English.pd

―
……………………………………………………
To learn the Buddha Way
is to learn one’s own self.
To learn one’s own self
is to forget one’s own self.
To forget one’s own self
is to be enlightened
by the myriad dharmas.
To be enlightened
by the myriad dharmas
is to let one’s own mind and body
as well as that of all others
fall off.
( from: Chapter “Genjô-kôan” in the Shôbôgenzô by Master Dôgen )
……………………………………………………
Photo by SATO Migaku
Opening Comments :
Working on Koans ……………………………… by YAMADA Ryôun
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Teisho: Shôyôroku (35)………………………………… by YAMADA Ryôun
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Teisho: Shôdôka (18)…………………………………… by YAMADA Kôun
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Words of Yamada Kôun Rosh(67) …………………………… by TONOIKE Zen’yû 19
Thoughts of Gratitude on the 100th Birthday of Mrs. Kazue Yamada
…………………………………………… by Ursula OKLE 22
Report on the New Zendo Place ………………………………………………… 24
Cleaning Action at the New Zendo Site
………… by ICHINO Toshiyuki 26
Zenkai Schedule…………………………………………………………………… 28
Gallery …………………………………………………… by YOKO’O Tatsuhiko 29
Editor’s Note ……………………………………………………………………… 30
Opening Comments:
YAMADA Ryôun
Working on Koans
During the recent Rohatsu Sesshin I explained the method of
working on koans in connection with the instruction given before retiring
to bed. A number of people asked that this be written up in the Kyôshô
so I wish to repeat what I said about the content of the instruction while
augmenting my talk a little.
We speak of working on koans but to talk about that one must first
have a correct idea of what a koan is. I already touched upon the
question, what is a koan, in the previous issue (#356) in my teisho on #45
(“Four Phrases from the Engaku-Sutra”) of the Book of Equanimity.
“The original meaning of koan was public document. A public document
had absolute authority and could not be mistaken. From there it came
to be used in the world of Zen to mean: the essential self, your original
face, the true Buddhist way.” Put succinctly, a koan is your true self.
All the koans that we work on are forms of our true self that the
patriarchs of old are presenting to us using various situations. So we can
say in other words that working on a koan is the practice of trying to see
with the same eye as theirs the forms of the true self that the patriarchs
of old are presenting to us. It goes without saying that when I say “see”
here I do not mean the “see” of seeing a physical object but rather the
meaning is to grasp through one’s own direct experience.
That is enough for a general explanation. More concretely, one is
asked to present to the roshi not an explanation but a concrete
manifestation of the form of the true self being shown in each koan. No
amount of explanation will suffice to “pass” the koan. If one can grasp
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clearly and experientially the true self presented in the koan then one can
spontaneously manifest that true self.
So how is this done? There is only one way. One must become
that true self totally. I myself received guidance for Mu and the Sound of
One Hand from Haku’un Roshi. Koun Roshi directed me through all the
remaining koans. One day in the dokusan room, I think it was while I
was working on the Gateless Gate, Koun Roshi asked me: “You are
progressing through the koans rather smoothly. How are you working
on them?” I replied openly: “I have never thought about how to make a
presentation. I put the koan I have been given into my head, and then I
do nothing but forget myself in MU’ing. Then wondrously the way of
presenting suddenly appears as if coming to me from ‘over there’.” In
reply Koun Roshi said: “That is fine. I was the same. I am not sure
where it came from but the presentation seemed to drop
down—wheeew—as if from the sky like one stream of light.” Even now
that “wheew” of Koun Roshi is ringing in my ears.
Since this method has Koun Roshi’s stamp of approval, I ask you
also to follow it. I would like to repeat the point again. With each koan
one must completely become one’s true self. The presentation is the
expression that the true self makes with each koan that one works on. If
one can become completely that true self it will express itself
spontaneously without need for any directive from anyone. That is
exactly what the true self is.
The one receiving dokusan must also be careful. One must look
carefully to see if the presentation, which may seem OK at first glance, is
one that has been thought out or one that is an expression of the true self,
that is to say, one that has “come down.”
Conversely, some presentations, while seeming to be a little off the
point, can be ones that have “come down.” In this case, rather than just
label the presentation as unacceptable, one must see through it and give
further suitable direction to polish it up.
I hope this instruction is useful to practitioners as well as teachers.
(translated by Jerome CUSUMANO)
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SHÔYÔROKU (Book of Equanimity)
CASE 35
Rakuho’s Obeisance
By
YAMADA Ryôun
Instruction:
Speedy action and swift speech shatter the assault of non-Buddhists
as well as of the heavenly devil.
A master of surpassing caliber, transcending even the principle of his
own school, condescends to help a student of excellent aspiration
and of the sharpest wisdom.
What if you meet a fellow who never turns his head even if he gets hit
with a stick?
Case:
Presenting:
Rakuho came to Kassan and without bowing
stood facing him. Kassan said, “A chicken dwells in the phoenix nest.
It's not of the same class. Go away.” Rakuho said, “I have come
from far away, hearing much about you. Please, Master, I beg you to
guide me.” Kassan said, “Before my eyes there is no you, and here
there is no old monk.”
“Stop it, stop it.
Rakuho shouted, “Kaatzu!”
Don't be so careless and hasty.
Kassan said,
Clouds and the
moon are the same; valleys and mountains are different from each
other. It is not difficult to cut off the tongues of the people under
heaven.
But how can you make a tongueless person speak?”
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Rakuho said nothing. Kassan hit him. With this, Rakuho started to
obey Kassan.
Verse:
The red-tailed carp shakes its head and wags its tail;
Totally independent, he knows how to act in complete agility.
Even if he possesses the art to cut off tongues,
He is pulled by the nose and led to real freedom.
