Thursday, March 10, 2022
Friday, March 4, 2022
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Wisdom Seeks
for Wisdom
We have been studying the Platform
Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch—and with it, prajna, or wisdom. But
this wisdom is not intellect or knowledge. This wisdom is our so-called inmost
nature, which is always in incessant activity. Zazen practice is wisdom seeking
for wisdom. “Wisdom seeks wisdom” is zazen practice, and everyday life is
wisdom. Realization of our precepts is our everyday life; when our everyday
life is based on wisdom, we call it “precepts.”
When
we sit, we do not do anything. We just sit. There’s no activity of our mind. We
just sit, and all we do is inhale and exhale. Sometimes you will hear some
birds singing, but you are not actually hearing. Your ears will hear it; you
are not hearing it. Just sound comes, and you make some response to it, that’s
all. This kind of practice is called “wisdom seeks for wisdom.”
We
have true nature. Whatever you do, even if you are not doing anything, your
true nature is constantly working. Even when you are sleeping, it is quite
active. Your thinking or your sensations are the superficial activities of
yourself, but inmost nature is always working. Even when you die, it is
working. I don’t mean some soul, but something—something is
always incessantly working. Whatever you call it, I don’t mind. You can put
many names to it, or you can give it various interpretations, but the
interpretations belong to your intellectuality. That is intellect. So, whatever
you call it, inmost nature itself also doesn’t mind. Someone may call it
“soul.” Someone may call it “spirit.” Someone may say, “Oh, no, no, that is
just material. Soul is some kind of function of materiality.” Maybe. People
will put many names to it, but our inmost nature is our inmost nature. Names
have little to do with it.
When
we sit, we say that it is the self-activity of inmost nature. Let it work—we
don’t do anything but let true nature work by itself. This is Zen practice. Of
course, even though you do not do anything, you will have pain in your legs, or
some difficulty to keep your mind calm. And sometimes you may think, “Oh, my
zazen is not so good.” That is also the activity of inmost nature—not your
activity, but the activity of your true nature. Your true nature says, “Your
zazen is not so good.” If it says so, you should accept it: “Oh, not so good.
What are you thinking? Stop thinking.” This is Zen.
When
you do something, it has a kind of morality in it. This is because you are
doing something by choice. When you make a decision to do something, your
inmost nature will tell you, “That will not be so good. Why don’t you do it
this way?” That is the precepts, when we have some choice in our activity. In
zazen, we have no choice—we just sit, and whatever inmost nature says, let it
do it. “I don’t mind.” That is zazen.
But
when you make a plan, you are responsible for it. Then, you should listen to
what your inmost nature says—it will tell you what to do. If you understand
this way, then it is the way of morality. It is the precepts. The precepts are
not only two hundred and fifty or five hundred. Five hundred or three
hundred—it doesn’t matter. Whatever we do is the precepts, because we have some
choice. We have to make some decision.
“I
am responsible for it—what I should do?” When we make some decision, we listen
to buddhanature: What should I do? That’s
all. Here in your everyday life, you have precepts, and you have freedom, too.
Whatever you do, that is up to you. As long as you have freedom, you yourself
make decisions, so you should be responsible for them. You should not say,
“Buddha should be responsible for it. I am not responsible for that.” We cannot
say that in our everyday life; we should observe the precepts, instead of
leaving the responsibility to Buddha. We should be responsible. But at the same
time, we have freedom—there is no need for you to be bound by precepts.
Precepts are formulated by your own choice. As long as you have conscious
activity, there is freedom, and at the same time, you should be responsible.
This is freedom—true freedom.
Someone
may say, “Whatever you do, that is buddhanature, so it doesn’t matter what you
do.” This is a misunderstanding. Morality without buddhanature is just a moral
code, a rigid moral code by which you will be enslaved. If you become aware of
buddhanature, innate nature, then that is freedom, not rigid precepts. You do
things by your own choice and according to your true nature: complete freedom.
That is also morality.
In
this sense, you have freedom—you are not enslaved by either buddhanature or a
moral code. And our moral code is not always the same. It is not permanent.
