THE THREE PILLARS OF ZEN

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TEACHI NG, PRAC

compile & eite wth trans
forord b HUSTON SMITH
THREE PILLARS O F ZEN
TI CE A ND E NL I G HTE N M E NT
[ato1; intoducton & n
o
te, by PHILIP KAPLEAU
BEACON PRESS BOSTON
A NOTE ON TBI DECOlATIONS f The seon
ig dec, fom abut one to fve cte
ago, ae !, the fafl bh- "signate" or
prsou cphen tht wee ofen adopted by Z prests
a othe cuted Japas i th litera a astc
avotion. Ko were only vaguely related to orthoaphy
a ae ud hee, not for meang, but abstaly, for
ti deorative quality. O the tide pae i the k of
Butchokoku a sveteeth-ety Zen mte.
Copyright in Japan, 1965, by Philip Kapleau
First published as a Beacon Paperback in 1967 from
the second printing (with revisions, 1967) by
arrangement with John Weatherhill, Inc., New
York and Tokyo
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Printed in the United States of America
International Standard Book Number: 0-8070-5975-7
I9 I8 I7 I6 I5 I4 I
J
DEDI C
1TED WITH RESPECT AND GRATITUDE T
O M
Y
TEACHERS I YASUTANI-ROSHI, MASTER OF TAI HEI
TEMPLE I HARADA-ROSH!, LATE ABBOT OF HOSSHIN
MONASTERY
I
AND NAKAGAWA-ROSH!, ABBOT OF
RYUTAKU MONASTERY I ALL OF WHOM HAVE SELF
LESSLY TAUGHT THE TRUTH OF THE DHARMA FOR
THE WELFARE OF MEN I N THE EAST AND THE WEST
CONTENTS
Foreword, by Huston Smith x
Edtor's Preface X
PART ONE
I
TEACHING AND PRACTICE
I
I
Y ASUTA-ROsm
'
S
I
NRODUCORY lC
ON ZE TRG
Editor's Introducton 3
A Biographical Note on Yasuti-roshi 2
4
The Lectues
I
I
Theory and Practce of Zazen 26
2
I
Precautons to Obsere i Zazen 34
3 I
i usory Visions and Sensations 38
4 I
The Five Varietes of Zen
4
1
5
I
The Three Am of Zazen
4
6
6
I
Individual Instucton
49
7 I
Shian-taza 53
8
I
The Parable of Enyadat 5
4
vii
vi
I
CONTENTS
9 I
Cause and Efect Are One
57
IO
I
The Three Essntials of Zn Practce
sB
II
I
Aspiraton
6
II
I
YASUTANI-Rosm's CoMTARY ON T KoAN Mu
Editor's Introducton
63
The Cometary 71
m
I
YASUTAN-ROsm's PAT INTVS
W TE WESS
Edtor's Intoducton 83
The Intervews
I
I
Student A (Woman, Age 6o)
9
6
2
I
Stdent B (Man, Age 45) 105
3
I
Student C (Man, Age 43) 107
4
I
Studet D (Woman, Age 40) 121
s I
Student E (Man, Age 4) 122
6
I
Stdent F (Woma, Age 45) 123
7
I
Student G (Man, Age 25) 125
8
I
Student H (Woman, Age 37) 133
9
I
Student I (Man, Age 30) 134
10
I
Student} (Woman, Age 33) 136
I
I
BAssu's SERMON ON Om-MD
A LETR TO Hs DISCILES
Editor's Intoducton
155
The Sermon
I6
The Letters
I
I
To a Man from Kumasaka
164
2
I
To the Abbes of Shinryu-ji
166
3
I
To Lord Naamura, Goveror
of Aki Province 170
4
I
To a Dying Man 173
s I
To the Layman Ippo (Homma Shaken) 173
CONTENTS
I
I
6
I
To a Monk i Shobo Hennitage
178
7
I
To the NW Furuawa
179
8
I
First Letter to the Zen Priet Iguchi 181
9
I
Seond Letter to the Zen Priest Iguchi 182
10
I
Third Letter to the Zen Priest Iguchi 183
II
I
Fourth Letter to the Zen Priest Iguchi 184
12
I
To a Nun ISS
PART TWO
I
ENLIGHTENMENT
v
I
EIGH CONTEMPORARY ENLGHMN EXEC
OF jAPAE AD WETERNERS
Editor's Introducton I89
The Experiences
I
I
Mr. K. Y., A Japanee Executve 204
2
I
Mr. P. K., A American Ex-Businesmn 208
3
I
Mr. KT., A Japanese Garden-Designer 229
4
I
Mr. C. S., A Japanese Retred Goverent
Worker 233
5
I
Mrs. A. M., A American Shoolteacher 239
6
I
Mr. A. K., A Japanes Insuance Adjustr 24
5
7
I
Mrs. L. T. S., A American Artst 250
8
I
Mrs. D. K., A Canadia Houswife 2
5
4
V
I
YAEKO IWASAK's ENLIGHMENT LES
TO HARADA-ROSm AND Hs COMS
Editor's Introducton 26
A Biographical Note on Harada-roshi 273
Te Letters and Comments
I
I
Evidence of Kensho 276
2
I
Evidence of Great Enlghtenment
277
3
I
Evidence of Deepened Enightenment
280
X
I
CONTENTS
VI
I
VIII
IX
X
I
4 Evdence of Direct Experience of
the Great Way of Buddhism
282
5
I
Evdence of Attaing the Non-Regresig
Mind of Fuge
283
6
I
Evdence of the Joy and Peace of Beig at One
with te Dharma
28
5
7
I
Further Evdence of the Joy and Peace of
Beig at One with the Dharma 28
7
8 Presentmet ofDeath 289
PART THREE
I
SUPPLEMENTS
DoGEN oN "BEG-TI" 29
5
TH TE 0XRIG PCTUS
W COMENTAY A VEE
3
01
ZA PosTUES ILUSTT 315
NoTEs ON Z VocAUAY
AD BuomsT DocTRE
3
21
Inde 351
FOREWORD
I
by HUSTON SMITH
I
Traditon has it that. it w

s i the sit century A.D., with the

jouey of Bod.dharma from India to China, that Zen Buddhism
fst moved east. Si hundred years later, in te twelfth century,
it traveled east agai, to Japa. Now that more than aother si
hudred years have elapsed, is it to take a third giant stride eastward,
ts tme to the West?
No one knows. Current Wester iterest in Zen wears the guise of
te fad it in part is, but the iterest alo rus deper. Let me cite the
impresion Zen has made on three Weter md of some note,
those of a psychologist, a phlosopher, and a historian. Te book C. G.
Jug was reading on his deathbed was Charle Lu's Ch'an and Zen
Teachings: First Series, and he expressly asked his seretary to write
to tell the author that "he was enthusiastc .... Whe he read what
Hsu Y un said, he sometmes felt as if he himself could have said exact
ly this! It was just 'it' !"1 In philosophy, Martn Heidegger is quoted
as sayg: "Ifl understand [Dr. Suzuki] correctly, this is what I have
been tryig to say i all my writigs."2 LynWhite is not te molder
of modem thought that Jung and Heidegger have been, but he is a
fne historian, and he predict: "It may well be that te publicaton
of D. T. Suzuki's frst Essays in Zen Budhis
_
in 1927 w seem i
1
From H unpublshed letter from D. Mare-Louise von Fran to Charles Luk
dated September 12, 1961.
2 In Willia Baett (ed.), Ze Buddhism: Seleded Wrtings of D. T. Suzuki
(Gden City: Doubleday Achor Books, 1956), p. x.
xi
xi
I
FOREWORD
fute generatons as great an intellectal event as William of Moer
beke' s Lat translatons of Aristotle in the thirteenth cetury or
Marsiglio Ficino's ofPlato in the feeth."1
Why should the West, domated to the extent it curretly is by
scientic modes of thought, go to school to a perspectve forged be
fore the rise of modem science? Some t te answer lies in the
extent to which the Buddhist cosmology antcipated what contem
porary science has empiricaly discovered. The paralels are impres
sive. Astronomical te and space, which irrevocably smashed te
West's previous word view, slip into the fold of Buddist cosmol
ogy wthout a ripple. If we tu from macroosm to microcosm,
from the ite to the itesmal, we fnd the same uncanny pre
sciece. While the Greeks were positing atoms that were eter
because not composite (a-toma-indvisible, that which cannot be
cut), Buddhst were tachng that everg corporeal is imperma
nent (anicca) because consttuted of dharmas as mule i duraton
as they are in space-remarkably lie te feetng blips that partcles
regiter on te scientst' oscilloscopes.
To retu for a moment to the macrocosm, it is not just the dimen
sions of the scientc cosmology tat Buddhism previsioned, but its
form as well. We have become famliar with the debate between
Geo G ' "b" b " d F d H 1 ' " d " rge amow s xg ang an re oy e s stea y state cosmog-
onies, the fst arguing that the universe i the contuing con
sequence of the explosion of a single primeval atom; the second, that
the unverse has always been in te state in which we know it, fesh
hydrogen being contnuously created to replace that which is beig
empted out through te stars' recession once they exceed the speed
of light. The latest word from Mount Palomar is that both tese teo
ries appear to be wrong. The red shfs on the spectrographc reports
from distant galaxie suggest they are slowing down. The hypotheis
t evokes is that after expanding for a while the uiverse contracts,
ony to repeat te cycle indefitely. As the Harard astronomer
Harlow Shapley put the matter, instead of the "big bang" or the
" d " th . h th "b b b " stea y state eone, we ave e ang . . . ang . . . ang
theory. "Very intrestg," says the Buddhist, this bing what his
cosmology ha taught h all along.
Frontiers o Knowledge in the Study of Man (New York: Hr ad Brothers,
1956), pp. 304-5.
FOREWORD
I
xiii
The West may fd such instances of Buddhism's scientc pre
science striking, but ths cannot accout for Buddhism's appeal. For
one tng, t West cannot feel that in science it has anytng to
learn from Buddhism; the most it can do i this sphere i give the
Buddhists good marks for some precocious hunches. But there is the
further fact that it is not Buddhism in genera that is itriguing the
Wet so much as the specic school of Buddhism that i Zen. We
understand the specic attracton of Zen Buddhism when we realie
the extent to which the contemporary West i animated by "pro
phetic faith," the sense of the holiness of the ought, the pulof the way
tngs could be and shoud be but as yet are not. Such faith has obv
ous vrtes, but unles it i balanced by a companon sense of the
holiness Cf the is, it becomes top-heavy. If one's eyes are always on
tomorrows, todays slip by unperceived. To a West which i its con
cer to refashion heaven and earth is i danger of lettng the preent
ness of lie- the ony life we reay have-slip through its :ngers, Zen
come as a reminder that i we do not lear to perceive the mystery
and beauty of ou present life, ou present hou, we shanot perceive
the worth of any life, of any hou.
There is the fer fact tat with the collapse of metaphysics,
natral theology, and objectve revelaton, the West is facing for the
frst te as a civation the problem of livng without objectvely
convcig absolutes-i a word, wthout dogmas. As Chrst waled
on te waters, so is the contemporary Westerer havng to walk on
te sea of nothingness, buoyant i te absence of demonstrably cer
t supports. Facig this precarious assignment, the W estemer hears
of m :n across the sea who have for centuies taken up thei abode i
te Void, come to feel at home i it, and to fnd joy wthin it. How
can this be? The West does not understand, but the Nothingness of
which it hears from across te sea souds like sometg it may have
to come to terms with.
Zen tels us that the is is holy and the Void is home, but such
afmations are not Zen. Rather, Zen is a method for attaing to the
drect experience of the truth of these afrmations. This brigs us to
the present book, for I know of no other that gives the reader so f
an understandig of what ths method is. For one thing, it presents
for the frst time in Englsh Y asutani-roshi' s "Introductory Lecture
on Zen Traing," lectre which have deservedy won the highet
xv. / POREWORD
of praise in Japan as being, in te words of one comentator, "te
bet intoducton to Ze Buddism yet writte."1
But te book contais another prize that is eve more stg. Up
to now it has bee a but impossible for those who have not tem
slve undergone Ze tainng to get much of an ig of what
tpie i one cral phase of te proces, namely dokusan-te
srie of solem, prvate itervews i which the roshi gude te
stdent's medtaton toward its goal of enlight1 nent-for the sub
stce of these itervews has been considered personal ad not to be
dvulged. Now a rosh, convced that ou new age occasions new
procedure, has permitd a series of thee interviews to be reproduced.
Suc material has never appeared even i Japanee; for it to appear in
Englsh, i t book, is a maor breaktough.
No one but Philp Kapleau coud have wrtte t book. He knows
Z fom twelve year of ardent practce, tee of these years in both
Soto ad R monasteries. He knows the Japanese who have col
laborated to render h tanlatons of lttleknow material impecca
ble. He knows the Japanese language wel enough himself to have
sred as iterreter for hs ros's interews wt Wester students.
He s te sl of years of traing as a cou reporter to have re
corded tee interviews rapidly i shorthand as soon as they were
over. Ad he has a literary style that is lucid ad gracefl. This assem
blage of talets is unique. It has produced a remarkable book that is
certn to assume a permanet place i the librar of Zen literate i
Weter language.
HU STON SMITH
Poessor of Philosophy
Massachusett Institute o Technology
1 Mn. Ruth Fule Sa t dor of te Ft Z Inttte of Amec i
Jap at Kyoto.
EDITOR' S PREFACE / Briefy stted, Zen is
a religion wt a wque metod of body-mnd taining whose a is
satori, tat is, Self-realzaton. Thoughout t volume I have te
to convey the essentaly relgious character ad spirit of Zn-ye,
its rt and symbols, its appeal to te heart no less tan to the
mind-for as a Buddst Way of liberaton Z is most asuedly
a religion. Grounded i the highest teachgs of te Budd, it was
brought from Idia to Ch, where the methods and techques
which are characteristcaly Zen's were evolved and then tough
t centurie fer elaborated in Japan. Zen Buddsm is tus te
consumaton of the spiritual experiences of three gret Asia
civtons. I Japan tody ts traditon is stll very much alive;
in Zen temples, monastrie, and private homes me and women
fom every walk of lfe can be found actvely engaged i zazen, the
prnciple discipline of Zen.
At its profoundest level Zen, like every other great relgion, tra
scends its ow teachngs and practce, yet at te same tme tere is no
Zen apart from tese practces. The attmpt i te Wet to isolate
Zen i a vacuum of the itelect, cut of from the very disciplines
which are its raison d'ite, has nourshed a pseudoZen whch is lite
more tan a mind-tcklig diversion of hghbrows and a playthng
of beatniks.
Te best way to correct tis distorton, it semed to me, was to
compie a book settng fort te autentic doctrines and practce of
XV
x I EDITOR
'
s P REFACE
Zen fom the mouths of the masters themselves-for who knows
these method better than they?-as well as to show them come alve
in the minds and bodies of men and women of today. This I have
done chiefy trough a contemporary Soto master, Yasutani-roshi;
a fourteenth-centu Rnzai master, Bassui-zeni; and the enlighten
ment stories of Japanese ad American followers of Zen. Y asutani
roshi's introducor lectures on Zen practice, his lecture (teisho) on the
koan Mu, and his prvate instrctons (dokusan) to ten of his Wester
students for a unity which embraces the whole structure of Zn
traiing in its traditional sequence. One lacking access to a bona fde
roshi yet wishng to disciple hmself in Zen w fnd this material
to be nothng less than a manual for sel-istruction.
Both the Soto and Rnzai disciplnes are presented here-for the
frst time in a European language, we beleve-as one integral body
of Zen teaching, and this not academicaly but as living experience.
The West as yet knows little of Soto. The popuar interpreters of Zen
to te West, in their enthusiasm for Rnzai, h;e paid scant heed to
the methods and dotrines of Dogen-zeni, the father of Japanese
Soto Zen and in the view of many the most semnal mnd Japaese
Buddhsm has produced. It is not surprisig therefore that for large
numbers of Zen-rented Westerers shikan-tazaJ the heart of Do
gen's meditative discipline, is pretty muc of an engma. I ts
volume the a and methods of shikan-taza as wel as those of koan
zazen, the mainstay of the R sect, are authoritatively expounded
by Y asutan-roshi, who utizes both in his own system of teacng.
I the introductions I have presented background ad supple
mentar materal which I felt woud aid the reader to grap the sub
stance of each secton, but I have resisted the temptaton to analyze
or interpret the masters' teachngs. Ths woud ony have encour
aged the reader to reinterpret my interpretations, and wlly-nily he
woud :nd hmself sucked into the quicksands of speculaton and ego
aggrandzement, from whc one day, if he would seriously practice
Zen, he woud paifully have to extrcate himsel For precisely ths
reason "idea-mongering" has always been discouraged by the Zen
masters.
This book owes muc to many people. Firt and foremost it owes
a enorous debt to Zen Master Y asuta, whose teachings encom-
EDI TOR
'
s PREFACE Xll
pass more than half of it and who has graciouly allowed them to be
made available here to a wider public. My colaborators and I, all his
disciple;, arc deeply grateful for hs sage counsel and magnamty of
spirit which inspired us throughout.
My special thanks are due Dr. Carmen Blacker, of Cambridge
University. Her on-the-spot interpretatons of many of Yasutan
roshi's lectures on Zen practce were icorporated by me into te
translation whch appears in this book. Further, I have taken the
liberty of adopting without alteraton several paragraphs from her
own translation of sections of ths same material which was published
in the British Buddist magazine Te Middle Way, since her expres
sion was so felicitous that I could hardly hope to have improved
upon it.
I am exceedingly grateful to Dr. Huston Smit, Professor of Philos
ophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Tecology and author of
The Reliions of Man, for hs invaluable advice and encouragement at
an early stage of the manuscript, and for hs Foreword.
I acknowledge with thas the help given me by Brigitte D'Ort
schy, a Dharma friend. Her thoughtf reading of the entre mau
script produced many valuable suggestions.
Meredith Weatherby and Ralph Friedrich, both of Joh Weather
h, Inc., in Tokyo, have been most understanding edtors throughout
the preparaton of ts book, and I am gratef for their help.
My debt to my wife, deLancey, is no small one. At al stages of
t writg she has encouraged and worked with me. Indeed, for
several years these labors constituted her major practice of zazen. For
the photographs of zazen, my gratitude to Alan Goldsmith.
The Ten Oxherding Pictures of section VII are ued by knd
prmission of the artist, Gyokuei Jiara. He is a highy esteemed
contemporary painter in Kyoto and a lay disciple of Shibayama
roshi, the frmer abbot ofNanze Monastery, uder whom he taied
in Zen for many years.
I resere for specal menton te name of my to colaborators i
te tanlatons, Kyozo Yamada and A Kubota. Mr. Yamada has
discipled helf i Zn for some twent year. H is Yasut
rosh's Dharma successor and often acts i his stead. Long ago he
completed the almost six hudred koans given by Yasutani-roshi and
:viii I EDI TOR
'
s PREFACE
received inka from hm. We collaborated on these tranlations:
Bassui's sermon on One-md and hs letters, portons of the Iwasak
letters, te Ten Oxherdng Verses, te quotatons from Dogen and
other ancient masters, and the extract from Dogen' s Shobogezo. But
for his wise advice and generous assistance, my overa t would
have bee imeasuably more difcult i not ipossible, and I am
tremendously grateful to hm.
Ara Kubota, my second colaborator, has traied under Yasu
tan-roshi for some ffteen years and is one of hs foremost disciple.
Together we translated the lectre on the koan Mu part of the Iwa
s letters, and the fourth and sixth accounts in the secton on e
lightenent experience. I acknowledge my huge debt to him for
his conscientiou labors.
In our translations we have striven to avoid the evils of either a
fee, imaginatve rendering on the one hand or an exactly literal read
ing on the other. Had we yielded to the frst temptaton, we might
have achieved a stylistic elegance now lacking, but ony at the ex
pese of that forthright vigor and calculated repetton which is a
characeristic feature of Z teachg. On the other hand, had we
slavishly adered to the letter of the texts, we inevtably would have
done violence to teir spirit and thus obsced their deep inner
meang.
Our traslatons ar interpretve i the sese that al traslation
involves te constant choice of one of several altertve expression
whic the traslator beleves may convey the meang of the original.
Wheter a tranlator's choices are apposite or not depend, in the
ordinary translation, on his liguitc skl and his famlarty with h
subjec. Zen text, however, fal ito a special category. Since they
are invarably terse and pithy and the ideograms in whc they are
written suceptble of a varety of interpretations, one key character
often conveyg a whole spectrum of ideas, to select the shade of
meaning appropriate to a partcuar context demand from a trans
lator more than phlological acuity or a extensive academc knowl
edge of Zen. In our view, it requires nothing less than Zen traing
ad the experience of enlightenment, lacking whic the translator is
almost certai to distort the clarity and emascuate the vigor of the
origial i important respects.
It may not be out of place, therefor, to point out that every one of
EDITOR
'
S PREFACE f xx
the translators has trained in Zen for a coniderable
tme
Wder one or
more recognized masters and opened his Mnd's eye in sme mesue.
Since t book is addressed to the general reader rather than to
scholars or specialists in Zen Buddsm, I have dispensed with aU
diacritcal marks, which are apt to prove annoyig to those unfamliar
with Japanese, Chiese, or Sanskrit. Even at the rsk of some incon
sistency, I have also dispensed with as much dsruptve itacizing as
seemed reasonable. I the body of the book I have folowed the
Japanese custom of writng the names of the Chiese Zen masters and
other Chinese terms accordig to their Japanese pronWciaton, just
as we speak of Zen rather than Chr an Buddsm, but in the vocabulary
notes of the fnal section I have idicated the uually accpted Chiese
pronWciatons i parenteses. Chiese scholars who :nd ts pracce
irritating are asked to bear in md that Zen Buddism has been in
Japan almost a thousand years and hence is a legitmat part of Japa
nese life ad culture. It coud scarcely have survved so long or made
suc a strong impact on the Japaese had they not abandoned the
foreig and, for them, cumbersome Chnese pronWciation.
I writing the names of the ancient Japanese masters I have adhered
to the traditional Japanese custom of listng the chef Buddhist name
:rst. In the case of modem Japaese, however, whether masters or
laymen, I have followed the Wester style, whch of course is just
the reverse, sice this is the way they themselves write their names in
English. Where a title comes immediately after a name (suc as
Yasutan-roshi or Dogen-zenji), for the sake of euphony I have
written the name and the ttle accordng to traditonal Japanese style
as here idicated.
Technical Zen names and special Buddst terms not deed in the
text are explaied in secton x, Notes on Zen Vocabulary.
Whie the organization of the book follows the natual patter of
teachg, practice, and eghtenment, each secton is complete in itself
and can be read at random accordig to the reader's taste.
Al footote toughout the book are me.
P
HILIP
K
APLEAU
Kamakura, December 8, 1964
A NOTE TO THE NEW PRINTING / This new print
ing has provided me with te welcome opportunity of making a
number of small changes and correctons which could be readily ef
fected without extensive resettng of the text. Most are merely clari
fcations of points aready made, growing out of conversations I had
wth Zen groups and uiversity students during a three-month lecture
tour of the United States coincident with the first publication of the
book there.
Ony i two places have substantive changes been made. I section
v a new, recent enightenment experience has been added at the end
of the eighth account. Ths should provide an answer to the question
ofen put to me: "Are there further enightenment after an ita
one, and if so, what are they le?"
My treatment of the subject of" consciousness" in section x, I have
come to see, was sketchy and ambiguou, and I have revsed this entry
entirely, together with it accompanying diagram.
P. K.
Kamakura,]une, 1966
PART ONE / TEACHING
AND PRACTICE
I / YASUTANI- ROSHI ' S
DUCTORY
TRAI NI NG
LECTURES
I EDITOR'S
I NTRO
ON ZEN
INTRODUC-
T I 0 N ; Westerers eager to practce Zen yet lacking acces
to a qualifed master have always faced an imposing handicap: the
derth of written informaton on what zazen is and how to begin and
cary it on.1 Nor is ts lack confed to Eglish and other Europea
laguages. I the writings of the ancient Chese and Japanese Ze
masters which have come down to u there is little on the theory of
zzen or on the relaton of the practce of zazen to enlightemet.
Neiter is there much detailed inoraton on such elementa mat
ters as sitng postues, the regulaton of the breath, concentration of
te md, ad te incidence of vsions and sensatons of an i uory
nate.
There is nothng stange in this. Sittng in zazn or meditation has
been so accepted as the approved path to spiritual emancipation
throughout Aia that no Zen Buddhist had frst to be convced tht
through it he could develop his powers of concentration, acheve
tftcation and traquiity of mind, and eventaly, if hs aspiraton
was pure and strong enough, come to Self-realization. A aspirant,
therefore, was simply given a few oral instructon on how to fold
1 Zazen is not "meditation" ad for this reason we have retaied this Japaee
word toughout. It precse meanng wl become clear as the book progreses.
Pronounced "zah-zen," each sylable accented equaly.
3
4 f YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
his legs, how to reguate h breathng, and how to concentrate his
mnd. Trouh the pail process of trial and error and
periodic
interviews (dokusan) with hs teacher, he eventua y leared i a
thoroughly experiential way not ony proper sitting and breathing
but
te inner meaning and purpos of zazen.
But since moder man, as Y asutani-rosh points out, lacks the faith
and bug zeal of his predecessors in Zen, he needs a map which
hs mind can trut, chartng his entire spiritual jouey, before he can
move ahead with condence. For these reasons Harada-roshi, Y asu
tani-roshi's ow master, devised a series of introductory lectures on
Zen practice some forty years ago, and it is this material which form
the basis of these lectures by Y asutani-roshi.
This present translaton is a compilation of a number of such lec
tures which Y asutani-roshi has given, without notes, to beginners
over the past several years. No new student may receive dokusan until
he has heard them all.
Tese lectures are more than a compendum of instructions on the
forma aspects of zazen, i.e., sitting, breathing, and concentration.
They are an authoritative exposition of the five levels of Zen, of the
aims and essentials of zaen, and of the all-important relaton of zazen
to enightenment (satori). With them as map and compass the earest
seeker need not grope along hazardou byaths of the occult, the
psycic, or the superstitious, whic waste time and often prove harm
fu, but can proceed drectly along a carefully charted course, secre
in the knowledge of his ultimate goal.
No accout of the histor and development of Zen, no interpreta
tions of Zen from the viewpoint of philosophy or psychology, and no
evaluations of the iuence of Zen on archery, judo, haiku poetry, or
any other of the Japanese art wll be found here." Such extraneou
facts and speculations are deliberately omitted by Yasutani-roshi, as
they have no legitimate place in Zen trainng and would only gratui
touly burden the aspirant's md with ideas which would confuse
him as to his aims and drain him of the icentve to practice.
Yasutani-rosh's emphasis on the religious aspect of Zen, that is,
on faith as a prerequisite to enlightenment, may come as a suprise
to Wester readers accutomed to "itellectual images" of Zen by
scholars devoid of Zen isight. This derives for the most part fom
EDI TOR
'
s INTRODUCTION 1
s
the teachings of Dogen-zenji, one of the truly imposig religious
personalities of Japanese history, who brought the doctries of the
Soto sect of Zen Buddhism from Chna to Japan. Without even a
sketchy knowledge of the circumstances of Dogen' s life which led
him to become a monk, to enter Zen, and to jouey to China, where
he ultmately attained deep enlghtenment, one would fnd it difcult
to nnderstand the Soto Zen doctrine which fonns the core of Y asu
tan-roshi's ow teachgs.
Bor of an aristocratc family, Dogen even a a cild gave evidence
of his bri iant mind. It is related that at four he was reading Ches
poetry and at nne a Chnese translation of a treats on the Abhi
dharma. The sorrow he felt at his parents' death-his father when
he was ony thee and his mother when he was eight-ndoubtedly
impressed upon hs sensitive mnd the imperanence of lfe and
motivated him to become a monk. With his intation into the
Buddist monhood at an early age, he commenced his novitiate at
Mount Hiei, the center of scholastic Buddhism in medieval Japan, and
for the next several years studied the Tendai doctrines of Buddhsm.
By his ffteenth year one bug question became the core aronnd
which hs spiritual strivings revolved: "I a the sutras say, our Es
sential-nature is Bodh (perfection), why did all Buddhas have to
strive for enlightenment and perfection?" His dissatsfacton with the
answers he received at Mount Hiei led him eventually to Eisai-zenji,
who had brought the teachings of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism
from China to Japan. Eisa's reply to Dagen's queston was: "No
Buddha is conscious of it existence [i.e., of tis Essental-nature],
while the animal-like [i.e., the grossly deluded] are aware of it." In
other words, Buddhas, precisely because they are Buddhas, no longer
think of having or not having a Perfect-nature; ony the deluded tn
in such ter. At these word Dogen had an inner realization which
dssolved his deep-seated doubt. In all likelood this exchange took
place i a formal interiew (dokusan) between Eisai and Dogen. It
must be bore in md that this problem had perplexed Dogen for
some time, gving him no rest, and that all he needed was Eisai' s
words to trigger hs md into a state of enlightenent.
Dogen thereupon commenced what was to be a brief discipleship
nnder Eisai, whose death took place within the year and who was
6 / Y ASUT ANI
'
S I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
succeeded by hs eldest disciple, Myozen. During te eight yes
Dagen spent wth Myozen he passed a considerable nwnber of koans
and fa y received inka.
Despite this accomplshment Dagen still felt spitul y uul ed,
and this disquet moved hm to undertake te then-hazardou jouey
to China in search of complete peace of mind. He stayed at al the
well-known monasteries, practicing uder many masters, but hs
longing for total liberation was unsatsfed. Finally at the famous
T'ien-t'ung Monastery, which had just acquired a new master, he
achieved full enlightenment, i.e., the lberaton of body and mind
through these words uttered by hs master, Nyojo: "You must let
fal body and mind."
These words are said to have been uttered by Nyojo at the com
mencement of the formal zazen period, i the early morg, as he
was mng his round of inspecton. Spying one of the monks dozing
of Nyojo reprimanded him for hs half-hearted efort. Ten ad
dressing all te monks, he contnued: "You must exert yourslves
wth all your mght, even at the risk of your live. To reaize perfect
enightenment you must let fall [i.e., become empty of all conceptons
of] body and mind."1 As Dagen heard ths lat phrase his Mind's eye
suddenly expanded in a food of light and Understanding.
Later Dagen appeared at Nyojo's room, lit a stick of incense (a
ceremonial gesture uually reserved for noteworthy occasions), and
prostrated hmself before hs master i the customry fashon.
"Why are you lighting a stick of incense?" asked Nyojo. Need
less to say, Nyojo, who was a frst-rate master, and who had received
Dagen many times i dokusan and therefore knew the state of his
mind, could perceive at once from Dagen's walk, his prostrations,
and the comprehending look in his eyes that he had had a great en
lightenment. But Nyojo undoubtedly wanted to see what response
this innocent-sounding queston would provoke so as to f the scope
of Dagen's satori.
"I have experienced the dropping of of body and mid," replied
Dagen.
+
Nyojo exclaimed: ''You have dropped body and mnd, body and
mind have indeed dropped!"
for a discussion of the signifcace of a single word or phrase precipitating en
lightenment, seep. 91.
EDI TOR
"
s I NTRODUCTI ON
7
But Dogen remonstrated: "Don't give me your sanction so
readly!"
"I am not sanctong you so readiy."
Dogen persisted: Show me that you are not readiy sanctonig
7
me.
And Nyojo repeated: Tis is body and mind dropped," demon
statg.
Whereupon Dogen prostrated helf again before his master as
a gesture of respect ad grattude.
"That's 'dropping' dropped," added Nyojo.
It is noteworthy that even with ts profound eerence Dogen
continued his zaen traig in China for anoter two years before
retg to Japan.
At the time of hs great enlightenment Dogen was practcing
shikan- taza,1 a mode of zazen whch involves neither a koan nor
couting or folowing the breath. Now, the very foundaton of shi
kan-taza is an unshakable faith that sitting as the Budda sat, with the
mind void of all conceptions, of all beliefs and points of view, is the
actualzaton or unfoldment of the ierently enlghtened Bodi
mid with which all are endowed. At the same time ths siting is
entered ito i the faith that it wil one day culminate i the sudden
and direct perception of the true nature of tis Md-in other words,
elightenment. Therefore to strive self-onsciously for sator or any
other gai from zzen is as unnecessary as it is undesirable. 2
-I authentc shian-taa neiter of these two elements of faith can
b dspen5ed wth. To exclude the satori experence from shikan-taza
would necessarily involve stigmatizing as meaningless and even
masochistic the Buddha's strenuous eforts toward enlghtenment,
ad impugnng the Patrarchs' and Dogen' s ow painful struggles to
that end. This relation of satori to shkan-taza is of the utmost im
porance. Unfortuately it has often been misunderstood, especially
by Westerers to whom Dogen' s complete writings are inaccessible.
It thus not infrequently happens that Wester students w come to
a Soto temple or monastery utilizing koans in its teachg and re
monstrate with the roshi over hs assignment of a koan, on the groud
1 For Yautai-roshi's description of shikan-taa, see pp e .J-54
I Te consciou thought " I must get enlightened" ca be a much of W ipedi
ment as ay other which hangs i the mnd.
8 / J ASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
that koans have as their aim enlightenment; since all are intrinsically
enightened, they argue, there is no point in seeking satori. So what
they ask to practice is shikan-taza, which they believe does not involve
the experience of enlightenment.
1
Such an attitude reveals not only a lack of faith i the judgment of
one's teacher but a fundamental misconception of both the nature and
the difculty of shikan-taza, not to mention the teachg method em
ployed i Soto temples and monasteries. A careful reading of tese
introductory lectures and Yasutani-rosh's interviews with ten West
erers wil make clear why genuine shkan-taza cannot be successfully
undertaken by the rank novice, who has yet to lear how to sit with
stabity and equanimity or whose ardor needs to be regularly boosted
by communal sitting or by the encouragement of a teacher or who,
above all, lacks strong faith in hs own Bodhi-md coupled with
dedicated resolve to experience its reality in his daily life.
Becaue today, Zen masters claim, devotees are on the whole much
less zealous for truth, and because the obstacles to practice (posed by
the complexities of modem life) are more numerou, capable Soto
masters seldom assign shikan-taza to a beginner. They prefer to have
him frst tfy hs mid through concentration on countig the
breath; or where a burg desire for enightenment does exst, to
exhaust the discursive intelect through the imposition of a special
type of Zen problem (i.e., a koan) and thus prepare the way for
kensho.
By no means, then, is te koan system confed to the Rizai
sect as many beleve. Yasutan-roshi is only one of a number of Soto
masters who use koans i their teachng. Genshu Watanabe-roshi,
the former abbot of Soji-ji, one of the two head temples of the Soto
sect, reguarly employed koans, and at the So to monastery of Hosshn
ji, of which the illustrious Harada-roshi was abbot during his life
time, koas are also widely used.
Even Dagen himself, as we have seen, disciplined hmself in koan
Zen for eight years before goig to China and practicing shikan-taza.
And though upon hs ret to Japan Dagen wrote at length about
shikan-taza and recommended it for his iner band of disciples, it
must not be forgotten that these disciples were dedcated truth-seekers
1 For the attitude of one such novice, see p. IJO.
EDITOR
'
s INTRODUCTI ON / 9
for whom koans were an unecessary encouragement to sustained
practce. Notwithstanding this emphasis on shikan-taza, Dogen made
a compilation of three hundred wel-known koans,
1
to each of which
he added his ow commentary. From this and the fact that his fore
most work, te Shobogenzo {A Treasury of the Eye of the True
Dharma), contains a number of koans, we may fairly conclude that he
did utilize koans in hs teachg.
Satori-awakening as Dogen viewed it was not the he-all and end
all. Rather he conceived it as the foudaton for a magncent edice
whose many-storied superstructure woud correspond to the perfected
character and personality of te spiritually developed indivdual, the
ma of moral virtue and al-mbracing compassion and wisdom.
Such an imposing structure, Dogen taught, could be erected ony by
years of faithful zazen upon the solid bae of the imutable iner
knowledge which satori confers.
What then is zazen and how is it related to satori? Dogen taught
that zazen i the "gateway to total liberation," and Keizan-zenji, one
of the great Japanese Soto Patriarchs, had declared that ony through
Zen sittig is the "mmd of man illuined." Elsewhere Dogen wrote3
that "even the Budda, who was a bor sage, sat in zazen for six
years unti his supreme enlightenment, and so towering a spiritual
fgure as Bodidharma sat for nine years facing the wall."3 And so
have Dogen and all the other Patriarchs sat.
For with the ordering and immobilizing of feet, legs, hands, arms,
trun, and head in the traditonal lotu posture,' with the regulation
of the breath, the methodical stg of the thoughts and ucation
of the mnd through special concentration, with the development of
control over the emotons and strengtening of the w, and with te
cutivation of a profound silence in the deepest recesses of the md
in other words, through the practce of zazen-there are established
the optmum precondtons for looking into the heart-mmd and dis
coverig there the true nature of exstence.
Although sittng is the foundaton of zazen, it is not just any kind
1 In Nempyo Sambyaku Soku (Thee Hunded Koas with Commentare).
2 In his Fukan Zazengi (General Recomendation for Zaen).
" Following Boddharm's exple, Soto devotees face a wall or curtain durig
zen. In the Riai tradition sitter face each other aross the room i two rows,
their backs to the wall.
' See p. 30 ad section I.
10 / Y ASUTANI
'
s I NT RODUCTORY LE CTURES
of sitting. Not only must the back be straight, the breathng properly
regulatd, and the md concentrated beyond thought, but, accord
ing to Dage, one mut sit wth a sene of dgnity ad grandeur, like
a mountain or a giant pine, and with a feeling of grattude toward
the Buddha and the Patriarchs, who made manifest the Dharma. And
we must be grateful for ou human body, through which we have the
opportunity to experence the reality of the Dharma in all its pro
fndity. This sense of digty and grattde, moreover, is not con
fned to sittig but mut inform every actvity, for insofar as each act
issues from the Bodhi-md it has the iherent purity and dignty of
Buddhahod. This innate dignty of man is physiologicaly manifested
in his erect back, since he alone of all creatures has this capacit to hold
his spinal colum vercal. A erect back is related to proper sitting
in other important ways, which wll be discused at a later point in
this secton.
I the broad sense zaen embraces more than jut correct sitting.
To enter fly into every action wth total attenton and clear aware
ness is no less zazen. The prescription for accomplshng this was given
by the Buddha himself in an early sutra: "I what is seen there mut
be just the seen; in what is heard there mut be just the heard; in what
is sensed (as smell, taste or touch) there mut be just what is sensed;
in what is thought there mu be just the thought.'
The importace of single-mindedness, of bare attention, is illustrat
ed in the following anecdote:
One day a man of the people said to Zen Master Ikyu:
"Master, will you please write for me some maxims of the
hghet wisdom?"
I yu immediately took hs brush and wrote the word "At
tention."
"I that all?" asked the man. "Will you not add somethig
more?"
I yu then wrote twice run: "Attention. Attenton."
"Well," remarked the man rather irritably, "I really don't
see much depth or subtlety in what you have just written."
Then I yu wote the same word three times runnng: "At
tenton. Attenton. Attenton."
Ud na I, r o (traslation by Nyanaponi ka Thera
)
.
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION
II
Half-angered, te man demaded: "What does that word
'Attenton' mean anyay?"
An
d Ikyu answered gently: "Attention means attention."1
For the ordinary man, whose mnd is a checkerboard of criss
crossing reflectons, opions, and prejudices, bare attention is vir
tually impossible; his life is thus centered not in reality itself but in
his ideas of it. By focuig the mid who1ly on each object and every
acton, zazen strips it of extraneou thoughts and allows us to enter
into a ful rapport with life.
Sitting zazen and mobile zazen are two fWctions equally dynamic
and mutually reinforcing. One who sits devotedly in zazen every day,
hs mid free of dscrimnatng thoughts, fds it easier to relate him
self wholeheartedy to hs daily tasks, and one who performs every
act with total attention and clear awareness fmds it less difcult to
achieve emptiness of mid during sitting periods.
Zazen practice for the student begins with his coWtng the inhala
tions and exhalatons of his breat while he is in the motones zazen
postre. Ths is the frst step in the process of stlling the bodily fWlc
tions, quieting discursive thought, and strengthening concentraton.
It is given as the ftrst step because in coWting the in and out breaths,
in natural rhythm and without strain, the mind has a scafolding to
support it, as it were. When concentration on the breathing bcomes
suc that awareness of the coWting is clear and the count is not lost,
the next step, a slightly more difcult tp of zaen, is assigned,
namely, following the inhalations and exhalations of the breath with
the md's eye only, again i natral rhyth. The blissful state whch
fows from concentraton on the breath and the value of breathing
in terms of spirital development are lucidly set forth by Lama
Govinda:2 "From this state of perfect mental and physical equilib
rium and its resulting iner harmony grows tat serenty and hap
piness which f s the whole body with a feeling of supreme bliss like
the refreshng coolness of a spring that penetrates the entre water of
a mountain lake. . . . Thus breathing becomes a vehicle of spiritual
experience, the mediator between body and mid. It is te frst step
1 From the Zenso Mondo (Dialogues of the Zen Masters), traslation by Kuni
Matsuo ad E. Steinber-Oberlin.
" Fotmdations of Tibetan Mysticism, by Lar:. Govinda (Dutton, N.Y., I96),
pp. 151-52.
12 I YAS UTANr
'
s INTRODUCTORY LECTUREs
towards the transformaton of the body from the state of a more or
less passively and unconsciously functionng physical organ into a
vehcle or tool of a perfectly developed and enlightened mnd, as
demonstrated by the radiance and perfecton of the Buddha's body .
. . . The most important result of the practice of 'mindfulness wth
regard to breathing' is the realzation that the process of breating i
the conecting li between conscious and subconscious, gross
material and fmc-materia, volitional ad non-volitonal functions,
and therefore the most perfect expression of the nature of all life."
Until now we have been speaking of zazen wth no koan. Koan
zazen involves both motionless sitting, wherein the mnd intensely
seeks to penetrate the koan, and mobile zazen, in which absorption in
the koan continues while one is at work, at play, or even asleep.
Through intense self-inqury-for example, questioning "What is
Mu? "-the mind gradually becomes denuded of its delusive ideas,
which in te beginng hamper its efort to become one with the
koan. As these abstract notions fall away, concentration on the koan
strengthen.
Now, it may be asked: "How can one question oneself devotedly
about a koan and simultaneouly focu the mnd on work of an exac
ing nature? " In practce what actually happens is that once the koan
grips the heart and mind-and its power to take hold is in proportion
to the strength of the urge toward liberation-the inquiry goes on
ceaselessly in the subconsciousness. So long as the mind is occupied
wth a particular task, the question fades from consciousness, surfacing
naturaly as soon as the acton is over, not unike a movig stream
which now and again disappears underground only to reappear and
resume its open course wthout interrupting its onward fow.
Zazen mut not be consed with meditaton. Medtaton, in the
beginning at least, involves fng one's mind on an idea or an ob
ject. I some types of Buddhist meditation the meditator envisions
or contemplates or analyzes certain elementary shapes, holding them
in his mind to the exclusion of everg else. Or he may concentrate
in a state of adoration upon hs own created image of a Buddha or a
Bodhisattva, or meditate on such abstract qualites as loving-kindness
and compassion. I tantrc Buddhist systems of meditation, mandala
containing varous seed sylables of the Sansrit alphabet are vualized
and
dwelt upon in a prescrbed manner. Also employed for medita-
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION
1
13
tonal purposes are mandala conisting of special arrangements of
Buddhas, Bodhisatas, ad other fgures.
The uniqueness of zazen les in this: that the mid is freed from
bondage to all thought-forms, visions, object, and imagigs, how
ever sacred or elevating, ad brought to a state of absolute emptiess,
fom which alone it may one day perceive its ow true nature, or
the nature of the universe.
Such intial exercises as counting or following the breath cannot,
strictly speang, be called meditaton since they do not involve
visualzation of an object or refecton upon a idea. For the same
rasons koan zazen canot be caled meditaton. Whether one is
striving to achieve unity with his koan or, for instace, intensely ask-
ing
"What is Mu? " he is not meditating in the technical sense of ths
word.
Zazen that leads to Self-realization is neither idle reverie nor vacant
inacton but an intense inner struggle to gain control over the mid
and then to use it, like a silent mssile, to penetrate the barrer of the
fve senses and the discursive intellect (i.e., the sixth sense). It de
mands deternation, courage, and energy. Yasutani-roshi calls it "a
battle beteen the opposing forces of delusion and bodhi. "1 This
state of md has been vividly described in these words, said to have
been uttered by the Buddha as he sat beneath the Bo tree makng his
supreme efort, and often quoted in the zendo dung sesshin: "Though
only my skin, sinews, and bones rema and my blood and fesh dry
up and wither away, yet never from ths seat w I stir until I have
attained full enlightenment."
The drive toward enlghtenment is powered on the one had by a
painfuly felt inner bondage-a frutration with life, a fear of death,
or both-and on the other by the conviction that through satori one
ca _gain liberation. But it is in zazen that the body-mind's force and
vigor are enlarged and mobilized for the breakthrough into this new
world of freedom. Energies which formerly were squandered in com
pulsive drives and purposeless actons are presered and caneled into
a unty through correct Zen sittig; and to the degree that the mind
attains one-pointedness through zazen it no longer disperses its force
in the uncontrolled proliferaton of idle thoughts. The entire nerou
1 Ths statement i made fom the stadpoit of practice or training. From the
standpoint of the fudamental Buddha-mnd there is no delusion ad no bodhi.
14 I YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
system is relaxed and soothed, inner tensions elimated, and the tone
of al organs strengtened. I short, by realigning the physical
, men
tal, and psychic energies through proper breat, concentration,
and sittng, zazen establshes a new body-mind equilibrium with its
center of gravty in the vtal hara.1
With the body and md consoldated, focued, and energized,
the emotions respond with increased sensitivity and purity, and vol
ton exerts itself with greater strength of purpose. No longer are we
dominated by intellect at the expense of feeling, nor driven by the
emotons Wlchecked by reason or wl. Eventually zazen lead to
a transformaton of personality and character. Dryness, rigidity,
and self-cnteredness give way to fowing warth, resiliency, and
compasion, while self-indugence and fear are transmuted into self
mastery and courage.
Because they know from centuries of experience this trasforming
power of zazen, the Japanese masters have always placed greater rel
ance on zazen to foster moral conduct in their disciples than upon the
mere imposition of the precepts from the outide. Actualy, the pre
cepts and zazen, both groWded in the identical Buddha-nature, which
is the source of al purity and goodness, are mutually reinforcing. The
strongest resolution to keep the precepts will at best be ony sporad
cally successfu if it is not supported by zazen; and zazen divorced from
the disciplined life which grows out of a sincere efort to obsere the
precepts cannot but be weak and Wlcertain. In any case, contrary to
what the Hnayana teachings suggest, the precepts are not jut simple
mora commandments whic anyone can easily Wderstand and keep
ifhe has the will to. I reality their relative-absolute sense cannot be
grasped as living truth except after long and dedicated zazen. This is
why Zen students are norma y not given the book of problems caled
jujukinkai, which deas with the ten cardinal precepts from the stand
points of the Hnayana doctrines, the Mahayana, the Buddha-nature
itelf Bodidharma's vew, and Dogen's view, until te very end of
their training, when teir enghtenment and zazen power have deep
ened and matured. Indeed, the Japanese maters stress that ony upon
fenghtenment can one truy know good from evil and, through
the power of zazen, tranlate this wisdom into one's everyday actions.
1 For t he signcace of hara in Zen trag see p. 67 f
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTI ON f 1 5
Tt a strong sense of moral responsibility is inerent in the
spiritual freedom of the sa tori man was made dear by Y asutani-roshi
in reponse to a queston addresed to him i America by a group of
uiversity student. "If as 'beat Zen' has led us to believe," they asked,
"satori reveals te ureality of the past and the ftue, is one not free
to live as one lies here and now, without reference to the past and
without thought of the futue? "
I reply Yasutan-roshi made a dot on the blackboard and ex
planed that this isolated dot represented their concepton of "here
and now." To show the incompletenes of this view, he placed an
other dot on the board, through which he drew a horizontal lie and
a vertical one. He then explaned that the horizonta line stood for
tme from the begigless past to the endless future and the vertical
for lmidess space. The "present moment" of the enlghtened man,
who stands at this intersction, embraces all these dimensions of time
ad space, he emphasized.
Accordgly, te sa tori-realizaton tat one i te focus of past and
fture tme and space unavoidably carres wth it a sense of fellowship
and responsibilty to one's family and societ as a whole, alke to those
who came before and those who wfollow one. The freedom of the
lberated Zen m is a far cry from the "feedom" of the Zen beatnik,
driven as the lattr is by his uncontrolled selfsh desires. The insepara
ble bond with his fellow men whch the truly enlightened feels pre
cludes any such self-entered behavor as the beatnk's.
As wel as enrcg personat and strengthening character, za
z ilumes te three characteristic of existence which the Buddha
poclaimed: fst, that al things (i which ae icluded our thoughts,
feelings, and perceptions) are impermanent, arising when partcular
causes and conditions bring them into being and passing away with
te emergence of new causal factors; second, tat life is pai; and
trd, tat utmately notng is self-subsistent, that all form i their
essential nature are empty, tat is, mutually dependent patters of
energy in fu, yet at the same tme are possssed of a provisional or
limited realt i time ad space, in much the same way that the
actions i a movie fm have a reality in terms of te : but ar
otherwise isubstantal and unreal.
Through zzen the frst vital truth-that acomponent thig are
16 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
ephemeral, never the same from one moment to the next, Beetng
manifesttons in a stream of ceaseless tranformation-becomes a
matter of direc personal exerience. We come to see the concatena
ton of our thought, emotions, and moods, how they arise, how they
momenty fourish, and how they pass away. We come to kow
tat t "dyng" is te lfe of every tg, just as the al-onsuming
Bame constttes te life of a candle.
That our suferigs are rooted i a sesh grasping ad i fears and
terrors which sprng fom our ignorance of the tre nature of life
and death becomes dear to anyone compelled by zazen to confront
himself nakedly. But zazen makes equally plai tat what we ter
"sufering" is ou evaluaton of pai from whch we stand apart, that
pai when courageously accepted is a means to liberation i that it
frees our natural sympathies and compassion even as it enables us to
experience pleasure and joy in a new depth and puity.
Finaly, wit enlightenent, zazen brings the retion that the
substatum of exstce is a Voidness out of which al tngs cease
lessly arse and ito whch tey endlessly retu, that t Emptes
is positve and alive and i fact not other tan the vividness of a sun
set or te harmonies of a great symphony.
Ts bursting ito consciouness of the efgent Buddha-nature is
the "swallowing up" of the universe, the obliteraton of every feeling
of opposition and separateness. I ts state of unconditioned sub
jectivity I, seless I, am supreme. So Shakyamu Buddha could ex
claim: "Above the hevens and below the heavens I am the ony
honored one." Yet since enlightenment means also an end to being
possessed by te idea of an ego-1, t is as much a world of pure ob
jectivty. Therefore Dogen could write: "To lear the Way of the
Buddha is to ler about onesel To lear about oneself is to forget
onee To forget oneself is to experience the world as pure object.
To exprenc the world as pure object is to let fall one's ow body
and mind and the 'self-ther' body and mind."1
To help awaken u to this world of Buddha-nature, Ze masters
employ yet another mode of zazen, namely, the chantg of dharani
and sutras. Now, a dharani has been described as "a more or les
meaningless c of word or names that is supposed to have a magi-
>
1 Shoboezo, ft cpter, c ed the "Gnjo Koan."
EDITOR
'
s INTRODUCTION 1
17
cal power in hdping the one who is repeating it at some tme of
extremity."1 As phonetc transliteratons of Sanskit words, dharani
have doubtlessly lost muc of teir profound meanng through the
inevtable alteraton of the original sounds. But as anyone who has
recited tem for any length of tie knows, in their efect on te
spirit tey are anying but meaningless. When chanted with sin
cerity and zest tey impress upon the hert and mind the name and
vires of Buddhas and Bodhisatas enumerated in te, re
moving inner hindrances to zazen and fng te heart in an attitude
of reverence and devotion. But dharani are ao a sybolic expresion
in sound and rhythm of the essental Trut of te unverse lyng be
yond te realm of the discriminating intellect. To the degre that the
discusive mind is held at bay during the voicng of dharan, they
are valuble as another exercise in traing te mind to cease clinging
to dualistc modes of thought.
The intonng of sutras, while also a mode of zazen, fuills yet a
fer purpose. Since they are the recorded words and sermons of
the Buddha, sutras do in some degre make a direct appeal to the
intellect. Thu for tose whose faith in the Buddha's Way is shallow
the repeated cantng of sutas eventally leads to a measure of un
derstandig, and tis seres to stengthen faith in the truth of te
Buddha's teachings. As faith grows, however, there is less need for
chant tem.
In anoter sense sutra-hanting can be compared to an Oretl
i paintng of say, a pine tree in which most of the picure consists
of white space. Ths empty space corresponds to the deper levels
of meng of the sutras which the words adumbrate. Just as in
te pictre our minds are brought to a heightened awarenes of the
white space becuse of te tree, so trough the recitng of te sutras
we can be led to sense te reality lying beyond them, the Emptness
to which they point.
During the chanting of sutras and dharani, each of whch varies in
tempo, the chanters may sit, stand, or engage in a succession ofkneel
ings and prostrations or make repeated circumambulaton in the
tmple. Frequently the intoning is accompanied by the steady thump
ing of the mokugyo or punctted by te sonorous reverberatons of
1 A Buddhi st Bible, edited by Dwight Goddard (Dutton, N.Y
.
, 1952
)
, p. 62.
18 I YASUTANI
'
s INTRODUCTORY LECTURES
te kis. When the hear and mind are truly one wth it, ths com
binaton of chantng and the thob of percussion itents can
arouse te deepest feelings and bring about a vibrant, heightee
see of awareness. At the very least it provide variet in what coud
oterwise become a somber ad rigorou disciplie of unrelieved Ze
sitg. I a wek's sesshin few coud endure hou afer hour of jut
sitg. Even if t did not prove to be unbearably difcult, it woud
stl doubtlesly bore all but te most ardent. Z masters by pre
scribing variou kind of zazen-i.e., sittg, walg, chantg, and
manual labor-not ony reduce the r of enui but actlly increase
the efectveness of each typ of zazen.
Dogen atached great importance to the proper positons, gestures,
and movements of te body and it members durng chantg, as
ideed in all other mode of zazen, because of their repercusions on
the md. I Shingon Buddhsm partcular qualites of Buddhas and
Bodsattas are evoked by the devote trough cerain positons of
his hands (caled mudra) as well as body postures, and it is probably
from the Shigon that t aspect of Dogen' s teaching derive. I
any event, the precrid postures do induce related states of mind.
Thu to chant the Four Vows while kneelig, with the hands i
gassho (palms together), as practced i the Soto sect, evoke a rev
erental, humble frame of mind less redily felt when thee same
vows are chanted seated or standing, as in the R sect. Simlarly,
lightly to touch the tps of the thumbs1 in seated zaz creates a feel
ig of poise and serety not so easily attainable wit the hands
clenced.
Conversely, each stte of mind elicit from the body its ow specic
respons. The act of uelf-onscous prostraton before a Buddha is
thus possible only under te impetus of reverence ad grattude. Such
"horizontlizngs of the mast of ego" cleanse the heart-mind, reder
ing it fexible and expansive, and open te way to an understandig
ad appreciaton of the exalted mnd and manfold virtues of the Bud
dha and the Patriarchs. So there arise with us a desire to expres
our grattude and show our respect before their personalized forms
1 Experents with a electrodiogaph ad other devices hve demonstated
that when the body is fsed into a single tit, i the full-lots posture-i.e., with
the hands (the thwips of whic touc each other) restig on the heelshear
rte, pulse, ad respiation W lowered ad quieted
EDI ToR
'
s I NTRODUCTI ON 1 19
trough approprate rt. These devotons when entered into with
a single mnd endow the Buddha fgue with life; what was formerly
a mere image now becomes a livig reality with the singular power
to obliterate in u awareness of slf and Budda at the moment of
prostraton. Becue in this un-slf-is, un-tg gete our im
maculate Bodhi-mid shines brightly, we feel refehed and reewed
I the lght of thee observations on te interacton of body and
mnd, we can now consider i fuler detail te reasons why Zen
masters have always stressed an eect back and the classic lotus pos
ture. It is well know tat a bet back deprives te mind of its ten
sion so that it is quickly ivaded by random toughts and image,
but that a staight back by stregtening concentaton leses te
incidence of waderig toughts and thus hstens samadhi. Con
versely, when the mind becomes free of ideas the back tend to
straighten itself without conscious efort.
Through a sagging spine and the consequent multiplicton of
thoughts, harmoniou breathng ofe become superseded by quick
ened or jerky breathng, dependng on the nate of the thoughts.
T soon reects itself in nerous and musar tensions. I these
lectues Yasutan-rosh also poits out how a sloucing back saps te
md's vigor and clarity, inducing dulles and boredom.
This al-importat erectes of te spie and paralle tautess of
mind are easier to maintain over a long period if te legs are in te
fl - or hal-lotu posture and te atenton concentratd in the region
just beow te navel.
1
Moreover, sice body is the material aspect of mnd and mind the
immaterial aspect of body, to assmble te hd and arm and the
feet and legs into a unity at one central point where te joined had
ret on the heels of the locked legs, as i the full-lotus posture, fac
ttes the uncaton of mind. Finaly, however intangibly, the lot
postre cretes a sense of rootedes in te earth together wth a fel
ing of an all-ncompassing oneness, void of the sensaton of iner or
outer. Ths is true, however, only when ts positon can be assumed
ad maintined without discomfort.
For a tee reson Ze, as the embodiment of the Buddha's e
stial tecg and practice, hs throughout its long history followed
1
Th hara (see p. 67).
20 / YAS UTANI
'
S I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
te Buddha's method of sitg as te most direct and practcal way
to attain eptess of md and, utmatdy, enlightement
This is not to imply, however, that zaze canot be pract
ced or
satori attaied unes one sits in the f - or half-lotu postue. Zazen
can in fact b efective even in a chair or on a bec or whe keelng,
provided the back is straght.1 I te last resort what insue success in
the quest for enlightenment is not a partcular postue but a intee
longng for tuth for its ow sake, whch alone leads one to sit reg
ulary i any fashion and to peror al the afairs of his day lie
with devotion and dear awareness. But zaze has always been re
garded as fundamental to Zen discipline simply becaue cetues of
expeience have demonstrated that it is the easiest way to stlthe md
and bring it to one-pointedness so tat it may be employed as an in
strument of Self-discovery. I the long hitory of Ze, thousands
upon thousands have attained enghtement through zazen, whe
few genuine enlightenmet experiences have taken place witout it.2
If even the Buddha and Boddharma, as Dogen remid us, had
need. to sit, surdy no aspirant can dispese with z. Keho (or
satori) is but the frst sight of Truth, and wheter tis is merely a
glimpse or a sharp, deep view, it can be enarged trough zazen.
Moreover, it is well to remember that ues fored by joriki (the
partcular power developed through zazen),
3
the vsion of Oneness
attained in enightenment, especiay if it is faint to begin with, in
time become clouded and eventually fades into a plesat memory
instead of remainng an omnipresent reality shaping our daily life.
What we must not lose sight of, however, is tat zaze is more than
just a mean to enlightenent or a techique for sustainng and en
larging it, but is the actualization of our True-nate. Hence it has
absolute value. Yasuti-rosh makes ths vtal poit dear i these
lectures as well as in his interews with te Westerers.
1 See section for the vaous corect postres. On Yauta-rsh's recnt trp to
Amerca one student during ses shin had a enghtenent exerence doig zen
on a piano bench. In Japa may women do zen b
y sitting i the traditional
Japanese fahion, with the buttocks resting on the heels.
2 The Sixth Patrarc, Eno (638-713), is the most notable exaple. In h auto
biography he recouts how he attaied enlightement in h youth upon heang
the Diamond surra recited by a monk. Evdently he had neer practicd foral
ZB before.
3 For a disusion ofjoki, see pp. 4647.
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTION f 21
Tere can be no doubt that for most W etemers, who sem by
nature more actve and retles than Asians, sittng perfectly stll in
zazen, even i a chair, is physically and mently pa. Their un
wl gness to endure such pain and discomfort even for short periods
of tme udoubtedly stems from a deeply etreched conviction
tat it is not ony sensdess but even masochistc to accept pain de
liberatey when ways ca be found to escape or mitgate it. Not u
surprisingly, terefore, do we have the atempt on te part of some
commentators, obviously unpractced i Zen, to show tat sittg
is not indispensable to Zen disciple. I Te Way of Z (pp. 101,
103) Alan Watt even tries to prove, by citng portons of a well
known koan, that te Zen masters temsdves have impugned sit
ting. The following is our tranlaton of the koan in it etirety:
Baso was sitting daily in zaze in Dempo-in. Watching him,
Nangaku thought, "He wbecome a great monk," and inquired:
"Worthy one, what are you tryg to atain by sittng? "
Baso repled: "I am tg to become a Buddha."
Thereupon N angaku picked up a piece of roof te and ba
gridig it. on a rock in front of hm.
"What are you doing, Master?" asked Baso.
"I am polshg it to make a mrror," said Nangaku.
"How could polshing a tile make a mirror?"
"How could sittg in zazen make a Budda?' '
Baso asked: "What should I do, then?"
Nangaku replied: "If you were drivig a car and it didn't
move, would you whp te crt or whip the ox? "
Baso made no reply.
Nangaku continued: "Are you training yourself i zazen?
Are you strivng to become a sitg Buddha? I you are train
ing yourself in zaze, [let me tell you tat te substnce of] zaze
is neither sitting nor lyig. If you are training youself to become
a sittng Buddha, [let me tell you that] Buddha has no one form
[such as sittng] . The Dharma, whch has no fed abode, allows
of no distinctons. If you try to become a sittg Buddha, t
is no les than kg the Buddha. If you cling to the sitng form
you w not attain the essential trut."
.
Upon hearg t, Baso fet as refrehed a though h had had
te most delciou of drins.
22 / YASUTANI
0
S I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
To his ow translaton Mr. Wats add (p. 113) : "T seem to be
the conistent doctrine of all the T' ang masters from Hui-neng [the
Sixth Patriarch] to Lin-chi [Rinzai]. Nowhere in their tachings
have I been able to fd any instructions in or recomendation of
the type of zazen whc is today te principal ocupaton of Zen
monks." Evidently he overooked Te Zen Teaching of Huang Po
(as translated by John Blofdd), where we fd Huang Po, who died
in 850, advsing (p. r3r) : "When you practice mind-ontol (zazen
or dhyana) , sit i the proper positon, stay perfectly tranquil, and do
not permt the least movement of your minds to disturb you."
Surdy t is clear proof that zazen as it is carried on in Japan today
was an etablished practce even in the T' ang era, as inded it was i
the Buddha's tme.
Moreover, to construe the dialogue quoted above as a condematon
of zaze i to do volece to the whole spirit of the koan. N angaku,
far from implying tat sittig in zazen i a useless as trng to polish
a roof tle into a mirror-though it i easy for one who has never
practiced Zen to come to suc a conclusion-is in fact tryg to
teach Baso that Buddhahood does not exst outide himself a an
object to strve for, since we are all Buddas from the very frst.
Obviously Baso, who later became a great master, was uder the
illusion at the time tat Buddhaood was something diferent from
himsel Nagaku i saying in efect: "How could you become a
Buddha through sitting if you were ' not a Buddha to begin wth?
This woud be as impossible as tring to polish a roof tle into a
rrror."1 I other words, zazen doe not bestow Buddhahood; it
uncovers a Buddha-nature whc has always exsted Furhermore,
through the act of grnding the tile Nangaku is concretely revealing
to Baso that te polishing is itelf the expression of this Budda
natue, whch transcends all forms, including that of sitting or stad
ig or lyig dow.
To guard against their disciple' beomg attached to te sitting
posture, Zen masters incorporate mobile zazen ito their traiing.
It is emphaticaly not t, as Mr. Watts states, that today the prnci
pal ocupaton of Zen monks i sitg. Except for a totl of si
weeks or so in the year when they are i sesshin, Japanese Ze monk
1
The Sixth Patriarch i h Platfor sutra stare: "If one dd not have the Bud
mind within oneslf where would one sek the Tre Bud?"
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTION f
23
in taining spend most of their tme workig, not sitting. At Hos
shi-ji (which is more or less typical of most Japanese Zen mon
astries in tis repect) monks usually sit for an hour and a half in the
morg and for about two to three hours in the evening. Ad since
tey normally slep about six or seven hours, the other telve or
tirteen hous of the day are spnt on such labors as workig i the
rice feld and vegetable gardens, cuttg wood ad pumping water,
cooking, serving meals, keeping te monastery clean, and sweepig
and wedg its extensive grounds. At other tmes tey tend the
graves in the cemetery adoing the monastery and chant sutras and
dharani for te dead bot in the homes of devotees and in te mon
astery. Additionally Zen monks spend many hous walking the
strets begging food and other necessities, to lear humility and
grattde, as part of their religious traig. Al tese activitie are
demed to be te practice of mobile zazen since tey are to be per
formed midfully, with total involvement. Hyakujo' s famou dictu,
"A day of no work is a day of no eatg," animates the spirit of the
Zen monastery today as strongly as it ever did.
Without zaze, wheter it be te stationary or the mobile variety,
we canot speak of Zen trairg or disciplie or practice. The Nan
gaku koa and all others point to te Buddha-mind with which we
are endowed, but they do not teach how to realize the reality of t
Mind. The realiation of this highet Truth demands dedication ad
sustained exertion, which is to say the pure and faithful practice of
zazen. The attempt to dismiss zazen as unessental is at bottom noth
ing more than a ratonalizaton of an uw gnes to exert onesef
for the sake of te tut, with the obvious implication that in fact no
real desire for trth exsts. I h Shobogenzo Dogen takes to task those
who would idet themselves with the hghet ideals of the Buddha
yet shirk the efort required to put tem into practce:
The great Way of the Buddha and the Patiarchs involves
te highet form of exertion, which goes on uncesingly in
cycle from the. frst daw of religious truth, tough the tet
of discipline and practce, to enlightenment and Nivana. It
is sustaied exerton, proceding without lapse from ccle to
cycle . . . .
This sutied exerton is not sometg whch me of t
world natrally love or desire, yet it is te last refge of a. Only
24
I
YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
A
tough the exertion of a Buddhas i te past, present, ad
futre do the Buddhas of past, present, and fute become a
reality . . . . By this exertion Buddhahood is realied, ad those
who do not make an exertion when exerton is possible are those
who hate Buddha, hate servg the Buddha, and hate exerton;
they do not want to live and die with Buddha, they do not want
h as teir teacher and companion. 4 -

BIOGRAPHI CAL NOTE ON YASUTANI -

ROSH! I At eighty Zen Master Hakuun2 Yasutan i s about to
embark on a prolonged stay in America to exound the Buddha's
Dhara. I t he evokes the spirit of te redoubtable Bodhdharma,
who in the later years of his life tred his back on hs natve land and
went forth to distant shores to plant the livingseedofBuddhism. Yet
for Y asuti-roshi t is but one more remarkable event in a life
marked by unique achievements.
Since his seventy-ffth birday he has written and published five
complete volumes of commentares on the koan collections know
a the Mumonkan, the Hekian-roku, the Shoyo-roku, and the Denko
roku, and on the Five Degrees ofTozan (Go-i in Japanee). Altogether
ths series comprises a fet uque in the modem history of Zen.
Such witng is but one facet of h extensive teachg actvity.
Beides holding monthly sesshin of from three to seven days at hs
ow temple in te suburbs ofTokyo, and periodic sessh in Kyushu
and Hokkaido, the souther and norther extremes of Japa, every
week he conducts a number of one-ay sesshin (zazenkai) in te
greter Tokyo area. Among other places these include one of the
large uversities, several factories, te Self-Defense Academy, ad
a number of temples.
Twice he has traveled to the W est. On his first trip to America in
192 he held sesshi of from four to seven days at Honolulu; Los
1 Quoted i Soures ofjapaes Tradition, edited by Wi ia Theodore de Bary
(Columbia Unverity Pe, N.Y., 191), pp. 25o51.
2 A Zen nae meaning "White Cloud." See "clouds ad water" i secon .
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON YASUTANI / 25
Angele; Clairmont, Caifora; Walgford, Pensylvania; New
York; Boston; ad Washgton, D.C. The following year he repeated
his seshin in America, expanding hs actvites to include lecture
on Ze i England, France, and Germany.
Husband, father, schoolmastr, and utmately Zen master, Haku
un Yasutan did not achieve h preent distcton by avoidg the
pains and joys incident to the life of the ordinary man but in experi
encig and then tanscedg tem. I t h le reects the Maha
yana ideal that Sef-realizaton is for the houeholder no les than the
celibate monk.
Yasutani-roshi was br of a piou Buddst mother and a father
who was a past-shop ower i a small village. At ftve he had his
head shaved, symbolizig hs inducton into te Buddhist monkhood,
after which his parent, folowing the custom of devout families of
the time, sent him to live in a temple so that he might absorb a re
lgious atmosphere and become inuenced in te directon of te
priesthood.
He remained at ths temple until he was twelve, performig the
chores of a neophyte, attendig primary school, and receivg an
education in the fundamentals of Buddism from the head priest.
Upon hs thrtenth birthday he became a novice at a large Soto tem
ple. Then folowed two more years of public-school education, fve
years at a semnary conducted by the Soto sect, and eventualy four
years at a teachers' taing school.
At thirty Hakuun Yasutani married ad began to raise a famly,
which i time numbered fve children. Nominaly a priet, he took a
position as an elementary-school teacher to support h growi
g
family since no temple was then available. He continued to teach for
six years, and upon promoton to pricipal served anoter fou years
i te same school.
Despite the burdens of raising a famy of five and the demands
of his job, throughout the years he had contiued, under various
teachers, the zazen he had commenced many years earlier-at the
age of fe, to b exact. Whie these teachers were generally rec
ognized as among the foremost masters of the Soto sect, the tact
that they dealt with satori in vague generaltes niade its actual
realzaton seem remote and chimerical. Always he fet in want of
26 f YAS UTANI
'
s INTRODUCTORY LECTUREs
a genuine
maste, a Buddha-lke fgure who could set hs fet on the
te path. At forty he fmally found him in Harada-rosh, and with
ths meeting h life took a decisive tu.
He relqushed hs principalshp, became a temple priet i fact
as wdl as name, and began attendig sesshi regularly at Harada
roshi's monastery, Hossh-ji. At hs very frst seshin he attained
kensho with the koan Mu.
Y asutani-roshi was ffty-ight whe Harada-rosh gave h his
seal of approva (inka shomei) ad named h a Dhara successor.
This signal honor implied that his spiritu Insight was deep, his moral
character hgh, and his capacty to teac proven.
Like his modest temple, Yasutan-roshi is simple and unafected.
His two meas a day include neither meat, fish, eggs, nor alcohol. He
ca often be seen trotting about Tokyo i a tattered robe and a pair
of sneakers on hs way to a zz meeting, his lecture books in a bag
slung over hi back, or standing i the crowded second-class inter
urban trains. I his utter simplcity, his indiference to fmery, wealth,
and fame, he walks in the footsteps of a long line of dstinguished Zen
masters.
THE LECTURES I
1 I THEORY AND PRAC
TICE OF ZAZEN I What I am about to tell you is based
upon the teachgs of my revered teacher, Dau1 Harada-rosh.
Although he hmsd was of the Soto sect, he was unable to fnd a
truly accomplished master in that sect and so went to ta frst at
Shogen-ji and then Na-ji, to Ri monasteries. At Nanzen
ji he eventually grasped the inmost secret of Z under the guidance
of Dokutan-roshi, a outstandig master.
While it is udeably true that one must undergo Zen tainig
himself i order to comprehed the truth of Zen, Harada-roshi felt
that the modem mind is so much more aware that for beginners
lectures of t type could be meaningful as a prelnary to practce.
He combined the best of each sect and established a uque method
of teachng Zen. Nowhere in Japan wl you fd Zen teachng set
1 A Zen name meaig "Great Cloud." See "couds ad we" i seion 7, Hs
other name i Sogaku.
THEORY AND P RACTICE OP ZAZEN f 27
forth so toroughly and succinctly, so well suited to te temper of
the modem mnd, as at his monastery. Having bee hs disciple for
some twenty years, I was eabled, thans to his grace, to open my
Mind's eye in some measure.
Before commecig his lectues Harada-roshi would preface tem
wit advce on lstenig. His frst point was tat everyone should
listen with his eye open and upon hm-in other word, with hs
whole being-because an impresion received only tough te
hearing is rather shallow, aki to listening to te radio. His second
point was that each person should listen to thee lecture as though
tey were being given to h alone, as ideally they should be. Human
nature is such that if two people lsten, each feels only hal-responsible
for understanding, and if ten people are listeng each feels his respon
sibility to be but one-teth. However, since there are so many of you
and what I have to say is exactly the same for everybody, I have asked
you to come as a group. You mut nonetheess listen as though you
were etrely alone and hold yourselve accountable for everthing
that is said.
This discourse is divided into eleven part, which w be covered
in some eight lecture sessions. The frst involve the rationale of zazen
and direct methods of practce; the next, special precautions; and the
following lectures, the particular problems arising from zazen, to
gether with their solution.
I point of fact, a knowledge of the teory or principles of zaze
is not a prerequisite to practce. One who tais under an accom
plhed teacher will inevitably grasp ths theor by degrees as hs
practice ripens. Modem students, however, being intelectually more
sophstcated than their predecessors i Zen, wil not follow instruc
tons unreseredly; they must frst kow the reasons behnd them.
Hence I feel obliged to deal with theoretical matters. The difcult
with theory, however, is that it is endless. Budhist scriptures, Bud
dhist doctre, and Buddhist philosophy are no more than intellectual
formulatons of zazen, and zazen itel is their practcal demonstra
tion. From th vast feld I wlnow abstract what is most essental for
you practce.
We start witl1 the Buddha Shakyamuni.1
A I t you al know,
1 The traditional Japanese tenis 0-Shaka-sama. It is both respectfl and itimate.
The 0 ad sama ae honorifcs, and rather tha attempt a arbitrary traslation of
28
f
YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUC TORY LECTURES
he began with the path of asceticism, undergoing tortures and auster
ties which
others before him had never attempted, including
pro