Outside the window screen, in the luminous night, wind and moon are
like day;
In front of the withered tree, blossoms and grass are in eternal spring.
O, a tongueless person, tongueless person!
How fitting is the one phrase – a full manifestation of the absolute
command.
As he walks alone in his sovereign realm, all is perfectly clear.
Well then, – let people under heaven be merry and enjoy themselves!
On the Instruction:
Speedy action and swift speech shatter the assault of
non-Buddhists as well as of heavenly demons.
This describes the manner
in which a Zen master guides a student, which is the main theme of the present koan.
When an accomplished master guides a student, his responses to the moves of the latter
are quick, and his words are so swift and sharp that they can shatter any attack of
non-Buddhists and heavenly demons. “Non-Buddhists” or literally “those outside of the
way” is an expression that was originally used for all systems of thought outside of
Buddhism.
In contrast to those “outside of the way,” Buddhists were called “those inside
the way.”
In India of the 5-6th century BCE there were said to be 95 kinds of
“Non-Buddhists.”
Especially mentioned among them were the so-called “Six teachers
outside the Path” – namely the six founders of Indian schools of thought who were
famous and widely respected. Later, the meaning of the word “outside the Path ” came
to mean “that which is opposed to the truth,” “heresy” or “one who propagates heresies.”
“Heavenly devil” refers to the Devil King, the Lord of the sixth heaven, the world
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of heaven populated by beings without a body, which is the highest place in the realm of
desire. He is said to cause a lot of trouble to the Buddha and practitioners. When
Shakyamuni sat under the Bodhi tree practicing Zazen, this devil king is said to have
appeared and tried to prevent him from reaching enlightenment, but the Buddha
subdued him and became enlightened.
A master of
surpassing caliber, transcending even the
principle of his own school, condescends to help a student of
excellent aspiration and of the sharpest wisdom.
When a true master in
Zen meets a student of excellent aspiration, he dares to transcend common sense and the
basic principles of Buddhism, and teaches him in accordance with his aspiration. This
refers to Kassan in the present case.
What if you meet a fellow who never turns his head even if he
gets hit with a stick? What do you do when you meet such a person of the highest
caliber who does not even budge or turn his head when he is hit with a stick?
With this
question he is introducing the main case. The person of the highest caliber is Rakuho
who appears in this case.
On the Case:
This case is transmitted in the Soto and Rinzai Schools with a slightly different
nuance, and in this sense can be said to be a delicate kind of koan. Of course it is
possible to handle it in Zen training without paying any attention to the respective points
of view of Rinzai or Soto. Perhaps it is better that way.
Nevertheless I’d like to touch
on this delicate point of difference here. As is well known, the Shoyoroku, which was
compiled by Wanshi, following the tradition of the Soto school. So please remember that
it was this Wanshi who chose this koan for this collection.
Rakuho, who appears in this case, is Master Rakuho Gen’an [Luofu Yuanan,
833-897] and was, together with Sansho, a cherished Dharma heir of Master Rinzai. He
served Master Rinzai for 20 years and was called Rinzai’s sharpest arrow (a wondrous
single-pointed arrow). It is said that he was never defeated in any Dharma combat. He
was regarded by Rinzai as “without equal under heaven,” and received Rinzai’s stamp of
approval [inka], and following this Dharma transmission, went on his own independently.
This is where he is, at the point of the Dharma combat in this case. After this Dharma
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combat, Rakuho became a disciple of Kassan, and returning Rinzai’s Dharma seal,
became Kassan’s Dharma heir.
Kassan is Kassan Zen’e [Xiashan Shanyuan, 805-881], Dharma heir of Sensu
Tokujo (dates unknown), a Dharma brother of Tozan Gohon [Dongshan Wuben, 807-869].
From the point of view of the Dharma, Tozan and Kassan were related as Dharma uncle
and nephew, and therefore belong to the Soto lineage. This koan presents the occasion
in which Rakuho, the prime disciple of Rinzai, eventually became the Dharma heir of
Master Kassan, in the direct line of Soto. It is not hard to imagine that Master Wanshi
chose this koan to convey the style of the Soto lineage which is different from the Rinzai
style. But it is not so easy to pick up that difference.
Presenting:
stood facing him.
Rakuho came to Kassan and without bowing
Rakuho came to Kassan to receive his guidance. According to
one version, Kassan had heard rumors of Rakuho and was impressed by him, but
thought, “Alas, there is still something lacking,” so Kassan wrote him a letter to invite
him to come.
Rakuho comes and stands straight in front of Kassan, without even a word of
greeting. In his mind he was audacious enough to disregard Kassan altogether, but on
the other hand, it certainly is the height of rudeness.
Kassan said, “A chicken dwells in the phoenix nest. It's not of
the same class. Go away.”
Bah! A chicken has made its way improperly into
a nest of a phoenix. This is not your place.
Go home, go home!
A phoenix is a
legendary bird in ancient China, revered in the same way as a dragon.
Rakuho said, “I have come from far away, hearing much about
you. Please, Master, I beg you to guide me.”
his attitude entirely.
At that point Rakuho changes
This speed of being able to change one’s mode of being is indeed
worthy of praise. “I have heard of your very high reputation as a Zen Master.
I have
come from afar and seek your guidance. Even one word is enough for me.”
Kassan said, “Before my eyes there is no you, and here there is
no old monk.”
To me, the whole point is whether you can really see into this one
phrase presented by Kassan as his teaching.
That is, the whole koan is about this
phrase, which is the “whole” of Buddhism.
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To say it clearly and exactly, Kassan means, “there is no you, and there is no I.”
There is no you, there is no I, there is no mountain, no stars, no sun, there is no universe
at all. This is what Kassan is saying.