Strictly speaking, there is a moral code whatever you do. So we say Zen and the
precepts are one. In everyday life, we call it precepts; in the practice of
zazen, we call it Zen. They are not different; they are both based on the
self-activity of inmost nature. This is a very important point.
We
bowed this morning nine times. Bowing to Buddha is a kind of practice to get
rid of our self-centered ideas, to give ourselves completely to Buddha. Here,
to give ourselves means to give our physical and intellectual life to Buddha
because it is based on buddhanature. Even if we forget all about it, we still
have buddhanature. So Buddha bows to Buddha. That is bowing. This is one
meaning.
Another
meaning: as long as we live, we have a body here, and we have to think
something. Buddha practiced Zen, and we practice Zen, so everyone, when they
practice Zen, is called Buddha. And buddha mind, or bodhisattva mind, is our
spirit. To attain oneness in duality is, in short, our spirit.
Because
we are not so good, we try to improve ourselves. That is our true nature. And
we are aware of it—we have some intention to improve ourselves. This intention
is limited to human beings. Flowers come out in the spring without fail, but
they do not make any effort; they automatically come out—that’s all. We also
try to open our flower in the spring, you know. We try to do right things at
the right time. But we find it very difficult—even though we try to do it, we
cannot. This is our human nature. We always try to do something. We always have
some difficulties. But this point is very important for us. It is why we have
pleasure as human beings—because things are difficult and we are always making
some effort. That effort results in the pleasure of human life, a pleasure
limited to human beings. This is called our true nature.
If
you understand this true nature, you will find out the true nature within
yourself and in every existence. Flowers have this nature. Even when it is
cold, they are preparing for spring, even though they do not know they are
making a good effort to come up in spring. When we become aware of it, we will
know that this nature we have is universal to every existence. Again, this
awareness of true nature is limited to human beings, so it is very important.
This is the awareness, in short, of trying to do something good. It is our
spirit.
We
don’t know why we should try to improve ourselves. No one knows. There is no
reason for it; it is beyond discussion. Our true nature is so big. It is beyond
comparison, beyond our intellectual understanding, so it doesn’t make any sense.
Those who are aware of it will laugh at you if you discuss about why it is so.
“What are you talking about?” It is too big a problem to discuss. This is why
we bow to Buddha.
From the
oldest extant recording of a dharma talk by Suzuki Roshi, given in Los Altos,
California, on July 22, 1965
Friday, December 31, 2021
Friday, November 26, 2021
BE STILL AND KNOW
Joseph Benner
Now, in order that you may learn to know Me, so that you can
be sure it is I, your own True Self, Who speak these words, you must first
learn to Be Still, to quiet your human mind and body and all their activities,
so that you no longer are conscious of them. You may not yet be able to do
this, but I will teach you how, if you really want to know Me, and are willing
to prove it by trusting Me and obeying Me in all that I now shall call upon you
to do.
Try to imagine the “I” who speaks throughout these pages as
being your Higher or Divine Self, addressing and counselling your human mind
and intellect, which you will consider for the moment as being a separate
personality. Your human mind is so constituted that it cannot accept anything
which does not conform with what it has previously experienced or learned, and
which its intellect does not consider reasonable. Therefore, in addressing it, You
are using such terms and expressions as will most clearly explain to your
intellect the truths it must understand before the mind can awaken to the
consciousness of your meaning. The fact is, this “I” is yourself, your Real
Self. Your human mind has heretofore been so engrossed with the task of
supplying its intellect and body with all manner of selfish indulgences, that
it has never had time to get acquainted with the Real You, its true Lord and
Master. You have been so interested in and affected by the pleasures and
sufferings of your body and intellect, that you have almost come to believe You
are your intellect and body, and you have consequently nearly forgotten Me,
your Divine Self. I AM not your intellect and body, and this Message is to
teach that You and I are One. The words I herein speak, and the main burden of
these instructions, is to awaken your consciousness to this great fact. You
cannot awaken to this fact until you can get away from the consciousness of
this body and intellect, which so long have held you enslaved. You must feel Me
within, before you can know I AM there. Now, in order that you can become
wholly oblivious of your mind and its thoughts and your body and its
sensations, so that you can feel Me within, it is necessary that you studiously
obey these, My instructions. Sit quietly in a relaxed position, and, when
wholly at ease, let your mind take in the significance of these words:
Who decides the day and the hour? It is the conscious,
natural act of the Intelligence within, My Intelligence, directed by My Will,
bringing to fruition My Idea and expressing it in the blossom and in the chick.