longed fasting. But he failed to attain enightenment by these

means
and, hal-dead from hunger and exaustion, came to realize the futility
of pursuig a course which could only terminate in death. So he
drank the m whic was ofered hm, gradualy regaied his health,
and resolved to steer a middle course between self-torture and self
indulgence. Thereafter he devoted himself exclusively to zazen for
six years1 and evetually, on the morg of the eighth of December,
at the very instant when he glanced at the planet Venus gleamig in
the easter sky, he attaed perfect enlightenment. Althis we believe
as historical truth.
The words the Buddha uttered involuntarily at this tme are re
corded variouly in the Buddhst scriptures. According to the Kegon
sutra, at te moment of enlightenment he spontaneously cried out:
"Wonder of wonders ! Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas,
endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because me's mds have be
come inverted through delusive thiing they fail to perceive this."
The frst pronouncement of the Buddha upon his enlightenmet
seems to have bee one of awe ad astonishment. Ye, how truy
marvelous that all. huan beigs, whether clever or stupid, male or
female, ugly or beautiul, are whole and complete just as they are.
That is to say, the nature of every being is inherently without a flaw,
perfect, no diferent from that of Amida or any other Buddha. This
frst declaration ofShakyamun Buddha is also the ultimate conclusion
of Buddsm. Yet man, restless and anxious, lives a half-crazd exist
ence because his mind, heavly encrusted with delusion, is tued
topsy-turvy. We need therefore to ret to our original perfecton,
to see through the false image of ouseves as icomplete ad sinul,
and to wake up to our inherent purity and wholeness.
The most efective means by which to accomplsh this is trough
zaen. Not only Shakyamuni Buddha himselfbut many ofhis disciples
attained enlightenment trough zazen. Moreover, during the 2,500
years since the Budda's death innumerable devotees i India, Chna,
them, I have followed the usual English rendering of this title. (See "Buddha" in
setion x.)
1
Other accouts say si years elapsed fom the tie he left his home uti his
supreme enlightenment.
THEORY AND PRACTICE OP ZAZEN f 29
and Japan have, by graspig tis selfame key, resolved for them
selves the most fndametal queston, What are life ad det? Even
i ts day there are many who have been able to cast of worry and
anxety and emancipate themseves through za.
Beteen a Nyorai (i.e., a supremely perfected Buddha) and us,
who are ordinary, there is no diferece as to substance. Ths "sub
stance" can be likened to water. One of the salent charactristics of
water is its conformability: when put into a roud vessel it becomes
round, whe put into a square vesel it becomes square. We have ths
same adaptabity, but as we live boud ad fettered though igno
rance of our true natue, we have forfeited ts freedom. To pusue
te metaphor, we can say that the mind of a Buddha is like water
that is calm, deep, ad crystal clear, and upon which the "moon of
truth" refects f y and perfecty. The mind of the ordinary man,
on the other hand, is like murky water, constanty being chured by
the gales of deusive thought and no longer able to refect t moon
of truth. The moon nonetheles shnes steadily upon the waves, but
as te waters are roied we are uable to see it reflecton. Thu we
lead lives that are frustrating and meangles.
How can we bring the moon of truth to ilumne ful y our le and
personalty? We need ftrst to purif this water, to calm the surging
waves by haltg the winds of discusive thought. In other words,
we must empty our mnds of what the Kegon sutra cals the "con
ceptual thought of man." Most people place a high value on abstract
thought, but Buddhism has clearly demonstated that discriminative
tg lie at the root of deluion. I once heard someone say:
"Thought is the sickness of the human mnd." From the Buddhist
point of view ths is quite true. To be sure, abstract thg is ueful
when wisely employed-which is to say, when its nature and limita
tions are properly uderstood-but so long as human beings remain
slaves to their itellect, fettered and controlled by it, they can wel be
caled sick.
All thoughts, whether enobling or debasing, are mutable and im
permanent; they have a beginng and an end even as they are feet
ingly with us, and this is as true of te thought of an era as of an
individual. I Buddhism thought is referred to as "the stream of life
and-death. " It is important i this connecton to distinguish the role
of transitory thoughts from that of fxed concepts. Random ideas are
3
0 f YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
relatvely inocuou, but ideologie, beliefs, opions, and point of
view, not to menton te factual knowledge accwuated since birth
(to whic we attach ourseve), are the shadows which obscure the
lght of truth.
So long as the winds of thought continue to distrb the water of
our Self-nature, we cannot distiguish truth from untruth. It is im
perative, therefore, that these winds be stilled. Once they abate, the
waves subside, the muddiess clears, and we perceive directy that
the moon of trth has never ceased shining. The moment of such
realzation is kesho, i.e., eghtenment, the apprehension of the true
substance of ou Sef-nature. Unlike moral and philosophical con
cepts, which are variable, true Insight is imperishable. Now for the
frst tme we can lve with inner peace and dignity, free from per
plexity and diquiet, and in harmony with our environmet.
I have spoken to you briefy about these matters, but I hope I have
succeeded in conveyg to you the importace of zazen. Let u now
talk about practice.
The fst step is to select a quiet room in which to sit. Lay out . a
fairly soft mat or pad some tree feet square, and on top of this
place a smal circular cushion measurng about one foot in diam
eter to sit on, or ue a square cushion folded in two. Preferably one
should not wear trousers or socks, since these interfere with the cross
i of the legs and the placing of the feet. For a number of reasons it
is best to sit in the ful-lotus posture. To sit ful-lotu you place te
foot of the right leg over the thigh of the left ad the foot of te lef
leg over the thigh of the rght. The mai point of ths particular
method of sittg is that by etablishing a wide, solid base, with the
crossed legs and with both knee touchig the mat, you achieve
absolute stabity. With the body thu immobile, thoughts are not
stirred into actvity by physical movements and the mnd more easiy
becomes tranquil.
If you have difculty sittng in the full-lotus posture because of the
pain, sit half-lotus, whic is done by puttng the foot of the left leg
over the thigh of the right. For those of you who are not accutomed
to sittng cross-legged, even this position may not be easy to maintain.
You will probably fmd it difcult to keep the two knees resting on
the mat and wl have to push one or both of them dow again
THEORY AND PRACTI CE OF ZAZEN / JI
ad agai untl they remai there. I both the hal- and the ful-lotus
posture te uppermost foot can be reversed when the legs become
tired.
For those who fnd both of thee traditonal zz positions acutely
uncomortable, an altertve positon is the traditional Japanese one
of sitg on the heels and calves. Ths can be maintained for a longer
time i a cushion is placed between the heel and the buttocks. One
advantage of this postue is that the back can be kept erect easiy.
However, should a of these positions prove too painful, you may
u a chair
The next step is to rest the right hand in the lap, pal upward, and
place the left hand, palm upward, on top of the right palm. Lightly
touch te tips of the thumbs to each other so that a Batteed circle
is formed by the palm and thumbs. Now, the right side of the body
is the active pole, the left the passive. Hence during practce we repres
te actve side by placig te left foot and lef hand over the right
members, as an aid in acheving the hghest degree of tanquity. If
you look at a figure of te Buddha, however, you will notice that te
positon of tse members is just te reverse. The significance of ths
is that a Buddha, unlke the ret of us, is actvely engaged in the task
of saving.
After you have crossed you legs, bend forward so as to thrust the
buttocks out, the slowly bring the trunk to an erect posture. The
head should be straight; if looked at from the side, your ears should
be in lne with your shoulders and te tp of your nose in line wit
your navel. The body from t waist up shoud be weightless, fee
fom pressue or strain. Kep the eyes open ad the mouth closed.
The tp of the tongue should lightly touch the back of the upper
teth. If you dose your eyes you wifal into a dand dremy state.
The gaze shoud be lowered without focusing on anyng in par
tcuar. Experiece has show that the mnd is quietest, with the least
fatgue or stai, when te eyes are in this lowered position.
The spinal column mut be erect at a tme. This admoniton is
important. Whe the body slups, not only is udue pressure placed
on the inte organs, iterferig wth their fee fnctonng, but
the vertebrae by impinging upon nerves may cause strains of one
1 See section 1 for sketches of all these postures, including one wdely used in
the Southeast Asian Buddhist coutries.
32 /
YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LE CTURES
kd or another. Since the body and mnd are one, an
y ipairmet
of the physiological functions ievitably involves the mnd a
d th
u
diminshes its clarity and onepointedness, which are essen
tial for
efective concetraton. From a purely psychological poit of view,
a ramod eretess is as udesirable as a slouching position, for the
one springs from unconscious pride and the other from abjectness,
and since both are grouded i ego tey are equaly a hidrance to
eghtenmet.
Be careful to hold the head erect; if it inclines forard or backward
or sideward, remaig there for an appreciable legth of tme, a
crick in the neck may result.
When you have established a correct posture, take a deep breath.
hold it momentarily, the exhale slowly and quiety. Repeat this two
or thee times, always breathing through the nose. After that breathe
naturally. When you have accutomed yourself to this routne, one
deep breath at the beging wi sufce. Now bend the body frst
to the right as far as it will go, then to the left, about seven or eight
times, in large arcs to begin with, then smaller ones until the trunk
naturaly comes to rest at ceter.
Y oi are now ready to concentrate your md.1 There are many
good methods of concentration bequeathed to us by our predeces
sors in Ze. The easiest for beginers is counting icoming and out
going breats. The value of ths particular exercise lies in the fact that
al reasonig is ecluded and the discrimnative mind put at rest.
Thu the waves of thought are stilled and a gradual one-pointedness
of mind achieved. To start wit, count both ialations and exhala
tions. Whe you inale, concentrate on "one"; when you exhale, on
" "
d Th " " d two ; an so on, up to ten. en you retur to one an once
more count up to ten, contuing as before. It is as simple as that.
As I have previously pointed out, feeting ideas which naturaly
fuctte i the mind are not in themselve an impediment. Ths u
fortuately is not commonly recognized. Even among Japanese who
have been studying and practicig Zen for fve years or more tere
are many who misunderstand Zen practce to be a stopping of con
sciousness. There is indeed a knd of zazen that aims at doipg jut
ts,
2
but it is not the traditional zaze of Zen Buddhsm. You must
1
For additional informaton on concntrating the mind, see pp. 128-29.
2 See p. 45
THEORY AND PRACTICE OP ZAZEN I 33
realize that no matter how intently you count your breaths you will
stll perceive what is in you line of vision, since your eye are open,
and you w her the norma souds about you, as your ears are not
plugged. And since your brain liewise is not asleep, various thought
forms wl drt about in your mind. Now, they will not hamper or
diminish the efectiveness of zazen unless, evaluating them as "good,"
you clg to them or, deciding they are "bad," you try to check or
elminate them. You must not regard any perceptons or sensations
as an obstrcton to zazen, nor shoud you pursue any of them. I em
phasize this. "Pursuit" simply means that in the act of seeing, your
gaze lingers on objects; in the course ofhearng, your attenton dwels
on sound; and in the process of thg, your mind adheres to ideas.
If you alow yourself to be distracted in such ways, your concentra
tion on the counting of your breaths will be impeded. To recapitu
late: let random thoughts arise and vanish as they w, do not daly
with them and do not try to expel them, but merely concentate all
your energy on counting te inhalatons and exhalations of you
breath.
I terminatng a period of sittg do not arise abruptly, but beg
by rockng from side to side, fst in small swings, then in large ones,
for about half a dozen tmes. You wl observe that your movements
in ths exercise are the reverse of those you engage in when you begin
zazen. Rise slowly and quietly walk around with the others in what
is caled kinhin, a walking form of zazen.
K is performed by placig the right fut, with thumb inside,
on the chest and covering it with the left palm whie holding both
elbows at right angles. Keep the arms in a straight line and the body
erect, wth te eyes resting upon a point about two yards in front of
the fet. At te same time continue to count inhalations and exhala
tons as you walk slowly aroud the room. Begin walng with the
left foot and walk in such a way tat the foot sinks into te foor, first
the heel and then the toes. Wa calmy and steadily, wt poise and
dgnty. The walkng must not be done absent-mindedly, and the
mind must be taut as you concetate on the coutng. It is advisable
to practice walking this way for at least five minute after each sitting
period of twenty to thrty miutes.
+
You are to t of th waling as zazen in moton. Rinzai and
Soto difer considerably in their way of doing kn. In the Rizai
34
I YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
method the walking i s brsk and energetc, whe i t taditional
Soto it is slow and leisuely; in fact, upon each breat you step for
ward ony six inches or so. My ow teacher, Harada-roshi, advocated
a gait somewhere between these two and that is the method we have
ben practcing here. Futher, the Rinzai sect cups the lef hand on
top of the right, whereas in the orthodox Soto the right had is
placed on top. Harada-roshi fet that the R metod of puttg
the left hand uppermost was more desirable and so he adopted it into
his ow teachng. Now, eve though t waling relieves the stif
ness in your legs, such exercise is to be regarded as a mere by-product
and not the main object ofkin. Hence those of you who are count
ing your breaths should continue during k, and those of you who
are working on a koan should carry on with it.
This end the frst lecture. Continue to count your breaths as I
have instructed untl you come before me again.
2 / PRECAUTI ONS TO OB S ERVE I N ZAZEN /
This is the second lecture. Now I want you to chage your breathing
exercise slighdy. This morg I told you to cout "one" as you in
haled and "to" as you exaled. Hereafter I want you to cout
"one" only on the exhalaton, so that one ful breath [ialation
and exhalaton] wl be "one." Don't bother counting the iala-
. .
" " " " "th " d f t th x 1 nons; JUt count one, two, ree, an so or , on e e a a-
ron.
It is advisable to do zazen facing a wall, a curtain, or the le.
Don't sit too far from the wall nor wit your nose up against it; the
ideal distnce is from to to te feet. Likewise, don't sit where you
have a sweping vew, for it is distracting, or where you look out
on a pleasant landscape, which wl tempt you to leave of zazen in
order to admire it. I this connecton it is important to remember
that although you eyes are open you are not actually trying to see.
For all these reasons it is wisest to sit facing a wall. However, i you
happen to be doing zazen formally in a Rzai temple, you wll have
no choice but to sit facing others, as t is the established custom in
that sect.
I the beginning, i possible, select a room that is quiet as well as
clean and tidy, one whch you can regard as sacred. It may be asked
PRECAUTIONS TO OBSERVE IN ZAZEN
I
3
S
wheter it is satisfactory to do za on a bd so long as the room i
clean and free from noise. For the ordiary healthy person the answer
is no; there are any number of reasons why it i difct to kep te
mind in proper tension on a bed. A bedridde person, of course,
has no choice.
You wl probably fnd that natral sound, lie those of isect
or birds or runnig water, w not disturb you, neiter wl the
rhytnic tcking of a clock nor the pur of a motor. Sudden
noises, however, like the roar of a jet, are jarrig. But rhyc sound
you ca mke use o One student of mine actlly attined e
lghtenment by utilizng the sound of te steady threshing of rice
while he was doing zazen. The most objectonable sound are thos
of huan voice, either heard decdy or over the radio or television.
When you start zazen, therefore, fd a room which is distant from
such sound. When your sittg has ripeed however, no noi wl
disturb you.
Beide keping your room clean ad ordrly you should deorate
it wt fowers and bum incense, since these, by conveyng a see
of te pue and the holy, mae it easier for you to relate yoursel to
zaen and tus to ca and un you md more quickly. Wear
simple, comfortble clothing tat w give you a feeling of dignty
and purty. I the evenig it is better not to wear night clothes, but
if it is hot and a queston of either doig zazen i pajamas or not
doing it at al, by al mean wer te pajamas. But mae yoursl
clen ad tidy.
The room ought not to be too lght or too dark. You can put up
a dark cut i it is too lght, or you can u a sma electc bulb
if it is nght. The efect of a dark room is te same as closin you
eyes: it duls everg. The best condition i a sort of twight. Re
member, Buddhist zazen does not aim at rendering the md inactve
but at quietng and uifg it i the mdt of actvty.
A room tat is neither too hot in sumer nor too cold in wintr
is idea. Punishing te body is not the purpose of zazen, so it i un
necesary to struggle with extreme of heat or cold. Experience h
show, however, that one can do better zazen when he fels slghdy
cool; too hot a room tend to make one sleepy. As your ardor fot
zzn deens you wnaturaly beome unconcered about cold or
heat. Nevertheles, it i wise to tke care of your healt.
36 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
Next let us discus the best tme for zazen. For te eager and
determed any time of day and al seasons of the year are equally
good. But for those who have jobs or profession te best time is
either morg or evening, or better stll, both. Tr to sit every
morg, preferably before breakfast, and just before going to bed
at night. But if you can sit only once-and you should sit at least
once a day-you will have to consider the relatve merits of morg
and eveg. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. If you fnd
tat eiter morg or evenng is equally good and you ask whch I
recommend (because you can sit ony once a day) , I would say the
morg, for the following reasons. No visitors come eary in the
mornng, whereas i the evening you are lkely to be interrupted.
Also, moring-at any rate, in the cit-is much queter tan eveng
since fewer cars are on the steets. Fuermore, because i the mor
ing you are reted and somewhat hungry, you are in good condition
for zaze, whereas in the evenng, when you are ted and have had
your mel, you are likey to be du er. Since it is difcult to do zaze
on a ful stomach, it is better not to sit immediately after a meal when
you are a beginner. Before a mel, however, zazen can be practced to
good advantage. As your zeal grows it won't matter when you sit,
before, after, or during a meal.
How long shoud you do zazen at one sitng? There is no general
rule, for it varies accordng to te degree of one's eageress as well as
the matuity of one's practice. For novices a shorter tme is better. If
you sit devotedly fve minutes a day for a month or to, you wl
want to increase your sittng to ten or more mnutes as your ardor
grows. When you are able to sit with your mnd taut for, say, thrty
minutes wthout pain or discomfort, you wl come to appreciate the
feeling of tranquty and well-being induced by zazen and will wat
to practce regularly. For tese reasons I recommend that beginners
sit for shorter periods of time. On te oter hand, should you force
yourself fom the begng to sit for longer periods, the pain in you
legs may well become unbearable before you acqure a calm mnd.
Thu you will quickly tre of zazen, feeing it to be a waste of time,
or you will always be watcng the clock. I the end you will come
to dislike zazen and stop sittng altogether. Ths is what frequenty
happens. Now, even though you sit for ony ten mnutes or so each
day, you can compesate for ts briefes by concentratng intensely
PRECAUTI ONS TO O:SERVE IN ZAZEN I
37
on te coWtg of each breat, tu icreasing its efectveess. You
must not coWt absent-midedly or mechanically, as though it were
a duty.
I spite of your being able to sit for an hour or more with a feeing
of exqusite seenit, it is wse to limt you sitting to periods of about
trty or fort minutes each. Ordnariy it is not advsable to do zazen
longer ta t at one sittg, since te mind cannot sustan it
vigor and tautes and te value of the sittng decreases. Wheter one
realizes it or not, a gradual dinuton of the mind's concentrative
intensity takes place. For t reason it is better to alterate a thirty
or forty-minute period of sitting with a roWd of walg zazen.
Following this patter, one can do zazen for a fll day or even a wee
wit good resuts. The longer zzen contnues, however, te more
tme shoud be spent in walng zazen. I fact, one might advanta
geously add periods of manual labor to ths route, as hs bee done
in te Zen temple since olden tmes. Needless to say, you must keep
your mind in a state of clear awareness dung such manual labor and
not allow it to become lax or dul.
A word about food. It is better to eat no more tan eghty pecet
of your capacity. A Japanee proverb has it that eight part of a fu
stomach sustain the ma; te other two sustain te doctor. Te
Zazen Yojinki (Precautons to Obsere in Zazen), compiled about
650 years ago, says you should eat two-thirds of your capacity. It
fer says that you should coose nourishing vegetables (of couse
meat-atng is not in the tradition of Buddhism and it was taboo
when the Yojinki was written) such as moWtai potatoes, seame,
sour plwn, black beans, mushrooms, and the root of the lot; and it
aso recommends various kids of seaweed, which are hghy nutri
tous and leave an alaline residue in the body. Now, I am no author
ity on vtamis and minerals and calories, but it is a fact tat most
people today eat a diet whch creates too much acid in the blood, and
a great ofender in this respect is meat. Eat more vegetab1es of te
kind mentoned, which are alalic in teir efect. I anciet days
tere was a yang-yin diet. The yang was te alkaline and te yin te
acid, and te old books cautoned tat a diet ought not be eiter
too yang or too yin. Th is substantally what I have just told you
Whe sittg it i a good idea to have a notebook and peci
before you because a variety of isight wl fash into your mind
38 I YASUTANI
'
s INTRODUCTORY LECTURES
and you wil t: "I must write this dow before I forget it."
Relatonships which previously were incomprehesible will sud
deny be clarifed ad difcult problems will be abrptly solved. I
you do not jot these thgs dow, they will worry you ad thus i
terfere wit your concetaton.
3 I I LLUS ORY VI SI ONS AND SENSATI ONS I
Ths is the thrd lecture. Before I begin I will assign you a new way
of concentration. Instead of coutg your exhalatons, as heretofore,
count "one" on the frst ialation, "two" on te next ihalation,
and so on, up to ten. This is more difcult than coutig on the ex
halaton, because all mental and physical actvity is performed on the
exhaled breat. For instance, just before poucig animals take a
breath. This prciple is well know in kendo fecing and judo fght
ing, where one is taught that by carefully observing hs opponent's
breathing his attack can be antcipated. While this exercise is dfcult,
you mut try to practce it as another means of concentratg your
md. Untl you come before me again you are to concentrate on
countg te ihalations of your breat, not audibly but in te md
only.
Makyo are te phenomena-visions, halluciatons, fantasie, rev
elatons, i uory sensation-which one practcing zazen is apt to
experiece at a particular stage in his sitting. Ma means "dev" and
kyo "the objective world." Hence makyo are te distbing or "d
bolical" pheomea which apper to one dug his zazen. Thee
phenomena are not iheretly bad. They become a seriou obstacle
to practce only if one is ignorant of their tre natre and is ensnared
by tem.
The word makyo is used in both a general ad a specifc sense.
Broadly speaking, te entire life of te ordiary man is nothig but
a makyo. Eve such Bodhisattas as Monju and Karman, highly
developed though they are, still have about them traces of makyo;
otherwise they would be supreme Buddhas, completely fee of
mayo. One who becomes attached to what he realizes through
satori i also still lingerig in the world of makyo. So, you see, there
ILLUSORY VISIONS AND S ENS ATIONS
f
39
are makyo eve after eghtent, but we shl not eter into that
aspect of te subject i tese lectres.
I te specifc s te nuber of mako which can appear are
in fact uted, varying accordg to te personalit and tepera
ment of the sitter. I the Ryogon [Surangama] sutra t Buddha
wars of fy diferent kd, but of course he is referring ony to te
commonest. If you attend a sessh of fom fve to seven days' dura
ton and apply yoursel assiduouly, on te third day you are lkely
to experence makyo of varying degrees of itenity. Besides those
whch involve the vsion there are numerou makyo whch relate to
the sense of touch, smell, or hearig, or which sometmes caue the
body suddenly to move from side to sid or forward and backward
or to lean to one side or to appear to sin or rse. Not infrequetly
words burst forth uncontrollably or, more rarely, one imagies he is
smelg a partcuarly fagrant perue. There are even cases where
without conscious awareness one wites dow things which tum out
to be prophetcaly true.
Very common are visual halucinatons. You are doing zazen wit
your eyes open whe suddeny the ridges of the straw mattg in
front of you seem to be heaving up and dow like waves. Or wit
out warg eerythg may go white beore your eyes, or black.
A knot i te wood of a door may suddeny appear as a beast or de
mon or angel. One disciple of mine often ued to see visions of masks
-demons' masks or jesters' masks. I asked h whether he hd ever
had any particuar experience of masks, and it ted out that he had
see them at a fetival in Kyuhu1 when he was a chd. Another ma
I knew was extremely troubled in his practce by vsions of Buddha
and h disciples walng around hm recitg sutras, and was only
able to dispel te hallucinaton by jumping into a tank of ice-old
water for to or three mutes.
Many makyo involve the hearing. One may hear the sound of a
piano or loud noises, suc as an explosion (whch is heard by no one
els), and actly jump. One discple of me always ued to hear te
sound of a bamboo fute whe doing zazen. He had leared to play
the bamboo fute many years before, but had long sice give it up;
yet always the sound came to h whe he was stting.
1 Te southost of Japa's m il.
40 / YAS UTANI
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s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
In te Zaze Yojinki we fmd te following about makyo: "Te
body may feel hot or cold or glasslike or hard or heav or light.
This happens becaue the breat is not well harmonized [wit the
mnd] and needs to be carefuly reguated." It then goes on to say:
"One may experiece the senation of sing or foatng, or may
alterately feel hazy and sharply alert. The disciple may develop
te facuty of seeing though solid objects as tough they were tran
paret, or he may experience his ow body as a translucet substance.
He may see Buddhas ad Bodhisatas. Penetatng insights may sud
dey come to hm, or passages of sutras whch were partcuarly
difcult to understand may suddeny become luminouly clear to him.
Althese abnormal visions and sensatons are merely the symptoms of
an impairmet arising from a maladjustmet of the mind with the
breath."
Oter relgions and sect place great store by experiences whch in
volve vsions of God or hearing heaveny voices, performing miracle,
receving divine messages, or becomng pured through various
rites. I te Nichiren sect, for example, the devotee loudly and re
peatedly invokes te name of te Lotu suta, to the accompaniment
of vigorou body movements, and feels he has thereby puged him
self of hs deements. I varying degree these practces induce a
felng of wel-being, yet from the Zen point of view all are morbid
state dvoid of true religious signicance and hence ony makyo.
What is the essental nature of these distubing phenomena we
call makyo? They are temporary mental states which arise duing
zazen when our abilty to concetate hs deveoped to a certain point
and ou practce is begiing to ripen. Whe the tought-waves
whch wax and wane on te surface of the sixth class of consciousness
are partialy calmed, residual eleents of past experieces '1odged"
in the seventh and eighth classes of conciousness bob up sporadically
to the surface of te mind, conveying the feeling of a greater or ex
panded relity. Makyo, accordgy, are a me of the real and
the ue, not unle ordnar deams. Jut as dreams do not appear
to a person in deep sleep but only when he is half-asleep and half
awake, so makyo do not come to those in deep concentration or
samad. Never be tempted into tg that these phenomena are
rel or that te vsions themselves have ay meaning. To see a beaut
ful vision of a Bodsata does not mean that you are any nerer
FIVE vARIETIES OF ZEN I 41
beomig one yourself any more than a dream of being a mllionaire
mens that you are any richer when you awake. Hece there is no
reason to feel elated about such mkyo. And similarly, whatever
horrible monsters may appear to you, there is no cause whatever
for alarm. Above all, do not alow yourself to be entced by vsions
of the Buddha or of gods blessing you or comunicating a divne
message, or by makyo involving prophecies which turn out to be
tue. This is to squander your eergies in the foolish pursut of the
inconsequental.
But such visions are certaiy a sign tat you are at a crucial point
in your sitting, and that if you exert yourself to the utmost, you can
surely experience kensho. Tradtion states that even Shayamuni
Buddha just before his own awakening experienced iumerable
makyo, whch he termed "obstructing devls." Whenever makyo
appear, simply ignore them and continue sittng with al your might.
4
/ THE FI VE VARI ETI ES OF ZEN J I shal
now eumerate the diferet kinds of Zen. Unless you lear to dis
tinguish between them, you are liely to err on decisive points, such
as whether or not satori is necessar to Zen, whether Zen involves
te complete absence of discusive thought, ad the like. The truth
is that among the many tyes of Zen there are some which are
profound and some shallow, some that lead to enlightenent and
some that do not. It is said that during te tme of the Budda there
were ninety or ninet-fve schools of philosophy or religion in exst
ence. Each school had its partcular mode of Zen, and each was
slightly diferent from the others.
All great religions embrace some measure of Zen, since religion
needs prayer and prayer needs concentration of mind. The teachings
of Confucius and Mencius, ofLao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, all these have
their ow elements of Ze. Indeed, Zen is spread over many diferet
actvties of life, such a the tea ceremony, Noh, kendo, judo. I
Japan, startng with the Meiji Restoration, less than a hundred years
ago, and continuing up to the present, there have sprung up a number
of teachgs and disciplines with elements of Zen in them. Among
others I recall Okada's System ofTranquil Sitting and Emma's Meth
od of Mind and Body Cultivation. Recently one Tempu Nakamura
4 1 YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
has been zelously advoctng a form of Indian Yoga Zen. All
these diferent metods of concentraton, almost limtless in number,
come under the broad headg of Zen. Rater tan try to specif
them all, I am going to discus the five main divisions of Ze as
classied by Keiho-zenji, one of the early Zen masters in China,
whose categorie, I fel, are stl valid and useful. Outwardly these
five kinds of Zen scarcely dif er. There may be slight variatons in
the way the legs are crossd, te hands folded, or the breathing reg
uated, but common to a are three basic eements: an erect sitting
postre, correct control of breathng, and concentraton (wca
ton) of mnd. Begners ne d to ber in md, however, that in t
substane and purpose of these various type there are distnct diferences.
These dif ereces are crucial to you when you come before me in
dvidully to state your aspiraton, for tey wlenable you to defne
your goal cleary te bettr tat I may assign you the practce ap
propriate to it.
The frst of these types we call bompu or "ordinary" Zen as op
posed to te other four, each of which can be thought of as a special
kind of Ze suitable for t partcular aims of diferent indivduals.
Bompu Zen, being free from any philosophic or religious content, is
for anybody and everybody. It is a Zen practced puely in the belief
tat it can improve both physical and mental health. Since it ca
almost certay have no il efect, anyone can undertake it, whatever
religiou belies he happens to hold or if he holds none at all. Bompu
Zen is boud to eminate sickness of a psychosomatc natre and to
improve the helth geea y.
Through the pracce of bompu Zen you lear to concentrate and
control your mind. It never occrs to most people to tr to control
their minds, and ufortately this basic training is left out of con
temporary educaton, not being part of what is called the acquisiton
of knowledge. Yet wthout it what we lear is difcult to retain be
cu we lear it improperly, wastng much energy in the process.
Indeed, we are virtally crippled ues we know how to restrain
ou thoughts and concentate our minds. Furthermore, by practicing
ts very excellet mode of mnd trainng you will fd youself
increasingly able to resist temptatons to which you had previouly
succumbed, and to sver attacents whch had long hed you in
bondage. A erichet of personality and a stengthening of char-
FIVE VARIETIES OF ZEN
I
4
3
acter inevitably follow since te tee basic elements of mind--i.e.,
intellect, feelng, and wil-develop harmoniously. The quietst sittig
practced in Confcianism seems to have stressed maiy tese efects
of mind concentraton. However, te fact remains that bompu Zen,
altough far more beefcial for te cultvaton of te mnd tan te
redng of coundess books on etcs and phosophy, i unable to
resolve the fundamental problem of man and hs relaton to te
universe. Why? Because it cannot pierce the ordinary ma's basic
deluion of hmself as distncdy other than the universe.
The second of the five kinds of Zen is caled gedo. Gedo mens
lterally "an outside way" and so implies, from te Buddhst poit
of vew, techngs oter tan Buddst. Hee we have a Zen related
to religion ad philosophy but yet not a Buddhst Zen. Hindu yo
ga, the quietist sitting of Confcianism, contemplation practices in
Christianity, all tese belong to te category of gedo Z.
Anoter featue of gedo Zen is tat it is ofe practced in order
to cultvate various supraormal powers or skil s, or to master cer
tain arts beyond the reach of te ordnary man. A good example of
ths is Tempu Nakamura, the man whom I mentioned earler. It is
reported that he can make people act without hmself moving a
mucle or saying a word. The aim of the Emma Metod is to accom
plish such feats as walking barefooted on sharp sword blades or staring
at sparrows so tat they become paralyzed. All thee mraculou ex
ploits are brought about through the cultvation of joriki, the partc
ular strength or power whch comes with the strenuous practice of
mind concentration, and of whch I shall speak later in greater detail.
Here I will simply remnd you that a Ze whch aims solely at the
cultivation ofjoriki for such ends is not a Buddst Zen.
Another object for which gedo Zen is practiced is rebirth in vari
ous heaves. Certain Hindu sects, we know, practce Zen i order to
be rebor in heaven. This is not the object of Zen Buddsm. While
the Ze Buddst does not qurrel wit the idea of various strata of
heaven and the beie that one may be rebor into tem though the
performance of ten kinds of meritoriou deeds, he hmself does not
crave rebirth i heave. Conditions there are altogether too pleasant
and comfortable and hence he can all too easily be seduced away fom
zazen. Besides, when h merit in heaven expires he can ver wel
land in hell. Zen Buddsts therefore beliee it preferable to be hom
4 1 YAs UTANI
'
s I NTRoDucTORY LECTUREs
into the human world and to practce zazen with the aim of utimate
ly becoming a Buddha.
I w stop here and at the next lece conclude the :ve types of
Zen.
I have now discused wit you te frst two kind of Zen, namely,
bompu and gedo. Before going on to te nex three tpes I am going
to give you another method of concentraton: following the breath
with the mind's eye. For the time beng stop countg your breaths
and instead concentate intently on following your inhaations and
exhalatons, trying to visualize them clearly. You are to carry on ths
exercise untl you come before me again.
The td type of Zen is shojo, literally meanng "Small Veicle"
[Hiayana] . This is the vehicle or teaching whch is to take you from
one state of mind [delusion] to another [enlightenment] . Ths
small vehicle is so named becaue it is designed to accommodate only
one's self You can perhaps compare it to a bicycle. The large vehcle
[Mahayana], on te other hand, is more like a car or bu: it takes on
others as well. Hence shojo is a Zen whch looks ony to one's ow
peace of mind.
Here we have a Ze which is Buddhst but a Zen not in accord
with the Buddha's hghest teachng. It is rater an expedient Zen for
those unable to grasp the inermost meaning of the Buddha's e
lightenment, i.e., that exstence is an inseparable whole, each one of
u embracing the cosmos in it totalit. This being true, it follows
that we ca ot atain geuine peace of md merely by seeking our
ow salvation while remainig indferent to the welfare of others.
There are those, however (and some of you listenng to me now
may be among them), who simply canot bring temelves to be
lieve in the reality of such a world. No matter how often tey are
taught tat the relative world of distinctons and opposites to whch
they cling is illusory, the product of their mistaken views, they cannot
but believe otherwise. To such people the world can ony seem in
herently evl, ful of sin and strife and sufering, of kl g and being
killed, and in their despar they long to escape from it. Indeed, deat
seems even preferable to life. The most ubearable sin of all is the tak
ing of life in any form and under any circumstances, since ths con-
FIVE VARI ETIES OF ZEN I 45
demns them to itermnable sufering icarated as beasts or demon
in coWtless fture exstences owig to the inexorable law of karma.
So mere death is not the end. Hence what they are seeking is a way of
avoiding rebirt, a method of dyig wthout being rebor.
Shojo Zen provdes the anwer to this need. It has as it aim the
stopping of all tought so tat the md becomes a complete blan
and enters ito a state called mushinjo, a conditon i which all the
sense fWlctons have been elimated and the facuty of consciousness
suspended. With practice this power can be cultivated by ayone. I
case there is no w to die one can eter ths trance-le state for a
lmited period-say an hour or two or one or to days-r one can
remain in it idtey, i which evet deat follows naturaly and
painlessly, without-and this is most important-rebirth. T entre
process of death without rebirth is set forth in great detail in a Bud
dst philosophical work caled the Kusharon.
The fourth classication is caled daio, Great Vehcle [Maayana]
Zen, and this is a truly Buddhst Zen, for it has as it central purpose
kensho-godo, i.e., seeing into your essental nature and realizing te
Way i your daily life. For those able to comprehend the impor
of the Buddha's own enightenment experience and wit a desire
to break through their ow i uory view of the Wverse and experi
ece absolute, Wdiferentiated Realit, te Budda taught this mode
of Zen. Buddhim is essentally a religion of enightenment. The
Buddha after his own experience of satori spent some ffy years
teacg people how tey mght themselves realize their Self-nate.
His methods have been transmtted from master to disciple right
dow to the present day. So it can be said tat a Ze which ignores
or deies or belittes satori is not tre dijo Buddhist Zen.
I te practce of daijo Zen your aim in te beginning is to awaken
to your True-natre, but upon enlightenment you realize that zaze
is more than a means to enightenment-it is the actualizaton of your
Tr-natre. I this tpe of Zen, which has as its object satori-awaken
ing, it is easy to mstakey regard zazen as but a meas. A wise
teacher, however, wl point out fom the outset that zazen is in fct
the actualation of the inate Buddha-natre and not merely a tech
nque for achievng enlghtenment. If zazen were no more than such
a technique, it would follow tat afer satori zaze would be Weces
sary. But as Dogen-zenji himsef pointed out, precisely te reverse is
46 / YAS UTANI
'
S INTRODUCTORY LECTURES
true; te more deeply you experience satori, the more you perceive
te need for practice.1
Saiojo Zen, the last of the f1ve types, is the hghest vehcle, the
culmnaton and crown of Buddist Zen. This Zen was practiced by
all the Buddhas of the past-viz., Shakyamun and Amda
2
-and is
the expression of Absolute Life, lfe in its purest form. It is the zazen
which Dogen-zenji chefy advocated and it involves no struggle for
satori or any other object. We call it shkan-taza, ad of ths I shall
speak in greater detail i a subsequent lecture.
In ths hghest practice, means and end coalesce. Daio Zen ad
saiojo Zen are, i point of fact, complementary. The Riai sect
places daio uppermost and sijojo beneath, whereas the Soto sect
does the reverse. I saijojo, when rightly practiced, you sit i the
fm convcton that zaze is the actualization of your undefiled
True-natre, and at the same time you sit in complete faith that the day
will come when, exclaiming, uoh, this is it!" you will unmistakably
realize this True-nature. Therefore you need not self-consciously strive
for eightenment.
Today many in the Soto sect hold that since we are all in ately
Buddhas, satori is not necessary. Such an egregious error reduces
shikan-taza, whch properly is the hghest form of sitting, to nothing
more tha bompu Zen, te frst of the five types.
Ths completes my accout of the fve varieties of Zen, but unless
I now tell you about the three objectives of zazen my presentaton of
these fve types, especially the last two, will be incomplete.
5 I THE THREE AI MS OF ZAZEN I The aims
of zazen are three: I) development of the power of concentration
(oriki), 2) sa tori-awakening (kensho-godo) , and 3 ) actualization of the
Supreme Way in our daily lives (mujodo no taigen) . These three form
an inseparable unity, but for purposes of discussion I am obliged to
deal with them individually.
Joriki, the frst of these, is the power or strength whch arises when
the mnd has been unfed and brought to one-pointedness through
concentration. This is more tha the abilty to concentrate in the usual
1 See p. 281.
2 See "Amida" i n section .
THREE AIMS OF ZAZEN I
47
ss of the word. It is a dyamc power whch, once mobilized,
eables us even in the most sudden and uexpected situatons to act
instantly, without pausing to collect our wts, and in a manner
wholly appropriate to the circumstances. One who has deveoped
joriki is no longer a slave to his passions, neither is he at the mercy of
hs environment. Always in command of both himself and the cir
cumstances of his life, he is able to move wit perfect freedom and
equanmity. The cutivation of certain supranorma powers is also
made possible by joriki, as is the state in which the mind becomes like
perfectly still water.
The frst two of the fve kinds of Zen I have spoken about depend
etirely on joriki, as does the state of mushinjo in shojo Zen-the state
of blankness in which the conscious fWlctioning of the mnd has been
stopped. Now, although the power ofjoriki can be endlessly enarged
through regular practce, it wil recede and eventually vanish if we
neglect zazen. And whe it is tue that many extraordinary powers
fow fom joriki, nevertheless through it alone we cannot cut the roots
of our illusory view of the world. Mere stength of concetration
is not enough for the highest types of Ze; concomitantly there
must be satori-awakening. I a litle-known document handed down
by the Patriarch Sekito Kisen, the founder of one of te early Zen
sects, the following appears: "I our sect, realization of the Bud
dha-nature, and not mere devotion or stegth of concentration, is
paramount. ' '
The second of these aims i s kenshogodo, seeing into your True
nature and at the same time seeing into the ultimate nature of the
uiverse and "all the ten thousand thngs" in it. It is the sudden realiza
tion that "I have been complete and perfect from the very beginng.
How wonderful, how mracuous ! " If it is true kensho, its substace
will always be the same for whoever experiences it, whether he be
the Buddha Shakyamuni, the Buddha Amida, or any one of you
gathered in this temple. But this does not mean that we can all ex
periece kensho to the same degree, for in the clarity, the depth, and
te completeness of the experience there are great diferences. As an
illustration, imagine a person blind from birth who very gradually
begins to recover his sight. At frst he can only see very vaguely and
darkly and ony objects close to h. Then as his sight improves he is
able to distinguish things a yard or so away, ten objects at ten yards,
48 / YAS UTANI
'
S I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
then at a hundred yards, ut fnaly he can recognize anything up to
a thousand yards. At each of these stages the phenomenal world he is
seeing is the same, but the df erences in the clarity and accuracy of hs
views of that world are as great as those between snow and charcoal.
So it is wth the diferences in clarity and depth of our experiences of
kensho.
The last of the three objectves is mujodo no taigen, the actualization
of the Supreme Way troughout our entre being and our daiy
activities. At ths point we do not dstnguish the ed from the mean.
Saiojo, which I have spoken of as the f and highest of the fve
types of Zen, corresponds to ths stage. When you sit earestly and
egolessly in accordance with the instructions of a competent teacher
i.e., wit your mind, though fully conscious, as free of thought as a
pure white sheet of paper is uarred by a blemish-there is an un
foldment of your intrinsicaly pure Buddha-nature whether you have
had satori or not. But what must be emphasied here is that ony
with tre eghtenmet do you directly apprehend te truth of your
Budd-nature and perceive that saiojo, te puest type of Zen, is
no diferet from that practiced by all Buddhas.
The practice of Buddhist Zen should embrace al three of these
objectives, for they are interrelated. There i, for intance, an essen
tal conection betwee joriki and kenho. Kensho is "the wisdom
naturaly associated with jori,' whch is the power arsing fom
concentration. Jorik is conected with kensho in yet another way.
Many people may never be able to reach kensho unless they have
first cultivated a certain amount ofjoriki, for otherwise they may fd
themelves too restless, too nerous and uneasy to persevere wth
their zzen. Moreover, uness forted by joriki, a single experience
of kensho will have no appreciable ef ect on your life, and will fade
away into a mere memory. For although tough the experience of
kensho you have appreheded the underlying ut of the cosmos
with you Mind's eye, without joriki you are unable to act with the
total force of your being on what you inner vision has revealed to
you.
Likewise there is an interconection between kenho and the
third of these aims, mujodo no taigen. Kensho when manfested in a
your action is mujodo no taigen. With perfect eghtenment (anuttara
samyak-sambodhi) we appreend that our conception of the world as
INDI VI DUAL I NSTRUCTI ON
I
49
dual and antthetcal is false, and upon this realizaton the world of
Oneness, of true harmony and peace, is revealed.
The Rinzai sect tends to make satori-awakening te fnal aim of
sitting and skims over joriki and mujodo no taigen. Thus the need for
contued practce after enighteet is mmzed, and koan stdy,
sice it is wsupported by zazen and scarcely related to daily life, be
comes essentaly an itelectal game instead of a means by which
to amplify and stengthen enlightenment.
On the other hand, whe the practice advocated in the ofcial
quarters of the Soto sect today stresses mujodo no taigen, in efect it
amowtts to little more tan the accumulation of joriki, which, as I
pointed out earlier, "leaks" or recedes and ultimately disappears Wl
less zaze is carried on regularly. The contention of the So to sect
nowadays that kensho is . un ecessary and that one need do no more
than carry on hs daily activites wth the Mid of the Buddha is
specious, for without kensho you can never really kow what t
Buddha-mind is.
These imbalances in both sects1 i recent time have, ufortuately,
impaired the quality of Zen teaching.
Ths concludes te dscusion of the te aims of zaze.
6 f I NDI VI DUAL I NSTRUCTI ON / Continue to
practce the exercise I gave you last time, namely, concentrate on your
incomg and outgoing breaths and endeavor to see each breath
clearly.
Ths lecture w deal with dokusan (idividual instruction), whch
is te tme alotted for briging all problems pertaining to practce
beore te roshi in private. Ths tradition of idividual teaching start
ed with the honored Shakyamuni hself and has continued W
broken wttl today. We know this because one of the great masters
1 For a poetic descption of the diferences between Rizai and Soto, the fol
lowig fom a Wpublihed mauscript of the late Nyogen Senzaki may be of
iterest: "Among Zen students it is said that 'Rizi's teachg is like the frost of
the late autum, making one shiver, while the teaching of Soto is lie the spring
breeze which caresses the fower, helping it to bloom.' There is another saying:
'Rinzai's teachig is like a brave general who moves a regiment without delay,
while the Soto teachng is le a frmer taking care of a rice feld, one stalk after
aother, patiently.' "
so I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
of Tendai, Chsha-daishi, in hs systematzation of all the sutras Wder
Eight Teachngs and Five Periods, lists the Secret Teachg, which
correspond to dokuan.
Without ths indivdual guidance we canot say that our practice
of zazen is authentic. UnfortWately, since the Meiji period, nearly a
hWdred years ago, dokusan has vrtually died out in te Soto sect,
contnuing ony in the Rinzai tradton. I we compare zazen to a
jouey on which some start rapidly and then slow dow, others
begin slowly and later accelerate teir pace, some fd one phase of
the jourey more hazardous than another, and all carry diferent
burdens of luggage (i.e., preconceived ideas), we can begin to Wder
stad why individual guidance in dokusan cannot be dispensed wit.
It may be asked why it is necessary to keep dokuan secret. Since
nothing imoral is involved, why can it not be open and in public?
First of all, since we are ordinary people, with ego, in the presence of
others we are inclined to make ourselves out to be better than we are.
We cannot bare our soul ad stand naked, as it were. Likewise we
hesitate to speak the whole truth for fear of being laughed at. Or if
the roshi scolds u, using harsh language, we become more con
cered with the efect of this on others than in listening to him open
mindedy.
There is yet anoter reason for prvacy in dokusan. Afer your
frst experience of kensho you move fom koan to koan as your W
derstanding deepens, and were others to be present whn you dem
onstrated these koan, listening to te rosh's replies, they might
thk, "Oh, so that's the answer!" without fully Wderstanding the
import of the koan. Obviously this would hurt their practice, for
instead of comng to their ow realization and preseting it to the
rosh, they would remember that this was an acceptable answer but
that was not, and thus, to their ow detriment, their koan practice
would degeerate to mere intellection. For these reason you should
remain silet when asked about a koan which the questoner has not
yet passed. Irresponsible tal may lead to other harml consequences.
Rumors may spread that one is savagely beate in dokusan, for ex
ample, giving Zen an Wldeservedly bad name. Therefore do not dis
cuss your koans with anybody, not even your best friends or mem
bers of your famly.
It is precisely ths volaton of the secrecy which formerly sur-
INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION I S
I
rounded the koan system that has brought about a steady detriora
ton in Rai teachi. What I am about to say does not apply to
laymen, who are geeraly serious in their practce. But in the mon
asteries, where there are mons who resent the entire traing, being
tere in the frst place ony to sere te period required to inerit
the resident priesthood of a temple, ts problem becomes serious.
I monasteries where the dscipline is fauty an older mon wloften
say to a youger one: "What koan are you working on? " When
told, the older one wl say: "Do you understand it? " "No." "All
right, I wtel you the answer," te older mon says, "and you buy
me some cakes in retu." The roshi can tell whether the answer is
autentc or not, but if for some reason he himself beome lue
warm, he may accept an answer which is not the monk's own. T
practce may not be particularly harmful if such a monk spends only
two or tree years at a monastery before becoming the residet
priest of a temple, as his dutes tere wil not require his ealuatg
anoter's stori. But it ca happe tat there is no openg when h
complete ts ml training so that he may remain at te mon
astery for perhaps eight or ten years, going through the entre koan
system wth answers which are not h own. Finally, as is the cutom
in te Rai set when one completes al te koas, he receives te
ttle of teacher. I ts way one wt no real understanding becomes
"qualifed" to guide others. This insidious practce i underming
Ze teaching. Soto scholars studyg Zen academically justably
attack the koan system on jut these grounds.
The next point concers what questons are appropriate dug
dokusan. Al questons should relate to problems growg decy
out of your practce. Ts natraly excludes persona problems. You
my feel that te privac of dokusan ofers an exclent opportt
for the discussion of personal matters, but you mut bear in mind that
there are others waitng and tat i you take up problems other t
tose of your practce, you are hindering tem. Properly, you may
ask about your stomach, for intnce, if it is growling, or about you
teet hurtg so tat you c ot eat, or about vsions you may b
experiencing. You should not, however, ask about Buddhist doctrne
or comparatve philosophy or the df erence betwen ore sutra and
another. You may ask aytg so long as it arises directly out of you
practce.
52 / YASUTANI
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s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
The procedure for a new student i s to preent money for incense
to the roshi before taking dokusan. Why, it may be asked, all ths
formalty? Dokusan, it cannot be emphasized too strongly, is not a
frivolous matter. Whle everyone is free to practice zazen and to
lsten to the rosh' s commentary at sesshin, the essential character of
dokusan is the forming of a karmc bond between techer and dis
ciple, the signicance of whch is deep in Buddhsm. Dokusa there
fore is not to be taken lightly. Moreover, since what passes between
the roshi and the student in dokusan concers problem of a deep
and utimate nature, only the truth must be spoken betwee them.
Very often in publc meetings one hesitates to say things which might
ofend others, but this is not so in dokusan, where the absolute truth
must always prevail. For these reasons the proprieties whch establish
this relationship are not to be slighted.
It is proper to wear ceremonial dress to dokusan, but as this is not
insisted upon nowadays you may wear anything whch is presentable.
When dokusan is anounced take a position in line behind the bel
outside the zazen hal. When your tur comes and you hear my
handbell, strike the bell in front of you twice and come to this room.
You should not come dashing i, as that would cause consion and
you woud not be in a fame of mind to beneft from dokusan. Neither
should you sauter in, for tere are others waiting. It was the custom
originally to make three prostrations at the threshold, three in font of
the roshi, and then three more at the dooray when you left, but ts
has now bee abbreviated to three prostrations altogether, one at
each of the places mentioned.
In making your prostrations you should touch the tatami mat
with your forehead, with your hands extended in front of your head,
palms upward. Then, bending your arms at the elbows, raise your
hands, palms upward, several inches above your head. This gesture of
receiving the feet, the lowlest members of the Buddha's body, sym
bolizes humility and the grateful acceptance into your life of the W ay
of the Buddha. Unless you have submerged your ego, you cannot do
this. Bear in mnd that the roshi is not simply a deputy of the Buddha
but actually stands in hs place. In making these prostrations you are
in fact paying respect to the Buddha jut as though he hmself were
sitting there, and to the Dharma.
Next take a positon about a foot i font of me and announce the
SHIKAN-TAZA I 53
nate of your practce. Simply say, "I am coWtng my breth," "I
am doing Mu," or "I am practcing shka-taz." Make any questons
you have brief and to the point. Should I have aything to say to you,
I wl say it afer you have fshed. But do not come in and waste
tme wondering wht to tl about; remember, others are waitng to
see me. My ringing of this bel is you signal to bow down and leave.
After that if you should remember something, you wl have to
bring it up at te followig dokuan, beaue the net person w
already be coming in.
This concludes te : lece.
7 / S HI KAN-T A Z A / Up to now you have been concen
tratng on following your breaths with your mind's eye, trying to
experience vividly the ialed breath as only inhaled breath and the
exhaled breth as ony exhaled breath. From now on I wat you to
practce shan-taza, whch I w shortly describe in detai. It is nei
ther usual nor desirable to change so quickly from these di erent
exercises, but I have folowed this course in order to give you a taste
of the diferent modes of concentraton. After these introductor lec
tures are completed ad you come before me singly, I wlassign you
a practice corresponding to the natre of your aspiaton as well as
to the degree of your determinaton, that is to say, the practce of
coWtng or folowing your breats, shan-taza, or a koan.
Ths lecture will deal with shikan-taza. Shikan mens "nothng
b " . . . " hil " hi " d . " H h ut or JUt, w e ta means to t an za to s1t. ence s an-
taz is a practce in which the mnd is intenely involved in jut sittng.
I this type of zazen it is all too easy for the mnd, whch is not sup
ported by such aids as coWtng the breath or by a koa, to become
distracted. The correct temper of mnd therefore becomes doubly
importnt. Now, in shka-taza the mnd mut be uurried yet at
the same tme :rmly planted or massively composed, like MoWt Fuji
let us say. But it mut also be alert, stetched, lke a taut bowsting.
So shkan-taza is a heightened state of concentrated awareness wherein
one is neither tee nor hurried, and certaiy neve st
a
ck. It is the
mid of somebody facing deat. Lt u imagine that you are engaged
in a duel of swordsmanship of the kind that used to take place in
54
f YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
anciet Japa. As you face you opponent you are uceasingly watch
fu, set, ready. Were you to relax your vgilance even momentarily,
you would be cut dow istantly. A crowd gathers to see the fght.
Since you are not blind you see tem from the comer of your eye,
and since you are not deaf you hear them. But not for an instant is
your mind captured by these sense impressions.
This state canot be maintained for long-i fact, you ought not
to do shikan-taza for more than half an hour at a sitting. Mter thrty
minutes get up and walk aroud in k and then resue your
sitting. If you are truly doing shan-taza, in half an hour you will be
sweatng, ee in wnter i an ueated room, because of te heat
generated by t intense concentration. When you sit for too long
your mnd loses it vigor, you body ties, and your efort are less
rewarding than i you had restricted your sitting to t-miute
periods.
Compared wit an uskiled swordsman a master uses his sword
efortlessly. But this was not always the case, for there was a time
whe he had to strain himself to the utmost, owing to his imperfect
techique, to preserve his life. It is no diferent with shkan-taza. I
the beginng tension is uavoidble, but with experience this tense
zazen ripens into relaxed yet ful y attentve sittig. Ad just as a master
swordsman in an emergency usheathes his sword efortlesly and
attacks sigle-rdedly, jut so te shan-taza adept sits without
stain, alert and mndfu. But do not for one minute imagie that
such siting can be acheved witout long and dedicated practce.
This concludes the t on shikan-taza.
8 / THE PARABLE OF ENYADATTA / I the
last half of t lectre I wil take up the tale of Enyadatta, which
comes fom te R yogon suta. This is an exceptonally fine parable.
I assure you that i you reect caref y upon it, it will clarif many
abstruse points of Buddism.
Ths event is said to have occured at the tie of the Buddha.
Whether it is true or legendary I canot say. I any case, Eyadatta
was a beautiful maiden who enjoyed noting more than gazing at
hersef i te mrror each morng. One day when she looked into
her mirror she found no head refected there. Why not on this par-
PARABLE OF ENYADATTA I 55
tcuar morg the sutra does not state. At any rate, the shock was so
great that she became fantc, rushing aroud demandng to know
who had taken her head. "Who has my head? Where is my head?
I shall die if I don't fnd it!" she cried. Though everyone told her,
"Don't be sily, your head is on your shoulders where it has always
been," she reused to believe it. "No, it isn't! No, it isn't! Somebody
mut have taken it!" she shouted, contnuing her feied search. At
length her fiends, believing her mad, dragged her home and ted her
to a pillar to prevent her harming herself.
The being bound can be compared to udertag zaze. With
the immobilization of the body the mind acheves a measure of
tranquilit. And whle it is stl distacted, as Enyadatta's mind was i
the belief tat she had no head, yet the body is now prevented from
scattering its energies.
Slowly her close frieds persuaded her that she had always had
her head, and graduly she came to half-believe it. Her subconscious
mind began to accept the fact tat perhaps she was deluded in t
ing she had lost her head.
Enyadatta's receiving the reassurance ofher friends can be equated
with hearng the roshi's commentaries (teisho) . Intally tese are dif
fcult to understand, but listening to them attentvely, every word
sinking ito your subconscious, you reach the point where you begin
to tn: "Is tat really tue? . . q I wonder . . . . Yes, it must be."
Suddenly one of her friends gave her a terc clout on the head,
upon which, in pain and shock, she yelled "Ouch! " "That's your
head! There it is !" her fiend exclaimed, and immediately Enyadatta
saw tat she had deluded herself into thg she had lost her head
when in fact she had always had it.
In the same way, cloutng in zazen is of the utmost value. At pre
cisely the right time-if it is too early, it is inefective-to be jolted
physically by the kyosaku stick or verbaly by a perceptve teacher can
bring about Self-realzaton. Not ony is the kyosaku valuable for
spurring you on, but when you have reached a decisive stage in your
zaze a hard whack can precipitate you mind into an awareess of
its tue nature-in other words, enlghtenmet.
When this happeed to Enyadatta she was so elated that she rushed
around exclaimg: "Oh, I've got it ! I have my head after al! I'm
so happy! "
5
6 1 YAs uTANI
'
s I NTRoDucToRY LEcTuREs
This is the rapture of kesho. If the experience is genuine, you can
not sleep for to or three nght out ofjoy. Nevertheless, it is a half
mad stte. To be overoyed at fmding a head you had from the very
frst is, to say the least, queer. Nor is it less odd to rejoice at the dis
cover of your Essential-nature, which you have never been without.
The ecstasy is genue enough, but your state of mnd cannot be called
natural until you have flly disabued yourself of the notion, "I have
become enghtened." Mark t point well, for it is ofen misunder
stood.
As her joy subsided Enyadatta recovered fom her half-mad state.
So it is with satori. When your delirium of delight recedes, taking
wth it all thoughts of realtion, you settle into a truy natural life
and there is nothing queer about it. Until you reach this point, how
ever, it is impossible to live in harmony with your environment or to
contnue on a course of true spiritual practice.
I shall now point out more specifcally the signficance of the fmt
part of the stor. Since most people are indiferent to enlightenment,
they are ignorant of the possibty of such an experience. They are
lke Enyadatta when she was unconscious of her head as such. This
"head," of course, corresponds to the Buddha-nature, to our innate
perfection. That they even have a Buddha-nature never occur to most
people until they hear Shujo honrai hotoke nari-"Al beings are en
dowed with Buddha-nature from the very frst." Suddenly they ex
claim: "Then I too must have the Buddha-nature! But where is it?"
Thus lke Enyadatta when she frst missed her head and started rush
ing about looking for it, they commence their search for their True
nature.
They begi by listeng to various teisho, which seem contradictory
and puzg. They hear that their Essential-nature is no diferent
fom the Buddha's-more, that the substance of the universe is coex
tensive with their own Buddha-nature-yet because their minds are
clouded wth deluion they see themselves confronted by a world of
individual entities. Once they estabHsh frm belief in the reality of the
Buddha-nature, they are driven to discover it with all the force of
their being. Just as Enyadatta was never wthout her head, so are we
never separate from our essential Buddha-nature whether we are
enghtened or not. But of this we are unaware. We are like Enyadatta
CAUSE AND EFFECT ARE ONE I
5
7
when her fends told her: "Don't be absurd, you have always had
your head. It is an illusion to t otherwise."
The discovery of our True-nature can be compared to Enyadatta' s
discovery of her head. But what have we discovered? Ony that we
have never been without it ! Nonetheless we are ecstatc, as she was
at the fmdng of her head. When the ecstasy recedes, we realize we
have acquired nothing extraordary, ad cery nothig pecuar.
Only now everytg is utterly natural.
9 I CAUS E AND EFFECT ARE ONE I You can
not hope to comprehend t exalted nate of Zen without under
standig t lecture on inga ichinyo, the meang of which is that
cause and efect are one. Ths expression comes from Hakui-zenji' s
Chant in Paise ofZae. Bear in mid that t lecture wil not be an
explanaton of cause and efect in the broad sense but ony in relation
to the practice of zazen.
Strictly speaking, you ouht not to t of zazen in terms of time.
While it i generally true that i you do zazen for a year, it wlhave
an efect equal to a yer's efort; and that i you practce zazen for ten
years, it will produce an efect proportionate to ten years' efort; yet
the results of zazen in terms of enlghtenment canot be measured by
the length of your practce. The fact is, some have gained deep en
lightenment afer only a few year' practice, while others have prac
ticed as long as ten year without experiencing enlightenment.
From the commencement of practce one proceeds upward i
clearlv diferentated stages which can be considered a ladder of cause
and efect. The word inga, meang cause and efect, implies both
degree and diferetation, whle ichinyo signies equality or sameness
or oneness. Thus while there are many stages corespondng to the
length of practce, at every one of these diferent stages the mid
substance is the same as that of a Buddha. Hence we say cause and
efect are one. Until satori-awakeng, however, you canot expect
to have a deep i er understanding of inga.
Now let us relate tis to the parable of Enyadatta, of whch I
spoke earlier. The time sh saw no head reflected in her mirror and
rushed about wildly lookig for it-this is the frst, or bottom, step.
When her fiends tied her to a pilar and inisted she had a head; when
58 / YASUTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
she began to t, "Possibly this is so"; when they whacked her and
she yelled "Ouch!" ad realized she had a head after all; when she
rejoice at fndig it; when fmally her joy abated and havng a head
felt so natural tat she no longer thought about it-all these are dif
ferent steps or degrees of progression-when viewed retrospectively,
that is. At every one of these stges she was never without her head,
of course, but ts she realized ony afer she had "found" it.
In the same way, afer enightenment we realize that fom the ver
frst we were never wtout te Budd-nature. And just as it was
necessar for Enyadatt to go though all these phases in order to grasp
te fact that she had always had a hed, so we must pass through
successive stages of .zazen i order to apprehend dirctly our True
nature. These successive steps are causaly related, but the fact that
we :re itrinsicaly Buddha, which i the parable is Enyadatta' s reali
zation that she had always had a head-this is equality, or undiferen
tiation.
Thus Dogen-zenji i his Shobogenzo states: "The zazen of even
beginners manifests the whole of their Essential-nature. " He is sayig
here that correct zazen is the actualization of the Bodhi-mind, the
Mind with which we are al endowed. This zazen is saiojo, where
in the Way of the Budd sufuses your entre being and enters into
te whole of your life. Altough we are uware of all this at frst,
as our practce progresses we gradualy acquire understanding and
insight, and fmaly, with satori, wake up to the fact that zazen is the
actualization of our inherently pure Budda-nature, whether we are
enightened or not.
1 0 I THE THREE ES S ENTI ALS OF ZEN PRAC
T I CE I What I am about to say is especially applicable to dajo
Zen, which is specifcaly drected toward satori, but it also embraces
saijojo, though i a lesser degree.
The frt of the te essentials of Zen practce is strong faith (dai
shinkon) . This is more thn mere belief. The ideogram for kon
means "root," and that for shin, "faith." Hence the phrase implies
a faith that is frmly and deeply rooted, immovable, like an immense
tree or a hue bouder. It is a faith, moreover, untainted by belef in
te supertral or the superstitious. Buddhism has often been de-
THREE ESSENTIALS Of ZEN PRACTICE
I S9
scibed as both a ratonal religion and a religion of wisdom. But
a religion it is, and what makes it one is this element of faith, witout
which it is merely philosophy. Buddhism strts with the Buddha's
enightenment, whch he attained afer strenuous efort. Our supreme
faith, therefore, is in the Buddha's enlightenment experience, the
substance of which he proclaimed to be that human nature, all
existence, is itrinsically whole, fawless, omnipotent-in a word,
perfect. Without unwavering faith i ts the heart of the Buddha's
teaching, it is impossible to progress far in one's practice.
The second indispensable quality is a feeling of strong doubt (dai
gidan) .1 Not a simple doubt, mid you, but_ a "doubt-mass"-and
this inevtably stems fom strong faith. It i a doubt as to why we and
the world shoud appear so imperfect, so f of anety, strife, and
sufering, when i fact our deep faith tells us exactly the opposite is
true. It is a doubt which leaves u no rest. It i as though we kew
perfectly well we were millionaires and yet inexplicably found our
selves in dire need without a penny in our pockets. Strong doubt,
therefore, exists in proportion to strong faith.
I can ilustate this state of mnd with a simple example. Take a man
who has been sitting smoking and suddeny fmds that the pipe which
was in his hand a moment before has dsappeared. He begins to search
for it in the complete certainty of fmding it. It was there a moment
ago, no one has been near, it canot have dsappeared. The longer
he fails to fmd it, the greater the energy and determination with
which he hunts for it.
From this feeling of doubt the third essntial, strong determinaton
(dai-funshi) , naturally arises. It i an overwhelming determination to
dispel this doubt with the whole force of our energy and will. Belev
ing with every pore of our being i the truth of the Budda's teach
ing that we are all endowed with the immacuate Bodhi-mind, we
resolve to discover and experience the reality of this Mind for our
selves.
The other day someone who had quite misunderstood the state of
mind required by these three essentials asked me: "Is there more to
believng we are Buddhas than acceptng the fact that _ the world as
it is is perfect, tat the willow is green and the cartion red? " The
1 In Zen, "doubt" implies not skepticsm but B state of peplexty, of probig
inquiry, of itense self-uestioning.
6 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
fallacy of this is self-vident. If we do not question why greed and
conict exst, why the ordinary man acts lie anyng but a Buddha,
no determiation arises in us to resolve the obvious contradiction
between what we believe as a matter of faith and what appears to
us to be just the reverse, and our zazen is thus deprived of its prime
source of power.
I shall now relate these three essentials to daio and saiojo Zen.
While al three are present in daio, tis doubt is the main prod to
satori becaue it allows us no rest. Thus we experience satori, and the
resolution of this doubt, more quickly with daijo Zen.
I saiojo, on the other hand, the element of faith is strongest.
No fudamental doubt of the knd I mentioned assails us and so we
are not diven to rid ourselves of it, for we sit in the uswerving faith
that we are inherently Buddhas. Unke daio Zen, saijojo, which you
will recal is the purest type of zzen, does not involve the anxious
striving for enlightenment. It is zazen wherein ripeng takes place
naturally, culmiatg in enightenment. At the same time saiojo is
the most difcut zazen of all, demandg resolute and dedica_ted sit
ting.
However, in both types of zazen all three elements are indispensa
ble, and teachers of old have said that so long as they are simutneous
ly present it is easier to miss the groud with a stamp of the fot tha
to mss attaining perfect enlightenent.
1 1 I AS P I RATI 0 N I Even whe we all do zazen, our
individual aspiratons are not identical. These aspirations resolve
themselves into four main groups or levels.
The frst and shallowest level involves neither faith in Zen Bud
dhism nor even a cursory uderstanding of it. One just happens to
hear about it and decides he woud lke to sit with a zazen group or
in a sesshin. Nevertheless, that out of m ions of deluded people (en
tirely ignorant of Buddism) one particuar individual shoud be led
to this 2,soyear-ld, ubroken line of teaching is, in the Buddist
vew, not a fortutou but a karmc circumstance and hence of vast
spiritual signicance.
The second level of aspiraton i a level which goes no deeper than
the desire to do zazen in order to improve physical or mentl health
ASPIRATION I 6I
or both. Th, you wlrecall, falls ito the frst of the fve classifca
tons of Zen, namely, bompu (ordiary) Zen.
At the third level we fd people who, no longer satsfed merely
to increase their physical and mental wel-being, want to tread the
path of the Buddha. They recognize how exalted is the Buddhst
cosmology, which views existence as not confed to one lfe-span
but endlessly evolving lifetime afer lifetime, wth the circle of human
desty completed ony upon the attaiment of Buddhahood. More,
they have established faith in the reality of the enlghtenment ex
perience, and though the resolve to attain it has not yet been awak
ened, the desire to pursue the Buddha's Way is clear and real.
The fourth level comprises those determined to realize their True
self. They know this experience to be a livig reality, for they have
encoWtered people who have had it, and they are convinced they ca
likewise attain it. When they come before their teacher they come
with an open mind and a humble heart, ready to folow whatever
course he prescribes, secure in the knowledge that by so doing they
can realze their goal in the shortest tie.
I wil now quickly recapituate these four classes of aspirants: those
who, havig no particular faith in Zen, come to it through fortWate
karmic crcumstances; those who practice zazen through a desire ony
to add to their physical or mental health or both; those who practice
Zen out of belief in the exalted nature of the Buddha's teaching; and
those who have a strong determination to become enlightened.
Hereafer you wl come before me one by one and I wil ask
you what you feel to be the natre of your aspiration, that is, into
which of the four classes you fal. Tel me your feeligs honestly.
Do not add anythig through pride, and do not subtract anything
out of fale modesty. Dependig upon what you tel me, I wlassign
you the zazen most appropriate for you.
There is no defitve practice which applies to everyone. Gen
eraly speakig, one who puts himself in the frst class is assigned the
practice of coWting his breaths; one i the second category, the fol
lowng of his breaths; in the third class, shikan-taza; and in the fourth,
a koan, usualy Mu.
When students come before me idividually for the frst time,
they make al manner of curious replies. Some say: "I think I belong
between the frst and second classes." Others tel me: "I have a chron-
62 / YAS UTANI
'
s I NTRODUCTORY LECTURES
ically bad stomach, so would you assig me a type of zzen that will
help tis conditon?" Or sometmes a prson wlsay: "I am somewhat
neurotc; what kd of zazen would be goo for that? "
Dependig on the type of person and the strength of his deter
miaton, I precribe what I believe to be a suitable pracce. With a
stolid individual it i usualy desirable to spur him on with the kyosaku,
whereas a somewhat nerous or sensitve peron can do bter zazen
without it. Ony if your appraisal of your feelgs is frank can I slect
for you te most efective practice.
II I
YASUTANI- ROSHI' S COM
MENTARY ON THE KOAN MU
I
EDI TOR' S I NTRODUCTI ON / Ever since Joshu, one
of the great Chiese Z mastrs of the T'ang era, retorted "Mu!"
1
to a mon who had asked whether dogs have te Budda-nature, t
reverberations of the incident have been echoing throuh the halls
of Zen monasterie ad temples dow through the ceturie. Eve
in tis day no koan is assigned novice more ofen. It is commonly
agreed among Japanese masters that it is lurpassed for breaking
asunder the mid of ignorance and opening the eye ofT ruth. A care
f reding of t secton and sectons m and v w explain why.
As yet no translaton of a formal commentry (teisho) on the koan
Mu has appeared i English. This present commentar was made by
Zn Master Yasutan, without notes, to about thrty-five laymen at
a sesshn i 1961. It is reproduced here in translaton exacly as he
gave it except for mor editg of the few repetitious or awkward
expressions which ievitably ceep ito extemporaneous speech. In
its clarity and incisiveness, i the ispiration, encouragement, and
guidance it provdes the novice and advanced student alie, it stands
as a masterly commentar on this tme-honored koan.
I te Mumonkan (The Gateless Barrier), compiled by Muan
Ekai, who was himself a Zen master, Mu heads the colection of forty
lLit., "no," "not," "have not," or "notng." The N i "Mu" is voiced like the
N i "put."
63
64 1 YAS UTANr
'
s coMMENTARY oN Mu
eight koans. Although a few English translations of the Mumonkan
have appeared, they leave much to be desired. More often than not, in
stead of revealg the essential spirit of the koans, they obscure it. It
i eloquent proof of the misplaced awe that Zen has engendered i
the mids of many that the more "mystical" or dowright incompre
hensible a koan reads in English, the more profoud it is judged to be.
Every koan is a unique expression of the living, indivisible Bud
dha-nature which cannot be grasped by the bifurcating itellect.
Koans appear bewildering to people who cherish the letter above the
spirit. Those who grasp their spirit know that koans, despite the in
congruity of their various elements, are profoudly meaningful. Al
point to man's Face before his parents were bor, to his real Self.
The aim of every koan is to liberate the mind from the snare of
language, "which fts over experience like a strait jacket."
1
Koan
are so phrased that they deliberately throw sand into our eyes to force
us to open our Mind's eye and see the world and everythig in it
without distorton.
Koans take as their subjects tangible, dow-toarth objects such
as a dog, a tree, a face, a fnger to make us see, on the one hand, that
ech object has absolute value and, on the other, to arrest the tendency
of the intellect to anchor itself in abstract concepts. But the import of
every koan is the same: that the world is one interdependent Whole
and that each separate one of us is that Whole.
The Chinese Zen masters, those spiritual geniuses who created
these paradoxcal dialogues, did not hesitate to thumb their noses at
logic and comon sens in their marelous creaton. By wheedling
the intellect into attempting solutions impossible for it, koans reveal
to us the inerent limitations of the logical mid as an instrument for
realizing utimate Truth. I the process they pry us loose from our
tightly held dogmas and prejudices, strip u of our penchant for dis
criminating good from bad, and empty us of the fals notion of self
and-other, to the end that we may one day perceive that the world of
Perfection is in fact no diferent fom that in which we eat ad excrete,
laugh and weep.
The great merit of koans, which range over the vast area of the
Mahayana teachings, is that they compel us, in ingenious and often
1 A phrae of Wil a Goldi ng's, quoted by Raynor C. Jolson i Wather H the
Hills {Harpr, N.Y., 1
959),
p. 27.
EDIToR
'
s INTRODucTION 1 65
dramatic fashion, to lear these doctrines not simply with our head
but with our whole being, refusing to permit us to sit back and end
lessly theorize about them in te abstract. What Heinrch Zimmer
says about certain types of medtaton is especially true ofkoans, the
spirit of which must be demonstrated before the roshi and not merely
explained: "Kowledge is the reward of action . . . . For it is by doig
tgs that one becomes transformed. Executing a symbolical gesture,
actully lving through, to the very limit, a particular role, one comes
to relize te truth ierent i the role. Suferig its consequences,
one fathoms and exhausts its content . . . . "
1
The complete soluton of a koan involves the movement of the
md fom a state oflgnorance (delusion) to the vbrant iner aware
ness of living Truth. This imples the emergence ito the feld of
consciounes of the immaculate Bodhi-mind, which is the reverse
of the md of delusion. The determination to struggle with a koan
in the frst place is generated by faith in the reality of the Bod-mid,
the struggle itself beig the efort of ths Mind to cast of the shackles
of Ignorance and come to its own Self-knowledge.
Now, what is the source of Mu's power, what has enabled it to
hold frst ran among koans for over a thousand years? Whereas
such koans as "What is the soud of one hand clapping? " and "What
is your Face before your parent' birth?" bait the dscursive md and
excite the imaginaton, Mu holds itself coldly aloof from both the
intellect and the imaginaton. Try as it might, reasonng canot gain
even a tohold on Mu. In fact, trying to solve Mu rationally, we are
told by the masters, is lke "trying to smash one's fst through an
iron wall." Because Mu is utterly impervious to logic and reason, and
in addition i easy to voice, it has proven itself an exceptionaly wieldy
scalpel for extirpatig fom the deepest unconscious the malignant
growth of"I" and "not-1" whch poisons the Mind's inerent purity
and impairs its fudamental wholeness.
A vivid, penetrating commentary (apart from the comment ac
companyig the koan) is invaluable for any aspirant who wishes to
utze a koan as his spiritual exercise. Besides famiarizing him with
te bacgrounds of the dramats personae and settig forth in con
temporary language obscure terms and metaphorical allusions com-
1 Philosophies ofIndia, by Heinich Zimer, edited by Joseph Capbell (Meridi
H Books, N.Y., 19), p. 544
6 I YAS UTANI
'
s cOMMENTARY ON MU
mon to the veracular speech of ancient Chia in whch the koans
and comments are couched, it thrust before him i terse, vigorou
language the spirit of the koan. One lacking this orientation very
likely would fmd the koan alien if not bizarre.
Since the teisho is not an ordar lecture or sermon addressed to
al and sudry but an integral part of Zen trainng, it is usually given
only at sesshin and essentially for the beneft of those who come to
practce zazen.
1
I the monastery the teisho, whic takes place at
least once and frequently twice a day, is announced by te solem
toling of the hansho, among the largest of te drums, bells, and gongs
employed in Zen. At it signl a fe into the main hl fom the
zazen hall and, dividng into two groups facing each other at right
angles to the altar, seat themselves on the tatami mats in either te
half- or the full-lotus posture or in the traditional Japanese sittg
position. The roshi then makes his appearance escorted by an atend
ant, who carries his book of koans2 wrapped in a piece of sil cere
monial cloth both as a mark of respect and for protecton. Alpresent
bow their heads in humity before their teacher as he proceeds to
te butsdan (altar) to light a stck of incense and place it before the
image of the Budda. Then, led by the roshi, everyone rises, faces the
butsudan, and prostrates himself three times. These devotions of
gratitude, reverence, and huity toward the Buddha and Patriarchs
having been completed, the roshi seats himself on a large cushion on
a dais facing the butudan, crosses his legs in the lotu posture, and
leds the group in chantg a short selecton fom a sutra. He is now
ready to commence his teisho.
Like the chanted sutra which precedes it, the teisho is an ofering
to the Buddha, and this in fact is the signifcance of the roshi's facing
the butudan and not his hearer during the delivery of his com
mentary. In addressing himself to the Budda the rosh is in efect
saying: "This is my expression of the truth of your teachings. I ofer
it up to you in the hope you wlfd it satsfactory."
The teisho is not an erudte discourse on the "meang" of the
koan, for the roshi knows that explanations, no matter how intricate
1 Occaionally devotees are peritted to listen to the teisho even though they do
not panicipate i the sesshin. In some monateries the teisho is given at times
other tha sesshi but
p
rimariy for the resident monks.
" For the names of these books, see "koa" i section x.
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTION I 67
or subtle, cannot lead to that iner uderstanding which alone enables
one to demonstrate the spirit of the koan wit certinty and convic
tion. Zen masters i fact look upon mere defnitons and explanatons
as dry and lfeless, and as ultmately msleading because inherently
lted. The one word "Imbecile !" uttered from the gut conveys
more than any hundred words deg it. Nor does the roshi burden
his listeners with a purey phlosophical lecture on Buddhist doctrie
or on the metaphysical nature of ultmte reality.
The roshi's object is to re-live the spirit and drama of the koan, to
brig alive through his charged words and gestures the trth i
herent i the roles of the various protagonist. Keenly aware of the
dferent levels of comprehension of his hearers, he pitches h com
mentary so that each receives accordig to hs capacity to understand,
even as he relates the spirit of the koan to his hearers' common life
experiences. I Zen parlance, the rosh "strikes against" the koan
fom his hara, trusting tat the emtted sparks of truth wl ilume
the minds of his hearers.
Hara lteraly denotes the stomac and abdomen and the functons
of digeston, absorption, and elation conected with them. But
it has paralel psychic and spiritual sigcance. According to Hindu
and Buddhist yogic systems, there are a nuber of psychc centers in
the body through which vital cosmc force or energy fows. O tl1e
two such centers embraced withi the hara, one is associated with the
solar plexus, whose system of neres gover the dgestve processes
and organs of elimaton. Hara is thus a wellspring of vtal psychic
energies. Harada-roshi, one of the most celebrated Zen master of his
day,
2
in urgig his disciples to concentrate their mind's
3
eye (i.e., the
attention, the summation po!t of the total being) i their hara, woud
declare: "You must reale"-i.e. , make real-"that the center of the
universe is the pit of your belly! "
To facilitate h experience of t fdamental truth, the Zen
novce is instructed to focus h md constantly at the bottom of h
hara (specically, beteen the navel and the pelvis) and to radiate
1 "Psycc" here does not relate to extrasenory phenomea or powers but to
energies ad body-mnd states which ca ot b classied either 8 physiological or
psychologica.
.
2 For further iforation about h, see pp. 273-76.
3 See "mind" in secion
68 I YAS UTANI
'
s COMMENTARY ON MU
all mental and bodily activities from that region. With the body
mind's eq
uilibrium centered i the hara, gradually a seat of con
sciousness, a focus of vital energy, is establshed there which infuences
the entire organsm.
That consciousness is by no means conned to the brain is show
by Lama Govnda, who writes as folows: "Whie, accordg to
Wester conceptions, the brai i the exclusive seat of consciousness,
yogic experience shows that our brain-onsciousness is only one among
a number of possible forms of consciousness, and that thee, accord
ing to their functon and nature, can be localied or centered i vari
ous organs of the body. These 'organs,' which collect, tansform, and
distribute the forces fowing through them, are caled cakras, or cen
ters of force. From them radiate secondary steams of psychic force,
comparable to the spokes of a wheel, the ribs of an umbrella, or the
petals of a lotus. In other words, these cakras are the poits i which
psychic forces and bodily functons merge ito each other or penetate
each other. They are the focal poits in which cosmc and psychic
energies crystallize ito bodily qualities, and i which bodily qualities

are dissolved or tansmuted again into psychic forces. "1

Settling the body's center of gravty below the navel, that i, estab
lishng a center of consciousness in the hara, automaticaly relaxes
tensions arising from the habitual huchng of the shoulders, straing
of the neck, and squeezing in of the stomach. As this rigidity disap
pears, an enhanced vitlity and new sene of feedom are experienced
throuhout the body and mind, which are felt more and more to be
a unity.
Zazen has clearly demonstated that with the mind's eye centered
i the hara the proliferation of random ideas is dimiished and the
attiment of one-pointedness accelerated, since a plethora of blood
fom the head is drawn down to the abdomen, "coolig" the brain
and soothng the autonomic nervous system. T
h
is in tur leds to a
greater degree of mental and emotional stabilty. One who functions
fom his hara, therefore, is not easiy disturbed. He is, moreover, able
to act quickly and decisively in an emergency owing to the fact that
his mind, anchored in his hara, does not waver.
With the mnd i the hara, narrow and egocentric tng is
1
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, by La Govid, p. 135.
EDIToR
'
s I NTRoDucTI ON 1 6
superseded by a broadness of outlook and a magnanimty of spirit.
Ths is becaus thg from the vtal hra center, being free of
mediation by the limited discurive intelect, is spontaneous and all
embracing. Perception from the hara tends toward itegraton and
unity rather than division and fagmentaton. I short, it is tg
which sees thgs steadily and whole.
The fgure of the Buddha seated on hs lotus throne-serene, stable,
all-knowing and all-ncompassing, radiatig boudless light and
compassion-is the foremost example ofhara expressed through per
fect enlightenment. Rodin's ''Thinker,'' on the other hand, a soltary
f1gure "lost" i thought and contorted i body, remote and isolated
fom his Self typifies the opposite state.
It is important to recogze that the ability to thn and act from
te hara is, le joriki, ony indrectly related to satori and not synon
ymous with it. Satori is a "tg about" of te mnd, a psychologi
cal experience conferring iner kowledge, whe hara i no more
than what has been idicated. Masters of the traditional Japanese arts
are al accomplished in tg and actig from the hara-they
would not merit the ttle "master" i they were not-but few i any
achieve satori without Zen traing. Why not? Because their cutiva
tion ofhara is essentially for the perfection of their ar and not satori,
the attainment of which presupposes, as Yasutani-roshi points out in
hs introductory lectures, faith in the realty of the Budda's enght
enment and in their own immaculate Buddha-nature.
It is from the hara, then, that the roshi must deliver hs commentary
if it is to glow wth the spirit and force of his entire being, and sim
ilarly it is i their hara that his hearers must focus their minds if they
are to grasp and absorb directly and whole the palpitating truth he is
thrusting at them. Listening to the teisho is actually another for of
zazen, that is, a state of unterrupted concentration leading to total
absorption. Hence the concentated md must not be disrupted by
the taking of notes durig the teisho or by otherse divertig the
eyes from their "sittig" stance. In a monastery where the discipline
is strict the head monks will reprimand begi ers who attempt to
make notes or whose eyes wander about the hall to look at other
sitters.
Particularly for the devotee whose spiritual exercise is a koan, the
teisho, by providig numerou "due," presents an unparalleled op
70 I YAS UTANI
'
s cOMMENTARY ON MU
portunity for gaing direct Insight into te koan' s essental import.
Ifhe has succeeded in exhausting his thoughts through single-mided
concetration and has achieved absolute oneness with hs koa, one
telng phrase uttered by the roshi may be the golden arrow which
suddenly and unpredictably fmds its mark, tearing asuder the in
nermost cloak of darkness and sufusing the mid wth light and inner
Wderstandig. For one whose mind is not yet ripe-in other words,
st enveloped in delusive thoughts-the teisho i a rich source of
poiters for future practce. But for all, no matter what the state of
their minds, a trenchant teiho provdes ispiraton and encourage
ment.
Upon completion of the teisho the rosh quiety closes h book of
koans as aljoi him i chantg the Four Vows. At no time durig
or after the teisho does he solcit or encourage questions. Zen teach
ing fowns on al theoretical questions as not conducive to direct,
frt-hand experience of the truth. This atttude can be traced back to
the Buddha, who held to "a noble sience" whenever asked such
questons as "Are the Wverse and sou fmite or infmite? Does the
saint exist after death or not?" And Zen Buddhism, which is the
qutessence of the Buddha's teachng, likewise refuses to dea with
questons that ultimately have no answers, or with questons the
answers to which can only be Wderstood by a md bathed in the
light of fconsciousness, i.e., perfect enlightenment. When abstract,
theoretical questons are asked durig dokusan (as they sometimes
are) the roshi fequently throws them back at the questoner, to tr
to mke him see the Source from which they issue and to relate him
to that Source.
But there are further reasons why abstract questions are viewed
with disfavor. A preoccupation wth them not only tends to take the
place of zazen and the Understanding it alone can lead to, but by
titilating the intelect tey make immeasurably more difcult the
stl g and emptying of the mind which is essental for kensho. The
Buddha's classic reply to a mon who threatened to abandon the
relgious life uess the Buddha answered his questons on whether
the sait exists after death or not is worth repeating:
"It is as if a man had been woWded by an arrow thicky smeared
with poison, and his friends and companons, his relatves and k
fol were to procure for hm a physician or surgeon; and the sick man
THE C OMMENTARY ON MU I 7I
were to say, 'I wl not have this arrow taken out util I have learnt
whether the mn who wouded me belonged to the warrior caste
or to the Brah caste; . . . leart whether he was tal, short, or of
mddle height; was black, dusky, or of yellow ski; was fom t
or that vlage or tow or city; . . . whether it was an ordiar arrow
or a claw-headed arrow . . . .' That man woud die without ever
having leart this."
1
And i another dialogue te Buddha stated: "The religious life
does not depend on the dogma that the world i eteral or not eteral,
inmite or fmite, that the sou and the body are identical or dif erent,
or the dogm that the sait exsts or does not exist after death . . . .
It profts not, nor has it to do with te fudamentals of religion, nor
does it tend to absence of pasion . . . to supreme wdom, and
Nirvana.''
2
THE COMMENTARY / Today I wl take up the frst
case in Mumonkn, entitled 'Joshu [on the ierent nature of a] do@."
I wl read the koan proper and then Mumon's comment:
A mon in all seriousness asked Joshu: "Has a dog Buddha
nature or not?" Joshu retorted "Mu! "
Mumon' s Comment: In the practice of Zen you must pass
through the barrier-gate3 set up by the Patriarchs. To realize
this wondrous tng called enlghtenment, you must look into
the source of your thought, thereby anatg them. If you
cannot pass through the barrier, i.e., exhaust the arising of
tought, you are le a ghost, cliging to the trees and grass.
What, then, is this barrier set up by the Patriarchs? It is Mu,
the one barrier of the supreme teachg. Ultmately it i a bar
rier tat is no barrier. One who has passed trough it canot only
see Joshu face to face, but can wal hand in hand with the whole
1 Majha Nikaya 63.
2 Majjhima Niaya 72.
.
In aciet China barrier-gates were located on the mi road leading to a large
tow or ciry, where one had to pass inspection before beig allowed co enter; they
were roughly comparable to present-ay col station or ingraton-ipecton
station.
72 f YAS UTANI
'
s coMMENTARY ON Mu
line of Patriarchs. Indeed, he can, standg eyebrow to eyebrow,
hear with the same ears and see with the same eyes.
How marelous ! Who woud not want to pass through
this barrier? For this you must concentrate day and night, ques
tionng youself through every one of your 360 bones and
84,00 pores. Do not construe Mu as nothingness and do not
conceive it in terms of exstence or non-stence. [You must
reach the point where you feel] as though you had swallowed
a red-hot iron bal that you caot disgorge despite your every
efort. Whe you have dissolved all delusion and ripened into
puity, after many years, so that inside and outide are as one,
you wlthoroughy relish your [sublime] stte of mnd, yet lke
a mute who has had a dream [wl be uable to talk about it].
Once you burst into enghtenment you wlsurpris the heave
ad move the earth. As though havig captured the sharp sword
of General Ku,
1
you wll be able to slay the Budda should
you meet him [and he obstruct you] and dispatch all Patriarchs
you ecouter [shoud they hinder you] . Being free [fom
bondage to] bir-and-eath, you wl be able to move about
te Si Real of Exstece ad the Fou Modes of Birt in a
samad of inocet delght.
How, then, do you concentrate on Mu? Devote yourself to
it energetically and wholeheartedy. If you continue thus with
out intermssion, your md, le a lght fashed on in the dark,
wl suddenly become bright. Wonderf indeed!
Mumon' s Vese:
A dog, Buddha-nate!-
Th is the presentaton of te whole, the absolute im
perative !
Once you begin to t "has" or "has not"
You [uty with] lfe wl be lost.
The protagonst of ts koa is Joshu, a renowned Chinese Zen
master. I t it woud be better to refer to h as the Patriarch
Joshu. Inasmuch as my comentary on today's koa wl be qute
long, I shal omt telg you the fact ofJoshu's le. Sufce it to say
he was, as you al kow, a great patriarch of Zen
.
While there are
1 See p. 81.
THE COMMENTARY ON MU
/ 73
nwerou koans centering around him, witout a doubt this one is
the best known. Master Mumon worked zealouly on it for six years
and fally came to Self-realization. Evidently it made a deep im
pression on him, for he placed it frst in the collection of his forty
eight koans. Actualy there is no parcular reason why this koan
should be ftrst-any of the others could have been placed at te head
jut as well-but Mumon's feeling for it was so intimate that he
naturally put it at the very beginng.
The frst line read: "A mon in all seriosness asked Joshu . . . . "
That is, his queston was neither frvolous nor casual but deeply con
sidered.
The next porton, "Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?" raises the
question: What is Buddha-nature? A well-known passage in the
Nirvana sutra states that every sentent being has Buddha-nature.
The expression "ever sentient being" means all exstence. Not alone
human beings, but animals, even plants, are sentient beings. Hence
a dog, a monkey, a dragony, a wor equally have Budda-nature
according to the Nirana sutra. I the context of this koa11, however,
you may consider the term as refering only to amals.
What then is Budda-natre? Briefy, the nature of everythng is
such that it can become Budd. Now, some of you, thking there
is somethg caled the Buddha-nature hidden witn us, may in
quire as to the whereabouts of ts Budda-nature. You may tend to
equate it with conscience, which everyone, even the wicked, is
preswned to possess. You wlnever understand the truth ofBuddha
nature so long as you harbor such a specious view. The Patriarch
Dogen interpreted t expression i the Nirvan sutra to mean that
what is itrinsic to al sentient beings is Budd-nature, and not that
all sentient beings have something called the Buddha-nature. Thus in
Dogen's view there is only Budda-nature, notng else.
In Buddhism "Budda-nature" is an intmate expression and
"Dharma-nature" an impersonal one. But whether we say Buddha- or
Dharma-nature the substance is the same. One who has become en
lightened to the Dharma is a Buddha, hence Budda arises from
Dharma. The Diamond sutra says that all Buddas and teir en
lightenment issue from this Dharma. Dharma, it follows, is the mother
of Buddhahood. Actualy there is neither mother nor son, for as I
have said, it is the same whether you say Buddha or Dharma.
74 1 YAS UTANI
'
s coMMENTARY oN MU
Wht i te Dhara ofDhara-natre? Dharma me