But what is important here to note is that Kassan is not speaking on this level of
“Everything is empty” – which is often employed in Zen. The “really” I was talking
about is precisely this. The “real“ meaning of “absolutely nothing” is that the whole
world of phenomena that extends in front of my eyes is at the same time this fact of
“absolutely nothing.”
I am now writing this sentence facing my computer.
The
computer in front of my eyes as such is “the reality of nothing at all.” Don’t take this
lightly as something which many people, imitating Yamada Koun Roshi and using his
words, say, “The computer in front of me is completely empty.”
I am not talking about
that level of language.
The Dharma combat that ensues between Rakuho and Kassan is something that
I see as Kassan’s own attempt to transmit to Rakuho what I am saying here.
Rakuho shouted, “Kaatzu!”
Don't be so careless and hasty.
Kassan said, “Stop it, stop it.
Clouds and the moon are the same;
valleys and mountains are different from each other.
famous “Kaatzu,” which he had directly received from Rinzai.
“Kaatzu” is lightly brushed away by Kassan.
Rakuho used the
But this trademark
“Stop it, stop it.” Why do you scream like
that? It’s only a big racket. Perhaps you may be seeing “the clouds and the moon are
the same”, but you do not see “valleys and mountains are different from each other” at all.
Wrong, wrong!
To only see “the clouds and the moon are the same” means that you only see
“there are no clouds, and there is no moon.”
You don’t see what I said before, namely
that the clouds and the moon really don’t exist. The clouds and the moon really don’t
exist as such is the world of “clouds and the moon are the same, valleys and mountains
are different from each other.”
As I said before, the world of phenomena itself is “the
clouds and the moon are the same.”
It is not difficult to cut off the tongues of the people under
heaven. But how can you make a tongueless person speak?”
Kassan
is only saying what I have been saying here, in a different way. To cut off the tongue of
people under heaven is to see the world “without tongue.”
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It is to realize the world of
“no tongue”, “no feet”, “nothing at all.” In other words, it is to realize the world in which
all thoughts and concepts have been cleared away. It doesn’t mean that this does not
exist. Your “Kaatzu” is merely on this level. Using one’s tongue and chattering away is
itself a form of the one person without a tongue. Thoughts and concepts as such are the
world in which all thoughts and concepts have been cleared away. You still do not see
this point.
Rakuho said nothing.
Kassan hit him.
With this, Rakuho
started to obey Kassan. Rakuho could say nothing. Without missing a beat,
Kassan gave him the stick. From that time on Rakuho became Kassan’s disciple and
then his Dharma heir, as mentioned before. With the expression “Kassan hit him,”
Master Bansho conveys a humorous nuance: “Who would have thought that Kassan
would become Master Rinzai!”
On the Verse:
The red-tailed carp shakes its head and wags its tail.
The
red-tailed carp who shakes his head and wags his tail is a description of Rakuho. It was
this energetic Rakuho who came to Kassan.
Totally independent, he knows how to act in complete agility.
In the beginning he stood confidently in front of Kassan without even greeting him, but
admonished by Kassan, he quickly changed his attitude and asked for his teaching.
Rakuho could change so completely because he has no self-attachment in the face of the
Dharma.
Even if he possesses the art to cut off tongues, he is pulled by
the nose and led to real freedom.
With Rakuho’s “Kaatzu” he could present the
world of “no tongue” to Kassan, but it was only after Kassan had pulled him by the nose,
could he grasp the wondrous world of “no tongue is tongue” and “speech is no speech,”
“delusion is enlightenment.”
Outside the window screen, in the luminous night, wind and
moon are like day.
Our true Self in which there is nothing at all, which is total
darkness, is at the same time light itself, and shines like the bright daylight that
illuminates the whole universe without limits.
enlightens and clarifies everything.
Even though it is total darkness, it
The “window screen” is literally a curtain of a
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palace made of gold, silver and jade. Even at night it is as bright as daylight.
In front of the withered tree, blossoms and grass are in eternal
spring.
In front of a rock there is a withered tree. There, grasses and blossoms are
always in bloom.
To say that all flowers and grasses are blooming out of the withered
tree is not exactly right. The withered tree is “not possessing anything”; the flowers and
grasses are “unlimited treasure.” So, in the middle of “not possessing anything” there is
unlimited treasure.
But even this saying is not really right. Nothing as such is
unlimited treasure, the withered tree as such is the flowers and grass. “Not possessing
anything” is a different name for unlimited treasure; withered tree is a different name
for flowers and grass.
O, a tongueless person, tongueless person! How fitting is the
one phrase – a full manifestation of the absolute command. One phrase
– “tongueless person” – is enough. As I said before, it refers to the “really” tongueless
person.
A tongueless person is mountains, rivers, happiness, sadness, an old person, a
child, life, death, and at the same time none of these have any shape or form, but are
indeed “a tongueless person.” All we can say is that this is truly a mysterious world.
As he walks alone in his sovereign realm, all is perfectly clear.
Well then, – let people under heaven be merry and enjoy themselves!
Under the heavens and on the earth I alone am honored The whole universe is I myself
– this fact is so clear. When you clearly understand this fact you are completely at peace
and free for the first time.
Nevertheless, people usually do not realize this and live
merrily in a carefree way.
With this we come to the end of my teisho on this koan.
As a reference, I
would like to offer Koun Roshi’s comments on this koan and my thoughts related to this.
Neither Koun Roshi’s comments nor my views are to be considered the “official”
interpretation. These are simply offered as reference for your own practice. So please
take them as such.
Koun Roshi notes that this is just his own personal view and leaves us the
following comment: “I cannot help but think that Rakuho’s “Katsu” in the case and
Rinzai’s “Katsu” are on the level of that which takes away the dualistic view of
subject-object in the phenomenal world. When a kendo master shouts “Mee-n!” in a
match, and when a pianist plays the piano, these also take away the subject-object
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dualistic opposition. These are, however, events in the world of phenomena. Of course,
when the pianist plays the piano in the concert, there is no self, and there is no pianist.