But did the blossom and the chick have anything to do with it? No, only as they
submitted or united their will with Mine and allowed Me and My Wisdom to
determine the hour and the ripeness for action, and then only as they obeyed
the impulse of My Will to make the effort, could they step forth into the New
Life. You may, with your personality, try a thousand times a thousand times to
burst through the shell of your human consciousness. It will result only, if at
all, in a breaking down of the doors I have provided between the world of
tangible forms and the realm of intangible dreams; and the door being open, you
then no longer can keep out intruders from your private domain, without much
trouble and suffering. But even through such suffering you may gain the
strength you lack and the wisdom needed to know that, not until you yield up
all desire for knowledge, for goodness, yes, for union with Me, to benefit
self, can you unfold your petals showing forth the perfect Beauty of My Divine
Nature, and throw off the shell of your human personality and step forth into
the glorious Light of My Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore I give you these
directions now, at the beginning, that you may be learning how to recognize Me.
For I here promise you, if you follow and strive earnestly to comprehend and obey My instructions herein given, you shall very soon know Me, and I will give you to comprehend all of My Word wherever written, — in book or teaching, in Nature, or in your fellow man. If there is much in what herein is written that seems contradictory, seek out My real meaning before discarding it. Do not leave a single paragraph, or any one thought in it, until all that is suggested becomes clear. But in all your seeking and all your striving, let it be with faith and trust in Me, your True Self within, and without being anxious about results; for the results are all in My keeping, and I will take care of them. Your doubts and your anxiety are but of the personality, and if allowed to persist will lead only to failure and disappointment.
From THE IMPERSONAL
LIFE by Joseph Benner
Monday, November 22, 2021
Axe Handles
BY GARY SNYDER
One afternoon the last week in AprilShowing Kai how to throw a hatchetOne-half turn and it sticks in a stump.He recalls the hatchet-headWithout a handle, in the shopAnd go gets it, and wants it for his own.A broken-off axe handle behind the doorIs long enough for a hatchet,We cut it to length and take itWith the hatchet headAnd working hatchet, to the wood block.There I begin to shape the old handleWith the hatchet, and the phraseFirst learned from Ezra PoundRings in my ears!"When making an axe handlethe pattern is not far off."And I say this to Kai"Look: We'll shape the handleBy checking the handleOf the axe we cut with—"And he sees. And I hear it again:It's in Lu Ji's Wên Fu, fourth centuryA.D. "Essay on Literature"-—in thePreface: "In making the handleOf an axeBy cutting wood with an axeThe model is indeed near at hand."My teacher Shih-hsiang ChenTranslated that and taught it years agoAnd I see: Pound was an axe,Chen was an axe, I am an axeAnd my son a handle, soonTo be shaping again, modelAnd tool, craft of culture,How we go on.From Axe Handles. Copyright © 1983 by Gary Snyder.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
The Lotus Sutra
Translated by Burton Watson
Chapter Sixteen: The Life Span of the Tathagata
At that time the Buddha spoke to the Bodhisattvas and all the great assembly: "Good men, you must believe and understand the truthful words of the Thus Come One." And again he said to the great assembly: You must believe and understand the truthful words of the Thus Come One." And once more he said to the great assembly: "You must believe and understand the truthful words of the Thus Come One."
At that time the bodhisattvas and the great assembly, with Maitreya as their leader, pressed their palms together and addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, we beg you to explain. We will believe and accept the Buddha's words." They spoke in this manner three times, and then said once more: "We beg you to explain it. We will believe and accept the Buddha's words."