phenon

e. Wht we ordy ter phenomena-tat Is, what IS

vident to the senses-in Buddhsm is called Dharma. Th word
phenoena," since it relates only to the obserable features wthout
iplying what caues tem to appar, has a lmted conotton.
Tese phenomena are termed Dharma (or Law) simply because thy
appr neither by accident nor through the will of some special
agency superintending te universe. Alphenomena are the reult of
the law of caue and efect. Tey arise when causes and conditions
goverg tem mature. When one of these causes or conditions b
come altered, these phenomena change correspondingly. When the
combintion of causes and conditions completely dsitegrates, te
for itlf disappears. Alexistence being te expression of te law of
cause and efect, al phenomena are equally t Law, tis Dharma.
Now, a there are mutple modes of exstence, so are there mutiple
dharmas corespondig to these existences. Te substance of these
manifold drmas we call Dharma-nature. Whether we say Dhrm
nature or ue the more personal term Buddha-nature, these expres
sions refer to one realty. Stated diferently, all phenomena are trans
formatons of Buddha- or Dharma-nature. Everg by its very
nature is subject to the process of inite transformation-ths is it
Buddha- or Dhara-nature.
What is the substance of this Buddha- or Dhara-nature? In Bud
dhsm it is called k [shunyata]. Now, ku is not mere emptiness. It is
that which i living, dynamc, devoid of mass, unxed, beyond in
dividuality or personality-the matrix of al phenomena. Here we
have te fndmental principle or dotrine or philosophy of Bud
dhism.
For the Buddha Shakyamu ths was not mere theory but trut
which he directly realized. Wit the experience of enghtenment,
which is the source of all Buddhist doctrine, you grasp the world of
ku. T world-uxed, devoid of mass, beyond idvduality or
personality-is outide the realm of imaginaton. Accordngly, te
true substance of things, that is, teir Buddha- or Dharma-nature, is
iconceivable and icrutble. Since everythig imaginable partkes
of form or color, whatever one imagines to be Buddha-nature mut
of necessity be unreal. Indeed, tat which can be conceived is but a
THE COMMENTARY ON MU I
7
5
picture of Buddha-natre, not Buddha-nature itself. But while Bud
dha-nature is beyond all conception and imagination, because we
ourselves are itrinsically Budda-nature, it is possibit for us to
awaken to it. Only throuh the experience of enlightenment, how
ever, can we afrm it in the Heart. Enlightenment therefore i al.
Once you realize the world of ku you wlreadily comprehend the
nature of the phenomenal world and cease clnging to it. What we
see is illusory, without substance, le the antcs of puppets in a flm.
Are you afraid to die? You need not h. For whether you are klled
or die naturally, death has no more substantiality tan the movements
of these puppets. Or to put it another way, it is no more real than t
cuting of air with a knfe, or the burstg of bubbles, whch reappear
no matter how ofen tey are broken.
Having once perceived the world of Budda-nature, we are in
d erent to death, since we know we wl he rebor through afty
wth a father and a moter. We are rebor when our karmic rela
tions impel us to be rebor. We de when our karmc relatons decree
that we die. And we are kiled when our karmc relatons lead us to
be killed. We are the manfestation of our karmc relations at any
given momet, and upon their modifcation we change accordingly.
What we call life is no more than a procession of transformtons. If
we do not chage, we are lfeless. We grow and age becaue we are
alive. The evidence of our hving lived is the fact that we die. We
die because we are alive. Living means birth and death. Creaton and
destuon signf lfe.
When you truly uderstand this fundamental principle you will
not h anxious about your lf or your death. You wl then attai a
steadfast mind and be happy in your daily life. Even though heaven
and earth were tured upside down, you would have no fear. And
if an atomc or hydrogen bomb were exploded, you would not quake
in terror. So long as you became one with the bomb what would
there he to fear? "Impossible ! " you say. But whether you wanted to
or not, you would perforce become one wth it, would you not? By
the same token, if you were caught in a holocaust, inevtably you
would be but. Therefore become one wth fre when here is no
escaping it ! If you fall into poverty, live that way witout grumblng
-then your poverty will not he a burden to you. Likewse, i you
76 I YAS UTANI
'
s C OMMENTARY ON MU
are rich, live with your riches. Althis is the functonng of Buddha
nature. In short, Buddha-nature has the qulity of ite adapta
bility.
Comig back to the koa, we must approach te queston "Has a
dog Buddha-nature or not? " wt cauton, sice we do not know
whether the monk is ignorant or is feigng ignorace i order to
test Joshu. Should Joshu aswer either "It has" or "It has not," he
would be cut dow. Do you see why? Becaue what is ivolved is not
a matter of "has" or "has not." Everg being Buddha-nature,
either answer woud be absurd. But this is "Dharma combat." Joshu
must parry the thrust. He dos so by sharply retorg "Mu!" Here
the dialogue ends.
I other versions of the same koa the mon continues by inqu
ing: "Why hasn't a dog Buddha-nature when the Nirana sutra says
all sentient beings do have it? "1 Joshu coutered wit: "It has its own
karma." What this means is that te dog's Budda-nature is not oter
than karma. Acts performed with a delusive mnd produce painful
result. This is karma. I plainer words, a dog i a dog as a result of
its past karma's conditong it to become a dog. This is te func
tioning of Buddha-nature. So do not tlk as though tere were a
particular thing called "Buddha-nature." Th is the implicaton of
Joshu's Mu. It is clear, ten, tat Mu has notg to do with te
existence or non-xstence of Buddha-natre but is itself Buddha
nature. The retort "Mu!" expose and at the same tme ful y thruts
Buddha-nature before us. Now, while you may be uable fuly to
uderstand what I am sayg, you wlnot go astray i you construe
Buddha-nature i this wise.
Buddha-natue cannot be graspd by the itellect. To experience
it directly you must search your mind wth the utmost devoton unti
you are absolutely conviced of its exstence, for, afer all, you your
sel are this Buddha-natue. When I told you earlier tat Buddha
nature was ku-impersonal, devoid of mass, unxed, and capable of
endless transformation-! merely ofered you a portrait of it. It is
possible t think of Budda-nature i these terms, but you must un
derstad that whatever you can t or imagie must necessariy be
ureal. Hence there i no other way tha to experiece the truth i
1 The monk evdently constuedJoshu's "Mu!" to mea "hs not."
THE COMMENTARY ON MU I 77
your ow mnd. This way has been show, wth te greatest kindness,
by Mumon.
Let us now conider Mumon's coment. He bgins by saying:
"I the practice of Zen . . . . " Zazen, receiving dokusan (i.e., private
instructons), hearing teishtese are all Zen practce. Being atten
tve in te details of you daily life is also training in Zen. When your
life ad Zen are one you are truly living Zen. Unless it accords with
your everyday activite Zen is merely an embelshment. You must
be careful not to faunt Zen but to blend it unpretentiously into your
life. To give a concrete example of attentvenes: when you step out
of te clogs at te porch or te kitchen or out of the slippers of the
toilet room, you must be careful to arrange tem neatly so tat the
next person can use tem readily even in te dark. Such midfness
is a practcal demonstraton of Zen. I you put your clogs or shoes on
absent-mndedly you are not attentve. When you walk you must
step watchfuly so that you do not stumble or fall. Do not become
remiss !
But I am digressing. To continue: " . . . you must pass trough the
barrier-gate set up by te Patriarchs." Mu is just such a barrier. I have
already idicated to you tat, from te frst, tere is no barrier. Every
thing being Buddha-nature, there is no gate through which to go in or
out. But i order to awaken us to the trt tat everything is Buddha
nature, the Patriarchs reluctantly set up barriers and goad us into
passing trough them. They condemn our faulty practice and reject
our incomplete answers. As you steadily grow in sincerity you wl
one day suddeny come to Self-realizaton. When t happens you
wl b able to pass through te barrier-gate easily. The Mumonkan
is a book containg forty-ight such barriers.
The next line begins: "To realize ths wondrous ting called en
lightenment . . . . " Observe te word "wondrous." Because enlight
enment is unexplainable and inconceivable it is described as wondrous.
" . . . you must look into te source of your thoughts, tereby an
nating them" This means tat it is useless to approach Zen from
te point of view of suppositon or logic. You can never come to
enlightenment trough ierence, cogniton, or conceptulizaton.
Cease clnging to all thought-forms ! I stres this, because it is the
central point of Zen practce. And particularly do not make te ms
take of tg enghtenment must be t or tat.
7
8
f YAS UTANI
'
s coMMENTARY ON MU
"If you caot pass though the barrier, i.e., exhaut the arising
of thoughts, you are le a ghost, clging to the tree and grass.' '
Ghosts do not appear opnly i the dytme, but come out furtively
after dark, it is said, hugging the earth or clinging to willow trees.
They are dependent upon these supports for their very existence. In
a sense human beings are also ghostlike, sice most of us canot
fucton idependent of money, social standig, honor, companon
ship, authority; or else we feel the need to identif ourselve with an
organizaton or an ideology. If you would be a man of true worth
and not a phantom, you must be able to walk upright by yoursel
dependent on nothng. When you harbor philosophical concepts or
religious beliefs or ideas or theories of one kind or another, you too
are a phantom, for inevitably you become bound to them. Only
when your mind is empty of such abstactions are you truly free and
idepndent.
The next to sentences read: "What, then, is t barrier set up by
the Patriarchs? It is Mu, the one barrier of the supreme teaching."
The supreme teachig is not a system of moralty but that which lies
at the root of all such systems, namely, Zen. Only that whch is of
unalloyed purity, fee from the superstitious or the supratural, can
be called the root of al teachings and hence supreme. I Buddhm
Zen is the only teaching which is not to one degree or another tainted
with elements of the supratural-thus Zen alone can truly be called
the supreme teaching and Mu the one barrier of this supreme teaching.
You ca uderstad "one barrier" to mean the sole barrier or one
out of may. Ultmately there is no barrier.
"One who has passed through it cannot only see Joshu face to
face . . . . " Sice we are livig i another age, of course we camwt
actually see the physical Joshu. To "see Joshu face to face" means to
understand his Mid. " . . . can walk hand in hand with the whole
le ofPatriarchs." The line of Patriarchs begins with Maha Kashyapa,
who succeeded the Buddha, it goes on to Bodhidharma, the twenty
eighth, and contiues right up to the present. " . . . eyebrow to eye
brow . . . . " is a fgure of speech implying great intmacy. " . . . hear
with the same ears and see with the same eyes" connotes the ability
to look at things from the same viewpoint as the Buddha and Bodhi
dhara. It implies, of course, that we have clearly grasped the world
of enightenment.
THE COMMENTARY ON MU I 7
9
"How marvelous ! ". Melous indeed! Only tose who recogze
the preciousess of the Budda, te Dharma, and te Patriarchs can
appreciate such an exclamation. Yes, how truly marelous ! T1
0
se
who do not care for the Budda and te Dharma may feel anythng
but marel, but that cannot b helpd.
"Who would not want to pass through ths barrier?"-this phrase
aims at entcing you to search for truth wthin yourself. "For this
you must concentrate day and night, questioning yourself about Mu
through every one of your 36 bones and 84,0pores." These fgures
reflect the tg of te ancients, who beleved that the body was
constructed in this fashion. In any case, what this refers to is your
entire being. Let all of you become one mass of doubt and question
ing. Concentrate on and penetrate fu y into Mu. To pnetrate into
Mu means to achieve absolute unity with it. How can you acheve
ths unity? By holding to Mu tenaciously day and nght ! Do not
separate yourself from it Wder any circumstances ! Focus your mind
on it constantly. "Do not construe Mu as notgnes and do not
conceive it in terms of existence or non-xstence." You must not,
in other words, t of Mu as a problem involving te exstence or
non-xstence of Buddha-nature. Then what do you do? You stop
speculating and concentrate wholly on Mu-just Mu!
Do not dawdle, practce with every oWce of energy. "(You must
reach te poit where you feel] as though you had swallowed a red
hot iron ball. . . . " It is hyperbole, of course, to speak of swallowing
a red-hot iron ball. However, we often carelessly swallow a hot rice
cake whch, lodging in te thoat, causes considerable dscomort.
Once you swallow Mu up you wl likewise feel intensely Wlcom
fortable and t desperately to dslodge it. ". . . that you cannot dis
gorge despite your every efort" -this decribes the state of those who
work on t koan. Because Self-realization is so tantalizng a prospect
they cannot qut; neither can they grasp Mu's sigcance readily.
Hence there is no oter way for tem but to concentrate on Mu Wr
they "t blue in te face."
Te comparson wth a red-hot iron ball is apt. You must melt
down your deluions with te red-hot iron ball of Mu stuck in your
throat. The opinons you hold and your worldly knowledge are your
delusions. Included also are phosophical and moral concepts, no
matter how lofy, as well as religious beliefs and dogmas, not to men-
So f YAS UTANI
'
s COMMENTARY ON MU
tion innocent, commonplace thought. I short, all conceivable ideas
are embraced within the term "delusions" and as such are a hindrance
to the realzaton of your Essential-nature. So dissolve them wth the
freball of Mu!
You must not practice ftfu y. You will never succeed if you do
zazen ony when you have the whim to, and give up easily. You must
carry on steadfastly for one, two, three, or even fve years without
remission, constantly vigilant. Thus you wgradually gain in purity.
At frst you wlnot be able to pour youself wholeheartedly into Mu.
It wlescape you quicky because your mnd wl start to wander.
You will have to concentrate harder-just "Mu! Mu! Mu! " Again
it wlelude you. Once more you attempt to focus on it ad again
you fai. This is the usual pater i the early stages of practice. Even
when Mu does not slip away, your concentration becomes disrupted
because of various mind deftemets. These deftlements disappear in
time, yet since you have not achieved oneness with Mu you are stl
far from ripe. Absolute unity with Mu, utg absorpton in Mu
-this is ripeess. Upon your attainment to this stage of purity, both
inside and outside naturally fuse. "Inside and outside" has various
shades of meaning. It may be understood as meaning subjectivity and
objectvty or mnd and body. When you fuly absorb yourself in
Mu, the exteral and interal merge into a single unty. But, uable
to speak about it, you will be like "a mute who has had a dream."
One who is dumb is unable to talk about his dream of the night be
fore. In the same way, you will relish the taste of samad yourself
but be uable to tell oters about it.
At t stage Sef-realiaton wl abruptly take place. Instantane
ously! "Bursting into enlightenment" requires but an instant. It is as
though an explosion had occurred. Whe this happens you will ex
perience so much! "You will surprise the heaves and move the
earth." Everything wil appear so changed that you wlthi heaven
and earh have been overtued. Of course there is no literal toppling
over. With enlightenment you see the world as Buddha-nature, but
this does not mean that all becomes as radiant as a halo. Rather, each
thing just as it is takes on an entirely new sigicance or worth.
Miraculously, everg is radically transformed though remg
as it is.
THE COMMENTARY ON MU I 8I
This is how Mumon describes it: "It is as though you had captured
the long sword of General Kuan." Geeral Kuan was a courageous
geeral who was invincible i combat with his "blue-dragon" sword.
Hence Mumon says you wlbecome as powerful as he who captures
the "bluedragon" sword of General Kuan. Which is to say that noth
ig utoward can happen to you. Through Self-realization one ac
qures sel-condence and an imposing bearig. When one comes be
fore the roshi his manner imples, "Test me in any way you wish,"
and such is hs assurance that he coud even thrash the Master.
" . . . you will be able to slay te Buddha should you meet him
and dispatch all Patriarchs you encouter." The timid will be fab
bergasted when they hear this and denounce Ze as an instrument
of te devil. Others, less squeamish yet equally unable to understand
the spirit of these words, wil feel uneasy. To be sure, Buddism in
spires in us the utmost respect for all Buddhas. But at the same time
it admonshes us that eventually we must free oursel:es from attach
ment to them. When we have experienced the Mind of Shakyamun
Budda and cultivated his incomparable virtues, we have realized
the highest aim of Buddhism. Then we bid him farewell, shoudering
the task of propagatig his teachigs. I have never heard of such an
attitude in religions teaching belief in God. While the aim of the
Buddhist is to become a Buddha, nevertheless, to put it bluntly, you
can slay the Buddha and al the Patriarchs. You who realize enlighten
ment will be able to say: "Were the honored Shakyamuni and the
great Bodhidharma to appear, I would cut them down instantly,
demandig: 'Why do you totter forth? You are no longer needed!' "
Such wl be your resoluteness.
"Being free from bondage to birth-and-death, you will be able to
move about te Six Reals of Existence and the Four Modes of
Birth in a samadh of inocent delght." You wil be able to face
death and rebirth without anxiety. The Six Realms are the realms of
maya, namely, hel, the worlds of pretas [hungry ghosts], beasts,
asuras [fghtig demons], human beings, and devas [heavenly beings] .
The Four Modes of Birth are birth through the womb, birth through
eggs hatched outside the body, birt through moisture, and birth
through metamorphosis. To be bor i heaven or hell, since it re
quires no physical progenitors, is birth through metamorphosis.
82 / YAS UTANI
'
s C OMMENTARY ON MU
Who ever heard of a heaveny being that had to undergo the trauma
ofbeig bor? There are neither mdwives nor obstetricians in heave
or hel.
Wherever you may be bor, and by whatever means, you wlb
able to live with the spontaeity and joy of children at play-ths is
what is meant by a "samdhi of innocent delight." Samad is com
plete absorpton. Once you are enlightened you can descend to the
deepest hell or rise to te highest heaven with freedom and rapture.
"How, ten, do you concentrate on Mu?" Through zazen. "De
vote yourself to it energeticaly and wholeheartedly." Persevere
wth al te force of your body and spirit. "I you continue thus with
out intermission . . . . " You must not start and then qut. You must
carry on to the very end, like a hen sitting on an egg ut she hatches
it. You must concentrate on Mu uninchingly, determned not to
give up ut you attain kensho. " . . . your mnd, le a lamp fashed
on i the dark, wl suddenly become bright. Wonderf indeed!"
With enlghtenment the mnd, released from the darkness of its in
fte past, will brighten immediately. "Wonderful indeed!" is added
since notng could be more wonderful.
Te first line ofMumon's verse reads: "A dog, Buddha-nature"
there i no need for "nature." "A dog is Buddha" -"i" is superflu
ous. "A dog, Budda"-still redudant. "Dog!"-tat's enough! Or
just "Buddha ! " You hve said too much when you say "A dog is
Buddha." "Dog! "-that is all. It is completely Buddha.
"This is the . . . whole, the absolute imperative!" That is to say,
it is the authentic decree of Shakyamun Buddha-it is the correct
Dhara. You are ths Dharma to perfecton! It is not bing begrudged
-it is fully revealed!
"Once you begin to t 'has' or 'has not' your life wl be lost."
What does "your life wl be lost" mean? Simply that your precious
Buddha lfe [of Oneness] wl vansh.
YASUTANI-ROSHI' S
VATE INTERVIEWS WITH
WESTERNERS I EDI TOR' S I NTRODUC-
III
I PRI
TEN
T I 0 N I The widespread cuiosity and practcal interest which
Zen Buddhism h aroued in teW est sice W odd War 11-an in
terest that is surely one of te signcant cultural and religiou
phenomena of ou tmehas produced a sizable literature in a num
ber of Euopea languges. Some of the more popular of these books
in English are su ed up by Ala Watts in the preface to h book
Th Way f Ze. He frst point out that not even Professor Suuk
hs given "a comprehenive accoWt of Zen which includes its his
torical backgoud and it relaton to Chnese and Indian ways of
tought," nor wrtten about t "relation of Zen to Chinese Taoism
ad Indian Buddhism"; that R. H. Blyt's Zen in English Liteature
and Oriental Classics "lacks background informaton" ad "makes no
attempt to give an orderly presentaton of the subject [Zen]"; ad
that Chstmas Humphreys in hs Ze Buddhism "does not really b
gin to put Zen i it cutural contex." Whereupon he concludes that
te confusion exstg among W etemers wth respect to Zen i due to
this lack of a "fdamental, orderly, and comprehenshe accout of
te subject."
To a large degree this is misleading. Stulatg as te teoretcal
approach to Zen may be for the academic-minded and the intellectual-
8J
84 / YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVI EWS WI TH WESTERNERS
ly curious, for the earest seeker aspiring to enlightenment i t is worse
than futle, it is downright hazardous. Aybody who has seriously
attempted the practice of Zen after reading such books knows not
only how poorly they have prepared him for zazen, but how in fact
they have hindered him by clogging hs mind with splinters ofkoans
and irrelevant fragments of phiosophy, psychology, theology, and
poetry which chum about in his brain, making it immeasurably dif
ficult for h to quiet his mind and attain a state of samadi. Not
wthout good reason have the Chinese and Japanese Zen masters
wared of te futity of the articial, cerebral approach to the illu
minating experience of genue satori.
What does lead to Sel-realization is not a knowledge of Chinese,
Indian, or other ways of thought but propr methods of practce
based on the authentic teachigs of the masters. The heart of Zen
discipline is zazen. Remove the heart and a mere corpse remains.
Despite this, neither the books enumerated by Mr. Watts nor his ow
books on Zen contain more tan a smattering of information-and
some not even that-on this vital subject. This espousal of the philo
sophical, theoretical approach to Zen is all too apparent from the
index to a recent anthology of Professor Suzu's wrtings. In this
book of almost 550 pages only two refereces to zazen can be foud,
one a footote and the other barely three lines i the text.
Certain exponents of Zen, Asias as well as W estemers, have misled
their readers in yet another way. In their relish for drama they have
underscored out of all proporton the beatings and kickings of the
anciet Chinese masters even as they have tantalzed their readers
with such startling, paradoxical quotations as "You must kl the
Budda! " and "Though you can say something about it, I will give
you thirty blows of the stick; and if you can't say anythg about it,
I wlgive you thrty blows of the stck! " Can they be tng to shock
their readers into accepting an iconoclastic and esoterc Zen, to the
innermost secrets of which ony the select few are privy? And to what
purpose, it may be asked, do some writers, less dramatcally perhaps
but with equally misplaced vere, ueart koans previously upub
lshed in English, "solving" them for the edifcaton of their less
enlightened readers?
Of Zen as it is actually practiced today, and in partcular of how
the master teaches and guides his students and disciples in the day-to-
EDI ToR
'
s I NTRonucTION
1 s
s
day udramatic ad occasionaly dreary and discouraging moments
of Zen traing, or of the nature of the problems which contemporary
students brig before him-on this these writers are strangely silent.
It is t dstortion of Zen and not the lack of" a systematc, scholar
ly presentaton" that lies at te root of te present confusion. For no
insigncant number of Westerers, misdirected by this academic
sparhead toward a hypothetical Zen whch is the product of theory
and specuation and not personal experience, have been repelled by
the engmatic and seemingly nonsensical formulations of the koans
and by the apparendy cruel or senseless behavior of the Chinese Zen
masters, with the result that they hve rejected Zen as a weird and
aen dsciplne uncongenial to the Wester mnd. Oters, quick to
exploit the vauted freedom of Zen as sanction for cults of lbertin
ism, have been enabled, thanks to te idiscrimiate and irresponsible
publishing of koas isolated from the body of Ze teachig as a
whole, to debase and pervert Zen to such ends.
It is hoped that t disclosure of what actualy takes place beteen
a Zen master and his students will not only dispel the entrely errone
ous noton that Zen is alien or "mystcal," or merely an interestig
if somewhat bizarre cultural study, but wil also reveal it as an emi
nently straightforward and practcal teachng whch when properly
understood and practced is demonstrably capable of liberatng man
from his deep-seated fears and anxetie so he can live and die with
peace and dignty, in our thermonuclear age no less tan in the past.
This compilation of the private instructons and guidance given
to ten Wester students, Americans and Europeans, together with
their responses and quetions, is believed to be the fst comprehen
sive presetaton to appear in English, or any other language, of the
actul teaching methods and techniques of a Zen mster in te course
of Zen training. Altogeter, eighty-fve interviews (dokusan) are i
cluded. They were gatered over a period of two years and vary
from to to tety-four interviews for one indivdual student. The
dialogue which appears between a set of asterisks is a transcription of
one complete interview with the roshi from the time the student
entered his room util he departed. In a general way,_ the dokusan
of a partcuar student follow each other in the order in which they
occurred, but they are not an unbroken record of every encouter
with the rosh. Dokusan which consisted of no more tan a few words
86 I YAS UTANI
'
s INTERVIEWs WI TH WESTERNERS
of encouragement or dokuan lacking i general interest have been
omtted. Where a number of dokuan of one stdent are involved,
a period of a month or to mght itervene between them.
Each of these dokuan took place durng te secluded trag
period called sesshi (which wl be descrbed fully in a later secton).
While most of them are brief necessarily so to accomodate the
needs of as many as thirty-fve or forty persons te tmes a day,
their length is utmately dictated by the requiremets of t in
dividual and not by any arbitrary tme limitaton.
Al the students were beginners i the sense that none had passed
his frst koa (i.e., had the experience of satori) with one excepton,1
and all had practced Zen in Japa for periods ranging from several
weeks to to years. It is possible i idividual cases to discer a de
velopig pater of understandig but an understadng whc has
not yet matured into enghtenmet.
The material speaks for itself, and any attempt to analyze or in
terpret it would not only be superuous but presuptuous. However,
for those readers lackg access to qualed Zen teachers a certain
amout of backgroud information relative to dokusan practice i
Japan today, especialy as it afects Westerers, may be foud helpful
i enablig them to ute to t ful est i their own spirtual practice
the advice and instructon of te rosh as it is revealed i these iter
VIews.
Together with zz ad the teisho (the formal commentary), do
kusan forms the td leg of te tripod upon which traditional Ze
traig rest. For the bgn er, this face-to-face encounter with the
roshi with the privacy of h iner chmbr can be aything from
an inspiring ad wonderfu y eichg experience, givg impetus
and directon to his practce, to a fearfu ordeal of mountig frustra
tons, dependg on the strength and quty of his ardor, the point
to which hs zazen has matured, and, most importatly, on the rosh's
own personalt and teacing method.
Once the studet enters the roshi's iner sancum and makes his
prostrations as a mark of respect and humilit, he is perfectly free to
1 Student H. Th has been icluded so tht the reader may compare the df
ferent approach by the rosh for B student on B more advaced level.
EDITOR
'
s INTRODUCTI ON 1
87
say or do aythig so long a it is a genuie expression of his quest
for trut and is legitimately conected wit his practce. I the be
ginning, when he has not yet gained control over his wayward
thoughts or arrested his egocetricity, it is common for him, especial
ly if he is phlosophically inclned, to attempt to engage the roshi in
abstract, theoretcal discussions. But as time gos by and his mind,
through the steady practce of zzen, beome quieter, deeper, and
more one-pointed, he loses interet i empty dscussion and bcomes
more receptive in a total way to the roshi and hs directons.
Wit further zazen practce he wl gradually begin to experience,
if only mometarily, an underlying harmony and onenes (especially
after periods of samadi), which wl begin to replace the feelings of
estrangement and confusion he prevously felt. Now when he comes
before the roshi and is interrogated he wl respond with vigor and
alacrity where formerly h responses were confused and haltng.
He may even shout or bellow at te roshi, not out of irritaton or
resentment but because, freed to a large extent from the mental and
emotional constrictons which hterto bound hm, he can increas
igly sum on up the physical and psychc energies which have been
slumbering within him. As his zazen deepens ad his mind becomes
purged of its false values and deluive ideas, he may suddenly seize
te roshi' s baton and strike the tatar mat in response to a pointed
question. Or upon being asked to give a concrete demonstration of
hs understandng of a koan, he may spontaneously go through the
motons of slapping the roshi.
1
One able to respond unthinkingly in this
fashon is hovering on te brink of satori, although he himel is u
aware of it. Only the roshi, wit his long years of experience and
acutely discerg eye, ca gauge the exact degree of his compre
hension and give him the necessary direction ad encouragement at
this critcal point.
An accomplished roshi wl not scruple to employ every devce
ad stratagem, not excluding jabs with his ubiqutous baton (kotu)
when he believes it wljar and rouse the student's mind from its
dormant unawareness to te sudde realzaton of it true nature. It
not irequedy happes durg sesshn tt a novce wlhesitate to
1 Out of respect no student would actualy ste te rosh; he would stop short
of physica contac.
88 I
t
YAS UTANI S I NTERVI EWS WITH WESTERNERS
appear at even one daily dokusan. Instead of makng a spirited dash
for the line-up point when the dokusan bell rings, 1 he sits glued to
hs seat out of fear of being rebuked for having no ready solution to
hs koan. If he is not coldly ignored by the head mons (i the mon
astery) or by the montors (in a temple) for hs reluctance, thus prov
ing himself unworthy of even a cloutig to encourage him, very
liely in a strict monastery he wi b yanked from his seat and
dragged or pushed into dokusan. When, dispirited, he fmally appears
before the rosh, the roshi may castigate hm for hs fanthearedness,
then summarily dismss him without asking a question or makng a
comment. Or he may crack te student with his baton while he is i
the act of making his prostrations, and then order hm out with a rig
of hs handbel, leaving him, pained and bewildered, to reflect on the
reasons for ths peremptory dismissal.
This strategy of placing the student in a desperate situation where
he is relentlessly driven from the rear and vigorously repulsd in
front ofen builds up pressures within hm that lead to that iner
explosion without whch true satori seldom occurs.
However, such extreme measures are by no means uversal i
Zen. Generally, they are more common in te Rinzai sect than i the
Soto, less frequent in the temples than in the monasteres, where te
outward discipline is rigid and often harsh. Even so, it is an unusul
temple sessh that does not resoud to furious shouts of encourage
ment of the montors and failings of the kyosaku. Weterers unused
to the idea that beatings with a stck can precipitate kensho are al
ways surprised to lear that not only has the kyosaku been relent
lessly used on tose Japanese who have had satori at sesshin but that it
has actualy been asked for.
Contrary to wht many believe, te use of such force is not a
uquely Japanese expression of Buddsm. As we shall see in a later
section, the kyosaku itself is of Chinese origin, not Japanese, as are
1 W estemers atending their first sesshin are ofen puzzled ad confued by this
sight, construing it to be part of some prescibed ritual. Acually it is nothing of the
sort. The sudden claging of the bel for dokua afords release from the accuu
lated tension developed during the intensive efort at concntration. Simultaeouly
there is an uncontrolable urge to race to the roshi to be tested. Occsionally the
student who reaches the bell frst does not wait for a signal from the roshi but enters
the roshi's room at once.
EDIToR
'
s I NTRODUCTION j 89
other forcefu devices employed in Zen. Dogen is quoted by one of
his disciples as sayng that while in China he heard the folow
ing from a Zen master concerg zazn: " . . . When I was young I
ued to visit the heads of various monasteries, and one of them ex
plaied to me: 'Formerly I used to hit sleeping mons so hard that
my fst just about broke. Now I am old and weak, so I ca't hit them
hard enough. Therefore it is difcult to produce good monks. In
many monasteries today the superiors do not emphasize sitting
strongly enough, and so Buddhism is declining. The more you hit
them, the better, ' he advised me."
1
That an intense inner energy mut be aroused for the tremendous
efort of reaching enlightenment, whether it be instgated from the
outside by a stck or from the inside by sheer wl power, has been
taught by all great masters. It was uderscored by the Buddha him
self in an early sutra in the following words: " . . . One should with
clenched teeth, and with tongue pressing on paate, subdue, crush,
and overpower the mind by the mind, jut as if a strong man, having
taken a ver weak man by the head or shoulders, were to subdue him,
crush him, and overpower him. Then the bad harmul thoughts con
nected with desire, hate, ad delusion will pass away, disappear."2
The fact that there are Rinzai masters in Japan who seldom employ
the kyosaku and Soto masters who persistently use it only proves that,
in the last analysis, it is the roshi' s own personality together with the
training he himself received which determies his methods, ad not
the circumstance of the sect to which his temple belongs.
In the person of a genuine roshi, able to expound the Budda's
Dharma with a convction bor of his own profound experience of
Truth, is to be found the embodiment of Zen's wisdom and authority.
Such a roshi is a guide and teacher whose spirit-heart-mind is identcal
with that of all Buddhas and Patrarchs, separated though they be by
centuries in time. Without him Zen's past is lifeless, its future "power
less to be bor.'' Zen, as a trasmission from mind to mid, cherishes
pulsatg, living truth-truth in acton. Like music imprisoned in a
phonograph disc which needs electrical energy and a reproducig
1 Sources ofjapanese Tradition, edited by William Theodore de Bary, p. 254.
" The Satipatthana Sutta of the Maj_jhima Nikaya
(
translated by Soma Maha
Thera in his booklet Foundations ofMindfulness, p. iii).
9
0 1
YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVI EWS WI TH WESTERNERS
device to enable it to lve, so the Hear-mnd of the Buddha, en
tombd in the sutras, needs a Living Force in the person of an en
lghtened roshi to re-reate it.
In dokusan the rosh fuls the dual roles traditionally ascribed to
a father nd a mother. Alterately he is the strict, reproving father
who prods and chastens and the gentle, lovig mother who comforts
and encourages. When the student slackens hs efort he is coaxed or
goaded, when he displays pride he is rebuked; and conversely, when
he is assailed by doubt or driven to despair he is encouraged and up
lifted. A accomplished roshi thus combines stem detachment with
warm concer, fexbit, ad an egolesness which can never be
mstaken for weakness or fabbiess, in additon to self-confdence
and a comding air. Because hs words are charged with the force
and immedacy ofhis liberated personalty, what he says has the power
to rejuvenate the student's fagging spirit ad reivigorate his quest for
enlightenment despite pain, frustration, or temporary boredom.
But what the student responds to most keenly is the visible evi
dence of the roshi's lberated mnd: his chdlike spontaeity and sim
plicity, his radiace and compassion, his complete identication with
his (the student's) aspiration. A novice who watches hs seventy
eight-year-ld roshi demonstrate a koan with dazzlng swiftness and
total involvement, and who observes the fowing, efortless grace
with which he relates himself to any situation and to al individuals,
knows that he is seeing one of the fmest products of a uique system
of mnd and character development, and he is boud to say to him
sel in his moments of despair: "If through the practice of Zen I can
lear to experience life with the same immediacy and awareness, no
price wll be too high to pay."
All the roshi's unque sklls and compassion come ito full play
once he senses that the student's mid is ripe, i.e., barren of dscrim
natig thoughts and clearly aware-in other words, in a stte of ab
solute oneness-revealed variously i how the student strikes the do
kusan bell, how he walks into the dokusan room, how he makes his
prostratons, and the way he looks and acts durig dokusan. In a
variety of ways the roshi will prod and nudge this mid into mkig
its ow ultimate leap to satori. Up to t point the roshi's main efort
has ben directed toward cajolig and impirig the student to apply
hmself with energy and sigle-mdedness in hs concentraton, and
EDITOR' s I NTRODUCTI ON I 91
not to give way to weariess or despondency. But now he takes an
other tack. He shoots sharp questions at him, demanding instantane
ous answers, or he jabs hm suddenly with his baton, or slams at the
mat or table, all in an efort to pry apart the student's delusive mind.
In their efect on the student's mind these promptgs of the rosh
are like darts of rain on parched soil or shafts of lght in a dark room,
and they serve to advance his mind to the next critical point, the
stage where he feels encased in a "block of ice" or immured in a
"crystal palace."1 Now he virtually sees te truth, but he ca'lot break
out and take hold of it. The student knows that the roshi is uable to
predict the precise moment of satori, any more t he can "bestow"
satori on him. Nor can he himsel do any more tan strive wit al
his might and min to exhaust his thinking and reach a state of in
fantlike no-mindness (i.e., emptiness of mind).
2
Yet somehow the
fmal breakthrough, the sudden, decisive "somersault" of the mind
betokenng enlightenment, must occur. At this crucial jucture the
temptation, always potential, to anticipate when satori like a bolt
from the blue will strike, for better or worse,
3
bcomes irresistble.
It is the last deperate maneuver of the retreating ego to disrupt the
concentrated mind, plague it with thoughts, and arrest te utimate
leapsignifying complete and total self-abandonment-to freedom.
The roshi, aware that the student's mind can b jarred into making
this leap by a blow, a phrase, or some sound only if it is empty, will
take pais to poit out this temptation, warg the student that the
slghtest separaton from his koan (or oter spiritual exercise) may
prove fatal to satori-realization.
Eghtenment ca take place anywhere, not alone in the dokuan
room. Indeed, a number of students experience it whie lstening to
the roshi' s formal lectures. Their mnd fastens on a partcular phras,
which they may have read or heard from te roshi innumerable tmes
but which now, because the mind is ripe, assumes a fresh and startlig
signcance, servig as the spark to set of the inner explosion herald
ing satori. Some have come to enghtenment on a train or bus on
1
It is possible to remain "stuck" at this point for weeks, months, or even years.
These metaphors are ofen used in Zen to describe this "foretaste" stage.
2 To strive mightily to attain nomindncss may seem like a contradiction, but
the contradicion is logical, not a exstential, one.
3 Some have an unconscious dread of satori, belevig it my have a deleterious
efec on the mid. Needless to say, this is an uwarrated fear.
9
2 I YAS UTANI
'
s INTERVI EWS WI TH wEsTERNERS
their way home from sesshi. Usualy, but not always, satori fol
lows a period of intense concentration and absorpton.
In view of the foregoig, the itriguig words with which many
koans or mondo conclude, "With this the mon suddenly came to en.
lightenment" or "Then the mon's Mid's eye was opened, " wlbe
seen to be less imagiary than at frst supposed. Puzzled students fre
quently ask: "How is it possible to achieve satori as quicky ad easily
as these koas would have one believe? " What is important to ob
serve here is that the master's crucial phrase or blow which broke
open the disciple's deluded mnd was efective only because it came
at a time when the later's mind was ripe for this type of stimuus,
and that ths ripeness doubtlessly was the outcome of a long period
of zazen and a number of dokusan with the master. In other words,
koans i their formulaton reveal the precipitatig circumstances only;
they make no mention of the years of relentless, anous search for
truth which led to ths crowng experience.
The proof of the student's sa tori les i his abilty to respond i
stantly i a "live" way to questions which demand a concrete dem
onstration of the spirit of his koan.1 What convinces the roshi are
not merely the student's words or getures or silence (which can be
equally efective), but the conviction and certainty informing them,
i.e. , the comprehending look i the eye, the decisivenes of the tone
of voice, and the spontaeity, freedom, and thoroughness of the ges
tures and movements themselves. Thus it is possible for two diferent
students, one just enlightened and the other not yet, to respond with
identical words and gestures at dokusan and for the rosh to accept te
responses of the one and reject those of the other.
The roshi's acceptance of the student's demonstration is tacit con
flrmaton that the student has had a genune enghtenment,
2
even
though it be shallow as many frst experiences are. Where Zen difers
radica y from other Buddhist disciplines is precisely i this insistence
that the student demonstrate his Understndig "beyond all uder
standing," and not merely verbalize about it. What Zen values are
expressive gestures, movements, and phrases which spontaneously
issue from the deepest level of the total beig, and not arid explana-
1
For the nature of some of these questions, see pp. 227, 228.
2 Unfortunately, this is by no meas uniformly true. An easy-goig roshi will
often pass students who have not had a genuine satori experience.
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION I
93
tions, however subtle. An experienced roshi can determine with a
sigle question-or if te experience is profound, by merely a glance
-the fact of the student's enlghtenment, but by requring him to
submit to testig he is able to establsh, to the student's as well as to
his own satsfaction, the depth and lmits of such sa tori.
It is frequently claimed tat a genue enlghtenment experience
ought to be self-valdatig and hence no need for testing should arise.
But self-deception is as strong here as i other realms of human b
havior, even stronger perhaps because of the very nature of the en
lightenment experience. It is all too easy for a novice to mistake
visions, trances, hallucinations, insights, revelatons, ecstasies, or even
mental serenity for satori. The oceanic feelig experienced by certain
types of neurotcs has likewis been confusd with enlightenment
sice it conveys a sense of identity with te universe. For all these
reasons, and especially because te danger to the personality resultig
from such sel-decepton is real, Zen teaching hs always isisted that
satori be tested and confrmed by a master whose ow enlightenment
has, i tu, been sanctioned by an enlightened master.
If it is possible to deceive onesel about satori, it is equally possible
to experience the satori state of mind and not equate it with enighten
ment. Yasutani-roshi relates the story of one of his disciples livng in
the souter part of Japan whom he saw once a year at sesshi. In
the interval between the roshi's yearly visits this man had had an
iner realzation, but because he had not concomitantly had an emo
tional upheaval folowed by tears of joy he did not beleve tat what
he had perceived could be satori. The rosh, upon questionig him in
dokusan, felt that hs disciple's perception and iner understading
were such as to warrant testg, and he tereupon propounded
several "test" questions to him. To tis man's surris he found that
he could make ful and proper response, and the roshi confrmed his
realization. Though admittedly shallow, the satori was nonetheles
real. It should be observed here that the nature of the reaction to one's
ow enlightenment depends not only on te dept of the enighten
ment experience itself but also on one's emotional and mental make-
up.
.
This kid of testing needs to be distiguished from the testing re
ferred to as "Dharma combat" (hosse) which anciently took place
among Zen mons i Cha, and in Japan up until about the time of
94 1 YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVIEWS WilH WES TERNERS
Hakun, some to hudred years ago. Mons and laymen1 of vary
ing degrees of spirital strength would travel about the coutry in
a spiritual pilgrimage, searchg for Zen masters and deeply enght
ened mons against whom they could pit their Dharma "skill, " as a
means of deepenig and rouding out their ow enlightenment and
at the same time developig teachig teclques through testg the
spiritl strength of their ' 'adversary." The verbal thrusts and couter
thrusts that conttuted tese contests were later writen dow and
compiled into collectons of koas which are still widely used by Zen
students i Japan.
With the passig of hs frst koan the student enters a new phase
of dokuan. The tense and itense striving, alterating with moods
of uncertainty, dejection, and depair, which hitherto characterized
hs appearance before the roshi, give way to a relaxed, sel-con
fdent, and more nearly equal partnership wth the roshi. No more
is the rosh father and mother but a wse elder brother. To be sure,
the disciple's movements are stl gropig ad usteady, like those
of a puppy which has just opened it eyes on the world ad taken its
frst steps, but the "iron wal and silver moutain" no longer con
font him at every tu. Dokusa when it was not dreadf was
dreary, but now, moving from koan to koan, swallowig up whole
rivers i one gup ad re-reatig heaven and earth with the liftng
of a fger,1 he experienes a ever-widening sense of power and
freedom. For i graspig the spirt of the koans and throwing him
self wholeheartedly ito te diverse roles created by them, he is
able to expres vividly and forcefully i concrete sittions the truth
he has perceived. But perhaps the greatest miracle is hs feelng of
grattde toward hs teachers, toward Buddhas and Bodhsattas, to
ward al who have let a supporng hand and encouragig word i
hs hous of need. Now h of-repeated vow to atai perfect en
lghtenmet for the se of ahumanit takes on fresh and profoud
meanig.
1
Of whom the laya Ho i the most faou. My stories ad legends have
grow up about h faati lie. For a reference to one of h "Dhr
duels," see p. 171; see also "Hokoji" i seion Wa
2 A reference to the third case of Mumonkn, comonly called "Gutei's
Finger." The introduction to tl koa states: "When one grai of dut i lifed,
the geat univere i ivolved. When one blossom open, the whole world maifests
itself."
EDITOR
.
s I NTRODUCTI ON I 95
From what has been said it is clear that the roslli's role in Zen
training is transcendent. No one, nothing can take the place of a
deeply enlightened master, and fortunate ideed is the student whose
karma brings h into contact with one. But wise, compassionate
masters are hard to fmd nowadaysas they probably always have
bee. I it impossible, then, to undertake the practce of Zen without
a teacher? By no means. I the material comprising this section the
serious-mded student wl fnd answered by a outstanding con
temporary roshi virtually every question connected with practice
that is likely to arise for him. A thorough reading of this section,
therefore, along with the other sections, in which all the steps of
practce are clearly set forth, wil enable anyone to commence his
jouey on the road to enlghtenment.
A word may be in order as to how this dokusan matera was com
piled. It was my privilege to be able to act as interpreter for Yasutan
roshi for several years, a circumstance whch placed me in the uique
positon of being privy to the problems ofWesterers practcing Zen
uder him in Japan, and to the advice and instructons he gave them.
It occurred to me that if these questons and anwers could be recorded
they would be of icalculable value to students in the West and els
where who wished to disciplie themselves in Zm yet lacked com
petent teachers. Furthermore, tey would go a long way, I felt, to
ward dispellng the wdespread notion that Ze is deliberate mystif
caton or a "sadistic expresion ofJapanese culture," as some poorly
informed critcs have termed it.
The u of a tape or other recording devce was out of the question
since it would have made te students self-conscious and interfered
with their dokuan, and hence would never have been allowed by
Yasutan-roshi. On the other hand, for me to have attempted to make
notes during dokusan woud have been objectionable for the same
reasons, ad i any case would have been impossible if I were to make
an adequate iterpretaton. I thereupon tured to the idea of jotting
down in shorthand at te conclusion of each dokuan, whle the
dialogue was stll fresh i my mind, everything that had transpired.
I believe that despite my less tan perfect knowledge of Japanese I
have rendered a faithfu transcription of the substance of the dialogue
that passed between Y asutani-roshi and Ils ten Wester students.
Whenever I was in doubt I carefully verifed my understanding with
96 / YASUTANI
'
S INTERVIEWS WITH WESTERNERS
h. Stl, i t is possible that here and there I have faed to capture
the full nuance or favor of a comment by the roshi, and for any such
omissions I asswe responsibility.
y asutani-roshi consented to the publicaton of t material only
upon my assurg hm that it would do much to put ito corret
focu the nuerous distortions of Zen teachig current in the West.
The one condition he imposed was that no solutions to koan be
reveale, as they might hamper students who later practiced uder a
roshi. This conditon ha been complied with.
THE INTERVIEWS I 1 I STUDENT A (WOM
AN, AGE 6o ) I STUDEN: I feel myself a prisoner of my
ego and want to escape. Can I do it through zazen? Would you
please tell me the purpose of zazen?
Rosm: Lt u speak of mind frst. Your mid can be compared to
a mirror, 1 which refects everythig that appears before it. From the
te yo begi to t, to fel, and to exert your will, shadows are
cast upon your mind which distort it refections. This conditon we
cl deusion, which is the fundamental sicknes of human beings.
The most serious efect of ths sicknes is that it creates a sense of
dulity, in consequence of which you postulate "I" and "not-1." The
tut is that everything is One, ad this of course is not a numerical
one. Falsely seeig onesef confronted by a world of separate exst
ences, th is what creates antagonism, greed, and, inevitably, suferng.
The pupos of zazen i to wipe away from the mind these shadows
or deflements so that we can intmately exerience ou soldarity
with a life. Love and compassion then naturally and spontaneously
fow forth.
* * *
STUDEN: I am sitting in shan-taza as you have instructed me.
1 The rosh, like the Sixth Patrach, Eno, in his famous staz i comparg mid
not to the for of a mirror, for mind is formless, but to the mirror's powers of
refeion. Eno's vere reads: "Fundamentally no bodhi-tree emts/ Nor the fame
of a miror bright. J Sice all is voidness fom the begining f Where ca the dust
aght?"
S TUDENT A I 97
I have pain in my legs, but it is bearable. I am not bothered by many
thoughts and my concentraton is fairly good. But I really don't
know what my aim in sittng is.
ROSH: The frst aim of sittng is to unif the mind. For the average
person, whose md is being pulled in many directons, sustained con
centration is virtually impossible. Through the practice of zazen the
mind becomes one-pointed so that it can be controlled. This process
can be likened to utilizing the su's rays though a magnifg glass.
When the rays of the sun are focused they become, of course, more
intense. The human mind too fuctons more efciently when it is
concentrated and unifted. Whether your desire is to see into you
Self-nature or not, you can appreciate the efect on your well-beig of
md integraton.
STUDENT: Yes, of course. Now, I was sittg quietly doig zazen,
and ten I had a great deal of pain. I didn't know whether I ought to
try to endue the pain or to give up when it got too intense. My real
problem, in other words, is this: Shoud I bring my will to bear or
should I sit passively, without forcing myself?
ROSH: This is an important problem. Eventually you will reach
the point where you can sit comforably, free from strain or pain.
But from long habit of misusing our body and mind, in the begining
we must exert our will before we can sit with ease and equilibrium.
And tis inevitably entails pain.
When the body's center of gravty is established in the region just
below the navel, the entire body functions with greater stability. The
center of gravit in the average person is in the shouders. Moreover,
instead of sittng and walking with an erect back, most people slump,
placng an inordiate strain on all part of te body.
We likewise mis-employ our mind, playing with and harboring
all kd of usless thoughts. This is why we have to make a deter
mined efort to use the body and mind properly. At fmt it is u
avoidably painful, but i you persevere, the pain will gradually give
way to a feelig of exharaton. You will become physically stronger
and mentally more alert. This is the experience of all who do zazn
regulary and devotedly.
* * *
ROSH: Is there anything you want to ask?
STUDENT: Yes, I have several questions. The first is: Why did you
98 I
YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVIEws WITH WESTERNERS
have a sig put above my place saying I should not be stuck with the
kyosaku? Is it because you feel I am hopeless?
ROSH: I wa under the impression that you, le most W estemers,
did not le to be struck. The senor monitor has been stg ever
one hard, ad I tought if you were struck it might iterfere wth
your zazen. You don't md beig ht?
STUDET [sming] : Wel, most of the tme I don't, i I'm not ht
too hard.
ROSH: Yeterdy the youg woma sittg opposite you, who
happens to be Japaese, was struck with a great deal of force, to spu
her on of course. It was the frst time she had been ht and she was
so suprised ad bewildered that she left the sesshin immediately.
Fortately she came back today and told me what had happened,
so I had a sign placed over her sayg she was not to be stuck.
STUDEN: Anyay, I am glad to lear you don't t I am a
hopeless case.
This is my next point: Feeling energetic this morg, I began to
t: "I must empty my mnd of useless thoughts so that wisdom
may enter." Then, realizg that this was the work of the ego, I be
cme cscouaged. I felt le a donkey that could be made to move
ony by havig a crot dagled before its eyes.
Rosm: Do you wish enlightenment?
STEN: I don't know what enlightenment is. Yeterdy I told
you I wanted to bah my ego so that I coud become a litte wser.
I suppose I am more iterested i gettg rid of ego tha i ataining
enghtenment.
ROSH: Intrinic y tere i no egoit is sometg we ouselves
create. St, it is ts self-reated ego that leads us to zazen, so it is
not to be despisd. Zaen, as you have probably realized brings about
a atiton of te ego. You can also get rid of ego by abiding by the
re of ses h itead of folowing your ow inclnatons. I for
example, you don't wat to rise when the bel rigs for everone to get
up ad wal around, you are caterig to your ego ad so enhancig
it. The same i true of eatg. You sur ender to your ego each time
you decide to forego eatg communaly and go of to eat by your
s Now, sice ego is rooted i the subconsciouness, the only way
to uproot it is by a toroughgoing enlghtenment.
* * *
S TUDENT A I 99
STUDEN: I am ver tred ad my legs pa me terrifcally. I ca'.t
do good zazen ay more. I don't know what to do.
ROSH: Zazen requires considerable energy. If the body i not ft,
intense zzen is difcult. Unt you recover your stength sit com
fortably without straining yourself. When you feel strong again, you
can exert yourself. Mter that it is a mter of determinaton, of bring
ing your wlto bear. Energy ad unswering determnaton are both
necessar.
* * *
STUDENT: I have been workng by myself on the koa "What wa
the Face you had before you were bor?" I beleve I have the answer,
but would lie you to confm it. I have dwelt, for example, on what
I was like before I was bor ad what my parents were lie. I have
also thought of what I would be lie afer I am dead. I fact, in my
imaginaton I have already buried my ashe in a favorite spot. Have I
been working on this koa correctly?
ROSH: No, you have not. What you are giving me is a hypothet
cal picture of this koan. To deal wit it truly you mut be able to
aswer such queston as: I the world were detroyed woud the origi
na Face also be detroyed? If so, in what way?
STUDET: I ca't answer such qustons.
ROSH: T koa i no df erent from Mu. For the tme being
simply contnue with shika-taz unt you reach the point of
strongly wantng kensho. Then a koa lie "What i my Face before
my parents' birth? " or "What is Mu? " would be appropriate.
* * *
STUDEN: I speaking of makyo you have said that even psycho
logical isights about oneel are makyo. This is not only confuing
but also discouraging. I've had several insights about myself during
t seshin ad felt extremely elated. But now I'm confused and don't
know what to t.
Rosm: A your practice progresse many makyo wil appear. I
themselves they are not harmful, they may even be benefcial in some
measure. But if you become attached to or ensnared by them, they
can hinder you. I the deepest sense, even the Boatta Kannon
might be said to be attached to compassion, otherwise he would be
a Budda, free of a attachments. One obsesed by the idea of help
ing others feels constrained to aid those. who might b better of with
IO j YAS UTANI
'
S I NTERVI EWS WITH WESTERNERS
out such aid. Take a person with little money who lives simply. To
give him material thigs uesental to h simple way oflife woud
detroy that life. This woud not be kidess at al. A Buddha is com
passionate, but he isn't obsessed by the deire to save others.
Isights about oneself are valuable, of cours, but your ai is to
go beyond them. If you stop to congratuate yourself on your in
sights, your advancement toward realization of your Buddha-nature
wil be slowed. In the widest sense, everyhig short of true enghten
ment is makyo. Don't become concered about makyo or elated by
them. Don't allow yourself to be diverted by what are essentaly
transitory experiences. Only contue your practice devotedly.
* * *
STUDENT: About an hour ago durg zazen al at once the pai in
my legs disappeared and before I knew it tears began to fow and
I felt myself melting inside. At the same time a great feelig of love
enveloped me. What is te meaning of this?
ROsm: Zazen done with energy and devotion dispels our sense of
alienation from people and thgs. The ordiary man's thg is
dualistc; he thinks in terms of himself and of that which is ant
thetcal to him, and this is what causes his msery, becaue it gives rise
to antagonism ad graspig, which in tu lead to sufering. But
through zazen tis dichotomy gradually vanishes. Your compasson
then natrally deepens and widens, since your feelings and thoughts
no longer are focused on a non-xistent "I." This is what is happeng
to you. It is of course highly gratig, but you must go further.
Continue your concentraton wholeheartedy.
* * *
STUDENT: My practce is shikan-taza.
ROSH: Is there anything you want to ask?
STUDENT: Ye. Yesterday when I was tryig to sit with vigor, as
you had urged me to, I felt that my efort was mechanical, becaue
I had to push, so to speak, to acheve that state. Nevertheless, I sat
as I was told to sit, and when I was whacked with the kyosaku several
tmes the stck-wielder told me my sitting was very good. I myself
felt that my sitting at that tme was mehanical. This morg, i
stead of pushing, I felt myself suddenly being pushed, as it were. My
strength arose naturally and I felt that the qualt of my sittg was
better than that of the .sitting i whic I had to "push." Yet this
S TUDENT A I IOI
morg when I was struck by the monitor I was told: "You're
relaxg your efort ! Brace up! " I am re y confused.
ROSH: First of all, do not retain in your mind the words of the
person trng to encourage you. Listen to what he says and then for
get it. Of couse the type of sittng where vigor natrally Bows
forth, without having to "push" for it, is beter. Unfornately, it
is not always possible to maintain such vigor. That is why it is nece
sary to force yourself to sit fmly when energy doe't come forth
spontaneously. Bear in md that there is a causal relton beteen
your mechanical sitting, as you call it, ad te natal, easy sittg
you experienced later. I any event, the siter is not always the
bet judge of the quality of his sittg. The importat thg i not to
relax your eforts, not to give way to dulnes or tiredness.
* * *
STUEN: I had the sensaton of an object restg on my forehead
beteen the eyes. It was so strong that automatically my atenton
became riveted to it. But as you had istructed me to concentate
my mind in the pit of my abdomen, I brought my mind back. there.
Should I contue that way?
ROSH: If your mind naturaly ad spontaously goes to a point
beteen the eyes, it's a right to direct you concentaton there.
That is another way of concentatng.
* * *
ROSH: Has anyhing in particular happened to you?
STUET: I've had the sensation of the back of my head being
pushed up by my breath ad of my breath going dow to my loins.
Is t a makyo? If so, what should I do about it?
ROSH: Yes, t is also a kind of makyo. These thngs hve no
particular signifcance-they are neither benefcial nor harmful.
Don't embrace them, just go on earetly with your practice. They
arise, as I have poited out, when one is concentrating intensely.
STUENT: But why do they arise at all?
ROSH: CoWltless thoughts, lke waves on the sea, are consttly
bobbing on the surface of ou mind as a result of te fnctionng of
our si sense.1 Now, in our subconscious are to be found al the
residual impression of our lfe experiences, including those of pre-
1
The sixth sene, according to Buddhm, i the discimnatig faculty.
102 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVI EWS WI TH WES TERNERS
vious existnces, going back to tme imemorial. When zazen pene
trates so deeply that the surface ad intermediate levels of conscious
ness are stled, elements of this residuum bubble up to the conscious
mind. Thee we cal makyo.
Now, don't be enamored of them when they are pleasant, ad don't
become afraid when they are weird. I you clig to them-admre or
fear them-they can become a hindrance.
* * *
STUDEN: I have much pai in my legs. What can I do about it?
ROSH: I you have too much pain, it is difcult to concentrate.
But when your concentration becomes stong, instead of hobblng
you, pain wlspur you on if you u it bravely.
STUENT: I have another queston. What can I do when I get
sleepy?
ROSH: It depends on the nature of your sleepiness. If it is only
drowsines, you can do the folowing: swing the body lightly from
side to side several tmes, or rub the eye. I it is heavy sleepiness be
caue you haven't slept the night before, you can tr dipping your
face into cold water and vgorouly rubbig it. To awaken a fagging
spirt, the following is helpful: refect that death can come at any
moment either from sudden accident or serious iless, and resolve to
acheve enlightenment wthout further delay.
* * *
STUDENT: I am afraid I have done badly in ths my fst sesshin.
I have been uable to concentate at all. My mind has been distacted
and disturbed by te shoutig of the senors welding the kyosaku,
by the cracking soud of the kyosaku itel by the cars and tucks, by
te baby crg next door, by the dogs barking. Somehow I had
imagined I would come to a quiet temple in idyllic suroundings, but
it has tued out quite d erently. Beside my diappointment, I am
ashamed that I could do no better.
ROSHI: You needn't feel that way. I the begng everyone fds
it difcult to concentrate, because te mnd is so easiy distracted.
Ideally, of course, it is best to go to a quiet place when startg zazen.
That is why many Zen monks went and still go to solitary mountain
retreats. But it is not well to stay i such an atmosphere for long. A
one's powers of concentration develop and grow strong, one i able
S TUDENT A I 103
to do zzen in any kid of suroundingthe noisier the better, in
fact. With the cultvation of strong concentrative powers, one can
go dow to the noisiet part of the Gia1 and do zazen.
* * *
STUDENT: I have a long question whch wll take some time to
ask. I know there are many people waitg to see you, but because
tis is ver important for me I hope you wlpermi t me to ask it.
Rosm: Go right ahead.
STUE: Since the last seshi I have been atacked in my medita
tion by a variety of upleasat thought and feelings-and they
weren't makyo-about myelf about what I may call my untrue
nature. In your lecture ts morg you said tat when we empt
our mnd of all thoughts, true wisdom enters. You also spoke about
just seeing when we looked and just hearg when we listened. I
haven't been able to do ths, as my ego has always interposed itsel
Now, I don't know what kensho is, but if it is looking into one's true
nature, it seems to me that what I am doing is jut the reverse, namely,
lookig into my untrue nature.
ROSm: Before zazn we t we are superior beings, but as we
come to se ourselve more clearly we are made humble by the
kowledge of our evil thoughts and deed. But such comprehension
is itself the refecton of our True-nature. If we are walking in the dark,
let us say, ad come to a pine tree, we can't see aything of it. Then
a slver of moon appears and we observe pine needes on the ground.
As the moon beomes larger we see the trunk of the tree, and then,
when the moon is fu, the entire tre. Our percepton of al this is
te refecton of our Real-sel
STUDEN: May I ask another queton? I have sen and talked to
people who have had, I t some kd of enightenment experi
ence. Yet often they seem troubled by what I have been callig the
untrue natue. How is ths possible?
Rosm: It is true that there are people who have had a kensho ex
perience and yet who seem to be, morally speakig, inferior to those
who have not. How doe it happen, you ak. These enlghtened peo
ple have perceived the tuth that al lfe in its essental nature is in
divisible, but because they hven't yet puged themelves of their
The buest seon of dowtow Tokyo.
104
I
YAS UTANI
'
s INTERVIEWS WI TH WES TERNERS
delusive felgs and propesites, the roots of which are imbedded
deeply in the nconscious, they canot act in accordance wth their
inner vision. If they continue with zazen, however, gradualy their
character wl improve as they become cleansed of these defuemet,
and in time they wl become outstanding individuals.
On the other hand, those who have never had a kensho experience
and yet seem to be modest and nselsh conceal, so to speak, the real
condition of their md. On the face of it, these latter appear more
virtuous and steady, but because they have never seen into the truth
and therefore stl see the nniverse and themselves as separate and
apart, under great stress their seemingly fme character gives way and
teir behavior leave much to be deired.
* * *
STUENT [crying] : Just about fve minutes ago I had a frightful
experience. Suddenly I felt as though the whole nverse had crahed
into my stomach, and I burst out crying. I can't stop crg even
now.
ROSH: Many strange experiences take place when you do zazen,
some of them agreeable, some of tem, like your present one, fearu.
But they have no particular signifcance. If you become elated by a
pleasant occurrence and frightened by a dreadful one, such experience
may hinder you. But if you don't clg to tem, they wl natrally
pass away.
* * *
STUEN: Yesterday I described my experience of the whole n
verse rushng headlong into my stomach and of my terrible cryng
convlsions. After thnkg about it I feel that it came about because
somehow I was forcing myself. I t if I hadn't forced myself, it
would not have happened.
ROSHI: If you wat to do zazen in an easy, relaxed maner, that is
all right too. We can make this comparison. Three people want to
reach the top of a monntai where there is an exceptonally grand
vew. The frst doesn't want to exert hisel he wants to stroll; so
of cours it wltake him a long time to reach the top. The second, in
more of a hurry, walks with long strides, swging his arms as he
moves up. The third, in what seems like a leap and a jump, gets to the
top quckly and exclaims: "Oh, what a magnifcent sight!"
STUENT: Which way is best?
STUDENT B I 105
Rosm: It all depends on your state of mind. If you have plenty
of time, the frst way is satisfactory. But i you are eager to reach the
top quickly, natrally one of the other ways is better. Needless to
say, to move rapidly requires more energy. Furthermore, when you
exert yourself with passionate itensity you can expect untoward oc
currences, frightening as well as pleasant-in other words, what you
have been experiencing.
STUDENT: I would like to than you very much. I also want to say
that as I am returg to the United State next week this wibe my
last sesshin. While thee sesshn have been paiful in a number of ways,
they have also been enormously revealing. Without this last one in
particuar I wouldn't understand myself so well as I do, and I wouldn't
kow how to proceed further. I am very grateful to you for the
tremendous help you have give me.
2 I STUDENT B ( MAN, AGE
45 ) I STUDENT: My
koan is Mu.
ROSHI: To realiz the spirit of Mu you mut, wthout beig side
tracked, travel along an iron rail stretchng to infty. One halt, much
less many, will thwart enghtenment. The narrowest separaton from
Mu becomes a separation of miles. So take care, be vigilant ! Don't let
go of Mu even for a moment while sittng, standing, walg, eatg,
or workig.
* * *
STUDENT: I can't seem to get anywhere with Mu. I don't know
what I am supposed to uderstand or not uderstand.
ROSHI : If you could tuly say "I don't uderstand" after profoud
refection, that would be convcing, since in truth there is nothing
to understand. I the deepest sense, we uderstand nothg. What
can be know by philosophers and scientsts through reasonng is
only a fracton of the universe. If we imagine ths foutain pen I am
holding to be the entre universe, what is intellectually knowable is
the very tip of the pen. Can any phlosopher or scientst really say
why fowers bloom or why sprig follows winter? When we are't
conceptualizing, the deepest part of us is functonng-
STUDENT [interrptg] : Yes, I see that clearly, but-
ROSI [contnuing] : So if you can honestly say "I don't uder-
I
o
f YAS UTANI
'
s INTERVIEWS WITH WESTERNERS
stand," you nderstand a great dea. Now go back and work on t
koan more intensely.
* * *
STUDENT [excitedly) : I know what Mu is ! This is Mu in one situa
ton [picking up the rosh's baton]. In aother ths would be Mu
[lfting another object] . Other than that I don't know.
Rosm: That is not bad. If you really knew what you meant by "I
don't know," your answer woud be even beter. It is obviou that
you stll t of yourslf as an entty standing apar from other
entte.
A summary of my morg lectre was given in English to all the
foreigners, I ndrstand. Were you preent?
STUDENT: Yes, I was.
ROsm: Then you know how imperative it i to abandon the idea
of a "myself" standing in opposition to "others." Ths is an illusion
produced by a false view of things. To come to Self-realization you
must directly experience yourself and the nverse as one. Of course
you Wderstand t theoretcally, but theoretical Wderstanding is like
a picte: it i not the thing itelfbut only a representaton of it You
mut let go of logical reasonng and grasp the real thng!
STUDEN: I ca do that-yes, I ca!
ROsm: Very well, tell me at once what the size of the Real You
is !
STUDEN [pausig] : Well . . . it depends on the circumstance.
I one situation I may be one thing; in another, somethng else.
ROsm: Had you realzd the Truth, you could have given a con
cete aswer instantaneouly.
When I reach out with both arm t way [demonstratng], how
far do they exend? Aswer at once!
STUDE [pausing] : I don't know. Al I know is that sometime I
feel I am t stick and sometimes I feel I am somethg else-I'm not
sure what.
ROsm: You are alost tere. Don't becom lax now-do your
utost!
STUDENT c
I
107
3
/ S TUDENT C (MAN, AGE 4
3
) / [Every
student normally state the nature of his practice as soon as he comes
before the roshi in dokusan. Ths student's practice is Mu. To avoid
tiresome repetitons we have omitted this statement on the part of the
student at the openng of most of te dokuan.]
STUDENT: I fel Mu is everytg and nothing. I feel it i like a re
feton of the moon on a lake, with no moon ad no lake, only
refecton.
ROSH: You have a keen theoretcal grasp of Mu, a clear piture of
it in your mind; now you need to take hold of it directly. There is a
le a famous Zen master wrote at the tme he beame enlightened
which read: "When I heard the temple bell ring, suddey there was
no bell and no I, just sound." I other word, he no longer was aware
of a distncton between hmself, the bell, the sound, and the unverse.
This is the state you have to reach. Don't relax-strive on!
* * *
STUDENT: I have a complaint. Last night while waitng to go to
dokusan I was brusquely shoved and pushed and shouted at. I kow
this prodding was intended to spur me on, but all the same I felt
resentu.
ROSI: It is becaue you think of yourself as an "I" that you resnt
this kid of treatment. If your body and mind were one hundred.
percent united wth Mu, who woud be doing the resenting? At
that point you are like a simpleton, or like a punching bag: which
ever way you are puhed you go, because your ego, your willfuless,
has been banished. That is the time you directly realize Mu. Upon
reaching this stage you are fre of al resentments.
* * *
STUDEN: Yesterday I reached the high point of my efort; my
zeal, you said, was up to nety-fve percent. But today my burg
desire has suddenly left me. I feel completely dicouraged. I don't
know why.
ROSH: Don't become dcouraged, it is that way with everybody.
If you were a piece of machinery, you could functon steadily at high
speed, but a human being cannot. Consider a person ri4g a horse.
Ifhe is a good rider, he doesn't gallop his horse one moment and slow
it down to a walk the next. By keeping it going at a steady trot he i
in a beter positon to elicit a burst of speed when he wants it.
108 f YAS UTANI
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s I NTERVI EWS WITH WES TERNERS
If you relax completely and contnue ideftely at a walk or,
what is worse, stop from time to time, it wil take you a long time to
get to your detaton. The trouble may be that consciouly or u
consciously you are tg: "If I don't get enightenmet at t
sesshin, I will get it at the next." But i t were your last sesh in
Japan, you would become deperate and your deperation would
sweep you right into enlightenment.
Take these people attendig this special sessh1 with you. They
have only one chance a year to attend sesshn, and they feel that if
they do not attain kensho ths week, they wl have to wait another
year for the next sessh. So they do zazen with tremendous energy
and devotion. Thee of the group have already gotten kensho.
Don't relax your eforts, otherise it wl take you a long time to
achieve what you are after.
* * *
STUDENT: My mnd is freer of thoughts now than it has been for
most of this sessh, but I am stil bothered by a few recurring ones.
I suppose it's becaue I have read so much about Zen i the past and
refected on it.
ROSHI: Ye. You will realize your True-natre only after your mind
has become as empty of thoughts as a sheet of pure white paper is
free of blemishes. It is simply a matter of engrossig yourself i
Mu so totaly that there is no room for thoughts of ay kind, in
cluding Mu itsel
* * *
ROSHI : Don't be heedless even for an instant. I you are attentive
while sittng in zazen yet permt your eyes and mind to wander
when you arise, you disrupt your concentrated md. Are you follow
ing what I am sayig?
STUDENT: Ye, I am, but all this really has not to do with
me. I am always attentve.
ROSHI : Wel, it is possible to be inattentve without realzig it.
Besides, there are degrees of attentivenes. If on a crowded trai you
are watchful that your wallet is not stole, that is one Y.ind of md-
1 Y asutai-roshi holds this seven-day sesshin once a yea i Hokaido, the north
C islad of Japa.
S TUDENT c I 10
fulness. But if you are i a sitaton i which you might be kiled at
any moment-ung wartme let u say-the degree of your aten
tiveness is far greter.
To become lax eve for a second i to separate yoursel from Mu.
Even when you go to bed contnue to absorb yoursel i Mu, and
when you awaken, awaken with your mind focud on Mu. At
every momet your entre atenton mut be concntated on pene
tratng Mu-so much so that you become possessed, lie a lover.
Ony then can you attai enghtenment.
* * *
ROSH: You know how to do zz poperly. You also hve a
excellent mental picture of Mu. But i you wat to ac y experience
Mu, you must discard t portrait of it lodged i your discsive
mid. The roots of ego-forming ideas are deep in the subconcious
mind, out of reach of ordinar awareness, so they are hard to elimi
nate. To get rid of them you must become absolutdy one wth Mu
when wang, eatig, working, sleeping, excretng. You must not
only concentate your mind but control your eyes as well, for whe
the eyes aren't riveted dow thoughts arise, te mind strs, ad before
you know it you have parted from Mu.
As I have said, you know the proper way to concentate, but your
concentraton is stlweak. You have a tendency to dawdle at tme
or to busy yoursel wth extaeous maters. Whe this is not bad in
itel it is fatal for one aspirng to re h Tre-nate, as te mind
is constantly beig distacted. You w become enlightened only
after you hve poued te whole forc of your being ito oneness
wth Mu.
* * *
STUET: I stggle with a my might and mi to become one
with Mu, but because that whch is not Mu is equally strong, Mu
doen't prevail. As a matter of fact, the stronger Mu become, the
stronger the force opposed to it, so I have come to fed that I am
"beteen to worlds, one dead, te other powerles to be bor."
Franly, I am at a loss to know what to do. A greater stength than
what I possess is necesary-of this I am convced.
ROSH: What you are tryng to do can be compared to this [push-
I IO / YASUTANI
'
s INTERVIEWS WI TH WESTERNERS
ing one hand agaist the other] . Once you realize Mu, you know
that notg can be opposed to it, since everything is Mu.
Now you can begin to appreciate why the kyosaku is used-to
help you exer yourslf beyond your normal capacity. But as you
dislie the kyosaku, I can ask the chef monitor to slap you hard on
the back from tme to time. With that as a spur you can mobilze
greater strength and energy than you have up to now.
* * *
ROSH: Were this a cerain large monastery and you came before
te roshi in dokusar. as you are now doing, he would shrly demad:
show me Mu! " If you couldn't show him, he would war you not
to retur util you could. Dismayed, you woud find excuses to sty
away from dokusan for fear of beig rebuked becaue you had no
real answer to Mu yet. On te other hand, if you didn't go volun
tariy, you would be yaned of your seat by the head mons and
puhed or dragged into dokusan. Not knowig which way to turn,
you might out of sheer desperaton produce the answer to Mu.
For a varety of reasons we don't employ such measures here.
But exert this presure on yoursel Come before me feeng that,
come what may, you wl demonstrate the truth of Mu. Now go
back to your place and do your best !
* * *
ROSH: I see you st haven't penetated Mu . . . . Why not?
You begin by concentratng intensely, then you slacke of For a
tme you hold on to Mu the way I am holding on to my baton
[grasping baton tightly wt both hands]. Then you relax like this
[dropping baton]. That will never do ! When you walk ony Mu
walks, when you eat ony Mu eats, when you work only Mu works,
and when you come before me ony Mu appears. Prostrating your
self it is Mu that prostrates. Speakig, it is Mu that speaks. Lyg
dow to sleep, it is Mu that sleeps and Mu that awakens. Having
reached the poit where your seeing, your hearing, your touching,
your smellg, your tastg, and your tg are notg but Mu,
suddeny you directy perceive Mu.
* * *
ROSH: To come to the reazation of Mu you must get into the
state of a lover who has a mid ony for his beloved. The average
STUDENT c I I I I
prson concers hmself with any number of trivia] details: the time
of day, hs day dres, random thoughts whch enter hs mid. But
a lover, wit h mid centered wholly on hs beloved, is i a trance
lie state. He is rater lke a simpleton in that his mind focuses in
but one diecton. You wi suely beome eghtened once you
at to such single-midednes wth respect to Mu.
* * *
STUDEN: At diferent tm you have told me that every single
object is Mu, that I am Mu, and so on. What am I supposed to do
wth these hint? Thnk about them dung my zazen, and i so, in
what way?
ROSHI: No, don't th about them in your zazen; these hint are
for the moment only. If they open your md to the direct awareness
of Mu, well and good. If not, forget about them and retr to ques
tonig "What ts Mu? "
STUET: A little whle back when I was concentating simply on
Mu, my powers of concentraton were fairly strong. I could easily
focus my mid on Mu without the interference of variou thoughts.
But ever sice you told me I mut thnk of the meaning of Mu, that
I must keep querying myslf "What is Mu? " my mind has been
opened to a barrage of thoughts which hnder my concentraton.
Rosm: Your purpose in doing zazen is to experience satori. Satori
and joriki, which is the Japanese name for the power growing out
of zazen, whle closely related are nevertheless two diferent things.
There are those who do zazen for years, with strongjoriki, yet never
come to satori. Why not? Because in their deepest unconscious
they can't disabue themselves of the idea that the world is exteral
to them, that they are a sovereign individuality independent of and
opposed by other indvdualities. To renounce such conceptions is
to stand i "darkness. "1 Now, satori comes out of ths "darkness,"
not out of the "light" of reason and worldly knowledge. In the itense
asking "What is Mu? " you bring the reasoning mnd to an impasse,
void of every thought, even as you gradually destroy the tenacious
roots of I and not-1 i te unconscious md. Ts dynamic kind of
self-inquiry is the quickest way to satori.
Joriki is, of course, essntial, but if your aim is no more than that,
1 In Zen it is said that "the grand round miror of wisdom is 8 black as pitch."
1 12 I YAS UTANI
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s I NTERVIEws WITH WESTERNERS
you ca do zazen for years witout comg any closer to your goal
of satori. On the other had there are many people whose jori is
comparatively weak ad yet who attain satori.
STUE: Why, then, should I bother to develop jori?
Rosm: Ony because you canot carry on spirital practce uess
your thoughts and emotions are uder natal retraint. Once you
acquie t natal control through jori., you are no longer com
pulsively driven. You are free to experience attractve sights or sounds,
let u say, or to igore them, with no aftermath of remorse. Never
teless, ut enghtenmet your view of the world and your relaton
to it wl be blur ed-in other word, stl domated by the idea of
"sl'' ad "other"-and you wlbe msled by your imperfect vision.
Sel-realzation can com, as I have said, with ony a little zazen
ad correpondigly ltte jorik, but wthout jori it i difcult to
redirect one's habitual actons so that they accord with the tuth
one has experienced. It i only after eightenent, when one no
longer se the world ad himsel as two, that one's potentialtes
uold to their fullest, provided always one contues with zazen and
the development of jor.
STUET: I can appreciate al that, but my problem stlis: How
am I to entertain the queston "What is Mu? " when I fd it entirely
meanngless? I can't even formulate the queston for myself much
les reolve it. Ifl were to say to you "What is baba?"1 it would have
no meag for you. I fmd Mu equally meanigless.
ROsm: That is predsely why Mu is such a excellent koan! To
re you Sel-nature you hve to break out of the cul-de-sac of
logic and aysis. The ordinary question demads a ratonal anwer,
but trng to anwer "What i Mu? " ratonally is lke tryig to smash
you fst through an iron wall. Ths queston forces you into a realm
beyond reasong. But you efort to solve it is not without meag.
What you are really tg to fnd out i "What is my True-sel?"
Though the way I have specifed you can discover it. I you prefer,
you may ask yourself: "Wht i my True-sel?"
STUE: Or what am I? or who am I?
Rosm: Ye, exactly.
* * *
Unwittigly the student chose a word which h several meaings i Japaese.
S TUDENT c
I 1 1 3
STE [rg i, pantg] : I must tell you what happened to
me a shor whe ago. I practcally blacked out.
ROSm: You mean that everg went black and you couldn't se
at all ?
STUDENT: Not quit. Everg grew dark, but there were litle
holes of light i ths blckess. Th has happened several tmes.
What is te signcance of it?
Rosm: It i a makyo, provg you have reached a critcal, half-way
point. Makyo do not occur when you are dawdling, neither do they
appear when your practce has ripened. Such occ ences indicate
the itensity of your concentation. It is extremdy important that
you not separate yourself one hair's breadth from you koan. Don't
become heedless even for a moment. Don't let a single tg ds
rpt your concetration. You must now directly realize Mu! Only
4
, ..
one more step.
STUDENT: My md is ful y concentrated. I've been in deep
samadh.With my heart and soul I've been askig "What is Mu? "
Rosm: Excelent!
STUDENT: But I have this difculty. Al of a sudden my hear
begins to beat ver fast. At oter tmes my breath disappears from
my nose and I feel it i te bottom of my stomach. I don't know
whether t is something to worry about or not. Also, when I hear
te chief monitor cloutg everbody with the kyosaku, shoutg at
tem to concentate wth every last bit of energy, ad I hear them
snortg and pufg, I don't kow wheter to continue in my ow
way, meditatg quietly, or to strain and push lke the others around
me.
Rosm: I can only repeat: you have reached a crucial point. When
I was practcing at Hosshi-ji may years ago, I too reached the stage
where my heart began to beat violently ad I didn't know what to
do. A you know, the kyosaku is used relentlessly at that monatery
and everbody is contualy urged to do his utmost. When I put
the problem to Harada-roshi, he said notg-notg at al. Tis
meat that I mut feel my ow way, for nobody could tell me what
to do. I I continued, I felt I mght faint. On the other hand, if I
slackened my efort, I knew I woud fall back.
I wtell you this: If you sit quiety and mark tme you wlnever
come to Self-realizaton. For enlightnment you have to penetrate
1 14 f YASUTANI
'
s I NTERviEws WITH WESTERNERS
Mu with your last ounce of energy; you absorption must be complete
and unfaterig. Deep i our subconsciousness the conception "me"
and "other" is strong. We t: "I am here; what is not me is out
there." This is an illuion. Inherently there is no such dichotomy.
You know al this theoretcally of course, but ts "I" is so powerfully
imbedded that it can't be uprooted by reasong. I single-minded
concentraton on Mu you are not aware of "I" standing against what
is "not-1." If the absorpton i Mu contnues without intrrupton,
the "1-ness" dies out in the subconsciou md. Suddeny "Plap!"
tere is no more duality. To experience this directly i kensho.
Don't wobble now. You are at a crcial stage. Sit devotedly!
* * *
ROSH: You stlhaven't seen into Mu, have you? . . .
STUDEN: I feel that the bell beside you, the tree out there, and
I should be one, but somehow I can't drectly realize ths oneness.
I feel as though I am bound in chains, i a prison from whch I can't
ecape. I jut ca't break out of duality.
Rosm: It is just such notons tat are thwarg your realzton
of Mu. Get rid of them! Ony through unthinking absorpton i Mu
c you acheve oneness.
Let me ask you a queston. When you de does ever around
you die too?
STUDENT: I don't know-1 haven't had tat experience yet.
Rosm: When you die all thngs die wit you, because you no
longer are aware of them; they exist relatve to you, don't they?
STUDEN: Yes, I suppose so.
ROSH: Therefore when you disappear the entre universe d
appears, and when the universe vanhes you vansh with it.
Remember, ay stulus ca produce the sudden reaaton of
Mu, provded your mid i empty and you are uaware of yoursel
Five hours remain before the end of the sesh. If you concentrate
with all your mind you wlsurely attain enlightenment.
* * *
ROSH: You look as though you have almost grasped Mu.
Watch ths electric fa beside me. I t it on [demonstrating).
The blades rotate. Where doe the rotaton come from? Now I shut
of the fan. What has happened to the rotaton? Isn't that Mu? When
S TUDENT c I 1 1 5
I ask stdents to show me Mu some sei my baton, others hold up
a fmger, stl others embrace me, le t [embracing stdent].
STUDE: I know althat, but i I did it, it would be premeditted,
not sponteous.
Rosm: That is tre of course. When you actally experience Mu
you wbe able to respond spontaneously. But you mut stop reason
ig and just engross yoursel in Mu.
STUE: I understad that too, and I am trying to do it.
I had a tste of Mu the other day when I shouted at the monitor
for string me when there was a "Do not strie" sign above me.
ROSH: That feling ofMu was wonderul, wasn't it? At the momet
you shouted at him there was no duality, no awareness of yourself
or him-jut the shout. But because that awareness was only partal,
it disappeared. Had it been complete, it would have surved.
Don't lose your grip on Mu no mater what happens. Strve on!
* * *
STUET: I have no particular quetions to ak. All I wat to say
is that I feel ver dull today. My mind is fuzy and I can't con
centrate at all.
ROSm: That's how it is wth human being. Sometmes our mind
is sharp and clear, at other tme dul and lstles. Te importt
thing is not to let this worr or hamper you. Jut contue wth your
zazen resolutely.
* * *
ROSm: Stilyou have't come to reaton-! wonder why w
I have repeatedy told you to abadon reasoning, to stop analyz
ig, to give up a intellecton. Free your mind of notons, belie&,
assumptons. I hit you with my baton [sting studet]. You cr
"Ouch!" That "Ouch!" is the whole universe. What more i there?
Is Mu diferet from that? I this were fre and you touched it, you
would also cry out and pul your had away, woudn't you? Most
people think of fre as somethng tat provide heat, or a a proces that
results from combuton, and so forh. But fre is jut fire, and when
you bum yourself by it and yell "Ouch!" there i only "Ouch!"
STUDET: What am I lacking? You are enghteed and I am not.
What is the di erence between your touchng fre and inie?
ROSm: No dif erece at a , absolutely none! A verse i t
n6 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVIEWS WITH WESTERNERS
Mumonkan reads: "When the sun shine, it rays spread troughout
the ear, / When there is rain te earth becomes wet." I ts there is
neither beaut nor uglnes, neither ve nor evi, notng ab
solute, notg limited.
STDET: I want to see it that way, to accpt ale tat way, but
I can't.
ROSH: Tere is nothng to accept. Al you need do i jus see
whe you look, jus her whe you liste. But the average m ca't
do tat. He is constnty weaving ideas ad embroidering notons
about what he experiences. Yet when you touc a red-hot stove
ad cry "Ouc!" the simple ad obviou fac is "Ouc!" Is tere any
meaning beyond that?
STDET: I understad a t intl e y, but it doesn't hep.
ROSH: Take you udestading as jut udestading. You must
get rid of all ideas
STUDENT [interruptng] : I had no ideas untl I came here. I was
jut concetatng on Mu wth a my might and not tg of
anytng else.
ROSH: Ver wel. When you ret to you plac, stop stiving
to acieve unity wit Mu and profoudy queston yousel "Why
can't I rele that whe I hear there is noting more than herig?
Why can't I realie tat whe I look tere i nothg more tha
seing?"
STUDET: I kow what I am supposed to do, but I ca't do it.
ROSH: There i nothing you are supposed to do, nothing you are
spposed to uderstand. You have only to grasp te fact tat when it
rains te groud get wet, tat when te su shines te world be
comes bright. Take uderstanding as understdig, ad as noting
else. If you t "I mu nt understad" or "I mus uderstand"
you are adding anoter "head" to te one you already have.1 Why
can't you accept tings as tey are [in ter te nate] ?
STUET: I suppose this is my touble: subconsciously I am
tg: "I am one indivdual, you tere are anoter."
ROSH: But i you disabuse youel of this fmdamental error, in a
fa satori wcome and you wexclaim, "Oh, I have it!"
* * *
Tat i, multiplyg thought un ecesy.
Rosm: What is ths
[No repons]
S TUDENT
c I
117
[tapping studet
on soulder wit
baton] ?
It is Mu-ny Mu! When I clap my hd [clapping) it is jut
Mu. There is notng you need "fgure out" or speculate about. I
you t to make even te smallest deducon or. the baret analysis,
you wl never come to the realiaton of Mu.
STUET: I feel tat I a pushing against myslf a te tme.
Rosm: Cut out specuatg about it! Stop uing your hed! Jut
become completely one wit Mu and you wl positvely come to
Sel-reliaton.
Actlly tere is no "myself" to push against. Mu i everg,
Mu is Notng. So long as you conscouly or unconsciouly believe
that you are you and everg else is di erent from you, you wl
never peetate Mu. You are close to kensho. Oly one more step!
Be alert! Don't sparate yourse fom Mu by so muc as te tck
nes of a tn sheet of paper!
* * *
STUET: As a result of te explanaton you gave me yestrdy,
I no longer associate "I" wit my body or actons. But when I as
mys "Wo i it tat kows all tat? " I conclude tat I am te
kower. Am I back where I stred?
Rosm: The followng is vitl for you, so listen carefuly.
Your md, like a miror, reect everg: ts tble, ts mat
whatever you see. If you don't perceve anyting, te miror refects
itelf. Now, everybody's mnd is di eret. How my mnd refects
object difers from te way yours does. Whatever is in your mnd is
te refeton of your mind, teefore it is you. So when you perceve
tis mat or t table you are perceiving yoursel Again, whe you
mind is devoid of all conceptons-i.e., opinion, ides, point of
view, values, noton, assumptonsyour mind is refectg itel
Ts is te conditon of udiferentaton, of Mu.
Now, aths i merely a pictre. What you have to do is directly
grasp te tuth yousel so tat you are able to say, "A, of course! "
Ths is enlightement.
* * *
Rosm: You stl have't take hold of Mu-tat i too bad.
STUDET: I haven't, I am sorry to say.
Rosm: Mu is notng you ca fel or tate or touc or smell.
us f YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVI Ews wiTH WES TERNERS
And i it has shape or form, it i s not Mu. What you have i you
mind is merely a picre of Mu. You must discard it-
STUENT [interruptng] : I c assue you I have no picre in my
mind!
nosm: Mu is beyond meaning and nomeang. It canot he
known eiter by the senses or by te discursive md. Get rid of
your false notons, and Awareness wl abruptly come to you. But
you must apply yourself more ferety. You must cling to Mu
more tenaciously, le a hungr dog wit it hone. Concentate
Mu! Mu! Mu! with all your hea.
* * *
nosm: I c tell from te way you wal in here that you are stll
not one wth Mu. You are wobblng-your mind is ,distracted
If you were one wth Mu, you would come before me wit an
Wurried yet fm gait, wholly absorbed, a though you were
carryng the most preciou treasure in te world.
STET: Anyway, I am no longer i duaty as I used to be.
When I laugh I don't t "I am laughng" hut "just laughing. "
The same when I feel pai, and te same wth everg else.
ROSHI: That is a right, hut i you want to reale your True
nature, you must not pause to indulge in self-congratulation. If you
do, you wl separate yourself from Mu and land in the very duality
you are tryng to escape fom. For enlightemet all you need do is
achieve total oneess with Mu, notng more. You must empty your
mind of all delusive notions and become like a sleepwalker carrying
a fragile treasure that coud be broken wit one misstep. There mut
be no wobblg, not the slghtest.
STUDENT: I feel I a not fr from elightenment, but somehow I
can't sumon up that last push.
nosm: The realizaton of your Self-natue can he compared to
this [placing the palm of one hand over the palm of te other]. Ths
top hand is le a large stone. It represents te average person's mind,
a mind dominated by delusive thought. The botom hand represents
enlightement. In reality tese are merely two aspects of the One.
Now, in order to tur over te top hand you must us temendous
force, for this md is heavy wth delusion. "Force" means uremit
ting concentration. If you meely "raise" ths mind on top slightly
ad then let it "dop" again, you wnever experience your True
STUDENT c I 1 19
natre. You have to overur it in one fell swoop, lke ths [demon
statng wt a fast, vgorous movement] ! And lo and behold! there
i te mnd of enlightenment, vvd and spotless !
Don't relax-do your utmost!
* * *
ROSH: You have somethng to say, haven't you?
STUET: Yes.
ROSH: G right ahead.
STUET: You told me to ask myself: "Why ca't I just see when
I am looking? Why can't I just hear when I am lstening? Why can't
I uderstad tat when I get hit wit your baton and cr 'Ouch! '
tat 'Ouch! ' i s the whole unverse? " My aswer is that I see this
baton, for example, a a baton in its limited aspect and as no more.
I see this mat a just a mat. I hear a soud as a soud but as nothing
else.
ROSH: You are looking at things one-sidedly. Suppose I cover
my head wit my robe and rais my hads in the a. If you see only
my hands, you are lkely to t tere are just two objects. But if I
ucover myself, you see tat I am also a person, not merely two hands.
I the same way, you must realie tat to vew objects as separated
entites is only half te tut.
Now let us go a step frther. Conider this electric fan beside me.
It is related to its stand, its stnd to te table, the table to te foor,
the foor to te room, the room to the house, te house to te ground,
te groud to te sky, the sky to te universe. So ths fa doesn't
exist merely by itsel it is related to te whole universe, and when
it moves te universe moves. Of cous what I have just told you i
not the expression of reality but only an explanaton of it.
Again, take a ccle wt a nucleus. Witout the nucleus tere i
no circle, witout te circle, no nucleus. You are the nuceus, te
circle is te unvers. If you exst, te universe exst, and i you
disappear, te unverse lkewise dsappears.
1
Everg i related
and iterdependent. This box on the table has no independent ex-
1
Compare: "Because I am, heaven overhangs ad earth is upheld. Because I am,
the su ad the moon go roud. The fu seson come i succession, althings are
bor, because I that is, becaue of Mid." (Eisai-zenji i the Kozen-Gokoku
Ron.)
120 I YASUTANI
'
s INTERVI EWS WITH WESTERNERS
istence. It exst in reference to my eye, which see it diferently
fom yous ad diferety again from the next person's. Accordingly,
i I were blid, te box would ceas to exst for me.
Let us take anoter example. Suppos you eat sugar while you are
sick. It taste biter, so you say, "It i bitter," but someone else says,
"It is sugar, it is sweet." For you the sugar is nonetheles bitter. The
bitteress of te sugar, ten, also is relative to your taste; its quality
depeds on you.
All exstece is relatve, yet each of us creates his ow world;
ec perceive accordig to the stte ofhis ow md.
STUET: I uderstand a tat teoretcally. I can apprecate tat
if the sun disappers, I disappear, but I can't conceve that I am the
su or te whole universe.
Rosm: But you are. If whe you die the universe die with you,
you and the universe are not sparate ad apart. Enlightement
i no more than the realizaton tat the world of discaton and
te world of udiferentaton are not two. When you directly and
positvely experiece this, you are elighteed.
STUET: What, then, is Mu? Is it te reton of te udiferen
tated?
Rosm: To realize the udi erentated is a necesar- fst step, but
te realiaton is incomplete i it goe no frther. Afer you have
seen into your Truenate-i.e., become elighteed-you see
all objects as temporary phenomea udergoig edles cange, but
you see them i ad trough te aspect of samees. You the under
stad tat without te udiferentated tere can be no individual
exsteces.
I can ilutate what I a saying wit this paper fan. One side has
many stpes, as you see; the oter is pure white. The white side ca
be called te udiferentated, te side wit te stipe, te discrimi
nated. What make the stipe appear as stripes i the white, or u
di erentated, side of te fan. Conversely, what make te white
sde meaningfl is the stripe. The are two aspect of te One.
But while the dscriminated aspect i subject to ceaseless transforma
ton, that which i udiferentated is chgeless.
Since you are a philosophiclly-minded person, rater tan tryig
to become one with Mu, I t it would be beter for you at this
STUDENT D I 121
point to dwelupon what I have jut told you until suddely you per
ceive your Self-nture. Is t clea? That wl be your practce from
now on.
4
I STUDENT D (WOMAN, AGE 40) I STDENT:
I am doing shika-taza.
ROSH: I notced you last night sitting with your hands clenced in
you lap ad staing hard. I shikan-taz it is unecessar to strain.
STUDENT: Everybody aroud me was stainng and puhg, so
I tought I should too.
ROSH: Most of tem are novics workig on teir fst koa.
If they do not stain, whatever concentratve stength they develop
dissipats itself quicy, so tey must struggle constady to main
tai it. It is like lerg to write te Chinee ideograms. At frst you
have to bear dow with force as you pal y form the characters,
but later, whe you have lered how to make tem, you can of
course write ef ortlesly. You are experenced at zazen, so you need
not strain yourself.
STUDENT: I must admit tere are tmes when my concentaton
is strong without forcig mysel But for satori isn't it neessay to
do zazen forcefully?
ROSH: Shika-taza is practcd in te faith that such zzen is itself
the actualiztion of you pure Budda-natre, so it is un ecessar
to strve sel-onsciously for satori.1 You must sit with a mind whic
is alert and at te same tme unurred and composed. Ths fid
must be like a well-tuned piano stg: taut but not overtght. Also
remember that in a sesh you are helped by everyone else through
ths communal sittng, so you need not strain yoursel
Last night I obsered you laughing ad cryng. Did you exper
ience anythg uuual?
STDENT: I was absolutey witout wl . I felt as though I had
crushed everg, nothing remained, and I was joyous.
ROSH: Tell me, have you ever had anete about death?
STUET: No, I have not.
.
1
Compare: "Eightenent ad prctce WC MC.
M
-Dogen.
122 1 YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERvi Ews WITH WE STERNERs
Rosm: People who are toubled by the tought of dying often
have their anietes relieved by an experiece like yous.
Did your way oflooking at things chage at al?
STUENT: No. Mter it was over I felt no diferent, I regret to say
[smilg wanly].
ROSH: Did the feelg of opposton, of yoursel stnding against
te exteral world, disappear at all, even momentarly?
STET: Well, my feeling was ony one of tremedous eaton,
because I felt tat everg had been reduced to nothing.
ROSH: Mter that did you former state of mind retur?
STUDENT: Ye.
ROSH: Al rght, jut sit dilgently without staing yoursel
5 I STUDENT E ( MAN
'
AGE 4) I STUDENT: I
a doing shian-tza.
ROSHI: Is there aytng you wish to say or as?
STUDENT: Y es.When I was struck by a certin one of the monitors
I had a most unfavorable recton. I felt that, in a sadistc way, he
realy enoyed stg me, so I couldn't raise my hads in grattde
to him as with the others. I terefore request tat I not be struck by
hm ay more durig ths sesshin. I don't mind being hit by the other
monitors, since te strikings are stmulatng and encouraging, but
when this certain person hit me te efect is just the opposite.
ROSH: When you are stck you sould not t, "So-and-so
has hit me in such-and-such a way," nor otherwise tr to evaluate
you recton. Ony raise your hands, palm together, in gr:-.titude.
There are may people who fmd it disagreeable to be hit and who
cannot do good zaen if they are. When they request it, a sign is
place above ter siting plac saying they are not to he struck. This
can be done in your case if you wish.
STUDENT: I don't mind being stuck by the others. To test my
reacton, I signaled one of the other monitors to strike me. When he
did I had no adverse reaction such as I had with this particuar person.
I fact, I foud it easy to raise my hads palm to palm. But it was
quite diferent with the oter m.
ROSH: Of cours the monitors shoud take care to ht only the
sof par of the shoulder, not the bone. This being summer, the
y
STUDENT F I 123
should not hit too hard, because everyone i' wearing light clothing.
As a matter of fact, when we had new stcks made yesterday they
were purposely made out of soft wood so tat tey would not hurt.
But of course one can be strck too hard.
STUDENT: I don't know but tat my reaction mght not be a knd
of makyo. Natraly I will do whatever you suggest, but I thought I
ought to tell you about it.
Rosm: The important thing is not to make a problem of it.
* * *
STUDENT: I am practicig as you have instructed me. I have no
questions. I came because tlls is my last dokusan ad I want to than
you for your kndness.
ROSHI: Even though you have no questons to ask, it is well to come
to dokusan, for this reason: there is a tendency to become lax sitting
by yourself. Coming before me tightens up your practice so that
you can resume it with greter energy and determinaton.
6
I
STUDENT F (WOMAN, AGE 45 ) I STDENT:
When I come here before you I get a tight feeling all over. I wonder
what's wrong.
Rosm: This is a matter of te nlind. Don't thin or worr abott
yourself durig zazen. Just practice with a calm, deeply concentrated
md, free from stain. Then your tightess wil disappear ad you
wll feel relaxed.
Are you able to do shika-taza well ?
STUDENT: No, not well at al.
ROSH: In tat case you should go back to the exercse offollowing
the breat untl you are able to do it well, after whch you may ret
to shian-taza.
STUDE: I tred to, but it was too paful. I felt considerable pain
in my chest when I did tat. You see, for yers I have had trouble
wth my breathing.
ROSHI: Resume countig the breath then. Can you do that easily?
STUDENT: Yes, I thk SO.
ROSm: When you can concetrate on that exercse without pai
or discomfort, try te exercise of followg the breath. Mter you
have mastered that, retur to shan-ta.
124 / YASUTANI
'
s I NTERVI EWS WITH WES TERNERS
STUDENT: Would you plese tel me again how to count te breth
ad how to follow te breath?
ROSH: There are variou ways to cout the breath, as I have
prevouly explained, but the best way is this: On the frst exhalaton
i t e " th d e . cout s en y to yours one, on e secon aton, two,
and so on, up to ten. The go back to one and again count up to
ten. Whenever you lose track of te cout, go back to one ad
star agai.
Followig te breath is done this way: With te mnd's eye you
try to visual the incomng breat, and the you try to visualize
the exhaled breat. That is athere is to it.
* * *
STUDENT: Last night you told everybody: "Whe you go to bed
continue to cout you breat, tose of you who are coutng your
breath, and thus the couting wgo on in your subconscious md."
However, I fd tat I rather natally forget the coutng when my
breatng is rhytmc, and when it is not rhythmc I have to cout my
breath i order to brig it ito haronous rhytm again. Should
I contiue the countig eve when it is more natal for me to stop
it?
aosm: Contnue the coutng when you go to bed and you wl
fall asleep natually. But coutng the breath is not a natual stte of
md. It is only the frst step toward concetratng the md. Te
next step is following the breath, that is, tryng to see each iala
ton and each exlaton clearly. This is more dfcult, because you
don't have te countng itse to fall back on whe your md be
gins to wander. The idea is to ufy you mnd trough progre
sive steps of concentraton utl you reach the point where you
can practce shkan-taz, whch, as you know, involves neither cout
ig the breth nor followng it. It is te puest form of zazen, and
the breathig i natral. But shikan-taza is also the most difcult
zae, since you have no crutches, as it were, to lean on. When you
pracce has matued and your concentaton is fairly stong, you
ca begin it.
If you careful y notce te pictres of te Budda in te Nirana
posture, you w see that he i retng on hs right side, with hs
hand uder hs head, te lmbs of hs body together. Ths is the best
S TUDENT G I 125
positon in which t sleep. The poit is, in going to bed you should
not lie dow with a sigh of relief exclaimng: "Oh, I'm glad te day
is over, now I ca forget all about zazen. " This is a wrong atttude.
To answer your question direcdy, you needn't contnue the cout
ing i you can concentate your mnd witout it.
STUET: I am aaid I didn't make myself clear. What I mean is
ths: When my breating becomes rhytc I forget to count. Is it
al right not to?
Rosm: Ye. Siary, follow your breat ony so long as you
need to. Afer that do pure zazen. Ths ivolve neiter countg the
breat nor following it but jut breatg natraly.
7 I S TUDENT G ( MAN, AGE 25 ) I STDEN:
What is te relaton between zazen and te precepts? I would lie to
udrstnd tat beter.
Rosm: Regardless of the s Buddst teching and practce has
tree basic feate. They are kai, or precepts; jo, or zazen; and e, or
satori-wsdom. I te Bommo sutra te relaton between the thee is
explained. The precepts are likened to te foudaton of a house. I
one lives improperly, tereby creating uret and disturbance in h
self and others, te foudaton of hs efor at spirtual realizaton is
udermined. Zazen is te living space, the rooms. It is the place where
one fnds his repose. Satori-wsdom is comparable to te furture
ad appliances. The tree are interrelated. I zaze one natually
observe the precept, and trough zazen comes to satori-wsdom.
Thus aaspects of Buddism are embraced wt thee tee.
* * *
STDE: I was doing s-taza before I came here-at lest I
t it was that. Would you please tell me what shikan-taa is?
Rosm: If you come to te next seshn ad hear all te general
lectres, you wil lear about shia-tza in detail. Meanwhe I wil
tell you a ltle about it.
Shian-taza is te puret kind of zazen, te practce emphasized by
the So to sec of Zen. Couting te breat and folowing the breath
are expedient dces. A person who ca't walk wel reques sup
port ad all these oter methods are such suppor. But eventual
y
126 I YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVI Ews WI TH WES TERNERS
you must dispense with tem ad just wal. Shikan-taza is zazen in
which your mid itesely involved in just sitting, has notng to
le on; hence it is a very dfcult practce. I counting or follow
ing te breath with te mid's eye, you soon know it if you are not
doing tem properly, but in shi-taza it is esy to become lax,
sice you have no gauges by which to check youl
How you sit in shikan-taz i of vital imporance. The back must
b absolutely staight, the body taut but not tn. The center of
gravit should be i the region just below the navel. If you can, sit
with your legs crossed in the f - or hal-lotus posture and you wl
have absolute stabity ad equibrium as well a te dignity and
gradeur of a Budda.
* * *
STUDENT: How can one realize his Self-nature? I know so litle
about the subject.
Rosm: First of all you must be convinced you can do so. The con
viction creates determinaton, and the determation, zeal. But if you
lack this convicton to start wit, if you thi, "Maybe I can get it,
maybe I can't," or what is even worse, "This is beyond me," you
won't awaken to your True-nature no matter how ofen you come to
sesshin or how long you practice zaze.
* * *
STUET: What is te d erence between koan zaze and shian
taza?
Rosm: Koan zaze has to aims: satori and the actization of it
in your diy life. Koans are lke candy used to coax a reluctant child.
With shikan-taza, on te oter hand, you must practice for fve, ten,
or even more years alone, because you receive no such encourage
met. I shikan-taza, since you sit with the convicton that your essen
tal nature is no dferent from the Buddha's, there is no purposeul
striving for sator. Yet you must believe that your sitng wl one
day eventuate i satori.
I koan zazen, with enlightenment you realize tat zazen, when
corectly practiced, is the acualizaton of the Budda-natre, and i
tis respect it eds where shikan-tz does-that is, whe shikan-taa
culmates in enlghtenment.
Partcuarly i shika-tza your concentration must be absolutely
single-mded. Your md like that of a person aimg a gun, must
S TUDENT G I I27
be sharply focused, without a radom thought interenig. The
slghtet defecton would be fat.
STDEN: Earler you said that shikan-tza involve correct con
centaton and proper sittg posture. So does yoga. I there no dif
feence, te?
Ros: I don't know much about yoga. I understand that the aim
of yoga as it is generally practced these dys is the cultivation of
physcal and mental health or t atainment of a long life, and that
tere are varous postures whch wl accomplish thes ends. Higher
forms of yoga no doubt involve enlightenment of one kind or an
oter, but ts enlightement necessarily is df erent from Buddhist
enlghtenment. The dif erence essentially is in the a. I shan-taza
you are not self-consciously striving for sa tori. Rather you are practic
ig zzen in the uswerving faith that your zazen is the actualiztion
of your intrinsically udefed Mind, and tat one day you will
directly prceive te nature of this Budda-mid.
* * *
ROSi: Are you able to count your breath wel?
STUDENT: I can do it, but I don't know how well. What do you
b " ll mea y we r
ROSi: Doing it well meas having a dear and distnct impression
of ech nuber as you count it. It also meas not losing cout.
STUDENT: I ca do it without losig count, but it is not always
der.
ROSi: It is hard at frst, since the tendency is to do it mechanically.
You must absorb yourself completely in the counting. I know a man
who teaches te abacus, whch, as you know, is a calculatng device.
He i a expert at it, yet he fmds it difcult to count his breath well.
If you apply youself with energy and devotion to ts exercse,
gradualy you wb able to do it with ease.
* * *
STUDENT: I am coutg my breat.
ROSi: Are you able to cout wit clarity and precsion?
STUDENT: No, I am not. I want to ask you whether I can cout
my breath and do shan-taza at te same tme.
ROSi: No, you canot. You can just cout y