But that itself is not enlightenment.
To make a person with no tongue speak one has to fully grasp that world in
which, even while in the midst of speaking, there is no such thing as a tongue at all.
In
the Five Aspects [Goi] of the Soto School (composed by Zen Master Tozan) it is not the
opposition of subject and object but the opposition of the world of phenomena and the
world of true nature. That is the difference. Of course even in the Rinzai School there
are many persons who see with a true eye, including National Teacher Bukko, the
founder of Engakuji Temple, who wrote the verse “Ah what joy! I am empty, the world is
empty.”
However, here the “Katsu” of Rakuho appears to me to be an event in the world
of phenomena.
Isn’t that what Kassan is prodding him for? He seems to be saying,
“Not enough. You have not yet seen that world of ‘Not a speck of cloud that would
obstruct the gazing eye.’ You have not yet seen world of “Coming in the midst of the
Essence” [shochurai].
Zen Master Dogen practiced Zen for nine years under the guidance of Rinzai
Masters Eisai and Myozen, but could not find satisfaction. So he went to China, where
he attained the experience of “Dropping off body and mind.”
He realized great
enlightenment, seeing the world of “Not a speck of Buddha Dharma.” After coming back
to Japan from China, Dogen continued to hold Zen Master Rinzai in great esteem, but all
of a sudden his evaluation of him takes a different turn. For me [Koun Roshi] this is
similar to the dissatisfaction that Kassan felt toward Rakuho. Please keep this in mind
as reference.”
But as for me [Ryoun Roshi] I question whether Koun Roshi’s point of view
truly hits the mark.
The dissatisfaction of Zen Master Dogen towards Zen Master
Rinzai and toward the entire Rinzai lineage is that they cling too much to the teaching of
emptiness.
The approach of the Rinzai School is first of all to completely realize
“emptiness” and from there one enters into its personalization.
Because of this
procedure it is likely that there is a danger of clinging to emptiness. Ordinary persons
mistake the world of phenomena for the world of fact and do not see the world where
there is “not one thing,” in short the world of emptiness. This is of course a one-sided
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view.
However, to cling to the world of emptiness and to separate the world of
phenomena form the world of emptiness is equally a one-sided view.
“The world of phenomena” and “the world of emptiness” are one and the same
world called by different names. Dogen was exceedingly strict on this point.
Seeing
phenomena and emptiness on equal terms he freely moved to and fro in their midst.
Because of that, if one’s eye is not clear enough, one cannot follow Dogen in his world.
Dogen does not even use the word emptiness at all. It is good to see the opening lines of
the “Genjokoan” Chapter of the Shobogenzo.
What we call the “world of phenomena” is
referred to by Dogen as “When all things are Buddhadharma.” What we call the world
of emptiness or the world of Essence is referred to by Dogen as “When myriad things are
without an abiding self.” These two aspects referred to by “When” are one and the same
world seen from different angles and expressed as such. It is like the difference between
looking at the same teacup from above and looking at it from the side. For Dogen these
two aspects are completely the same, and he went about freely from one to the other.
The entire Rinzai School, beginning with Zen Master Rinzai, lacks this realization of the
equality of the two aspects as well as the freedom to go to and fro in their midst. This,
from Dogen’s point of view, was the cause of his dissatisfaction with them.
(translated by Maria REIS-HABITO)
Picture by Katharina SHEPHERD
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Teisho on the SHÔDÔKA
By YAMADA Kôun
Lecture Eighteen
However the burning iron ring revolves about my head,
With bright completeness of dhyana and prajna
I never lose my equanimity.
If the sun becomes cold, and the moon hot,
Even a host of demons cannot shatter the truth.
The carriage of the elephant moves like a mountain,
How can the mantis block the road?
The great elephant does not loiter on the rabbit's path,
Great enlightenment is not concerned with details,
Don't belittle the sky by looking through a pipe.
If you still don't understand, I will settle it for you.
We have come to the final teisho on the Shôdôka. Let's look at the text without further ado.
However the burning iron ring revolves about my head, with bright
completeness of dhyana and prajna I never lose my equanimity. It is
said that the "iron ring" pulverizes everything. Some commentaries say it is a staff with a
ring attached. We might think of it today as the hammer in an ironworks. Even in a state
where the iron ring is revolving above my head and I don't know when it will descend and
take my life, I am not perturbed in the least.
Dhyana is the concentration of mind, prajna is the wisdom of satori awakening. The
wisdom of satori is usually said to be the wisdom that comes from samadhi power, the
wisdom that arises from concentration of spirit. Although there are definite similarities
between concentration of spirit and the wisdom of satori, they are actually different. Even
though we have mental concentration, if we are still concentrating our spirit on some object
outside of us, spiritual awakening will never result. Concentration of the spirit calls to
mind the martial arts: kendô, kyûdô [archery], jûdô or aikidô. All practices in Japan with
the word dô [way] attached to their name are ways that require concentration of spirit. But
even the most accomplished kendô swordsman cannot hope to come directly to satori
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awakening through the mental concentration developed in his practice of swordsmanship.
I would never deny that incredible powers of concentration are required for this and other
arts. The same holds for the art of kyûdô. Focusing our entire spirit on the target requires
great powers of concentration.
But enlightenment does not result directly from that
concentration of spirit. However, if we concentrate our spirit on something without form
within us, enlightenment will result.
