, there are many things. It is the same in our lives, isn't it? Since we have six senses, our eyes can see things, our ears can hear sounds, our nose can smell things, our tongue can taste things, and our body can touch things, but are they different or the same? It's different when we say it's different, it's the same when we say it's the same, and it seems that there are a lot of them when we say there are a lot of them. If I say that there is only the current situation, it would be like that there is only a slight appearance. If you really take a closer look, you will see that the way things are now are just unfolding. The unfolding of that current state of being, whichever it is, whatever it is, will make us aware of how we really are. For Shakyamuni Buddha, it is a glance at the bright star, and for Master Tozan, it is wading across the stream. Ozankoku realized, with the fragrance of rhinoceros flowers when he walked under them when they were in bloom, and Sotoba realized, with the sound of a flowing river. There are many different kinds of awareness, but in any case, they are all people who have come into contact with the truth about themselves in their current state of being and have realized. Those things are expressed here as prodding the cart and prodding the ox.
“In the secular world there is no way of prodding the cart. Though the ordinary man has no way of prodding the cart, we have known that there is the way of prodding the cart in Buddhism, it is the essence of thorough practice.” GONG! that's how people realize it. When ordinary people hear the sound of a gong, all they know is, "Oh, there's a bell ringing over there.” Even if you give them a cup of tea, if they drink it, they will naturally taste it, and they will say, "It tastes good," or "It's hot," but within the same thing, there is a certainty that is unshakable, and whether or not they have the power to touch that certainty. This is like saying, “In the secular world there is no way of prodding the cart.” “Though the ordinary man has no way of prodding the cart, we have known that there is the way of prodding the cart in Buddhism, it is the essence of thorough practice.” It is not like leaving what you are doing and practicing something else, or attaining enlightenment. However, ordinary people think they have no use for what they are doing now. Because they start out searching for something, thinking that there is a more important way of life somewhere that will make them truly aware of themselves, they are already far away from the truth from the beginning. Leave their own truth behind. When I see such things, I think they are foolish. They don’t have the essence of thorough practice. There is no real power to learn. PANG! When you hear this sound, you have no need to ask for anything else. You really learn the sound just by itself immediately. That's the way it's supposed to be.

So, "Even though we learn that there is the way of prodding the cart,” this time, the way of prodding the cart, even though we know that there is such a thing, “it cannot be the same as prodding the ox. We should work out in detail.” When you teach something like that and tell people that everything is the same, they easily change their viewpoint to "Oh, so it's the same for everyone," when they understand. This is understanding. The fact is that holding a teacup is different from holding a cup. Then what is different and what is the same is that both are the way they are now. Whether you hold a teacup or a cup. There is no other way to be than the state we are in now, either way. Although there is no difference between the two, if you ask whether holding a cup of tea is the same as holding a cup of tea, it would be a problem if they were the same. It would be strange if every flower looked the same color when you look at them. You know. That can't be true. That's what is said in this place like, “it cannot be the same as prodding the ox. We should work out in detail.”
“Even though there is the way prodding the ox in the secular world,” This is probably a common occurrence in the world. When an ox is pulling a cart and the cart stops, it is probably because the ox stops there that the cart stops. The ox and the cart are connected together, so when the ox walks, the cart moves, and when the ox is hit, the cart goes forward, so, you know, “Even though there is the way prodding the ox in the secular world,” is said.
However, “we should ask further and master thoroughly the prodding ox in Buddhism.” He says, "What does it mean to plod an ox in the Buddhist way." The monk Zuigan himself said, "Zuigan, are you all right? He himself answered, "Yes," and practiced Buddhism. Zuigan, the protagonist, just calls himself "Zuigan." While he was sitting there, he called out to himself, "Hai, hero," and said, "Yes.” He practiced in this way. It says that he trained in this way. There must be such a way to practice of plodding the ox. When we say "plodding the ox," it seems as if we are hitting someone other than ourselves or something over there, so I would like to mention an additional point, plodding the ox.
Moreover, this time, there are so many references to oxen. “Is it the prodding of a castrated water buffalo? Is it the prodding of an iron ox? Is it the prodding of a mud ox?” It's all about how we are at a given moment in time. Here he has listed oxen, but each and every one of us has our own state at that time and place. You might say, "Which of them do you deal with?" You might say, "Which of them do you deal with?" You say which one to handle, but there are not a whole lot of different things in line. So, there is no need to choose. Whatever the moment, we are now, because the way we are now is as a water buffalo, an iron ox, a mud ox, you know.