At that time the World-Honored One, seeing that the bodhisattvas repeated their request three times and more, spoke to them, saying: "You must listen carefully and hear of the Thus Come One's secret and his transcendental powers. In all the worlds the heavenly and human beings and asuras all believe that the present Shakyamuni Buddha, after leaving the palace of the Shakyas, seated himself in the place of practice not far from the city of Gaya and there attained annuttara-samyak-sambodhi. But good men, it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood.
"Suppose a person were to take five hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya thousand-million-fold worlds and grind them to dust. Then, moving eastward, each time he passes five hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya worlds he drops a particle of dust. He continues eastward in this way until he has finished dropping all the particles. Good men, what is your opinion? Can the total number of all these worlds be imagined or calculated?"
The bodhisattva Maitreya and the others said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, these worlds are immeasurable, boundless--one cannot calculate their number, nor does the mind have the power to encompass them. Even all the voice-hearers and pratyekabuddhas with their wisdom free of outflows could not imagine or understand how many there are. Although we abide in the stage of avivartika, we cannot comprehend such a matter. World-Honored One, these worlds are immeasurable and boundless."
At that time the Buddha said to the multitude of great bodhisattvas: "Good men, now I will state this to you clearly. Suppose all these worlds, whether they received a particle of dust or not, are once more reduced to dust. Let one particle represent one kalpa. The time that has passed since I attained Buddhahood surpasses this by a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya kalpas.
"Ever since then I have been constantly in this saha world, preaching the Law, teaching and converting, and elsewhere I have led and benefited living beings in hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas and asamkhyas of lands.
"Good men, during that time I have spoken about the Buddha Burning Torch and others, and described how they entered nirvana. All this I employed as an expedient means to make distinctions.
"Good men, if there are living beings who come to me, I employ my Buddha eye to observe their faith and to see if their other faculties are keen or dull, and then depending upon how receptive they are to salvation, I appear in different places and preach to them under different names, and describe the length of time during which my teachings will be effective. Sometimes when I make my appearance I say that I am about to enter nirvana, and also employ different expedient means to preach the subtle and wonderful Law, thus causing living beings to awaken joyful minds.
"Good men, the Thus Come One observes how among living beings there are those who delight in a little Law, meager in virtue and heavy with defilement. For such persons I describe how in my youth I left my household and attained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. But in truth the time since I attained Buddhahood is extremely long, as I have told you. It is simply that I use this expedient means to teach and convert living beings and cause them to enter the Buddha way. That is why I speak in this manner.
"Good men, the scriptures expounded by the Thus Come One are all for the purpose of saving and emancipating living beings. Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others: sometimes I present myself, sometimes others; sometimes I show my own actions, sometimes those of others. All that I preach is true and not false.
Why do I do this? The Thus Come One perceives the true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is. There is no ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is no existing in this world and later entering extinction. It is neither substantial nor empty, neither consistent nor diverse. Nor is it what those who dwell in the threefold world perceive it to be. All such things the Thus Come One sees clearly and without error.
"Because living beings have different natures, different desires, different actions, and different ways of thinking and making distinctions, and because I want to enable them to put down good roots, I employ a variety of causes and conditions, similes, parables, and phrases and preach different doctrines. This, the Buddha's work, I have never for a moment neglected.
"Thus, since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed. My life span is an immeasurable number of asamkhya kalpas, and during that time I have constantly abided here without ever entering extinction. Good men, originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life span that I acquired then has yet to come to an end but will last twice the number of years that have already passed. Now, however, although in fact I do not actually enter extinction, I announce that I am going to adopt the course of extinction. This is an expedient means which the Thus Come One uses to teach and convert living beings.
"Why do I do this? Because if the Buddha remains in the world for a long time, those persons with shallow virtue will fail to plant good roots but, living in poverty and lowliness, will become attached to the five desires and be caught in the net of deluded thoughts and imaginings. If they see that the Thus Come One is constantly in the world and never enters extinction, they will grow arrogant and selfish, or become discouraged and neglectful. They will fail to realize how difficult it is to encounter the Buddha and will not approach him with a respectful and reverent mind.