ur breath for
h te perod of you sitting and practce sha-taza the other half,
but you can't do them simultaneously.
128 / YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVIEWS WITH WES TERNERS
STUENT: I have been tng to do jut tat-Wuccesful y, I
might add. I also ted coutng my breath only, but was uable to
do even that.
ROS:: You must not cout absent-midedly, as tough i a dz.
You must pou you whole heart into it. You must se each number
clearly and sharply. Did you lose cout sometmes?
STUDENT: Ye, sir. Perhaps my trouble is that I don't s te con
necton between coutng the breath ad Buddhism.
ROSH: The pupose in couting the breath is to stl te ceaseless
waves of tought st in moton by habits of tg whch have
persisted for a long tme. With teir quietg, te mind becomes one
poited ad we ca ten drectly perceive our Essential-nature. Cout
ig the breath is a necessar frst step. Aother method is to keep
questionng, "What is my True-nate? " or "Where is my True
natre? " But uness you have the fm conviction that you ca ds
cover your True-natue in ths wise, you practce will degenerate
into a mere mechanical repetton ad your efort wl be wasted.
You said you coud not s the conecton between coutng te
breat and Buddhism. The Budda taught tat only by direct ap
prehension of our Self-nature ca we actually know who and what
we are. The fndamental purty ad clarity of the mind is obscued
by te ceaseless waves of thought which pitch and toss about in it;
consequently we falsly see ourselves as idividual exstences con
fronted by a uverse of multiplicitie. Zaze is a means of stlg
tese wave so that our iier vision can be brought into accuate
focu, ad couting the breath is one type of zazen.
* * *
STDE: You have said tat I shoud put more energy ito my
sitting. I have tried to, but I can't concentrate for more tha feen
miutes before my mind begis to wander. Toward the end of the
last seI was able to concentate fairly well, but when I sat by
myselfl fell apart and could't for the lfe of me concntate.
ROSH: It is difcult to sit alone, especially i the beginng; tat
is why we have se. 0 '1 ual zazen is easier because there is
mutal support and reinon. nt. When you practce zzen rather
than listen to lectre aJout it, )r te fst tme you really taste Zen
and though this experience conae to true Self-uderstading. So sit
STUDENT G I I29
devotedly. You concentraton w become stonger and you w
feel better mentlly and physically.
* * *
STUDET: I would like to ask you once more about breathing. You
have explained to me how I sould cout my breats, but you haven't
yet explaed how I should follow tem. Would you do so, please?
Rosm: Aer you give up coutng your breaths the next step is
following them. Here you simply follow each inalaton with your
mind's eye witout allowing your attenton to become diverted.
When you exhale, do te same. That is all tere is to it.
STUE: What about te stomach? Should it go in and out? I
have heard tat te stomach instead of moving up and dow should
move in and out.
Rosm: Of couse tere are various breatg techiques. What
you are decribing i, I t, te way to breathe i certain types of
yoga. It may he satsfactor, but it is not te kind of breathng ad
vocated here. You should always keep your mid in the region below
te umbilicus. Your mind is at te spot where you put your atenton.
If you concentate on you fger your mid is at your fmger;
i on you leg, at tat place. Wit your mind concentrated below the
navel your vital energy gradually becomes stabized in tat region.
Feel here [pointing to his lower abdome] .
[Stdent places his hand where te roshi has idicated.]
When I put pressure tere it was hard, wasn't it?
STUET: It certaily was !
ROSHI: With your mind concentrated in that area over a long tme,
your energy easily and natrally settles there, because the center of
gravty no longer is in te vici.lty of the head and shoulders, and
you ca exet pressure in tat region at w. Since we are achored
dow as it were, we don't get angr and fy of te handle; our
toughts and emotons are uder natral contol.
STUDET: I have anoter queston. Is it so tat in te Soto sect
you walg is in harmony with your breathing?
Rosm: Yes. Wit one complete: " falation and exhalaton you
move te lef foot approxmately-- ! the length ?f the right, and
with the next breat you move t 1ght iO't half the lengt of the
left. The Rnzai way is to walk very fast.
130 1 YAS UTANI
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STUET: But at thee sesshin the method seems to be halfay be
te te Soto and te Rai.
Rosm: That's right. Here we ue the system of my techer,
Harada-roshi, who, having had extensive taing in R and bing
hsel fom te Soto sect, combined te two.
* * *
Rosm: Have you any questions?
STUET: Al I can say is that I am conued
Rosm: What is your confusion?
STUDET: I don't see the connecton betwee countng the breaths
and shan-tza.
Rosm: They are two diferent tgs, why look for a connecton?
Is your difculty tat you :nd countng your breaths too mehanical
and unteretg?
STUDE: Yes, I suppose that's it.
Rosm: There are many like you. Instead of countg your breat
or doing shikan-taza, it may be beter for you to ponder a question
le "What am I ? " or "Where did I come from? " or "Buddhism
teches that we are all innately perfect; in what way a I perfect?"
The techical Ze designaton for such questions is Horai no Mem
moku, "What was my Face before my parents were bor? "
STUDE: Is tat a koan?
Rosm: Yes. Hereafter stop countng your breths ad devote your
sl earestly to this koa.
* * *
Rosm: Have you any questions?
STUENT: I have no questons, but I would like to tell you some
ting. Last night I said to myself, "Forately I don't have to strive
for enightenmet, becaue I am already enlightened."
Rosm: Whe it is tue tat inately you are a Buddha, ut you
have concretely perceved your Budda-nature you are speaking i
borowed phrases when you speak of enlightenment. The purpose of
your practice is to lead you to tis experience.
STUENT: I would like to sit only with a feling of geuine grati
tude and not have to think about a koan.
Rosm: Ver wel, try sittig in shikan-taz. If you do it sincerely,
you wexperience ths feelg of grattude. It is a fact that when you
sit in te lotus posture as the Buddha sat and concentrate single-
S TUDENT G I 1 31
mndedly, a gradual unfoldment of you Buddha-hear takes place.
This is the expression of livg Buddism, from whch grows true
grattude. Moreover, eve tough you have no desre for eghten
ment, trough erest ad zeaous sittng you wl develop your
powers of concetaton and gain contol over your md and emo
tons, with the result that you physical and metal health wim
prove considerably.
* * *
STUENT: Before I came to ts temple I ued to t: "Ii go to
a sesshn ad do zazen, I w accumuate good karma." Now that I
am here I don't see where I a acquiing any merit at al.
Rosm: Whether you are aware of it or not, you are creatng good
karma al te tme you are here. Sittng embrace te three fnda
mental elements of Buddhism, namely, te precept, the power of
concentration, ad s tori-wisdom. It is obviou, of course, how con
centration i stengthened and mind stbiity deveoped; it may be
less obvious to you how your eye of tue wisdom is gradul y being
opened as your intrnsica y pue nate is cleased of its deluions and
deflemets i sincere and wholehearted sittng. As for the prepts.
clearly one ca't kl or steal or le dug zaze. I a profouder
sens, however, obserace of te precept i grouded in zazen, b
cau through zaen you are gradully riddng yourelf of the basic
delusion whch leads m to comt evi, namely, te deluion tat
te world and oneelf are separat and distnct. Ineretly there i no
such bifurcaton Te world doesn't std outide me-it is me! Ts
i the realzton of your Buddha-nature, out of which obseranc of
the precept naturally ad sponteously arss. To be sure, whe
you hav red you Real-self al ts w make see to you.
but wtout tt experiece what I have just said i hard to uder
stnd.
STDET: Well, I have no inteton of tryg to become eght
ened!
Rosm: That is all right too. To sit for the purpose of stregtheng
one's concentative powers is also worth whe.
STUDET: I t I am better of not seeng enghtenment.
Rosm: Zazen is the expression of lving Buddhsm. Sice you are
in ately a Buddha, your sitting, if it is ardent ad single-minded i the
actualizton of you Buddha-nate. That is true, to be sure.
132 / YAS UTANI
'
S INTERVIEWS WI TH WESTERNERS
STDENT: I guess we can't disagree on aythng, can we [laugh
ing] ?
ROSH: Now go back to your place and apply yourself more sri
ouly.
* * *
STDENT: Ca you tell me what is most esental in shikan-taza?
ROSH: The quality of you sittng is of vital iporance. The back
must be staight and te mnd tut-ver watchl. A sagging body
creates a sagging mind, and vce versa. The mind mut be thoroughly
alert, yet not tense. If you look at the picture ofBodhidarma painted
by Sesshu and carefully stdy the eye, you wsee what I men.
Bodhidhara i doing shikan-tza. This is te degree of aleres re
quired: If you were sittng in one corer of a room doing shkan-taa
and a door on te oter side was quietly opened h a inch, you
would know it instntly.
* * *
STDENT: This wl be my last sesshin, as I have to ret to the
United States next mont. Will it be a right to tain uder a Soto
priet there?
Rosm: Yes, hut I would advis you not to be guided by him wit
repect to satori unless you are sure he is enghtened himel Vey
few Soto priests the days have realized ter Truenatre ad there
fore tey pooh-pooh te experence, saying in efect: "Sinc in pos
sessing te Buddha-mind we are a ierently enightened, why i
s tori necessay? " But tis argwnent is specious, becaue ut tey
have directly perceived ter Buddha-mind tey don't really know
that tey possess it.
STUET: The, is it possible for me to car on my practc wit
out a teacher?
ROSH: Wheter you have no teacher in America or only a medi
ocre one, you can contnue to discpline youself in Z by following
what you have leared at this temple. Any teacher, even a unen
lightened one, i able to superise your practce. He ca check you
posture, for instance, and your breathing, ad can guide you in other
respect. But he ought not t to pass on satori uless he hmse has
had it and it has bee veried by h techer.
STUET: Oh, ye, that remid me of somethng I wated to as
STUDENT H I 133
you. This morg in your lecre you spoke about the necessity of
havig one's enghtenment conrmed by one's teacher because only
in this way could corect Ze b tansmitted. I don't quite uder
stnd this. Why is it necessar to b autetcated by ayone?
ROSH: Starg fom the tme of te Budd Shayamuni, cor
rect Buddhism has been tansmited from techer to disciple. Where
te teacher's enightenmet has been authentc and sanctoned by his
teacher, he has been able to sancton te enighteet of h ow
discples by uing his ow experience of enlightenment as a guide.
You ask why this is necessary. It is necesay, frst of all, in order
to insure the transmission of tre Buddhsm fom teacher to disiple.
I tis hadn't been done, tere woud be no autetc Z today. Bu
the truth i, you ca never be sure by youself that what you take to
be satori actually is satori. Wit a first experience it is quite possible
to misjudge it.
STUDENT: But isn't enlightenment slf-authentcatng?
Rosm: No, it isn't. I fact, there are may example of persons
who became teachers wthout having enlightenment at al. It i like
a person searching alone for diamonds in the moutains. I he has
never seen a real diamond, he may t when he fmds glass or
quartz or some other mineral tat he has foud a genune diamond.
If he could verif his fnd through somebody who has had experience
with diamonds, he could be sure. Failing that, he could esy make
a mstake regardless of how brighdy his stones glittered.
STDENT: Ts buines of the tansmission fom te Buddh dow
to the presnt tme-it isn't rea y tre, is it? It's myth, isn't it?
Rosm: No, it i true. I you don't beieve it, tat's too bad
8
I
STUDENT H (WOMAN, AGE 37)
I
STEN:
I am pregnant and probably won't b able to attend any more sesshn
ut afer the birh of my child a couple of mont away. How
soud I contnue to do zazen in my ow home during the rest of my
pregnacy?
Rosm: Contnue to concentate on your preset koa. When a
soluton comes to you, put it on te shelf so to spea, as you did with
te oter koans, and go back to sikan-taz utl you come before me
134 I YASUTANr
'
s I NTERVIEws WITH WESTERNERS
again, at which tme you can demontate your uderstdg of te
spirit of the koa.
Sit comfortably at al tmes, wit your md profoundly absorbed
yet flexble, and witout stain in the region of the stomach. The last
is important. It is wel kow in Japan tat zazen has an exceedgly
beefcial efect on te md and spirit of the foetus. It is even better
i you place a pictue of Kannon before you when you start zzen.
Thus the vrtues of ts Bodhisatta which you are refectng upon
wil impres temselves upon te md of you unbor baby.
* * *
STUDENT: My koan is "From where you are, stop the distant boat
movng across the water. "
Rosm: Demonstate your understandig of the spirit of it.
(The student demonstates.]
That is good, but ty it this way (demonstratg].
Do you uderstand the true spirit of this?
STUDENT: Yes, the boat and I are not two.
ROSHI : That i right. When you become one wth the boat it cese
to be a problem for you. The same is true of your daiy life. If you
don't sparate youslf from te circumstances of your life, you live
without anxety. I summer you adapt yourself to heat, i winter to
cold. If you are rich, you live te life of a rich man; if you are poor,
you live with your poverty. Were you to go to heaven, you woud be
a angel; were you to fall into hell, you would become a devil. I
Japa you live lke a Japanese, in Canad like a Canadian. Lived tis
way, lfe isn't a problem. Aals have this adaptabilty to a hgh
degree. Huan bgs also have it, but becaus they imagine they
are this or tat, because tey fashion notons and ideas of what they
ought to be or how tey ought to lve, they are constady at war with
te evionment ad themselves.
The purpose of this koa, then, is to teach you how to be at one
with ever aspect of your life.
9 I STUDENT I ( MAN, AGE 30) I Rosm: Ths is
your frst sesshin, isn't it?
STUDE: Ye.
Rosm: Tell m why you wat to practce zan.
STUDENT I I 1 3 5
STUDENT: I want to know te meaning of hu exstece, why
we are bor and why we die.
Rosm: That is an excellent motvaton. There are varous ways to
resolve ts problem. Before I go into them, however, let me explain
what kensho i. It i seei into your Tre-natue and drecdy realiing
that you and te uverse are basically One. Once you have perceived
this, you wl know down to you bowels te meaning of huma
exstece ad thereby acquie the peaceful mid tht arise fom such
a revolutonary isight.
The road to such Knowledge is through zazen. As you kow, tere
are may ways to practce. You have been coutng you breath,
folowg your bret, and doing shan-taza. It is possble to come
to satori-awakening trough tee exercses alone, but the quickest
way is though a koan.
I ancient dys tere was no koan system, stmany people came to
Self-reazaton. But it was hard and took a long time. The use of
koans started about a thouand years ago ad has contiued down to
te present. One of te best koas, because te simplest, is Mu. This i
it backgroud: A monk came to Joshu, a renowed Zen master in
Chna hundreds of years ago, and asked: "Has a dog Buddha-nature
or not? " Joshu retored, "Mu!" Literally, t expression means "no"
or "not," but te signifcance ofJoshu's answer does not lie in this.
Mu i te expression of te livig, functiong, dynamc Buddha
nature. What you must do i discover te spirt or essence of ths Mu,
not through intellectual analysis hut by search into your innermost
beig. Then you mut demonstrate before me, concretely and vividly,
tat you uderstand Mu as living truth, without recouse to con
ceptons, theories, or abstact explanatons. Remember, you can't
undrstand Mu tough ordinay cognton; you must grasp it dect
ly with your whole being.
This is how to practce: If possible, sit with your legs in te full- or
half-lotus posture. If you can sit neither ful - nor half-lotus, sit with
your legs crossed in te most comfortable way. If eve crossing you
legs is impossible, ue a chair. Your back must be staight. After tk
ing several deep breaths, swing the body from side to side, fst in
large arcs and then in smaller ones, ut te body comes to rest at
center. Then breathe naturally. You are now ready to begin zazen.
First repeat te word "Mu," not audbly but in your mid. Con-
136 1 YAS UTANI
'
s I NTERVIEws WITH WES TERNERS
centate on becomg one wit it. Do not think of its meaning. I re
peat: jut concentrate wholeheartedly on untng with Mu. At frst
your efort w be mechancl, but that i uavoidable. Gradua y,
however, all of you wbecome involved.
Sice the hua md i accustomed fom chdhood to fWlcton
ing centcl y, like te rays of a lght bulb which fa outard,
your a at frst is to brg you md to a focu. After you ae able
to conctrate on Mu, ten queston you: "What is Mu?1 Wat
ca it be?" You mut ask the queston right from the guts ! When the
questong reache the point of grppg you lie a v s that you
c t of nothng else, suddey you wperceive your True-nature
ad wexclaim: "Oh, now I kow!" With te enightenment the
problem of suf ering ad deat is reolved.
* * *
ROSH: Do you have ayg you wish to say?
STUET: Yes. When the bell rag for everybody to get up and
walk aroud, an old woma bega to sob. I don't know why he did
it, but the monitor bega cracking her with the kyosaku. At that point
I suddenly bega tg of the meaning of life ad why hu
beigs sufer. Without reg it, I bega to cry too, ad then the
teas jut guhed forth. I haven't cied that way since I wa a chd of
sven. What dos this mea?
ROSH: May canges take place i your body-md when you
do ze with z ad devoton. Your emotons become more sensi
tve, your tg sharper and clearer, your wstronger. Above all,
you experence a feeling of grattde. Beause your emotons have
already become more seitve ad responsive, when you heard this
woma crg you bega to c yousel She probably didn't kow
why she was crg either. She wa stck at that tme to encourage
her to put for her best efort.
What happened shows me tat you are doing zen with za ad
sincrit.
1 0 I STUDENT J ( WOMAN, AGE 33
)
I STEN:
My last tacher asiged me the koa Mu two years ago. I've been
practcng it, but fany, I don't kow what I'm doig. I just seem
to be repeatg it mecanica y. I was told to beome one wit it ad
1 Se aso p. 146.
STUDENT J I 1 37
i that way I would get kensho, but I a not even sure I know what
kensho is. Before I came to this temple I had difculty both in makg
mysel understood and in uderstandig what was said to me, as there
was never adequate interpretaton available. I suppose that is why I
a so badly informed.
Rosm: It is useless to repet Mu mechanicaly.
Kensho is the direc awarenes tat you are more t this puny
body or limited md. Stated negatvey, it i the reton that the
univese is not exteral to you. Positvey, it is eperiencing the uni
verse as yoursel So long as you concously or uconsciously t
in terms of a disticton beteen yousef and others, you are caught
in the dulsm of I ad not-1. This I is not idigenous to ou True
nate, being merely a illuion produced by the six senses. But be
cause this ilusory ego-1 ha been treated as a real entty thoughout
this exstence ad previous ones, it has come to occupy the deepest
level of the subconsious mind. You sigle-heared concentraton on
Mu wl gradually dispel t !-oncept from your conscousness.
With its complete bashment you suddenly experence Oneness.
Tis is kenho.
The traditona R way of hadling this koa is to let you
stuggle wit it wi y-nly. You repeatedly ask yourself: "Wht is
Mu? What ca it be?" The fst answer that comes to your md you
brg before the roshi, who promptly brshes it aside. "No, that's not
Mu! Searc fher! " he shout. Net time you present what
amouts to virtualy the same aswer. Now the roshi may scold: "I
told you that is not Mu. Bring me Mu!" You t again ad agai,
but every solution you ca conceive or imagie the roshi reject.
Such encounters uually last ony a minute or to. Eventually, after
months or years of exhaustve reasonig, your md reaches the point
where it is empted of athought-forms ad you come to the sudden
realizaton of Mu.
With students thirstng for trut this method was efectve. But
nowadays stdents have less ardor as well as les stck-toit-iveness.
What is even worse, incompetent teachers pass students who have not
truly experienced the spirit of the koa, in order to encouage them to
sty on. My own teacher, Harada-rosh, who had studied and prac
ticed Rai Zen for many years, sought, out of the greatest kind
ness, to eate tis aguished struggle of past dy by telg his
138
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stdt i advance that ay concepton ofMu, no matter how subtle
or ingeous, is unavaling and that therefore they must bend every
efort to becoming one wth Mt But the danger here is oflapsing
into a mechancal repetton of it. Quite apart fom al ts, however,
there ae people for whom the koa Mu is distastef. Regadles of
how hard they try to embrac it, it never grips them. You may be
suc a peron.
STUET: I fmd it completely distastef.
Rosm: I that case it is better to change your koa. I might assign
you Sekishu, "What is the sound of one had clappig?" or Honrai
no Memmoku, "What was my Face before my parents' bir?" or just
"What am I?" or "Who am I?" whchever would be most absorbig
for you.
STE: The last would be the most meaningfl.
Rosm: Very well. Hencefort this w be you koan.
STENT: Do I treat it the same a Mu?
Rosm: Yes, but you mut not a the queton mechanicaly, like
a stamping machne. When eatg, ask youself "Wht is eatg?"
with a intense yearg to reolve the queston. When litenng,
inqure of youself "Wo i listeng?" When seei, "Wo is
seeing?" Whie walg, "Wo is walg?"
* * *
[Hereafer te statement "My koan is 'Who am I?' " at the open
ig of each dokusa of this stdent w be omted.)
ROsm: Do you have ay questons?
STUDE: Yes. When I question myself"Who am I?" I say to my
self, "I am bones, I am blood, I am skin." Where do I go from there?
Rosm: Ten as yoursef "What is it that has this blood? What is
it that has thee bones? What is it tat has this skin? "
STUDENT: It seems to me that I have to do two things: to become
one with eatg, for itance, a well as to ask myself "Who is eatg?"
Is that rigt?
Rosm: No, only queston yourself as to who is eatg. Your md
must become one mass of profound questonng. Ts is the quicket
way to the realiaton of you True-nature. Asking "Who am I? " i
really no di erent fom askg "What is Mu?"
STE: To be honest, I have no burg desire for kensho. I
wonder why. This bothers me.
S TUDENT J I 139
Rosm: People who have been compelled to face painful life situa
tions, such as te death of a beloved one, for example, are fequendy
precipitated into ask te most searching quetons about life and
death. This questoning gives rise to an acute tirst for Self-under
standig so tat tey ca aleviate teir ow as well as mannd's
suferings. Wit true enghtenment, disquiet and anety ae replacd
by i er joy ad serenity. Listenng to te Buddha's teachings in
my lectues, you will develop withn you a longing for Self-real
tion, which w grow deeper and deeper.
* * *
STUDENT: Last night during zazen I was ofen troubled by the
thought tat my desire for enlightenment is weak. Why, I kept ask
ing mysel do I not strive more intensely lke so many around me?
At one o'clock ths morg I was ready to quit, though only fou
hours earlier I had determined to sit up in zazen all night. In the
ktchen, where I went for a d, I saw te old cook-nu washg
clothes. Watching her, I felt ashamed of my ow feeble eforts.
The other dy you told me tht those who have the strongest de
sire for enlightenment are people who have sufered i le. You sad
tat tey keenly wish kensho so as to relieve teir ow sufering as
well as te sufering of others. The fact is that in my teens I expri
enced considerable suferng. Perhaps that is why I felt so compas
sionate toward oters and why my fends and acquaintances often
came to me for advice and help.
Some years later when I heard about Zen I began to practice it,
afer a fashion, in the Unted States. Ten a few years ago I came to
Japan, having given up my work in America, and began the tradi
tonal practce of Zen. The sympaty and compassion I had always
felt toward people before I undertook zazen have dried up in me. I
have experienced so much pai in Zen tat I no longer th of sav
ing anybody but myself. I hate having to sufer ! So my life in Zen,
fr fom makng me sensitive to the suferings of others and kindling
in me a desire to save them, has destroyed whtever altruistic feelings
I possessed, leavng me cold and selfsh.
Rosm: As I obsere your face ad manner, I see neithe insensitivity
nor selfshness-on te contrary, I see muc tat is Kannon-like. I am
sure tat most people who come in contact wit you sense you
natural wamth and feel well-isposed toward you. Wht you have
140 / YAS UTANI
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described to me, rather tha making you out to be cold-hearted ad
selfsh, reveals a deepeng of your natural sympathes, but all this
lies outside your consciouness. One who tks of himself as knd
hearted and sympathetc is ty neiter.
1 That you no longer are
consciously aware of these emotons only shows how deeply en
trenched they have become.
There are many people who spend a tei te givg aid to te
needy and joing movements for te betterment of society. To be
sue, tis ought not to be discounted. But ter root aiety, growing
out of their false view of themelves ad the universe, goes uelieved,
gnawing at their hearts and robbing them of a rich, joyou lfe. Those
who sponsor and engage in such socia betterment actvtes lok
upon themslves, consciously or uconsciouly, as moraly superior
and so never bother to puge their mnds of greed, anger, and delusive
tg. But the time comes when, havg grow exhausted from
all their restless activity, they can no longer conceal from themselves
their basic anxieties about lfe ad death. Then they seriously begin
to question why life hasn't more meaning ad zet. Now for te fst
time they wonder whether istead of tring to save others they
ought not to save themselves frst.
I assure you that you have not made a mstake in deciding to tread
this pat, and one day it wbecome clear to you. It i not selfshness
to forget about savig others ad to concentrate ony on developig
your ow spiritual strength, though it may seem to be. The solem
truth is that you can't begin to save aybody ut you yourself have
become whole through the experience of Self-reazaton. When you
have seen into the nature of your Tre-self ad the universe, your
words w carry conviction and people wlliste to you.
STUENT: But I become tred and discouraged so easily-te Way
is terribly long and hard.
ROSHI: The Buddha's Way calls for energetc devoton and per
seerance. When you stop to consider, however, that philosophers
have been strugglig for two or te thousand years to resolve the
1 Compare with Lao-tzu's "The truly virtuou i not conciou of h v.
The ma of inferior viue, however, is ever conscouly concered with hs vue
ad therefore he i without true virue. Tr virte is spontaneous and lays no claim
to vitue." (From the Tao Teh Ching, quoted by Lma Govind in h Foundations
ofTibetan Mysticism, p. 235.)
S TUDENT J I 141
problem of hu extence, witout success, but tat trough asking
"Who a I?" you can succeed where they have failed, have you
cause to be discouaged? What actvty or work i life is more urgent
or compelling tha this? By comparison everything else fades ito
insigncance.
STUDENT: I fed that way too; tt's why I came to Japan to trai
in Zen.
Rosm: You are d erent from most here. They come for a sess
becaue they hear Zen is remarkble ad tey want to grab it as
quickly as they ca and go about teir business; therefore they stra
themselves. They attack zze wit the fury of a sudden stor where
te ra comes dow i torents ad is stly caried away. But
you, having made tremendous sacrice for te sae of enterig upon
te Way of te Buddha, need not torture yoursel Your practice
ought to be like rain gently droppig from the sky and seeping deep
ito the earth. With this state of mind you can st patiently for four or
fve years, or even more, utl you realze Truth i its fullness.
STUDENT: Is it because phiosophers ask Why? and How? that they
have been unable to resolve te problem of human existence?
ROSHI : Their investgatons take them away from themselve ito
the realm of diversity-this is how philosophers and scientist work
whereas the question "Who am I?" precipitates you into an aware
ness of your fudaental solidarty with the universe.
STUDET: I am ready to do whatever you say.
ROSH: I feel that your trainig up to now has not been entrely
suited to your temperament. However, you must not think tat the
tme you have spent i Zen has been wasted; it has been valuable in
more ways tan you are aware. I also feel that, for te time beig at
least, you ought not to be struck with te kyosaku.
STUDET: I c't tell you how nervous it has made me. I the last
place I was doing zazen I spent nety-fve percent of the time fght
ing my reacton to it.
Rosm: Had it been possible for you to communicate with your
last teacher the way you and I are now able to, thanks to this iter
pretation, a dif erent practce might well hve been assigned you.
In any case, hereafter queston yourself "Who am I?" wth sharp yet
urfed penetration.
* * *
142 f YAS UTANI
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ROSHI: Have you ayting to say?
sTDE: Yes. A few days after the last sesshin I suddly realizd
in a new way that seekng excitement and pleasure and tryig to avoid
pain, which has been the story of my life, was senseless, snce it was
always folowed by an aching hollowess. Now, even though thi
isight had come to me wt great force, along with an exhilaraton
which persisted throughout the day, with a week the old feeling of
the fatess and meaniglesmess of life, togeter with a craving for
excitement, retured. Is ths natral or unnatural-?
ROSHI: To wish for a fler, happier lie tan you present one is
natural and commendable. What is not commendable is to despise
your present state while yearg for a more exalted one. In giving
your
self over wholly to whatever you are doing at the moment you
can achieve a deeper and richer state of mnd- Am I answering
your queston?
ST
U
DENT: I haven't come to te cru of it yet. When I feel ths
way I want to get away from myself, to run of to a movie or to stuf
myself wth loads of rich food. My queston is, should I indulge these
desires or fght to repress tem and contnue with my zzen?
ROSHI: This is a most vital queston. It is uwise either to repress
you
r
feelings severely or to indulge them wldly. There are
people
who, when they feel as you do, either get riotously dk or eat them
selves sick. Of course you are not that knd of person. The point is,
it is all right to go to a move occasionally if you go to one you enjoy
and not to just any move. Likewise, when you have an irreistible
urge to treat youself to a feast, eat food that you not only enoy hut
that is nourishing as well, and don't overeat so that you are sick the
next day. If you exercise moderaton and judgment, you won't feel
remorsefl afterards, reproaching yourself for havg foolishly
wasted valuable tme whch you could have utizd more proftably
i zazen. You wlbe taken out of your doldrums and given a lf, and
w be able to resume your practce with greater zest.But if you have
feelgs of self-disgust, they wll give rise to a host of thoughts which
w iterfere wit you practce. As your zz deepens, however,
a ths will cease to b a problem to you.
* * *
sTD
ENT:
If l understood you correctly, at one tme you told me
to keep
my mind i my palm, another tme to focus it in the region
STUDENT J I 143
below the navel, and agai, when I become sleepy, to place it between
my eyes. I am confed. I don't even know what my mind is, so how
can I put it i any of these places?
Rosm: When I told you to put your mind i the palm of your
hand, what I meant was to focus your attention at tat poit. You must
not constantly change the focal point of your concentration. Both
Dogen and Hakuin recommend focusing the mnd in the palm of the
hand. If you want to increase the intensity of your zazen, you can do
so by directig your attention to your hara. A good way to overcome
sleepiess is to concentrate you attention beteen you eyes.
STUDENT: But what is Mind, anyway? I mean, I know what it is
theoretically, because I have read many of the sutras and other books
on Buddhism. But can I realy fnd out what Mid is by askg
"Who am I? "
ROSHI : A theoretical understandig of Mind i s not enough to re
solve the question "Who am I?" and through it the problem of birh
and-dath. Such understanding is merely a portrait of realty, not
realty itsel If you persistently question yourself "Who am I?" with
devotion and zeal-that is to say, moved by a genuine desire for Sel
knowledge-you are boud to realize the nature of Mind.
Now, Mind is more than you body and more than what is or
diarily called mnd. The iner realiation of Mind is the realizaton
that you and the universe are not two. This awareness must come to
you with such overwhelmig certainty that you involuntarily slap
your thigh and exclaim: "Oh, of couse! "
STUDENT: But I don't know who it is that i s askg "Who am I ? "
and not knowing this, or who it i s that is beig asked, how can I fmd
out who I am?
ROSHI: The one asking t queston is You and You must answer.
The truth is, they are not two. The answer ca ony come out of per
sistent questonig with an intense yearg to know. Up to the pres
ent you have been wanderig aimlessly, ucertain of your desta
ton, but now that you have been given a map and have your
bearings, don't stop to admire the sights-marc on!
* * *
STUDENT: You have said that we are all inerently perfect-with
out a faw. I can beleve that in our mother's womb we are, but after
birth we arc anything but perfect. The sutras say that we are all beset
I
#
f
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TANI
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WESTERNERS
by gre
ed,
ager,
ad folly. I believe tat, becaue it is cerinly te
ofm
yse
l
Rosm: A blid m, eve whle blid, is fWdamentally whole
ad perfect. The same is tue of a deaf-mute. If a deaf-mute suddenly
regaied his hearig, his perecton would no longer be that of a
deaf-mute. Were tis saucer on the table to be broken, each segment
would be wholeness itsel What is vsible to the eye is merely the
form, which is ever-hangig, not the substance. Actually the word
"perfect" is superfuous. Things are neither perfect nor imperfect,
they are what they are. Everythg has absolute wort, hence notng
can be compared with aythng else. A tall ma is tal, a short man
is shor, that is all you can say. There is a koan where i reply to te
quetion "What is the Budda? " the master answers: "The tall bam
boo is tall, the short bamboo is short." Kensho is notg more than
directly perceivig all ths in a flash.
* * *
STUDET: I am stll havig trouble puttg my mid i the palm
of my hand.
ROSi: What is te mater?
STENT: It i a strai for me to focus my attenton there whie
exg; my concetaton becomes disrupted.
ROSi: You must not strai yourself. Instead of tryig to put your
mind somewhere, simply concetrate on te question "Who am I ? "
STUET: When I prostate myself before you or before the imge
of te Buddha, or when I am chantng the sutas or walking, I hve
no iclaton to ask myself "Who am I?' ' Is it all right not to at these
rmes?
ROSi: You must ask the queston at all times. Whle walg
you must queston, "Who is walkng?" When prostratg yourself
you must queston, "Who is prostratng?"
ST: Or else "Who am I?"
Rosm: Yes. It amoWts to the same thing.
* * *
STUDENT: I addressing everybody last night you said that when
we went to bed we shoud not separate ourselves from our koan but
contue the questionig even during sleep. I fnd that I forget my
koa quckly when I am sleeping because I dream a lot. The dream
STUDENT J I 145
world seems to be another world from tt of"Who am I?" Dream
ing is such a waste of te and energy. How ca I avoid it?
Rosm: Geealy, actve people who have lttle time for sleep
dream only occasionaly, whereas tose who sleep long hours have
many dreams. Aso, those who have much time on their hands tend
to dream a great deal, as do tose who sleep on their back. One way
to stop yourself from dreaming, of course, is to sleep less, but if you
don't get eough rest, you are likey to nap durng zazen. You w
notice in pictures of the reclng Buddha that he is restng on his
right side. For many reasons this is a good positon for sleeping.
STUDE: In my work-ither doing laund or cleaning up-1
often fmd myself daydreaming. What can I do about that?
Rosm: Whe cleaning contue to queston, "Who am I?" No
oter thoughts wil enter your mnd i the questoning is sufcently
intense. It is only because you separate yourself from you koan that
daydreams occur.
* * *
Rosm: Is there anythng you wsh to say or ask?
STUENT: From fve ths morg up to now [3 p.m.] I have been
steadily askng myself"Who am I ? " Sometimes the queton has ab
sorbed me, but most of the tme I have been just plai bored. Why do
I get bored?
Rosm: Probably because you are not yet convinced tat through
such questoning you can perceive your Tre-natre and thus attai
lastng peace of mind. When those who have exerenced a great
deal of pain in life hear the trth of Buddhism and begin to practce
zazen, they usually want to get kesho quickly i order to relieve
ther ow suferings as well as those of others.
STUDENT: Part of the reason I fnd it so hard to concentrate is that the
new montor we have is roaring at us all and clouting everyone so hard.
Rosm: You need only ask youself ((Wo is listenng to all this
shoutng? " Don't make a problem of it, it is no concer of yours.
STUENT: It is impossible for me to be indiferent to it. On either
side of me the sitters are being struck so hard that I shudder every time
I hear the kyosaku. I tried to ask myself Who is lstenng to all this
horrible shoutg? " but I was so upset I couldn't continue.
ROSHI : These people aroud you are close to kensho, that is why
146
f
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UTANI
'
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tey are being stuck so hard-to spur them on to a last desperate
efort. If you don't want to be ht becuse it interferes wit your za
zen, I can have a "Do not strike" sign placed over you.
STUDENT: Yesterday when Mr. K- struck me it was helpful, as
he knows how and when to strike, but this man hits without rhyme
or reason ad his shoutng is s frightenig it makes me sick i my
stomch.
ROsm: Of course some of the welders of the kyosaku are more
capable than oters. Mr. K-, having had long experience, is quite
accomplished. Do you wsh a sign placed over you?
STUDENT: The fwmy thg is that half of me wants to be ht, be
caue I thi I'll get kensho quicker that way, and half of me dread
it. I Mr. K-rets, I would like h to strike me occasionaly.
Rosm: We can have a sign put over your place, and when you
wish to be struck you can signal wth your hands raised over your
head, palms together. But don't concer yourself with what happens
aroud you, ony concentrate on your ow problems.
From now on you can reduce "Who am I? " to "Who?" since the
whole question has su into your subconsciou. Simiarly, a student
practicing the koan "What is Mu?" wl in tme be able to reduce
te question to just "Mu," sice ths shortened form wl be suf
cient to set the full phrase echoing i his subconsciou.
W W W
ROSHI [sharply] : Who are you? [No answer.] Who are you!
STUDENT [pausing] : I don't know.
ROsm: Good! Do you know what you mean by "I don't know"?
STUDENT: No, I don't.
Rosm: You are you! I am I ! You are only you-that is all.
STUDENT: What did you mean by "Good!" when I answered "I
don't kow"?
ROSm: In the profoundest sese, we can know nothig.
STUDENT: Yesterday when you told me you were goig to ask me
who I am, I concluded that I must have some answer prepared, so I
thought of various responses, but just now when you asked, "Who
are you? " I coudn't t of a single thing.
Rosm: Excellent ! It shows your md is empted of aidas. Now
you can respond with your whole beig, not with just your head.
S TUDENT J I 147
When I said I would ask you who you are, I did't want you to reason
out an answer but only to penetrate deeper and deeper into yourself
wit "Who a I?" Whe you come to the sudden in er reton
of your True-nature, you wl be able to repond instatly without
refecton.
What is t [suddenly strikg ttar mat wth baton] ?
[No answer]
Probe fher! You mind is almost rpe.
* * *
STUDENT: I have been askg ad askg "Who am I?" untl I feel
there i just no answer to ths question.
Rosm: You won't fnd an etty called "I."
STUENT [heatedly] : Then why am I askg the queston!
ROSHI : Because in yor preet state you ca't help yoursl The
ordiary person i forever asking Why? or What? or Who? There
are many koans in which a monk asks "What is te Buddha?" or
"Why did Bodidharma come from India to China?" The a of
the master's response is to break open the monk's deluded md so
that h can re his queston is a abstracton.
STUDENT: I have been reading te English tranlaton of the Bassui
lettes1 durg you morg lecture, a you suggested I do. At one
point Bassui says: ,,Wo i the Master that moves te hads?"
Rosm: There i s no real answer to Who? What? or Why? Why
is sugar sweet? Sugar is sugar. Sugar!
STDET: You told me earlier, "You are you! " Alright, I a I
I accept that. Is't this eough? What more need I do? Why mut I
keep strugglg with tis queston?
Rosm: Because this understndin is exteral to you, you don't
really know what you mea by "I am I." You mut come up agait
this queston with te force of a bomb, and ayour intellecal no
tons and ideas must be ated. Te only way to resolve t
queston is to come to the explosive iner reton tat everg
is [ultmately reducible to] Notg. If your understadg is merely
theoretcal, you wl forever k Who? What? and Why?

1
See p. 164 i
148 / YASUTANI
'
s INTERVIEWS WITH WESTERNERS
STUDENT: I questonng "Who am I? " I have come to te con
cluion that I am ths body, that is, tee eye, tee legs, ad so forth.
At the same tme I realize that these orgas do not exst idependnt
ly. If I were to take out my eye and place it in front of me, for ex
aple, it could not fucton as a eye. Nether could my leg function
as a leg if it were separated from my body. For waking, my legs need
not only my body but also the ground, jut as my eyes need object
to perceive in order to perform te act of seeing. Fuermore, what
my ees see ad what my legs walk on are pat of the uivere.
Therefore I am te uverse. Is tis correct?
ROSHI: You are te uverse arigt, but what you hve just give
me is an abstracton, a mere reconstucton of realit, not realt it
sel You must direcdy grasp reality.
STUDENT: But how do I do tht?
Rosm: Simply by questoning "Who am I?" unt abrupdy you
perceve your True-nature with clarity and certainty. Remember, you
are neither your body nor your mnd. Ad you are not your mnd
addd to your body. The what are you? I you would grasp the
real You and not merely a fgmet, you mut constady ask your
sel "Who am I?" wit absolute devoton.
* * *
STUDEN: Last tme you said I was not my mind ad not my body,
I don't understad. Ifl am neither of these nor a combinaton of them,
what am I?
ROSHI: Were you to as the average person what he is, he would
say, "My mnd" or "My body" or "My mind and bdy," but none
of ths is so. We are more tn our mnd or our body or both. Our
True-nature is beyond a categories. Whatever you can conceive or
imagie is but a fragment of yoursel, hence te rea You cannot b
found trough logical deduction or intellectual aalysis or endless
imaging.
If I were to cut of my hand or my leg, te real I would not be
decreased one whit. Sticdy speaking, ths body and mind are also
you but only a fracton. The esence of your True-nature is no dif
ferent from that of ths stick in front of me or ts table or ts clock
in fac every sigle object in te universe. Whe you directly ex
perience the trut of this, it wlbe s convincig tat you will ex-
STUDENT J I 149
claim, "How true!" becaue not only your brai but ayou beig
wl partcipate i t knowledge.
STUET [suddenly cryg] : But I am afraid! I am afraid! I don't
kow why, but I am afraid!
Rosm: There is notg to fear. Just deepe and deepen the ques
toning ut a your preconceived notions of who ad what you
are vansh, ad at once you wlreale that te entre universe is no
df eret from you You are at a crucial stage. Don't reteat
march on!
* * *
STUDENT: You said earlier that I am not my body ad not my
mind. I have aways thought of myself as a mind ad a body. It
frightens me to t dif erendy.
Rosm: It is tre that te maority of people t of themselves
as a body and a mid, but that doesn't mae them ay the less mis
taken. The fact is tat in their essental nate a sentent beigs
trasced their body and their mind, which are not to but one. The
faiue ofhuman beings to perceive ts fundmental truth is the cause
of teir suf erings.
As I said in my lectre ths morg, m is forever seekg and
grasping. Why? He grasps for the world becaue ituitvely he longs
to be rejoied wth that from which he has been estraged through
delusion. It is i consequence of ths alenation that we fnd the
stong overcomig te weak and the weak acceptig enslavemet
as a alterative to death. Yet when udeluded, huma beings nat
ually gravitte toward one another. Those wth strong natre want
to chersh and protect te weak, whle te later long to be cherished
by them. So we have the Buddha, who is spirtualy powerf, em
bracing us who are weak, and we bow dow before him i gratefl
acceptace ofhis overhemg compassion. Like a mother caressg
her infat, here tere is no separateness, ony harmony ad oneness.
Everytg i natre seeks this unity. If you carefl y obsere te pod
of a lotu, you wlsee tat whe drops of rain or dew overow the
litde combs tey merge.
But becaue we delude ouselves ito acceptg the relity of
a ego1, estrangement ad stfe inevitably folow. The Buddha
i his enghtenmet perceived tht ego is not idigenou to ma's
1 50 / YAS UTANI
'
S INTERVIEWS WITH WES TERNERS
innate nate. With f elightement we realize we possess the
universe, so why grasp for what is inherently ours?
You have only to persevere in questong "Who am I?" if you
wsh to experience te truth of what I have been saying.
STUDENT: Than you for your f explaaton.
* * *
STUDET: My eyes are strage. They fed as tough they are look-
ing not outward but inward, askg "Who a I?"
ROSHI: Excelent !
[Suddenly] Wo are you?
[No answer]
You are you! I am I !
There is a koan i te Hekian-roku where a mon named Etcho
asks, "What i the Buddha? " and the master answers, "You are
Etcho!"
1
Do you understand?
[No answe]
You must take hold of ths directly. You are coming closer. Con
centrate as hard as you pssibly ca.
* * *
STUDENT: I had several questons, but I don't feel like askig them.
ROSHI: Good! Unless you are bothered or worried by sometg
it is better not to ask questions, for there is no ed to them. Tey
take you fartlter ad farer away from your Sel whereas the ques
tion "Who am I? " brings you to the radiat core of your being.
STUDET: I'm not worried about anythg right now.
ROsm: Don't separate yourself fom "Who a I?" Al questions
waswer themselve once you realze your Self-nature.
* * *
Rosm: Is there aytg you wish to say?
STET: No, but would you tell me trough te interpreter what
you said at four tirty this moring when you addressed all te sitters?
ROSHI: What I said was substantally this: Man fancies himself to
be the most highly evolved organsm in te uverse, but in the view
of Buddhism he stands midway beteen an amoeba and a Buddha.
Case No. 7.
STUDENT J I 151
And because he falsely sees hself as no more tha this pmy
body,1 just a speck in te uivere, he i constantly edeavorig to
enarge himsel through possessions ad power. But when he awakens
to the fact that he embraces the whole universe, he ceae hs grasp
ig, for he no longer feels a lack withi himsel I the Ltu sutra
te Buddha relates that with enghtenment he realized tat he pos
sessed the uverse, that a its beigs were his cldren, and that he
needed no more ta his beggig bowl. He was, i truth, the richest
mn in the world.
So long as you t of yourself as tis small body you w feel
resdess and discontented. But whe though eightenment you ac
tualy experience the wverse as identca with yoursel you w
att lastng peace.
STUENT: Before I entered upon te practce of Zen I was con
stady tryng to acquie posssons, but now I desire ony peace of
mind.
Rosm: Ad tat, after all, i te only thg wonh attaing. True
peace and joy ca b acheved only wit enlightement, so do your
utmost !
* * *
STDENT: You have told me tat when a person becomes eight
ened ad perceives tat he is the whole wverse, he cease grasping
for tgs. Well, I have lived wth people who have had a enlight
enment experiece, yet itead of becoming less grasping and selfsh
and egotstcal they sometmes become more s If that is what en
lightenmet does for one, I don't want it !
ROSi: With a fst enightenment the realaton of oneness is
usualy shallow. Yet if one has genuinely perceved, eve though
dimly, and contues to practce devotedy for fve or ten more years,
his iner vision wexpand i dept and magntude as his chracter
acques flexibilt ad put.
One whose actons are stl dominated by ego canot b said to
` Compare with the Buddha's oft-uoted statement: "Veriy, I declae uto you
that within this very body, moral thouh it b ad only a fathom high. but con
sou and endowed wit mind, i the world ad te waxng thereof ad te wag
thereof, and the way that leads to the pasing away thero" {From the Anguttaa
Niaya II, Saytta-Nikaya I, quoted by Lam Govinda in Foundations of Tibeta
Mysticism, p. 6.)
2 See footote 2, p. 287.
152 1 vAsuTANI
'
s INTERVIEWS WITH WESTERNERS
have had a vad enghtement. Futhermore, an authetc eperience
not only reveals one's imperfectons, but it simutaeously creates the
determaton to remove them.
sTUDET: But the Buddha after his enightenment didn't practce
constantly, did he?
ROsm: His practice was hs ceseless teachg and preachg. The
Buddha is unique. He was enlightened long before he was bor ito
this world. He came in order to tech us, who are ignorant, how to
become eightened, how to lve wisely and die i peace. He endued
variou austerites, not becaue he needed to but in order to demonstrate
vivdly to us that mortcation of the feh is not te true path to
emncipaton. He was bor, he lived, ad he died i this world ony
as a example for al huanity.1
STDENT: But don't we ordary people need self-scipline?
ROSHI: We do, of couse. Sel-scipline consists i the obserance
of the precepts, and this is the foundation of zazen. Futhermore, sel
idulgece-i.e., overeatng, oversleepig, and te like-is as bad as
self-tortre. Both sprig from ego and therefore disturb the mind,
so they are equa y a hdrace to elightemet.
STUDET: Though I haven't yet experienced my True-nature, I am
aware of my imperfectons and am determined to rid mysef of them.
How is that?
Rosm: Let me go back to what you said earlier about having lived
with people who were Sel-realized ad yet who appeared selfsh ad
conceited. Such people usually do not practce devotedly after kensho,
though they may appear to. They put in a certai number of hours
at zazen, but it is only a matter of form. If we indicate it percentage
ws, their involvement after kensho is about tenty or thrty percent;
consequently their iluminaton gradualy becomes clouded and in
tme their experience becomes a mere memory. On the other hand,
Compae: "In the Lt Sutra [Ch. XV ad XVI) the Buddha, i reply to a
qur by te Bodhisatta Maiteya, states, The world thiks that Lord Shak
yau after goig out from the home of the Shakyas arved at the hghest perfet
enlightenment. But the trth is that may hudred thouand myriads of kotis o
aeons ago I arived at supreme perfet enlightenment . . . . The Tathagata who wa
prfetly enlightened so long ago ha no liit to the duration ofhis life, being ever
lating. Never extinct, he makes a show of exinction for the sake of tose he leads
to salvation.' " (Quoted in Honen the Buddhist Saint, by Coates and Ishizuka,
Chion-i, Kyoto, I9Z5, p. 98.)
STUDENT J I I 53
those who trow temelves into zazen one hundred percent become
acutdy sensitve to teir shortcomings and develop the strength and
determnaton to triumph over them despite te fact that they ae not
yet enghtened.
* * *
STUENT: I am a lite edgy ts morg. Hearig the stck makes
me uneasy.
ROSi: Did you do zazen alnght?
STUDENT: I styed up tl2 a.m., but I'm not tred.
ROSH: Many thk tat when tey are tred efectve zaze is im
possible. But this is a mistake idea. When you are tred so is your
"foe"-i.e., the md of ignorace-ad when you are energetc so
i it. In realty they are not two.
sTUET: Would you please tell me through the iterpreter what
you said in your lecture this morg?
ROSH: This is what I said in essence: There are now fve or six
hours left to the end of this sesh. You need't worry that ts i
insufcient for elightenmet-n the contrary, it is more than
enough. Kensho requires but a mute-nay, an istant !
To use the aalogy of a battle, last nght you were engaging the
"enemy" in hnd-tohand combat, fghting whichever way you
could. This is now te last attack, the mopping-up operaton. How
ever, you must not t that staining and pusg are indispesa
ble for eightenment. Al you need do is empty you mind of the
delusive noton of "self" and "other."
May have come to reaaton simply by listeg to te tg
of a bel or some oter sound. Usually when you hear a bell ringing
you t, consciously or unconsciouly, "I am hearing a bel." Three
tngs are involved: I, a bell, ad hearing. But when the mind i ripe,
that is, as free of dcusive thoughts as a sheet of pure white paper i
umarred by a blemish, there is just the soud of the bell rnging.
This is kensho.
STUDENT: While listening to sound I have been askng "Who is
listeng?" Is this wrong?
ROSi: I see your problem. I askg "Who i listeg? " you are
at frst conscious of the question a well as te sound. When the
questong penetates deeper, you cese to b aware of it. So when a
1
54
j YAS UTANI
'
S
INTERVIEWS WI TH WES TERNERS
bl rigs it is
only te bl
listenig to the
.
so

d of
e ll. Or
to put
it another
way, it is
the sound of youself rmgmg.
This ts the
moment
of enghtenment.
Comid
er
these
fowers in te bowl on this table. You look at them
ad
excla
m: "Oh, how beautful these fowers are! " That is one kind
of seeig. But when you see them, not as apart from you but as your
self, you are enlghtened.
STUDENT: That is hard for me to Wderstand.
ROSH: It is not difcult to Wderstand in a puely intellectual way.
Upon hearg the foregoing explanaton one ca truthfuly say:
"Yes, I uderstad. " But such understanding is merely intellectual
recogniton, and quite diferet from the experience of enghtenment,
where you direcdy experience the fowers as yoursel
It is better that I say no more or these explanatons wl become a
hindrance to you. Go bac to your place and concentate itesely on
your koan.
* * *
ROSHI : Would you lie to say somethig?
STUDEN: Yes. Last tme you ued terms like "enemy" and "bat
de." I don't Wderstad. Who is my enemy and what is te battle?
ROSHI: Your enemy is your discursive thinkg, which leads you
to diferentiate yourself on one side of an imagiary boWldary from
what is not you on the other side of this non-exitent line. Or to put
it i terms that may b more mengfl, your enemy is your ow
personal ego. When you have stopped thiking of yourself as a
separated idividuality and have reaed the Oneess of all exstence,
you have dealt you ego a mortal blow.
The end of the sesshi is approachg. Don't lose your grip!
IV I BASSUI ' S
ONE- MIND AND
S ERMON
LETTERS
ON
TO
HIS DISCIPLES
I
EDI TOR' S I NTRODUC-
TI ON / In the year 1327, toward the close of te Kamakura
era-that strife-tom, anxiety-ridden period of japanese history whch
produced so many notable religious fgures-the Rinzai Zen master
Bassui Tokusho was bor. Havng had a vision that the chld she was
carrying woud one day become a fend who woud slay both his
parents, hs mother abandoned him i a feld at birth, where a famly
servant secretly rescued and reared him.
At seven Bassui' s sensitive religious mnd began to evnce itsel
At a memorial serce for his late father he suddenly asked te ofci
atg priest: "For whom are those ofergs of rice and cakes and
fruit?" "For your father, of course," repled the priest. "But Father
has no shape or body now,
1
so how can he eat them?" To this the
priest answered: "Though he has no visible body, his soul wl receive
these oferings." "If there is such a thing as a sou," the child pressed
on, "I must have one in my body. What is it like? "
To be sure, these are not unusual questions from a thoughtful,
sesitve child of seven. For Bassui, however, they were only te
begng of an intense, unremittng self-inquiry which was to
contiue wel ito manhood-util, in fact, h had achieved ful
" In Japan the dead ae uua y cemted.
155
1 56 1 BAs s ui

s SERMON AND LETTERs

enlghtenment. Even durng h play wth other children he was
never free of these uncertte as to te etence of a soul.
His preoccupaton wth a soul ntrally led h to tk about
hell. In an agony of fer he would exclaim: "How awful to be con
sued by the Baes of hell t ad tears woud well up. Whe he
was te, he rdates, he was ofen awaened by brl iat Bashes of
lght which fled h room, followed by a all-nvdoping drkness.
Anxously he sought for some explaaton of tee weid occur ece,
but t replies that were forcoming scarcdy allayed h fers.
Again and agai he quetoned h: "If after deat t soul
sufers the agonies of hell or enjoys the delight of paradise, what
is t nature of this soul? But if there is no soul, what is it wtin me
which tis very moment i seing and herg? ..
His biographer rdate that Bassui would ofte sit for hours
"stewing over tis queston in a state of such utter slf-forgetfulness
that he no longer knew he had a body or a mnd. O one suh oc
casion-at what age we are not told-Bassui suddely diretly realized
tht t substatum of a tings is a viable Emptness, ad that tere
is in essnce notg whch can be caled a soul, a body, or a mind.
Th realizton caued him to brek into deep laughter, and he no
longer felt hmself oppressd by his body and mind.
In an efort to lear whether ts conttuted te satori, Bassui
questoned a nuber of well-know monks, but none could give him
a satsfg answer. "At any rate, .. he told hisdf "I no longer have
doubts about t truth of the Dhrma:' But h basic perlexty as to
the one who sees and hears had not been dispelled ad when he saw
in a popular book one dy "Mid i host ad body guest, . . every one
of h quiesent doubts was suddenly resurrected. "I have see that
the foudaton of the uverse is Voidnes; stlwhat is t something
wit me which can se and he .. he desperatdy asked helf
anew. In spite of every efor, he could not rid himf of tis doubt.
Nomna y Bassui was a samuai, having been hm into a samuai
fmily. Whether he actually pusued te dutes of a samurai his biog
rapher does not reveal, but it seems safe to conclude that Bassu's
contnuous serch for Ze masters would have given him lttle op
portunity, ad presumably as little taste, for the life of a samurai.
1
One Myodo, a disciple of Basui, who on May ., 1387, th yea Basui died,
published the biography from which this introducory mterial wa tn
EDITOR
'
s INTRODUCTION 1 157
At all events, we do know that Bassu had his head shaved at
tenty-nine, symbolng h initaton into te Buddhist monkhood.
For the ceremonal rtes of a monk or priest, however, he had little
use, beleving that a monk should live a simple le dedicated to at
taining the highest truth so as to lead others to liberaton, and not
engage in ceremony and luxious lving, not to meton politcal
itrigue, to which the priesthood of his day was only too prone.
On hs numerou pigrmages he stbbory refued to remain
even overght in a temple, but insisted o staying in some isolated
hut high up on a hil or mountain, whee he would sit hou afer
hour doing zz away from the distactons of the temple. To stay
awake he would often climb a tee, perch among the branches, ad
deeply ponder his natral koa, "Who is the mater?" far ito the
nght, oblvious to wind ad rain. I te morg, with virl y no
sleep or food, he would go to t temple or monastery for an inter
view with the master.
So strong was Bassui' s distste for the ceremonalism of the temple
that many years later, after he had beome master of Kogaku-ji,1 he
always insisted on caling it Kogaku-an instead, the suf -n mea
ing "hermitage" as opposed to the more gradiose -i meng
"
1
"
6
temp e or monaster.
I the cours of hs spiritual joueys Bassui eventlly met the
Zen master through whom h Mid's eye was to be cQmpletdy
opened-Kohozenji, a great Ze roshi of his day. The lesser masters
from whom Bassui had sought guidnce had all sanctoned h en
lghtenment, but Koho, sensing Bassui' s kee, senitve mind and the
stengt ad puty of h yearg for truth, did not give h h
stamp of approval but merely invited h to remain. On his par,
Bassui recognized in Koho a great roshi but declined to stay in h
temple, taking a solitary hut in the nearby hl s ad for te net month
comng daily to see Koho.
One day Koho, sensing the ripeness of Bassui's mind, asked h:
"Tell me, what is Joshu's Mu?" Bassui repled wt a verse:
Mountais ad rivers
Grass and trees
Equaly manest Mu.
1 Lit., "Monaster Facing the Moutain," i.e., Mout Fuji. Mount Fuji i sy
bolc ofTremd, so Kogaku-ji conotes grappling wth one's Tre-mnd.
158 f
BAss ui
'
s
sERMO
N AND LETTERS
Koho retort
ed: "Y
our reply has traces of self-on
sciousness ! "
Al at
onc
e
, hs biographer relates, Bassui felt as tough he had
.. lost
hs
life
root, like a barrel whose bottom had ben smashed
ope
. "
Sw
eat began to stream from every pore ofhis body, and when
he left Koho's room he was in such a da
z
e tat he bumped his head
several times along the walls trying to fmd the outer gate of the tem
ple. Upon reachng his hut he wept for hours from his very depths.
The tears overfowed, "pouring dow his face like rai" I the intene
combuston of ts overwhelming experience Bassui' s previously
held conceptons and belefs, we are told, were utterly destroyed.
The following evenng Bassuicame to tell Koho what had happened.
Hardy had he opened his mouth when Koho, who had despaired of
ever fnding a true successor among his monks, declared, as though
addresig all his folowers: "My Dharma wll not vanish. All may
now be happy. My Dharma will not disappear."
Koho formally conferred inka on his disciple and gave him the
Zen name "Bassui"-"high above average." Bassui remaied for
two months near Koho, receiving his instructions and guidance.
But Bassui, who had a strong and independent mnd, wished to
mature his profound experience through "Dharma combat" with
accomplished masters so as to integrate his experience toroughy ito
h consious mnd and into h every act, and to develop his capacity
to teach others. So he left Koho and continued to live an isolated life
in forests, hl, and moutains not far from the temples of famous
masters. When not engag them in "Dharma combat" he would
carry on his zazen for hours at a time.
Wherever he stayed zealous aspirant quickly discovered h where
abouts and sought his gudance, but feeling himself stil defcient i
the spiritual strength necessary to lead others to lberaton, he resisted
their eforts to make hm their teacher. When their etreatie bcame
importunate he would pick up his meager belongings and vanish i
the night. Apart from te eteates of would-be disciples, however,
he deliberately curtiled hs stay in any one place so as not to become
attached to it.
At legt-now ftfty-Bassu built himself a hut deep in a moun
ta near the tow ofEnzan in Y amsh Prefecture. As had happened
in the past, word spread through the nearby village of the presence
i te moutain of a Bodhisattva, and seekers again began lteraly to
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTION I 1 59
beat a path to his hut. Now, his enlightenment having ripened and
feelig himself capable ofleading others to emancipation, he no longer
tued away from tese seekers but willingly accepted all who came.
Soon they became a sizable fock, ad when the govemor of the
provie ofered to donate land for a monastery and his followers
ofered to build it, Bassui agreed to become it roshi.
Although Bassui dislked the designation "temple" or "monaster,"
Kogaku-ji at its apogee, with more than thousand mons and lay
devotees, coud hardly be describd as a hermitage. Bassui was a rigid
disciplinarian, and of the thirty-three rules which he promulgated for
the behavior of his disciples, interetingly enough, the frst prohbited
the imbibing of alcohol in any fonu.
Just before he passed away, at the age of sixty, Bassui sat up in the
lotus poste and, to those gathered around hm, said: "Don't be ms
led! Look directly! What is this? " He repeated ths loudly and then
cahnly died.
The teacg methods of every great master inevitably grow out
of hs own personality, hs spiitual problem as he experienced it, and
the mode of zazen whch gave birth to his enghtenment. For Dogen,
whose religious strivings came to a focus in a problem totally diferent
from Bassui's and whose full awakening came wthout a koan of any
kd shikan-tza became the prime teachg method. Bassui' s natural
koan, on the other hand, was "Who is the master? "1 and therefore, as
we see i the following letters, he urges his dciples to employ ths
mode of zazen. Moreover, since Bassui, lke Dogen, could not wholy
satsf h deep iner longing for lberation through shallow enlighten
ment, the goal he holds out in these letters is nothng short of full
eghtement.
Bassui was not a prolic wrter. Besides h sermon on One-mind
and tee letters, he wrote a sigle large volume called Wadeigassui,
settg forth the priciples and practces of Ze Buddhism, and a
smaler work. Just when Bassui wote "One-mid" and the letters
is unknown, sice none of them bears a date, but presumbly the
1 The Japaese word whic we have rendered "mater" is shujino. In the Japa
nese language a husband (i.e., the head of the house), a proprietor, a landlord, an
employer are all slruJin. Ko is a term implying great respct; it was used when ad
dressig a lord i acient Japa. "Master" in this sene, therefore, meas the head,
the center of power, the controlling force.
x6 I BAss ui
'
s sERMON AND LETTERS
"t
afer he hd
becom
e master of Kogaku
-ji. Evide
ntly his
were w
h " th
.
k l d
ond
et
were
discipl
es w o e1 er were too stc or ve too
corep
k hi d 1 .
far away to
com
e to
Koga U-JI or sess an
persona
mstucton.
Ony
such
exten
uatng circumstances and the manfest
.
aror and
sicer
ty ofh
correspondents could have persuaded Basw to mstruct
te by letter intead of by taditonal methods.
True, some of the letters are repettous, but ths is inevitable since
Bassui is giving the same teching in essence to each of his corre
spondents. Yet it is by jut such repetiton that Bassui, master that he
is, superbly clares ad hammers home his theme of One-mind.
There is little in Zen literature written by oqtstnd.g masters which
is so squarely aimed at practce or is as inspiring as thee writngs.
Bassui speaks as diretly to the reader of today as he did to his cor
repondent of the fourteeth century, guidig and ispiig h at
every tu. Added to ts is a pugent sense of paradox coupled with
a profoud simplicity which has made the sermon and tese letters
imenely popular in japan right dow to the present day. Takusu
zenji, a wel-know Zen master of the Tokugawa period (16o3-
1868), who, lie Joshu, is said to have lived to the ripe age of 120
(and who himelf was t writer of a numbr of Zen letters) , warmy
praised bot these writngs as valuable not ony for devotees but even
for Ze masters.
It is hoped tat with this traslation, the frst into English, tey
w fnd equal favor with English-speaking readers eager to uder
stnd ad practce Zen.
THE S E R M 0 N / If you would free yourself of the sufer
ings of samsara, you must lear the direct way to become a
Budda. This way is no odter than te realizaton of your ow Mind.
Now what is this Mnd? It is te tue nature of all sentet beings, that
whch exsted before our paret were bor and hence before our
ow birth, and whic presenty exst, unchangeble and eteral. So
it is called one's Face before one's parents were hom. This Mid is
intrnsicaly pue. When we are hom it is not newly created, and when
we de it does not perish. It has no distncton of male or female, nor
THE SERMON ON ONE-MIND I 16
1
has it any coloraton of good or bad. It cannot b compared wth any
thing, so it is called Buddha-nature. Yet countless thoughts issue from
t Self-nature as waves arise i the ocean or as images are refected
m a nurror.
If you want to realize your ow Mid, you mut frst of all look
into the source from which thoughts fow. Sleeping and workng,
standing and sitting, profoundy ask yourself, "What is my ow
Mid? " wth an intese yearg to resolve this queton. This is
caled "training" or "practce" or "deire for trt" or "thirst for
realiaton." What is termed zazen is no more t looking into one's
ow mnd. It is better to search your ow mind devotedly than to
read and recite inumerable sutras and dharani every day for cout
les years. Such endeavors, which are but formalites, produce some
merit, but ths merit expires ad again you must experience the suf
fering of the Three Evi Paths. Because searchig one's own mind
leads ultimately to eghtenent, ts practce is a prerequisite to be
comng a Buddha. No matter whether you have comtted eiter
the ten evil deeds or the fve deadly sins, stll if you tr back your
mind and enlighten yoursel you are a Buddha instantly. But do
not commt sis and expect to be saved by eghtenment [from the
efects of your ow actons. Neiter enlightement] nor a Buddha
nor a Patriarch can save a person who, deluding hmself goes dow
evl ways.
Imagine a child sleepig next to its parents and dreamng it is be
ing beaten or is painf y sick. The parents cannot help the child no
matter how much it sufers, for no one can enter te dreaming mind
of another. I te chd could awaken itself, it could be freed of ths
suferng automatcaly. I the same way, one who realzes that hs
ow Mind is Budd frees himelf intantly from the suf erings aris
ing fom [ignorance of the law of] ceaseless change of birth-and
death. If a Buddha coud prevent it, do you think he would allow
even one sentent beig to fal ito hel? 1 Witout Sef-realiztion
one cannot understnd such tngs as tese.
What kind of master is it that this very moment sees colors with
1 What is impled here is that Buddhas are not supatural beings who Ld pre
vent one from falling into hell by conferring enlightenment, but that enlighten
ment, through which one can be saved from the suferngs of such a fte, is attai
able solely through one's ow eforts.
162 I BAssui
'
s SERMON AND LETTERS
t eyes and hears voice wth te ears, tat now rases the hd and
moves the feet? We know these are functons of our ow mind, but
no one knows precisely how they are performed. It may be asserted
that behind thee actons there is no entty, yet it i obvious they are
being performed spontaneously. Conversely, it may be maintained
tat these are the acts of some entity; still te ett is invisible. If one
regards ths queston as unfathomable, all attempts to reason [out an
answer] wl cease and one w be at a loss to know what to do. In
ts propitous state deepen and deepen the yearg, trdessly, to the
extreme. When the profound questioning penetrates to the very
bottom, and that bottom is broken open, not the slghtest doubt wll
remai that your ow Mind is itself Buddha, the Void-universe.
There wlthen be no anety about life or death, no truth to sarch for.
I a dream you may stray and lose your way home. You ask some
one to show you how to retur or you pray to God or Buddas to
help you, but still you can't get home. Once you rouse yourself from
you dream-state, however, you fnd that you are in your own bed
and realize that the only way you could have gotten home was to
awake yourself This [kid of spiritual awakening] i called "retur
to the origi" or "rebirth i paradise." It is the kd of i er realiza
ton tat can be achieved with some traing. Virl y all who like
zazen ad make a efort in practce, be they laymen or monks, can
experience to this degree. But even such [partal] awakening cannot
be attained except through the practce of zazen. You would be mak
ing a serious error, however, were you to assume tat this was true
enlightenmet i whch there is no doubt about the natre of reality.
You would be like a man who having found copper gives up the
desire for gold.
Upon such realizton question yourself even more intensely i
ts wise: "My body is like a phantom, like bubbles on a stream. My
mind, looking into itself i as formless as empty-space, yet somewhere
within sounds are perceived. Who is hearing? " Should you question
yourself in this wise wth profound absorption, never slackening the
intesity of your efort, your ratonal mind eventually wll exhaust
itself and only questoning at te deepest level wl remain. Finally
you will lose awareness of your ow body. Your long-held con
ceptions and notons will perish, after absolute questioning, in the
way tat every drop of water vanishes from a tub broke open
THE SERMON ON ONE-MIND I 163
at the bottom, and perfect elightement wl follow lke fowers
suddenly blooming on withered trees.
With such relizaton you achieve true emancipaton. But even
now repeatedly cast of what has bee reaed, turg back to the
subject that realizes, that i, to the root bottom, and resolutely go on.
You Self-nature w then grow brighter and more transparent as
your delusive feelngs perish, lke a gem gainng luster under repeated
polishing, untl at lat it positvely illumines the entre universe.
Don't doubt ts ! Should your yearg be too weak to led you to
tis state i your present lfetme, you will undoubtedly gai Self
relization easily in the next, provided you are stll engaged i this
quetonig at death, just as yesterday's work half done was fshed
esily today.
While you are doing zazen neiter despise nor cherish t toughts
that arise; only sarch your ow mind, the very souce of these
toughts. You must understnd that any appearng in your
conciousness or seen by your eyes is an illusion, of no endurng
realty. Hence you should neither fear nor be fascinated by such
phenomena. If you keep your mind as empty as space, ustained by
extraneous matters, no evil spirits ca disturb you even on your
deathbed. While engaged in zaze, however, keep none of ts
counsel in mnd. You must only become te queston "What is this
Mind? " or "What i it that hears these souds? " Whe you realze
this Mind you wknow that it i t very source of all Buddhas and
sentent bings. The Bodhisatta Knnon is so called becaus he at
tained enlghtment by perceiving [i.e., grasping the source of] te
sounds of the world about hm.
At work, at rest, never stop trg to realize who it is that hears.
Even though your questionng becomes almost unconscious, you
won't fmd te one who hears, and al your eforts w come to
naught. Yet sounds can be heard, so queston yourself to an eve
profouder level. At last every vestge of self-awareness w disap
pear and you w feel like a cloudless sky. Within youself you w
fd no "I," nor w you discover anyone who hears. This Mid i
like the void, yet it hasn't a single spot tat can be called empty. Th
state i often mstake for Self-realizaton. But contue to ask you
self even more intesely, "Now who i it that hears? " If you bore and
bore into ts quetion, obliviou to anyg else, even this feelg of
164 1 BAssui
'
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voidnes w vash ad you w be uaware of anytg-total
darkness wprevai. [Don't stop here, but) keep asg with al your
strengt, "What is it that hers?" Ony when you have completdy
exhausted the questoning wl the queton bust; now you wifeel
like a man come back from the dead. Ths i te realizaton. You w
see the Buddhas of al te universe face to face and te Patiarchs past
and preset. Test youself wth ts koa: "A monk asked Joshu:
'What is . te meang of Bodhdharma's coming to China? ' Joshu
replied: 'The oa tee i te garden.' "
1
Should ts koa leave you
wth te slightest doubt, you ned to resue quetong, "What is
it that hears? "
If you don't come to realzaton in ts prent le, when wyou?
Once you hve died you won't be able to avoid a long period of
suf ering i the Thee Evil Paths. What is obstctg reton?
Nothing but your ow h-hearted desire for tt. T of ts
ad exert yourself to the utost.
THE LETTERS I 1 I TO A MAN FROM KUMA
SA K A / You ask me to wrte you how to practce Zen on your
sickbd. Who is he that is sick? Who is he that is practcg Zen? Do
you kow who you are? One's whole bing is Buddha-natre. One's
whole being is the Gret Way. The substance of this Way is ierent
ly immaculate and trascends a forms. Is there any sickness in it?
Man's ow Mind is te essental substce of a Buddhas, his Face
before h parents' birt. It is the master of seeing and hearing, of all
te senses. One who fuly realizes ths is a Buddha, one who does not
is an ordary human beig. Hence aBuddhas and Patiarch point
dretly to the human mind so m can see h ow Sel-natre and
tereby attain Buddhahood. For the best remedy for one perplexed
by shadows is to see the rel thing.
Once a man was ivited to his fried's house. As he was about to
1
Mumonkn No. 37. For more about Joshu. se p. 72 ad ')oshu" i section x.
"According to Buddhist teaching, enlightenment L be attained only with a
hM body. What i meat here ad i the preceg pasage i that if one lose
hs hM form ad with it the oppority for enlightenmet ad higher states
of conciouness, one will hve to udergo long suf erng i subhum states of
existence.
LETTER TO A MAN FROM KUMASAKA I I6S
dri a cup of wine ofered hm, he blieved he saw a baby snake
inside his cup. Not wg to embarrass hs host by drawing
atteton to it, he bravely swallowed it. Upon retg hore
he felt severe pas in his stomach. Many remedie were applied but
in vain, and the man, now grievously ill, felt he was about to de. His
friend, hearng of h conditon, asked him once more to his house.
Seatng h sick frend in te same place, he again ofered him a cup
of wine, tellng hm it was medcine. As the ailng ma rased h
cup to drin, once again he saw a baby snake i it. This time he
drew his host's attenton to it. Witout a word the host pointed to
the ceilng above his guet where a bow hWlg. Suddely te sick
man realized that te "baby snake" wa the refecton of the hg
bow. Both me looked at ech other and laughed. The pa of the
sick man vanihed instandy and he recovered his health.
Beomg a Buddha is analogou to t. The Patriarch Yoka sid:
"When you realze the true natre of the Wverse you know that
tere i neither subjectve nor objectve reality. At tt very moment
karmic formatons which would carry you to te lowet hell are
wipd out." This tre nature i the root-substnce of every sentient
bing. Man, however, ca't bring himself to blieve that his ow
Mind is itself the Great Completeness relized by the Buddha, so he
clings to superfcial form ad looks for truth outside t Md
striving to bcome a Buddha through ascetc practce. But as t
illuion of a egoself does not vanish, man must Wdergo intense
su ering in the Three Worlds. He is lke the one who beame sick
believing he had swallowed a baby snake. Various remedie were of
no avai, but he recovered instandy upon realing the basic trth.
So just look into your ow Mind-no one can help you with nos
t. I a sutra the Budda sad: "If you would get rd of your
foe, you have only to realize tt tat foe i delusion." Alphenomena
in the world are illusory, tey have no abiding substance. Sentent
bings no less than Buddhas are like iages refected in water. One
who does not see te tre nature of tngs mtakes shadow for sub
stace. That is to say, in zazen the state of emptes and quiet which
results from the dimiution of thought i often confued with one's
Face before one's parents were hom. But ts serenity is also a refec
ton upon the water. You must advance beyond the stage where
your reason is of any avail. I this extremty of not knowing what to
!66 I BAS S Ui
t
S SERMON AND LETTERS
think or do, ask yourself: "Who is the master? " He will become your
intimate only aer you have broke a walking stck made from a
rabbit's hom or crhed a cunk of ice in fre. Tel me now, who is
ths most intmate of yours? Today is the eight of te mont. To
morrow is the trteenth!
2 / TO THE ABBES S OF S HI NRYU-JI / In order
to become a Buddha you must discover who it is that wants to he
come a Buddha. To know ts Subject you must right here ad now
probe deeply into yousel inquiring: "What is it that thins in term
of good and bad, that ses, tat hears?'' If you queston yourself
profoundly in this wise, you will srely enlighten yoursel If you
enlighte yourself, you are istantly a Buddha. The Mind which the
Buddhas realzed in their enghtenment is the Mid of al setient
beings. The substance of t M is pure, harmonzg with it
surroundngs. In a woman's body it has no female form, in a man's
body it has no appearance of male. It is not mean even i the body
of the lowly, nor is it imposing in the body of te noble. Like hound
less space, it hasn't a partcle of color. The physical word can be
destroyed, but formess, colorless space is indetructble. This Mind,
lie space, is all-mbracig. It do not come into existence wth the
creaton of our body, nor does it perish with its disintegration.
Though invisible, it suses our body, and every single act of seeing,
hearin, smellig, speaking, or moving the hands and legs is simply
the actvity of ts Mnd. Whoever searches for Buddha and Truth
outside this Md i deluded; whoever directly perceves that his
intsic nature is preisely tat of a Buddha is hmself a Buddha. A
Buddha has never existed who has not realied this Mid, and every
last beig wth the Si Realms of Existence is perfectly endowed
with it. The statement from a sutra "In Buddha there is no discrimna
tion" con ths.
Everyone who has relzd t Mind, attaing to Buddhahood,
wants to make it know to md. But men, clinging stupidly
to superfcial forms, fmd it hard to believe in this purposeless
Dharma-kaya, this pure, tre Buddha. To give it a name Buddhas
resort to such metaphors as "Tresure Gem of Free Will," "Gret
LETTER TO THE ABBESS OF SHINRYU-JI / 167
Path," "Amitbha Buddha," "Budda of Supreme Kowledge,"
).
"
"
K
" "F "On ' F b f
'
tzo, an on, ugen, e s ace e ore one s parents were
bor." The Bodistta Jizo1 is te guide through the Six Realms
ofExstence, (he beig the symbol of the power whch] controls the
six senses. Every epithet of a Buddha or a Bodhisata is simply
a diferent designaton for te One-mnd. If one beleves in his ow
Buddha-mnd, it i the same as believing i a Buddhas. Thus i a
sutra we read: "The Three Worlds are hut One-md; outside t
Mind notng exists. Mind, Budd, and setient beings are One,
they are not to be df eretiated."
Sice the sutras deal only with t Mid, to realize it is to accom
plish at one stroke the reading and understading of all the sutras.
One suta says: "The teachigs of the sutras are le a fger pointng
to the mon." Now, these techings are the sermons tht have been
preached by a the Buddhas. "Pointig to the moon" is pointing to
te One-mnd of sentent beings. Just as it is said that the moon shines
upon bot sides of the earth, in the same way the One-mind ilu
mines the in er and outer world. Whe it i said, then, that great
merit can be derived from reitng te sutras, this means what has
just been said ad nothig more.
2
Agan, it is said that through
services for the Buddha one can atai Buddhahood, but to attai
Buddhahood simply means to realize this Mid. Thus the merit of
realizing this One-md i a sigle-minded instnt is infmitely greater
than that of recitng the sutras for ten thousand days, just as perceivig
one's ow Mid i a moment of single-mndednes is incomparably
greater than hearig for ten touand years why ts is so. But
just as one must progress from shalow to deep by degrees, so is
it a blessing for beginners, either- deluded or obtuse, to recite sutras
enthusiastcaly er to invoke the names of Buddhas. For them it i
lke gettig on a raft or boat as a frst step. But i they do not year
to rech the shore of reazation, contentg temselves to remai
forever on the raft, tey ony deceive temselves. Shakyamuni Bud
dha underwent may austerities yet failed to attain Buddhahood.
1
Jizo ha always ocupied a speial nc in the heats of Japaese Buddhists, ad
perhaps that is why Bassui, rather gratuitously it would sem, singles out ths Bo
dsatta.
2 Naely, that the sutra say that they themelves ae not truth but are like a
arow pointig to the truth.
x68 I BAs s ui
'
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After tis he did zazen for six yers, givig up everything else, and
at last realzed tis Onemd. Following his perfect enlightenment
he gave sermons about the Mind he had reaized for the ske of a
mankid. These sermons are caled sutras and are the words fowig
from t realized Mind of t Budda.
This Mind is latent in everyone, it is the master of te six senses.
The efects ad caues of al trasgressions vanish i a fash, lke ice
put into boiling water, when one awaken to ths Mid. Only after
gaing such dret Insight can you afrm tat your ow Mind is
itslf Buddha. The Mid-ssence is intrnsically brght and ublem
ihed, i it there i no distincton of Buddha and sentient beigs.
But its clarity is hdden by deluive thoughts just as t lght of the
su or the moon is obscued by clouds. Yet suc thoughts can be
dispeled by the power of practcig zaze, in the same way that
clouds can be dissipated by a blast of wind. Once tey vansh, t
Buddha-nature reveals itsel just as the moon make its appearance
when clouds disappear. Ths light has ever been present, it i not
newly obtaied outside onesel
If you would free yourself from beg drive wit the Six
Reahs of Existence or from [the sufergs of] birth-and-death, you
mut dispel your delusive feengs and perceptons. To dispel them
you must realize ths Mid. To realize ts Mind you must do zzen.
How you practce is of the utmost importance. You must penetrate
your koans to the very core. The foundaton of every koan is one's
ow Mid. The deep yearg for the realizaton of Mind we call
"desire for truth" or "trst for reaization." He i wise who deeply
fers falg ito hell.1 Only becaue the terrors of hel are so little
know to te do men have no desire for the teachings of the
Buddha.
There was a Bodhisatta who attined enlightenment by concen
tratig intently on every sound he heard, so Shakyamuni Budda
caled him Ka on.
1
If you would know the substance of the Mind-
1
What is iplied i this ad the folowing sentence is that the plae of existence
or state of coniousness called hel i excciatingly pa ad tht it i the dread
of falg into such a miserble lie which gives re to a deep yea for Self
realization. For it is enlighteent tht taes the teror out of hel.
2 Ka on is a simplcaton ofKazeon, which meas "hearer (or receiver)
of the
voices (cres
)
of the world." Sometimes Bassui uses the ter Kanzeon ad someties
Ka on. To avoid confsion we have adhered thoughout to Ka on.
LETTER TO THE ABBESS OF SHINRYU-JI I 16
Buddha, the very instant you hear a sond search for this one who
hears. Thus you will nailngly come to the realation that your ow
Mind is no df erent from Kannon' s. This Mind is neiter being nor
non-beig. It transcends a for and yet is inseparable from tem.
Do not try to prevent thoughts from aring and do not cg to
any that have arisen. Let thoughts appear and disappear as they will,
don't struggle with them. You need only nremittgly ad with all
your heart ask yoursef"What is my own Mind? " I keep urging this
becaue I want to brng you to Self-realizaton. When you persist
ently t to understand [with te itelet] what is beyond te domain
of itellect, you are boud to reach a dead end, completely bafed.
But push on. Sittig or standing, workg or sleeping, probe tire
lessly to your deepest self wth the quetion "What is my ow Mid? "
Fear nothing but the failure to experience your Truenature. This is
Zen practce. When this intene quetoning envelops every inch
of you and peetrates to te very bottom of al bottoms, t ques
ton w suddely burst ad the substace of the Buddha-md
be revealed, just as a mrror [conceled) in a box can refect [it sur
rondgs] only after the box is broke apart. The radiance of ths
Mid w light up every corer of a universe free of even a single
blemish. You wl be liberated at last from a entanglements witin
the Six Realms, all efects of evi actons havig vanshed. The joy of
this moment caot be put into words.
Consider a person sufering itesely in a dream where, having
fallen into hell, he is big tortued. Once he awakens, his suferig
cease, for he is now liberated from this delusion. In the same way,
through Self-realizton one frees hmself from the suf erigs of birth
and-death. For enlightenment, not nobiity ofbirth or wide learg
but only strong determaton is essential. Buddhas bear the same rela
tion to sentent beigs as water does to ice. Ice, lke stone or brick,
cannot fow. But when it melts it fows freely in conformity with its
surroundgs. So long as one remai i a state of deluion he is like
icc. Upon realization he beomes as exquiitely free as water. And
remember, there is no ice which does not retur to water. So you wl
nderstand there is no dif erence btween ordinary beigs and Bud
ds except for one thing-delusion. Whe it is dissolved they are
identical.
Don't allow yourself to become disouraged. If your deire for
170 I
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'
s SERMON AND LETTERS
trth is wantin, you may be Wahle to attain enlightenment in this
life. But if you carry on your Zen practce
1
faithful y, even while
dying, you wl Wlquestionably acheve enlightenmet i your next
exstece. But don't dawdle. Imagie yourself on your detbed at
ts very moment. What alone can help you? What alone can pre
vet you from falng into hell because of your transgressions? There
is fortoately a broad path to lberaton. From your very roots ask
tis one queston: "What is my Buddha-mid? " If you would see
t substance of all Buddhas in a tice, realize your ow Mind.
Is what I say true or false? Ask yourself this instant: "What is
my own Buddha-mind? " Upon your enightenment the lotus wl
blossom in a roaring fre and endure throughout eterty. Man in
heretly is no dif eret from te lotus. Why can't you grasp this?
3 f TO LORD NAKAMURA, GOVERNOR OF
AKI PROVI NCE / You ask me how to practce Ze with
reference to this phrase from a sutra: "Mind, having no fxed abode,
shoud fow forth. " There is no express method for attaining elight
enment. If you but look ito you Self-nature directly, not allowing
yourself to be defected, te Mind flower wll come into bloom.
Hence the sutra says: "Mind, having no fxed abode, should flow
forh." Thouands of words spoken directly by Buddhas and Patri
archs add up to ths one phrase. Mind is the True-nature of thngs,
tanscendig al fon. The Tre-nature is the Way. The Way is
Buddha. Buddha i Mind. Mind is not within or without or in he
teen. It is not bing or nothingness or non-being or non-nothing
nes or Buddha or md or matter. So it i called the abodeless Mind.
This Mind see colors wit te eyes, hers soWlds with the ears. Look
for this master directly!
A Zen master [Rnzai] of old says: "One's body, composed of the
four primal elements,
2
ca't hear or Wderstand t preachng. The
spleen or stomac or liver or gall bladder can't hear or Wderstand