The text speaks in terms of dhyana [concentration of spirit] and prajna [enlightened
wisdom]. Nevertheless, as just mentioned, the wisdom of satori cannot appear without the
power of concentration of mind. But satori awakening does not result from just any sort of
concentration of the spirit. Even a master swordsman like YAMAOKA Tesshû of the Meiji
Period had to practice zazen under the guidance of a Zen roshi. Thus we can be perfectly
and completely endowed with dhyana and the wisdom of enlightenment. The satori which
appears from concentrating our entire spirit on something without form within us is
endowed with the wisdom which allows us to see the actual world. And this world does not
move in the least, no matter how difficult the circumstances. For example, if we are in a
life-and-death situation where death could come at any moment, it does not move at all:
"With bright completeness of dhyana and prajna, I never lose my equanimity."
That's easy enough to say, but no easy thing to put into practice. Kaisen Oshô of Eirinji
Temple said: "Mind and body let go, even fire is cool." It is said that he uttered these words
while being burned to death on the temple veranda. This originally came from a Chinese
poem with the following lines: "Zazen does not always need mountains and rivers: Mind
and body discarded, even fire is cool" (Tojunkaku, 6cCE). This is possible if we are truly
endowed with the "bright completeness of dhyana and prajna."
But I doubt that even a
single person in Japan today is capable of such concentration of spirit. Even though you
have the eye of satori, if you do not have the power issuing from concentration of spirit you
cannot do it. Likewise, if you only have the power of concentration of spirit and have not
yet grasped the truth in the wisdom of satori, you cannot do it either. It is only when both
are present that it becomes possible. Some years back, we read how monks and nuns in
Vietnam committed self-immolation by pouring gasoline on themselves and setting
themselves on fire in protest. Such an act is only possible with the power of zazen. When
Yôka Daishi says, "with bright completeness of dhyana and prajna I never lose my
equanimity," he is speaking of his own world.
If the sun becomes cold, and the moon hot, even a host of demons
cannot shatter the truth. It's normal for the sun to be hot and the moon to be cool.
The expression here is like saying, "when the river starts flowing upstream." Even in a
totally abnormal state where the sun has become cold and the moon hot, and no matter
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how many demons are present, it's not possible to destroy the true teaching. That means
the preaching of the Buddha who taught the true fact. It is not the true teaching simply
because the Buddha preached it; it is the true teaching because he was preaching the truth.
"Demon" can be understood here as that which robs life, that which confuses our bodies and
minds and cuts off the life of virtue. It is said that there are four kinds of demons, all of
which act as a hindrance to accomplishing the Way. No matter what evil or demons may
appear, they cannot destroy the truth which the Buddha taught. Yôka Daishi is brimming
with confidence and conviction when he utters these words. He knows that, no matter
what anyone says, this fact is immovable and absolute.
The carriage of the elephant moves like a mountain, how can the
mantis block the road? The carriage of the elephant means a huge and splendid
carriage drawn by elephants.
It is the Greater Vehicle.
This great carriage moves
majestically with the authority of a mountain. You may have seen pictures of the floats at
the Gion Festival in Kyoto moving with stately calm through the crowds. This may help
you create an image in your mind of what Yôka Daiji is speaking of here. In other words,
the teachings of the Greater Vehicle of the Mahayana moves forward with stately majesty,
not perturbed by anything. How can a tiny mantis standing on the road block the advance
of that enormous and stately vehicle? There is the Chinese fable of the "Axe of the Mantis,"
referring to how the two forefeet of the mantis resemble an axe. The mantis flails his
forefeet aggressively at anything in its path, forgetting its own tininess and puniness. That
little mantis is hardly a match for the huge vehicle moving steadily down the road. We can
think of the mantis as symbolizing ordinary learning or philosophy or perhaps the
teachings of the Small Vehicle. Even if those teachings attempt to disturb the carriage of
the elephant (i.e., Mahayana Buddhism) they cannot do so.
The great elephant does not loiter on the rabbit's path, great
enlightenment is not concerned with details. Earlier in this poem, Yôka
Daishi declared:
Cut out directly the root of it all-This is the very point of the Buddha-seal.
I can't respond to any concern about leaves and branches.
Actually the cases are not few where people get caught up in details and lose sight of the
main matter. If we can cut to the root source, those other smaller problems will find
solutions on their own. If you want to fell a great tree, you have to cut at the roots. Then
the leaves and branches will wither on their own. Nevertheless, many people concern
themselves with the leaves and branches, forgetting the trunk. That's not the real way. As
17
Yôka Daishi says, "The great elephant does not loiter on the rabbit's path.
Great
enlightenment is not concerned with details." The same holds for any enterprise or for
government. You have to grasp the matter at the source. Then, even if you make some
errors in details, it will not have any effect on the main matter. What's important is
grasping the root matter and seeing the essentials.
This is of course true regarding
enlightenment as well. Grasping the essential matter is most important and then knowing
how to express it. We must be careful not to get excessively caught up in the literal
meaning of the words and miss the main point.
Don't belittle the sky by looking through a pipe. The Japanese expression
kanken [literally, looking through a bamboo pipe] found in this poem is still used today to
mean excessively narrow views. In Japan we also speak in terms of "looking at the sky
through a reed" to make the same point. Looking at the sky through a pipe, we fail to
notice how truly broad and limitless the sky actually is. Yôka Daishi warns us against
doing so and then concluding that the sky is narrow when we have never really experienced
the sky. Then comes the final line of the poem:
If you still don't understand, I will settle it for you. Throughout this poem, he
says, I have attempted to preach the basic matter in a detailed and careful manner. If you
still don't understand, you must come to me and I will settle the matter for you. Come to
me with any problem you have and I will cut off the problem at its root. Thus ends the
Shôdôka.
Having completed this series of teisho I am all the more in awe of Yôka Daishi's clarity of
vision and richness of expression. At the same time, I can't help admiring myself a little for
having been able to speak at length about this great work!.