Now for the striking method, do you whip it? “Should it be the prodding with a whip? Should it be the prodding of the whole Universe? Should it be the prodding of the whole mind? Should it be the beating of the marrow altogether? Should it be the beating with a fist?” There are many things to be said about how to prod. I think it is a little too much to say that you hit with a whip. It seems as if you have something in front of you, and then you raise the whip to it and give it a good smack. What he means by "Should it be the prodding of the whole Universe?," it is, when you do something with a prod, does it look like only the place where you did the prod get hit in this way? Or, if you do it this way, does everything change at once to the appearance of having been hit like that? When spring comes, everything inside and outside the room, the desk, the cushion, the ceiling, the roof, and everything else will become spring, won't it? It's a wonder.

“Should it be the prodding of the whole mind?” It is said that it strikes the heart completely. You may be able to separate body and mind, but as for yourself, just a slight movement of your body or a slight touch on your body will cause everything to move. You poke the tip of your finger with the tip of a needle, and even though it is really only the tip of the needle that is being pricked, your whole body will already be in pain. And when your whole body is in pain, the way you look, the way you think, and everything else will naturally change to that painful state. It's so strange. Some people say that if you hit lightly, you may not notice it, so they say that even with an encouragement stick, it is easier to remove something unnecessary if you hit boldly, and some people hit badly, but even a slight touch may have the same effect. When someone gets hit by a Zen stick, they want it to be hit more boldly because they think it is not good to hit lightly, and they think hitting with all might seems to have some effect. When you hit a ball with a bat and hit a home run, if you swing it as hard as you can, it will be a home run when you hit it, but that is not the case. You should also know that even if you release tension, if you hit the core, the ball is made to go flying. Otherwise, they think that the harder they hit, the better. There were people who used to go to Zazen in other places who were beaten with the Zen stick and broke their bodies, and people on the other side broke their bones or got hurt, so there were people who were really afraid of Zazen and stopped doing it. When used in the wrong way, such things can happen. “Should it be the beating with a fist?” Strike with the fist. Earlier, there is whipping, so hit with the whip, hit with the fist. Nyojo Zenji took off his slippers and beat the sleeping people. It is written that the sleeping people also wanted to be struck by Nyojo-Zenji, and all of them joined their hands together and wished to be struck by him. It is amazing that a person of virtue would make people want him or her to beat them. If he goes to the next person without hitting someone, he might have a strange feeling like, "Why is he dropping me off, or does he not think I am important?" As it is said, "Strike while the iron is hot," that may be the case. There will be times when we will say that the thing really strikes the thing. There will be the way that the appearance of the thing is conveyed by the thing itself, without using any means, without any perception, namely without using any awareness. When he told this kind of story, is there “Daijaku makes no response,” I suppose that means he didn't seem to respond to it in any way. He did not say anything. It could be said that he was silent. Dogen Zenji first of all mentioned this situation, “this is the state we should not vainly overlook.” He feels the power in the silence of Daijaku. He is not frightened, not in doubt, not in thought, but in the silence of Daijaku, in the midst of the silence, Dogen Zenji sees a wonderful, unmovable, and irrepressible the Daijyaku 's appearance. And he's telling us not to overlook it by being naughty. I would like to add one more thing. The reason why he can be silent is because there is no one left to make a fuss about.
There is a phrase, "Throw a tile and pull in a jade.” If we make a mistake, we say to throw away the tiles we have at hand, and then we pull in a stone, a jade, as a treasure. “There is throwing away a tile and pulling in a jewel,” On the surface, as I just mentioned, it seems as if he is throwing away what he has and attracting something new and wonderful, but the silence of this Daijyaku must be very close to that. It's as if he had abandoned the trivial thing and taken in the wonderful thing. When seeing the way he responded to Nangaku's words without saying a single word, Dogen Zenji must have felt that way.
And, “there is turning the head and changing the face.” Turn your head around and turn it into a face. It is the same as what I have just described. “Nothing can deprive of this state of no response.” To deprive. It's said taking away, so you take it away from them. If you take it away, it will become boring. The appearance of this Daijyaku's quiet silence is not something that can be deprived of. We also should not take it away. In the secular sense, it is like "silence is gold." When we are facing each other and the other person does not give any answer, you can feel the power of silence. When I see someone trying to explain a lot of things in a plausible way, I think it's a bit flimsy, but that power of silence has a certain awesomeness. And if we look at the character for 黙"silent," it says "black dog," right? You know, it could be white. A big black dog, no matter who or what passes by it, it stays still like this, not changing a thing, which is the character for "silent," isn't it? But it is scary. Suddenly, unexpectedly, if you are at ease, you may be attacked. Such an expression is s Nothing can deprive of this state of no response. iaid to be like the黙雷,(ikazuchi): (a silent thunderbolt) of Yuima: Vimalakirti. Well, at any rate, this “Nothing can deprive of this state of no response.” This is an end of this section. After this, he goes on to explain the reason for things in more depth, like this.