ts preaching. Empty-space can't Wderstand it. The what does
hear and Wderstad?" Strive to perceive directly. I your mnd re
mains atached to ay form or feeng whatsoever, or is afeted by
1
That is, askg: "What is the true substace of my Mid?"
2 Naely, solid (erth), liquids (water), heat (fre), ga (a).
LETTER TO LORD NAKAMURA / 171
logical reasong or conceptual tg, you are as far from true
realizaton as heaven is from earth.
How can you ct of at a stroke te su erings of birth-and-death?
As soon as you consider. how to advance, you get lost in reasning;
but if you quit you are adverse to te highest pat. To be able neiter
to advance nor to quit i to be a "breathig corpse. " Ifin spite of this
dilemma you empty your mnd of al thoughts and push on with your
zazen, you are boud to enlighten yourself and apprehend the phrase
"Mind, having no fxed abode, should fow forth." Instantly you wll
grasp the sense of all Zen dialogue as well as the profound and subtle
meaning of the countless sutras.
The layman Ho asked Baso: "What is it that transcend everythig
i the uverse? " Baso answered: "I wl tell you after you have
drunk up the waters of the West River in one gulp."
1 Ho instatly
became deeply enlightened. See here, what does ts mean? Does it
explain the phrase "Mid, having no fxed abode, should fow forth,"
or does it point to the very one reading ths? If you still don't com
prehend, go back to questionng, "What is hearng now? " Find out
this very momet ! The problem of birth-and-death i momentous,
and the world moves fast. Make t most of tme, for it waits for no
one.
Your own Mind is intinsicaly Budda. Buddhas are those who
have realized this. Those who haven't are the socaled ordinary
sentient beings. Sleeping and working, standing and sitting, ask your
self "What is my own Mind? " looking into the source from which
your thoughts arise. What is this subject that right now perceives,
thinks, moves, works, goes forth, or returs? To know it you mut
intensey absorb yourself in the queston. But even though you do
not realize it in tis life, beyond a doubt you will i the next be
cause of your present eforts.
In your zazen thin in terms of neither good nor evil. Don't try
to stop thoughts from arising, only ask yourself: "What is my own
Mind? " Now, even when your questionig goes deeper and deeper
you will get no aswer until fnally you wreach a cul-de-sac, your
thinkig totally checked. You won't fmd anythng within that can
1
The West River is a large river i China. Another version of this koan states:
"Ho replied to Baso: 'I have already dru up che water of the West River i one
gulp.' 'Then I have already told you!' retorted Bao."
172 I BAs s ui
'
s SERMON AND LETTERS
be called "I" or "Mind." But who i s i t that nderstands althis? Con
tu to probe more deeply yet and the md that perceives there
is nothig wl vansh; you wl no longer be aware of questoning
but only of emptess. When awarenes of even emptness disappears,
you wil realize there is no Buddha outide Mnd and no Mid out
side Buddha. Now for the frst te you wil discover that whe you
do not hear wth your ears you are truly hearing, and when you do
not see wit your eyes you are real y seeing Buddhas of te past,
prt 'Sent, and future. But don't clig to ay of this, just experience it
for yourself!
See here, what is your ow Mind? Everyone's Original-nature is
not less than Buddha. But since men doubt this ad serch for Bud
dha and Truth outside their Mind, they fail to atain enighteent,
being helplessly driven wt cycles of birth-and-death, entangled
i karma both good and bad. The source of all karma bondage is
delusion, i.e., the thoughts, feelings, and perceptons [stemming from
ignorance] . Rid yourself of them and you are emancipated. Jut as ash
covering a charcoal fire is dspersed when the fre is faned, so thee
deluion vash once you realize your Self-natre.
Duig zazen neither loathe nor be charmed by any of your
thought. With your mnd tued inward, look steadily into their
source and the delusive feeligs and perceptons in which they are
rooted wevaporate. This is not yet Self-realizaton, however, even
though your mind becomes bright and empty like the sky, you have
awareness of neither iner nor outer, and all the ten quarters seem
clear and lumnous. To take tis for realizaton is to mistake a mi
rage for reality. Now even more intensely search this mnd of yours
which hears. Your physica body, composed of the four basic ee
ments, is like a phantom, without reality, yet apart from this body
there is no mnd. The empty-space of ten quarters can neither see nor
hear; stl, somethg withn you doe hear and distinguish sonnds.
Who or what i it? When this question total y igntes you, distic
tons of good and evi, awareness of being or emptness, vanish like
a light extnguished on a dark night. Though you are no longer con
sciously aware of yourself, stil you can hear and know you exst.
Try as you wl to disover the subject hearig, your eforts wl fail
and you will fd youself at a
n
impasse. Al at once your md will
burst into great enightenmet and you wlfeel as though you have
LETTER TO A DYING MAN I l']
risen from the dead, laughng loudy and clapping your hands in
delight. Now for the frst tme you wl know tat Mind itself is
Buddha. Were someone to ask, "What doe one's Buddha-md
look like? " I would answer: "In the trees fsh play, in the deep sea
birds are fyig." What does this mean? If you don't understand it,
look into you ow Mind and ask yourself: "What is he, t master
who sees ad hears? "
Make the most of time: it wait for no one.
4
J
TO A DYI NG MAN I You Md-essence is not
subject to birth or death. It is neither being nor nothingness, neither
emptness nor form-and-olor. Nor is it somethng that feels pai or
joy. However much you try to know [wth your ratonal mnd] that
whch is now sick, you cannot. Yet if you think of notng, wish
for nothing, want to understand nothng, cling to nothng, and ony
ask yourself, "What is the true substance of the Mind of this one who
is now suf ering? " edng you days like clouds fading i the sky' you
weventually be freed from your painful bondage to endess change.
s I
TO THE LAYMAN I PPO ( HOMMA SHO
K EN) / You are meetng him face to face, but who is he? Any
thing you sy wl be wrong. Ad i you hold your tongue, you
will be equally wrong. Who is he, the? O top of a fagpole a cow
gives birth to a cal If you come to Self-relaton at this point,
you need do nothng further. If you cannot, look iward to behold
your Buddha-nature. Everyone is perfecty endowed with this Bud
dha-nature. Its substance is the same in ordinary huma beings as i
Buddhas, with not te slightest dif erence i degree. But becaus man
can't bring hiself to believe ths, he binds hmself to delusion wit
the rope of ureality by sayig: "The realizaton of my Self-nature is
beyond me. It is beter tat I recite sutas, bow dow before Buddhas,
and enter the Way gradually though the grace of a Buddhas."
Most of those who hear this accept it as true. It is as though one blind
man were leadg many blind men i the wrong drecton. These
people do not realy believe sutras and Buddhas-n the contrary,
they set no store by them. (For if tey truly accepted them, they
1 74 I BAs s ui
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would know that] merely reciting the sutras is no more than looking
at them from the outside, and speaking of "Buddha" but another way
of speang of the essence of Mid. A sutra says: "Mind, Buddha, and
sentient beings, these are not to be discriminated from one another."
Accordingly, a man who does not believe in the reality of his own
Mid but says he believes i Buddha is like one who puts trust in a
symbol while spurng the real thng. How then can he realize ths
Md? One who wants only to recite sutras is like a hWgry man who
refuses food ofered in the belef that he can allay his hWger by mere
ly looking at a menu. Each sutra is but a catalogue of the Mind-natre.
One of the sutras says: "The teachings of the sutras are like a fnger
pointng to the moon." Can the Buddha have itended that you
acknowledge the fnger and not perceive the moon? Everybody con
tains within himself the [substance of the] sutras. If you catch even
a glimpse of your Self-nature, it is the same as reading ad Wder
standing all the sutras simultaneously, none excepted, without so much
as holding one i your hand and readig a word. Isn't ths real sutra
"reading"? Look, that green bamboo grove over yonder is precisely
your ow Mid, and this mass of yellow fowers is nothing less than
the supreme wisdom of the wuverse!
As for the practce ofbowng down before Buddhas, this i merely
a way of horizontalizing the mast of ego i order to realize the Bud
dha-nature. To attai Buddhahood one must come to Self-realization
through his ow eforts no matter what his taents or capabilitit. 'S may
be. UnfortWately, most who understad this and practce zazen be
gi to dawdle along te way and thus never come to complete reaiza
tion. Then there are those who take the state of no-thought and no
awareness, where arefection and discriminaton stop for a time, to
be true realizaton; others thk it sufcient Ze practce to remember
every single koan; stll others insist that the true way of the Zen dev
otee is not to violate the precepts, or else to dwell i forests to escape
from the problem of good ad evil in the world; while stl others
maintain that the right way i to avow that there is no truth to be
realized, or that there is no other tth to grasp than tht of drinking
tea when tea is ofered or eatig when food i served, or of shouting
"Katu!" when asked about Buddllsm, or of leavig suddeny
with a fourish of the kimono sleeve, pretending to repudiate every
thing, while ca ing anyone who practices zazen seriously and seeks
LETTER TO THE LAYMAN I PPO / 175
out accomplished Z masters a bore. If suc individuals can be called
tth-sekers, then a child of three can be said to understand Zen.
Agai, there are thos who thin that when one's mental functons
have cesed, leavg one like a decayed tree or cold stone, one has
attaied nomindness; while stll oters maintain tat in the practce
of Zen a decive point has been reached whe one feels a deep void
with awareness of neither inner nor outer, the entre body having
become shing, transparent, and clear like a blue sky on a brght day.
This last appears when the Trenature bgin to maniest itself,
but it ca ot be called genuine Self-realization. Zen masters of old
would call it the "de pit of pseudo-mancipation." Those who
reach ths stage, believig they have no more problems in [the stdy
and practice of] Buddhism, behave haughtly through lack of wis
dom; engage eagerly i debates on reigion, taking delight in corer
ing their opponents but becomng angry when corered themselves;
appar perpetually discontented whle no longer believig in the law
of cauaton; go about telg jokes in a loud, jabberig voice; de
liberatey disturb and ridicule tose who study and strive earetly,
calg them clods whose practce is not Ze. Ths is as though a
luatc were to laugh at a sane person. The conceit of these idiot
knows no bounds and they fall into hel as quick as an arrow. The
frst Patarch, Boddharma, said: "One who thinks only that every
thng is void but is ignorat of the law of causaton falls into ever
lastig, pitch-black hell" These woud-be teachers sometimes sound
like Zen maters, but tey are unable to free themselve from their
delusive feeligs and perceptons. Most beginners mistke the barest
manifestation of tuth for Self-realizton. A ancient Zen master
[Rnzai] said: " 'The body of the Truenature' and 'the ground of the
True-nature,' tese, I know for certa, are shadows [i.e., concepts].
You must fd the subject that casts the shadows. It is the very source
of all Buddhas."
Cerain people say: "In the practce and study of Zen we acquire
varous ideas about it,1 and suc notons [we are told] are a kind of
mid illness; for this reason Self-realization through Zen is difcult.
But what if we don't realze our Self-nature, or uderstand [the
Truth] through reading the sutras ? Need we fear retribution if we
1 Tht is, conceptions about satori, Mu, ku, etc.
176 1 BAs s ui
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don't sin? What i f we never atain Buddhahood? As long as we don't
tread the Three Evil Paths, why need we strive for Buddhahood?"
Answer: The source of all sin is delusion. Without Self-realiaton
it can't be detroyed. I the bodies of human beings are si sense
rot, in each of whch lurks a seducer.1 These six seducers each carry
tee kd of poison: greed, anger, ad foly. There are no human
beigs fee from these tee poisons. Tey are the cause of whch
the Three Evil Paths are the efects. Necesarily the efect fow from
the caues. One who says "I am fee of sin" is ignorant of ts law.
Even one who comt no sin i ts life has these three poisons a
priori. What, then, of thos who add new transgresions?
Queston: If al human beings are heir to thee tee poison, is it
correct to say that eve Buddhas, Patriarchs, ad holy sages canot
avoid treading the Thee Evil Paths?
Answer: When one reales hs Self-natre the three poison are
transmuted [i suc a way that gredy actons tur) into obserace
of the precepts, [anger into) mind stability, and [folly into) wisdom.
Buddhas, Patriarchs, and holy sages are al enghtened, so how could
they possibly sin (i.e., act wth ged, anger, or folly) ?
Queston: Granting that trough eghtenment the three poison
are tansmuted [in such a way that greedy actons t) into obser
ance of the precepts, [ager into) md stability, and [folly into)
wisdom, how can one rid the md of the malady of delusion?
Anwer: Realiaton of the Sel-natre is the sole cure for all
[md) il es. Do not rely on any other remedy. Have I not already
quoted to you: "Fnd the subject whc cast the shadows, it is the
very source of aBuddhas"? Your Buddha-nate is lke the jewel
sword of te Vajra kg: whoever touches it is k e.2 Or it is lke
a massive, raging fre: everhng wtn reac loses it life. Once
you realize your Tre-natre, all evl bent of md arisig from karma
1 O sense ipressions ae clled sedcer becue util we have leaed to con
tol our md ad realed the Trth, are prey to their never-g sedcon,
i.e., to ti eforts to tempt u away fom ou Tre-nate through allurng sights,
souds, ad other distactions. Greed ager, ad foly are the ievtable outcome of
attachment to the objects of the senses. {See also "Six Realms of Existence"
and "ego" in sction x.)
Compae with ths statement attributed to God in the Old Testaent: "For
there shlno see me, ad live." {Exodus 33, 2o}
LETTER TO THE LAYMAN IPPO I 177
exeding over inumerable years past is instantly anhilated, like
snow put into a roarig face. No thought of Buddha or Truth
remains. How, then, can any mind illness persist? Why can't te
karmically begotten delusions and the manifold discriminative
thoughts and notions of the unenlightened mnd be quelled? Simply
because tue Self-realization has not taken place. You can no more
stop yourself from being driven witn the Six Realms of ceaseless
change without [frst] realizing your Self-nature than you ca stop
water from boig without quenchng the fre beneath it.
Fortunately, you believe there is a truth specially transmitted out
side the scriptures and scholastic teachgs. Then why boter about
the meang of these scriptures? Renounce forthwith all such refec
ton ad see the master directly. What is the master who at t very
moment is seeing and hearing? If you reply, as most do, that it is Mind
or Nature or Buddha or one's Face before birth or one's Original
Home or Koan or Being or Nothingess or Emptiness or Form-ad
Color or the Known or the Unknown or Truth or Delusion, or say
somethng or remain sient, or regard it as Enlightenment or Igno
rance, you fall into error at once. What is more, if you are so fool
hardy as to doubt the reality of this master, you bind yourself though
you ue no rope. However much you t to know it through logical
reasoning or to name or call it, you are doomed to failure. Ad even
though all of you becomes one mass of questioning as you tur in
ward and intently search the very core of your beig, you wifd
nothg that can be termed Mind or Essence. Yet should someone
cal you name, something from witn will hear and respond. Find
out tis instat who it is !
If you puh forard with your last ounce of strength at te very
point where the path of your thinking has been blocked, and then,
completely stymied, leap with hand hgh i the air into the tremen
dou abyss of f confronting you-into the ever-burg fame of
your ow prmordal nate-al egoonsciousness, all delusive
feelings and toughts and perceptions will perish with your ego-root
and the true source of your Self-nature will appear. You will feel
resurrected, all sickness having completely vanished, and wil ex
periece genuine peace and joy. You w be entrely free. For the
frst time you will realize that walking on water is like walking on
ground and walking on ground like walking on water; that all day
178 f BAs s ur
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long there i s speaking, yet no word i s ever spoken; that throughout
the day there is waling, yet no step is ever taken; that whle the
clouds are rising over the southern mountains their rain is falling
over te norter range; that when te lecture gong is stuck in
Cha the lectre begins in Korea; that sittng alone in a ten-foot
square room you meet all the Buddas of the ten qurters; that with
out seeing a word you read the more than seven thousand volumes of
the sutas; that though you acquire all the merits and vrtues of god
actions, yet in fact there are none.
Do you want to know what ths Mind is? The layman Ho asked
Baso: "What is it that transcends all thg in the universe?" Baso
answered: "I will tell you after you have swallowed all te water of
the West River in one gulp." Upon hearing this, Ho became deeply
enlightened. Now, how do you swa ow al the water of the West
River in one gup? If you grasp the spirit of ts, you will be able to
go through ten thousand koans at one time ad perceive that walkig
on water is like walng on ground and walking on ground lke
walking on water. If you imagine I am describing somethig super
natural, you wl one day have to swallow a red-hot iron ball before
Yama-raja. But if it is not superatural, what is it? Face up to this !
6 / TO A MONK I N S HOBO HERMI TAGE ( AT
HI S URGENT REQUES T) / I my boyhood this ques
ton perplexed me: Aside from this physical body, what replies "I
am so-and-so" when asked "Who are you? " This perplexity havig
once arisen, it became deeper year by year, resulting in my desire to
become a monk. Then I made this solemn vow: Now that I have
determied to be a monk, I cannot search for truth for my own sake.
Even after wng the supreme Truth I wil defer full Buddhahood
1
util I have saved every sentient being. Furthermore, util this per
plexity has been dissolved I will not study Buddhism or lear the
rituals and practices of a monk. So long as I live in the human world
I will stay nowhere except with great Zen masters, and in te moun
tains.
After I entered a monastery my perplexty increased. At the same
time a strong resolve arose from te bottom of my heart and I
1
Thr i, rhe highest perfeted state. (See "Bud" i seion x.)
LETTER TO THE NUN FURUS AWA I 179
thought: Shakyamuni Buddha has passed already ad Miroku, the
future Buddha, has not yet appeared. During this period1 when
authentic Buddhism has declined to the point where it is about to
expire, may my desire for Self-realzation be strong enough to save
all sentent big in this Buddha-les world. Even should I sufer
the pangs of everlastg hell as a result of ts sin of atchment [to
saving], so long as I can shoulder the suferings of setent being, I
will never become discouraged or forsake ts eterl vow. Futher
more, in practcing Zen I wlnot idle away my tie tg of lie
and deat or waste even a mute i trifing good works. Nor will I
blind others to the truth by trg to mster to them so long as my
own [spiritual] stegth is insufcient to lead them to Self-realiza
tion.
These resolutons became part and parcel of my tg, bother
ig me t some extent in my zazen. But I could not do otherise.
I constatly prayed1 to Buddhas for strength to carry out these re
olutions, which I made te stdd of my conduct in both favorable
and unfavorable circtnce, under the watchfl but friendly eyes
of heavey being. 3 Thu it has been up to the present.
It i realy pitles to tell you about these delusive states of mine,
but as you make bold to ask I write here of my aspiratons as a novce.
7 I TO THE NUN FURUS AW A I You have writ
t me that te objet of Zen pracce (you believe) is te manifest
ton of Mind-in-itsl. But how does it manet itself? What can be
1 Like may others of h time, Basui beleved he wa i che beginng of the
perod of the destlion of the tre Lw a prophesied by che Budda hmsel
The Mohasa pata Cadagrbha sura quotes the Budda a sayg that in che
frst fve hudred year afer h Nirvaa hs dsciples would attan emacpation
according to che rght Lw; i the second five hudred they would only be sure of
attaing sd; i the third fve hudred, of reading ad reciting che sutra; in
the fourch fve hudred, of buildng temples ad pagoas; ad i the f fve
hudred, of the destrction of the Lw. If che dte of the Buddha's Niaa is B
cepted as aoud 476 .L.Bassui's bih i 1327, would have be wt the fourh
p
o
.
2 Petitionar prayer is not uknown i Zen. Beginer often pray to Budda ad
Patiarcs for strength to purge themelves of evil ad delusion so chey my car
on their pirtual practice successfully. Dogen's Hotsgamon contains a nube of
suc supplcaton.
3 Ths is, chose i the Sih Realm of Existence.
r8o I BAs s ur
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sen with the eyes or be known by reason cannot be ca ed Mid-in
itelf. You must begin your zazen by lookig into you ow md.
As your thoughts dh you will become aware of them, but it is
a mistake to struggle to stop them from arising. Neither loathe nor
cherish your thoughts, only reale te source from which tey stem.
By constantly questiong whence thoughts arise, the tme wlcome
when your mind, uable to aswer, wll be free of even a ripple of
thought. Yet even now you wlfd. no answer. But stlask "What
is tis Mid? " to the very rock botom and te questonig mind
wlsuddenly vanish and you body feel as though it were without
substance, lke the empty-space of the ten quarters.
This is the fst stge to whic Zen begn ers atain and they
are encouraged to some extent. But i they mstake ths for the mani
festaton of Mind-in-itelf (or Trth-i-itself), they are like one who
takes fsh eyes for pearls. Those who persist i such error become
haughty, maign Buddas and Patriarchs, and ignore the law of
causaton. So they have to struggle with evil spirits i this lfe and
tread thory paths in the next. But with favorable krc relatons
they wl eventualy atti enlightenment. Men, however, who can
not perceve the trut of all this, who do not beieve their own Mind
is Buddha ad who look for Buddha, or Truth, outside this Mind,
are itely worse of tha non-Buddhists who attach themselves to
the phenomenal world.
As I have already writen you, when some isight come to you
go to a competet Zen master ad openly demonstrate to him what
you have perceived, exactly as it came to you. I it is faulty and needs
to be dissolved, let it be done lie boig water destroyng ice. At
last, lke a bright moon sg i an empty sky through clouds that
have broken open, you Face before your parent' birth wlbe re
vealed, and for the frst tme you wl understand what is meant by
"the saw dances te Sandai." Now, Sadai is the name of a dance.
Jut consider: a saw dances the Sandai ! What does this mean? Tackle
it reolutey but wthout reasong, for it has no meaning in the
usual sense. You wlbe able to comprehend it ony upon Self-reala
tion.
You next mentioned that you are going to fast. Fastg is a non
Buddhist practce. Don't ever do it! Renunciation of your wrong
views which discrimate gain from loss, good from bad-this is true
LETTERS TO THE ZEN PRIEST IGUCHI I 181
fastg. Relinquishment of deluion in the wholeheared practice of
Ze-this is self-puricaton. To deire abnormal experiences1 is as
misguided as watng t appear diferent from ordinary people. You
have but to keep your md steadfst yet flexble, .oncerg your
self with neither good nor evl in others and not obstuctg them.
If you remid yourself that this world is but a dream i whch there
is no grief to avoid and no joy to look for, your mind wl become
vsibly serene. Not only this, but your i neses wl disappear as
your delusive feels and perceptons fall away. You mut even
dscard whatever you realize through enlightenment. What is more,
you must not atac yourself to or be repelled by visions of any kind,
for they are all illusional. Don't ivolve yourself i such fantasies but
only iquire: "What is the master who see all tis? "
I have fully answered the questions you have raised. Should you
not realize your True-slf in this lifetime even though you practice
Zen exactly a I now advise you, you wil uquestionably meet a per
fectly enghtened Zen master in your next life and attan Self-realiza
ton a thouand times over through one Sound [ofTruth].
I disle writng you in such detail, but sice you have writen me
from a sickbed to which you have long been confed, ths is the only
way I can answer so you wlreadily uderstnd.
8
/
FI RST LETTER TO THE ZEN PRI ES T I GU
CHI / I have read your presentaton at lengt, but it misses the
point of the koan. The Sith Patriarch said: "The flag doesn't move,
the wind dosn't move, only your mid move."
2
To reale this
clearly is to perceive that the universe and yourel are of the same
root, that you and every single thing are a unity. The gurgle of the
stream and the sigh of the wind are the voice of the master. The
green of pie, the white of snow, thee are the colors of the master,
the very one who lf the hand, moves te legs, see, hears. One who
grasps this directly wthout recourse to reason or intellecton can be
said t have some degree of iner realaton. But this is not yet f
eightenment.
A acient Zen master [Rinzai] said: "You should not cling to te
That is, hallucnations or fatasies aring fom prolonged fasting.
2 Mumka No. 29.
182 I BAs s ur
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idea that you are Pure-ssence." Ad again: "Your physical body,
composed of the four basic elements, can't hear or undestand this
preachg. The empty-space can't understad this prechig. Then
what is it that hears and uderstnds? " Meditate fly and directly on
these words. Take hold of this koan as though wieldg the jewel
sword of the Vajra kig. Cut dow whatever appars i the mind.
When thoughts of mundane maters arise, cut them of When no
tions of Buddhism arise, likewise lop them of In short, destroy all
ideas, whether of realization, of Buddhas, or of devils, and all day
long pursue the question "What is it that hears this prechg? "
When you have eradicated every conception until only emptiess
remains, and then cut through even the emptiness, your mind will
burst open and that which hears wl manifest itsel Persevere, per
severe-never
q
ut halay-until you reach the point where you
feel as though you have risen from the dead. Only then will you be
able to wholly resolve the momentous question "What is it that hears
this preaching? "
I am afraid i t may be inconveniet for you to write me often, so
I am writing you this [kid of detailed] leter. Mter you have read it
drop it into the fre.
9 I S ECOND LETTER TO THE ZEN PRI ES T
I GUCHI I I have read your leter carefly.
Having long admired you for your determnaton to come to Self
realization, I was highy gratifed to lear that you have not forgotten
the great
q
ueston. Your answer has been noted in all respects. Here
I want to tell you to make this your koan: "What is the substance of
my fudamental nature? " In your search for the master that hears
and speaks, though thouands of thoughts arise don't enterain them
but only ask "What is it? " Every thought and al self-awareness will
then disappear, folowed by a stte not unlike a cloudless sky. Now,
mind itself has no form. What is it, then, that hears and works and
moves about? Delve into yourelf deeper and deeper until you are
no longer aware of a single object. Then beyond a shadow of a doubt
you will perceive your True-nature, like a man awakening from a
dream. Assuredly at tt moment fowers will bloom on withered _
trees and fre fame up from ice. Al of Buddhism, all worldly con-
LETTERS TO THE ZEN PRIEST IGUCHI f 183
cers, all notions of good ad evi, w have disappeared, lie last
night's dream, and your fundamental Buddha-nature alone wil
manifest itsel Having come to such iner uderstanding, you must
not then cherish the notion that ths Mid is fundamentally Buddha
nature. If you do you wl be creatg for yourself another tought
form.
Only because I regard your desire for Self-realzaton so highly do
I write in such detaiJl
Thank you for sendig the fve hundred packets of caked rice and
the pound of tea.
1 0 I THI RD LETTER TO THE ZEN PRI EST
I GUCHI I I have read your leter with partcular care. I am
much pleased to hear about your Zen practce. But if I answer you
at any length, you are boud to make your own interpretations of
what I write and that will become somewhat of a hindrace to your
Self-realaton.
Try to perceive directly the subject that is presently inquiring.
Buddas and Patriarchs say that ts subject is inherently Budda
md. Yet this Mid is without substance. I your physical body what
can you call Mind or Buddha? Now itensely ask yourself "What is
this which can't be named or itellectualy know? " If you pro
foundy queston "What is it that lfs the hands, moves the legs,
speaks, hears? " your reasoning will come to a halt, ever avenue
beig blocked, and you won't know which way to tur. But relent
lessly continue your inquiry as to tis subject. Abandon intellecton
and relinquish your hold on everytg. When with your whole
heart you long for liberation for its ow sake, beyond every doubt
you wbecome enlghtened.
With the passage of tme one's toughts are stl ed ad one ex
periences a void like that of a cloudes sky. You must not, how
ever, confse this with enlghtenment. Puttg aside logic ad reason,
1 At fst blush this statement may seem to be at variance wth others i these
letter wherein Bassui says it is unwise to wrte i detai. Basu is always afraid of
sayig too much, of burdening his corespondents with ideas whc may hang i
their mids and thus prove a hidrance to enlightenment. At thi poit Bassui is
implyig that he is so moved by Priest [guchi's ardor that, despite his bette judg
ment, he h written him this tpe ofletter.
184 1 BAS s UI
'
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question yourself even more itensely in tis wse: "Mind is form
les, and so right now am I. What, then, is hearig?" Only after your
search has permeated every pore ad fber of your beig wll the
empty-space suddenly break asuder and your Face before you
parents were bor appear. You wl feel le a man who abruptly
awakens fom a dream. At such tme go to a reputable Zen master
and ask for hs critical examiaton. Whie you may not come to
Self-realizton in tis lie, you wl suely become enlightened in
your next, Zen masters have taught, i on your deathbed your mid
is barren of every thought and you only ask "What is tis Mid?"
dying unconcered like fre expiring.
I have writen as you have asked me to, but reluctandy. Once you
have read this letter bu it. Don't reread it but ony search deeply
for the one hearig. My words wlseem le so much nonsens when
you experience enghtenment yousel
1 1 j FOURTH LETTER TO THE ZEN PRI ES T
I GUCHI / I am glad to lear how ardendy you are practicig
zen. What you have reported to me is a little le a Ze experience,
but it is essentally what you have uderstood wth your itellect.
The Great Queton canot be resolved by the dscursive md. Even
what becomes clear trough reton is delusion of a knd. I a
prevous leter I wrote you that only when you have come back fom
the dead, so to speak, wlthat whch hears manfet itsel Your per
sistent inquiry "What is it that hears? " will eventualy lead you to
awareness of nothig but te questiong itsel You must not, how
ever, be misled into tg ths is te subject whch hears.
You say that i workg on this koan you feel as though you have
taken hold of a sword and cut away every idea in your mid, includ
ig the impression of emptness, and that quetoning alone remais.
But what is doing al this? Delve to your imost being and you wl
dscover it is precisely that whch hears.
Even though you experience your Sel-nature agai and agai, and
uderstand Buddhsm well enough to discouse upon it, your delu
sive thoughts wlsurvive, ievitably precipitatg you ito the Three
Evil Paths in your next lie, unles their root is severed through per
fect enghtenment. If, on the other hand, stl unsatisfed, you per-
LETTER TO A NUN I I SS
severe in your sel-inquiry even to your deatbed, you wil unques
tonably come to full enlightenment in your next exstence.
Don't allow yourself to become discouraged and don't fritter away
your time, just concentrate with all your heart on your koan. Now,
your physical being doesn't hear, nor does the void. Ten what
does? Strive to fd out. Put aside your rational intellect, give up
al techques [to iduce enightenment], abandon the desire for
Self-realation, and renounce every other motivation. Your md
will ten come to a standstll, and you won't know what to do.
No longer possesing the desire to atai enlightenmet or to u
your powers of reason, you wl feel like a tree or a stone. But go
frther yet and question yourself exhaustively for days on end, and
you will surely atin deep enlightenment, cuttig away the under
most roots of birth-ad-eath and coming to the realm of the non
self-oncious Mind. The udermost roots ofbirth-and-death are the
delusive thoughts and feelings arisig from the self-conscious mind,
the mind of ego. A Zen master [Rnzai] once said: "There is nothing
in partcular to reae. Only get rid of [the idea of a] Buddha and
sentient beings. "1 The essental thg for enlightenment is to empty
the md of the notion of sel
To write i such detail is unwise, but as you have written me so
often I feel obliged to reply i tins way.
1 2 I T 0 A NUN I
I have read your letter carefully. It
is gratifg to see how eagerly you are practicing Zen, puttg it
before everytllng ele.
You say you once thought you ought to have gone west to the
capital but that you now see it was a mistaken idea, tat the capital
is everhere, and that therefore you need do no more than question
yourself one-poitedly "What is it?" But this is not enough, for
though you have foud the capital to be everywhere you have not
seen the Ruler face to face. The Ruler is your Face before your par
ents were bor.
When you "pierce" the question somewhat, your mind becomes
like the void; [ideas of] Buddhas, sentient beings, past or present, are
I In other word, of Buddha U3 o
pp
osd to setiet big.
r86 / BAS S UI
'
s S ERMON AND LETTERS
no more. A tranquility not tl.ike te serenity of moonlight food
ing the coutryside sufuses the heart, but this can't be put into
words. Such serenity is the outcome of some Zen practce, yet the
mind is. stll sick, for the Self is still topsy-tury, and ts inversion
is te root-source of delusion. What is meant by cuttng away the
root is breakig trough ths serene state of mind.
One who lacks a genuine thirst for Self-realzaton digs up old
koans and, reasonig out "answers, " considers hmsel enlightened.
You must not become atached to anytg you realize, you must
ony search directly for the subject tat realizes. Thus like sometng
burt to a crisp or slashed to bits, your preconceived notons will
all be annihilated. You will perceive the master only after you have
probed "What is id" with your last ouce of strength and every
thought of good and evil has vanished. Not w1til then will you feel
like one who has actually been resurrected.
Tokusa said: "Even though you can say somethig about it, I wll
give you thrty blows of the stck. . . "1 Ca you avoid the stick?
If you can, you understand the import of "The East Moutain strides
over the water."
I am afraid I have wrten too much, but I have done so becaue
I admre your determiaton to become enghtened. Tese ideas are
not mne but what I have leared fom the techings of the ancient
Zen masters.
1
The koa i irs entirety reads: "Even though you ca say somethig about it, I
I wil give you thity blows of the stick. I And if you ca' r say aythig about it, /
I wlao gve you thirty blows of the stick."
2 This is from Umon's Collectd Sayings. A monk aked Ummon: "Where do
Buddhs come fom?" (i.e., What i the Buddha-md?) Ummon repled: "The
East Mountain strides over the water."
PART TWO j ENLIGHTENMENT
V
I
E I GHT CONTEMPORARY
ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
OF JAPANESE AND WESTERN-
ERS
I
EDI TOR' S I NTRODUCTI ON J In recent
years stories of te enlghtenments of acient Chiese Zen monks
have foud their way into English. Whle their laudable aim is to
inspire and instruct moder readers, paradoxcally they often have
the opposite efect. A contemporary Asian or Westerer sureyig
the paths to Self-realization which these ancient wortes trod is all
too liely to say to himself: "It's a very well for these people, they
could atai satori because they were monks isolated from the hurly
buly of the world, celbates unburdened by the afectons and respon
sibilites of wife ad children. Life in their day was relatively simple.
Theirs was not a highy organized industrial society makg insatiable
demands on the individual. The spirit of their day ad me is vastly
diferent. What meaning can their satori have for me?"
No such objections ca be raised to the following eight accounts.
These Asians and Westerers are livig among us today, neither as
monks nor uworldy soltaries but as busiess and professional men
and women, artist, and houewves. Al have trained i Zen under a
moder master and realizd their Self-nature in one degree or another.
Their stories bear wtes that what man has done ma can do, tat
satori is no impossible ideal.
1 89
190 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
The majority of these enlightenment stories frst appeared i Japa
nese Buddhist publications, from which they were translated into
English, the remainder havig been solcited specifcally for ths book.
They have been pruned in such a way as to elimiate irrelevant back
ground material without sacrifcing either the thread of events which
was signifcant i propelg these people ito their experience, or
their varied ad intmate reactions to zazen ad the elements of
Zen traig. By not rigidly lmiting these accounts to the circum
stances of the enghterent itsel we believe we have added to their
value as human documets.
Each of these stories bears i its caption the age and occupation of
the indivdual at the time of his enightenment. All were written soon
after the experience with the exception of number three, which was
not set to paper until almost twenty years later. Account number to
is the editor's ow experience and number eight that of h wife.
More often than not the ordiary mystical experence of expanded
consciousness comes purely by chance, and since it is unconnected
with a proven discipline, a discipline for sustaing and enarging it,
it efects litle or no transformation of personality or character, even
tually fadig ito a happy memory.
Satori is no such haphazard phenomenon. Like a sprout which
emerges from a soil whch has been seeded, fertilzed, and thoroughly
weeded, satori comes to a mind that has heard and believed the
Buddha-truth and then uprooted within itself the throtting notion
of self-ad-ter. Ad just as one must nurture a newly emerged
seding until maturty, so Zen taining stresses the need to ripen an
iital satori through subsequent koan practice andfor shika-taza
untl it thoroughly animates one's life. I other words, to function on
the higher level of conciousness brought about by satori one must
futer train oneself to act in accord with this percepton of Trut.
Ts special relatonshp betwee satori and post-satori zazen is
brought out in a little parable in one of the sutras. In this aecdote
satori is compared to a youth who, after years of destitute wanderg
i a distat land, suddenly discovers that his wealthy father had may
years earlier bequeathed him his fortune. To actually take possession
of this treasure, which is rightly his, and become capable of hadling
EDITOR
'
S I NTRODUCTION 191
it wisely is equated with post-satori zazen, that i, wit broadening
and deepening the inital enlightenment.
The perceptve reader wl obsere that these enlightenment ex
periences vary i their clarity and depth, that some individuals, in Zen
parlance, have actually taken hold of the "Ox," while others have
barely se his "tracks. " Atough example ca be found of profound
enlightenment having ben atained afer only a few years' exerion
and of shallow satori havg resulted fom a lengty efort at zazen,
in the majority of cases the more exesive the zazen prior to satori
the more wholehearted ad pure- the broader and firmer te en
lightenment which follows.
What maner of people were these who, like the carp in the
Chinese fable that leapt up the waterfain a mighty thrust to becoe
a dragon, could rise to a higher leve of consciousness, to a wholly
new awarenes of the indvisibilty of all lfe ad the basic emptness
of all tings? Certanly none w gied with extraordary intellect,
nor were any endowed with supraormal powers. Sufering they had
each know, but it was no more tha what is experienced in the life
time of a average indivdul. I they were exceptional in any way
it was simply i their courage to "go they knew not where by a road
they knew not of" prompted by a faith in their real Self.
The seker who does not fd i stl entapped by h ilusion of
two worlds: one of perfection that les beyond, of peace witout
struggle, 1 of unedg joy; the other te everydy meaningless world
of pa and evi which i scarcely wor relatg himself to. Secretly
he longs for the former even as he openly despises te later. Yet he
hesitates to plunge into te teemng Void, into the abyss of his own
Primal-natue, because in h deepest unconscious he fears abandon
ig his famiar world of duty for the unknow world of Oneness,
the realty of whic he stl doubts. The fders, on the other had,
are retained by neither fers nor doubt. Castng both aside, they
leap because they ca't do otherwe-they simply must and no long
er know why-ad so they triumph.
The bulk of thee enlightenent experiece came about at sesshin,
1
"Peace of md i not absence of stggle but absence of uncrtainty ad con
fsion." From a article on "Yoga ad Cht Spirital Techniques" by An
thony Bloom i Forms ad Techniqes ofAltristic and S
p
iritual Growth (edited by
Pitrim A. Sorokin, Beacon Press, 19.4), p.
97

192 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
a mode of spiritual diciple whose exact COWtrart can be foWld
nowhere i Buddhsm except Zen. Sessh i one form or another
goes back to te time of the Budda, when mons would trai tem
selves i secluion dug the several mont of the raiy season. The
purpose of sesshi, as the word imple, is to enable one to collect and
unf hs normally scatered md so that he can focus it lie a power
f telecope inward i order to dscover his tre Sel-nate. During
seshin the basic teaching devces and methods of Zen-i.e., zazen,
teisho (the form lecte), and dokua {private instucton)-are
coordinated ito a meaul whole dung seve days1 of seclusion.
Sator i not of course coned to sessh, but sice sesshi is W
questonbly its most potent incubator, the progresive steps involved
in ts uque form of md-honig are worth decribing at some
lengt i te reader is to have a cler iight into tis icubaton
proces.
I a monaster, sesh actally comence wit certai cere
monie the evening before formal zz begis. I te dy-lt zedo,
which is to be the hub of al actvite for one week, grave head mons
assemble the partcipants for te purpose of assigng place, istruct
ing newcomers how to enter ad leve the zendo Wobtusively, how
to manpuate their chopstcks and food bowls silently during meals,
how to wal in k, ad how to move quiety on ad of their
sittg pilows.
With te concluion of these foralites everyone is sumoned to
the mai hal, abla wt lght, by the ponderou beat of the giant
monastery d. Dressed i formal sittg attre, the partcipants le
up i to rows facig each oter across te hal, kneel in te tradi
tonal Japanese posture, then bow to each oter as a sign of mutual
repect ad identcaton with one aother's aspiraton. There i an
air of suppressd excitement and huhed expectacy when, a few
minutes later, te rosh and h pricipal aides i fceremonial dress
enter. As tey pass beteen te to ranks to take teir seats at the
head of the hall, all bow agai, ts tme with heads touching the
tatami mats, out of deep repect for their teachers.
After welcomg everyone te rosh speaks i efect as folows:
1 Ths refers to monater sessh. Temple or other types of sessh ae fequetly
less th seven dys.
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION I 193
Durig sessh. you are not to tal with one another, as speak
ig disrupts the concentrated md and thus hinders your ow
practice and that of others.
Each of you must devote himself single-mdedly to his own
zazen to the exclusion of everythig else, includig a concer
with his neighbor's problems. If you have pressing questions,
speak to the head monks out of earshot of the others.
Your eyes should always rest unfocused in front of you while
sitting, standing, walking, or workg, at a distance of about
one yard when sitting and about two yards in the other positions.
When your eyes dart about and f themselve on somethg or
other, this contact creates a impression, which in t gives
rise to a thought. Thoughts mutiply and then lke fies buzz
about in the md, makig concentraton difcult if not impos
sible. Do not therefore divert your eyes for ay reason whatever.
Durig sesshn dispense wth social amenites of every sort.
Don't greet one another with "Good morg" or bid one a
other "Good night," and don't compliment or criticize each
other. Further, you must't make a point of stepping aside to
alow others to go ahead, nor shoud you push ahead of them.
I al your activities you shoud move neither hastily nor slug
gishly but naturaly, like fowing water.
It is advisable i sessh to eat no more than half of what you
noraly eat, and if you folow this caution your zazen wlbe
more efective. However, zazen is not ascetcism and it is unwise
to abstain altogether from food, as your md might become
dsturbed by pangs ofhunger or you might fmd yourself becom
ig too weak to do zazen. If you have no desire to eat during cer
tain meals becaue you are strivg particuarly hard, you may
of course refse food.
Do not eat too rapidy or so slowly that everybody has to
wait for you. Idealy al shoud fish at approxmately the same
time so as not to upset the established rhythm of the seshin. Be
carefu not to ratle your bowls when you uncover them and
when you put them away, and munch the pickled radishes as
quietly as possible; such sounds eften prove intrusive to begin
ners.
194 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
For some reason, many people imagine it is more difcult for
women to come to Self-realization tha for men. On the con
trary, women usually attain kensho quicker, because their minds
are less prone to play wit ideas tan are men's. But both men
and women, if they expunge every thought from their mds
and become selfess, ca equally attain enightenment durig
one week of sesshin. Many have done so in the past ad a few
determed ones wl do it during this sesshin.
Lasty, bear in md tat sesshin is a cooperative endeavor in
whch there is mutual support and stimulation only if al par
ticipate jointly in sesshi actvities and do not follow their ow
inclations. To indulge your ow desires at the expense of this
common efort is an expression of ego and hence imical to our
purpose, both individual and collectve.
The roshi then concludes by exhortig al to do their utmost.
Tea ad cakes are now sered, frt to the rosh, next to the head
monks, and then to those assembled. The rosh sips hs tea frst and is
followed by the others. Again he is the frst to eat hs cake, afer
whch everyone joins hm.
Ths ritual is not witout signicance. It symbolzes the joig of
all hearts and mds i this common udertakig. At the same time
it is an expression of the students' condence i their teacher, by whom
they agree to be led, ad of their faith in the Dharma whch he ex
pounds. Ths ceremony over, te roshi ad his aides depart, and once
more al bow to them a before.
The nine-o'clock bell tolls and everyone retires to bed. I six hours
the great ventre begins . . . .
Clang, clang! e . 3 a.m . . . . sessh's begun! . . .
Slightly dazed newcomers rub sleepy eyes, fumble with quilts . . .
seasoned hands alertly fold and store bedding, go to the toilet, brush
teeth, dash cold water on their faces, dress, mount the tan (zazn
platform) in a quick movement, adjust their sitting cushon, begin
zazen . . . no time, no efort wasted . . . letargic beginers
clumsily climb onto the tan and teir pillow . . . adjustig, wrig
glig, readjusting. . B .
Miutes later te rosh silently enters . . . walkg in the rear he
EDI TOR
'
s INTRODUCTI ON 1 195
inspects backs, to h comprehending eye more eloquently reveaing
the mind's tension or slackness than the face. . .
A sagging spine arches with a lght crack of his stck, another
straightens merely wth whispered advice or encouagement . . . each
siter as Roshi passes by greets h wth gassho, the universal gesture
of humlty, respect, ad grattude . . . .
Rosh may relate to the now wal-gazing siters a inspirig anec
dote of an ancient Zen worthy or a notewory contemporary . . . .
"After al," he conclude, "he was ony human; if he coud atai
satori so can you." . . . jaw griy set, the struggle is on . . . .
Clag! clang! . . . k . . . forty-fve minutes have elapsed . . .
oldtmers flip of their pillows in one swirl, cat-land on their feet, fal
in line and slowly crcle the zendo, had folded across chet, with
measured steps, concetrated md w Clang! e . . k fshes
. . . some quicky mout the tan, others head for the toilet . . . .
Clang! clang! clag! . . . the next sittg period commences . . . the
pungent smell of a new stck ofincene1 dt through the zendo . . . .
Some twenty minutes later the godo, Roshi's chief deputy, slps
softly from the tan . he goes for the kyosaku, symbol of Monu's
delusion-cutng sword, resting in the she in the center of the zen
do, grips it at each end, bows low before Monu. . . .
Silently, the godo stal aroud the zendo, appraiig te telltae
postures . . . no sound but the barely audble undertone of pufng
and wheezing fom novces straig deperately wth bodies instead
of mds to corral stampedig thought. . . .
Smash! . . . his kyosaku lad flforce on a corer of the tan . .
a murmur like wind soughng thouh corstalks sweeps through the
startled, slightly fghteed newcomers . . . sience . . . a deafenng
silence . . . .
Slam! wham! . . . faing away at siters whose slouching backs
signa wilting mds, the godo roars: "Oy ffteen minutes to doku
sa! Brace up! Concentrate, concentrate! Don't separate yourselves
a hair' s breadth fom you koan! . . . You must bring Rosh a
aswer, not a blank! "
Slumped bodie shore up . . . the pufg and straining loudens.
1 The sitting period of forty-fve minutes i measured by the consumption of a
paricular length of incense.
196 / E NL I GHTE NME NT EXPERI EN CES
Clang! clang! . . . dokusan!
"Move ! " the godo yells . . . the tension broken, all but a reluctant
few eagerly race to the line-up. . . .
"Do you want the truth or don't you! " he barks at the laggards,
jerkig one or to from the tan and eggig them on toward the doku
san line with h kyosaku, coldly ignorig others.
I most monastery and temple sesshi the kyosaku plays a vital
and often crucia role, which reaches a dramatic climax just before
dokusan. The essential purpose of the kyosaku is to arouse every
vestige of dormant energy i the sitters to enable them to break
through their protective shell of self-elusion and come to true Self
understandig. No single element of Zen traig, however, has been
more vociferously criticized, none less uderstood, by Asians and
Westerers alke, than the use of this stick. Condemed as a "sadistic
expression of Japanese culture" and as a "fagrant perersion of Bud
dsm," it is in fact neither. Along with Zen itself the kyosaku is an
import from Cha.
1
It is probably a hardier descendant of a small
rod used even in the Buddha's day to awaken dozg monks and con
structed so as to whistle when shaken beside the ear.
2
In Cha at some
poit the Zen masters evidently felt their disciples needed to b
stimulated wth somethig more tan pleasant souds or an occasional
slap of the hand or blow of the fst, and i response to this need the
forefather of the kyosaku was bor.
Kyosaku are made in varyig sizes, shapes, and weights, those
constructed of hard wood beig ued i the wter when monks and
laymen are heavly clad, those of soft wood i the summer when they
are wearig lght clothig. The end of the kyosaku that comes i con
tact with the body is fattened lke a paddle to a width of perhaps
three iches, whie the handle end i rouded to permt a frm grip.
In some monasteries ad temples it measue as much as four and a
half feet in length, in others no more than to and a half.
The kyosaku may be applied to rouse a sleepy sitter, to enliven a
weary one, or to spur on a striving one, but it is never used as chastise-
1 For brief description of the ue of the krosa (also ca ed kisak) in a later
day Chinese Zen monstery, see John Blofela's The Wheel ofLi, p. 167.
2 This piece of information was given me by Yautani-roshi.
EDITOR
'
s INTRODUCTION / 197
ment or out of personal pique. This is clear fom the fact that the one
struck raises his hands in gassho to show his grattde to the godo,
who in tu acowledges this gestre with a bow, in a spirit of
mutual respect and understanding. In the monastery the heaviest blows
of the kyosaku are mostly reserved for the earest and the courageous
and not wasted on the slackers or the timd. The adage that a poor
horse can't be made to r fast no mater how hard or how ofen he
is whipped is well understood in the zendo.
In Soto monasteries ad temples sitters face the wland not each
other as they do in the Rzai sect, so the godo apples the kyosaku
fom the rear, at his own disreton,1 and occasionally without any
warg.
2
In the hands of a sensitve, enlightened godo, able to ste
when the iron is hot, or for that matter to make the iron hot by
strikg, the kyosaku i unequaled for raisig one's concentrative
efort to its greatest intensity. Furthermore, just as a whip sensitvely
used on a racing horse ca drive h to even greater speed wthout
harm, so the kyosaku intelgently applied to the back of a strving
sitter can, without paing h, elcit tat superhuman bust of energy
which leads to the dyamc one-pointedness of md indispensable
for satori. Even at less critical moment, partcularly in md-afteroon
or eveng, when a slumping, exauted body h slackened the
md's tautess, openg the way to invadig hordes of ideas, a well
tmed blow across the shoulders wlkock them all fom the head,
simultaneouly releasing ususpected stores of energy.
It canot be emphasized too strongly that adminstering the
kyosaku is not a mater of simply strikng one with a stck. In this act
compassion, force, and wisdom are joined. In a frst-rate monastery
or temple the godo is invariably a man of strong spirit yet with a
compassionate heart. Indeed, if his kyosaku is to be a spur and not a
thor, he must be identifed with the deepest spiritual aspiraton of
the sitters. Well has it been said that love wthout force is weakess,
force witout love brutality.
There is no denyig, however, that for the rank and fle of West-
" Sitters frequently ak for the kyosaku by signalig wt thei hands i gasho
above thei head.
2 Usually, however, it is preceded by a wag tap on the shoulder. In Ri
the striig i fom the font, so one always knows when he is goig to be strck.
198 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
erers, Wable to disabue themselves of the notion that beatigs with
a stick Wider any circwstances are an afront to their dignty, the
kyosaku wl always remai a menace rather than a welcome goad.
Dokusan is followed by sutra-hantg, anoWced by the sharp
C-r-a-k! of the wooden clappers. At this signal all fle outdoors
along an open canopied passageway, to be greeted by the first cold
breath of daw, and thence proceed to the main hall. There laymen
take their place on one side, monks on the other. Dokusan and two
hours of zazen have brought the md to a clarity and one-pointed
ness where every posture and movement of the body during prostra
tions and the chanting take on fesh meaning and signfcance. The
rhythmic beat of the mokugyo, the deep ring of the bronze drum, the
fickering candles on the butsudan (Buddhist altar) , and the fresh scent
of incense all play their part in frther whetting the mid.
Afer chanting comes the frst meal, at five thirty, consistng of
rice-gruel, a side dish of vegetables, and pickled radishes. Ths simple
fare is for the nourishent of the body, to give it strength to pursue
the Buddha's Way, and not for enoyment. But one does not eat im
mediately. First, wth the tig-a-ling of the head monk's handbell
the mealtme recitation commences wth an epression of faith in
the Three Treasures as One, that is, Birushana, the law of cause
and efect, and Buddhas of all worlds. The chantig then ceases
temporarily while each person removes the cloth aroWd the four
nested lacquer bowls and chopstcks which are suppled hm for the
sesshin and sets them out in front ofhim.
Ting-a-ling! The chanting resumes wth an avowal of faith i the
person and life of the Buddha, i the Dharma, ad in the great exem
plars of the Buddha's teachg, namely, the Bodhsattvas Monju,
Fugen, and Kanon, i addition to the Patriarchs. Now the rice-gruel
is ladled out fom a large wooden tb and the vegetables served.
Before anything is touched, however, there is another roWd of
chanting in which each recalls that the food about to be eaten come
of the labors of many people, and that each is enttled to receive it
only if his aspiraton is pure and hs efort sicere. If taken, it is to be
received with grattude, not greedily, and without preference or
aversiOn.
Now only one more ritual remains before the meal is actualy
eaten. Each takes fom his rice bowl some half dozen grais of rice
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION I 199
and places them in a special receptacle, which is passed to all for this
purpose. This symbolic oferig is for the hWgry Ween spirits of
this and other worlds who through their greed have condemned
themselves to mserable existences. The meal when fmally eaten is
consumed i silence so that concentration, whether on a koan, count
ing the breath, or on the eating itself may continue uninterrupted.
Three times in all monk-waiters come with the large tub of gruel.
Those wanting more profer their rice bowls, waiting with hands in
gassho while being served. Wordlessly they rub their hands together
to signal "Enough. " If no further serings are desired, each simply
nods his head and bows from the waist, hands folded across the chest,
when the waiters come by. Not all heed the roshi's iunction to eat
sparingly; monks who are obviously more itent on fil ng their
bellies than emptyig their mds take even a third bowl of rice.
Food once touched with the chopstcks must be eaten and not dis
carded. Not a scrap is to be wasted. At the conclusion of the meal
hot water is passed around, and each one, usig a pickled radsh for
the purpose, cleas h bowls of every partcle, after whch, if he is
thrst, he drins the water, not forgettng, however, to deposit the
last dregs in a common contaier passed for the same hungry spirits.
The meal fmishes wth a chant, the substance of whch is an expres
sion of thanks for the nourishment just received and a pledge to use
this strength for the spiritual welfare of all beings.1
Not alone food but every object is to be used with due regard for
its proper fWction and not wasted or needlessly destroyed. Ths is
one of the inviolable rules of the Zen monastery and care must be
taken especially durig sesshn not to transgress it. The reasons are
more spiritual tha economc. To squander is to detroy. To treat
thigs with reverence and grattude, accordig to their nature and
purpose, is to afrm their value and life, a life i which we are al
equally rooted. Wastefuless is a measure of our egocentricity and
hence of our alienaton from thigs, fom their Buddha-nature, from
their essential Wty with us. Further, it is a act of indi erence to
the absolute worth of the wasted object, however humble. Thus,
breakg a glass heedlessly at any time, leavig a light burg when
it i no longer needed, uig more water than is re
q
uired for a par-
1 These are Hosshin-ji Soto rituals, difering slightly from Riai. Incidentaly,
Zen monasteries uually serve polished white rice, not brow.
200 f ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
tcular task, permtting a book to remain overured after it has
been read-tese are all wanton acts in te deepest religious sense
and therefore harmful to our spiritual progress. For this reason they
are rondly condemned.
Followig the morg meal, most monasteries ad temples
schedule samu (physical work) whch, durig sesshin, takes the form
of sweepig, dustig, scrubbing the foors and toilets, plus sweepig
the walks, raking leaves, and weeding the gardens.
1
Sice the rme
when Hyakujo frst instituted it, more tha a tousand years ago,
maual labor has been an essental ingredient of Zen discipline. It is
recorded of Hyakujo that one day his monks, feeling he had grow
too feeble to work, hid his gardenng tools. When they refused to
heed his enteaties to retur them, he stopped eating, sayig: "No
work, no eatg." The. same spirit was expressed in modern tmes by
Gempo Y amamoto-rosh, former abbot of R yutaku-ji, who died in
]ne of 1961 at the age of ninety-six. Amost blind and no longer able
to teach or work about the monastery, he decided it was time to die,
so he stopped eatig. When asked by hs monks why he refused his
food, he replied that he had outlived hs usefess and was ony a
bother to everybody. They told him: "If you die now Uauary]
when it is so cold, everybody wll be nncomfortable at your feral
ad you w be an even greater nuisance, so please eat!" He there
upon resumed eatg, but when it became warm he agan stopped,
and not long afer quietly toppled over and died.
What is the signicance of such work i terms of Zen trainig?
First, it poits up that zzen is not merely a matter of acqurig the
ability to concentrate and focus the mind during sitting, but that i
the widest sense zazen involves the mobilizaton ad dynamic utiliza
tion ofjoriki (the power generated by zazen) in our every act. Samu,
as a mobile type of zazen, also provides the opporunity to quieten,
deepen, and bring the md to one-poitedness tough activity, a
well as to invigorate the body and thereby energize the mnd.
The object here, as i every other type of zazen, is the cultivaton
first of mndfuess and eventually mdlessness. These are simply
two diferent degrees of absorpton. Mduess is a state wherein
1
In monasteries which requie Blage aount of mua labor the year roud
e.g., i those which raise thei ow rce B well Bvegetables-samu i dispensed wit
durng sesshin so to prt more tie for sitting.
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTION I 201
one is totally aware in any situaton and so always able to respond
appropriatey. Yet one is aware that he is aware. Mindlessness, on the
other hand, or "nomindness" as it has been called, is a condtion of
such complete absorption that there is no vestige of self-awareness.
Any action arising from these states of minJ can be neither rushed
nor desultory, neither strained nor lax, can have no false movements
nor waste any energy. All labor entered into wth such a mind is
valued for itself apart from what it may lead to. This is the "merit
less" or "purposeless" work of Zen. By undertang each task in t
spirit, eventually we are enabled to grasp the truth that every act is
an expression of the Buddha-mind. Once this is directly and umis
takably experienced, no labor can be beeath one's dignity. On the
contrary, a work, no matter how meal, is ennobling because it
is seen as the expression of the immaculate Buddha-nature. This is
true enlightenment, and enlightenment in Zen is never for oneself
alone but for the sake of all.
This ideal is stressed throughout sesshin. Four tmes a day i fact
at the close of the teisholecture, at the end of sutra-chatig i the
moring and in the aferoon, and te last thing in the evenng-the
Four Vows are recited three times i unson:
Sentent beings are coutless-! vow to save them a .
Tormenting passions are innumerable-! vow to uproot them
all.
The gates1 of the Dharma are manfold-! vow to pass through
them al .
The Buddha's Way is peerless-! vow to realize it.
Samu fished, there follows a teisho of about an hour's length (an
example of which is to be found in section n). Then, around eleven,
comes the main meal of the day, uually white rice mixed wit bar
ley and supplemented by fresh vegetables and soybean-paste soup.
Afer lunch abut the most ardent, who contnue to sit in the zendo,
relax for an hour, as provided by the sessin schedule, not forgetting,
however, to absorb themselves in their koan or other exercise.
With the excepton of the teisho and samu, the afteroon and
evening are a repetton of the morg tmetable. Some monasteries
and temples allow a hot bath in the afteroon or evening, and for
1 Tt is, levels of trth.
202 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
begin ers wth aching legs and strained bodies this relief is inexpres
ibly welcome. At four in the afternoon a light repast, mainly made
up oflefovers from the mdday meal, is served. Unke the frst to
meas, whch are preceded by and end with chantig, ths "medi
cie"1 is consumed i complete silence.
At Hosshi-ji, noted for its severe sesshi, on the fourth night and
every night thereafter, at eight, there is a tque discipline for com
battg the seductive visions of bed whch begin to tug at the fa
tigued, falterig mnd at ths hour. With the clang of the large zenda
bell there is a sudden outburst of "Mu-ig" by al who are striving
with ths koan. At frst weak and ucerti, ths collectve howl
gathers depth, force, and momentum uder the energetc proddig
of the free-swigig kyosaku of the godo and his aides, who yell:
"Voice Mu from the hara, not from the throat ! " When these cries of
"Mu!" reach a crescendo of deep belows, as tey eventually do,
suddeny they are tured of by the clangig of the same bel, usually
about thrty minutes later. Now sient zazen resumes, but the air has
become electric.
Zazen ends at a quarter to nine and the fal chantg of the day
follows, a short sutra and the Four Vows, now recited wth lusty
enthusiasm. With bodies and mids aroused and burstig with
energy, sleep is out of the quetion and practically everyone fles out
of the zenda ito the cool nght air wth hs sitting pillow under his
arm. Instead of wearily shufing of to bed as on previous nights, 2
each buoyantly strides of to a solitary spot, often the monastery
cemetery, there to contnue hs zazen far ito the night.
Particuarly on the last nght of a sesshin, wth the shoutig and
clouting fercest, none but the obviously ill or palpably timd woud
dare retre to bed at ne when virtually the entre zenda has taken up
quarters for the nght i the cemetery and nearby h s, rending the
stil air with desperate cries of"Mu! " And during the severest yearly
sesshi, te rohats, in December, whch commemorates the Bud-
1
Yakuseki, lt., "medicine stone. " Buddhist monks i acient China ate ony two
meals a day. In the wnter to keep themselves warm ad to relieve the pangs of
hunger, they woud place a warm stone, regarded as a paacea for all stomach dis
orders, over thei belies. From this the thid meal, when it care to be eaten, was
know a "medicine."
2 In most monateries laymen who come for sesshn do not sleep with the monks
in the zenda but are given sleeping quarters in a separate building.
EDITOR
'
s I NTRODUCTI ON 1 203
dha's enightenment, yaza (zazen after 9 p.m.) is the rule each nght.
The last day of sesshin, especially if it has been preceded by all
night zazen, tends to become anticlmactc. The roshi therefore ad
monishes everyone that this is the most critcal day of all and that to
relax now when the mind has reached its peak of concentration is in
efect to throw away six days of sold efort. On tis seventh day the
kyosaku and its companion yelling are dispensed with-as though
the godo were saying, "I can do no more, it is now entrely up to
you"-and afer (or because of) six days of periodic bedlam ths day
of silent yet dynamc zazen is frequently the most rewarding.
Before the formal close of a sesshin the roshi, addressing everyone,
will say in efect:
A sicere efort at sesshin is never wasted even though it doe
not terminate in enlightenment. Getting kensho can be com
pared to a person's hitting the bul's-eye on the hudredth shot.
Who can say that the nety-nne msses are unrelated to the fal
success?
Some have come to enlghtenment even during the dring
of tea which ends the sesshn and others on the train goig home,
so remain attentve at al times. Concentrate unremittigly on
your koan i that is you practice, or if you are doing shikan
taza, perform every task single-mindedly. Don't fritter away the
joriki you have accumulated during sesshin in vain, empty talk;
but consere and strengthen it through all your daily tasks.
In some monasteries and temples a special ceremony is held, in the
presence of alpartcipants, to permt those who have attained kensho
to express their grattude to the rosh and the head mons. The ses
sh formaly ends with the chanting of the Hanya Shingyo and the
Four Vows. Afterward all join once more in driking tea and eating
cake to thak the roshi and the head monks as well as each other for
the aid and support received durng the sesshn.
In spite of the spectacuar use of the kyosaku, the wild scrambling
before dokusan, and the exdtg exchanges which ofen occur in
dokusan itself the real drama of a sesshin lies not in these dsplays but
in zazen: in the solitary search into the vast, hidden world of one's
own mind, in the lonely tek through wnding canyons of shame and
fear, across deserts of ecstatc visions and tormentng phantasms,
around volcanoes of oozing ego, and trough jungles of folly and
204 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
delusion in a ceaseless struggle to gai that oneness and emptiness of
body and mind which utmately lead to the lightg-and-thuder
discovery that the universe and onesel are not remote and apart but
Jn intimate, palpitatig Whole.
Whether satori follows or not, one canot seriously participate i
d sesshn and not retrn home chastened i heart, strengthened i
md, and with a startlingly fresh vision of an old famar world.
The central theme of sesshi is sustained self-fort, for in the last
analysis one is lberated not by his fellows, not by the rosh, not even
by the Buddha, and certaily not by any superatural beig, but by
one's ow unfaltering, idefatigable exertions.
That most of the Westerers whose enlightenment experiences
follow are Americans is no accident. In Zen's emphasis on self-reli
ance, in it clear awareness of the dangers of itellectualsm, i its
empirical appeal to personal experience and not philosophc specula
ton as the means of verifing utimate truth, in its pragmatc con
cer with md and suferig, and in its direct, practical methods for
body-mid emancipation, Americans fd much that is congenial to
their native temperament, their historical conditiong, and their
particular Weltanschauung.
At a tme when "thngs are in the saddle and ridig mannd" as
never before, when the tensions of fear, aniety, and estrangement are
devastating the mids of moder men, the fact that ordiary people
through satori can discover meanng and joy in life, as well as a sense
of their own unqueness and solidarity with all mankid, surely spells
hope for men everywhere.
THE EXPERI ENCES I 1 I
NE S E EXECUTI VE, AGE 47
Dear Nakagawa-roshi :
MR. K. Y. , A J APA-
1 NOVEMBER 27, 1953 I
Thank you for the happy day I spent at your monastery.
You remember the discussion which arose about Self-realization
centering aroud that American. At that time I hardly imagied that
in a few days I would be reporting to you my ow experience.
A J APANESE EXECUTIVE I 205
The day after I caled on you I was ridg home on the train with
my wife. I was readg a book on Zen by Son-, who, you may
recall, was a master of Soto Zen livig in Send dug the Genroku
period [I688-I703 ] . As the tai was nearig Ofuna staton I ran
across ths line: "I came to realize clearly that Md is no other tha
moutains and rivers and the great wide earh, the sun and the moon
and the stars." 1
I had read tis before, but this tme it impressed itsel upon me so
vividly that I was starded. I said to mysel: "Mter seven or eight years
of zazen I have fl y perceived the essence of this statement," and
couldn't suppress the tears that began to well up. Somewhat ashamed
to fnd myself cryng among the crowd, I avered my face and dabbed
at my eyes wth my handkerche
Meawhie the train had arrived at Kamakura staton and my wie
and I got of. On the way home I sad to her: "I my preset ex
hiarated frame of mind I could ris to the greatest heights." Laugh
ingly she replied: "Then where would I be? " Al the while I kept
repeatng that quotaton to mysel
It so happened that that day my younger brother and his wife
were staying at my home, and I told them about my vsit to you
monaster and about that American who had come to Japa again
ony to atain enlightenet. I short, I told them athe storie you
had told me, and it was afer eleven thirty before I went to bed.
At midight I abrupdy awakened. At frst my mind was foggy,
then suddenly that quotation fashed into my consciousness: "I came
to realize clearly that Md is no other than mountains, rivers, and
the great wide earth, the sun and the moon ad the stars." And I
repeated it. Then aat once I was strck as though by lightg, and
the next itant heaven and earth crumbled and disappeared. I
stantaneously, like surging waves, a tremendou delight weled up in
me, a veritable hurricane of delight, as I laughed loudly and wildly:
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! There's no reasoning here, no reasong at
all ! Ha, ha, ha! " The empty sky split in two, then opened its enor
mous out and began to laugh uproariously: "Ha, ha, ha f" Later
one of the members of my famy told me that my laughter had
sounded ihuman.
1 A quotation from Dogen's Shobogezo, orialy foWd i Zri No. 1 0, W
early Chines Zen work.
2o I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
I was now lyng on my back. Suddenly I sat up and struck the
bed1 with al my might and beat the foor with my feet, as if trying
t smash it, all the while laughing riotously. My wife and yougest
son, sleeping near me, were now awake and frightened. Covering
my mouth with her hand, my wife exclaimed: "What's the matter
with you? What's the matter with you?" But I wasn't aware of this
untl told about it afterwards. My son told me later he thought I had
gone mad.
"I've come to enlightenment ! Shakyamuni and the Patriarchs
haven't deceived me! They haven't deceived me!"
2
I remember cry
ing out When I calmed down I aplogized to the rest of the family,
who had come downstairs frightened by the commotion.
Prostratng myself before the photograph of Kanon you had
given me, the Diamond sutra, and my volume of the book writen
by Yasutani-rosh, I lit a stick of incense and did zazen until it was
consumed half an hour later, though it seemed only two or three
minutes had elapsed.
Even now my skin is quivering as I write.
That morning I went to see Y asutani-roshi and tried to describe
to hm my experience of the sudden disintegration of heaven and
earth. "I am overoyed, I am overjoyed! " I kept repeating, strikng
my thgh with vigor. Tears came which I could't stop. I tried to
relate to hm the experience of that night, but my mouth trembled
and words wouldn't form themselves. In the end I just put my face in
his lap. Patting me on the back he said: "Well, well, it is rare indeed
to experience to such a wonderfu degree. It is termed 'Attainment
of the emptiness of Mind.' You are to be congratuated! "
"Thas to you," I murmured, and again wept for joy. Repeatedly
I told hm: "I must continue to apply myself energetically to zazen."
He was kind enough to give me detailed advice on how to pursue my
practice in the future, after whch he again whispered in my ear,
"My congratulations ! " and escorted me to the foot of the mountain
by fashlight.
Athough twenty-four hours have elapsed, I still feel the aftermath
1 This is not a Wester but a traditional Japaese "bed," which consits of a
quilted mattress two or thee inches thick spread over the regular tatam mats.
2 Se footote 1g p. 277.
A J APANESE EXECUTIVE I 207
of that earthquake. My entire body is still shaking. I spent all of today
laughing ad weepig by mysel
I am wrtg to repor my experience in the hope that it wlbe
of value to you monks, and because Y asutani-roshi urged me to.
Please remember me to that American. Tell him that even I, who
am unworthy and lackg in spirit, can grasp such a wonderful ex
perence when time matures. I would like to talk wit you at length
about my things, but will have to wait for another time.
P. S. That American was asking us whether it is possible for hm to
atai enlghtenment in one week of sesshi. Tell him ts for me:
don't say days, weeks, years, or even lietmes. Don't say mion or
bilons of kalpa. Tell hm to vow to atain enlightenment though it
take the ifnite, the boundless, the incalculable future.
MNIGHT OF TH 28TH f (These diary entries were made durig
the next two days.l Awoke tg it 3 or 4 a.m., but dock said it
was only 12:30.
Am totally at peace at peace at peace.
Feel numb throughout body, yet hands and fee jumped for joy
for almost half an hou.
Am supremely free free free free free.
Should I be so happy?
There is no common man.
The big clock chimes-not the clock but Mid chime. The u
verse itself chimes. There is neither Mind nor unverse. Dong, dong,
dong!
I've totaly disappeared. Buddha is !
"Transcending the law of cause and efect, contolled by the law o
caue and efec"2-such thoughts have gone fom my mnd.
Oh, you are! You laughed, didn't you? Ths laughter is the soud
Qf your plungig into the world.
The substance of Mid-this is now luminously clear to me.
My concentraton in zzen has sharpened and deepened.
1 That is, Buddhahood is latent i everv }8J.
"Tis is a reference to the second ce o(Mumollkall, the koan conuonly know
.s Hyakto's Fox.
208 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI EN CES
MIDNIGHT OF THE 29TH I I am at peace at peace at peace. Is this
tremendous freedom of me the Great Cessation1 described by the
ancients? Whoever mght question it would surely have to admit
that this freedom is extraordiary. If it isn't absolute freedom or
the Great Cessation, what is it?
4 A.M. OF THE 29TH I Dig, dong! The clock chimed. This alone
is! This alone is! There's no reasong here.
Surely the world has changed [with enlightenment] . But i what
way?
The ancients said the enlightened md is comparable to a fsh
swimng. That's exactly how it is-there's no stagnation. I feel no
hidrance. Everythig fows smoothly, freely. Everythig goes nat
urally. This lmtless freedom is beyond all expresion. What a won
derful world!
Dagen, the great teacher of Buddhism, said: "Zen is the wide, all
encompassig gate of compassion."
I am grateful, so grateful.
2 I MR. P . K. , AN AMERI CAN EX-BUS I NE S S
MAN, AGE 46 I DI ARy EXTRACTS I NEW
YOR, APRIL r, 1953 I . . . Bely aching al week, Doc says ulcers
are gettig worse . . . . Allergies kickng up too . . . . Can't sleep
without drugs. . . . So mserable wish I had the guts to end it all.
APRIL 20, 1953 I Attended S-'s Zen lecture today. As usual,
could make little sense out of it. . . . Why do I go on wth these
lectures? Can I ever get satori listening to phiosophic explanatons of
prajna and karuna
2
and why A isn't A and a the rest of that? What
the hell is satori anyway? Even after four of S-'s books and dozens
of his lectures, still don't know. I must be awf y stupid . . . . But
I know this, Zen phosophy isn't riddig me of my pai or restless
ness or that damn "nothig" feeling . . . .
Ony last week a close friend complaied: "You're forever spout-
1 A designation for the state of mind fowig from a deep realiation chat, since
ierently we sufer no lack, there is nothing to seek outside ourselves.
2 Sanskrit words meaning satori-wisdom ad compasion, respevely.
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 20
ing Ze philosophy, but you've hardly become more seree or con
siderat since you've begun stdying it. I anytng, it's mde you
superciou and condecending . . . .
JU 1, 1953 I Talked with K- about Zen ad Japa ut to
t morg . . . . Like S- he's Japaese ad ha practced Zen but
they have litle else in common . . . . Before metng K-I imagined
tat peple with satori al fuctoned like S- , now I se satori' s not
so simple, it apparently has many facet and levels. . . . Why am
I hug up on sator? . . .
Pelted K- al nght wth: "If I go to Japan to train i Zen, can
you asure me I'll be able to fnd some meaing in lie? Wil I ab
solutely get rid of my ulcers ad allergies ad sleplesness? My to
yers of atending Zen lectres in New York have neither mtgated
my constant frstraton nor, ifl'm to beleve my frends, lessened my
intellectual conceit."
K-kept repeatng: "Ze's not philosophy, it's a healthy way to
lve! e If you really wat to le Buddhism i Japan ad not jut
t abut it, you whole lfe wb tanformed. It won't be easy,
but you ca rely on this: once you enter upon the Buddha's Way
with sincerit and ze, Bodhisatas wl spring up everywhere to
help you. But you must have couage ad faith, ad you mut make
up your mind to realie the liberatng power of you Budd-nate
no matter how much pain and sacrifce it etas. . . . "
This is te tranfuion of courage I've neded.
SETE 3, 1953 I Qut buies, sold apartmet fuiture ad
car . . . . Friends' unanious judgmet: "You're mad throwing up
ten thoud a year for pie in te sky!" . . . Maybe. Or maybe they're
the mad ones, piing up possession and ulcers ad heart disease. . . .
I supc some of them may even envy me. . . . If I didn't need to,
I woudn't be doing it, of tis I'm positve, but I am fightened a
little. Hope it's true about le at forty Bought tcket for Japan.
TOKYo, ocoBER6, 1
9
53 / Howthefeatures andmoodofJapanhave
changed i seven years ! The ghastly rubble and despairing faces
have virtualy disappeared . . . . Good to be back this time as a seeker
instead of a carpetbagger with the Occupation . . . . Wonder what
2IO I ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
realy brought me back? Was i t the dignity of the Japanese, their
patient endurance i the face of their untold suferings that I mareled
at? Was it the uearthly sience of Engaku Monastery and the deep
peace it engendered withi me whenever I strolled through its gardens
or beneath its giat cryptomerias? . . .
NOVMBER I, I953 I In Kyoto almost a month now . . . P-, the
America professor whom I'd met at one of S-'s lecture in New
York, is teaching the history of phlosophy at a Japanese unversity.
. . . He and I have already caled on five or six Zen teachers and
authorities . . . . Talk talk talk! Some of these Zen men are criouly
verbose for a teaching that boast of mind-to-mind trasmission and
an abhorrence of concepts. Professor M-, when I reminded him of
t, said: "In the begin ng you have to utze concepts to get rid
of concepts." That sounds like fghtig fre with oi. . . . Feelig
restless again. Al of yesterday toured the curio shops buying art
objects. Is this what I retured to Japan for?
NOVMBER 2, I953 I Letter arrived today from Nakagawa-roshi,
master of Ryutaku Monastery, sayg yes, P- and I could spend
to days there . . . . Wil such a trip prove productve? Not if S
and the Zen professors in Kyoto are right: "Zen monasteries are
to traditio11al and authoritarian for moder intellectually-minded
people. " . . . Anyway, it'll be a novel experience to converse wth a
rosh in English and may t out a pleasant holiday . . . . P-'s wife
pied u up with heavy blankets and lot of American groceries. Her
Japanese friend says Zen monasteries are notoriouly cold and autere .
. What does one do in a monastery anyway? . . .
NOVEMBER 3 , I953 I Arrived at monaster at dusk . . . . Durig
6-hour trai trip P- ad I busied ourselves framing questions to
test the roshi' s philosophcal knowledge of Zen. "If he has an intel
letual grasp of Ze1," we decided, "and is not just a old-fashoned
religious fanatic, we'll stay the ful to days, otherise let's leave to-

morrow . . . .
Nakagawa-rosh received us in his simple, unpretentous quarters.
. . How youg-looking he is, so unlike the bearded patriarch of
our imaginings . . . . And so cordial and afable, he personally made
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSI NESSMAN I 21 1
u hot whipped green tea, delcious and sootng, and even joked wth
us in surprisingly good English. . . +
"Your long train jouey must have tred you, would you like to
lie down and rest?" . . . "No, we' re a lttle tred, but if you don't
mind we've prepared a number of questons on Zen we'd like to ask
you." . . . "If you don't care to rest, the atndnt will take you to
the ma hall where you can sit and medtate rtil I dispose of some
urgent business; afterward we ca talk if you like." . . .
. "But we've never meditted in our lives, we wouldn't know how
to sit cross-legged." . . . "You may sit any way you like, but you
must not talk. The monk attendant wl provide you wth sitting
cushions and show you where to sit; he wl call you wh! I ca se
you agai." . . .
Sat-no, wriggled-wordle ly for two miserable hours in dark
hall next to P-. . . . Concentation impossible, thoughts chasig
each other le a pack of monkeys. . . . Excruciatng pain in legs,
back, and neck . . . . Desperately want to quit, but ifl do before P
does, he'll never stop ragging me, nor wl the roshi have a good
opinion of American forttde . . . . At last mon cae ad merc
flly whispered: "You may se Ros now." . . . Loked at watc
9:30 . . . .
Hobbled into the roshi's room to be greeted wit his inscrtble
smile and a large bowl of rc wt pickles . . . . He wathed us in
tenty whe we gobbled dow the food, then bey asked: "Now
what woud you like to kow about Zen? " . . . We're so exhautd
tat we can ony answer wey: "Not a thng!" . . . "Then you'd
better go to sleep now because we get up at 3 : 30 i the moring . . . .
Pleasant dreams."
. . .
NOVEMBER 4, 1953 / "Wake up, wake up, it's already 3 :45 ! Didn't
you hear the bels and gongs, don't you hear the drms, the chanting?
Please hur. " . . .
What a weird scene of refed sorcer and idolat: shaven-headed
black-robed monks sitng motonlessly chatng mystc gibbersh
to the accompanent of a huge wooden tom-tom emtng other
worldly sorc, whie the rosh, le some eleganty gowed witch
doctor, is making magic passes ad prostratng himself again and
again before an altar bristling with idols and images. . . . Is t te
212 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
Zen of Tanka, who tossed a Buddha state ito the fre? I s ths the
Zen ofRai, who shouted "You mut klthe Buddha"?1 The
Kyo to teachers and S- were right afer al. . . q
Afer breakfast the rosh led us on an ipection tou of the mon
astery, set withi a horseshoe of rollg hs in the quvering silence
of a cultivated forest of pine, cedar, and bamboo and graced by an
exquisite lotus pond-a veritble Japanee Shangri-la . . . . And what
a view of Mount Fuji, the majestc setinel in the sk! . . . If only
h doesn't mar it aby insisting we bow dow before those images
in the halls. . .
0 my prophetc sou! . . . he's brought u ito the founder's room
and is lightig incese and ferently prostrating hmselfbefore a weird
state of Hu. . . "You too may light incee ad pay you
respects to Hau." 8 . + P-looks at me and I at hm, then he ex
plodes: "The old Chiese Zen masters bured or spit on Buddha
sttues, why do you bow dow before them? " . . . The roshi looks
grave but not angr. "If you want to spit you spit, I prefer to bow."
. . . We don't spit, but neither do we bw.
NOVER 6, 1953 / P- lef for Kyoto today, and the roshi in
vted me to stay on. . . . For ahs regiou fanaticism and upho
sophcal mid he's a warm, regular guy and I like hm . . . . No use
foolg myself though, it's going to be rough getting up at 3: 30 in
the cold, lvig on a diet of maily rce, and trig to meditate cross-
legged . . . . Can I do it? Do I want to? . . . Stl, there's somethig
about a this that's deeply satisfg . . . . Anyway, I'm glad he i-
vited me to stay and I've accepted . . . .
1 Eradicating fom the mnd the notion of a Budd a opposed to a ordinary
beig, riddng oneself of the idea that Shayaui Budd i God or a super-being,
obliterating the subtle prde which arses fom kensho ad lead one to th, "Now
I'm a Buddha"-this is killig the Bud.
"Wa your mouth when you utter the nae Budd!" i aother widely m
uderstood Zen expression. It comes fom the thiieth ce of Mumonkn i the
coment ofMuon: "Oe who truly uderstads wlclease h mouth for three
days after uttering the word 'Buddha.' . . e " T i not a reference to Shakyamuni
Buddha the peron but to Buddha-nature or Buddha-mind. Everythig is com
plete ad perfect i itself. A stick is a stick, a shovel a shovel. Use a shovel ad you
know its shovelness i a de, fudamental way. But decib it B "Budd" or
"Buddha-mind" ad you needlessly "sully" it, that is, add to the name "shovel"
one more concept.
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 213
NOVEER 8, 1953 I Rosh says I can meditate by myself in found
er's room instead of i the cold zenda. I can sit, kneel Japanese style
or u a chair and wear as much clotg as I please if I'm cold. . . .
Have no idea how to meditate, though. . . . When I told Rosh this
he cryptcally advised: "Put your mnd in the botom of you belly,
there's a blnd Budda there, make hm see! " . . . Is that al there is
to meditation? Or is the rosh delbrately lettng me stew in my ow
juce? . . . Caref y inspected Hakui's features today; they're les
groteque, even faty iterestng.
NOVMBER 10, 1953 I Each morg bee clmbig the h back
of the m hall for a wide-scree view of Mount Fuji. . . . Yester
day skpped my meditation because of a headache and Fuji looked
somber and lieles . . . . Tody after a couple ofhours of good medita
ton i a chair it's grand and soarg again. A remarkable discovery:
I have the power of lfe and death over Fuji ! . . .
NOVEBE 23, 1953 I Durng tea wth Rosh in h room tody
he suddeny asked me: "How would you lie to attend the rohatsu
sesshin at Harada-roshi's monastery? The discipline is especially severe
durg ts sesshn. But h is a famous rosh, a much btter teacher