(translated by Paul SHPHERD)
Photo by HARA Akira
18
************************************************
Words of
Yamada Kôun Roshi
(67)
***********************************************
Genuine Experiences Are
One
Buddhism always has as its goal “believing in, understanding, practicing,
verifying and actually entering” [shin, ge, gyō, shō, nyū] the infinite and absolute world.
The terms ‘infinite and absolute’ are the opposite of the terms ‘limited and relative,’ but
we can’t picture that fact concretely in our minds. Yet we can call both infinity and the
absolute facets of zero or emptiness. When we thoroughly penetrate the world of zero,
we can concretely gaze at and contemplate infinity. The clear and personal
witnessing of this zero is called kensho or verification [shō]. Dōgen Zenji seemed to
have preferred the word ‘verification’ [shō]. Now, it would not be an exaggeration to
say that without verification [shō], there is no Zen, and without Zen, there is no
Buddha Way.
From the standpoint of common sense, the words that spring forth from a shō
experience are all irrational, ridiculous, and may make rational-minded western
scholars indignant, but when you grasp the world of zero, you understand that they are
only natural.
There is a saying: “The ten-thousand teachings come down to one,” meaning
that, in the end, all religions are one. In this ‘one’ there are various levels of depth.
There are people who say, with a wise look, such things as, “Christianity, Buddhism,
Confucianism and Taoism are ultimately all the same.” This kind of ‘oneness’ is very
superficial, and a person who speaks this way doesn’t know any of the religions well.
In any event, when the ten-thousand teachings are investigated ideologically, they will
never become ‘one.’ It just becomes a theoretical dispute. In the end, the theories
also disappear and only quarreling remains. Even in the same Buddhist religion, the
practice of praising the Lotus Sutra and that of praising Amida Buddha don’t become
one, and on top of that in the same Nichiren School of Buddhism various sect ‘egos’ rise
up and quarrel with each other. In Zen it is more or less the same as all the rest.
This is because they try to settle disputes with nothing more than ideas or logic.
What is “Praise to the Lotus Sutra?” It’s this! (thrusting out his kotsu.) What is
“Praise to Amida Buddha”? It’s this! (kotsu.) This is declaring the matter of our
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intrinsic nature, the true fact. In the Third Case of the Gateless Gate (Mumonkan), it
says, “Whenever Master Gutei was asked a question, he just held up a finger.” This
has the same import. There is a koan that goes, “the Diamond Prajna Paramita
Sutra.” This is it also. So long as they have genuine religious experiences, all
religions are one. As an example, let me tell you about the founder of the religion
called Kurozumi-kyō.
As you know, in Japan from ancient times there has been a teaching called
Shintō. It is a religion that worships Amaterasu Ômikami, the Sun Goddess, as its
principle goddess. Though there seem to be various wrong impressions between it
and Buddhism on both sides, a person who clearly had a personal experience of the
Goddess Amaterasu was KUROZUMI Munetada, the founder of the Kurozumi Sect of
Shintō.
The head shrine of the Kurozumi Sect is in Okayama [in the western part of
Japan] and not well known in the Kantō area [the eastern part with Tokyo as its
center]. Munetada was born roughly two hundred years ago in 1780 in Nakano
Village in Mino, a fief of the Bizen feudal clan during the Tokugawa era. His family
had served as priests at Shintō shrines for generations, and his father, Kurozumi
Muneshige, was the priest of the near-by Imamura Shrine dedicated to the Sun
Goddess. From early childhood on, Munetada had very deep filial devotion, and it is
said that as a youth his prayer was “to become a living god and make his parents’
names well-known into the next world.” However, when Munetada was thirty-three
years old, both parents took ill during an epidemic and died, probably from cholera or
typhoid fever.
For Munetada, who was so devoted to his parents, this was a great blow. He
wept continually from morning to night, and it’s said that he even lost consciousness
before his parents’ graves. And so, in the extremity of grief, he himself fell ill with
pulmonary tuberculosis and was sick in bed for a year and a half. As his condition
became critical, he resigned himself to the fact that he too would die. But at this point
a strange thing happened. It is described in the book A Brief Account of the Founder,
a biography of Munetada, as follows (cited in: NOBUHARA Taisen, Kurozumi
Munetada and His Religion, 1962) :
At that time, the Founder thought, “Originally I grieved so over the death of my
parents, afflicted at heart and becoming gravely depressed, that I became ill. If
I only could change my mind to take interest in things and be merry, so that my
heart becomes cheerful, the illness would cure itself.” The Founder then
decided that to nourish his mind even for length of one breath would be filial
piety. Whether seeing or hearing, he would give thanks for the blessing from
heaven. Earnestly, he nourished his mind by means of his own mind, and day
by day--like tearing off a strip of thin paper--he began to recover.
20
One day he got up from his sickbed, forced himself to bathe, and, as he bowed in
veneration to the Sun Goddess, like frost disappearing in the morning sun, he
was suddenly granted a complete cure of his long illness….(p.11)
Continuing to quote Nobuhara Taisen’s description verbatim:
….a so-called ‘miraculous’ phenomenon occurred. Now, on the morning of the
winter solstice that year, as Munetada was venerating the Sun Goddess (the
sun) as usual, “a cheerful spirit suddenly pierced my heart. Filled with
gratitude and joy, I involuntarily swallowed the rays of the sun. Then, in an
instant I became light of heart and grasped for the first time the fresh and vivid
being of heaven and earth.” He had had a special kind of religious experience.
Munetada was 35 years old.
To “grasp the fresh and vivid being of the heaven and earth” is a splendid
expression. The goddess is the fresh and vivid being of the universe. He didn’t
simply say that he had “seen” the goddess but that he had personally grasped
that living goddess. Truly, these words describe well Munetada’s vibrant
religious experience (op. cit., p. 12).
Similarly, in a separate publication, The Sage Munetada, Nobuhara Taisen describes
the scene of Munetada’s “grasping the fresh and vivid being” as follows.