"Therefore as an expedient means the Thus Come One says: 'Monks, you should know that it is a rare thing to live at a time when one of the Buddhas appears in the world.' Why does he do this? Because persons of shallow virtue may pass immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of kalpas with some of them chancing to see a Buddha and others never seeing one at all. For this reason I say to them: 'Monks, the Thus Come One is hard to get to see.' When living beings hear these words, they are certain to realize how difficult it is to encounter the Buddha. In their minds they will harbor a longing and will thirst to gaze upon the Buddha, and then they will work to plant good roots. Therefore the Thus Come One, though in truth he does not enter extinction, speaks of passing into extinction.
"Good men, the Buddhas and Thus Come Ones all preach a Law such as this. They act in order to save all living beings, so what they do is true and not false.
"Suppose, for example, that there is a skilled physician who is wise and understanding and knows how to compound medicines to effectively cure all kinds of diseases. He has many sons, perhaps ten, twenty, or even a hundred. He goes off to some other land far away to see about a certain affair. After he has gone, the children drink some kind of poison that make them distraught with pain and they fall writhing to the ground.
"At that time the father returns to his home and finds that his children have drunk poison. Some are completely out of their minds, while others are not. Seeing their father from far off, all are overjoyed and kneel down and entreat him, saying: 'How fine that you have returned safely. We were stupid and by mistake drank some poison. We beg you to cure us and let us live out our lives!'
"The father, seeing his children suffering like this, follows various prescriptions. Gathering fine medicinal herbs that meet all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor, he grinds, sifts and mixes them together. Giving a dose of these to his children, he tells them: 'This is a highly effective medicine, meeting all the requirements of color, fragrance and flavor. Take it and you will quickly be relieved of your sufferings and will be free of all illness.'
"Those children who have not lost their senses can see that this is good medicine, outstanding in both color and fragrance, so they take it immediately and are completely cured of their sickness. Those who are out of their minds are equally delighted to see their father return and beg him to cure their sickness, but when they are given the medicine, they refuse to take it. Why? Because the poison has penetrated deeply and their minds no longer function as before. So although the medicine is of excellent color and fragrance, they do not perceive it as good.
"The father thinks to himself: My poor children! Because of the poison in them, their minds are completely befuddled. Although they are happy to see me and ask me to cure them, they refuse to take this excellent medicine. I must now resort to some expedient means to induce them to take the medicine. So he says to them: 'You should know that I am now old and worn out, and the time of my death has come. I will leave this good medicine here. You should take it and not worry that it will not cure you.' Having given these instructions, he then goes off to another land where he sends a messenger home to announce, 'Your father is dead.'
"At that time the children, hearing that their father has deserted them and died, are filled with great grief and consternation and think to themselves: If our father were alive he would have pity on us and see that we are protected. But now he has abandoned us and died in some other country far away. We are shelter-less orphans with no one to rely on!
"Constantly harboring such feelings of grief, they at last come to their senses and realize that the medicine is in fact excellent in color and fragrance and flavor, and so they take it and are healed of all the effects of the poison. The father, hearing that his children are all cured, immediately returns home and appears to them all once more.
"Good men, what is your opinion? Can anyone say that this skilled physician is guilty of lying?"
"No, World-Honored One."
The Buddha said: "It is the same with me. It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayuta and asamkhya kalpas since I attained Buddhahood. But for the sake of living beings I employ the power of expedient means and say that I am about to pass into extinction. In view of the circumstances, however, no one can say that I have been guilty of lies or falsehoods."
At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:
Since I attained Buddhahood
the number of kalpas that have passed
is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions, trillions, asamkhyas.
Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting
countless millions of living beings,
causing them to enter the Buddha way,
all this for immeasurable kalpas.
In order to save living beings,
as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana
but in truth I do not pass into extinction.
I am always here preaching the Law.
I am always here,
but through my transcendental powers
I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement
do not see me even when close by.