th I " "If h h , "B or you an . . . . you t so, sure, w y not. . . . ut my

old teacher,1 whom you met the other day, is against it: he does not
approve ofHarad-rosh's harsh methods for induci satori. A Zen
student he ts should ripen slowly, the lke fruit whch fals from
te tree when ripe, come nataly to enlightenment . . . Let me
meditate fther on it." . . .
NOVEBER 25, 1953 / Two interestg visitors at the monaster
this moring, one a master called Y asutan, the other a layman named
Yamada, his disciple, who said he'd been practicing Ze for some
eight years. Wanted to ask hm whether he had satori yet, but decided
it might prove embarrassing . . . .
Asked Yasutan-rosh if he thought I could get sa tori in one week
of sesshi. . . . "You can get it in one day of sesshi if you're genunely
determned to and you surrender all your conceptual tg."
1
Gmp Yaotoroshi, who was retied at the time.
214 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
NOVEMBER 27, 1953 I "How is your meditation coming aong?"
Roshi suddenly asked me today . . . . "That Buddha i n my bely is
hopelessly blind." . . . "He is not really blid, he ony seems so be
cause he's sound asleep. . . . How would you like to try the koa
Mu?" . . . "All right, i you t I should, but what do I do with
.
'
" "Y k

b k d I " "Y " lt. . . . ou ow Its ac groun suppose. . . . es. . . .
"Then jut keep concentratg on Joshu' s answer until you itui
tively realize its meaning." . . . "Will I then be enlightened? " . . .
"Yes, if your uderstandig is not just theoretcal." . . . "But how
do I concentate? " . . . "Put your md in your hara and focus
on nothig but Mu."
NOVEMBER 28, 1953 I Rosh caled me into his room this moring,
and beckoned me to follow him to the little altar-shrne in back. . . .
"Do you see the letter I put into the hands of Kannon? You have
become karmically linked with te ma who wrote it; let us gassho
before Kannon out of grattude." . . . I did a gassho uthinkigly,
quickly asked: "What's te letter say, who wrote it? And what do
you mean 'karmically linked' ? " . . . The rosh, outwardly solem
but inwardly animated, just said: "Come to my room and I w
1
.
g
exp am . . . .
With his usual grace he ket Japanese style, put the kettle on the
charcoal fre for tea, then decisively annouced: "I've decided to take
you to the rohatsu sesshin at Hossh-ji. This leter has decided me."
. . . "Tell me what it's a about." . . . "Do you remember Yamada
san, the man who came here with Y asutani-rosh the day before
yesterdy? It's from h. He had a deep satori experience the very
day after he left and he tels about it in this letter."1
"Did you say he got satori ? Please translate it for me right now."
e "There isn't ay time. Hossh-ji is fr from here on the Japan
Sea and we must be ready to leave tomorrow. I wil traslate it for
th
. ..
you on e ta. o . .
NOVEMBER 29, 1953 I As our trd-class tan bounced along i te
nght Roshi slowly, carefully translated Yamada's letter . . . . What
a vivd, stirring experience, and he no monk but a layman! . . . "Do
1 See p. 204-7.
AN AMERI CAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 2IS
you realy beleve it's possible for me to get sa tori durng this sesshi? "
e "Of course, provided you forget yourself completely. " . . .
"But what is satori anyay? I mean-"
"Stop!" . . . Rosh threw up h hand, fashing hs incrutable
smie. "When you get it you w know, now no more questons
please. Let u do zazen and then try to get some sleep before we come
H hin
.
. to oss -Jl. . = .
NOVEBER 30, 1953 / Arived hungr and exhauted at Hosshin-ji
i late afteroon . . . . Skes leaden, ai cold and damp . . = But
Harada-rosh was cordial and warm, greetng me with outstretched
hands. . . . Later he itroduced me to the assistant roshi and four
head monks . . . . Though somewhat retcent, they glow with a
stong inner fame. . . .
Roshi and I retired to the small room we're to share . . . . "You'd
better get some rest bfore the battle begins." . . . "Battle? "
"Yes, a battle to the death with the forces of your own ignorance. =
I wll cal you when everyone assembles in the ma hall for fmal
instructon from Harada-rosh, in about an hour." . . .
Lie lobsters in conclave, Harada-rosh, the assistant roshi, and four
head monks in robes of scarlet brocade and archig ceremonial
headdress sat on large si pillows at one end of the hall, while four
young monks each with a black-lacquer tray of gold-olored cups
stood poised at the other end ready to sere them. Sandwiched be
tween in rows facing each other across the room knelt some ffty
grim lay people attred in somber traditonal robes. . . . Their eyes
were glued to the foor in font of them, and none stirred to look at
Harada-roshi when he spoke except me. . . e
Why's everybody so tense and grm? Why do they all look as
though they're steeling themselves for some terrible ordeal ? True,
Rosh sad t would be a batle, but surely that was only a fgure of
speech-how dos one fght his own mind? Is't Zen wu wei, non
striving? Isn't te al-mbracig Buddha-nate our comon posses
sion, so why strive to acquire what is already ours? . . . Mut ask
Harada-roshi about tis frst chance I get. . . .
Back in ou room Rosh summaried Harada-rosh's instuctions:
1) You must not tal or bathe or shave or leave the premses durg
the week. 2) You must concentrate only on your own practce with-
216 I ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
out divertng you eye for any reason. 3) You as a beginner have as
good a chance as old hands to attai enlightenent at this sesshin.
And Rosh added sentetously: "But you must work hard, terribly
hard."
DECEBE 1, 1953 I Rainng icesady, zndo ucomforably
cold ad damp . . . . Wore longjols ad wool shrt ad to sweat
ers ad wool robe ad two pairs of wool socks but could't stop
shivering. . . . Godo' s bellowig and roarig more of a distracton
than hs walops wth kyosaku . . . . Torued by pain i legs ad
back . . . thoughts racng wdly Flopped from agura to seiza
to hanka, manipulatng my three cushons i every conceivable way,
but could't ecape pan . . . .
At my frst dokusa Harada-rosh drew a crcle wth a dot i the
center. "Ths dot i you ad the circle is the cosmos. Actually you
embrace the whole cosmos, but because you see yourslf as this dot,
an isolated fragment, you don't experiece the universe as isparable
from yousl . . . You must break out of you self-imprisonment,
you must forget philosophy and everg else, you must put your
mnd i you hara and brethe only Mu i ad out. . . . The center
of the univers i the pit of you belly! . . .
"Mu is a sword whc enable you to cut trough you thoughts
ito the relm that is the souce of all thought ad feelings. . . . But
Mu is not only a means to enlightenent, it is enlightenent itsel
. . . Self-realizaton is not a matter of stepby-step progres but the
reult of a leap. Untl your mnd i pue you caot make this
1 " eap . . . .
"What do you me by 'pure' ?" . . . "Empty of all thoughts. "
n "But why is it necesary to stggle for enlightenment if we
already have the enlightened Budda-nate? " . . . "Can you show
me this enlightened nature of yours? " . . . "Well, no, I can't, but the
sutras say we have it, don't they?" . . . "The sutas are not your ex
prience, they are Shakyamui Budda's. I you realize your Bud
da-mnd, you'll be a Budda yoursel"
DECEMBE 2, 1953 I At 5 a.m. dokusa told Harada-rosh the pai
i my legs was agoniig. "I can't go on." . . . . "Do you want a
chair? " He looked at me tautngly . . . . "No, I won't use a chair
AN AMERI CAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 217
even i my legs drop of!" . . . "Good! With that spirit you're bound
to become enlightned." . . g
Terric whack by te kyosaku jut when my concetaton was
beg g to jel and I fel apart . . . dam tat godo! "Staighten
your back, sit frmly, cete your eergy in your hara !" he yells.
But how te devl do I put my energy into my hara? Whe I try, my
back is stabbed with pain . . . . Must ask Harada-rosh about ths . . . .
Throughout the bug of one stc of icense my thoughts've
be ented i the Mokke1 pictes I saw at the Daitoku-i ex
hbiton last month. That crae's so hutng, the secret of al exst
ece lies in its eye. It's slf-creatg, emerging from formlessness to
form. I must reverse the process, merging agai into formlessness,
into non-tme. I must die to be rebor. . . . Yes, that's te in er
meaning of Mu! . . .
Clang, clang! the dokusa bell . . . . Harad-roshi listned impa
tienty, then roared: "Don't t ofMokkei's crane, don't t of
form or formlessness or anytg else. Thk only Mu, that's what
you're here for!"
DECEMBER 3, 1953 / Pain i legs ubearable . . . . Why don't I qut?
It's imbecilc tng to sit wth ts greome pa ad taking thee
seseless walops of t kyosaku plus Godo' s inane shoutig, it's
masochm pure and simple. . . . Why dd I leave R yutaku-ji, why
did I ever leave the United States? . . . But I can't quit now, what
wll I do? I must get satori, I mut . . . .
What the dev is Mu, what can it be? . . . Of course! It's absolute
prayer, the Self prayg to itself . . . . How often as a student had I
wanted to pray, but somehow it'd always seemed pointless and even
sily to petton God for strength to cop wth predicaments whch
He i his omiscience and ompotence had allowed to arise in te
ftrst place . . . .
Tears welig up, how blissful is. prayer for it ow sake! . . .
What do these tears mean? They're a sign of my helplesness, a tacit
admission tat my intllect, my ego, has reached the limit of it pow
er = = 4 Ye, ters are nature's bnedicton, her attempt to wash away
te grime of ego and soften te harsh outes of ou personaltes
1 A geat Chinese Zen mon painter (Mu Ch'i) who lve i the tenth century.
Most of his paitings i Japa ae national treasues.
21 8 f ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
become arid and tense through an egotistc relance on the invinci
bilty of reason. . .
. . . What marelous insight, I feel so good about them! I kow
I've progressed. I won't be surprised if satori hits me this ver night !
Crack ! Crack ! "Stop dreaming! Oly Mu!" roared the godo,
walloping me. .
Dokusan! . . . "No, no, no! Didn't I tel you to concentat simply
on Mu? . . . Bansh these thoughts ! . . . Sa tori's not a matter of prog
ress or regress, haven't I told you it's a leap? . . . You are to do ths
and ony this: put your mid in the bttom of you belly and inale
and exale Mu. Is that cler? " . . . Why's he so harsh all of a sud
den? . . . Eve the hwk in the sce behind hm have begwt to
glower at me.
DECEBER 4, 1953 f My God, my Buddha, a chair's standing at my
place! I am so grateful ! . . . Rosh came and whspeed: "Harad
rosh ordered the head monk to give you a chair because he felt you
would never get sa tori sittng with a bnt back and constndy shiftng
you positon. . . . Now you have no obstacle, so concentrate on
Mu with al your heart and soul." . . . Concentration quicky tight
ened, thoughts suddey disappeared. What a marelous feeling ths
buoyant emptness =
Suddy the su's steaming into d window in front of me!
The rain's stopped! It's become warer! At last the god are with
me! Now I can't miss satori ! . . . Mu, Mu, Mu! . . . Again Roshi
leaned over but only to whsper: "You are panting and disturbing
the others, try to breathe quedy." . . . But I can't stop. My heart's
pumping widly, I'm tremblig fom head to toe, tears are streaming
dow ucontollably . . . . Godo cracks me but I hardly feel it. He
whcks my neighbor and I suddeny think: "Why's he so mean, he's
hurtng hm." . . . More tears. . . . Godo returs and clouts me
again and agai, shoutng: "Empty you mid of every single
thought, become lke a baby again. Just Mu, Mu! right from you
,..
k k kl guts . -crac , crac , crac . .
Abruptly I lose control of my body and, still conscious, crumple
into a heap . . . . Rosh and Godo pick me up, carry me to my room
and put me to bed . . . . I'm stll pantng and trembling . . . . Roshi
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 219
anxously peers into my face, asks: "You a right, you want a doc-
, "N I' 1 . h I " "Th ha torr . . . o, m a ng t guess. . . . s ever ppn to you
b
,
"N
" "
I ul
'
" "W
h erore. . . . o, never. . . . congrat ate you. . . . y,
hve I got sator?" ... "No, but I congratulate you just te same.
"
... Roshi brgs me a jug of tea, I drink fve cups ....
No sooner dos he leave tan all at once I feel my arms and legs ad
t seized by an ivsible force and loked i a huge vce which
slowly begins closig .... Spasms of tormet lie bolts of electric
it shoot through me and I writh in agony ... . I fel as though I'm
beig madt to atone for my ow and all mand's sins. . . . Am I
dyig or becomg enlightened? ... Swet's steming from ever
pre and I have to change my uderclothg tc. . .. At last I fal
it a deep sleep ....
Awoke to fd a bowl of rice and soup and beans next to my slep
ig mat .... Ate ravenously, dressed, entered the zenda .... Never
in my lfe have I felt so lght, opened, and transparent, so thoroughy
cleansed and scoued . . . Duing kn did't walk but bobbed le
a cork on watr .... Couldn't resist lookig out at t trees and
fowers, vivid, dazzling, palpitatig with life! ... The wid sough
ing tough the trees was the loveliest of muic! . . . How deliciously
fragrant the fumes of incense! . . .
Later at dokusan Harada-rosh said:
"
Your tremblng came be
cause you are begining to throw of your delusions, it is a good
sign. But don't pause for self-ongratulation, concentate harder yet
onMu." ...
DECEMBER 5, 1953 / . . Am still aglow .... Satori wil ht me
any moment now, I know it, I feel it in my marrow ....
W
on't
my Zen friends in the United States be envious when I write I have
satori! ... Don't th of satori, you fool, tn only of Mu! ...
Yes, Mu, Mu, Mu! ... Danm it! I've lost it! ... My excitement
about satori has triggered of hundreds of thoughts-whch leave me
dspirited .... It's no use, satori's beyond me ....
DECEMBER 6, 1953 f Body tired ths morig but mnd's sharp and
clear .... Mu' d in monastery garden all night sans sleep .... misera
bly cold. . . . Stayed up only because at dokusan Harada-roshi had
220 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
chided: "You'll never get satori unles you develop the stregth and
determiaton to do zazen all night. Some of the sitters have been up
every single night in zazen.'' . . .
Around Idnight prostated myslf before sttue of Buddha i
main hall and desperatly prayed: "0 God, 0 Buddha, please grant
me satori and I'll be humble, een bowing wl gly before you . . . . "
But nothing happened, no satori . . . . Now I see the Old Fox was
hoaxg me, probably trying to pry me loose from my attachet to
sleep . . . .
Shoutg and clouting by Godo and hs assistants gettng fercer
and fercer, the d and tult of the last three nights beyond belief
All but a handful of the ff-dd sitters have been bellowig "Mu! "
contuously during the last half hour whe te head monks lam
basted them, yelng: "Voice Mu from the bottom of your belly not
from the top of your ltgs ! " . . . and later te shrill "Mu-ing"
throughout the nght in the cemetery and hs, le that of cattle be
ig readied for slaughter. . . . I'll bet it kept the whole countryside
awake . . . .
Ths walloping doesn't enven me one bit. Godo must have clout
ed me fe mutes straight last nght, but it produced only a sore
back and bitter thoughts . . . . Why hadn't I grabbed hs stck and
given h a dose of his ow medicine? Wonder what would have
happened ifl had . . . .
At dokusan told Harada-rosh: "The trouble is I can't forget my
sel I'm always aware of myself as subject confrontg Mu as ob
ject. . . . I focus my md on Mu, and when I can hang onto it I
th: 'Good, now you've got it, don't let go.' Then I tell myself:
'No, you must't t "Good," you must t only Mu.' So I
clench my hands, bear down with every nere and muscle and even
tually sometng clicks, I kow I've reached a deeper level of con
sciousness because no longer am I aware of inside or out, front or
back. Exarated, I t: 'Now I'm gettg close to satori, every
tought's vanished, satori'll hit me any moment.' But then I realie
I can't be close to satori so long as I'm still thiig of satori . . . . So,
discouraged, my hold on Mu loosens and Mu's gone again . . . .
"Then I have ths problem. You've told me to make my md
as barren of preconceptons as an ifant's, wth no self-wil or ego.
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSINESSMAN
I
221
But how c I be free of ego whe the godo beats me friouly and
urges m to strive harder and harder and to bear down on Mu? Isn't
such purposefl stivig on my part an expresion of ego? Instead of
banshing ego it seems to me I'm bolstrig it." . . .
"The mid of ego and the mnd of Puity are to sde of the same
realty . . . . Don't th 'Ths is ego,' 'Ths is not ego.' Jut conce
tate on Mu, that's the way to re the md of Purity q It's
le a man who is starvg; he doesn't t 'I'm hugry, I mut get
food.' So completely absorbed in his huger i he tat he fd some
thng to eat witout pondering. . . I you se-onciously t,
'I want satori, I must get satori,' you'l ne get it. But when
from the bottom of you heart you hve a dep yeg for Self
relizaton, satori will come if absorbig yousel wholly i Mu, you
concentrate your mid and strength in your hara. . . . Mu must
occupy your etre md, resounding i you hra . . . . Don't t to
atcipate satori, it comes uexpectedy. When you mnd i empted
of every thought and image, anytg can eghte it: the human
voice, the call of a bird. . . . But you must have stronger faith. You
must believe you have te capacit to reae your True-nature, and
you must believe that what I am telg you is tue and w lead to
what you seek." . . .
Dokusan with the Old Lion's always a shot in the arm . . . . So
once agai charged ito Mu, quickly exausted my eergie, and got
stuck not by satori but by a barrage of thoughts . . . . I'm stmed.
g . . I I push hard, I soon tire and my body and mid wt. But if I
don't dig i, Godo whacks me or else yanks me of my set and
shoves me ito dokusan. When I appear before Harada-roshi he ask,
"Why do you come when you can't show me Mu?" or else he bawls
me out for my half-heartdness. . . . Ar the tryg to drive my
thoughts out of my mind or to drive me out of my mind? They're de
liberately tryig to create an artfcil neurosis . . . . Why don't I
quit?
. . . Crash, bang! . . . the whole zendo is shakng, what's hap
pened? . . . Shouldn't have, bu tred my head to see . . . . The
Old Lion has just broken the longest kyosaku i the zendo across the
back of Monju' s shie. . . . "You're al lazy!" he yells. "You have
within your grasp the most precious experience i the world, yet you
222 I ENLI GHTENMENT E XPERIE NCE S
sit dreamg. Wake up and throw your lives into the struggle, other
wise sa tori will elude you forever!" . . . What strength of spirit,
what power i that frail fve-foot-three, 84-year-old body!
DECEMBER 7, 1953
/
Too exhausted to sit up with the others last
nght. Might just as well have, though, their raucous "Mu-ing"
throughout the night kept me awake anyway . . . . Roshi says ths
last day is crucial and not to weaen . . . . But my dr-die spirit's
gone, the race is over and I'm just an alsoran. . o .
Watched, chagried and envious, as the three "winers" marched
around the zendo, bowed dow before Harada-rosh, the assistant
roshi, and the head mons to show their reverence and gratitude. . . .
One of the fortuate had sat next to me. He'd been struck repeatedly
and had blubbered all of yesterday and today . . . . Evidently he'd
been crying from sheer joy when all along I imagied he was in pain.
DECEMBER 8, 1953 / Together with Nakagawa-roshi had tea with
Harada-rosh after sesshin. . . . His forbidding sesshin manner's gone,
he's gentle and radiant as the su . . . . After a pleasant chat he invited
us to stay for the formal ceremonies that afteroon commemoratng
the Buddha's enightenment . . . .
. . . Watched in utter fascination as Harada-roshi, the assistant rosh,
and ten senior mons attired in their ceremonial robes again and
again prostrated themselves before the Buddha, chanted sutras,
tossed their sutra books in the air, beat drums, rang bells, struck
gongs, and circumambulated the main hall in a series of rituals and
ceremone to honor Shakyamui Buddha and celebrate his immortal
enlightenment experience . . . . These ceremonies glow with the liv
ig Trt whch these monks have obviously all experienced in some
measure. . . . Yes, through these rituals they are reafrming their
link with their great Buddhist tradition, enriching it and allowing it
to enrich them so they may extend its chain into the future. . . . If I
likewise embrace this tradition, I can forge my own li with Bud
dhsm and its tremendous resources for enightening the human mid .
. . . Now I know why I tired so quicky of church and synagogue
servces in the United States. The priests and rabbis and misters
obvously had no intimat experience of the God they preached so
AN AMERI CAN EX-BUSINESSMAN I 223
glbly about, that's why their sermons and ceremonies were stale
and lifeless.
JANUARY 9, 195
4
I Back in Kyoto, tred, half frozen and sore but
inwardly alive . . . .
JANUARY 20, 195
4
I Good to retur to Ryutaku-ji . . . . In Kyoto,
P-and I merely talked Zen, with each other and with the professors,
here I practice it . . . . Though paiul, practce is rejuvenating . . . .
My md's a swamp of stagnant opinons, theories, impressions,
images. I've read and thought too much, experienced without feel
ing. I need to recover the freshness of my jaded sensibilities, to face
myselfhonestly, nakedly. And this I can best do though zazen in the
monastery.
APRL 8, 195
4
I My second Hosshin-ji sesshi is over . . . . Harada
roshi said he'd accept me as a disciple if I remain at hs monastery as
a lay mon. . . . "If you can cope with monastery life and gai en
lightenment, you'l be master of your life instead of its slave." . . .
Mter consultations with Nakagawa-rosh, decided to stay on idef
intely . . . .
OCTOBER I , 1956 I . . I just two months three years will have
elapsed since I frst came to Hosshin-ji. . . . So much water has
fowed uder the stone bridge, or should I say so many stone bridges
have fowed over the motonless water? . . . Have toiled with the
monks in the heat of summer and shivered with them on snowy
takuhatsu, feled trees, planted rice, cultivated the gardens, cleaned
the outhouses, and worked in the kitchen with them. I've shared
their heroic, dedicated moments, joined in their petty intrigues . . . .
Sitting sittig sittig one painful sesshi after another, then more
zazen morg aftcr morg, night after nght and night into mor
ing . . . . Dazzling insights and alluring visions have fled trough my
mind, but true illuminaton, satori, still eludes me . . . . Tagen-san,
my wise monk-gude-interpreter-friend, solemly assures me that
just doing zazen wholeheartedy each day brings greater rewards
i serenty, clarity and purity than does a quckly atained satori
224 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
which i wuted by frher zazen. 4 . . Is ts a conolaton
prize or another of Zen's paradoxes which need the prsona ex
prience of eghtement to be understood? . . . He insist I've
gied i forttde and purity, though I see little evidence of it . . . .
Every one of my alergie has disappered my stomach pas me
ony occasionlly, I sleep well . . . . The dark fears whch formerly
hauted me, my cherished dream and hopes, all thee have wthered
away, levg me lighter ad with a clearr sense of the real . . . . But
I'm stll the hungr dog nex to the t of boig fat tat i satori:
I c't tast it and I ca't leve it.
NOVMBF. 15, 1956 I Is it worth strggling wth the cold and sparse
diet through aother long wte, waitng, waitng, waiting? . . . A
nuber of my friends, the older serious mons, wsoon be leaving
for temples of ther ow. . . . I mut fnd a master whom I can com
mucate with easily outside the tense atosphere of the monastery.
. . . Those same ititons whch once told me I needed to stay at
Hosshi-i now war me it is te to leave.
NOVMBE 23, 1956 / Left Hosshn-ji today carrying enough pres
ets and advce to last me a long tme. . . . The heart-warmig fare
wells have dissipated whatever chremained from those icy Obama
wnters.
NOVMBE 25, 1956 I Nakagawa-rosh took me to Yasutni-roshi
. . .. H wl be a good teacher for you, he is in Harada-roshi's line,
h disciple are chefy laymen, you need not stay i a monastery but
can live in Kamakura and attend his sesshin in the Tokyo area. "
DECEE 3, 1956 I Joined my frst sesshin at Yasutani-roshi's
mountai temple. . . A idel place for zazen, it netles high i
the hills away from the noises of the city. . . . A scant eight partci
pants, probably becaue the sesshin' s only three days and hard to get
to. . . . Atmosphere's real homey, the roshi eats wt us famy
style . . . . And wht a charming twst: the gada's a 68-year-ld
grandmother, the cook and leader of the chantng a 65-yer-ld nu
betee them they mg the entre sesshi! Each sit lk a Buddha
and acts le onegentle, cmpassionate, and thoroughly aware
AN AMERICAN :X-BUSI NESSMAN I 225
What a huge relief not to be drven by a savage kyosaku or ver
baly belted by the roshi at dokusan . . . . The manual work after
breakfast is stimulating and the afteroon bath immensely soothing .
. . . Am completely at ease with Yasutani-roshi. His maner's gentle
yet penetratg, he laughs easily and often.
At dokusan he told me: "For enlghtenment you must have deep
faith. You mut profoudly believe what the Budda and the Patri
archs from their own fmt-hand experience declared to be true,
namely, that everytng, ourselves icluded, intinsically is Buddha
nature; that like a circle, whch can't be added to or subtractd from,
ths Self-nature lacks nothg, it is complete, perfect . . . . Now, why
if we have te fawless Buddha-nature are we not aware of it? Why
i everythng in essence is Wisdom and Purity itself is there so much
ignorance and sufering i the world? . . . This is the 'doubt-mass'
which must be dispersed. . . . Ony if you deeply beleve that the
Buddha was neither a fool nor a liar when he afrmed that we are
al ierently Whole and Self-sufcient, can you trelessly probe
your heart and mmd for the solution to this paradox. " . . .
"This is what perplexes me no end: Why haven't I attained satori
after thee years of backbreakg efort when others who have
labored neiter as long nor as hard have got it? Some I know have
come to kensho at their very frst sesshi with little or no previous
M
zaze. . . .
"There have been a few rare souls whose mnds were so pue that
they could gai genuie enlightenment without zazen. The Sixth
Patiarch, Eno, was such a one; he became enlightened the frst time
he heard the Diamond sutra recited. And Harada-roshi has related the
case of a youg girl student of his who got kenho during his intro
ductory lectres te very moment he drew a circle and declared the
cosmos to be indvisibly One . . . . But most have to do zazen tire
lessly to win enghtenment. . . .
"Now, don't feel anxous about satori, for such anety can be a
real hindrance. . . . Whe you enter the world of enghtenent you
take with you, so to speak, the results of al your eforts and tis de
termmes the quality of the sa tori; hence you sa tori will be wider and
deeper by reason of the zazen you have done. . . . . In most cases a
kensho quickly attained is shallow . . . . Do zaze with zel and satori
wilJ take care of itself" . . .
226 { ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
Anoter time he instrcted me: "Zen Buddhism is based on the
highest teachngs of Shakyamuni Buddha. . . . I India, the very
birthplace of the Buddha, Zen has practically ceased to exist, and as
far as we know it is virtualy extct in China, where it was brought
from India by Bodidharma. . . . Ony i Japan does it st live,
though it's declg stadily; today there are probably no more than
ten true masters in al Japan . . . . This unique teaching must not be
lost, it must be transmitted to the West . . . . Great mds in the
United States and Europe have interested temselves in Buddhism
because it appeals not only to the hert but to the itellect a well.
Buddism is an emently ratonal relgion . . . .
"Zen you know from your own experience i not easy, but its
rewards are in proporon to its difculties . . . . Remember, Bo
dhdharma had to suf er hardshp after hardship, and both Eisai and
Dagen, who brought Zen to Japan from Cha, had to overcome
countless obstacles. . . . Everything valuable has a high price. . . . It
i your destiny to carry Zen to the West . . . . Don't quai or quit in
spite of the pai and hardships.
JULY 27, 1958 / August 1 is my D-Day, the start of a one-week
summer sesshin, my twenteth with Yasutani-rosh. . . . Sat two ses
shin this month, one at Yasutani-roshi's temple and one at Ryutaku
ji, besides day and night zaze in my ow room, all i preparaton for
this Big Push . . . . My mind has a rare clarity and icisiveness. I must,
I will break through. . . . For the frst tme I'm truly convinced I
can.
AUGUST I , 1958 / . . . Sesshin's under way! . . . Quickly my con
centraton became strongly pitched . . . . Boring into Mu, tg
ony Mu, breathg Mu . . . .
AUGUST 3, 1958 / First to days passed quckly, Wleventfully . . . .
AUGUST
4
, 1958 f Reached a white het today. . . . Monitors
whacked me time and again. . . their energetic stick wieding is no
longer an annoyance but a spur . . . . Raced to the lie-up with each
clang of the dokusan bell to be first to see the roshi . . . . Hardly
aware of pai in legs . . . . Was so eager to confront him that once
AN AMERICAN EX-BUSINES SMAN I 227
or tice charged into his dokusan room without waitng for his
signal. . . . When he asked me to show hm Mu, I spontaneously
seized hs fan, faned mysel picked up his handbell, rang it, and then
left . . . .
At next dokusan he again asked for Mu. Quickly raised my hand
as though to smack hm. Didn't itend to really ht h, but the
roshi, tag no chances, ducked. . . . How exhilaratng these u
premeditated movements-clean and free . . . .
Animatedly the roshi wared: "You are now facing the last and
toughest barrier beteen you and Selrelization. This is the time
one feels, in the words of an ancient mastr, a though he were a
mosquito attacking an iron bowl. But you must bore, bore, bore,
trelessly . . . . Come what may, don't let go of Mu . . . . Do zazen
anight if you feel you may lose Mu i your sleep. " . .
"Mu'd" silently in temple garden t clock stuck one . . . . Rose
to exercie st , achig legs, staggered ito a nearby fence. Suddenly
I realzed: the fence and I are one formess wood-and-fesh Mu. Of
course! . . . Vastly energized by this . . . pushed on tl the 4 a&m.
gong.
AUGUST
s
, 1958 / Didn't itnd to tell Roshi of my isight, but
as soon as I came before hm he demanded: "What happened last
night? " . . . While I talked, his keen dartng eyes X-rayed every
ich of me, then slowly he began quizzng me: "Where do you see
Mu? . . . How do you see Mu? . . . When do you see Mu? . . . How
old is Mu? . . . What is the color of Mu? . . . What is the sound of
Mu? . . . How much doe Mu weigh? " . . .
Some of my answers came qucly, some haltingly . . . . Once or
tice Rosh smed, but mostly he lstened i serene sience =
Then he spoke: "There are some roshi who mgt sancton such a
tip-f-the-tongue tste as kenho, but-"
"I wouldn't accept sancton of such a picayune experience eve
if you wanted to grant it. Have I labored lie a moutain these fve
years only to bring forth this mouse? I'll go on! " . . .
"Good! I respect your spirit. "
Threw myself into Mu for another nine hours with such utter
absorption that I completey vanshed. . . . I didn't eat breakfast,
Mu did. I didn't sweep and wash te foors after breakfast, Mu dd.
228 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
1 didn't eat lWch, Mu ate . . . . Once or tice ideas of satori started
to rear their heds, but Mu promptly chopped them of . . . .
Agai and again the monitors whacked me, crng: "Victor is
yours if you don't reliquish your hold on Mu! " . . .
Aferoon dokusan! . . . Hawke, the roshi scrutinized me as I
entered hs room, walked toward hm, prostrated myself and sat
before him with my mid alert and exhilarated. . .
"The unvers is One," he began, ech word tearing into my mind
like a bullet. "The moon ofTruth-" Alat once the rosh, the room,
every sigle thng disappared in a dazzling stream of illumiaton
and I felt myself bathed in a delicious, Wspeakable delight . . . . For
a feetig eterty I was alone-I alone was. . . . Then the roshi swam
ito vew. Our eyes met and fowed into each other, and we burst
out laughg. . + =
"I have it ! I know! There is notg, absolutely nothing. I am
everything and everythg is nothing! " I exclaimed more to mysef
than to te rosh, and got up ad walked out. . > =
At the evenig dokusan Roshi agai put to me some of the previous
questons and added a few new ones: "Where were you bor? . + . I
you had to die right now, what would you do? " . . . This time my
answers obviously pleased hm, for he smled frequenty. But I didn't
care, for now I knew . . . .
"Although your realizaton is dear," Rosh explained, "you can
expand and deepen it infmtely . . . .
"Tere are degrees of kensho . . . . Take to people gazing at
a cow, one standing at a distnce, the other nearby. The distnt
one says: 'I know it's a cow, but I'm not sure ofit color.' The other
says Wequivoca y: 'I know it's a brown cow.' . . .
"Henceforth your approach to koans will be diferent," the roshi
said, and he explaied my future mode of practce. . +
Retured to the m hall. . . . As I slipped back ito my place
Grandmother Yamaguch, our part-te godo, tptod over to me
and with eyes aglow whspered: "Wonderf, isn't it! I'm so happy
for you! " . . . I resumed my zazen, laughing, sobbig, and mutterig
to myself: "It was before me all the time, yet it took me five years to
see it." A line Tagen-san had once quoted me rag in my ers:
"Sometmes even i the driest hole one can fnd water."
A J APANESE GARDEN-DESIGNER I 229
AUGUST 9, 1958 I Feel free as a fsh swimg in a ocean of cool,
clear watr after being stuck i a tank of glue. . . . ad so grateful.
Grateful for everthing that has happened to me, grateful to every
one who encouraged and sustaied me in spite of my immature per
sonality and stubbor nature.
But mostly I am grateful for my human body, for te priviege as
a human bing to know ths Joy, like no other.
3 I
MR. K. T. , A J A P A NE S E G A RDE N- DE
SI GNER, AGE 32 / Although I was bor into a family of
te Soto Zen sect, I was tenty-eight before I formally started
zazen. What led me to take this step was the fear of deat when I
began to spit blood aftr contracting tuberculosis, and uncertaintes
which had begun to plague me about life itelf I did not experience
monastery lie, but I did attend sessh a number of times util I
came to Self-realizaton and it was conrmed by the master. During
this period I did zaze with a group and took dokusan uder Tai
rosh every Sunday.
How well I remember my frst sesshn! It was at a temple called
Nippon-ji, in Nokogiriyama, Chiba Prefecture, and d1e master was
Harada-roshi. The frst day, I recall, I was tnse. The second day I
could no longer taste the meals. I had much pai i my legs and could
make neither head nor tail of the roshi's teisho. Sometimes I was
dowright bored. On top of ths, the seshin regulatons were strict
and the general atosphere cold and oppressive. Then I began to
feel rebellious. "Zaze must be a kid of hypnosis. I wil fd out
i the techques of this religion realy lead to truth," I told myself
and dropped the idea of retg home.
For three days I was obliged to attnd the general lectures on zazen,
as tey were compulsory for all beginers. Following this I appeared
volutarily before the master for dokusan. Facing him, I felt that I was
confronting an iron wall, but I was fascinated by the uique qulity of
his voice, which sounded very muh like my late grandfather's. I went
to dokusan several times just to lsten to that voice and look at his
uusual face. At these tmes I keenly felt his strong character and per
sonality, his condence i his own teching, his dignty, his over-
230 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
whelmig forcefuless; and by comparison I felt isignfcant and
hollow. "If through being deceived I can reach his level of develop
ment, I won't mind the deception," I concluded, and decided to sit
faithfuly as he instructed.
The fourth and ffth days passed. The pai in my legs persisted, but
my mnd had now become more stable, even though I was experienc
ig visions of one kid and another. Gradually I began to feel en
thusiastic about sittig. Came the sixth day. In the anteroom where
I was kneelg awaiting my turn to go to dokusan I had a smal joyful
experience. Jut in front of my knees I saw a large post and the leg of
a small table overlapping. At that moment I felt the post to be the
roshi and the small leg to be myself. Suddenly this insight came to me:
The post as a post is occupyg all of heven and earth, and the leg of
the table as the leg of a table is doig the same. The roshi as roshi and
I as I fll the entre cosmos. Is there emptess anywhere? Wit that
I laughed heartily from the bottom of my belly.
Briskly entering the roshi's room at dokusan, I presetd him my
experience. "What is the value of such a blank insight? Don't
dream! " he said brusquely, and dismssed me. Though it may have
been a hallucination, the joy of that moment has never left me.
Thereafter whenever I came before the rosh I wasn't afraid of him.
After this first sesshin at Nippon-ji I attnded one sesshi three years
later at Hosshn-ji, but I was unsuccessfu i attaing enightenment.
One night durg the summer of that year while single-mdedly de
voting myself to the practce of my koan, Mu, I experienced a state in
whch I fet as tough I were lookig at te vast, utrly transparent
sky, and the next moment was able to penetrate the world of Mu
with an awarnes that was clear ad sharp. At once I went to see
Tai-roshi and asked hm to receive me in dokusan. He conmed my
realizaton after I had made prompt reply to: "How old is Kanon? "
"Cut the word Mu ito three, " and other tests. Whereupon he i
strctd me as follows :
"There is a temendous diference between shalow and deep re
alization, and these diferent leves are depicted i the Ten Oxherding
Pictures.
1
The depth of your enightenment is no greater than that
show i the third picture, namely, that of seeing the Ox. I other
1 Se seion Y.
A JAPANESE GARDEN-DESIGNER I 2J l
words, you have only caught a glimpse of the realm 'beyond the
manfestation of form.' Your enghtenment is such that you can
easily lose sight of it if you become lazy and forego further practice.
Furthermore, though you have atained enlightenment you remain
the same old you-nothing has been added, you have become no
grander. But if you contnue with zazen, you wll reach the point
of grasping the Ox, i.e., te fourth stage. Right now you do not,
so to spak, 'ow'1 your realizaton. Beyond te stge of grasping the
Ox is the stage of tamng it, folowed by rding it, which is a stte of
awareness in whch enlightnment and ego are seen as one and the
same. Next, te seventh stage, is that of forgetting the Ox; te eighth,
that of forgetting the Ox as well as oneself; the ninth, the grade of
grand enlightenment, whch penetrates to the very botom and where
one no longer diferentiates enightenment from non-nlightenment.
The last, the tenth, is the stage in which, having completely fmshed
one's practice, one moves, as himself, among ordinary people, helping
them wherever possible, free from al attachment to enlightenment.
To live in ths last stage is the aim of life and its accomplishment
may requre many cycles of existence. You have now st foot on the
path leadig to this goal, and for this you should be gratefu."
Before receivig istuctons from my ftrst teacher I did zazen in
my ow way. Picking up the frst koan i Hekigan-rokt1, I refected
on the question of the emperor: "What is the highest tuth of the
holy doctrne? " and then Bodhidarma's answer: "Kakunen musho,
boundless expanse and noting that can be caled holy. ' '2 But I
couldn't uderstand ths. Stl, remnding myself of a Japanese prov
erb, "If you red a book a hundred tmes you are bound to come to
uderstand it," I sat down to zazen, devotedy recitng in my mnd
Bodhidhanna's answer, "Kakunen musho. " After to days of this
I experienced the same state I mentioned earlier, of lookng at a vast
clear sky. Ths I now feel helped bring about my later realiation.
The following icident is also worth mentonng i this con
necton. As a Japaese-stle fencig champion in my school days, I
1 This condition ca be compared co chat of a newly-hatched chick, whose life,
while real enough, i still fagie ad tentative.
This question was addressed to Bodhidharma by Emperor Wu ofLiag (502-
49 ), a renowed Buddhist patron. The emperor next asked: "Who ae you? Are
you not a holy m?" To this Bodhidhara retorted: "I don't know." One of the
points of the koa is to grap the spirt of this "I don't know."
232 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
compted against fve stdents in the intrcoleat mte The
frst three were comparatvely weak and I tried to beat them by
fguring out techques in advance, but was defeated by al three.
When I faced my fourth opponent I was overhelmed by a feelg
of responsibity to uphold the reputaton of my school, as well as
bitteress at havig been defeatd three tmes. I was desperate. With
out tg, I instctively leapt at my adversary ad then retured
to my place not knowng whether I had won or lost. Latr I was told
by a fried that I had achieved a splendid victory. My f opponent,
who was by far the strongest, I defeated in the same way.
I these to contest I exprienced moments whc I cal the naked
expression of enightenment, in whch I acted in response to my direct
feeling and deepest mid, wthout considerg victory or defeat, op
ponent or mysel and with no awareness of even engaging in a
match. Faced with a situaton involvng lie or death, one can act
instatly, intutvely, free from il usion or discrmiaton, ad yet not
be in a trance. It is a matter of traing oneelf through the priciples
of Zen, to act wholeertdly i every circumstance.
When we live inattntvely we ae apt to fall ito partal discrimina
ton. Ths is a state of mid in whic egocetrcity is fostered and
hu suferig enhanced. Therefore, whenever I become aware that
I am relapsing, I remd mysef that heaven ad earth have the same
root. Everthg i One. The visual form of thgs is no diferent
fom te emptess whch is their essetal natre.
Having read many boks about Zen prior to enghtenment, I had
the illusor noton that if I could attain enightnment I woud ac
qure superatural powers, or develop an outstanding personalty all
at once, or become a gret sage, or that all sufering would be ann
hilatd ad te world become heavene. Thee false ideas of mne,
I now se, hdered the master in gudig me.
Before satori I was ver much worried about my physical condi
ton, about death, about the usatsfactory conditon .of society, and
many other things, but after enlightenent they no longer upset me.
Nowadays whatever I do I am completely at one with it. I accept
pleasant thigs as wholly pleasant and disastefl things as completely
distasteful, and then immediately forget the reacton of pleasantness
or distastefues.
A J APANESE RETIRED GOVERNMENT WORKER / 233
I feel that though the experience of enlightenment the human
md can expand to the ifmity of the cosmos. True greatess has
nothg to do with fore, social sttus, or intellectal capacity but
simply with enlargement of md I ts sense I am constantly en
deavoring to become great.
As is wel know, worldly knowledge and powers of subte reason
ig are not prerequisites for taing i Zn. Buddst taditon has it
that te famous Si Patrarch, Eno, the most excellent of masters
in
ancient Chna, was able to atain perfect enghtenment because,
being iliterate, he was not given to reading ad speculatng about
tuth; tus he could directly grasp te source of Mid. Since olden
tmes the Japanese have said that not trough intellecton but by de
voted sitting can we see into the ultmate nature of Mind and in the
same way deepen and expand this vision endlessly.
There are cerain tee whch, because they spring up rapidly, never
develop the strength to wittand a strong gale. Similarly, i Zen there
are those who attain enlightenment quickly but who, since they give
up practce, never become spiritually strong. Hence i Zen of prme
importance are calm and steadfast applicaton of zazen i one's
daily life and a staunch deteraton not to stop short of perfect
enlightenment.
4
I MR. C. S . , A J APANES E RETI RED GOV
ERNMENT WORKER, AGE 6o I My experience of
kensho was simple and uspectcular, lacking the drama of many
another. Indeed my enlghtenment itself is shallow, but sice I've been
asked to write ths account I ofer it for what interest it may have.
I came to Ze out of no such lofty ambiton as kenho. The in
security and utter confusion in tis coutry right after the recent war
drove me to te point where I often thought of commttng sui
cide. To quiet my apprehensive, turbulent mnd I decided to do za
zen. Since my sole aim was the cultivation of mnd stability, I did not
even know the word kensho when I began zazen. The roshi instructed
me frst to practce coutng my breath, then following my breath
with my mind's eye, and fally to do shan-taza, the last being con
cetraton witout an object i md.
On the way to . Y asutn-roshi' s temple to attend my first sesshin
234 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
I thought (knowing notbng of what a sessh entails) : "How plesant
it wl be to relax with the roshi, even perhaps to di sake with
him." It was dusk when I got to the temple and all I coud hear were
the souds of the bush warbler and the ticke of water from a broken
pipe. I coUld see blush-reen bamboo i the grove ad the red blooms
of the camellia. The surroudings, at once serene and beautf,
afected me profoudly. I had brought several books with me and
bemed in anticipaton of being able to read quedy dung the sesshin
ad to compose poems inspired by all ths natural beauty.
But when the sessh began the following day it ted out to be
something I had never imagied. It was, as a matter of fact, torture.
It so happes tat several of the joit of my legs are permanendy
stfrom to automobie accident. Ths, togeter with the fact that
I was almost sixt at the tme, made sitting with my legs crossed i
the lotus posture excruciatng. (Stll, thinking about it afterwards, I
know tt whatever I gained came to me through ths pain.) I ex
perienced the worst in my legs at daw of the second day. Feelig
that death itelf could not be worse, I told myself: "Altis pain comes
from zaze, and you can escape it i you wish. But if you were dyng
and i agony, you would be unable to escape the sufering, so bear
this pai i te same spirit and de if need be! "1 I fought this torment
wth every ounce of strength.
Gradually I felt the pain in my legs less and less as the sesshin pro
gressed, and my md began to expand ut, imperceptbly, it
reched a sublime state. I coudn't say whether I was unconcious of
my existece or conscious of my non-existence. My ony awareness
was of both thubs touching each other lighdy. The sliding screen
doors i front of me tred stark whit and a purified brightess
descended upon everg. I felt as though I were i paradis. My
dominant feelig was grattude, yet I wasn't aware of ayone's feelig
grateful. Involutarily I began to cry sofdy, then the tears streamed
down my cheeks. Tears, tears, ters-a veritable river of tears ! Even
as I sat before the bell awaiting my tu to go before the roshi I
coudn't control my sily sobbing. I was ashamed of showing a tear-
1 It is interesting to read of the Catholic abbess St. Teresa coWselng her nWs:
"Strve lie strong men Wtil you die in the attempt, for you are here for nothing
else than to strve." Quoted by E. A son Peers i the preface (p. 16) to h trala
tion of The Autobiogra
p
hy ofSt. Teresa o Avila.
A J APANESE RETIRED GOVERNMENT WORKER j 235
stained face to the roshi, beleving that tears were no part of zazen,
and after a strong efort maaged to contol the weeping. After the
sesshn I mentioned ts cryg episode to the roshi. He told me that
whie I hadn't yet reached the point of kensho, neverteless I had
attained to a signcant degree of ego attrition, of whch this crying
was an indication. Ths I was happy to hear, ad on that note ended
my frst sessh.
Wit this experience I knew I had estblished te basis for trans
formng my lfe. It is often said that Zen is not theory but practce.
The truth of tis was umstakably brought home to me. Sittng i
solitude like a mountain-this alone is required. With ts frst ses
shin there grew wtn me a resolve to cultivate and deepen what
I had barely tsted in order to acquire the equanimity so essential to
cope with the consions of ths troubled world. By practicing zazen
according to the rosh's istructions my powers of concentration
steady grew stronger, ad each day became a day of thanks. In my
home there were now no quarrels, and I was cheerful as I walked to
the ofce each morg. I was content with my life, whch could be
caled serene and peaceful. Yet from tme to time I was troubled by
the question: What is te purpose ofhuman life? I kew that without
kensho I could never establsh the inner certainty I now lacked.
SHIKAN-TAA / I bega zazen with couting my breaths, then 1
followed them wit my mind's eye, and after that the roshi assigned
me shan-taza, the puest kd of zazen. Generaly speaking, through
a koan one can get kensho more quickly than trough shikan-taza,
where a gradual ripening of te mnd takes place.1 The roshi had often
ecouraged me wth these words: "Instead of trying to get kensho
forcibly through a koan, sit patendy whie natral ripeng takes
place." So I sat steadily, fmy convinced that the time would come
when my mnd, now like an astringent persimmon, woud become
ripe and sweet. The more zazen I did, the clearer my mnd became.
Each time I sat down to zazen I would frst regulate my breath, after
which I would slip into deep concentation. As my practice progressed
I oftn experienced a condition in which I was no longer aware of my
body and mind or of anyting else. When I told te roshi about this
1 For a more precise statement on koan zen and shikan-taa, see p. S3.
236 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
he urged me not to liger i this world of the eighth class of con
sciousness, the state of purity ad stability, but bravely to break
though beyond. I felt, however, as tough I were facing a "silver
moWtain" or an "iron wa. " I could neither advance nor retreat.
Sometime later, during aother sesshin, I recall an incident when
I got up alone one night and began to sit facing one of the slding
paper doors, which dimy refected the bright eveng sky. With a
determed efort, made easier by the deep solitude of midnight, I
rapidly got ito a state of profoWd concetration. My md attaied
to such clarity that I felt the next moring would surely bring kensho,
contrary to even the roshi's expectatons. But in spite of my dogged
sittig I couldn't reac nomdness, and beig by nature rater dul
witted anyway, I soon became seduced by te croakig of te fogs,
whose voice were highy melodious, the like of which I'd seldom
heard. This eveng the chorus rang out sharply in the stil es.
"Tht's it, tat's al, tat's all, tat's it," tey seemed to be singig
and mockig. A strange laugh bubbled up from deep with me. It
became impossible for me to do pue zazn, and I gave up tryig.
At te following sprig sessh Mrs. Y -, who was sittg next
to me, came to kensho and shed tears of grattude and joy. Straight
way I decided that I would be the next. But i spite of my struggles
I could fid no weapon in shikan-taza to break dow the "iron wall"
conronting me. At dokusan the last words of the roshi were always:
"Now push on! " What I wanted, however, was a tool with which
to push on, so I almost begged hm to assign me te koan Mu. This
he dd afer te spring sesshin, presenting me at te same tme wit
a sittig cushion and a Buddhist amce to encourage me to strive on.
Now all the "tools" were at hand save one: the Wshakable wl to
get kensho at any price. As I walked home afer te sessh, I made
this vow: Either I get kensho at the next sesh or else!
T KOAN MU j Though I had been given Mu practcaly at my
ow request, I couldn't do good zazen wit it. Havig practced
shkan-taza over a long time and grown accustomed to holding my
mind like a fowing stream or a driftig cloud, wt no focal poit,
I foWd Mu a formidable burden. Yet I sorely needed this tool to
demolish the "silver moWtain." So I concentrated fercely, trying to
merge myself with Mu, and gradually grew accustomed to it.
A J APANESE RETIRED GOVERNMENT WORKER / 237
In early autn of 1955 I was again in sesshi. Somehow I felt
ths sesshin would be crucial for me; I knew that on me alone de
peded success or faure.
At 4:30 a.m. of te frt dy te roshi, during his inspecton roud,
told us: "Conditions at tis seshin are idel; te weather is neiter
hot nor cold and it is quiet. You have a splendid opportunity." I took
his words to heart and gripped Mu like a heavy hig stck to forge
my way through te narrow mountaious pass openig into kensho.
First day . . . Second day . . . Third day . . . Time passed quickly.
My frst atempts to grasp Mu faied-! simply could not break
trough. Bewildered and fustrated because I could not budge my
mind out of the serene clarity into which it had settled, I strove des
perately to cut through this mind-state with the shar sword of Mu,
now driven by an overrought impatience, but to no avai.
Earlier ths year at the spring sesshin I had also reached ths realm
of the eighth consciouness and had failed to penetrate beyond it.
It was now apparent to me that I had never exerted myself to my
very limits, and that ifl was ever to get kensho, nothing less than a
superhuman efort could do it. This ofen led me to continue my
sitting even afer the bell had ng sigg a roud of walkig. But
I still coud not break out of this "cave of Satan" even wt Mu and
te superhuman efort I was making. I just couldn't crack this im
passe.
Kensho demands enormous psycc and physical vitalit, but I
was now sixt and had lost much of my former energy and resilience.
Still, I refsed to give up, continug with Mu witout sliding back.
On te fourth day, on my way to the outouse, in the silence of
tight I spied an old loquat tree. Its branche seemed possesed of
a strange, indecribable solemty. "What I am seing is absolute
truth! " I told myself. My mnd, I knew, had progressed in aware
ness, and I retued to my sittig with renewed vigor. I the evening
at dokusan I told Roshi what I had felt about the tree and asked him
what it meat. "You have reached a decisive point-there is only one
more step! This is the last evening of the sesshin. Do zazen al night."
Fired by the roshi's "one more step! " I was now ready for an all
night, al -ut attack on Mu.
OPENING M MIND
'
s EYE / Customariy all lghts are put out at 9
23 8 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
p.m., but t nght, with the rosh's permission, I kept one small
lght burg. Mr. M-, the senor montor, joine me in my sittig,
and with hs spiritual strength added to mine I felt vastly stronger.
Centerg my energy in my hara, I began to feel exlarated. In
tently I watched the stl shadow of my chin and head Wltil I lost
awareness of them in a deepening concentration. As the eveg
wore on, the pain in my legs became so gruelng that even changing
from full- to half-lotus didn't lessen it. My ony way of overcomig
it was to pour al my eergy into single-mided concentration on
Mu. Even with the fercest concentration to the point of pantig
"Mu! Mu! Mu! " there was nothing I could do to free myself of the
excruciating pain except to shift my posture a little.
Abruptly the pains disappear, there's only Mu! Each and every
thing is Mu. "Oh, it's this!" I exclaimed, reelg in astonishment,
my mid a total emptiness. "Ting-a-lig, tng-a-ling"-a bell's
rging. How cool ad refreshing! It impels me to rise and move
about. All is freshness and purity itself. Every single object is dancing
vividly, invting me to look. Every single thing occupies its natural
place and breathes quietly. I notce zinas in a vase on the altar, an
ofering to Monju, the Bodhisata of Inte Wisdom. Tey are
idecribably beautiful !
At the next dokusa Roshi tested me and conrmed my Wlder
standg of Mu.
A fkensho-awakening usually generates not ony astonishment
but also profoWld joy, but I neither wept nor laughed with joy. In
most cases it transforms one's fmdamental outlook on life and deat
and ofers a new and penetrating insight into the words "Life is vain
and transitory." But my experience carried in its wake no such in
sights, for it was but a touch of enightenment.
I was bor i September, 1 895, and so in September, 1955, was
just sixty years old. In Japan the sixtieth birthday is celebrated as the
day of rebirth. I am happy that the openig of my Mind's eye this
very month coincided with the frst steps of my new, second life.
Eight years have passed since I frst began zazen. It is said in Japan that
it takes eight years for the persinon tree to bear fruit. In lke man
ner, my eforts have bore fuit. But the favor is for others to judge.
AN AMERI CAN S CHOOLTEACHER I 239
5 / MRS. A. M. , AN AMERI CAN S CHOOL
TEACHER, AGE 3 8
/
Of Jewish and Gentile parentage, I
was bor in Germany, where I led the idyllic childhood of an elf in
Grin's fairy tales. My father, a Jew, eared the respect of everyone
in our sleepy medieval town, not ony for hs learng as a doctor of
laws but also for his unlimited generosity. My mother, of Lutheran
German background, was loved by rich and poor alike for her un
derstanding, her charity, ad her joy of lfe. Completely sheltered
from fmancial and other worries, I grew up in childish innocence.
The words "God" and "religion" were never discussed in my
family, as my parents thought it best to leave the choice of Judaism
or Christanty to us children when the tme was ripe. My early ex
psure to the Old and New Testaments came in the class in religion
at school, where the Lutheran translation of the Bible made a pro
found impression on me.
Hitler rose to power and everything changed. My childhood
dreams blew up in smoke and I was faced with the stark reality of per
secution. Brick by brick the Nazis knocked the security from the wall
surouding my ego. Te love and respect we had enjoyed disap
pered ad we kew ony loneliness and anxiety.
Friedles, I withdrew into myself and spent most of my time
readg. Voraciously I went through my father's vast lbrary, looking
for stories of romantic hue, of Weltschmerz, in whch I imagined
myself the heroine.
Te climax of persecution for my family came on the inamous
nint of November, 1938, when our home along wit other Jewish
houses was destroyed by hordes of drunen storm troopers, my father
brutally beaten and dragged of to a concentaton camp. My mother
was in Berli at te tme, and my sister and I were lef in desolaton,
shvering i te attc of our once so beautiful home. In my soul's
despair I uttere the frst real prayer of my lfe: "God help us! "
Peness but with pioner spirit my family landed by boat in
San Pedro, Califora, on Januar 24, 1939. Miraculouly we had es
caped from the clutches of the Nazis and, thans to the afdavits of
my mother' s sisters in Los Angeles, now embarked hopeful y on a
new lfe.
I pinched penie for fou years and was able to attend the U n
versity of Califora at Los Angeles. Eventually I obtained my mas-
240 I ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
ter's degree in educaton and became a f -fledged language techer.
Now married, on September 3, 1955, my frst child, a beautl,
blue-yed grl, wa bor. Wit te lttle money we had and wt my
huban's GI right we puchased a trac house near bot our schools.
Beteen home ad scool my life move on an even keel. In 1957
my son was hm ad in 19 my seond daughter. My leisure tme I
spnt reding book on phosophy and religion. The story of Yoga
nad of India impressed me deeply. Later I became even more pro
foudy intereted in te wisdom of te Orient through a series of
lectues I heard on te phosophy of East and West. Zen lteratre
followed, and flly my huband ad I formulated a defmte plan to
viit Japa ad India "afer our chldren are a little more mature,"
i order to sek elightenent ourselves.
In the meante one of my teacher friends interested me in joining
a group in depth psycology. Somewhat famiiar with the Freudian
uconcious, I now becme acquainted wit Jung' s viewpoint re
garding the possibiity of ful inner development between te ages of
tirty-fve and forty. I pracced meetig life's challenges minute by
mute, wt some succes. Te only thing, however, which kept me
fom greater acievement was the lack of a purpose greater tan my
slf. "What am I livng for? " I asked mysel again and again. I had
a material advatages: good health, professional success, a lovely
fy, leisure time, no fancial worrie, yet I could fmd no deep
iner satsfacton.
Whe my hubad suggested a vacation in Hawaii in the summer
of 1962, I sid: "Why not?" In spite of the fact that we were roamig
about the beach at Waikiki with tree children and to surfboard,
both of us were actualy looking for something more spiritual. For
tunately my hubad discovered a zazen group whch was meetg
at a private residence in Honolulu. "Wy wait tll we visit Japan? "
we decided. "Let's get accustomed to sittng now. We probably need
years of conditionng anyay."
Much to our delight we found tat a roshi, an enlghtened sage
from Japa, wa stoppig in Hawaii to lead a 5esshin before embark
ing on a tour through the United States. Ths group of serious zazen
partcipats was smal and tey welcomed us to join. A little embar
rassed by ou ignorance of Buddhism, my huband and I took tur
AN AMERICAN S CHOOLTEACR.R I 241
at home every oter evening with the children while each of us went
to do zazen and lear about Buddhism for to weeks prior to the
sesshin. The pain of te half-lotus posture chagrined me, becaue I
had been athetc all my life ad imagined I could do tis comforta
bly wth no training. "Am I ready for this?" I questoned mysel
"I came to Hawaii for relaxation, not meditaton." A neurotic fatgue
crept through my whole body and I can't remember when I have
ever been so tired.
Before the sesshin formally opened, Yasutani-roshi' s preliminary
lectures on zazen were distributed to us. They concluded with a
classifcation of the four distinct grades of aspiration, whic ranged
from mental and physical healt to enightenmet. "I am interested
in kensho, but would consider myself fortuate if he assigns me the
couting of my breaths, " I convnced myself. "Perhaps a novice like
me wilmerely lear to entangle her legs correctly and sit up straight."
With awe I looked around the room at the other participants sitting
perfecly erect, legs in half-lotus posture, breathing in deep con
centration in front of a white curtain.
Time passed quickly. Yasutani-roshi arrived and we were all in
vted to come on Sunday for zazen and tea. Whe I saw the little
light m, seventy-seve yet bearig himself like ffy-seven, with
the sparkling magnetism of youth in his eyes, all doubt vanished.
"This is my master, for whom I was going to search al over India
and Japan," I told myself and was fled with a strange feeling of joy.
That same evening at the Soto Mission Y asutani-roshi spoke on
te koa Mu and how to penetrate it. His pantomime was so vivid
tat I uderstood wthout knowing a word of Japaese. It seemed to
me to be like te angshed joy of beaing a baby, and I was ready for
te labor.
The night before sesshin I couldn't sleep. I knew I was going on
the trip of my life, and my heart beat with the wild antcipation I feel
before climbing a moutai. The next morg I arose at four, sat
two sittings without much trouble, and boldly announced to Y asu
tan-roshi that I was in te fou categor of aspiraton, hoping to
rech kensho. To my surprise, he asked no fuer questions but
straightway assigned me te koan Mu. Almost at once I regretted my
decision!
For two days I worked on Mu half-heartedly, scred to death to
242 I E NLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
face te roshi at dokuan, because to me he represented the strict dis
ciplinarian father of my youth. On top of this, I could never re
member te simple Japanese word for "My koan is Mu."
The third day everythig canged. Our interpreter, the serenely
smiling, "foating" Tai-san, became te angel of vengeance. "This is
no tea part," his voice tundered, "but a sesshn! Today I will
tach you te meanng of seshi! " Whereupon he began crackng
everyone with his kyosaku, a flat board used on the shoulders of
sleepy mons to rouse them to fuconcentraton. I was anytng but
sleepy, blieve me, I was absolutely panc-stricken. That whole day
I saw myself walking on the edge of a abyss with water gushng
wdly below. Every breath was Mu. "If you let go even once you will
fall," I cautioned myself "so keep going as though you were starting
on a long hie up a steep motmtain. "
That night I had a strange dream. A table with four cups, clover
leaf fashion, was set for a Japanese tea ceremony. Just as I was lifting
my cup, a winged Tai-san descended upon me lke an angel with a
fery sword, and with a loud Mu! whacked me. I awoke with a start
and immediately fell into zazen, this time in a lying positon stretched
out on my bed, hand over my belly. "You'll never get anywhere in
this panc," I tried to quiet mysel "You must relax. Picture a quiet
mCuntain scene at nght beneath te star-studded innite." Slowly,
deeply I ihaled and exhaled, and a wondrous peace enveloped me.
My belly seemed to expand into a balloon, and a fog which had
shorty before enveloped me slowly began to lift, until a sweet
nothingness invaded my whole being. I heard the sound of fowing
water and slowly came out of my trance. At dokusan I was told that
I wa on the verge of te great experience of enlightenment.
The fourth day the tension rose to an even higher pitch. Tai-san
told the story of a monk so determined to reach kensho that he
medtated with a stick of icense in one hand and a knife in the other.
"Either I am enlghtened by the time the incense is burned out or I
shall kl myself" he vowed. With the pain of the buig stub of
incense he becme enlightened. Tai-san then made the rounds with
his kyosaku, reducing everyone, even my husband, to tears.
"I shal reach kensho at this sesshin," I promised myself and sat
te sitgs i half-lot. Then I broke dow and sobbed bitterly;
een in dokusan I could not stop crying. I went upstairs to rest, and
AN AMERICAN SCHOOL TEACHER I .43
when I got up to wash my face I had the strange sensation of water
guhg right through me and blinked my eyes. It souded like the
water I had heard the night I experienced voidnes.
The morg of te fth day I stayed home to te care of te
chdren. I shoud menton that neiter my huband nor I attended
sesshin full tme. We took tus goig to the 4 a.m. siting ad went
home for almost all meals. I styed overght once, my husbad not
at all.
A litte embarrassed at dokuan that afteroon, I confesed that I
had not done zazen at home becaue of too many interrupton.
I was told tat to people had already reached kensho ad that if I
exerted myself to te utmost, I could also get kensho. So that night
my husband alowed me to stay overght.
With Mu I went to bed, with Mu I arose the sith day. "Don't
get nervou," Tai-san cautoned, ''ut concentrate." I lstned to tee
words of wisdom, but was too tred to meditate. My eergie were
dained. Mter breakfast I lay dow to ret, doing Mu in a horizontal
positon, when suddenly a glow appeared in front of my eyes as
though sue were hittng them directly. I clearly heard sounds I
had not heard since I was a little girl sick in bed: my mother's foot
steps ad te rutlng of her boxe. Having had so many strange ex
periences aredy at tis seshi, I paid no further heed but contiued
my concentraton on Mu throughout the entre morg's sittng. As
I was awaiting dokuan a famar aroma tantalized my nostls; it was
the tempting smel of my mother's cooking. My eye glanced at a red
cushion on a brow table, the same colors of my grandmother's
lvig-room fute. A door slammed, a dog barked, a whte cloud
sailed trough a blue sky-I was reliving my chdhood in makyo,
hallucinatons.
At noon, with the roshi' s permission, my husband told me that he
had achieved kensho. "Now or never!" I told mysel "A pumpki
wife cnnot be married to an enlightened husband!" I vvidly recaled
the story of the youth wit the knfe ad incese. "Det or delver
ance !" became my watchword.
I inhaled deeply and wth each exhalaton concentrated wth all my
might on Mu. I fdt as though I were al air and would levitate any
seond. I "crawled" into the belly of a hideous, hairy spider. "Mu!
Mu! Mu!" I groaned, and I became a big, black Mu. A angd, it
24 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
seemed, touched me ever so softly on the shoulder, ad I fell back
wards. Suddenly I realzed that my husband and Tai-san were stand
i behind me, but I could not move; my feet were absolutely numb.
They practically carried me outside, and I sobbed helplessly. "I was
already ded," I said to mysel "Why dd they have to brng me
back to lfe?" At dokusan the roshi told me that ts was but a fore
taste of kensho, it was not yet realzation.
Then I took a lttle wal and suddenly the whole experience of the
last few dys seemed utterly ridiculou to me. "That stupid rosh, " I
remember tg, "he and his Oriental hou-pocus. He just doen't
know what he's taing about." At der, half an hour later, as I was
fumblng with my copstcks, I felt lke gettig up ad handing him
a fork. "Here, old boy, let's get used to Wester ways." I giggled at
my" ow joke. Throughout the evening chanting I could hardly keep
a staight face. After the rosh' s fnal words I wanted to pick up my
bag and walk out, never to retu, so unreal did it al seem.
In hs frst lecture the rosh had told us that Mu was like a red-hot
ball stuck in the throat whch one can neither swallow nor spit out.
He was right, so rght. As I look back, every word, ever move was
part of the deliberate plan of this venerable teacher. His name,
"White Cloud" [Hauun], indeed ft him. He is the greatet, whtest
cloud I have ever experienced, a real atidote to the dark atomc
mushoom.
Now I was i bed, doig zzen again. Al nght long I alterately
breathed Mu and fell into trances. I thought of the monk who had
reched kensho i jut such a stte of fatgue. Eventually I must have
dozed of in complete exhauston. Suddenly the same lght angel
touched me on the shoulder. Only ths tme I awoke wth a bright
"Ha! " and realized I was enlightened. The angel was my kid tired
husband tapping me on te shoulder to waken me to go to seshn.
A strange power propelled me. I looked at the dock-tenty
minutes to four, just in tme to mae te morg sitng. I arose and
calmy dressed. My mind raced as I solved problem afer problem. I
arrived at the sesshn before four o'clock and accepted an ofer of
cofee with such a positve "Yes" that I could not beleve my own ears.
When Tai-san cme aroud wit hs "sword" I told him not to boter
htting me. At dokusan I rushed into the lttle cottage my techer was
occupying and hugged and ks hm and shook Tai-san's hand,
A JAPANESE INSURANCE ADJ USTER I 245
and let loose with suc a torrent of comical verbosity that a three
of us laughed with delght. Te roshi teted and passed me, and I was
ofcially ushered through te gateless gate.
A lifetme has been compresed into one week. A tousand new
seatons are bombardig my senses, a thouad new pats are open
ig before me. I lve my life minute by minute, but only now doe
a warm love pervade my whole being, because I know that I am not
jut my lttle self but a great big miraculous Sel My contant thought
is to have everybody share t deep satsfacton.
I ca t of no better way to end ths accout tha wth te vows
I chanted at sesshn every morg:
Albeings, however lmitless, I vow to save.
Fantasy and deluion, however edles, I vow to cut of
Dharma teachings, however imeasurable, I vow to master.
Buddha's Way, however lofty, I vow to atai.
6 I MR. A. K. , A JAPANES E I NS URANCE AD
JUSTER, AGE 2 5 I I frst began to think seriously about
lfe ad death at the age of telve when my eight-yer-old brother
died of a kidney disease. I grieved so much over his death that I col
lapsed at his fueral. Deep wit me was a feelng of contrton so
strong that I remember crying out: "Forgive me, forgive me! "
Four years later my only other brother drowed. This was such a
profound shock that I began to quetion over and over: "Why is life
so ucrain and miserable? Are we hom only to die? " I was over
whelmed by a feelng of utter helplesness. School study was sheer
drudgery, and every day was a day of msery. "Why are we hom,
why do we die]-this queston obsessed me lie a eter night
mare.
In hopes of endig my wretchedness I began avidly to read the
bible of one of the postar relgions i Japan, caled Te Truth o
Lie. After the death of my yoWlger broter my parents had become
followers of t sect for a short tie. It urged: "Live a life of grattude
wt a smile. Be meek and always respond with 'Ye.' " This was a
ver well, but how one cultvated meekness and grattude was not
made clear. It further claimed that m, as te son of God, is witout
faw, ad that through his idetity with God he could realie ths
246 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
in ate perfecton. "But why," I questioned, "shoud m, who tey
insist is hom free, be ted even to God, eterl y eslaved by him?
This can't be the way to peace of mnd." Disiluioned, I dropped
this religion out of my le, convinced that it was no more than an
opiate.
I was jut sevetee when, in August, 1949, I came to Sosei-i, a
Soto temple, to ask the abbot what Buddhism was. He was pleased
to see me and said: "It canot be explained in a sentence, but let me
tell you the reply given by a renowned Zen master to the same
question. When te Chinese poet Hakurakuten asked Zen Mastr
Dorin about the mysterie of Buddhsm, he was told:
Avoid evil,
Practice good,
Keep the heart-mnd pure
This is what al Buddhas teach.
1
"Remember," te abbot contnued, "zazen is the most direct way
to understand Buddhism, but choosing a good teacer is paramout."
In November of that year I attended my :rst zazekai, conducted by
Y asutani-rosh.
To my surprise, I found the rosh to be a simple old m wth no
apparent dignit, wearing the shabbiest of robes. In a quiet voice he
spoke about counting the breath in zazen whle facing a wal, but such
questions as "What is the meang of lfe?" or "How c we get rid
of sufering? " he didn't deal with at all. However, I bgan to cout
my breath in the maner he instructed, though it went against my
grain. "Zen can't be real," I told myself, "it must be a fake!"
But for some reason I went again when the next zazen meetng
rolled around and continued to go. Upon lerg ofkenho, through
which experience the rosh claimed human sufering could be dis
solved, I made up my md to get kensho so that I could disprove the
roshi. My skepticism peristed for to years utl I was f y per
suaded by a senior member of the zazenai to join a tree-day s
shin. He had told me: "I you don't come back a wiser, stronger
man, you can knock my block of" The roshi gave me Mu as my frst
koan. While half of me strove reolutely for kensho, the other haf
held back in fear of the ferce blows of the kyosaku. I went to no
1 For the full converation, see "Hurakuten" i section x
A J APANESE INSURANCE ADJ USTER I 247
more seshn uti te next year, whe I attended fve in succession. By
now every one of my doubt as to the validity of Ze had vanished,
but for al my striving I could not reach the point of kensho.
Each tme I retured from a sesshn I found that I had grow
calmer and better able to deal with my daly life. Despite this gain,
however, I felt tat with no kensho I had spent another year in vain.
It was now my graduaton year, 1954, and the fear that I would
have no time for zazen in buiness life fred my deternaton to get
kensho before I fmsed school. I this state of mid I joined the
Marc seshin. On the third day I was struck wit pecular force by
ths remark of the roshi : "Mu is nothng but Mu! " It was a simple
statemet that I had often heard from h, but now it ht me like
lightng. "Then why on earth have I been imaginng otherwise? "
A heavy load suddenly fell from my shoulders, but because this was
not yet realization, I fel into darkness again. At afteroon dokusan
I had nothing to say to the roshi and retured to my place dis
hearteed. With this insight, however, I became convinced that
kensho was entrely possible for me.
Repeatedly I had urged my mother to accompany me to a zazen
kai, and se had steadfastly refused. Now she went and very quickly
attained kensho. I was dumbfounded. Her experience so set me on
fre that at the following month's sesshn I redoubled my eforts.
With strong ecouragement from the roshi, who urged "Only one
more step! " I fercey applied myself to my koan. But in my deepest
uconscious (I now see) I was still conceivng Mu as something out
side me; that's why the world ofkensho never appeared. Bitterly dis
appointed, I told myself: "You have sat and sat, yet you haven't
succeeded. There must be something wrong with you."
Deeply discouraged, I talked myse]f into believing I lacked the
intrinsic potentiality for enlightenment; still I contnued to attend
sesshin after sesshn, for reason whch were obscure to me at the time.
But I could no longer pour myself into zazen. Then I began to
think i this wise: "Since the unverse and I are one, to uderstand
the meaning of the unverse I must understand myself. But I won't
be able to understand myse1f until once and for al I end my habit of
seeking Mu outside myse1f."
248 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
By the following yer I had recovered a good del of my former
spirit and was able to sit wit a ca, vigorous mnd. This encouraged
me to partcipate in subsequent sessh. Retg to my regular life
afer each such sesshin, I was astonished to fmd myself so changed.
Every day was a day of grattude, and when I went to bed at night
after a hard day's work, I felt gratefu to be alive, tough I didn't
know why. By now I had a considerable theoretcal knowledge of
enlightenent, but when I refected that it had not brought me ken
so, a restles discontent took hold of me. I knew that deep down I stl
feared deat and shran from lfe. I was suspended betwee a feeling
of grattude on the one hand and anxety ad frstraton on the other.
One hot August evenig as I sat with my parents at home during
a period of zazen, I suddenly experienced myself as a rpple spreading
edlesly throughout te uverse. "I've got it ! There i no universe
apart from me"-this repeatedly Bashed into my md. Whie it was
no more tha an isight, it conviced me I was nearing kensho, and
I began to sit more earestly. My hbit of resoning about Mu, how
ever, persisted. "What a curse thought is !" I would exclaim in cagrin.
"It conuses the mind, creates disputes betwee men by setting them
apart from each other, it creates war itsel. Stop tg! Stop
analyzig!"
Not long aftr ts I wet to a zazea at whic Y asutan-roshi
delivered a teisho on te "Three Gates of Oryu," a koan from Mu
monkan. At one point he was sayg: "How does your hand com
pare wit the had of a Buddha? Reachng out in your sleep for your
dislodged pil ow, instnctvely you recover it. One's whole being is
no dif erent from ts tmeless hand. Whe you truly realze this, you
wl spontaeously burst into laughter."
Hearing thee lnes, my mnd became enormously cleansed, and I
trembled with joy. But sinc I had not yet gaied true feedom,
I decided to say notg of this durg dokusan. Considerably hert
ened, however, I renewed my eforts to penetrate deeper into my
koa.
The oneweek August seshin had arrived. Owng to te pressure
of business, I could not get to the temple uti noon of the second day.
My strategy for this sesshin was to sit determnedly, like a baof fre,
durig sittng perods, and to relax completely during ret periods.
A JAPANESE I NSURANCE ADJUSTER I 249
At the opening of the thrd day the roshi had reminded everyone:
"Every year at this great sesshin at least one person gets kensho. "
Then and there I made up my mind that i f anybody got kensho
it would be me.
The fourth dy had come. Again and again I was waloped by te
kosaku, once so hard that my mind and body became momentarily
paralyzed. This day I "fought" the hardest. But i spite of everg,
I stl could not come to kensho. Now it was the f day; ony a day
and a half remaed to me. On te sixth dy I threw my last ounce of
energy into the "battle," alowig notg whatever to sidetrack me.
After the morg chores, and just before the rosh's teisho, a uni
versity student sittng near me (who got kensho at th sesshi}, sud
denly yelled out: "You foolish, foolish, stupid guy! " referring to
himsel "G on, on! One more step, only one! The summt ! Die if
need be, de! " The strength of his deperaton fowed into me and I
began to concentrate as tough my very life depended on it.
My mind was empt as an infat's as I listened to te roshi's lec
tre. He was reading from an acient koan: "Not even a sage can
impart a word about that Realm [of Silence] from which thoughts
issue. . . . A piece of string is eteral and boundless. . . . The bare
white Ox1 before you is pure, vivd 4 o . . "
2
As the roshi spoke i a cl, quiet voice, I felt ever one of his
words 6lter ito the deepest recesses of my mid. "Not even a sage
can utter a word about that Realm from whic thoughts issue," the
rosi repeated, addg, "No, not even a Buddha." "Of course! Of
course! " I repeted breathlessly. "Then why have I been searchg for
such a word? " Al at once everytg became sheer brilliance, and I
saw and knew that I am the ony One i the whole unverse! Yes, I
a tt only One!
Though not entirely condent the rosi would conrm this as
kensho, I decided to present my realization to him at the afteroon
dokusan, anyway. "Show me more clearly!" he demanded.
Returng to my plac in the mai hal of the temple, I again at
tacked zazen. About seven i the evening I suddeny heard these words
explode over my hed: "Tirty mutes to dokusan! Make up your
mind to come to Self-realizton! This is your last chance! " Again
1 That is, Mid. See section .
1
These lies are fom the comenta
r
on Cae 94 i Hekia-roku.
250 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
and again the blows of the stck rained down on me. My concentra
tion became utterly deperate. At last it dawned on me: there is Noth
ing to realize!
At dokusan the roshi tete me wit: "Show me Mu! How old is
Mu? Show me Mu whn you are taking a bath. Show me Mu on a
moutain." My responses were instateous, and he conrmed my
kensho. Prostrating mysel outide the rosh' s doorway as I left his
room, I overowed wit a joy which beggared descripton.
I canot close this accout wthout exresing my deep grattude
to Y asutani-roshi, who led me, so stubbor and w f, to open my
Mind's eye, and to all oters who direcdy or indirectly have helped
me.
7 I MRS . L. T. S . , AN AMERI CAN ARTI S T,
AGE 51 I I had come to Zen and the Pendle Hill [Penylvania]
sesshn obliquely and inevitably. As I look back over my shoulder at
the apparent meandering of my path to the moment of realization,
I see that it led straight to the soud of that tiy kin bell. As a
sculptor, as a wife and mother, as a drunk, ad fally as a member of
Alcoholics Anonymou, I had good pre-training.
I suppose the frst step in this life was the knowing, at about
ffteen, that I must be a artst. This knowing coincided with a
total rejection of Christanity (as I saw it) and an earest groping for
truth wt myself. I a few years I discovered stone, and agai I
knew that carving was my way-slow and hard-as the iner grop
ing was slow and hard.
I was determned to experience as much as possible, so marriage
and famiy folowed. But in tme my zest for livg became throttled
Life was too much for me, it began to pinch and bruise. Then I
discovered blessed acohol, whch subdy dulled my pai and u
shackled my soaring spirit.
Stone reted siendy, utouchd. My huband ad chdren, de
mandng my love, were pushed aside. No scupture. No wholehearted
acceptance of famiy. Just pai and gut and inadequacy. And slowly
alcohol took over and controled my life. I n longer knew my center.
Life was a bad dream. Strgglng fom one tenty-four hours to
AN AMERI CAN ARTI ST I 251
the next, I was controled by fear and guilt and the secret bottle. I
would not believe that I could not fnd a way out. So eight year
of psychiatry and attempt at every method of self-dsciplne I kew
of followed. But I was stltapped.
One morg, whch seemed no diferet from all the oter terrible
morgs, I phoned Acoholcs Aonymou for help. Wit ts ac
I was at last freed to truly look at myself, and wit te help of all te
other alcoholcs who had lived trough the same hel, to be mysel.
I stopped drinking. I lered that tere is sometng itely more
powerf than my small human mind. And I knew tat I must fnd
it, know it, see it, be it.
My sarch had bgu!
A few weeks later, idly looking at books on a bargai couter, I
picked up How To Know God, a tanslaton by Swam Prabhavananda
and Christopher Isherwood of Patanjali's Aphorisms. I was stuned!
Patanjali had known and taught, perhaps two thousad years ago,
what I had just discovered for myself. This book I read and reread
and stdied and puzzled over for two months on the deck of ou
schooner as we sailed up te Atlantic coast and dow again on a vaca
ton trip. All footote material was tracked dow, books ordered and
devoured.
The deep need for a teacher was aswered by my fnding Swam
Pramananda, who agreed to help me. He guided and directed me,
started me in disciplined meditaton, helped me sort out hallucinatons
fom realit, prepared me for te great plunging efort at Pendle
Hl .
I te cours of my reading I had found references to Zen in
Huxley's Perennial Philosophy. Ths I knew was for me. I contnued
to read, to practce kriya meditaton, though not to sit in the Zen way.
Entirely uexpectedly I was given an opportunity to go to Japan
for a few months to superise the construction of an exhbit I had
designed. There I ruthlessly, persistently chased Zen. And tere I
was show, as rutessly, that the only place to chase it was withn
myself. I was told to sit.
I sat. I sat at sesshn at Engaku-ji, Ryutaku-ji, and bridy at Nanzen
ji. I sat at R yose-an in Daitoku-ji.
It happeed ths way. Before leaving America I had heard of En-
252 f ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
gaku-i, so there I went. When I arrived i a cold November rain,
I had no idea what to do, no introduction to anyone, no uderstand
ig of Japanese. Not knowing which way to tum, I stood irresolute,
absolutely alone i a grey, deserted landscape, with rain soakig
through my raincoat, nng dow my neck, dripping into my
shoe. A dark fgure ran out i the rain. Helplesly we looked at each
other. Words tmbled out, Japanese and English. He beckoned me to
follow and led me to a door where he knocked ad caled. A figure
appeared. It was a youg Englshwoma, who, afer a brisk conver
saton in Japanese with my guide, asked what she could do for me.
She took me to the head monk and arranged for me to stay (they
were i sesshn), taught me how to get through the meals, requested
an intervew wth the roshi, and interpreted for me-was my guide
and good friend Her fnal gift was to introduce me to an American
Zen student, who arranged by telephone for me to go to R yutaku-ji
for more sitting.
So it went-n and on-kindess from so many people, and pain
fl, painul sittig. Wherever I sought help in Japan, from a roshi, a
mon, or a lay student, I foud it. The compassion of all these people
for my Bouderig ignorace has been infmite, and I am so gratef.
The tig of that tiny bell at the Pendle Hill seshn was the shock,
the force that crumbled walls that had been gently erodig through
four years of zazen, and before that fve years of kriya yoga every day,
every night. Patiently, stubbory, I had sat, sat, sat. Sometimes a long
time, sometimes a few mnutes, but always, always every day. Sitting
patiently had become so famar that I accepted it as naturaly and
ueventf y as breathig.
When I arrived at the Pende Hill sessh I had never seen Yasu
tani-roshi before. His monk interpreter I had met at R yutaku-i,
where I had attended a sesshin four yers earlier. I was braced for
the physical misery of four and a half days of zazen, but I also knew
well that the reward was clarity and peace. Afer attending the ss
shin i Delaware conducted by Nakagawa-roshi in I9i, I had jotted
down: "I feel that I've been tured iside out, shaken, and rinsed in
1
,
pure, c ear water.
So this Pendle Hill sesh began. About forty strangers sat togeth
er, some merely curious, some very erest. Yasutani-roshi divided
AN AMERICAN ARTI ST I 253
the group, accordng to their exresed purpose for bei.g there, into
several smaler groups. He spoke privately to each of te groups,
explaing the discipline they were to folow during the next fou and
a half days. I was one of those who sought enlightenent, and to ths
group he gave the koan Joshu's Mu.
I began to sit with Mu.
The frst day Mu was no hot iron hai-in fact it was a heavy lump
oflead in my belly.
"Melt that lead!" the roshi commanded. But it would not melt,
so nxt day I hamered with Mu, and came to know that its center
was a brilant, crystalline light, like a star or a diamond, so bril iant
that it outled ad ilumed physical objects, dazzed my eyes, f ed
me with light. My body felt weightles. I thought: "This is Mu."
But the roshi couseled: "Haluciations. Ignore tem. Concentrate
harder. "
By the e of that day there was no light, just dowsines, it
weariness, and Mu. Before going to bed I wote a note to myself:
"Now I am determined. If others c do it I can too ! Ad I will! I w
exhaust every bit of strength and stbbor determnation." Then I
slept, with Mu blanketig dream, Mu moving in and out wit each
breath.
The thrd day my eyes would not stay open-with each breath
they closed. When I fought t of my mind was imediately fled
with problem of my famly and marriae. It was a terible struggle
against both sleep and mental torment. Wit each breat I was deter
mined to get hold of Mu, but it wet dow ad down and disap
peared i nothingness.
"G deepr,
"
the rosh sad. "Queton 'What is t Mu? ' to te
b
"
very ator.
Deeper and deeper I went . . . .
My hold was tor loose and I went spin
To the center of the earth!
To the center of the cosmos !
To the Center.
I was There.
With the soud of the little kinhin bel I suddenly knew.
Too late to see the roshi that nght, I rushed to the frst dokusan i
the morg.
25
4
/ ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERIENCES
Questions . . . .
Sharp voice.
Laughter . . . .
Movement = = #
The roshi said: "Now you understand that seeig Mu is seing
God."
I understood.
[Afer msleu koan zz at the Brewster, New York, ses-
sh several weeks latr:]
I feel clea.
I feel fre.
I feel ready to live every day with zet, by choice!
I am delighted by the adventure of each moment.
I feel as though I have just awakened from a restles, disjointed
drem. Everything looks diferent!
The world no longer rides heavily on my back. It is udr my belt.
I tued a somersault and swallowed it.
I am no longer restles.
At last I have what I want.
8 / MRS . D. K. , A CANADI AN HOUS EWI FE,
AGE 3 5 / CAADA AND THE UTED STATES / The early years
of my life were quiet and uneventful. No tragedy touched me, and
my parent were devoted to the bringing up of myself and my two
sisters. It could almost be clled an ideal cldhood by most Wester
standards. Even from te frst, tough, there were recurrent periods
of despair and loneliness which used to seep up from no apparent
souce, overowig into streams of tears and engulfg me to the
exclusion of everg else. At thee times the painfl feeling of
being entrapped was overpowering, and simply to be a human being
a wretched and ignomious lot.
Once in my early tees I was lent some books of Hidu storie
whch provoked my intenest interest. They spoke uabashedly of a
multplicity of lves and of the soul's freedom, of man's spiritual self
and te possibilit oflife without a physical body. Most of the detis
of tis readig evaporated in the face of something stirring much
A CANADIAN HOUSEWIFE I 255
deper i my bg ad I felt happy to lear tat suc uderstanding
cid ext. Te Indian mys of limitless time touched my deepest
concer, and I vowed that one day I would visit Id for myself.
After my enrolment at unversity I began in earest to study
relgiou literature, even tryg some simple meditation. The years at
uverity taught me te joy ad stmulation of intellectu dscovery,
but tey were at the same tme peraded by a mountig restlesness.
At length I graduated and comenced graduate studie. Toward te
end of that frst year my life took a unexpected tur. After a few
indecisive monts I went to the United States to marry an America
whom I had met i Caad.
Within a few months our mrriage took place and almost im
mediately after I awoke to fnd myself a widow. Te violent, self
icted dat of my husband was a shock more severe than anything
I had ever experienced. Th circustances and implicatons of it pre
cipitated me into the in ermost depths of my beig, where the
foudations shook wth a truly terrifg itensity. I could not divet
myself of a de p sense of human responsibity for it. Percepton,
mturity, wsdom-al these I sorely lacked.
Frequently at this tme I would be seized by a total numbnes. and
always there was fear, a dep perasive fear, which lasted long, ob
stuctig my breatng and inbitig my eatg. Often at nght I
- would fd myself seated cross-legged on te foor, rockig back and
forth and hittng my head against the tiles, almost delious with grief
and despair.
One afteroon, retg from an errand and steppig into my
apartent, where I lived alone, the profoudest misery seized me and
i heplesnes I slumped to the foor. "I am dying," I sobbed, "I have
kl ed all my gods. I hve no key to reurrecton. I am tota y alone."
Strk fear and uttr depair possessed me, and I lay on the floor for
I don't know how long until from the pit of my abdomen a cry
came forth: "I there is any being i the entre unverse who cares
whether I live or die, help me, oh help me!"
Gradualy an idea took form and I bega to write. I had a very dear
fried who had recently renounceJ the world. She was now living
in a ashram1 in South Inda, and I begged her to direct her meditations
1 The Sri Aurobindo Ashram, in Pondicher
r
. An ashram is a spiritual retreat or
religious community.
256 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
toward me, for I needed help badly and no longer felt capable ofhelp
ing mysel Quickly she replied that she and others in the ashram were
sending as much spiritul support as they could. Her response so
touched me that I decided to leave the Wet as soon as I could for
Inda.
It was many monts more before ths was possible. Almy eergies
were now haressed into winding up my husbad's estate and selling
my belongings. At last I sailed, exhauted, to Inda, intending to stay
thee until I had found an enghteed teacher. Exactly three years
had passed sice I had come to the Unted States.
IIA A BUA / One hot afteroon to months after my de
partue fom New York I etered te compoud of the large ashram
where my friend was lvig. Silety I was uhered into her tny room,
and such was my relef when she came to greet me, gentle and smng,
that I fell into a ft of tears, my ars became paralyzed, and I bega to
faint. Without my f y realizing it, the years in the Unted States had
bee so fraught wt inner tesion and strggle that I could not
spontaeously adjust to this traquilit. The tautess of mind ad
body contnued for a long time fom force of habit.
The ashram, set on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, was rejuveat
ing. But metaphysical speculaton ad phlosophcal discsion are
stong in India and I had always been quck to succwnb to them.
Whle part of me was stimulated by them, my deepet instct
wared me tat they would i the ed prove unavaing. A regimen
which encouraged so much study and reading, it seemed to me, was
at that partcular tme the very thing I shoud not have. I felt a grow
ing need for closely guided meditaton.
My mountig dssatsfacton with what I took to be haphazard
meditaton at the ashram coincided wit the visit of a American
Buddst who had practiced Zen in Japa for a number of years.
What impresed me most about ths American was the serety wit
whch he mingled wth ad aborbed hmself i all the vared cr
cumstances he ecoutered i the asham ad his compassionate in
terest in the lives of awhom he encountered, including my own, so
fof desperate and ueven strivings. I determined to go to Japa if
I could get h help. Ths he ustintngly gave, together with te as
surance of helping me find a Zen teacher there.
A CANADI AN HOUSEWIFE I 257
Folowg my departre from the ashram I traveled up and dow
Inda, visitg at other ashrams, explorng arcaeological sites, and
abs
rbing the rich lore and perasive religious atmosphere of Bud
dhst and Hndu holy places: the shries, temples, and caves with
whch India abouds. A overwhelming intensity of spiritual vsion
infor her archtecture and mighty cave sculpture, so that it is im
possible to step into these cave without being swept up by this
religiou feror. Standng before the giat rock-ut Buddhas, I
faily tembled in awe, and my resolution to follow the Buddha's path
was given the most powerfl impetus.
I had long hoped to visit Bura, which I had pictued as being
scond only to Tibet in it unique concer with religion as the founda
ton of daiy life. So when my American friend wrote that of al the
Southet Asian Buddhist countries the meditaton centers of Bua
were reputed to be the bt, suggesting that I join him in the center
of a famous Burese master (Mahasi Sayadaw) in Ragoon for five
weeks of intensive meditation, I jumped at the chance.
Now bega my frst foral practce of meditaton uder the guid
ace of a teacher, and in every drecton it proved to be extremely
paiul. The hot season had already settled in when I reached Ran
goon, ad I early contracted a fever togeter with a racking cough,
both of whch lasted almost untl I left and considerably debiitated
me. In addition to the frightful heat and the letargy it fostered, there
was the unremitting strain of sitting alone in a small bare cubicle on
a wode-pla bed hour after hour strugglng against te searing
pa in knees and back from cros-legged sitting. For the beginner,
lackg the invisible support of others sittng alongside h, and the
more visible support of a varied timetable, as in Zen in Japan, sittng
alone is unbearably difcult and one soon fmd oneslf seeking means
of ep from the tedum and pain.
The meditaton itself consisted of concetraton on the rising and
fallg of the breath, the atention being focused on the diaphragm.
When the mind wandered (whic it repeatedly dd), it was to b
recalled by the words "thg, thg, tg" until it had bee
re-stblshed in the diaphragm. Every other distracton as similary
treated. "Coughng, coughing" when one coughed, "hearing, hear
ing" when any soud captured the attenton. An hour's sitting alter-
2S8 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
nated wth a hour's walng, which was done for the most part at
a funereal pace back and forh outide each person's quarters in per
fect silece. The hands were held behind the back and the mind was
concentrated on noting only the movements of each step. "Lifting,
liftng" when the foot was raised, "movig" when it was carried for
ward, "putting" when it was placed on the groud.
Each day at noon we met with our preceptor, a senior monk, who
examined us on our progres. He asked minute questions and caled
for detailed accouts of siting time. Whe I complained to him that
my fequet mental waderings were due to boredom, he laughed
and told me to thnk "bored, bored, bored" untl the boredom van
ished. To my surprise this worked.
Like everyone else, I had to sign a pledge upon entering the
center to obsere te Buddhist precepts, 1 whch forbade eatng afer
telve noon, and to abstain from sleeping more than fve hours a
night. Food was brought to my door tice before noon in tfn
carriers, and I ate it alone whle meditatng "liftng lifing, putting
putting, chewing chewing, swallowing swallowng." I just tis way
te test detail of every acton, mental as well as physical, had to be
attended to with total attenton.
Here in the center, for the first tme i my life, I was rlegated
to a position socially below men, and further, as a laywoman devotee,
to the lowet stratum of all in a strcture whch placed monks at
the top, nuns next, then laymen, ad fnaly laywome. Nevertheles,
I was enormously grateful for this opportunty to practce medtaton
even from such a lowly position, and later came to see that it was ony
my ego which had led me to consider my position i te :rst place.
At the end of :ve wees my concetration and health had im
proved considerably in spite of or because of the acute pain and dis
comort whc I had of my ow free will underaken. The turg of
the mind from outer actvity to inner contemplation was by far the
most rewarding task I had ever undertaken, and uquestionably the
most difcult. The outside world, when I re-tered it, appeared
radiantly beautful to my fresh gaz, and I had a serenit and equanim
ity whic, while not yet deep, surpassed ayhing I had hitherto ex-
1
That i, the Hinayaa, whch are somewhat diferent fom the Mahyaa. See
"precpts" i section X
A CANADIAN HOUSEWIFE I 259
prece. I kew I had taken my frst step i the directon I wated
to
travel.
JAP
A
AND Z / The very day of my arrval in Japan my Aer
ca fried conducted me to R yutau-ji, a Rzai monastery perchig
lke a giant bird amdst groves of towerg pines and bamboo i the
shadow of majetic MoWt Fuji and looking dow upon a rolng
valley ofbreath-takng beaut. Though the generosity of it mater,
Son-roshi, this was to b my home for the next fve months. Under
hs beevolent gudance I began to lear the structure ad discipline
of monaster life. Sumoned by the gong, I leared to rise at the
uonscionable hour of 4 a.m., to leap into my monastery robe,
splash cold water on my face, ad take my positon with the mon
i the ma hall i the cold daw for the early-morg sutra-t
ig. The intong of the sutras became one of the ricest experie
of my life ad inspired me profoWdly.
Slowly my impatet nature bega to break dow ad some meas
ure of equanmity bega to estblsh itelf withi me. The long hous
spt shverg on agonizg knees i a drafy hall awaitng my t
to go before the rosh for se enorced upon me a patece I hd
not beleved myself capable o The hours of daily zaz, and ee
more of seshin, were also paifu y leared leson in patee ad
edurance, pWcated as they were by the smart whac of the ko
saku across my slwnpig shoulders. Partly it was ts Rai method
of uing the stck from the font i respon to a gested requet
whch conditoned my later acte dslke for the kyosaku whe it was
admiistered, as it is in the Soto disciple, suddey ad witout
warg fom bhid as one sit facig the wall; ad partly it was my
Wester heritage whch had taught me to regard betng as a hwa
idignt.
My decision to marry again took me from this R monastery
and I joied the Soto Zen group to which my husband blonged at
Taiei-i, in the outskirs of'okyo, under the directon ofYasutan
rosh. Becaus almost all the follower of t Zen master are layme
ad laywomen, the sesshn i less rigidly scheduled than i a monastery
i order to allow them to attend as much of it as their jobs prmit.
Consequetly, there is much comig ad going, which in the begi-
20 I ENLI GHTENMENT E XPERI ENCES
ning is highly distactg. The outwardly rigorou discipline which
monastery life eforces had here to be assumed by each individual for
himsel I soon perceived that beneath the apparently relaxed air of
the seshin was an intene seriousness. The limited quarers of this
temple brought me into closer contact with the oters, and I found
I could no longer retre alone to my tny room to sleep at nght, but
had to content myself wit jut a mat spread out in a rom occupied
by many others. Doing zz in these (for me) straitened circum
stances was somewhat of a jolt after the strict but spaciou atmosphere
of the monastery. After a few ss at the temple, however, I came
to see that sittg wit indivduals who, like mysel, were neither
nu, monks, nor priet was mutl y stimulatg and inpig.
The rohatu sessh at Taiei-ji was approaching and my feeligs
toward attending were med. I had herd several repor of this
yerly mid-winter ssshi from pple who had exprienced it i
monasteries. It was know to be the most arduou of the whole year,
a cnstant battle against cold and fatgue. I had a deep fear of ex
treme cold. My body woud bcome so tese from shivering tat I
could not keep my sitting positon. And uder great fatgue I would
become almost lightheded. Te to I regarded as my real foes.
At the same tme te fact tt it marked te enlightenment of the
Buddha, which event fell just one day before my ow birtday,
moved me deeply. At lengt I determined to go ad to put fort my
every energy. This was my sixt ssshin i Japa. For te fst tme
I had the f convicton that it was etrely possible for me to realize
my Self at this forcoming sesh. I alo felt that I sorely needed
it. For my weeks tere had bea retr of the old redesnes and
anxiety whic I had fought s hrd whe in the Unt State. This
was now mixed with impatence ad irtbility. Added to this, I
was sick to death of te iner mental ad emotonal sugngs which
had hithero played such a domt role in my life, and now fet
tat only through the experience of Sl-retion could I cut my
way out of ths malise.
I packed my warest clot, ad as I ted the key in the lock
a feeling of deep happiness crept over me. I my heart ofhe I ke
that the person who woud ulock tis dor afer sewould not
be the same as the one who was now locking it.
Al the frst day of the sesshin I foud it vrualy impssible to
A CANADIAN HOUSEWIFE I 26I
keep my mind steady. The comg and goigs of te othr partci
pats, as well as te noise and consion occasioned by the use of the
kyo
saku. were a source of constat iterference. When I complained
to the rosh how much bter my ze had bee alone i my own
home, he instructed me to pay no atenton to the others and poited
out how import it was to lear to meditate in distatg circum
staces. At no time durg the sesh, hwever, was I ht wth the
kyosaku. I had found it so distract at a preous ss hn that the
roshi had give instons it was not to be ued on m.
By the end of t secnd dy my concentaton had grow
steadier. I no longe had gret pa in my legs, and t cold was
bearable with all the clthg I hd brought. There was, however,
a
problem whch for me tok on more and more signcc. I had
bee told repeatedly to put my mnd i the pit of my abdomen, or
more exactly, in the region below the navel. The more I tried to do
this, the les I Wdestod what it was about the bottom of the ab
domen whch made this spot so signcant. It had been called by the
roshi a center, or fos, but for me tis was meangfl only in a
phlosophcal way. No I was to put my mind i this "phosoph
c" spot and to keep repatg "Mu." I could fd n relaton be
teen any of the orgas of the abme ad the pross of Zen
meditation, much les eghtement. The rosh, it is te, had as
signed me te koa Mu afer satisfg himsel of my eret desire
for Self-retion, and had ituced me as to it purs and u;
nevertheles, I was stl prplexed about ho to say Mu. Erler I had
tried considerg it t same as the Idia mantra Om endeavoring
to be one with it vbraton, and without quetong what Mu was.
Now I b to concve of Mu a te diamond at the end of a drll
and of myself as a drller worki tough layers of the md, whch
I picted as geologicl stat, ad tough whic I was eventually
to emerge ito some I knew not what
On the morg of the trd day I was ty concntatig, guded
by te d aalogy. I coud now fous my mid somwhere i
my abdomen withou, however, knowijust whee, a tre was
growig a rocklike stbility to my sittg. By mdmrg, just
after the rosh's lectre, I settled ito a fairy deep conCtraton, in
creasing the force o each breath, whch had be syconed with
the repetton of Mu. I expcted ths increase of efor to strengthen
262 I ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
te concentaton even furter. After some fte n mute te com
binaton o tis forceful breathng and te reptton of Mu bga to
produce a strange tingling in my wrst, whch spread slowly dow
ward to the hands and fngers as wel as upward to te elbows. When
tis sensaton had gotten well uder way, I recod it as identcal
to what I had experieced uder severe emoona shok on several
occasion of my life. I told mys that i I incrsed even frther te
force of my brethng ad concetaton, I might come to kensho.
I did tis ad succeded only in worsening t sitaton, fa y reach
ing a fainting state. Just before tis state erupted I began to feel the
most profoud and agonng sorrow, wth which came violent
shivering spasms and a gnshng of my teet. Nerous paroxysms
shook my body again and again. I wept bitterly and writhed as tough
a torrent of eleccity were sugg through m. Then I began to
perpire profly. I felt that te sorrows of te entre universe were
tearing at my abdomen and that I was bing sucked into a vortex of
ubearable agones. Sometime aferward-I can't say how long-I
remember my husband ordering me to stop zz and to lie down and
rest. I colpsed onto my sittng cushion and bega to shiver. My
hands were now qute stif ; neither my fers, stcking out at odd
angles, nor my elbows woud bend. My head whirred and I lay ex
hausted. Slowly the neres relaxed. I half an hour al had subsided,
my energies had retred, and in al respct I was ready to resume
zazen.
At te aferoon dokusan te roshi immediately asked what had
happened. When I told him he said it was a makyo and to keep on
doing zazen. Such thngs could happ from now on, he wared;
they showed my meditaton was deepening. He ten instrcted me
to search for Mu i the region of the solar plexus. With te words
"solar plexus" suddenly everythng fell into position for the frst
tme-1 kew exacdy where I was going and what I was to do.
The next morg, the fourth day, I awakeed with the bel at
4 a.m. and foud that I had not separated myslf from Mu even while
asleep, which was what the roshi had continually urged. During the
:rst sitting priod, before morg dokusan, te previous day's
symptoms began to appear. Ths tme, telng myself it was only a
makyo, I kept right on, determined to "ride it out." Gradualy, how
ever, the paralysi descended ito my legs as well, and I coud just
A CANADIAN HOUSEWIFE I 263
hear my husband say i the distance somewhere that I was in a trance.
I th
ought my body mgt begin to levitate, but sti I kept on with
my zzen. Then I fel over helples and lay stl. By te time I felt
well enough to resume, morg dokusan was over.
I began to consider that I mut be doing somethig wrong, nus
drecting my energy i some way. During the ret period after the
morg leture I suddeny realized that this center where I was
big told to put my mid could ony be a certain region long familiar
to me. From early cdo it was the realm to whc I had always
retred inwardly in order to refect. I had but up a whole set of
itimate images about it. If ever I wanted to understand the "truth"
of a situaton, it was to t partular area tat I must go to consider
such problems, whch had to be approached i a childlke frame of
md, free from prejudices. I wold simply hold my mnd there and
b stll, almost without breatng, untl something coalesced. This I
believed was te region te roshi intended. Intuitvely I divined it,
and with all my energy centered Mu there. In perhaps half an hour a
war spt began to grow i my abdome, slowly spreading to my
spine, ad gradualy creepig up the spinal column. Ths was what
I had been striving for.
Highly elated, at the next dokusan I told the roshi that I had found
the spot and described its functong to him as I had always expri
eced it. "God! " he exclaimed. "Now go on!" Returg to my
place, I threw myself into zaze with such vigor that before long the
paralysis began to manfest itslf agai-the severest attack yet. I could
not move at all and my huband had to help me lie dow, covering
me with blanket. While lying there recuperating I thought: My
body is obviously uable to stand up to the strain I am puttig on it.
Ifl am to see into Mu it must be done wth my md aone ad I must
somehow restrain the physical and nerous energies, whc wlhave
to be consered for the fnal efort.
This time when I recovered I trd to concentrate my mind with
out voicig or tg Mu, but foud it difcult. In practic it
meant acally divorcing concentration from breatg rhythm.
However, after repeated eforts I did accomplish it and was able to
hold my mnd steady in my abdomen, as though staring itently at
somethg, and just let my breatg take any rhythm it inclined to.
The more I concentrated wth my mid in my abdome, the more
264 / ENLI GHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
thoughts, lie clouds, arose. But they were not discursive. Thy were
like steppigstone directng me. I jumped from one to te next,
constatly moving along a well-defned path whch my ow intui
ton bade me follow. Even so, I believed that at some point tey must
dsappear ad my mnd become quite empty, as I had bee led to
expect, before kesho. Te presece of these thought signaled to
me that I must stil he far from my goa.
I order to consere as much energy as possible, I relaxed my pos
ture ad, to war my pulled the blanket, whch had been loose
aroud my body, up over my head. I let my hands fa limply into
my lap ad ulocked my legs to a loose cross-legged positon. Even
tht small amount of energy plced at the disposal of my mind in
creased it concetratve intensity.
The followg morg at dokuan, te f day, the roshi told
me I was at a crtcal stage ad not to separate myself from Mu for a
sigle istt. Fearng tt the two remg days ad one nght
might not h sufcient te, I clug to Mu lie a buldog wit its
bone-so tenaciouly in fac tat blls and oter signals became dim
ad unreal. I coud no longer remember what we were suppsed to
do when signas souded and hd to keep askg my husband what
they meant. I order to keep up strength I ate hearty at every meal
ad took al the rest the sesshin schedule allowed. I felt like a child
going on a strange new jouey, led step by step by the roshi.
That afteroon, goig out for a bath, I walked dow te road
tg about Mu. I began to get anoyed. What is tis Mu, any
way? I asked. What i the nme of heave can it be? It's ridicu
lous ! I'm sure there is no such tg as Mu. Mu isn't anytg! I ex
claimed in irritaton. As soon as I said it was nothng, I suddely re
membered about the identty of opposites. Of course-Mu is also
everything! While bathig I tought: If Mu is everg, s is it the
bat water, s i it te soap, so is it the bathers. This isight gave fresh
impetus to my sittg when I resued it.
Each morg at about 4:30 it was the roshi's custom to in
spct ad address all te siters. Using te aalogy of a battle i
whch the forces of igorance and enlightement were pitted against
each other, the rosh urged u to "attack" the "enemy" with greater
vigor. Now he was saying: "You've reached the stage of hand-to
had combat. You may use any means and any weapons !" Abrptly
A CANADI AN HOUSEWIFE I 265
at these words I foWd myself in a dense jWgle breaking through the
dakness of the tc foliage, with a great knife swinging at my belt,
i search of my "eemy." This image came again and again, and I
supposed that wth Mu I was somehow to overcome the "enemy"
upon whom I was now closing in for the fa dispatch.
On te afteroon of the sit day, in my imagination I was again
slashig a pat trough te jWgle, babblg to mysel and searchg
ahead for an opening i the darknes and waiting for te "food
of light" which would mean I was at the end of my trail. Sud
denly, with a burst of iner laughter, I realized tat te only way
to overcome this "enemy" whe he appeared was to embrace h
No soner had I thought tis than the "enemy" materialzed before
me dad in the coste of a Roma centurion, his short sword and
shield raisd i atack. I rhed to h ad in joy fWg my arms about
h
He melted into nothgness. At tat instat I saw the brilliat
light appar through the darknes of the jungle. It expanded and ex
paded. I stood staring at it, ad into its center leapt the words Mu
is ml" I stoppd short-ven my breathg stopped. Culd tat be
so? Yes, that's it ! Mu is me and m is Mu! A veritable tdal wave of
joy and relief surged tough me.
At t end of the next roWd of walg I whispered to my hus
band: "How much am I supposed to Wderstand when I Wderstand
Mu? " He loked at me closely ad asked: "Do you realy Wder
stad? " "I want te roshi to test me at the next dokusan, " I said. The
next dokusan was some fve hous away. I was impatent to know
whether the roshi would conr my Wderstanding. I my heart of
hearts I was cerain I kew what Mu was, and I frmly told myself
tat if my answer was not accepted I would leave Zen forever. If I
was wrong, then Zen was wrong. I spite of my ow certainty, how
ever, (since I was stil ufamliar wit Zen expression) I felt I might
not be able to respond to te roshi's testing in appropriate Zen
fashion.
Dokusan :nally came and I asked te roshi to test me. I expected
him to ask only what Mu was. Istead he asked me: "What is the
length of Mu? How old is Mu? " I tought these were typical Zen
trick questions and I sat sient and perplexed. The roshi watched me
closely, then told me that I must see Mu more clearly, and that in the
time remg I was to do zazen with the greatest possible intensity.
266
/
ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERI ENCES
When I reed to my place I threw myself into zazn once more
with every shred of strength. Now there were no thought-1 had
exhauted al of them. Hour after hour I sat, sat, and sat, thg
ony Mu with all my md. Gradua y the heat again rose in my
spie. A hot spot appared between my eyebrows and bega to
vibrate intensely. From it clouds of heat roled down my cheeks,
neck, and shoulders. I believed something must surely happen, at the
very least a iner explosion Nothing did happe except that I ex
perenced recr g visions of myself seated cross-legged on a barren
mountainside meditating and trdging doggedly tough thronged
cites i the scorchg su. At te next dokusan I told the rosh about
tese visions and sensations. He told me that a good way to bring this
vbratng center, now between the eyes, back to te solar plexus was
to trace a pathway for it by imaginng sometng like honey, sweet
and viscous, trickling downward. He also told me not to concer my
self with eiter these visions or the clouds of heat, bot of which were
te outcome of te prodigious efort I was making. The important
thg was only to concetate steadily on Mu. Afer a few attempts I
was able once more to re-stablish this center i the solar plexu and
to contue as he had bidden me.
The folowing day, te seventh, I went before te ros at dokua
once more. From the si or seven hous of contnuous zazen I was so
physically exhausted I coud scarcely speak. Imperceptbly my mnd
had slippd ito a state of ueary clarity and awareness. I kell', and
I kew I ke. Gdy he began to queston me: "What is the age of
God? Give me Mu! Show me Mu at the raiway staton!" Now my
iner vsion was completely in focus and I responded without hesita
tion to all his test, after whch te rosh, my husband, who iter
preted, and I all laughed joyfly together, and I excaimed: "It's all
so simple !" Whereupon the rosh told me that henceforh my prac
tce in connecton wit succeeding koans was to be diferet. Rater
than try to become one with a koan as heretofore wit Mu, I was to
ask myself profoudly: "What is the spirit of this koan?" When an
answer came to me, I was to hang it on a peg, as it were, and do
shkan-taza unti my next dokusan provided me the opporty to
demonstrate my understanding of it.
Too stfand tired to continue sittig, I slipped quedy from the
main hall and retued to the bathhouse for a second bat. Never
A CANADIAN HOUSEWI FE / 267
before had the road been so roadlike, the shops such perfect shops,
nor the winter sky so nutterably a starry sky. Joy bubbled up like a
fresh spring.
The days and weeks that followed were the most deeply happy
and serene of my life. There was no such thg as a "problem. "
Thigs were either done or not done, but i any cae tere was neither
worry nor consteraton. Past relatonshps to people whch had once
caused me deep disturbance I now saw with perfect nderstanding.
For the frst time i my life I was able to move like te air, i any
drection, free at last from the self which had always been such a
torenting bond to me.
SI YEARS LATER
I
One spring day as I was workg in the garden
the air seemed to shiver in a strange way, as though the usual sequence
of time had opened into a new dimension, and I became aware that
somethng ntoward was about to happe, if not that day, then soon.
Hopig to prepare i some way for it, I doubled my regular sittigs
of zazen and studie Buddhst books late into eac nght.
A few evenings later, after carefuly sifg tough the Tibetan
Book of the Dea and then takig my bath, I sat in font of a painting
of the Buddha and listened quedy by candlelight to the slow move
ment of Beethoven's A Mor Quartet, a deep expression of man's
self-rennnciation, and ten wet to bed. The next morig, just afer
breakfast, I suddeny felt as tough I were being strck by a bolt of
lightnig, and I began to tremble. Al at once te whole trauma of
my difcut birt fashed into my mid. Like a key, t opeed dark
rooms of secret reetment and hdden fears, which fowed out of
me like poisons. Tears gushed out and so weakened me I had to lie
down. Yet a deep happiess was there . . . . Slowly my focus changed:
"I'm dead! There's nothg to call me ! There never was a me! It's
an alegory, a mental image, a patter upon whch nothing was ever
modeled." I grew dizzy wt delght. Sold objects appeared as shad
ows, and everythg my eyes fell upon was radandy beautifl.
These words can ony hint at what was vvidly revealed to me in
the days tat followed:
1) The world as apprehended by te seses is the least true (i
the sense of complete), the least dynamic (in the sese of te eter-
268 I E NL I GHTE NME NT E XP E RI ENCES
nal movement), and the least important in a vast "geometry of exist
ence" of Wspeakable profWdity, whose rate of vibration, whose
intensity and subtlety are beyond verbal description.
2) Words are cumbersome and primtive-almost useless i tryig
to suggest te true muti-dimesional workings of an indescribably
vast complex of dynamc force, to contact which one must abandon
one's normal level of consciousnes.
3) The least act, such as eatig or scratching an arm, is not at
al simple. It is merely a visible momet in a network of causes and
efects reachg forward into Unnowigness and back ito an in
fity of Sience, where idividua consciousness canot even enter.
There is truly nothg to kow, nothg that can be kown.
4) The physical world is an ity of movement, of Time-Ex
istence. But simultaeously it is an ity of Silence and Voidness.
Each object i thus transparent. Everthg has its own special inner
character, it ow karma or "lfe i time," but at the same time there
is no place where there is emptess, where one object does not fow
into another.
5) The least expression of weather variation, a soft rain or a gentle
breeze, touches me as a-what can I say?-miracle of uatched
wonder, beauty, and goodness. There is nothing to do: just to be
is a supremely total act.
6) Looking into faces, I see something of the long chain of their
past existence, and sometmes something of the future. The past ones
recede behid the outer face like ever-fer tissues, yet are at the
same time impregnated i it.
7) When I am i soltude I can hear a "song" coming forth from
everything. Each and every thing has its own song; even moods,
thoughts, and feelgs have their fmer songs. Yet beneath this variety
they intermingle i one iexpressibly vast unty.
8) I feel a love whch, wthout object, is best caled lovingness.
But my old emotional reactions still coarsely interfere with the ex
pressions of this supremely gentle and efortless lovingness.
9
)
I feel a consciousness whch is neither myself nor not myself
which is protecting or leadig me into directions helpfu to my proper
growth and mturity, and propelling me away from tat which is
against that growth. It is like a stream into which I have fowed and,
joyously, is carrying me beyond mysel
V / YAEKO I WAS AKI ' S E N
LI GHTENME NT L ETTE RS TO
HARADA- ROSH! AND HIS COM
MENTS I EDITOR' S I NTRODUCTI ON I
No name shines with greater luster i the histor of modem Japanese
Zen Buddsm than that of a tety-fve-year-ld girl, Yaeo Iwa
saki, who became enghtened after some fve yers of zze, largely
fom a sickbed, and ten, i te succeeding fve days, deepened this
spirital realizton to a degree rare in preent-ay Japan. A week
later, fulilng her ow premontions, she was dead. In India she
woud undoubtedly have been heraded as a saint and worshiped by
tousads. I Japan the story of her intepid life and its crowng
achievement is scarcely kow outside Zen circles.
Thee are the leters she wrote, in December, 1935, to her precep
tor, Ze Master Sogaku Harad, the sixty-fve years old, relating
what she perceived felt, and thought durng those fve epic days, to
gether with his cogent comments. Not may personal document in
religious literature, we beleve, are as poignat or as eloquently reveal
ing of the profoundly enlightened md as these leters. Though few
i number and relatively brief they convey the ver essence of living
Buddism. Tey abound in paradox and overfow wit grattude,
qualites which unfailingly mark of deep spiritual experence fom
te shallower levels of insight. And woven through tem is a thread
269
270 j I WASAKI
'
s LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
of singular purity, an ardent yearing t o achieve ful enlightenment
not for her own sake but that her felow men might attain Self-ful
flment and lasting iner peace through her efors to make know
the Buddha's Way. Her "untimely" death-untimely only as men
ordinary calculate a life span-has not ended her karmc destiny to
make know the Dharma. If anything, it bids fair to give it new im
petus, for in Harada-roshi's words: "Her courageous life is so inspir
ig and it infuence so far-reaching that it is certain to promote the
spread of Buddism and beneft mankind."
As a scion of the founder of the wealthy Mitubishi industrial com
bine, Yaeko Iwasaki had everything money could buy except health.
At the age of two she was so seriously ill she alost died, and the
resultant impairment of her heart valves lef her wit a frail body for
the rest of her brief life. Unable to withstand the demands of daily
attendace at school, she was tutored at home until she was almost
eleven, at which time, having become somewhat stronger, she was
enroled in the equivalent of junior high school. Despite her inability
to paricipate in a number of school activitie, she completed junior
as well as senior high school with a host of friends and an excelent
scholastic record. Her keen, lively mind, her joyous, sunny disposi
tion, and her generous spirit eared for her te admration and love
of her classmates.
Upon graduation she commenced the study of fower arragement
and tea ceremony, the traditonal Japaese arts through which serenity
and gentleness of spirit are cultivated, and ten began to lear cook
ing and to study the piano, all as preparation for eventual marriage
and moterhood.
But her karma was to lead her abruptly in aother direction.
About the age of twenty she began to cough blood, and tuberculosis
was diagnosed. Her doctor set her to bed and ordered complete rest
for to to three year. Ver likely this prolonged inactivity, in its
efect on her physical and psychic organism, developed within her
a sensitivity which was crucial to her rich spiritual fowering.
More immedately, what propeled her toward Zen was a sudden
development involving her fater, whom she deeply loved. He was
told tat he had a heart condition which could prove fatal at any time,
and becoming gripped by the fear of sudden death, he attended a
lecture by Harada-roshi on this most fundamental human anxiety
EDIToR
'
s INTRODUCTION 1 271
and how it coud be dissolved through zaze and, ultmatly, en
lightenment. So convnced was Yaeko's fater by what he heard that
he became a disciple of Harada-roshi ad i hs ow home bega to
practce zazen. Since his heart condition precluded regular attedance
at sesshi, he prevaied upon Harada-rosh to come to his home once
a month, on the roshi's regular trip to Tokyo, to give a lecure and
prvate instructons (dokusan) to his famy and friends.
With a zeal bor of hs overhelmng fear of death, Yaeko's
father devoted himself to zazen and i less than a year attained kensho.
This experiece banished al his fears and brought him such an up
surge of vtality ad sel-condece that he once more took up his
dutes as the head of his famy's large industrial enterprise, but with
a unwise vigor. Te strain proved too much for him, and one day
without warg he died of a heart attack.
The appalling sudderess of her father's deat brought home with
dramatic force to the sti -bedridden Y aeko the evanescence of life and
te stark reality of deat, precipitatig her into te most searchg
refectons on the meanig of human existenc. Up to her father's
enghtenmet she had been hearig Harada-roshi' s monty lecture
at her home, but as yet wit no desire to receive private instructions
or to attempt zazn hersel This event, however, had so fred the
imagiations of herself, her mother, and her two sisters that tey all
began to devote themselves regularly to zazen. The roshi had assigned
Y aeko the koan Mu, instructng her to absorb herself in it con
tinuously even whie lyng in bed. With her father's death and the
soul-searchng it provoked, her zazen and overal concer with
Buddhsm took on a fresh and profound sense of urgency. Harada
roshi's lengthy commentary on Dogen's Shobogenzo she read seven
teen times, devoug every word, and while yet far fom strong she
undertook zazen sittng in the traditonal Japanese position, alter
nating it wit te lotus posture. By now the worst stages of her
tberculosis had passed and she was no longer required to remain in
bed. However, the disease had left its marks on her already delicate
constitution and she was urged by her doctor to convalesce in suny
Kamakura, where her famy maintaied a vi a.
I tis new seclusion she was able to lose herself more and more
i zazen, turg her back forever on the interests which had once
been meanigful to her. So eager was she in her pursuit of the Bud-
271 I IWASAKI
'
s LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s coMMENTS
d's Way tat she begged Harada-roshi to come to Kamakura to
contnue his lectues and private instructons. Seeing in her ucom
mon ardor and devoton a rare spirit, he made the trip regularly each
month specialy to guide her, as did from time to time Yasutani
roshi and Taji-roshi, two ofHarada-roshi's most respected disciples.
Some fve years elapsed from te te she began zaze in bed
util her fst enighteet, on December 22, I93 5 I te succeed
ing days, as tese letters vivdly reveal, her Mind's eye opeed fly
i a food of light ad Understanding. Her ensung rapture, her
discovery tat eve perfect enightenment adds nothng one doe
not already have, ad that terefore tis ecstasy is a knd of "mad
ness"-tis togeter wt Harada-roshi's joyous recognition of her
Bodsattc spirit and his gentle reproac for her "smell" of e
lightenmet aford an intate insight, as rare as it is iluminating, into
the complex ad seemgly contradictory enlghteet process.
To die as Yaeko did, wit a presentmet of death a week before,
with no pain, and wth utter serenty is, as Harada-roshi points out,
a aim of all Buddsts, albeit one to which few attan. That Yaeko
could achieve it is the measure of te extraordinary hig level of
consciousness to which she had rise, and to the pureness of her fait,
te courage, ad te pereverance which made it possible. Who can
read Harada-roshi's poignat accout of his last hours wit her and
not be moved by her dautless spirit and utter selessnes?
The physicia who wtesed her deat, which techicaly he
attributed to pneumonia, recalled: "Never have I seen ayone die
so beautl y." But perhaps te greatest tribute to her memor was
that paid at Hosshn-ji at the frst sesshn which fell after her deat.
Toward the end of it Harada-roshi, in tears, recouted to the nnety
or so parcipats te incidents of Y aeko' s heroic struggle for Self
ful et and it magncent consumton. Such was its efect that
by the ed of the sesshn more ta tenty person, a uprecedented
nuber, had gained enightenent.
Thee letters frst appeared in a Buddhist magaze soon after the
deat of Y aeko Iwasaki in an article by Harada-roshi. His remarks
(here printed throughout in italics) were jotted down by him on the
letters as he received them, but te geeral commet and the titles
were added by h specifca y for the arcle, to instruct the reader
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON HARADA f .73
in Buddhism as much as to clar te letters themselves. Yaeko, of
course, had no opportunty to see tese coments before her passing.
About a year later tis same materal was included i a book caled
Yaezakura (Double Cherry Blossoms), which is a brief account of
Yaeko's lie prted prvately by te Iwasai family as a memora
to her in December, 1937. It is fom this book tat te present tans
laton was made.
Al braceted matter witn both te letters ad Harada-roshi's
coments is te tanslators'.
A BI OGRAPHI CAL NOTE ON HARADA-ROSH! /
Sogaku Harada, to whom Y aeko Iwasak's letters are addressed and
whose comments accompay them, died December 12, 1961, at the
age of ninety-ne. At hs funeral serice, next to hs photograph,
hung a piece of caligraphy written by hm several years earlier:
For forty years I've been selling water
By the bank of a rver.
Ho, ho!
My labors have bee wholly witout merit.
Tese typically Zen lines are a fting epitaph, for no Japanese Zen
master i modem times strove more arduously to teach his students
that there is nothng to lear tan Harada-roshi. His fourteen Dharma
succesors (roshi) and innumerable enlighteed disciples and follow
e toughout Japan bear witess that hs efors, if "without merit,"
have by no means been in vai.
Nominally of the Soto sect, he welded together the best of Soto
ad Ri and te resultng amalgam was a vbrant Buddism whic
hs become one of the great teachng lines in Japan today. Probably
more tha anyone else in his tme he revtalized, trough his profoud
spirital insight, te teachngs ofDoge-zenji, which had been steadily
drained of ter vgor through the shallow understanding of priets
ad scholars of the Soto sect in whose hands their exposition had
hiterto rested. His commentary on Shushogi, a codification of
Dogen's Shobogenzo, is recognized as one of te most penetrating of
it kind.
274 / I WASAKI
'
S LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
Hosshin-i, Harada-rosh's monastery on the Japan Sea, dreched
by incessant rains, blaneted by frequent snowstorms, and bufeted
by periodic typhoons from without and "rocked" by uprecedented
ly severe discipline from within, came to be know as the harshest
Zen monastery in all Japan and Harad-rosh hmself as the most
exacting of Zen taskmasters. More than once he refused invitatons
to head monasteries in balmer districts ofJapa, contending that this
rigorous clmate helped to drive me's md into the pit of their
belie, where utimately they woud fmd the secret of the universe.
Men and women by te hudreds focked to Hosshn-i in its heyday,
dawn by the roshi's extraordinary power to inspire and lead tem to
Self-awakening.
Like a masters of hgh spirital development, he was the keeest
judge of character. He was as quick to expose pretense and sham as
he was to detect it. Exceptional student he drove mercilessly, exact
ig from them the bet of which tey were capable. From all he de
manded as a sine qua non sincerity and absolute adherece to hs teach
ig, brooking not the slightest deviation. Casual obserers often
found hm rigid and narrow, but disciples and stdets who were
faithf to his teachings knew hm to be wise and compassionate.
For all his stern es Harada-roshi had his gentle side, and though
he never married but remained a monk in te true sese of the word,
he loved to romp with childre and was exceedingly fond of anals,
paricularly dogs.
Thoroughly grouded in both te Soto ad the Rnzai doctrines
ad disciplines, Harada-roshi was emiently ftted to teach an integral
Zen. At the age of seven he had entered So to temple lfe as a novtate
monk and had continued hs Soto training in several temples trough
out his primary and hgh school years. At twenty, in the face ofhis
Soto adviser's persistent opposition, he became a monk at Shogen-ji,
in its time a great Rnzai monastery, as he had been unable to fmd
a deeply enghtened master in te Soto sect. After two and a half
years of strenuous trainig there, he attained kensho, but his en
lightenment still fell short of total liberation.
At twenty-seven, by hs father's insistence that he obtain more
formal education, he quit Shogen-ji and enolled in the Soto-spon
sored Komazawa University, continuing for a further six years after
BI OGRAPHI CAL NOTE ON HARADA f 275
his graduation to do research i Buddhism under wel-known scholar.
But whle hs knowledge of Buddhism grew, it did not brig h the
emancipation he longed for. He decided terefore to go to Kyoto for
te purpose of meeting Dokutan-rosh, abbot of Nanen-ji and
reputed to be the best Ze master the livig.
He was accepted by Dokutan as a disciple, and for the next two
years came daily for koan pracice ad private itctons while
living wit a friend in Kyoto whom he assisted with the afairs ofhs
temple. At the end of to years Dokutan-rosh, impresed with his
disciple's ucommon inteligece, ardor, and thirst for Truth, ofered
to make him his personal attedant. Though now alost forty, So
gaku Harada accepted ts signal honor wit alacrty ad wet to
live at Naen-ji. There he appled hielf intenively to zaze ad
completed all the koans, at last opening h Mid's eye flly and
receiving ina from Dokutan-roshi.
At tis time Komazawa Unversity recled hm to teach, in ac
cordance with the provisions of an agreemet he had made. Ts led
to telve years of teachg Buddhism at Komazawa, part of whic
tie he spent as a full professor.
Harada-roshi-he now merited the tde roshi-was a rare pheom
enon i te Buddhist academc world: a professor dug the aca
demic year and a Zen master dug hs sum er vacaton, conductg
ssshin at various temples. With a short tie he gained the reputa
ton of a stct dsciplarian.
His dissatisfacton with the narrowess of academc le ad its in
evitable accet on theory, coupled with the limited opportunity it
aforded hm to train people tough sesshi in the drect experence
of the Dharma, was brought to a head by repeated requets that he
assue the abbotship of Hossh-ji. He fally accepted, and for the
next forty years lved as master of this monastery, whch was to b
kow as one of the outstandg centers of Zen traing i Japan.
Until he was almost niety Harada-roshi conducted a week of in
tensive seshn at Hosshi-i si tes a year, in April, May, Jue,
October, November, and Decmber, and between time held ses
shin in other parts of Japan. Five days before he drew hs last breat
he toppled over i a faint, and without pain gradually became weaker
ad weaker, pasig fom a partial coma to complete uconsciouses.
276 I I WASAKI
'
s LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
The time of his death coincided exactly with low tide. Harada-roshi
had lterally ebbed away with the waters.
THE LETTERS AND COMMENTS I 1 I EVI
DENCE OF KENSHO / December 23
I Dear Harada
roshi:
I am so grateful that you came to see me the day before yesterday,
busy though you were. Do take care of your cold.
At dokusa yesterday morg you told me: "What you have per
ceived is stll hazy," so I felt I must search more deeply. When I awoke
suddenly last midnight, it had become far clearer,
Te Ox
1
ha come a hundred miles nearer!
ad all I could do was raise my hads pal together out of joy,
sheer joy.
Truly I see that there are degrees of depth in enligtenment.
Yes, but fe know this signicant fact.
Even you, my roshi, no longer count for anytng i my eyes. My
gratitude and deght are impossible to describe. I can now afrm that
so long as we are conscious of enghtement it i not true enghten
ment.
How can I expres to you my grattude for enabling me to re
quite, to eve this small extet,1 the incalculable debt I owe all Bud
dhas? My grattude caot be put into words-there is notng I c
write or say. I write you now only because I thi you alone can un
derstand my happiness, and wil be pleased wth me.
Now that my Mind's eye is opened, the vow to save every lving
being arises witn me spontaneously. I am so beholden to you and
to al Buddhas. I am ashamed [of my defet], and wl make every
efort to discipline my character.
You have seen the Ox clearly, but the point of grasping it is
te thousad miles away. Your experience is still tinged with
conceptual thinking.
I a also determined to clense my mind of its long-stading delu-
1
"Ox" reers to the enlightened Md. See Oerding Pictures i section N-
"Tat i, through her enlightenent.
GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT I 277
sions. You are te only person I can conde in. Everyone else, I am
afaid, wl misunderstand and t me boastful if I should suddeny
speak of a this.
I am pleased with your restraint.
Beleve me, never in tis lfetme did I expect to be thus favored
[in coming to enghtenment] . I owe you so much. I gassho i heart
felt gratitude.
Guard youself wel against the cold. I look forward joyfully to
seeing you on the twenty-fst of next mont.
Yaeko
GENERAL COMMENT: I confrm that she ha truly seen the Ox, for there is
in her experiece deep selafrmation, the desire to save all sentiet beings,
and the deterination to discipline hersel spiritually in her daily lie. Only
such an exalted state ofmind can be called the mind oftrue children ofthe
Budha. But as yet there remains a subject who is seeing. Her Mind's home
is still far distant. She must search more intensely!
2 I EVI DENCE OF GREAT ENLI GHTENMENT I
December 25 / Dear Harada-rosh:
Today for the first time I have attained great enghtenment. I
am so overjoyed that all of me is dancing in spite of myself. No one
but you can possibly understand such ecstasy.
I have reached te point of actually grasping the Ox, and there i
absolutely no delusion.
Now for the frst time you have found the Way-fully realized
your Mind. You have been dlivered fom delusion, which
has no abiding root. Wonderul! Wondeful!
There is neither Ox nor man. I ought to come at once to thank you
personaly, but as I must watch my health I am uable to, so I am
expressig by letter my deep gratitude. From the bottom of my heart
I tank you and raise my hands i gassho to you.
Buddhas and Patriarchs haven't deceived me!1 I have seen my Face
before my parents were bor clearer tan a diamond
.
in te palm of
1 Tis is a traditional way of saying that the enlightenment taught by the Budd
ad Patriarchs is now a actal fact of one's ow experience.
278 / I WASAKI
'
S LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
my hand. The absolute truth of every word of the Patrarchs ad the
sutras has appeared before my eyes wth crystal clarity. No longer
have I need for dokusan, and althe koans are now like useles fu
ture to me. Even though I would save them, there are no sentent
beings to save. Tose who have only kenho do not kow this state
of unlimtd freedom and profound peace of mnd. Indeed, it cannot
be kow until one comes to fenghtenment. If afer reading ths
lettr you still talk nonsense
1
to me, I wlnot hesitate to say your ow
realation is lackng.
Good! Good! This is called the stage of standing on the summit
of a lone mountain, or coming back to one's own Home. Yet
I have to talk ''nonsense" to you. You will understand why
some day.
I owe you so much. Whe I refect that I have actally fulfilled the
Great Vow made by me through numberless past live ad can now
hold dokusan, I am innitely grateful.
It is too early yet. Still, how many today among those called
enlightened have established such inner assurance? I am de
lighted to see it revealed through your own words.
My Mind's eye is absolutely identcal wth yours-neither Buddhas
nor devls can unnerve me.
2
This state dees description. I have for
gotte everything and reted to my real Home empty-handed.
Has the Patriarch Dogen come again?
3 This is the immaculate
Dharma-kaya, i.e., the Buddha Birushana.
My world has bee revolutoned. How vain and needless my
anxous strivngs of the past ! By followng your wse intructions and
patent counsel, I wouldn't allow myself to ret satisfed wth the little
peace4 which my still-deluded mind beleved adequate. I can't tell
you how joyous I am and how thanful for my present state. Ts is
1 What is implied here is that to the truly enlightened altalk of enghtement is
meaningless.
2 That is to say, she ca stad unincl ngly before the penetrating gae of a Bud
dha no less tha the menacing apect of a devil. This implies uter self-assurace and
absolute fearlessness.
3
Here Harad-roshi is likening Yaeko's statement, "I have forgotten everything
and retued to my real Home empty-handed," to that md by Dogen upon h
retur &om Ch, v., "I have reted Home with empty hands. I retai no trace
of Buddhsm. I can say ony this: my eyes ae horizontal, my nose is vertical."
4 "Peace" here conotes the certanty and caness arsing from her inital kensho.
GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT / 279
al the outcome of persistent zazen, of a determnation never to stop
with a small success but to go on no matter how many lifetimes
elapse.
Your intense devotion-and you a lay devotee!-is nothing
short ofastonishing.
Now I can commence the unending task of rescuing every livig
being. Ths makes me so happy I can scarcely contain myself.
Al is radiance, pure radiance. I can now forever progres toward
prfection in natural harmony with my daily life.
You do comprehend. That is exactly how it is. How many
so-called Zen m these days have come to such profound
realization?
I have been reurrected, a have you and everg else, for all
eterty. When you read t letter you too, I believe, wlshed tears
of thanksgiving.
I am so thankful to have a disciple like you that I ca now
die happily.
You alone can understand my mnd. Yet there is neither you nor me.
My body and mnd in fact have completely dropped away.
I will try to improve my health, cultivate virue, and be alert for
te opportunity to teach Buddhism. I am in the center o the Great
Way where everythg is natural, without strai, neither hurried nor
hating; where there are no Buddhas, no you, nothing; and where
I see without my eyes and hear without my ears. Not a trace remais
of what I have written. There is neither pen nor paper nor words
nothg at al.
Since it is impossible to talk of all this except with one who has
actually experienced it himself, I had to write you. I imagine you
must be happy to have such a disciple as I who have du so deeply
from the fountain of your wisdom. I prostrate myself ne times
1
to
expres my heartfelt grattude.
Yaeko
GEERAL coM: This degree of realization is teed 1 1grasping the
Ox" -in other words, the true attainment of the Way. It is the return to
one's own Home, or the acquisition of fundamental wisdom. To advance
1 The number of times one forma y maes obeisance to a Buddha.
280 / I WASAKI
'
S LETTERS AND HARADA
'
S COMMENTS
one more step is to realize even profoune wisom. This "Ox" hs im
measurable solemnity and radiance.
3 I EVI DENCE OF DEEPENED ENLIGHTEN
MENT I December 26 I Dear Harada-roshi:
I am f ed wit remorse ad shame. My letter to you of te tent
fh must have led you to t I had gone mad.
You need not rebuke yoursel This delirium o joy is the
initial reaction o all who have had a deep awakening.
I had reached such a peak of ecstasy that I didn't know what I was
doing and coudn't contain mysel Whe I recovered my senses and
bega to reflect, I burst into laughtr at te tought of how tops
t my emotons had become. I was then able to appreciate te
story of Enyadata,
1
who had gone mad beieving she had lost her
head, ad the great to-o she made when she "discovered" it, tough
of couse she had never bee without it. But I am once more mysel
so tere is no need to worry about me.
I have always had felings of anety arsing on te one hand from
te fear tat my aspiaton toward Buddhahood might weaken be
cause of my insignifcance and powerlesmes, ad on the other by te
fear that i I shoud die witout acaly experencing the tut of
the Dharma I mght not again be able to realize it for many life
tmes.1
Yes, it must be teribly painfl for one having absolute faith
in the Dhaa to die without expeiencing it. Only by feeling
that way can one practice a devotedly a you have.
But now that I have penetrated deely and have acquired a unshak
able aspiration to Buddhahood, it is ce to m tt I ca contue
my spiritual disciplne forever ad i ts way perfec my personaity
to its fulest, ipelled by te Vow, whc rse nataly withn me,
to save al sentent beings.
I a overcome by tears/
I know of no words to express my joy and grattude.
1 See p. S4
2 See foomote g p. 164.
DEEPENED ENLIGHTENMENT f 281
Far from neglectng zazen, I have every intenton of strengthening
even furher my powers of concentraton.
Yes, yes, you really do undrstand!
I am profoWldly aware of the need for diligent self-ultivaton and
t
oroughly Wlderstad the value of dokusan. I swear never agai to
wte ayng so pretentious as I did yesterdy, saying that I had
become fully enlightened ad therefore could ituct others in
dokusan.
You have truly awakeed!
Please forgive me. I was so beside mysel tat I simply lost a sense
of proporton. After more sober refection I see that tis was rather
comical, yet what a precious memory to have tasted such dazzling joy
even briefy!
Budhas and Patriarchs have all experienced this great joy
at least once.
I am choked with tears of grattude, for I can now truly Wlderstand
good and evl, and can proceed steadily ad without delusion to
carry on my spiritual practces i and troug my everyday life.
From the bottom of my hear I than you.
Do watch your het. I so look forard to you next visit.
Yaeko
GENEL coMT: At this stage one acquires what is temed "the wisdom
of subtle and immaculate perception," or "subsequently attained wisdom."
He degree can be gaged according to the Five Degrees established by the
Patriarch Tozan. The depth of perception revealed in her second letter cor
respond to the third degree, shochurai [where awareness of the Oe is
paramount attd consdousness of dif erentiation has subsided], attd that of
this letter to the fourth degree, henchushi [wherein one lives in all things
with no sel-onscious trace ofenlightenmet]. Now it is possible to perorm
the benevolent and virtuous acts attributed to Fugen or Knnon. In Zen this
is the fulllment of the vow of a Bodhisattva, this is living in the Pure Land.
Though it takes fom jve to ten years afer kensho for most devotees to
come to this stage, she has reached it in less than a week. It is doubtless due
to
her deep and pure faith in Buddhism, to her vast and boundless Vow
[made through countless lives and embradng all sentient beings J, and to her
having listened with a believing heart to every word ofauthetic Budhism
soken to h. He accomplishment is rare in modern times. Te remarkable
282 f IWAS AKI
'
s LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
story of her detemination and zeal ought to be engraved in six-foot letters
as an immortal inspiration for all Zen devotees.
4
I
EVI DENCE OF DI RECT EXPERI ENCE OF
THE GREAT WAY OF BUDDHI SM
I
December
26 / Dear Harada-rosh:
Forgive me for writng you so often. I have attained the level of
relization which is the last possible whe yet a disciple.
Indeed you have.
I used to t: "How grad mut one become upon enlighten
ment ! " and "How admirable is he who devotes himself so fully to
Buddt activities that he no longer tnks of himself!" But I was so
mistaken! From now on I w cultivate more virtue and never cease
my practice.
Before enghtenment I was so anou for it and ofen tought:
''How noble he who retrs Home with peace and contentment."
But having come to f enlightenment,
Your expeiece points up the dif eece between bujP Ze
and authentic Zen.
I now say to myself: "Why were you so excited about it? " For I
have a distinct aversion to beig caled "enightened. "2
1 am delighted to hear you say this. Yet it is only witll full
enlihtenment that it is possible to put your Zen into practice
in daily lif. 3
I have utterly forgoten te moment of my enlightement and what
happened immediately after, yet I can say I have acquired the true
eye of enlightenment, so to speak. It ticke me to say to myself: "So
this is ful enlightenment ! "
I can't tell you how thankful I am to be forever one with the true
Dharma, uterly and natualy. At te same time I feel so foolsh
1 Buji Ze is a Zn without substace, a Zen which denies the validity of the
enlightenment experence. Its aderents maitain that to spea ofbccomng enlght
ened is a contradicon in tens since we are ainnately enlightened. See p. 46.
2 Since enlightenment brought her nothing she did not already have, to accept
praise for being enlightened would be like accepting praise for having, say, two feet.
3 What Haada-roshi is sayig is that the fllest development of althe poten
tialities of peronaty ad character ca take place only afer full enlightenment.
ATTAINING THE MIND OF FUGEN f 283
for having been carried away by my delirious joy. This should make
you smile: My "delusions" about everg have positively van
ished. But let us not speak to anyone else of this, as the Dharma must
be respected. 1
I I am careul how I speak to others about your experience,
it may help, not harm, them, so don' t be conceed.
1 simply can't uderstand why I always made such a to-do about
respectig Buddhsm2 or anyone who had attaned full enlighte
ment. Have I been dreaming?
Yaeko
GEER COMMENT: Dreaming? Certainly. Yet -s dreams go in this world
it is not the commonplace dream ofmost but a dream oftremendous and
lasting signicance, of intense absorption in the Buddha's Dharma.
This stage can be equated with the ffh or most advanced degree, called
kenchuto [a condition of absolute naturalness3 whee the mutual inte
penetration f the u1orld of discrimination and the world of equality is so
thorough that one is consciously aware of neither].
I marvel that she has reached this point so quickly. That she could have
done so can be attributed only to he intense faith in the Buddha's teahings
and to her strong Bodhisattvic spirit. One who ha attained to this degree
ha completed what Zen practice can be carried out unde a teacher and em
barked upon the path oftrue selpractice. Are there even a handul today
who understand all this? Katsu!
5 1 EVI DENCE OF ATTAI NI NG THE NON
REGRE S S I NG MI ND OF FUGEN I December 27 I
Dear Harada-rosh:
Thans to you, I have clearly perceived tat Buddha i none other
1 Ths probably meas that speang of her enlightenment indiscrimnately may
lead to a distortion of the Dhama by those unable or unwiling to beleve her ex
perence possible.
2 Since the essence of Buddhism is no more than living i hamony with the
chaging circumtaces of one's life, without strain or compulsio.n, what is there
to respect ?
3 "By naturalness I mea that all things are a they are according to their own
nature, apart &om all outside iuences."-Kobo-dashi (quoted i Honen the Bud
dhist Saint, by Coates ad Ishizuka, p. 1 33).
284 / I WASAKI
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s LETTERS AND HARADA
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s COMMENTS
than Mind.1 My grattude kows no bounds. This i s as much due to
you benevolent guidace a to my intese longing and striving for
Buddhahood that I may save al living beings.
I had not thought of you as one with such an unusually srong
aspiration toward Buddhahood. How undisceing of me! It is
evident you are the incaration of a great Bodhisattva.
How can I ever t you enough?
Now I see that, in terms of te Dhra, I must repect mysel
2
Please point out to me what I stl need to do. How t I am
to have been able to purge myself of ever iot o delusive t
ing and feeling.
You have not yet etirely rooted out your delusive .feelings,3
but one who has perceived as prfoundly as you have is never
theless able to live a pure li.
But in spite of this, I wish to be guided by you i al repects let I
mislead others in their practice or uderstanding of Buddhism.
My mind-state is quite d eret now from what it was at the
tme of kesho.
Kensho is the stage oj meely seeing the Ox.
Indeed, the farther I advance on the Supreme Way, the more
exalted it becomes. Now tat I have experienced that tada' is itself
perfecton, I can at last repay your coutess benefactons, and I am
overjoyed. Having reached a deep ad critcal stage, I do need to see
you soon.
I wish I could fy to you to advise you further. But since this
is the end of the year,6 I am extreely bus with the 'airs oj
the monastery and theeore unable to leave at present.
*Ad Mind is total awareness, i.e., just ltening when lstenig, just seeing when
seeing, etc.
2 The sene of this my be that through her realation that she is the Dharm i
caate, she now feels a responsibility to teach Buddhism. Accordigly, by respect
ing and presering hersel she i respecg ad presering the Dham.
" Whie the experece of enlightenment dipels the il usion of "mysel" ad
"other," it does not concomtatly brng about purcation of the feelngs. Un
remitting practice is requied to accomplish this latter. See also pp. 4S49.
4 Lit., "ony," "just," "nothin but." Thu if one i eating, one must be ab
sorbed i jut eating. If the md enterais any ideas or concpts during eatng, it
is not in tada. Every moment of life lived as tada is the etera Now.
s r Zen monateries in Japan the fve-y-long New Year holidays ae uhered
in with elaborate rtuals and ceremonies. For this reaon the period preceding them
is a busy one for roshi and monks ale.
AT oNE WITH THE DHARMA 1
zs
s
Forgive me for mang this requet by leter, but my illness prevents
me from comg to see you.
You must be exemely happy tat I have truly graduated. Never
dd I dream that in my lfetme would I witess te transmission of
Buddhism from a Buddha incarate .o the Bodhisata Miroku.1
I promise myself over ad over to ac wth te utmost care in ever
detail of my life.
I pray tt you stay well.
Yaeko
GER COMMT: The essece o living Budhism cn be summed up
in the word tada. Wo is Shakyamuni Buddha? Who is Miroku? They
are no diferet from you. Lcok! Look!
She has reached this stage oftada. It is natural theeore that she should
feel this deep joy as well as heavy responsibility as respects the profound
Dharma. The acions fowing fom such a Mind are those of Fugen or
Miroku incarate.
6 / EVI DENCE OF THE JOY AND PEACE OF
BEI NG AT ONE WI TH THE DHARMA
/
De
ceber 27 / Dear Harada-rosh:
Rejoice wit me! At last I have discered my Face before my
paret were bor wth a clarit tat penetrates fom heaven to the
very bottom of te e. Ad yet I have never regarded myself a a
desperate seeker.
You and I have cherished a profoud ilusion: tat it is exalting to
vow to rescue al deluded creatres no matter how many aeons it
takes.
But one so deluded is called a Bodhisattva. To realize that there
is no one to save is [real} saving.
Oh, how fun y! Nonetheles, my respect for you as a roshi knows
no bounds. Indeed no one but you c uderstad te import of
my enlghtenment.
.
1 Living Buddhsm ca be said to be tramited &om Buddha to Bodhisatta
whenever a disciple's enightenment reaches the same level as his master's.
286 f I WASAKI
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s LETTERS AND HARADA
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s COMMENTS
I feel it would be unwise for you to tell others that I , who have no
dignity or stature, have become fuly enlightened, as it may cause
them to thin lightly ofBuddsm.1
That may be true from one point ofview. On the other hand,
many will be inspired to a greater er, so thee is no need
to be conceed.
Only te exceptonal few would not doubt my exprience. What an
immense relief to discover that just as I am I lack nothing! What a
j
'
Y kowig you and I wil b together everlastgly!
Buddism is useless for those free of delusion. I chuckle kowing
I have always been fdamentally a Budda-1 haven't the slghtest
doubt of ts-yet I can tel it only to tose whose enlightemet is
equal to mne. To people of leser realizaton I will have to preach
diferently.
With a heart full of grattude I raise my hands to you palm to palm.
How supremely exalted is the true Law, how conistently reason
able from frst to last-1 feel this so keenly!
With a peaceful heart I look forard to the New Year.
Do take care of yourself.
Yaeko
(P. S.] I can now appreciate how dangerously one-sided a weak
kensho can be.
2
You are riht. The enlightenment of most Zen teachers these
days is of this kind, but a one-sided realization remains a one
sided realization regadless of how many koans one has passed.
Wat these people fail to realize is that their enlightement
is capable of endless enlargeent.
GEEA COMMENT: To live one's lie as tada is to walk the supremely
glorious Path trodden by all Budhas. Wen one no longe is aware of the
needfor Buddhism, tre Buddhism is manisting itsel Should one, however,
1 Wat is impled here is that there would be no cause for wonder i, for instace,
a high priest were to attain deep satori, but when frail girl of twenty-five becomes
profoudly enlightened, it cn ver wel lead to a belittling of the Dhara by those
who would refuse to believe such a thing possible.
2 A weak kensho is one in which the world of Emptiness is stil seen a other
tha the world of form. Their mutual interpenetration ha a yet not been perceived.
FURTHER JOY AND PEACE I 287
cheish even this conception, his l[fe will become clouded with delusion.
Devotedly wipe away [the haze of such attachment and your lie will be
perpetually sufused with the wa sunshine of spring.
7
/ FURTHER EVI DENCE OF THE JOY AND
PEACE OF BEI NG AT ONE WI TH THE DHAR
MA I December 27 I Dear Harada-rosh:
Do let me wt you ofen.
At last I have recovered my composue. Wit te reton
that Buddha is mysel,
I am Buddha. I am I. I am selfles I.
I have come to understand clearly the single-mnded love ad respet
I feel toward you.
1
Already I have rid myself of the smell of enghtenment,
Not quite. You are even now emitting the awful sl o
enlihtement.
and my grattude to you and the Dharma is al the deeper. I feel
grateful in my own mind for the realzaton tat clinging either to the
deluded or the enlightened state gives rise, in spite of oneself, to an
increasingly ardent longig to pursue the Dharma with greater i
tensity (so as to attain supreme peace of mind)-2
One who never tires ofperorming virtuous deed is called
a Buddha. Attachment to the Dharma, however, is not a virue,
nor is this attachment easy to dissolve.
Delusion and enighteent are equally ofenive.
1
It is love fowing from the oneness of the awakened Buddha-md in Harada
roshi ad herel.
" So long as our inner vision is out of focus and we flsely see ouselves and the
world as separate and apart istead of as one indivisible Whole, we are deluded.
T distortion (our baic ignorance) colors our view of and reaction to everytlng,
i consequence of which we do not see-i.e., experience-things as they are in their
tre nature. The experience of enlightenment, while revealing our solidarty with
all things (thus bringing into accurate focus our distored iner vision), pardox
ically gives rise to a fne mist of pride in such an accomplishment, and this ms the
inherent purity of the Mind. So long as this defilement remins there is lingerig
disquiet. But ths vet disquiet acs as a goad to continued practice until the attach
ment to one's enlightenment h been severed and supreme peace ad feedom
.ttained.
288 / I WASAKI
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S LETTERS AND HARADA
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s COMMENTS
You can appreciate how enorously satisfing i t is for me to
dscover at last, through furealizaton, tat just as I am I lack noth
mg.
I know how you feel. Even the honored Shakyamuni clung
to the [delidous] taste of his enlightenment for a period o
three weeks. Unless you rid yoursel ofthis selsatisaction,
however, you cannot know true Budhism.
The kowledge that my karmic relaton to you is profound has
made me more self-repectng and prdent.
I have now had one great enlghteet and fve smal ones. I had
forgotte who and where I was ad what I was doing utl today.
Going not knowing one goes, sitting not knowing one sits
this is true samadhi in Zen. Unless the ego is banished to this
extent there cannot be total regeneration. You have done well.
Confudus forgot about eating for three dys, so absorbed did
he become in just his music.
I had swept away my "delusions" so toroughly and penetrated so
deeply that I could not retur to my usual state.
Let it be as it is.
I asked to have dokusan with T:i-roshi, and at that te he pointed
out th:t ths was due to the efect of my profound concentration.
Yes, due to the force generated by deep mind concetration.
1
I tought it might be necessary to ask you to come to give me further
instuctions, but then a deep insight came to me and I prayed before
te Budda, after which I lost mysel i shian-taa for what mut
have been tree hours.
Tere is no need fr prayer.
At last I was able to retu to my normal conditon.
The Zen I practiced [afer enghtenment] fancying there was
some residue that had to be swept away was actually deperate. It i
clear to me that I can never dispese wit zazen. I am grateful, so
gratefu for the realizaton tat to be jut as I a lifetme afer lfe
tme is in itself perfecton.
I the whole universe I am supreme, and it is perfectly natual
Among the innumerable phenomea in the universe One only
is immaculately maiesting itsel Wat is it i not you/
1
See pp. 4647.
PRESENTIMENT OF DEATH I 289
I a aonshed
[Astonished] fom the viewpoint o the delusive felings.
t I am that One. How wonderful, how marelous !
I am i good spirt, so please don't worry about me.
I look forard with the greatest pleasure to seeing you again.
Yaeko
P. S Tear of gratitude and joy wel up i me when I t that
I have accomplished te practice of Zen from frst to last without
s, and that I can receive your eteral guidance.1
GE COMMT: An ancient Zen saying has it that to become attached
t o's o elightenmet is as much a sickness as to exhibit a madeningly
f eg. Indeed, the profounder the enlightenment, the wose the illness.
In h c I think it would have taken two or three months for the most
obious smptoms to disappear, two or three years fr the less obvious,
a s or eight for the most insidious. Such symptoms are less pronounced
in oe a gentle a she, but in some they are positively nauseating. Thos
wh praie Zen mus guard agains them. My own sickess lasted almost
t yas. Ha!
8 / PRESENTI MENT OF DEATH / December
28 J Dear Harada-roshi:
I smply mut see you before ts year i out, come what may.
L me tell you a disturbig tng. I feel stongly tat te te
of my part from you is near, so I beg you to come to see me
at ay cst-for the sake of te Dharma. I ask t afer serious refec
ton I as ue you it i not a halucinaton.
Yaeko
ONCLUIG CM: In this he last lete it is clear that Yaeko has
t fbing ofdeath. In view of the radiant teor of the preceding seve
lt s, I was shocked a sadded by the ominous toe o this one. I had
1 Out of respct and huity one alays looks to h teachers ad seniors for
guce. Dogen-zenji in h Hotgaon asks for the Buddha's ad the Patrarchs'
eel guidace.
29 / I WAS AKI
'
s LETTERS AND HARADA
'
s COMMENTS
hoped that somehow her death would not come so soon. Wat a tenble
pity!
One o the sutra says that the idal way to die is with an intimatio of
death a week beorehand, with little pain or a iction, and with a mind
serenely unshaken, free from all attachmet to the body. Tis is the ideal
cherished by all Buddhists, but its realization is far from easy.
Te Patriarch Chuho once solemnly declared: "I want to die with a
premonition of death the week beore, with my mind serenely unshaken
and fee fom attachment to my body, thenc to be rebor into the realm
o the Budhas so as to ultimately gain spreme enlightenment through them
and receive their sanction the better that I may be able to save all setient
beings throughout the itmumerable worlds."
Yaeko' s death was in this spirit. Pior to this letter I had received a
telegram urgently asking me to come to see her. I hastened to her bedside at
Kamakura on the twenty-ninth of December [19
3
5}. Upon seeing and
speaking with her, I confrmd the opening ofher Mind' s eye.
She was in tears. So was I I cried fom joy and so"ow. For hersl. she
was not the least bit qaid of dying, 1 but thinking only ofthe Dharma and
the enlightenment of othes, she was deeply apprehensive that her fiends
a acquaintances miht mistkenly believe her practice of Zen or her ex
perience of enlightenment had caused he death. Such an erroneous belie,
she feared, might lead those not yet having true faith in Buddhism to re
pudiate the Dharma. I this came to pas, she would have committed a grave
of ense karmically not only against the Dharma but against those ver pe
sons. Moreover, she would be guilty, she flt, of unfaithflness and ir
sponsibility toward Buddhas and all humanity.
These thoughts weighed heavily upon her. Though she was willing to
sufr rebirh in hell as a consequece of such a transgression, the thought
that she might be instrmetal in leading other people in the wong direc
tion was intoleable. During the course of the whole day and night that I
remained with her she discussed these conces with me. I assured her that
she had no reason to wo"y, as I would set right any such misconceptions.
I had ofen cautioned her against overstraining hersel pointing out that
it was contrary to the true Law, and furthe, that those who have the will to
do it can car on Zen practice without straining themselves. It is not impos
sible, of course, that she could have unwittingly ignored my warings and,
1 Compare: " If one sees the Way in the moring, one ca glady die in the
evening." (Confcius)
PRESENTIMENT OF DEATH f 291
considering her delicate health, sapped her strength by an overexertion
which
hastened her death. Her greatest fear was that the cause of her death
miht be misunderstood by people [who, laying the blame upon the Dhara
in
its excessive demands upon her] would come to despise it.1
Be that as it may, the virtue of her lif lies in its sterling example of how
it
is entirely fasible to practice Ze properly, and even experience perect
elightenment, right in one's own home and partly fom a sickbed. I there
be strong determination, one can always practice zazen even with a fail
constitution and without being able to attend sesshin. This it is which exalts
her
remarkable experience and must be recorded in the moden histor oj
Ze.
Yaeko is dead now-a truly great loss. Her courageous lie, however, is so
insiring and its infuence so far-reaching that it is ceain to promote the
sread ofBuddhism and benft mankind.
1
Yaeko' s deep concer over possible msunderstandings as to her death may
sem ureasonable: why need she feel answerable for the way others choose to
Construe the cuse of her passing? But her feelings are understandable when we
remember that tre enlightenment, by revealng the interelation of al living
beings and the repercussions on other lives of every action, generates a sense of
resp
onsibility not only for what one has done but also for what one has failed to
d in any given situation.
PART THREE / SUPPLEMENTS
VII / DOGEN ON " BEING- TIME" I
EDITOR' S I NTRODUCTI ON / In these pages we have
had frequet occasion to menton the great Dogen-zenji and his
foremost work, the Shobogenzo (A Treasury of the Eye-i.e., of the
opened Mid's Eye-of the True Dharma). Both the man and his
writings deere a book to themselves, and here we can only give
ht of their stature.
l
Dogen Kgen (aiso kown as Dogen Eihei afer hs temple, the
Eiei-ji, or Temple of Eteral Peace) lived from 1200 to 1253 and was
probably the most brilliant mnd Japaese Buddsm has produced.
Though Dogen is credited wit brnging the techigs of the Soto
sect from China to Japa, it seems clear that he never intended to
etablish a Soto sect as such but rather to foster an integral Zen based
on the hghest teachings and practices of Shakyamuni Budda. Ac
tally he discouraged all sectarian classifications, wheter of Soto,
Rai, or Obaku, or the broader categories of Hayana and Maha
yana.
It is misleading to describe Dogen, as some have done, as "a subtle
dialectician," as though he were a phlosopher rather than a Zen
master. A high-mnded teacher who deeply lived what he taught,
Dogen sought to emacipate men from the fetters of greed, anger, and
deusion by teachig them how to live a truly meaningful life based
on the Way of the Buddha, and not to formulate a system of specula
tve thought.
The Shobogenzo, consisting of niety-ftve sections, was written over
2
9
5
296 I S UPPLEMENTS
a perod of some tent-fve years and completed shordy before
Dogen's deth. In it Dogen deals with matters as simple and dow to
earth as the precise mner of perorming toilet fuctons in monas
tery life, and as highy metaphysica as the relaton of tme ad being
to practce-nlighteent. Dogen' s whole mode of expression is
uique ad c udoubtedly be ascribed to the qualit of his enlight
eent, belieed by may to be one of the most penetatg in Japa
nee Buddm, as well as to h naturally bril iant, highy creatve
mind. In infored Z crcles it is said that the abstuse sectons of
the Shobogezo are the Mout Everet of Japaese Buddsm, and
tat he who woud climb to that pinnacle must have the opened eye
of full enlighteent and the climber's sureess of footg gained only
with years of trainng.
To give the reader some idea of t stle ad dimension ofDogen' s
Shobogezo, we present here a brief exract from Secton I I, enttled
"Being-Time," perhps the most abstuse secton of the bok. We
believe that ths traslate porton, which consist of approxmately
one-trd of the secton, is pecuarly relevat for student of Zen
living in the sience-riented tenteth century, revealng as it doe
in a uque way the mang of tme ad the uiverse. More than th,
it makes clear that Dogen' s Insight as to tme ad being, reed by
him introspectvely in the theenth cent through zazen, and the
view of cerin contemporary microad macrophysicist on tme
ad space, arrved at by them though the prncple and methods
of scence, parallel each other to a remarkable degree. The dif erece,
however, ad a deeply signifcat one, is in te efect these insights
hd upon thee me. Doge's reaton, being a Self-isovery,
librated him from the basic anetie of hu extece, brnging
him inner freeom ad peace ad deep moral certaint. But, as far as
ca be seen at ths tme, no such inner eoluton has followed in the
wae of thes scientc discoverie.
A word of cauton. Thes passages ought not to be read as abtact
metaphysic. Dogen is not specuatg about the characer of tme ad
being, but is speaking out of his deepet experience of that relit.
Aways his overridng concer is wth practce and enlighteent,
wth leadng his readers to the reazton of the tuth of themselve
and te uverse. This is clearly stted in his Fukn Zazegi (Gnera
Recommendatons for Zazen), where he admonishes: "You mut
DOGEN ON BEING-TIME I 297
cease concerg youself wth the dialectcs of Buddsm and in
stead ler how to look ito you ow mind i secluion."
"BEING- TIME" 1 An ancient Zen master1 sad: "Being
tme stad on the topmost peak ad in the utmost depts of the sea,
being-tme i thee head and eigt elbow, being-tme is a heigt of
siteen or eighteen feet, being-time i a monk's staf being-tme is a
hossu,
2
being-tme is a stone later being-tme is Taro, being-tme
iJiro,3 being-tme is earth, being-tme is sky."
"Beingtme" meas that tme is bing. Every exstent thng is
tme. The siteen-foot golden fgue is tme. As it is tme it ha the
gradeu of tme. You mut lear that it is telve hous' of "now
nes." Three hed ad eight elbows is tme. Since it is tme it ca ot
but be identcal wth these telve hous ths very moment. Thoug
we do not meaue telve hours as a long or a short tme, stl we
[arbitrarily] cal them telve hours. The traces of te ebb and fow
of tme are so evident that we do not doubt them; yet, though we
do not doubt them, we ought not to conclude that we uderstad
them. Hu being are changeable, at one tme questioning what
they do not uderstad ad at another time no longer quetong
the same thng, so their former questonngs do not always coincide
wth their preent one. The questonng alone, for it duation, is
tme.
Ma disposes hmself ad contes t dispositon as te world.
You mut recogne that every tng, every being in this entire world
is tme. No object obstuct aother, just as no tme obstucts another.
Thus te inital orentation of each dif erent mnd toward te truth
exst withn the same tme, and for each mnd there is as well a
moment of commencement in its orientaton toward truth. It is no
df erent wth practce-nlightenment.
M diposes himself ad looks upon t dispositon [as the
world] . That ma is tme is udenably lie t. One has to accept
Yakusan Igen (YUeh-sha Weiyen), a Chinese master of the T'ang period.
2 A baton wth a me, carried by Zen mater to bruh away fes or mosqutoe.
Tee naes ae ued i the same sene B Tom, Dick, ad Har.
Tht i, the 12hou day, whch could equly be the 24-hou day ad nght.
298 I SUPPLEMENTS
that in t world tere are ml ions of objecs and that each
one is, respctvely, te entre world-ths is where the study of
Buddsm commences. When one come to realize this fact, [one
perceives that) every object, every living ting is the whole, even
tough it itelf does not reaze it. As there i no other time than ths,
every being-tme is the whole of time: one blade of grass, every
single object is tme. Each point of tme include every bing and
every world.
Just consider whether or not tere are any conceivable beings or
any conceivable world which are not included in t present time.
If you are the ordinary person, uleared in Buddhism, upon hearing
the word aru tol1 you wl doubtlesly uderstnd [that they mean
"at one tme, " that is,) that at one time Being appeared as three heads
and eight elbows, that at one tme Being was a height of sixteen or
eighteen feet, or tat at one time I waded through the river and at
one tme crossed te moutain. You may t that that moutain
and that river are things of te past, tat I have left them bhind ad
am now living in tis palatal buidig-they are as separate from me
as heaven is fom eart.
However, the trt has anoter side. When I climbed the moutain
and crossed the river, I wa [tme). Time mut needs be wth me. I
have always been; time cannot leave me. When time is not regarded
as a phenomeon which ebbs ad fows, the tme I climbed the
moutai is the preent moment of being-time. When tme is not
thought of as coming and going, ts momet is absolute time for
me. At the tme I climbd the moutin and crossed the river, did I
not experence te time I am in t buiding? Three heads and eight
elbows is yestrday's time, a height of sixteen or eighteen feet is to-
da ' b d " " d " th . h y s; ut yester y or to y means e tne w en one goes
straigt into the moutains and sees ten thousand peaks.
2
It has never
passed. Three heads ad eight elbows is my bing-tme. It seem to
be of the past, but it is of the preent. A height of sixteen or eighteen
feet is my bing-tme. It appears t be passing, but it is now. Thus
the pine is tme, as is the bamboo.
1 The one Chnese compoud ca be read either 3GM toki, meaing "at one time"
or, in a deper sense, as uji, meaing "being-time."
2 The "ten thouad peak of the moutains" should be undestood symbolically
B meaing the coutless ad vaied circumstacs ad acivities of daily living.
DOGEN ON BEI NG-TIME
I
299
Do not regard tme as merely fyig away; do not thnk that fyig
away is it sole fucton. For tme to fy away there woud have to b
a separaton [beteen it and thigs]. Becaue you imagie that time
only passes, you do not ler the truthofbeig-time. I a word, every
being in the entre world is a separate tme in one continuum. And
sice big is tme, I am my being-time. Time has the qualt of pass
ing, so to spea, from today to tomorrow, from today to yesterday,
fom yesterday to today, from today to today, fom tomorrow to
tomorrow. Becaue this passig is a characteristc of tme, present time
and pat time do not overlap or impige upon one anoter. But the
master Seige is tme, Obaku is time, Kosei is time, Sekito is time.1
Since you and I are tme, practice-eightenent is tme.
What Dogen probably mea here is that these ancient Chinese Zn mater,
though having long passed on, still exst in the timelessness of time.
TEN OXHERDI NG VII I I THE
PICTURES WITH COMMENTARY
AND VERSES I Among the various formula
tons of the levels of realization in Zen, none is more widely known
t the Oxerding Pictures, a sequence of ten illustrations annotated
wt comments in prose and verse. It is probably because of the
sacred nature of the ox in ancient India that this animal came to be
ued to symbolize man's primal nature or Buddha-mind.
The original drawings and the commentary that accompanies them
are both attributed to Kakuan Shien (Kuo-an Shih-yuan) , a Chnese
Zen master of the twelfh century, but he was not the fmt to illustrate
te developing stages of Zen realization through pictures. Earlier ver
sions of ftve and eight pictures exist in which the ox becomes pro
gressively whiter, the last painting being a circle. This implied-that
the realization of Oneness (i.e., the efacement of every conception
of self and other) was the ultimate goal of Zen. But Kakuan, feeling
ths to be incomplete, added two more pictures beyond te circle
t mke it clear that the Zen man of the highest spiritual development
lives in the mundane world of form and diversity and mingles with
te utmost freedom among ordinary men, whom he inspires with his
compassion and radiance to walk in the Way of the Buddha. It is this
ve
rsion that has gained the widest acceptance in Japan, has proved
i
tself over the years to be a source of instruction and ufailing inspira
tio
n to Zen students, and is presented here, as explained on page
xii, with modern ink-and-brush paintings by Gyokusei Jikihara.
J01
]02 I S UPPLE MENTS
1 I SEEKI NG THE OX The Ox has never really
gone astray, so why search for it? Having tured his back on his True
nature, the man canot see it. Because of his deflements he has lost
sight of the Ox. Suddenly he fmds himself confronted by a maze of
crisscrossing roads. Greed for worldly gain and dread of loss spring
up like searing fames, ideas of right and wrong dart out like daggers.
Desolate through forests and fearful in jungles,
he is seeking an Ox which he does not fmd.
Up and down dark, nameless, wide-fowing rivers,
in deep mountain thickets he treads many bypats.
Bone-tired, heart-weary, he carries on his search
for this something which he yet cannot fmd.
At evening he hears cicadas chirping in the trees.
OXHERDI NG PI CTURES
I
JOJ
2
I
FI NDI NG THE TRACKS
I
Through the sutras
and teachgs he discers the tacks of the Ox. [He has been informed
tat just as] diferent-shaped [golden] vessels are all basically of the
same gold, so each and every thing is a manifestation of the Sel
But he is Wlable to distguish good from evil, truth from falsity.
He has not actually entered the gate, but he sees in a tentative way
te tracks of te Ox.
Innumerable footprits has he seen
in the forest ad along the water's edge.
Over yonder does he see the tampled grass?
Even the deepest gorges of the topmost moWltains
can't hde this Ox's nose which reaches right to heaven.
304 I S UPPLEMENTS
3 FI RST GLI MPS E OF THE OX
I
If he will but
listen intently to everyday sounds,1* he will come to realization and
at that instant see the very Source. The si senses are no diferent
from this true Source. In every activity the Source is manifestly
preset. It is analogous to the salt in water or the binder in paint.2
When the inner vision is properly focused, one comes to realize that
that which is seen is identical with the true Source.
A nightingale warbles on a twig,
the sun shies on undulating willows.
There stands the Ox, where could he hide?
That splendid head, those stately horns,
what artist could portray them?
For all f