I quote:
Rising before it was light, Munetada worshipped the bright red circle of the
great sun as it rose behind the southern tip of Mt. Sō and was struck more
strongly than usual with emotion. There is nothing more sublime in this world
than the shimmering sun as it rises from behind a thick veil of auspicious purple
clouds. For him it was not simply a scene. One must say it was the greatest
of all miracles in the world.
“Thank you!” Munetada shouted instinctively. In the next moment, he
unconsciously gasped, “Ah!” Then, the rising red discus raced towards him
through limitless space and plunged into his heart. At the instant he
involuntarily gasped and closed his eyes, his entire body completely fused with
the great shining light (pp. 31-32).
I would like to append a short examination of whether this religious experience was
in essence the same as the Zen experience of satori or whether it was completely
different.
(To be continued)
(compiled by TONOIKE Zen’yū, translated by Joan RIECK)
21
Thoughts of Gratitude on
the 100th Birthday
Of
Mrs. Kazue Yamada
by Ursula OKLE
On September 23rd, Mrs. Kazue YAMADA, or "Okusama" as we foreigners
call her, had her 100th birthday. It was celebrated the day before with her family, and
we foreigners living in Kamakura were also invited. We try to visit Okusama as much
as we can in the Life-Commune Home in Kita-Kamakura, and we enjoy seeing her
every time.
Around 4 pm on September 22nd, Rainer and I picked up Okusama by car for
the first time since she began living in Kita-Kamakura; we brought her to her house
for the party. Along the way, she wondered where we were going and said, "We're not
going very far away, are we?" I think she was remembering that in former times we
quite often went out together for a drive in Rainer's car and had lunch with her at
different places. We told Okusama that we were going to her house, and when we
came close to the Hachiman Shrine she began showing us the way to the zendo.
Almost everybody was already there waiting for her. Her family was happy to see her
in good health. We went with her to the zendo and she offered incense at the altar.
It was a very nice party and everyone did their best to make Okusama happy.
Birthday cards and flowers were sent and also greetings from many foreign countries,
because she was the Japanese mother for many who now live all over the world.
Okusama and Koun Roshi had made their stay in Japan like “feeling at home”. In fact,
when I met Father Lassalle for the last time in Germany at the zendo in Dietfurt, he
said to me, “Please give my best regards to my mother in Japan." At that time he was
around 90 and I never will forget this. But also among the Japanese who came for
22
zazen during all these years, I got the impression that for many of them she was like a
second mother as well.
Okusama is the first person I've ever known to celebrate a 100th birthday,
and we four foreigners who celebrated it with her are very thankful that we can still
spend time with her. It was through her efforts and those of Koun Roshi that San’un
Zendo was built, and it became a zendo where everybody who experienced its spirit
immediately felt at home. During her birthday party I heard her say what a good
thing it was to build this zendo.
Many more things could be said, but for myself, after nearly 42 years in
Japan with Okusama and Koun Roshi at San’un Zendo, I can only express my deepest
gratitude. Every year on her birthday I also feel this gratitude for Okusama in all the
birthday greetings sent to her from so many people in foreign countries.
I know you all join with me in wishing good health and all the very best for
Mrs. Kazue Yamada.
Pictures by Ursula OKLE
23
Report on the
New Zendo Site
In Kyosho #353 (March/April 2012) Ryoun
Roshi related in his Opening Comments
how the plan to build a new zendo for the
Sanbo-Kyodan had come about. Also, the
concrete sketch of the zendo building was
explained in Kyosho #354 (May/June 2012).
Since then a lot of readers expressed the
desire to see how the new zendo site looks.
Therefore, we would like to show you some
pictures of the site along with a brief
explanation, in order to give you a general
idea of the place.
The spots A from H indicate the
alphabetical numbering of the pictures
shown below.
A.
The entrance
gate to the slope
way toward the
hilltop, where the
zendo is scheduled
to be constructed.
B.
The
same
entrance seen from
the (public) street
C.
On the way up the slope
toward the hilltop.
(The site is about 25 meters
above street level. The alley way
up the slope is about 50
meters long.
24
D.
A vegetable garden
up on the hill
E.
A house on the hill.
This will be demolished in
due course.
F.
Another house with a warehouse on
the hill.
These buildings will also be
demolished, so that a new zendo can be
built.
G.
Various trees on the hill: cherry
trees, Japanese maple trees, orange
trees, loquat trees, plum trees,
persimmon trees, etc. They will be
preserved in the zendo compound as far
as possible.
H.
Last summer there was a
geological inspection by digging into the
ground at several spots on the hill. The
results will be carefully integrated into
the latest planning.
In order to construct the new zendo we will need at least 5 million US dollars. The
new zendo must be built by the Sanbo-Kyodan itself, and we sincerely ask you to
cooperate with us in the fund-raising. Any support from friends of the Sanbo-Kyodan
or from anyone who sympathizes with our efforts would also be highly appreciated. In
order to make a donation please contact your local Zen teacher(s) whose names you
can find on the followeing list:
http://www.sanbo-zen.org/master_e.html.
Thank you very much.
25
Cleaning Action at the New Zendo Site
by ICHINO Toshiyuki
Recently, Mr. HONDA Ikuji, Ms. TSUBAKI Tomoko and I – all middle-aged
people – have been carrying out the cleaning and managing activities on the new
zendo site. Up to the fall of 2011 there was a care-taker in charge of the site. Now we,
the group mentioned above, are acting as the group looking after the site. Especially
Mr. Honda visits and cleans the place quite often since his house is rather near the
hill.
The façade of the hill is in fact a forest, producing lots of dead leaves on the
adjacent street in the fall. Our primary assignment now is to collect these fallen
leaves so that they don’t disturb the inhabitants nearby. Sometimes we have to cut
the bamboo branches covering the electricity lines or trim the twigs of the growing
trees.