“Nangaku teaches further and says ‘Your leaning Zazen is learning sitting buddha.’” He is saying that doing Zazen is really learning the state of Buddha, not that there are two separate things. So he is indicating that zazen is not the way to enlightenment. When Daijaku was asked by the master, "What are you doing?", Daijaku said, "I'm trying to make a buddha" and they understood each other the content of his reply like this. If you don't know that, the exchange between the two of them is like this: the master is admirable, but the disciple, Daijyaku, doesn't really understand such things, so the master takes a tile, puts it on a stone and polishes it, and says, "If you polish it, will it become a mirror? you are sitting there without knowing that.” There are many people who understand in such a way. However, if you read this Zazenshin, you will understand it well. It is completely different in content from what they say.
“We should study these words thoroughly in practice and attain the pivot of successive patriarchs.” Which means, as I am saying now, that even if you read the same story of this exchange, if you don't understand things well, you may take it as if the master who is superior to Daijyaku, is trying to make Daijyaku aware of his lack of ability by showing him various things, but that is not the case, Dogen Zenji is saying. “We should study these words thoroughly in practice and attain the pivot of successive patriarchs.” So, it's about what the patriarchs really care about and what they are trying to show. And then we go into the content. “We are not aware what the exact nature of learning Zazen is, but we have known that it is learning sitting buddha.” In between, before the understanding of " this and that" enters, as it is said, “Without touching things, yet knowing, without confronting circumstances, yet being lightened.,” CLAP! When I do this, there is no one there to listen to it. This is one of the first things. This is how we are living our lives, isn't it? “How could anyone but the child and grandchild of the right successors know that learning Zazen is learning sitting buddha.” He says that unless people have really inherited these things, they would not understand these things. “We should truly know that a beginner’s Zazen is the first Zazen, the first Zazen is the first sitting buddha.” It is not limited to Zazen. If you are offered a cup of tea that you have never drunk before and you drink it like this, it would be called your first Zazen. Yet, the first Zazen, when you are served a cup of tea you have never drunk before and you drink it like this, it is probably designed to taste just as you have never drunk it before. If we don't use an experience that we have drunk, that we have had many times before, we will not be able to taste this first time when we drink it, that is not the case, which is what is being said here. “the first Zazen is the first sitting buddha.” However, people who don't know things consider the first zazen to be still elementary. They think that as they do zazen from now on, they will gradually reach a deeper and deeper place, if that were the case, it would be of no use. Our life exists being immediately in touch with the state of now. It would be useless if it were only after an hour that we could get a sense of the state of being now. That is not true. It is always now, what is now is now, and it is always just as it is, even if you don't do anything about it, it is perfectly right. This is what it means to be in close contact with one's own present reality during Zazen, and that is why we are in a place where everything is being realized. If you don't know this, if we say why we do Zazen, they think it's like a Hokke drum that gets better and better. In the tone of the more we hear it, and the more we do it, the more we do it, I think there is a hidden thought that the more times we do it, the better it will become. That is why it is clearly stated that Zazen is learning Zen. It is not something you can learn and gradually improve.“The practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment.” We are made to suddenly awaken to the reality of our true selves. When you do Zazen, as I am saying now, as long as you are sitting in a way that treats from the human way of thinking, because based on this, the human way of thinking covers the whole, you will not be able to clarify things. So, at the beginning of Zazen, the prerequisite is that Zazen is not to deal with discrimination, and thoughts like that.
“Expressing Zazen, he says, ‘If we learn Zazen, Zen is not sitting or lying down.’ What he is saying now is that Zazen is Zazen, it is not sitting or lying down.” All that is Zazen when you are doing Zazen. When you are doing zazen, things like sitting or lying down are not going to be a problem. It is the same when you are looking at an object. When you are really looking at something, you have no use for anything else. That's how it is, isn't it? “After the direct transmission of not sitting and lying down has been achieved, limitless sitting or lying down is the self.” It's the way you are, that the thing is really there at any given moment. It has never not been that way. Perception through the six senses (of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness,) no matter on which you are on. There is boundless working of the infinite. No matter when, where, or what you come in contact with, you are always living in such a way that you are sure of your truth, which is essentially called attainment of Buddhahood. “Why should we seek the thread of life in the relative degree of intimacy?” Where's the need to be, like we're going to deal with the human thinking like we're going to be close or we're going to be distant. We've been away from that kind of thing from the beginning. We've left such things as intimacy and estrangement. “Why should we discuss delusion and enlightenment?” And moreover, why do you make an issue of something like being lost or enlightened? Are you going to argue about it? Before you argue, look at the truth of yourself like this, where is there anything vague about being enlightened or lost? What's more, “Who wants to pursue intellectual resolution?” It is things like without using such a thing that "only if you don't understand, you can break the doubt for the first time," you are really living such a wonderful life. “Who wants to pursue intellectual resolution?” I think I'll leave it at that for now.

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