otnotcs to this section sec pp. 3 12-13.

OXHERDI NG PI CTURE S I 305
4 I
CATCHI NG THE OX I Today he encow1tercd
the Ox, which had long been cavorting in the wild felds, and ac
tually grasped it. For so long a time has it reveled in these surroundings
tat breaking it of its old habits is not easy. It continues to year for
sweet-scented grasses, it is still stubbor and rbridled. If he would
tame it completely, the man must use his whip.
He must tightly grasp the rope and not let it go,
for the Ox still has realthy tendencics.3
Now he charges up to the highlands,
now he loiters in a misty ravine.
30 I S UPPLEMENTS
5 TAMI NG THE OX With the nsmg of one
thought another and another are born. Enightenment brings the
realzation that such thoughts are not unreal since even they arise
from our True-nature. It is only because delusion still remains that
they are imagined to be ureal. This state of delusion does not origi
nate i the objective world but in our ow minds.
He must hold the nose-rope tight and not allow the Ox to roam,
lest of to muddy haunts it should stray.
Properly tended, it becomes clean and gentle.
Untethered, it willingly follows its master.
OXHERDI NG P I CTURE S I 307
6
I
RI DI NG THE OX HOME
I
The struggle is over,
"gain" and "loss" no longer afect him. He hums the rustic tune of
the woodsman and plays the simple songs of the village children.
Astride the Ox's back, he gazes serenely at the clouds above. His head
does not tu [in the direction of temptations] . Try though one may
to upset him, he remains undisturbed.
Riding free as air' he buoyantly comes home
through evening mists in wide straw-hat and cape.
Wherever he may go he creates a fresh breeze, .
whle in his heart profound tranquility prevails.
This Ox requires not a blade of grass. 6
]08 I s UPPLEMENTS
7 OX F ORGOTTEN, S ELF ALONE In the
Dharma there is no two-ness. The Ox is his Primal-nature: this he has
now recognized. A trap is no longer needed when a rabbit has been
caught, a net becomes useless when a fsh has been snared. Like gold
which has been separated from dross, like the moon which has broken
through the clouds, one ray of luminous Light shines eternally.
Only on the Ox was he able to come Home,
But lo, the Ox is now vanished, and alone and serene
sits the man.
The red sun rides high in the sky
as he dreams on placidly.
Yonder beneath the thatched roof
his idle whip and idle rope are lying.
OXHERDI NG PI CTURES I 309
8 BOTH OX AND S ELF F ORGOTTEN / All
delusive feelings have perished and ideas ofholiness too have vanished.
He ligers not in [the state of "I am a] Buddha," and he passes quickly
on through [the stage of "And now I have puged myself of te
proud feeling 'I am] not Buddha.' " Even the thouand eyes [offve
hundred Buddhas and Patriarchs] can discer in him no specifc
qua1ity.8 If hundreds of birds were now to strew fowers about his
room, he coud not but feel ashamed of himsel
Whip, rope, Ox and man alke belong to Emptiness.
So vast and infte the azure sky8
that no concept of any sort can reach it.
Over a blazing fre a snowake cannot surive.

When ths state of mind is realzed

.
comes at last comprehension
of the spirit of the ancient Patriarchs.
J IO I S UPPLEMENTS
9
I
RETURNI NG TO THE S OURCE I From te
ver beginnng there has not been so much as a speck of dut [to mar
the intrinsic Purity] . He observes the waxng and waning of life in
the world whle abiding unassertively in a state of unshakable serenity.
Ths [waxng and wang] is no phantom or illusion [but a mani
festation of the Source] . Why ten is there need to strive10 for
anythng? The waters are blue, the mountains are green. Alone with
himself he obseres tngs endlessly changing.
He has retured to the Origin, come back to the Source,
but his steps have been taken in vain.
It is as tough he were now blid and deaf.U
Seated i his hut, he hankers not for things outside.12
Streams meander on of themselves,
red flowers naturally bloom red.
OXHERDI NG P I CTURE S I 3 1 1
1 0 I ENTERI NG THE MARKET PLACP
3
WI TH
HELPI NG HAND S I The gate of his cottage is closed and
even the wisest cannot fmd him. His mental panorama15 has fmally
disappeared. He goes his own way, making no attempt to follow the
steps of earlier sages. Carrying a gourd, 18 he strolls into the market;
leaning on his staf, he returns home. He leads innkeepers and fsh
mongers in the Way of the Buddha.
Barechested, barefooted, he comes into the market place.
Muddied and dust-covered, how broadly he gris !
Without recourse to mystic powers,
withered trees he swiftly brings to bloom.17
3 1 2 S UPPLEMENTS
FOOTNOTES F OR S ECTI ON VI I I
1
See p. 163.
2
To take the analogy of form and Emptiness, the salt corresponds to Emptiness
ad the water to form. Until one has know the "tate" of satori one is ignorant
of this Emptiness ad recognizes only the form. Afer enlightenment they ae
seen as no diferent from each other.
3
Lit., "wild strengt." What is impled here i that at t stage delusive feelings
stl perist and that their eradcaton require further traing.
4 Lit., "rdig upside dow."
5 That is, the Buddha-mind, symbolized by the Ox, is entirely sufcient uto
itsel
8
The implication of this passage is that Buddha and Patriarchs have a mirror
like Wisdom which can eaily discer the characer of the ordinary ma, tainted
a it is by various defiements. But one who had cleased himself of all impur
itie, includig the subtlest forms of prde, would be so pure ad natual that
even a Buddha would be unable to look at him ad say that he wa this or that.
7
This is a allusion to a parable centering around Hoyu-zenji, a Zen mater of
the T'ag dynaty, who lived on Mount Gozu and who was widely extolled for the
ardor wth whch he practiced zaze in h moutai retreat. Even the birds, it is
said, sag his praies by ofering up fowers to him a he sat in his hut. Afer he
beae fly enightened uder the Fouth Patriarch, so the story goes, the birds
ceased their foral oferigs, because, having attained perfect enlightenment, he no
longer gave of ay aura, even of devotion and virtue.
" "Azre sky" stads for Pue-mind.