When the multitude see that I have passed into extinction,
far and wide they offer alms to my relics.All harbor thoughts of yearning
and in their minds thirst to gaze at me.
When living beings have become truly faithful,
honest and upright, gentle in intent,
single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha
not hesitating even if it costs them their lives,
then I and the assembly of monks
appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.
At that time I tell the living beings
that I am always here, never entering extinction,
but that because of the power of an expedient means
at times I appear to be extinct, at other times not,
and that if there are living beings in other lands
who are reverent and sincere in their wish to believe,
then among them too
I will preach the unsurpassed Law.
But you have not heard of this,
so you suppose that I enter extinction.
When I look at living beings
I see them drowned in a sea of suffering;
therefore I do not show myself,
causing them to thirst for me.
Then when their minds are filled with yearning,
at last I appear and preach the Law for them.
Such are my transcendental powers.
For asamkhya kalpas
constantly I have dwelled on Holy Eagle Peak
and in various other places.
When living beings witness the end of a kalpa
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and tranquil,
constantly filled with heavenly and human beings.
The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves
are adorned with various kinds of gems.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit
where living beings enjoy themselves at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums,
constantly making many kinds of music.Mandarava blossoms rain down,
scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly.
My pure land is not destroyed,
yet the multitude see it as consumed in fire,
with anxiety, fear and other sufferings
filling it everywhere.
These living beings with their various offenses,
through causes arising from their evil actions,
spend asamkhya kalpas
without hearing the name of the Three Treasures.
But those who practice meritorious ways,
who are gentle, peaceful, honest and upright,
all of them will see me
here in person, preaching the Law.
At times for this multitude
I describe the Buddha's life span as immeasurable,
and to those who see the Buddha only after a long time
I explain how difficult it is to meet the Buddha.
Such is the power of my wisdom
that its sagacious beams shine without measure.
This life span of countless kalpas
I gained as the result of lengthy practice.
You who are possessed of wisdom,
entertain no doubts on this point!
Cast them off, end them forever,
for the Buddha's words are true, not false.
He is like a skilled physician
who uses an expedient means to cure his deranged sons.
Though in fact alive, he gives out word he is dead,
yet no one can say he speaks falsely.
I am the father of this world,
saving those who suffer and are afflicted.
Because of the befuddlement of ordinary people,
though I live, I give out word I have entered extinction.
For if they see me constantly,
arrogance and selfishness arise in their minds.
Abandoning restraint, they give themselves up to the
five desires
and fall into the evil paths of existence.
Always I am aware of which living beings
practice the way, and which do not,
and in response to their needs for salvation
I preach various doctrines for them.
At all times I think to myself:
How can I cause living beings
to gain entry into the unsurpassed way
and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?
A mysterious light
An awakened teacher spiritually radiates the teaching which is not dependent on words or physical signs. Invisibly, it penetrates through all conditioned things even our day to day life. We can't desire it nor can we grasp it. It comes to us having surpassed our darkness; only when we are thoroughly empty of the desire for the conditioned. This explains why many can start Zen but few if any will complete its demanding journey.
When Zen is transmitted from one culture to another the only thing that is transmitted is the culture which is reshaped by the new culture but nothing is spiritually transmitted. The unconditioned light of Mahayana (mahāyana-prabhāsa) embraces the world but the world does not know or recognize it. Those empowered by it are its worthy teachers.
Almost all traditions of Zen do not teach this although it is fundamental to the the Lanka School 楞伽宗 from which Zen arose. This is at the core of Zen’s great mystery and why it is so easy to misunderstand Zen. This light explains how the Buddha actually taught but it also explains a Buddha’s compassion.
It should be obvious that deluded beings only follow conditioned reality as it unfolds and reveals itself in their day to day life. But Zen is always pointing beyond it to what cannot be grasped by the senses. It is not about this world but points directly to what transcends it. And Zen fails miserably when it tries to minister to the needs of its parishioners who are trying to repair their broken lives and misdeeds brought about by their desires for the conditioned.
https://zennist.typepad.com/zenfiles/2021/10/a-mysterious-light.html