Quite near the site live the leader of the “green preservation club” as well as the
head of the local community. When we had the first joint cleaning action, they came
to us and asked, “What’s going to be up there? What will happen to this forest? We
would like to ask you not to cut down the trees.” They were quite worried.
We told them that there would be a zendo. “Oh, a zendo! That is a relief. We
were worried that something strange would be constructed up there.” It is nice to
know that “Zen” has a fine reputation here! This will certainly guarantee that we will
get along fine with the neighbors, and there will be people wanting to join us in the
sitting too.
There are many kinds of trees at the site.
Plum, cherry, persimmon, biwa
(loquat), summer orange and so on. There is already a vegetable garden too.
In the cherry blossom season or the plum blossom time, we will be able to enjoy
the beautiful sights here. Also we will be able to produce seasoned plums, persimmon
tea or loquat tea by ourselves. A very healthy future indeed.
Moreover, there are various crickets and birds chirping and singing, thus
comforting our burdened heart. The higurashi cicadas in the summer will truly be a
26
treat. “Higurashi” means “to live only for the day”, which is exactly what I am doing
as a poor monk.
The site is near the top of the Okurayama Hill, situated in a very quiet
residential area. But, since it is quite elevated from the level of ordinary houses, it is
all the more serene. There is the Okurayama Park, which is famous for the “plum
forest,” and an attractive pavilion called “Okurayama Memorial House”, built in the
1920s, stands nearby. They all create a beautiful atmosphere.
In order to spread the authentically transmitted Buddha Way for the sake of all
living beings, we do have to successfully build and maintain a new zendo. With this
wish as our prayer we carry on our actions: cutting trees, chopping bamboos and
collecting fallen leaves….
Giant
bamboo
trees
being cut down, so that
they
don’t
interfere
with
the
electricity
cables.
Cleaning action going on.
Photo by HARA Akira
27
0
ZENKAI SCHEDULE
of Sanbo-Kyodan Society in Japan
for JANUARY , FEBRUARY & MARCH 2013
San’un Zendo Zazenkai
Ryôun-an Zazenkai
(Only for people working on post-kensho kôans)
Dir. by: YAMADA Ryôun Roshi
Jan. 13 (Sun), 27 (Sun)
Feb.
none
Mar. 10 (Sun), 24 (Sun)*
Dir. by: YAMADA Ryôun Roshi
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
9:00 am - 4:30 pm:
Zazen,Teisho, Dokusan & Samu
* Memorial Service for the late
YASUTANI Haku’un Roshi
12 (Sat)
none
09 (Sat)
9:00 am - 12:00 am: Zazen, Dokusan.
The schedule is subject to change.
Contact: Ms. Ursula OKLE
(see above)
San’un Zendo Sesshin
Dir. by: YAMADA Ryôun Roshi
Mar. 15 (Fri) 19:00 –
Mar. 20 (Wed) 15:00
Yoyogi-Uehara Zazenkai
Dir. by: KUBOTA Ji’un Roshi
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Contact:
26 (Sat)
09 (Sat)
09 (Sat)
Ms. Ursula OKLE
Fax: +81-(0)467-23-5147
Email: [email protected]
9:00 am - 4:00 pm:
Zazen, Teisho, Dokusan.
or:
Mr. SATO Migaku
At: -Chitose Building, 3F
Uehara 1-33-12
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0064
Email:
[email protected]
Contact:
Mr. MATSU'URA Yoshihisa
Tel: +81-(0)3-466-9225
28
Gallery
ダンス Tanz
2003
130x130cm
Acryl,Sand/canvas
YOKO’O Tatsuhiko
29
Photo by
HARA Akira
Editor’s Note:
We wish you, dear readers of the English Kyosho, a very happy New Year 2013!
May the new year bring you valuable fruit in your efforts to constantly deepen your
practice and to let all living beings take part in your great fruit.
In this number of the Kyosho the series of teishos on the Shodoka by YAMADA
Koun Roshi comes to its completion.
translation work.
We thank Paul SHEPHERD for his wonderful
It is a great privilege for us to have Paul with his unique talent to
freely render any Japanese texts, even if they are written in classical Japanese/Chinese,
into beautiful English.
In the next number we will start the teisho series on the
Shinjinmei, also translated by Paul.
Another special contribution is an article by Ursula OKLE, who has written a
commemorative article in deep gratitude for Mrs. YAMADA Kazue (the wife of YAMADA
Koun Roshi), who turned 100 last September. Mrs. Yamada was virtually the one who
built the San’un Zendo for us, and we know that, without her, the Sanbo-Kyodan Zen
movement would never have come to its fruition.
We cannot thank her enough for this.
Then follows a short report on the site of the newly planned zendo with some pictures, so
that the readers may have a general idea what the place looks like.
Mr. ICHINO, who is
one of the people who have been taking care of the site, reports on their action as well as
on his impressions of the site.
It certainly is a beautiful site; as a matter of fact, however,
we need more solid financial basis for the start of the construction, and we must jointly
pray that more donations should flow into the zendo account.
We sincerely ask you for
your further support and cooperation
Gassho.
(editor)
The KYôSHô (Awakening Gong), No. 358(January 1, 2013)
Issued by: The Religious Foundation Sanbô-Kyôdan
Hase 1-6-5, Kamakura-shi, 248-0016 Japan
Edited by: The Sanbô-Kyôdan Society (Sanbô-Kôryûkai)
%Tokyo Kembikyôin
Kudan-minami 4-8-32, Tokyo 102-8288 Japan
Tel: 03-5210-6669
Fax: 03-5210-6676
Email: [email protected]
http://www.sanbo-zen.org/
30