With perfect enlightenment all delusive thoughts, including those of"enlighten

ment" or "deluion," vanish.
1V
"If as the sutras say, our Essentia-nature is Bodhi [Perfection], why did all
Buddh have to strive for enlightenment ad perfetion?" aked Dogen, who
wa able to resolve this paadox only afer year of strenuous efort, culminating
i h deep enlightenment.
1
1 What is implied here is that the flly enlghtened ma, being no longer caught
up i the objects of the senses, absorbs himelf so u-self-onsciously in what he
sees ad hears that his seeing i noseeig ad his hearing nohearing.
1
2
Sice with enlightenment comes the realization that one embraces the universe
ad all thigs i it, what is there to hanker for ?
13 "Maket place" signies the defled world.
14 The sense of ths is that he h now become so puied, so perfected, that the
wsest sge L detect about him no marks of perfecion.
15 That is, aconcepts, opinions, asumption, prejudices.
1
8
In acient China gourds were commony ued a wine bottles. What is implied
here therefore is that the ma of the deepest spiituality is not averse to driing
with those fond of liquor in order to help them overcome their deluion. Here
we see a fudamental diference in emphais between the role of the spiritually
accomplished ma in the Hinayaa and i the Mahayaa traditions. In the Hiayaa
the hghest spiritul type, the celibate monk, is set apart fom the laity. Idea y he
mut be saintlike, a paagon of virtue, if he is to fll the role conceived for
him by the communty. Were it known that he idulged i alcohol, for intance,
OXHERDI NG PI CTURES I 3 1 3
this would be regaded as the surest sign of a ligering impurity, of proof that his
spiritualty wa not yet wholly refmed. In Mahayaa Buddhism, on the contrary,
the ma of deep enlightenment (who may be ad ofen is the layma) gives off
no "smell" of enlightenment, no aura of "saitliness"; if he did, his spiritual at
tainment would be regarded a still defcient. Nor does he hold himself aloof from
the evils of the world. He immerses himself in them whenever necessary to
emacipate men from their follies, but without being sullied by them himself. In
this he is like the lotus, the symbol in Buddhism of purity and perfection, which
grws in mud yet is undefled by it.
17 This is aother way of saying that the flly enlightened ma, because his whole
peronality is sufused with a iner radiance, brings light and hope to those in
darkness ad despair.
I X I ZAZEN POSTURES ILLUS-
TRATED I The postures illustrated in the following
pages range across history from the classic lotus pose of antiquity to
a special twentieth-century zazen bench. While Zen masters ancient
and contemporary are united in proclaiming the superiority of the
lotus posture over all others (for reasons which wil be foud in the
frst secton of this book), the editor can testify from his ow experi
ence with each of these positions that any of them can be adequate
for one sufciently determined to pursue zazen.
The practice of sitting with the foot of each leg over te tgh of
the other is one of the oldest, predating the Buddha. Not only do we
kow through archeological evidence in India that millenniums
before the birt of the Budda the lotus posture was in use in that
country, but wall carvings uearthed from ancient Egyptian tombs,
showig fgures sitting in the full-lotus, prove that civilizations other
than the Indan knew the power of this unique pose.
Admittedy for Westerers, not nurtured on cross-legged sitting,
the lotus posture can be difcult, though by no means is it impossible.
Adut non-athetic Wester indivduals have mastered the half-lotus
in less tan six months by persistent zazen coupled wit simple leg
stretchig calisthencs (which include pressing dow_ of the kees
with the hands, after a hot bath) to gradually bring the knees down to
the level of the sitting mat. The full-lotus is naturaly a harder nut to
crack, but it no less wil yield to a systematic efort.
jJ j
3 16 I S UPPLEMENTS
The posture shown i n Fig. 5 i s widely used i n Burma and the
Southeast Asian Buddhit countries. It has the advantage of being
much less uncomfortable for beginners than eiter the half- or the
ful-lotu, as the legs are uncrossed, but it does not provide te strong
support for the tnm that the lotus postue does; the spine, therefore,
cannot be kept absolutly erect for long. wthout strain.
The traditional Japanese sitting posture, Fig. 6, can be made
comfortable for W estemers by the inserton of a cuion beteen the
buttocks and the heels. A low bench of the type shown in Fig. 7 when
placed btween te buttocks and the heels reders tis postre even
more comortable, sice it elimates ever bit of pressure from the
heels. For te novice, an absolutely straight back is easiest in t posi
ton.
The simple bench of the design shown in Figs. 7 and 10 is effective
for those unable to assume any of the postures through Fig. 6. It has
many advantages over an ordinary chair, among which may be
counted its compactness and portability. One's trunk and legs are sup
ported by knee rests constructed in such a way that the thighs can as
sume a slight downward angle, thus avoiding constriction of the lower
abdomen and consequent interference with natural breathing, while
the back can be easily held erect by reason of the slight forward tilt of
the seat.
A ordinary chair when sat i i t usul way, that is, wit the
back bent, is not satsfactory for zazen. But if ued as show i Fig. 8,
wth a cuhon udereath the buttocks to help keep the spie erect,
and wth one's feet plated frmy on the foor, it can be efective
for zazen.
ZAZEN POSTURES
I
3 17
Fig. 1 . Full-lotus posture, with
right foot over lef thigh and lef
foot over right thigh, both knees
touching mat. The buttocks
shoul be thrust out, the spine
held erect. Knees should be in line
with one another, the abdomen
relaxed. Hands rest on the heels
ofboth feet. This posture may be
reversed when the lef foot gets
tired, with the right foot placed
on top, over the lef. (Seep. 1 8,
fotnote 1 , and pp. 30-31 .
)
Fig. <. Full-lotus posture, side
view, showing ear in line with
shoulder and tip of nose in line
with navel. Thebuttocks should
be thrust out, with the spine
erect. A single low cushion is
preferable in this posture.
3
18
I
S UPPLEMENTS
Fig. J. The half-lotus posture,
with left foot over right thigh and
right foot under left thigh, both
knees touching mat. To facilitate
the knees restin on the mat, it
may be necessary to use a sup
port cushion under the regular
round one.
Fig. 4. The qurter lotus, with
the lef foot resting over the calf
of the right, both knees resting on
the mat.
ZAZEN POSTURES
I
3 19
Note: In all postures, including that in
volving bench and chair, the buttocks are
thrust out, the spine held erect, the
hands kept close to the body, resting
high up on the thighs or on the heels of
the feet, the knees in line with one
another, and the abdomen relaed.
Fig. 5. The so-called Burmese
posture with the legs uncrossed,
the left or right foot in front and
both knees touching mat.
Fig. 6. Side view ofthe tradi
tional Japanese sitting posture
with knees in line with one
another on the ma't and straddling
a husk cushion inserted between
the heels and buttocks to relieve
pressure on heels.
3
20 I SUPPLEMENTS
Fig. 7. Side view of zazen perormed
on a low wooden bench with a padded
seat. To prevent the hands fom slipping
down, a support cushion may be placed
vertically on the mat under the hands.
Fig. 8. Side view of zazen in a
straight-back chair, with cushion in
serted between the rear ofchair and the
back, the feet resting frmly on the foor.
Fig. 9 Side view ofmat, round cush
ion, and support cushion in position for
zazen. Round cushions measure any
where from twelve to eighteen inches in
diameter and from three to six in thick
ness. The best fller for both mat and
cushions is kapok, which fufs out when
put in the sun. Foam rubber tends to
bounce, while ordinary cotton batting
becomes ft and hard. The best mat is
not more than two inches thick,
measures from thirty to thirty-six inches
square, and has neither cording nor
upholstery buttons. The same is true of
the round cushion and the support cush
ion. Support cushions measure about
seventeen by twelve inches and two and
a half inches thick. The round cushion
has a handle for carying and pleats to
provide "give. "
Fig. 1o. Husk cushion and low zazen
bench. Husk cushions can be flled with
buckwheat husks, rice husks, or any
other husk which is not too hard and at
the same time provides frmness. The
bench measures about nineteen and a
hal inches by seven inches and is eight
inches high in the rear, six inches in
front. The seat is upholstered for
greater cmfort.
X / NOTES ON ZEN VOCABU
LARY AND BUDDHIST DOCTRINE
Techcal Zen terms and proper names, word associated with Zen
(e.g., keo), special Buddhist terms and phrases, Buddhist doctrines,
and Budst sects and sutras whch are mentioned in the text but
not explaed therein are defed or explaied at length here. These
notes, however, are not intended to be a dctionary of Zen terms,
much les a deftve statement of Buddhist doctrine or philosophy.
Yet they are more tha a mere glossary of academic defmitions.
Their purpose is to aid the reader to understand the text itself and to
facitate his ow further study and practice.
Rather tha idicate the Chese ideographs for Japanese ad
Chie names and terms, which woud be meaningful only to spe
cialts i the Japanese or the Chese laguage, I have used the roman
tracriptons. Where a word is better known in its origial Sanskrit
or Che than i English or Japaese, I have shown it frst accordig
to it natve spelg, adding i parenthese its equivalent i English
or Japane, or both. The names of the Chiee Zen masters are listed
according to the way they are pronouced in Japaese, with the
Chies reading shown in parentheses. The names of sutras are in
variably given in their Sanskrit spellng as well as in Japanese and,
i
n some cases, in English.
Japanese names and words are marked J.; Sanskrit, Skt. ; and Chi
nese, Ch. Diacrtical marks will be found only in this section.
321
322 I S UPPLEMENTS
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE TO JAPANESE WORDS
VOWELS-Vowels may be short, long or silent. Short vowels are very
short.
Short Vowels
a as M far (koan)
e M end ( zendo)
as in machine ( sesshin)
o as M forest ( dokusan)
u as M put (mu)
Long Vowels
i as in park
e as the sound of a in labor
o M note ( roshi)
u as M rumor (oshu ).
The long vowel e is usually written ei. Ex: Eisai.
The long vowel i is usually written ii.
Vowels in Japanese word maintain the above pronunciation when grouped
together. Ex: ai is pronounced as i in fne ( daishi ); au as ow in now.
Silent Vowels
The vowels i and u are silent or almost silent in many Japanee word, as in:
dokusan, tkuhatsu.
CONSONANTS-The following have the same pronunciation as in
English: b, d, j, k, M n, p, t, and y.
ch B in change ( Chisha)
g as M grateful (gassho)
h as M home ( Heikigan-roku)
s M silent ( Soto)
sh M shore ( ShoyOroku)
z as M zero (Zen)
The letter f is neither the hard English sound nor the rolled sound of
Spanish, but is between the English I and sounds.
DOUBLE CONSONANTS-Double consonants are stressed by holding
the sound of the particular consonant longer, in: sesshin, gassho.
ZEN VOCABULARY I
3
23
Abhdhanna: the thrd of the three "bakets," Tripitka, of Buddt
lteratur, the other to being the Vinaya-i.e., the precepts or moral
rules given by Buddha to his folowers-and the sutras, which consist
of the colecton of the Buddha's sermons, discourses, ad dialogue
compied after his death. The Abhdhanna contains hghly abstrc,
phiosophcal elucidaton of Buddst doctrne.
agura: the Japaese term for the loose cross-legged sittng position whch
is neither the half- nor te fll-lotus.
Amida: the Japaee pronuciation of the Sakrit amitabha, "boundless
light," or amitayus, "boudless life." Amda is the most widely venerated
of the non-hstoricl (i.e., Dhyani) Buddha. Indeed, in the Pure Ld
(]., Jodo) sects he overshadows both Birushna
(
Vairochaa) and the
hstoric Buddha Shakyamuni.
Bao (Ch., Ma.tsu) : one of the great Chnee Zen masters of the T'ag
dyaty (died 788) ; a disciple of Nangaku.
bith-ad-death (J., shoji; Skt., samsara) : the world of relativity; the trans
formation which all phenomena, including our thoughts and feelings,
are ceselessly undergoing in accordance with the law of causaton.
Birth-and-death, which Dagen called "the life of a Buddha," can be
compard to the waves on te ocean. The rse and fl of one wave is
one "birth" and one "deth." The size of each is conditioned by the
force of te previous one, itsel being the progenitor of the succeeding
one. Th process itely repeated is birth-and-death. See also "Six
Reams of Exstence," "kara," and diagram uder "consciousnes."
Birushana (Skt., Vairochana) : the "Al-Ilumnating One." O the non
historcal Buddhas, Biruhana is supreme, symbolizing cosmic conscious
ness, i.e., trancedental Buddha-knowledge.
Bodhidharma (J., Daruma) : the twenty-ighth Patriarch in le from the
Buddha, the frrst Patriarch of Zen in China. Scholars. disagree a to
when Bodhdharma came to Chna from India, how long he stayed
there, and when he died, but it is generally accepted by Japaese Zn
Buddhists that he came by boat from India to South Chna about the
year 52, and tat after a short abortive attempt to establsh his teach
ings there he went to Loyang in North China and fmaly settled in Sho
ri (Shao-lin) Temple, loated on Mount Si (Sung-shan) . Here for nine
yers he steadly did zazen, whence ths period has come to be known
as hs "nine years of facing the wall" (J., mempeki kunen) .
Bodhidharma and Eka (Hui-k'o), h discple to whom he had trans
mitted the Dharma, are the subject of the forty-frst koan in the Mumo
kan well a of a famous painting by Sesshi, Japan's greatest painter.
324 / SUPPLEMENTS
Eka, a scholar of some repute, complais to Bodhidharma, who is silently
doing zazen, that he has no peace of mnd ad asks how he c acquire
it. Bodhdharma turs hm away, saying that the attainment of inward
peace ivolves long and hard disciplne and is not for the conceited or
fainthearted. Eka, who has been standing outside i the snow for hours,
implores Bodhdharma to help hm. Agai he is rebufed. I deperation
he cuts of his left had and ofers it to Bodhdharma. Now convinced of
his sincerty and determnation, Boddharma accepts hm as a disciple.
Whether these episodes are historicaly true or not is less important
than the fact that they symbolically reveal the importance which Zen
masters attach to the hunger for peace of mind, to zazen, and to sincerity
and humility, perseverace and forttude as prerequisites to the attain
ment of the hghest truth.
Bodhi-mind (J., bodai-shin; Skt., bodhicitta): intrinsic wisdom; the in
herently enightened heart-mnd; also the aspiration toward perfect
enlghtenment.
Bodhattva (J ., bosatsu): an enlightened being who dedicate hmself
to helping others attai liberaton. In h self-mastery, wisdom, and
compassion a Bodhsattva represents a hgh stage of Buddhahood, but
he i not yet a supremely enlightened, fully perfected Buddha. "Bodhi
sattas, like Buddhas, are not merely personifcations of abstract prin
ciples . . . but are prototypes of those states of hghest knowledge, wis
dom, ad harmony whch have been realized in humanity and wlever
have to be realized again and again . . . . " (Govnda, p. 9
)
Bommo (Skt., Brahmajala) sitra: Here are to be found the ten major
precepts and forty-ight lesser one whch form the ethcal basis of
Mahayana Buddhism.
Buddha (J., butsu): a Sanskrit word ue in to senses: 1) ultimate Truth
or absolute Mind, ad 2) one awakened or enlightened to the true nature
of exstence. The Buddha refers to a hstorical person with the given
name of Siddhartha and family name of Gautama who was born around
the year 563 B.C., the son of the ruler of the Shakyas, whose small king
dom lay at the foothills of present-day Nepal. In time he came to be
known as Shakyamuni ("the silent sage"-i.e., muni-"of the Shakya
clan") . It is recorded that he was married at the age of sixteen and had
a son, later to become hs disciple. Deeply troubled by the sorrows and
tribulations of human life and perplexed by the meaning of birth-and
death, the future Buddha at the age of twenty-ne could no longer bear
the life of ease and luxury into which he had been bor, and he fed
his father's palace to become a recluse, a seeker after truth in the solitude
of forests. For a time he undertook the severest ascetic practices to gain
enightenment. Close to death as a result of these austerities, he at last
saw the futility of self-mortification, abandoned it, and fnally won
ZEN VOCABULARY
I
325
perfect enightenment, becoming "the Buddha." Thereafter for forty
ftve years, until h death at the age of eighty, he not only taught hs
own bad of monk-disciples but tirelessly tudged the road of India
preaching to all who would listen, always suiting h exposition to the
capacity of hs hearers' Wderstading. Men were moved to folow
his Way to spiritua emacipaton a much by hs serenity ad com
passion as by the wsdom of h word. Eventua y his sermons ad
diaogues were recorded ad thes sitras (or scriptures) now comprise
the basic doctrines of Buddhm.
The Zen sec, i common wth other Buddst sect, accept the
htoric Buddha neither as a Supreme Deity nor as a savior who recues
men by takin upon himsel the burden of their s. Rather, it venerates
him as a fuly awakened, fuly preced hum being who attaned
lberation of body ad mind through hs own huma efor ad not by
the grace of any superntra bing. Nor does Buddhsm look upon
Shakyamuni as the only tue Buddha. Just as i previous world epochs
other sages had trodden the same path, attained the same level of perfec
tion, ad preached the same Dharma, so would there b Buddhas in
subsequent world cycles to led men to liberaton. The historic Buddha,
in other words, is but a link i a chai of Buddhas extendig from the
remotest past to the immeasurable future.
The familiar statement of the Zen masters that we are al Buddhas
from the very frst must b understood in the sense that pottially ever
one is a Buddha, that is, inerently endowed with the unblemished
Buddha-nature, but that the caddte for Buddhahood must folow the
arduous road to enlightenment if he would realize hs inte Perfec
tion. Anyone who has experienced h Buddha-nture, however faintly,
has realized the frst stage of Buddhahood, sice i substance this re
alization is no diferent from the Buddha Shakyamuni's. However, i
the degree of h enlghtenment as well as in the perfecton ofh charac
ter ad personality-that i, i h equaimity, compassion ad wis
dom-Shkyamuni Buddha towers above the ma of average enghten
ment. A simple comparison would be between a kndergaren teacher
ad a uni\ersity professor; both are istrucors, but i their respective
levels of atainment there is a vast diference.
Various classifications of the stges of Buddhahood are to be fold
i the sitras. A Buddha in t hghest stage is not only fuly enghtened
but "a Perfect One, one who has bcome whole, complete in hmelf
i.e., one in whom all spirtua ad psychc facultie have come to perfec
tion, to maturity, to a stte of prfect harmony, ad whos conscious
ness encompasses the ity of the unverse. Such a one cannot be
identifed ay more with the lmitations of hs individual personality,
his individual character ad exstence; of him it is rightly said that
'there is nothing by which he could be measured, there are no words
to describe hm.' " (Govinda, p. 41
)
3 I SUPPLEMENTS
A Buddha ha te "bodies" or plaes of relit, though actuly
te tee are one intrrelated Whole. The frst is designated hosshin
(Skt., dharma-kiya; lt., "law-body"). This i the expence of cosmic
consciouness, of Onenes, whic is byond every conception. The
uncondtioned Dharma-kiya is te substratum of Completeness ad
Perfecion out of which a all anmate ad imate fors and
moral order. Birushan (Skt., Vairochana), the "All-Ilumting One,"
embodies ts apec of uversl consciounes. The second "by" i
the hojin (Skt., sambhoga-kaya; lit., "blss-body"), which i the exece
of the rapture of enghtenment, of te Dhanna-mind of te Budda
and the Patriarchs, ad of the spitual practices whch tey hv ta
mtted from geeration to generation. Amida Budda i h Wester
Paradise symbolies ts "bliss-bdy." The "body of tormaton"
Q., ojin; Skt., nirita-kiya), the thid apect, is the radiat, tformed
Buddha-body, personied by Shayamuni, the Tathagata, wt his
thirty-two signs of perfecton.
The interrelation of thes three cn b ilutated by a simple aalogy.
The Dhara-kya c be likened to the field of mec kowledge, the
Sarbhoga-kya to the doctor's traing by which he acqures this
kowlede, ad the Nirra-kaya to te applcaton of ts knowledge
in te tretment of idvidual patiets, who are thereby transformed
from sickness to heath.
Of the non-historcal Buddhas, identified with diferent worlds ad
realms and symblc of parcuar spiritua force and powers, only
Birushaa and, le fequety, Amda are aluded to i Z.
Buddha-natre (J., bussho): concet expresion for the substratum of
Perfecton, of Completenes, itrnsic to bth sentient and insentient
lfe.
Buddhsm (J., bukkyo): Buddhm, or more precisely, the Buddha's
Dharma, ha two main braches: te Souther or Theravida (Teachigs
of te Elders), also known a te Hayaa (Small Vehcle; J., shOjo);
and the Norther or Mahyaa (Gret Vehcle; J., di. The Thera
vida aos in Souther India, whence it spread to Ceylon, Burma,
Thailand ad Cambodia; while the Mahyana moved fom norther
Inda to Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japa. Viemam has both.
Une Souther Buddhsm, which tended to rem conservative
and inelatic, the Mahyana adpted itel t the need of poples of
diverse racial ad cultural background and varying levels of uder
stndig. Thus in Chna, to which countr Buddhm foud it way
in te first cntu, various sects arose whch elaborated cert aspects
of the Budda's Dharma i preferenc to others under te iuence
of Taoism, Confucianism, and other forms of Chnes culture. Chief
among thes may b metioned te T'ien-t'ai Q., Tendi) ; the Tsing
tu-tsu, i.e., t Pure Lnd (J., Jodo) ; the Ch'an Q., Zen) ; and the Eso-
ZEN VOCABULARY I
3
2
7
teric (J., Shingon) sect. In Tibet, because of unique geography, climate,
and strenuous conditions of life, the tantric elements in the Buddha's
Dharma had a preponderant appeal ad sects grew up which emphasized
ts aspect of the Buddha's teaching. In Japan, with its rigid hierarchical
society, complex, sensitive code of behavior, and highly developed
esthetic sene, the Buddhism which came in the sixth century from
China via Korea underwent a further elaboration and refnement that
refected these chracteristc features of Japanese culture and feeling.
The ideal type i the Mahayana became the Bodisattva, ever ready
to sacrifice himself in the interest of those lost in ignorance and despair,
even while striving for his ow supreme enlghtenment. I Theravada
the emphasis fall on the Araba (or Arhat) , who, having single
mindedly overcome his passions and his ego, has gained liberation for
himsel
butsudan: a Buddhist atar-shrine, a small model of which most Japanese
Buddhists maintain i their ow home. I addition to a fgure of one
of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, it usualy contains a tablet with the
names of the family dead. Oferings of food and fowers are made reg
ularly at the butsud, and on special occasions certain sitras are
chated before it.
cve of Satan: also called te "pit of pseudo-emacipation. " This is a stage
in zazn where one experiences absolute serenity and is bedeviled into
believing it to be Self-realization. It requires a inspired efort to break
out and go beyond t state.
Chisha (Ch., Chih-i or Chih-k'ai) : fouder of the T'ien-t'ai Q., Tendai)
Buddhist sect in Chia. See also "Eight Teachings and Five Periods."
Chuang-tzu (J., Soshi) : a Chee Taoist sage of the fourh century B.c.
who expouded the doctrine of Lao-tzu with wit ad origiality.
Chiho Myohon {Ch., Chung-rng Mig-pen; I263-1323) : A Chinese Zen
master.
clouds and water: Novces i Ze monasteries are called unsui {lit.,
"cloud-water") and Zen temple decorations frequently include designs
of clouds ad water. Clouds move freely, forming ad re-formng in
respone to exterl conditions ad their own nature, unampered by
obstacle. "Water is yielding but al-conquering. Water extinguishe
Fire or, fmding itself likely to be defeated, escapes as steam ad re
forms. Water washes away soft Earth or, when confronted by rocks,
seeks a way round. Water corrodes Iron ril it crumbles to dust; it
sturates the atmosphere so that Wind die. Water give way to obstacle
with deceptive humty, for no power can prevent it following its
destined course to the sea. Water conquers by yielding; it never attacks
328 I S UPPLEMENTS
but always ws the last battle." (Tao Cheng of Nan Yeo, an eleventh
centur Taoist scholar, quoted by Blofeld on p. 78 of his The Wheel of
Li.) These virtes of clouds and water are the virtues of the perfected
Zen man, whose life is characterized by freedom, spoMtaneity, humilit,
ad inner strength, plus the resilience to adapt himself to changing
circumstances wthout stran or aiety.
Confucius {Ch. , Kung Fu-tzu; J., Kosh) : the celebrated Chinese sage
{55 1-479 B.c.). The backbone of Conucius's moral and religious teach
igs is his Analects ..
conscousness {J ., shiki) : Buddhism distguishe eight classes of conscious
ness. The frst six are the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and
tought {intellect). Whe the itelect creates the ilusion of a subject
"I" standing apart from an object world, it is not persitently conscious
of ths "I." Only in the seventh class of {sub)cosciousness (Skt., manas)
i ths awarenes of a discrete ego-I constant. Manas also acts as conveyor
of the seed-ssence of sensory experiences to the eighth level of {sub)
conciousness {Skt., alaya-viiana), from which, in response to causes
ad conditions, specc "seeds" are reconveyed by manas to the six
snses, precipitating new aLtions, which in turn prodLce other "seeds. "
This proces is simultaneous and endless.
Birth and deatl1
No birth arrd
no death
Classes of Corrsriousness:
1-6. Sight, souud, smell,
taste, touch, inteTlect
7 Manas (source of pmistmt
1-awaretless; futJctions as conveyor)
8. Alaya-viniiJa ("seed" repository}
The diagram, based on a scheme by Harada-roshi, shows the relation
of the eight classes of consciousness to birth and death and to birthlessness
and deathlessness. The triangulaI portion stands for the life of the in
dividual, revealing his link to Pure Consciousness, or Formless Self
This lie is not unlike a wave on the vast ocean; its brief exstence seems
apart from the ocean-and i a sense it is not the ocean-but in substance
it is not other than the ocean, out of which it arose, ito which it will
recede, and from which it will emerge again as a new wave. In just the
same way, individual consciousness issues from pure consciousness
ad i its essential nature is indistinguishable from it. Their common
element, the viable Void is shown i the diagram by the al-prYading
white background.
ZEN VOCABULARY
I
3 29
dais
h
i: Literay "great master," this Buddhist title is usually conferred
posthumously.
Daitoku-ji: a large Rizai monastery in Kyoto, founded i 1327 by Daito
kokushi, i.e., Daito, Teacher to te Naton.
delusion, illusion: To be deluded is to b totaly deceived. Delusion im
plies a belief i somethig that is contary to reality. Ilusion on the
other had, suggets that what is seen has objective reality but is misinter
preted or seen falsely. I Buddhism, delusion is ignorance, an unaware
ness of the true nature of things or of the real meanng of existence. We
are deluded or led astray by our senses (which include the itelect and it
discimnatg thoughts} iofar as they cause us to acept the phenom
enal word as the Whole of realty when in fact it is but a lmited and
ephemeral aspect of realit, ad to act as though the world is external to
us when in truth it is but a refecton of ourselves. This does not mean
that the relative world h no reality whatever. When the masters say
al phenomea are illusory, ty mean that compared with Mind itself
the world apprehended by te ss is such a partal and limted
pect of Truth that it is dreame. See also "Six Realms of Exstence."
DekOroku (Record of the Trasmission of the Light) : by Zen master
Kei7.n, consisting of fty-thee lectures on the Buddha and the Pa
triarchs, compied by hi discple. Not to b conused with the DentO
roku (Record of te Trnsmission of the Lamp), by a Chinese Ze
mater.
Dharma Q., ho): This fundment Buddhst ter has a variety of mean
ings : unversal Law, phenomena, Truth, Buddhist dotrie, the teach
ings of the Buddha. Without a cpita it ordinarily refers to "phe
nomena" or "things." See pp. 73-7
4.
"Dharma combat" (., hosse): a verbal joust or battle of"wt" a respects
the Dharma usually betee to eghtened persons. In practce it
is sometimes difcut to draw a clear dstncton betwee hossen and
mondo, but general y speakig, a mondo involves only a question and
a answer, whie a hosse ca develop ito a extended encounter.
Hossen are the typica Zen method of demonstratng Truth without
recourse to logical conceptions. See also "mondo."
Dharma successor (., hassu): a Zen disciple who has reched the same
degree of enghtenment as his master ad been given permission to carry
on his line of teaching. It implie, of course, inka. A Dharma successor
may b a layman or laywoma. Eno, the Sixth Patriarch, wa a layman
when he received the sal of transmission from the Fifth Patriarch.
Diamond sitra (J., Kongo-kyo; Skt., Vajracchedika Prajia Paramita) :
One of the profoundest of te Mahaya sltras, this sitra concludes
330 I S UPPLEMENTS
with the words: "This sacred exposition shall be known as the Vajrac
chedika Prajna Paramita sutra because it is hard ad sharp like a dia
mond, cutting of all arbitrary conceptions and leadig to the other
shore of Enlightenment."
dokusan: a private meeting with the roshi i hs teaching chamber. The
general term for a formal appearace before the roshi is sanzen. There
arc thre types of sanen: so san, or listeng to the roshi' s general letures
on Zen practice, usualy i a group-compulsory for all beginers;
dokusan, or going singly before the rosh at give periods-ptional;
naisan, or visiting the roshi "secretly" at any rme, day or nght, when
specal circumstances warrat it. At Y asuta-roshi' s sesshin, dokusan
takes place three times dily: at 5 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.
Dorin (Ch., Tao-l) : a wel-known Zen master of the T'ag period.
He was popularly called Niao-k'e (Bird's Nest) from his habit of doing
:azen among the branches of trees. See also "Hakurakuten."
ego: According to Buddhism, the notion of an ego, i.e., awareness of one
self as a discrete individuality, is a delusion. It arises because, misled by
our bifurcatig itellect (the sixth sense) into postulatig the dualism of
"myself" and "not-myself" we are led to think and act as though we
were a separated entity confronted by a world external to . Thus i the
unconscious the idea of "I," or selfhood, becomes fixed, and from ths
arise such thought patter a "I hate ths, I love that; this is mine, that
is yours." Nourished by thi fodder, the ego-I comes to dominate the
mind, attacking whatever threatens its dominaton ad grasping at any
thng which will enlarge its power. Antagonsm, greed, and alienaton,
culmiating i sufering, are the inevitable consequence of ths circular
process.
Eight Teachings and Five Periods: a classifcaron of the Buddha's teach
ins from the standpoit of te Tendi sect, made by its Chinese founder,
Chsha-daishi. These are divided into four doctrines plus four method
of expoudng them and represent fve stages of instruction given by
the Buddha, from the earliest to the last and highest.
Eisai Myoa (114I-I215) : The Zen sect in Japan formaly begins with
Eisai, a priest of high rak who had mastered the teachings of Bud
dhism at Mount Hiei, the foremost Buddhist center oflearng, iK yo to,
in the Middle Ages. He made two trips to China, where he leared
the practices of Zen at several monasterie, including the famous Zen
monastery of T'ien-t'ung (J., Tendo). Upon hs return to Japan i
1 191 he brought the Rzai teachings as wel Q tea seeds. Thus Eisai
came to be known as the father of Zen and tea cultivation in Japan.
ZEN VOCABULARY I 331
Engaku-ji: Ts famous Ze monstery was founded i Kamakura in
1282 by the regent Hojo Tokimune, a ardent patron of Buddhsm.
One of the largest Rz monasteries i the Tokyo-Yokohama area,
it conists of several hundred acres of beautiful slope and raves
wooded wth bamboo groves, fowerig trees, and eormous pies ad
cryptomeris. Engaku-ji is also the mother tem!le of many subtemple
scattered throughout Japan. Besides a zenda it supports a large kojirin,
a zazen hall reserved exclusively for laymen, under the guidance of an
experienced monk. Often on weekends as many as a hundred men
and women from every walk of life, icludig studets, c be found
there sitting i zazen. Sogen Asaha, the present abbot, is also president
of the Japa Buddhist Council for World Federation.
enightenmet: Self-realization. As used herei the term h no connecion
with the eighteenth-centry phosophical movement characterized by
rationalism. See also "kensho" ad "satori."
Eno (more fully, Daikan EnOzenji; also Rokuso-daish, meanng the
Sixh Zen Patriarch; Ch., Hui-neng orWei-lang; 63 8-7I3 ) : one of the
most distinguished of the Chese masters of the T' ag era. Zen lore
abounds with stories about him: that he was so poor he had to sell
firewood to support his widowed mother; that he was illiterate; that he
became enlightened i his youth upon hearg a passage from the Di
mond sitra; that he was selected to become the Sixth Patriarch through
a poem he had written demonstrating his profound Insight.
fve deady sins: I} kl g one's father, 2) ki ng one's mother, 3) kl g
a Arhat, 4)
shedding the blood of a Buddha, 5) destroyig the harmony
of the Buddhst brotherhood (san
g
ha).
Five Degrees (of realztion, as laid dow by Toza; J. , goi: Like the
Ten Oxherdg Verses, thee are diferet levels or degrees of Zen at
taiment, formulated by Toza Ryokai. In Japaese thee fve, in
ascending scale, are known as I) s
h
ichu-hen, 2) hen-chu-sho, 3 ) shO-c
h
u
rai, 4
)
hen-chu-shi, ad 5) ke-chu-to. The key term are shO and hen,
which are two mutually related aspects of the One. Some of their com
plemetary attributes are as follows (i each case the sho is followed by
the hen): absolute, relative; emptiess, form-and-color; equalty, dif
ference; oneness, maynes; absolute self relative self The chi, whch
ca mean "wthi" or "among," expresses the iterrelation of the
sho ad te hen.
1. ShOchi-hen. At ths level of realization the world .of phenomen
is domnant, but it is perceived as a dimension of the absolute Self.
2. Hen-hi-sho. At ths second stage the undiferentiated aspct come
strongly to the fore ad diversity recedes ito the background. 3 . ShO
332
I
SUPPLEMENTS
chu-rai. The thrd grade i s a level of realization wherein no awareness
of body or mind remains; both "drop away" completely. 4 Hen-chu
shi. With ths degree the singularity of each object is perceived at its
highest degree of unqueness. Now a cup is a Cup is a CUP. 5 Ken
chi-to. I the fifth ad highest grade, form ad Empties mutually
penetrate to such a degree that no longer is there conscioumess of
either. Idea of satori or delusion etrely vaish. This is the stage of
perfect iner freedom.
Four Modes of Birth (J., shisho): I
)
birth through the womb, 2) birth
through eggs hatched outside the body, 3
)
birth through moisture, and
4) birth through metamorphosis.
Four Vows Q., shiku seigan) : I
)
Sentient beings are countless, I vow to
save them al. 2) Tormenting passions are inumerable, I vow to up
root them a. 3
)
The gates (i.e., levels of truth) of the Dharma are
manfold, I vow to pass through them all. 4) The Buddha's Way is peer
les, I vow to realize it. Thee vows are as old as Mahayana Buddhism,
beig allied with the vows of a Bodhisattva. In the Zen temple they
are recited three times in succession after the close of zazen. In the
sitra bearing hs name the Sixth Patriarch gives these vows a profound
interpretation.
Fugen and Monju (Skt., Samantabhadra ad Mai jushrt} : The Bodhisattva
Fugen embodies cm action, compassion, ad deep-seated wisdom.
He is usually depicted astride a whte elephant (the elephat being
noted for its tranquility ad wsdom), sitting i attendance on the right
of the Buddha, while the Bodhisatta Monju, with h delusion-uttg
vajra sword i one hand, sits on the back of a lon on the Buddha's lef.
Monju represents satori, i.e., the sudden reaiztion of the Oneness of
aexstence and the power rising therefrom, of which the lion's vigor
is symbolc. When te knowledge acquired through satori is employed
for the beneft of mad, Fugen' s compassion is manifesting itsel
Accordgly, the Bodhsattvas Fugen and Monju are each a arm of
te Buddha, representing, respectively, Oneness (or Equality) ad
manyness.
gasshO: the gesture of raising the hands pam to palm to indicate respect,
gratitude, or humlty, or a three.
Genki Taji-rosh: a rosh-dsciple ofHarada-rosh. He died i I953 at the
age of sixty-four.
godo: in the Soto sect the head monk in charge of the zendo, next in rank
to the roshi. The position of jikiitsu in the Rini sect approximates
that of the godo.
ZEN VOCABULARY I 3
3
3
Hakui Ekaku ( 1686-1769) : One of the most verstile and brilliat of the
Japanese Zen masters, Hakui i often called the father of moder
Rinzi by reason of the fact that he sigle-handedly revtaized the
Rizi teachings, which had been steadly declining, through his
systematization of the koans. Not only was Hakuin an outstandig
mater; he wa a highy accomplished painter, caligrapher, and sculptor.
Sekishu or "What is the sound of one hand clappig ?" which he devised,
is the best-kown koa devised by a Japanese master. His popular Zazen
Wasan (Chant i Praise of Zazen), frequently recited in Zen temples,
begis: "Sentient beigs are intrinically Buddha," and end: "Ths
very place is the Lotus lad, this very body the Buddha."
Hakurakuten (Ch., Pai Yueh T'ien) : To quote from Suzuk's third serie
of Essays in Zen Buddhism (p. 368) : "Pai Yueh T'ien was a great poet
of the T'ag [dynasty] . When he was ofciating a goveror i a cer
tain dstrict there was a Zen master within his jurisdiction popularly
know as Niao-k'e, the 'Bird's Nest,' for he used to practice his medi
tation on a seat made of the thickly-growing branches of a tree. The
governor-poet once visited him and said: 'What a dangerous seat you
have up in the tree! ' 'Yours is far worse than mie,' retorted the
master. 'I am the governor of this district and I don't see what danger
there is i it.' 'Then you don't know yourself! When your passions
burn and your md is usteady, what is more dagerous tha that ?'
The governor then aked: 'What is the teaching of Buddhism?' The
master recited ths famous stnz [appearing in a number of Maha
yana and llnayana sitras] : Not to commit evils, 1 But to practice a
good, I And to keep the heart pure-/ This is the teachg of the Bud
dhas. Pai, however, protested: 'Any child three years old knows that.'
'Any child three years old may kow it, but even q old man of
eighty years fmd it difcult to practice it.' So concluded the Zen master
up in the tree."
hanka: the Japanese term for the half-lotus posture. See also section IX.
Hanya Hararta Shingyo (Skt., Prajna Paramita Hidaya) : This heart of
the Prana Paramita sitra is recited so frequently in the temple that
most Zen students chant it from memory. Its theme is: "Form is no other
than Emptiness, Emptiness no other than form."
Heki
g
an-roku (Ch., Pi-yen-lu; Blue Rock Collection) : the most famous
Zen book, consisting of one hundred koans, compiled by Zen master
Setcho Jiken (Ch., Hsieh-tou Ch'ung-hsicn; 98o-mp), with his ow
commentary in verse accompanying each koan. Every koan is preceded
by a suii, i.e., a preamble containing the gist of the koan, and is fol
lowed by a brief comment, both by Zen master Bukka Engo (Ch.,
Yiian Wu; 1063-1 1 3 5). The book derived its name from a scroll con
taining the Chinese characters for "blue" ana "rock" which happened
3 34
I
S UPPLEMENTS
to b hging in the temple where the collecton wa compiled, ad
whch the compiler decded to use as a title for h work.
Ho-koji (Ch., P'ang Yin; lit., "the lay discipk Ho"): a T' ang-dynasty
great Zen f1gure and man of means who, it is recorded, dumped h
entire fore of gold ito the river ad thereafter wandered about te
country with h fmy, earg his lvg a a maker of bamboo wae
and engaging in "Dharma combat" with fow Ze masters.
Hosshin-ji (Monastry for Awakeng the Bodhi-Mind) : a SotOsc
monater located in Obama, Fuu Prefecture, of which Harada-roshi
wa abbot for over forty yers.
Hotsugammon: a lstg of prayers ad supplications for begin ers i
zaen, by Dage.
Hyakujo Ek (Ch., Pai-hang Huai-hai; 72814) : the frst mater to
establh a Zen montic community i China with precis r ad
regulation ad the emphasis on manua labor.
Ikkyi Sojun (1394-1481) : A former abbot ofDaitoku-ji, the large R
monastery in Kyoto, Ikkyi is know i Zen history as much for hs
profound wit, expresed in numerow verses, a for h dep Zen Insight.
Both of these quaties c be seen i t poem, written by him at the
age of eighty-seven as deat approached: "Dimly, for thrt years; I
Faintly for thrty yeas-1 Dimly ad faintly for sixty years; I At my
deth I pass my fece ad ofer them to Brahma. " (Tranlation by R. H.
Blyth)
inka shomei (seal of approval) : I, as it i popularly called, is form
acknowledgment on the part of the master tht h disciple h fuly
completed h traing under hm-i other words, "graduated." Wit
masters who use the kian system it imples that the discple has pased
all te koans precribed by that mater. The betowal ofika by maters
who do not use koans signifes their stfaction wit their disciple's
level of Understanding. One who receives i may or may not be given
prmssion by his master to begin teaching, for much depends on the
depth of the student's enghtenment, the strength of h character, and
the mturity of h personality. Obviously, much also depends on the
personal qualties of the rosh himsel If he is wise and accomplished,
with high stadards, h permission to teach wl not b lightly given.
But if he is mediocre, very likely h disciple, ina or no, wi b "a
poor stamp of a poor stamp." I Zen it is ofen said, "The fruit c b
no better than the tree that produced it."
iron wall and siver muntain: metaphors to describe te sense of frustra
ton of those who reach a certai point i their practice beyond which
ZEN VOCABULARY 33
5
tey cannot penetrate. One is unable to smash one's way through an
iron wal or gan a foothold on a silver mountain.
jewel sword of the Vajra kig: a metaphorical expression for indestructible
Mind. See also "vara."
Jizo (Skt., Kshtigarbha) : T Bodhisattva of benevolence and mercy is
a beloved fgure i Japanee Buddhism. On a popular level Jizo is not
only the specia protecor of chdren but also the mentor and guide of
any who are in danger of going astray. Stone statues ofJizo, with his
monk's stf i one hand and his shaven head, can be seen at crossroads
or intersecton or at a spot where a child ha sufered an unnatural
death.
Joshi Jwhin (Ch., Chaohou Ts'ung-shen; 778-897
)
: a renowned master
of the T'ang period. H Mu is the best known of all koans. Joshi is
said to have attained kensho at the age of eighteen and complete awaken
ing at ffty-four. From ffty-four to eighty he mde pilgrimages about
Ch, stayg with prominent masters and engaging in "Dhanna
combat" with them. Not until he wa eighty did Jcshu formaly open
a monastery and begin to teach. He the continued to instruct stu
dents until h death, at one hundred and tenty.
Like his master, Nansen, Joshi was mid-ma ered. He eschewed
the vigorous speech and violent actions of a Rz, yet his wisdom
ad acumen in deang with students was such that he could convey
more with gentle sarcasm or a tilt of the eyebrow than other masters could
with a shout or a crack of the stick. This is clear from the numerous
koans which revolve around him. Joshi is highy admired in Japan.
kalpa: One of the sutras defmes a kalpa a the priod of time it would
take an agel descendng from heven once a year and makng one
sweep of its wings across the top of a me-hgh mountain to wear it
down level with the ground.
Kamkura era: the troubled perod i Japanese hstor (fom about 1 192
to 1 3 36} whch sw the seat of goverment moved to Kamakura ad the
rise of the Zen, Nichren, ad Pure Lad secs.
Kannon (also Kwanon, Kaneon; Skt. , Avalokiteshvara; Ch. , Kuan
Yin} : "The Gret Compassionate One," Ka on i the Bodhisattva of
all-embracing love and benevolence. He plays a central role i the
devotion practices of a Buddhist sects. Although originally male,
Kanon h become a femine figure in the popular imagination in
Japan.
karma Q., go) : One of the fundmental doctrines ofBuddhism, karma is
aton ad reaction, the continuig process of cause and efect. Thus our
336 I S UPPLEMENTS
present lie ad circumstnces are te produc of our past toughts ad
actions, ad i the same way our deeds i this life wlfshon our future
mode of exstence. The word "karma" is aso usd in the sense of evil
bet of mid resultg from past wrongful actions. See also "birth-and
death," "consciousness," ad "Six Realms of Exstence."
katsu (Ch., ho) : Tough th exclamation has no exact meaning, it con
veys a great dea. It is used by te masters to sweep fom the mind
of the student all dualistic, ego-entered thoughts. The expresion is
most often associated with Rnzai, whose shoutg and stck-wielding
are legendry in Zen. Actualy, it was frst used by Baso, also renowed
for h thWderous voice. Rinzai distnguished four kds of katsu:
"Sometimes it is lke the jewel sword of the Vajra king; sometimes it
is like the golden-haired lion crouching on the ground; sometimes it is
like a grass-tipped decoy pole; and sometimes it is no katsu at all."
Kegon (Avatalsaka) sutra: a profoWd Mahayana sitra embodyig the
sermons given by the Buddha immediately folowing hs perfect en
lightenment.
Keio Shimitu (Ch., Kuei-tng TsWg-mi) : a Zen mater of great lear
ig i the T' ag era.
kesu: a bronze bowl-shaped drum used durig chnting by all Buddhst
secs i Japan. It is struck on the rim by a small padded dub held with
both hands.
Keizan Jokin (u68-1325) : the Fourth Patriarch of the Japanese Soto sec
i line afer Dogen; foWder of Soji-ji, one of the two head Soto mon
asteries. The DenkOroku is a compilation of h works.
kendo (lt., "te way of te sword") : Japanese-style fencing in which the
sword is welded with both hand. Traditonally, kendo adepts have ds
ciplned themselves i Zen, the beter to develop alert, wholehearted
response and a fearless acceptnce of death.
.
kensho (lt., "seeig ito one's ow nature") : Sematcally, kensho and
satori have virl y t same meang, and they are often used inter
cangeably. I decribig te enlightenment of te Buddha and the
Patriarchs, however, it is customary to use the word satori rather tha
kensho, the term satori implyig a deeper experience. (The exct Japa
nes ex
p
ression for fll enlightenment is daigo tettei. )
When the word
godo
(lt., "the way of enlightenment") is combined with the term "kensho,"
the latter word becomes more subjective and emphatic.
koan (Ch., kung-an; pronoWced in Japanee as to syllables, ko-at1}:
Its original meaning in Chinese was a case which established a legal prec
edent. In Zen a koan is a formulaton, i bafing laguage, poitig to
ultimate Truth. Koans caot b solved by recourse to logical reason-
ZEN VOCABULARY I 337
ing but only by awakenng a deeper level of the mind beyond the
discrsive intellec. Koans are constucted from the questons of disciples
of old togeter with the responses of their masters, from portions of the
masters' srmons or discourss, from lnes of the sitras, and from other
teacngs.
The word or phrase into which the koan reslves itelf when grappled
with as a spiritual exercise is called the wato (Ch., hua tou). Thus "Has
a dog the Buddha-nature ?" together with Joshu's answer "Mu! " con
stitutes the koan; "Mu! " itself is the wato.
Altogether there are said to be 1,70 koans. Of these, Japanese Ze
masters use a core of so, more or less, since many are repetitive ad
others less valuable for practice. Masters have their ow preferences, but
invariably tey employ (i they employ koans at a ) the Mumonkan
ad Hekigan-roku compilations of koans. A disciple who completes his
training under Y asutni-rosh must pass the following koans and other
types of problems in ths order: miscellaneous koans, so; Mumonkan
(with verses), 9; Hekigan-roku, ro; ShOyo-roku, ro; Denko-roku
(with verses), I Io; Jijukinkai and others, 9; makng a total of 546.
KobOdaishi (774-83 5) : one of the most revered names in Japanese Bud
dhism. Kikai, as he was know during his lfetime, brought Shgon
Buddhsm to Japan from Chna, where he studied it for three years.
He is famous equally as an outstading relgious teacher, a talented
man of letters, an artist, and an unsurpassed ca igrapher. As well te
iventor of the hiragana syllabary, he is regarded by the Japanese as
one of their great benefactors.
Kogaku-ji (Temple Facing te Mountain-i.e., Mount Fuji) : founded by
Bassui and located in the tow of Enzan, Yamanashi Prefectre.
kotsu: te roshi's baton or stick, about ffteen inches long and shaped
like te human spine, used by him to emphasize a point, to lea on
when seated, or sometimes to rap a student.
kiya yoga: te preliminary steps or discples of yoga.
Ksharon (Skt., Abhidharma-ko5-sata) : a work wt by Vasubandhu
a .. Sesh) in the flfth cetury A.D.
Laotzu (J., Rosh) : Though Lao-tu is commony regarded as one of
China's greatest sages, lttle is kow about hs actual le. He is said
to have been born about 6o4 B.C. and to be the author of te Tao
Teh Ching (The Way and Its Power; J., Dotokkyo), whch is the bible of
Taoism, as the religion whch grew up around this book came to be
called. The Tao has been defed as the ground of all exstence, or as
the power of the unverse.
338 I SUP PLEMENTS
lots: I Buddhism te lotus i s te symbol of the purity and perfection
of the Buddha-natre which is intrinic to a. "Just as the Lotus grows
up from the darkness of the mud to the surface of the water, openng
it blossom ony after it has raised itself beyond the surface, ad remain
ing usulled from both earth and water, whch nourished it-in the
sme way the md, born in the human body, unfolds its true qualities
('petls') after it has raised itself beyond the turbid foods of passion and
ignorance, and transforms the dark powers of the depts into te
radiandy pure nectar of Enlightenmet-consciousness." {Govnda, p.
89)
lotus posture {Skt., padmiana): the position in whch the Buddha is
iconographically depicted sitting on a lotus. See section IX.
Lotus sutra (also Sitra of the Lots of the Wonderfl Law; Skt., Sad
dharma PWria; J. , Myoho Renge-kyo, also kown as Hokke-kyo) :
This Mahayana sitra, said to date from the ftrSt century, has had a wide
inuence among Buddhists of China and Japan. "In vivd language over
powerig the imagination it relates the fmal discourse on Vulture Peak
ofSlkyamun before his entry into Niria. Here he offers to his assem
bled disciples a vision of innte Buddha-worlds, illuminated by Buddhas
revealing the Truth to inumerable disciples, just as Shakyamui does in
t
is world. This is a foreshadowing of the later revelaton that Shakya
muni is just one maifestation of the Eternal Buddha, who appears in
these inmite realms whenever men threaten to be engulfed by evil. The
saving Truth which he reveals, called the Mahayaa, is so profound that
ony beings possessed of the highest intellgence ca comprehend it . . . .
Shikyamuni proceeds to explain why it has been necessary for him first
t preach the Imayana doctrine, intended for the self-improvement of
individuals, as a preparation for the fnal revelaton of Universal Salva
tion . . . . " {From Te Lotus ofthe W onderl Lw, a abridged traslaton
by W. E. Soothl, quoted in Sources ofJapanese Tradition, edited by
William Theodore de Bary, p. 121).
maJ4: see "tatric Buddhsm."
mantra: see "tantric Buddhm."
maya: This Sanskrit word is usually defmed as ilusion, but maya is merely
the medium through which we measure and appraise the phenomenal
world. It is the cause of iusion when thi world of form is incorrectly
prceived as static and unchaging. When it is seen for what it is,
namely, a living fux grounded in Emptess, maya is Bodhi, or inherent
Wisdom. See also "delusion."
Meii Restoration: the event in Japanes history {1867) that marked the
ZEN VOCABULARY I 339
downfa of the Tokugawa shogunate, the restoraton of power to
the Emperor Meii, and the beginng of the Meii period (1867-1912).
Mencius (Ch., Meng-tu; J. , Moshi; A.D. ?-370) : a Chines philosopher
sage. The Book ofMencius, h main work, is considered to be one of the
classic commentaries on the Conucia writings.
mind (J., kokoro or shin): Ask the ordinary Japanese where his mind is and
the chances are he wil point to his heart or chest. Ask the same question
of a Westerner and he will indicate his head. These two gestures illus
trate the diference between the concepton of mnd i the East and
i the West. The word kokoro, which is translated by the English
mind, aso means "heart," "spirit," "psyche," or "soul." Mnd (with a
small "m") as used in this book, therefore, means more than the seat
of the intellect. Mind with a capital "M" stnds for absolute Reaty.
From the stndpoint of Zen experience, Mind (or mnd) is total
awareness-in other words, just hearig when listening, only seeing when
looking, etc.
The expression "open the Mind's eye" (wth a capital "M") is another
way of speaking of the experience of stori or Self-realizton. " . . .
place the mind's eye . . . " (with a small "m") means to direct the summa
ton point, or focus of attention, of one's entire being.
Miroku (Skt., Maitreya, the "Great Loving One") : te Bodsattva who
wil become a full Buddha in the next world cycle to lead men to libera
ton from self-bondage.
mokugyo (lit., "wooden fsh") : The mokugyo is a hollowed-out roundsh
wooden block, fashioned after some sort of sea creature, with a long
horizontal slit for resonace, employed a an accompanment to sutra
chanting in Buddhist temples. When struck by a padded stick it emt
a distinctive sound. Originally Chnese, this "wooden drum" may be
as large as three feet in height or small enough to hold in the lap. Fre
quently it is lacquered bright red. Fish, snce they never sleep, are sym
bolic in Buddhism of the alertnes and watchfulness required of the
aspirat to Buddhahood.
moudo Qit., "question and aswer") : a uniquely Zen type of dialogue
between a master ad a student wherein the student a a question on
Buddhism which ha deeply perplexed him, and the master, skirting the
area of theory and logic, replies in such a way as to evoke an answer
from the deeper levels of the student's intuitive mind. Sec also "Dharma
combat."
Monju: see "Fugen and Monju."
monk (priest) : The Japanese language makes no distinction between the
two religious types described by the English words "monk" and "priest."
340 I SUPPLEMENTS
Obo-san (or less respectfuly, bozu) is the general term for an ordained
disciple of the Buddha. There are two other related expressions: unsui,
a novice trainng i a Zen monastery (se "clouds ad water"), ad
oshOsan, the designation for the mater of any Buddhist temple. The
acient Chines ad Japanese Zen masters ad their disciples designated
a monks in Englih were men who had taen the Mahayana vows
to tread the Buddha's Path and who, unmarried, lved the simple lfe
of Truth-seekers either as members of a monastic community or as
itinerat folowers of the Way. In present-dy Japan those who most
nearly approach this monkish ideal are the Zen monatery roshi and
te disciples traing under them, although a few maried men can be
found even among them.
The Englsh word "priest" is usualy applied t obo-san resident in
temples, who perform various Buddhst rtes for their members, give
instruction in Buddhist doctrine, and occasionaly conduct zazen classes
i their temple happens to belong to the Zen sect. Those among them
of te stature of a roshi hold perodic sesshin in their own temples, as
wel as elsewhere, chiefy for lay people. Most Japanese priests are
married, livig with their families i the temple inherited from teir
fater. Nowadays neiter the Zen sect nor any other Japanese Buddhist
sect demads celibacy of its priests, though Zen nuns, whether resident
i a nunnery (called ni-sodo in Japanese) or in their own temple, are
forbidden to marry. See also "tmple."
mudra: see "tantric Buddhism."
Mumonkan (Ch., Wu-men-kua; The Gateless Barrier) : This book of
forty-ight koas, wit comments in prose ad verse by the compiler,
Zen master Mumon Ekai {Ch., Wu-men Hui-k'ai) , is, next to the
Hekigan-roku, the best-know colection of Chiese koans. The verse
accompanyng each koan i usually treated a a separate koan.
Nakagawa-roshi: se "Soen Nakagawa-roshi."
Nangaku Ejo (Ch., Nan-yueh Huai-jag) : outstanding T'ang-dynasty
Zen mastr; a discple of Eno, the Sixth Patriarch.
Nichiren sect: a Japanese Buddhst sect fouded by Nichren (1222-82).
Nichiren belevers devotedly recite "Namu Myoho Renge-kyo" (I
trust in te Sitra of te Lotus of the Wonderfu Law) to the vigorous
accompaniment of their own drum-beating.
nirvia (J., nehan): realization of seles "I"; satori; the experience of
Changelesnes, of i er Peace and Freedom. Nirva {with a small
"n") stands aganst saa, i.e., birth-and-death. Nirv (or more
exactly, par-niraa) is aso used i te sense of a retu to te orgi
ZEN VOCABULARY / 341
purty of the Buddha-nature afer the dissolution of the physical body,
i.e., to te Perfect Freedom of te uconditioned stte.
Nirvia sitra (J., Nehan-kyo; Skt., Mahapai-nirvia sitra) : Among
other thngs, this sitra contins the last words of te Buddha.
Noh: the hghly refned clsicl Japanese dance-drama.
Nyoj6 (Ch., Ju-ching; I I6J-12J8) : the Chnese Zn mater under whom
Dogen was enightened in China at T'ien-t'ug (J., Tendo) monastery.
Nyorai (Skt., Tathigat) : the appelation the Buddha used in referring to
hmsel. It literally mea one "thus-ome," the "thus" (or "thusness")
indicatig the enlightened stte. "Tathagata" c therefore be rendered
a "Thus enlightened I come," and would apply equl y to Buddhas
other than Shayamun.
Obau K.iun (Ch., Huang-po Hsi-yi; ?-850) : another of the outstad
ing Zen masters of the T' ang period. One of his most celebrated dis
ciples was R.
Obaku sect {]., Obaku-shi) : This Zen sect was introduced ito Japa in
1654 by Ingen. !s head temple, built i the Chnese style, is Mampuku
ji, near Kyoto. 0 baku is the let iuential of the Zen sect i present
day Japan.
Om: This sacred syllable is one of te principal mantra i tantric Bud
dhsm.
"One more step! ": a phras often used by the rosh in dokusan to imply
that the student's mind h reached a point where it need one fnal
thrust or leap to come to its own Self-reaiztion. It is not a defable
position, but a state the rosh senses in each idividual.
oneness: With a smal "o" this word means absorption to the poit of
self-forgetfulness. With a capital "0" it refers to the experienc of
the Void or Emptiess.
Pataijai: the putative compiler of a book of yoga aphorisms dealing
with the phlosophy, te disciplnes, and the technques of meditation
"leading to knowledge of the Godhead." So lttle is kown ofPata jai
that guesses as to the date of his work rage all the way from the fourth
century B.c. to the fourh century A.D.
Patriarchs (J., soshiata): The Patriarchs are the great masters who have
received and formally transmitted the Buddha's Dharma. They number
twenty-eight in India and six in China (Bodhidharma was both the
34 I SUPPLEMENTS
twenty-ighth i Inda and the frst in Cha}. The Sixth Patriarch in
China, Eno, never formally passd on the patriarchy to his successor,
so it lapsed. However, the outstandg masters of succeeding generations,
both Chese ad Japaese, ae losely deignated Patiarchs by the
Japaese out of reverence and repect for their hgh atainments.
precepts {J., kairitsu): Formally to become a Zen Buddhist one must b
itiated, i.e., receive the precepts in a ceremony ca ed jukai wherein
one pledges to give himslf up wholly to the Three Treaures of Bud
dhim (q.v. ); to keep the ten cardinal precepts; to avoid ev ad
practice goodness; ad to strive toward the savaton of every sentient
beig. Jukai is regarded as an essentia step toward Buddhahood.
The ten cardi Mahayana precepts (J., jujukinkai) prohibit x) the
tkig of life, 2) theft, 3
)
unchatity, 4} lyig, 5} sl g or buying
alcoholic liquor {i.e., causing others to drk or drg oneself),
6} speaking of the misdeeds of others, 7
)
praising oneself ad revng
others, 8) giving spirtual or material aid grudgingly, 9} ager, and
xo) blaspheming the Three Treasures. These are the same for lay
men and monks.
The obsrance of the precepts is importnt not aon for ethical
reasons. Because one canot progress on the road to enghtenment
uess h mind is free of the in er disturbance which thoughtless or
waton. behavior produces, the precepts are the foundtion of spirtual
practice. Few novices, however, regadless of the strength of their
resolve, are able to uphold every one of the commandments, so transgres
sions i one degree or another are inevitable. Such violatons do not
debar one from pursuing the Buddha's Way provided one acknowl
edges them, truly repents, and exerts hself to live by the precept in
the future. Transgressions become less frequent as one advances on
the Way and trough zazen gains in strength ad purty ad isight.
But what i permnenty damaging-in fct, fta to one's spirtual prog
ress-is loss of faith in the Buddha, in the Truth he revealed through h
enlightenent experience, and in the conrmtory words of the Pa
triarchs. In ts event, fulenlightenment, ad with it the eadicaton of
the root-source of evil, namely, ignorace ad deluion, i vl y
impossible.
priest: see "mon."
Pure Land (J., JOo) : a metaphorica expression for the world of Trth
and Purty revealed in enlightenment.
Pure Ld sects {J., JOoshu or Nembutu-shu) : The cental docrne of
the Pure Lad sects is that awho evoke Amd's Nae with sincerty
and fath in the svng grace of his vow wb rebor i hi Pure Land of
peace ad blis. The most importat medittonal pracce in the Pure
Land sect, therefore, is the const voicing of te words namu Amida
ZEN VOCABULARY
I
343
butsrl (I surrender myself to Amid Buddha). In Japanese ths invoca
tion is termed nembutsu (nem, "yearg for," "surrendering to";
butsu, Buddha).
The Japaese Pure Land sect was established in 1 1 75 by Honen, a
wise and saintly monk. And his illustrious disciple, Shiran, i his tur
became the central fgure of the Pure Lad sect called JodoSh or
Sh (True Pure Land). See also "Amida."
Rinzai Gigen (Ch., Lin-chi I-hsia; ?-867) : the famed Chese mater
of the T'ang period around whose teachgs a specia sect bearing his
name was formed. Rinzi's Collected Sayings (Riai-roku) is a text
widely used by Rizai maters in Japa. Rinzai is famous for h vivid
speech and forceful pedagogical methods.
Rinzi sect: The Rinz teachgs were frmy established in Japan by
Eisai. The Rinzai sect i partcularly strong in Kyoto, where many of
its head temples and monateries are located.
rohatsu sessh: the sesshin commemoratng the Buddh's ow enlighten
ment, sid to have taken place on December 8. It is te severest sesshin
not only because it is the coldest, the last before sesshi are suspended
for the wter months, but also because the roshi and the head monks
make the heaviest demands upon the partcipants in order that they
may achieve enghtenment during ths sessh.
rosh Qit., "venerable [spiritual] teacher"): Traditonally, traing i Zen
is under a roshi, who may be layman or a laywoman a well as a
monk or priet. The function of a roshi is to guide ad inspire his dis
cples along the path to Sel-realizton; he does not attempt directly
to control or ifuence their private lives.
I olden days roshi wa a hard-won title, conferred by the publc
on one who had mastered the Buddha's Dharma from the inside (which
is to say though his ow drect experence of Trut), who had i
tegrated it into h own life, and who could lead others to this same ex
perience. As a mmum it implied a pure, steadfst character and a
mature personality. To become a fu -fedged roshi demanded years of
practce and study, full enightenment, and the seal of approval of
one's own teacher, followed by years of ripening through "Dharma
combt" wth other maters. Nowadays the stndards are less rigid,
but the title rosh, if it is legitimately come by, is stll a ttle of distic
tion. Unfortunately, many in Japan today are addressed a roshi simply
out of respect for their advaced age, and little more. Maters i the
true sense of the word are rare.

Ryogon (Skt., Sirangama; Buddha's Great Crown) sutra: This pro

found sitra, originaly written in Sanskrit aroud the frst century
34
I
SUPPLEMENTS
A.D., i s widely venerated i a the Mahayana Buddhist countries. An
English translation of about one-third of the original text was made
in 193 5 by Bhikshu W ai-tao and Dwight Goddard and appears in A
Buddhist Bible. Among other things, the sutra deals at length with the
succesive steps for the attainment of supreme enghtenment.
Ryitaku-ji (Monastery of the Pond Dragon) : a Rinzai monastery
founded by Hakui, located outide Mishima City in Shizuoka Prefec
ture. The dragon (i.e., the Orient, not the Occidental) with its super
human powers symbolizes absolute Mind.
samadhi (J., zammai or sammai): This Saskrit term has a variety of mean
igs. In ths book it implie not merely equilibrium, tranquility, and
one-pointedness, but a state of intense yet efortless concentration, of
complete absorption of the mid in itself of heightened and expanded
awareness. Samadh and Bodhi are identical from the view of the en
lightened Bodh-mid. Seen from the developing stages leading to satori
awakenig, however, samadhi ad enghtenment are diferent.
samsara: see "birth-and-death . . .
satori: the Japanese term for the experience of enlightenment, i. e. , Self
realization, opening the Mid's eye, awakenig to one's True-nature
and hence of the nature of all existence. See also "kensho. "
seiza: the traditional Japanese posture of sitting, with the back straight
and the buttocks restig on the heels.
Sekito Kisen {Ch., Shi-t'ou Hsi-h'ien, 7(-
)
: a leading Chinese Zen
master of the T'ang period. He acquired the name Sekito (lit., "stone
top") from the fact that he lived in a hut he had built for himself on
a large flat rock.
Self-realization: the realztion of Mind; satori.
Sesshu Toyo (14o1 5o) : Not ony was Sesshu an accomplished Zen
monk who had spent some twenty years at Shokoku-ji, a large Zen
monastery in Kyoto and one of the centers of ar, culture, and learning
in medieval Japan, but he is generally acknowledged to be Japan's most
accomplished master of the suiboku (water and India i) style of pant
ing. The celebrated picture of Bodhdharma ad hs disciple Eka (see
pp. 1 32 and 322-23 for descriptions) was paited by Seshu in his
seventy-seventh year.
Shingon (True Words ; Skt., Mantrayana) : The doctrie and practices
of this sect of Buddhsm were brought from Cha to Japan i the
nnth century by Kikai (or KobOdaish, a he is more popularly
known) . Shingon discipline and practice revolve around three medit-
ZEN VOCABULARY I 345
tiona! devices: the mqla, the mantra, and the mudra. See also "tantric
Buddhism. "
ShoyOroku (Ch., Ts'ung-jung-lu) : a book of 10 koas compiled by
Wanshi Shokaku (Ch., Hung-hih Cheng-hiieh) , a Chinese Soto Zen
master of repute. The tide is derived from the name of W anshi' s her
mitage, ShoyOa (Hermitage of Great Serenity) .
Shushogi: a clasif1cation of Dogen' s Shobogenzo according to the doctrines
of the Soto sect, made by Ouch Seiran, a Japaese priet-scholar, durig
the Meii era.
Si Realms of Extence (J., rokudo): I ascending scale thes are the
realms of hell (J., jioku), pret (or hugry ghosts; J., gaki), beasts
(., chikusho), asuras (or fghtg demons; J., shura), human beings (J.,
ningen), ad deva (or heavenly beigs; J., tenjo). Al creatures in these
realms are tied to the ceaseless round of birth-and-death, i.e., to
the law of causation, accordng to whch exstence on ay one of these
planes is determied by atecedent actions. In Buddhism these planes
ae depicted as the spokes or segments of the "whed of life." This
"wheel" i set in motion by acton stemmig from our basic ignorance
of the true nature of extece ad by karmc propensites from an
incalculable pat, and kept revolving by our cravig for the pleasures
of the snses and by our cging t them, whch leads to a unending
cycle of birhs, deaths, and rebirhs to which we remain bound. The
Six Realms are the worlds of the unenightened.
The enlightened, contrariwise, know the joy of iward peace ad
creative freedom because, having overcome their ignorance ad delu
sion with Knowledge, they are freed from enslavement to karmic
propensities arising from pat delusive actions and no longer sow seeds
which w bear fruit in the form of new karma bondge. Enighten
ment, however, does not suspend the law of cause ad efect. When
the enlightened ma cuts h finger it bleeds, when he eats bad food h
stomach aches. He too cannot ecape the consequences of his actons.
The diference i that becaue he accepts-i.e., sees ito-his karma he
is no longer boud by it, but moves freely with it.
Soen Nakagawa-roshi: te present abbot of Ryitau-ji.
Soji-ji: one of the to head temple of the Japanese Soto sec, founded
by Keiz i 1321. It is presendy located near Yokohma.
S6t6 (Ch., Ts'aotug) sect: one of the two domat Zen sects i Japan,
the other being the Rz. There are several theories as to the origin
of the name S6t6. One is that it stems from te frst character i the
name of to masters in Chia, To zan R yokai (Tung-shan Liang
cheh) and Soza Honjaku (Ts'aoshan Pen-chi). Another theory is that
the So refers to the Sixth Patriarch, who wa also kow as Sokei Eno.
3
46
I
S UPPLEMENTS
The Japanese SotO sect venerates Dogen as its founder. Eihei-ji, one
of its to headquarters temples, in Fukui Prefecture, was founded by
Dogen in 1 243 under the patronage of the lord of the province of
Echizn. It preently conists of a mammoth complex of buildings on the
site of what was once Dogen' s smal mounti temple, long since
destroyed by fire. I the number of it monateries, sub-temples, and
adherents the Soto sect greatly exceeds the Rinzai in Japan.
substance: As used in this book, the word ha te meang of "re
nature" or "esnce." It ought not to be thought of a matter, however
infnitesima.
sitas (J., kyo): The lteral meanig of this Sakrit word is "a thread
on which jewels are strung." The sitra are the Buddhst scriptures,
that is, the purported dialogue ad sermons of Shikyamuni Buddha.
There ae said to be over tn thousand, ony a fraction of whch have
been translated ito English. The soalled Hayina were originally
recorded in Pali, the Mahayana in Sanskrit.
Most Buddhist scts are fouded upon one partcular sita from which
they derive their authorty-the Tendai ad the Nichen from the
Hokke-kyo (Lotus sitra), the Kegon sect fom the Kegon-kyo (Avatar
saka sitra), etc. Zen, however, is the only sect which i asociated wth
no one sitra, and t gives the masters freedom to use the scriptures
as and when they see fit or to ignore them entiely. I fact, their attitude
toward them i not unlke that of a sk ed physicia toward drugs:
he may prescribe one or more for a partclar illnes or he may pre
scribe none. The famiiar statement that Zen is a special transmission out
side the scriptres, with no dependence upon words and letters, only
mens that for the Zen sect Truth must be directy grasped and not
tken on the authority of even the sitras, much less sought i lifeless
intellectual formulas or concepts. But the Japaese masters do not frown
on sitra-reading after a disciple ha attaied kenho i it acts a a spur
to full enlightenment.
Taihei-ji (Temple of Profound Peace) : a temple formerly occupied by
)auta-rosh.
Taji-rosh: se "Geni Taji-roshi."
takuhatsu: religious mendcancy. There are many forms of takuhatsu,
but Zen monks traing in a monatery usualy do it i a group of ten
or fifteen. As they walk through te streets of a town in single fe, they
chat "Ho," i.e., Dharma. Belevers and sympathizers, hearing their cry,
ofer them sustenance either in the form of money, which they place
i their wooden bowls, or uncooked rice, which the monks receive i
a cloth bag carried for this purpose. Recipient and donor then bow to
ZEN VOCABULARY / 347
each other in mutal gratitude, humility, and respect. The idea behind
takuhatsu is that the monks, who are the gurdias of the Dharma,
ofer it up to the public i the example of their ow live, and in return
are sustined by believers in the tuth of the Dharma.
tan: a wooden platform covered with straw matting, about three feet
high and six and a half feet deep, buit along the wal of the zenda. By
day it is used for zzen and at night for sleeping.
Taka (Ch., Tien-jan of Tanhsia; ?-824) : a Zen master of the T'ang era
and a disciple of Baso. The episode of his demolishg a wooden statue
of the Buddha and usig it as firewood is wdely quoted and often
misunderstood.
tantric (or sometime Esoteric) Buddhsm Q., mikkyo): The Buddhist
tantra consist of sitas of a sol ed mystcal nature which endeavor
to teach the i er relatonship of te exterl world and the world of
spirit, of te identity of Mind and the universe. Among the devices em
ployed in tantric medittional practces are the followg:
1. MaQgala. This word has the meang of "circle," "assemblage,"
"picture." There are various kinds of ma.4ala, but the commonest in
Esoteric Buddhism are of to type: a composite picture graphically
porrayig diferent classs of demons, deites, Buddhas, and Bodhisatt
vas (representing various powers, forces, ad activities) witn symbolic
squares ad circles, in the center of which is a fgure of the Buddha
Vairochaa, the Great Illumator; and a diagrammatic representation
wherein certain sacred Sanskrit letters (caled bia, or seed) are substituted
for fgure.
2. Mantra. These sacred souds-lie Om, for example-are trans
mited from the mater to his disciple at the time of initiation. When
the disciple's mind is properly attued, the inner vibrations of this word
symbol together with its associations i the consiousness of the initiate
are said to open his mid to higher dimensions.
J. Mudra. Thee are physical gestures, especially symbolical had
movemets, which are performed to help evoke certain parallel states
of md of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
temple (J., tera, otera): Either a temple or a monastery is idicated by the
Japanese sufx -i (the alterative reading of the character for tera).
It may be a complex of buildigs, consisting of the main hall, the lecture
hl, the founder's room, and livig quarters withi a compound en
tered through a massive tower gateway, or it may be merely a small
solitary structure. I the temple h attched to it a sodi, that is, a special
traig place for monks under the direction of a rosh, te English
word "monastery" would b applicable.
Zen alone of all the Buddhist sects maintains a bona fde monastc
system, orgazed on the basic principles and regulations laid dow by
3
4
8 / S UPPLEMENTS
Hyakujo in China in the eighth century. Simplicity and frugality dis
tguish tis monstic life. The object of the training is not only satori
and its concomitnt, Self-knowledge, but also the cultivation of self
control and fortitude, humity ad gratitude-in other words, a strong
moral character. The chief monatery disciplines are daily zazen and
periodic sesshin, manual labor, and takuhatsu. In the Zen sect novice
must spend an average of three years in a Zen monastery before they
can become eligible to serve as a temple priest. Monastery sesshin are
widely attended by ly people, who often outnumber the monks.
Under special circumstances and for varying lengths of tme they are
permitted to live in the monatery as lay mons.
Tendai (Ch., T'ien-t'ai) : The Japanese Tendai sect starts with Saicho {767-
822), posthumously kown as DengyOdaishi, who brought the teach
ings from China in 8os. The Tendai doctrines ad practices are based
chiefy on the Lotus sitra and the division of the Buddha's doctrines into
Eight Teachings ad Five Periods as lad dow by Chisha-daishi, the
Chinese founder. On the sectaran level the Tendai sect is not very
infuential i present-day Japan.
ten evil deeds: 1 ) kilng, 2) stealing, 3 ) committing adulter, 4) lying,
5) using immora language, 6} gosiping, 7) sladerig, 8) coveting,
9) giving vent to anger, Io) holding wrong views. See aso "fve deadly
.
,
sms.
ten quarters (J., Jippo): This includes the whole cosmos. Besides worlds
north, south, east, and west and te four intermediate points, it en
compasses zenith and nadir, thus making ten points of reference in al.
Three Evil Paths (J., sanakudO: the realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and
beasts-in other words, the sub-human world.
Three Treasures or Jewels (Skt., triratna; J., sambo) : The foundaton of
Buddhism is the Three Treasures, without trust in which and reverence
for there can b no Buddhist relgious life. In the Mahayaa thes are
conceived more broadly than in the Hiayana, where they are simply
the Buddha, the Dharma, ad the saigha. In the former they are:
I ) t Three Treasures as One (itai sambo; lt., "three treasures in one
body"), 2) the Three Treasures as Maifested (genztn samba), and 3
)
the
Three Treaures as Presrved (ii sambo) .
For convenience of exposition, these are subdivided, though in reality
they are one. Thus the Three Treaures as One consist of the BuddhaBiru
shaa (Vairochana), represnting the realization of the world ofEmpt
ness, of Buddha-nature, of unconditioned Equality; second, the Dharma,
that is, the Law of beginngless ad endless becoming to which al
phenomena are subject according to causs and conditions; and third,
the interfusion and reciprocal intraction of the preceding two, which
ZEN VOCABULARY /
349
constitutes total reality as experienced by the enlightened (see pp. 74
and 120).
The first of the Three Treasures as Manifested is the hstoric Buddh
Shkyamuni, who through his perfect enlightenment realized i himself
the truth of the ittai sambo. The second is the Dhama, which comprises
the spoken words ad sermons of Shayamuni Buddha wherein he
elucidated the signfcace of the ittai sambo and the Way to its realizaton.
The third includes the immediate disciples of the Buddha Shakya
muni and other folowers of his day who heard, believed, and made real
in their ow bodies the ittai sambo which he taught.
Of the Three Treasures as Presrved the frst i the iconography of
Buddhas which have come down to us; the next is the written sermons
and discourses of Buddhas {i.e., flly enlghtened beings) as found i the
sutras and other Buddhist texts still extant; while the third consist of
contemporary disciples who practice and realize the saving truth of the
ittai sambo that was frst reveaed by Shakyamuni Buddha.
The Three Treasures are mutually related ad interdependent. One
unrealized in the ittai sambo can neither comprehend in depth the impor
ofShakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment nor appreciate the infnite pre
ciousness ofhis teachings nor chersh as living reaties images ad pictures
of Buddhas. Again, the ittai sambo would be unknown had it not been
made manifest by Shakyamuni in his ow body ad mnd ad the Way
to its realization expounded by him. Lastly, without enightened fol
lowers of the Buddhas' Way i our own tme to inspire ad lead others
along this Path to Self-reazaton, the ittai sambo would be a remote idea,
the saga ofShakyamun' s life desiccated history, and the Buddhas' words
lifeless abstractons. More, as each of us embodies the ittai sambi, the
foundation of the Three Treasures is none other than one's own self
Three W odds (J ., sangai): Ts is another classifcation of realty accord
mg to Buddhist cosmology. These three conSISt of the domans of
Desire, Form, and Non-Form. Dwellers in the first, and lowest, lev
e arc still strongly attched to the senses. In the second are those
who have bodily form but no longer cling to the world of the
senses. The inhabitant of the thrd are wthout corporeality, i. e., a
condition akin to pure consciousness. Zen masters generally con
ceive of these three realms as dimensions of human consciousness.
Tokuan Senkan {Ch., Te-shan Hsuan-chien; 7o865) : another of the
great masters of the T'ang. He is the subject of several koans, of which
one, the 28t case of Mumonkan, tells how he attaned enghtenment
through his master's blowng out of a candle.
Tozan Ryokai {Ch., Tung-shan Liang-cheh; 807-9) : the frst Patriach
of the Soto sect i China ad formulator of the Five Degrees (of
realization).
JSO I S UPPLEMENTS
Ummon Bun'en (Ch., Yin-mn Wn-yen; ?-949
)
: a noted mater of
the late T'ang, who, like Rinzai, used vigorous language and violent tac
tics to jar his disciples into Self-awaening. The circumstances of Ur
man's own enlightenment are known to all Zen students. Seeking
dokusan wit Bokuju, later to become his master, Ummon rapped on the
little door on the side of the large gateway leading to Bokuju's temple.
k 11 d "Wh d U d "B
'
7
Bo UJU ca e out: o 1s 1t . an mmon answere , un en.
Bokuju, whose habit it was to refuse dokusan to all but the most ardent
trth-seekers, felt satisfied from Ummon
'
s knock and the tone ofhis voice
that he was earnestly strving for trth, and admitted him. Ummon had
scarcely entered when Bokuju, perceiving the state of his mind, seized
him by the shoulders and demanded: "Quick, say it, say it ! " But
Ummon, not yet understanding, couldn't respond. To jolt Ummon's
mind into Understanding, Bokuju suddenly shoved him out through the
partly opened door and slammed it on his leg, shouting: "You good-for
nothing! " With a cry of"Ouch! " Ummon, whose mind at that moment
was emptied of every thought, suddenly became enlightened.
vajra: (t., "diamond" or "adte") : te sybol of the hghest
spiritual power, which is compared wt te gem of supreme value,
the diamond, i whose put ad radce oter hues are refected
whle it rema colorles, ad whch c cut every oter materia,
itel beig cut by notg.
wu wei (., mu-i): Ths contoversia Taoist tr h te lter meang
of "non-doig" or "non-strvg" or "not m." It dos not imply
iacton or mere idlg. We ae to ceae stvg for the unreal tgs
whch bld u to our tue Sel ad itead strve to pur our md
so we may come to te realzaton of our al -mbracig Buddha-nature.
Yama-raja (J., Emma-sma) : i Buddhst ad Hdu mythology, the Lotd
or Judge of the Dead before whom a who die must come for judgment.
By consulting his Mirror of Karma, wherei are refected the good ad
evil deeds of the deceased, Yama-raja stes a balace, consignig
hm either to a happy real or, where his deeds have been preponderat
ly evl, subjectg hm to frightful tortures, of whch swallowg a red
hot ion bal is one.
yang and yin (J., yoin): i Chese cosmology, te principle of polat,
namely, heaven and earth, male ad female, etc.
ZEN VOCABULARY I 351
yaza: zazen done after 9 p.m., the usual bedtme hour in the Zen mon
astery.
yoga: In its widest sense ths Sakrit tr embraces the whole com
plex of spiritual discipline (including doctrie ad bodily postures and
breathig exercises) for achieving unity {the lteral meaning of yoga)
with universal Consciousness. In the popuar md yoga is synonymous
wt Ht yoga, a branch of yoga whch emphasizes breathing exercises
ad postures for atg ths end. Yoga is also commonly asociated
wth physical or ment health or supranorma pwers. l Mahayana
Buddhism the term has been employed chiefly to describe disciplines
and doctries of the tantric sect.
Yoka Gengaku (Ch., Yung-ha; ?-712): a great Zen master of the T'ang
period ad a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch. His Shodoka (Song of En
lightenment) is a popular Zen writing.
zazenkai: a one-ay gathering of Zen devotees for the purpose of prac
tcing zazen, lstening to a Zen lecture, and receiving dokusan.
Zazen Yojinki (Precautons to Obsere in Zazen) : This well-known
writg on the practce of zzen is by Keiza-zenji, one of the Patriarchs
of the Japanese Soto sect. It was wtten in te fourteenth centry.
Zen: a abbreviation of the Japanese word zenna, whch i a transltera
ton of the Sanskrit dhyana (ch'an Lh`anna i Ches), i.e., the process
of concentration and absorption by which the mid is traquilized and
brought to one-pointedness. As a Mahayana Buddhist sect, Zen is a
religion whose teachigs and disciplnes are drected toward Self-real
iztion, that is to say, to the attainment of satori, whch Shikyamui
Buddha himself experienced under the Bo tree ater rcnuous self
disciplne. The Zen sect embraces the Soto, Ri, and Obaku sects.
zendo- (sodo) a large hal or room-in monasteries a separate structure
where zazen is practiced. The foor is usually of concrete or slate, makng
it cool i the summer and cold in winter.
zenji: The last syllble of this word is the euphonic rendering of shi,
meag "teacher" or "mater"; the entre expression thus has the
meaning of great or renowned Zen master. The ttle is uually con
ferred posthumously, though some masters have acheved this dstinc
tion duig teir lfetime.
INDEX / Numerals in italics refer to pages where terms are dened or
described in detail. Numerals in parentheses refer to footnotes.
abacus, 1 27
Abhidharma, j, 323
Abhidharma-kosa-sstra, see Kusharon
agura, 216, 323
alaya vyndnay, 328
alcohol (liquor) , 250, 3 1 2-1 3 ( 16) 342
Alcoholics Anonymous, 250, 25 1
Amida, Amitabha, 28, 46, 47, 167, 323,
]26, 342-43
Anlects (Confucius) , 328
anger, 1 29, 140, 144, 176, 342
anicca, xii
anullara samyak smbodhi, 48
anxiety, 28, 59, 8 1 , 1 2 1 , 1 22, 1 39, 1 40,
162, 204, 26o, 270, 280, 29
Aphorisms (Patanjali), 251 , 341
archery, see under Zen
Arhat (Arahan), 3 27
Aristotle, xii
Asahina, Sogen, 3 3 1
asceticism, 28, 1 65 , 193
ashram, 255
apiration, 6-61 , 1 98
asuras, 8 1 , 345
atomic bomb, 75
atention, attentiveness, 1 0-1 1 , 67, 1 08,
109, 1 29, 1 4], 257. 3 39
Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, The,
2]4 ( 1 )
A valokiteshvara, see Kannon
A vatarsaka sutra, see Keg on sutra
Baso, 2 1 , 22, 1 71 , 323, 3 36, 346
Bassui Tokusho, 1 47, 1 55-60, 3 3 7,
enlightenment of, 1 57-58; religious
problem of, 1 56
baton, see kotsu
batnik, 1 5
"beat" Zen, 1 5
Being-time, 295 I.
bia, 347
birth-and-death, 1 68, 1 71 , 1 8 5, 32 3, 3 24,
]28, 340, 345
Birushana, 1 98, 278, 323, 326, 347, 348
352
bliss, see joy
"block of ice," 91
Blofeld, John, 22, 1 9 ( 1 ) , 328
Bloom, Anthony, 1 91 ( 1 )
Blyth, R. H. , 83, 3 34
bodhi, see Bodhi-mind
bodhicitta, see Bodhi-mind
Bodhidharma, xi, 1 4, 20, 24, 78, 8 1 , 1 47,
23 1 , 323
-
24
,
341
-
42, 344; koan on his
coring to China, 164; on law of
causation, 1 75 ; his nine years of
zazen, 9; Sesshu's painting of, 1 32,
323
-
24, 3
4
Bodhi-rind, bd hi, 5, 10, 1 3 ( 1 ) , 1 9, 65,
32
4
, 3 ]8, 3
4
Bodhisattva, 1 8, 209, 284, 285, 324, 327,
J32, 347
Bokushu, 350
Bommo sutra, 1 25 , 324
bompu Zen, 42-43
&ok of Mencius, The, 3 39
boredom, bored, 19, 145, 258
Bo tree, 1 3 , 3 5 1
bozu, 340
Brahrajala sutra, see Borro sutra
breath, breathing, ], 1 1-1 2, ]2, 34, ]8 ,
40, 1 25, 1 27-28, 1 29; bliss of concen
tration on, 1 1 ; counting of, see count
ing the breath; following with mind's
eye, 1 1 , 44, 61 , 1 25 , 1 29; and posture,
1 9; and thoughts, 1 9
Buddha, 82, 1 6ol. , 309, 3Z4-25; becom
ing a Buddha, 2 1 , 161 ; birth-and
death the life of, 323; a esence of
mind, 174; extent of consciousness of.
325; hand of, 248; and hell, 1 61 ; mind
of like calm water, 29; no one form
of, 21 ; is "myself, " 287; not obsessed
with saving, I not other than
Mind, 28 3-84; no words can desribe,
325; performs virtuous deeds, 287;
posture, signifcance of, 3 1 ; prostra
tion before, 1 8, 279 ( 1 ) ; and sentient
beings, 3 3 1 ; slaying the Buddha, 2 1 ,
8 1 , 84, 21 2 ( 1 ) ; his three bodies, 326;
"Wash your mouth when you utter
the name Buddha! " 2 1 2 ( 1 ); "What
is the Buddha'" (koan) , 147, 1 50
Buddhahood, 22, 24, 6I , 73, I64, I76,
1 78, 325 , 342
Budda-mind, see Buddha-nature
Buddha-nature ( Buddha-mind, Dhar
ma-nature, Essential-nature, Mind
essence, Mind-nature, Original-na
ture, Real-self, Real-you, Self-nature,
True-nature, True-self), 5 , ]O, 73-74 ,
103, 1 28 1., 1 50, I7] 1., 2I 2 ( I ) , ] I2
(Io) 326; all endowed with, 56, I 73;
and beginners' zazen, 58; i s bodhi, 5 ;
Buddha and Patriarchs point to, 164;
countless thoughts issue from, 16 I ; de
lusions vanish with realization of,
I72; and dog, 63, 73, 76, 82; essence
of, I48; faith in, I 9I ; barest manifes
tation of, I 75; is incomparable, 1 61 ;
joy of realization of, 169; and Mu,
1 36; no bodhi and no delusion in, I 3
( 1 ) ; no distinction of Buddha and
sentient beings in, 168; not less than
Buddha, I72; plished by zazen, I6];
precepts grounded in, 14; quickest
way to realize, 1 3 8; realization of,
1 1 8 ; is realization of Buddhahood,
325; realization of destroys past
karma, I 76; realization of is para
mount, 47; realization of is seeing all
Buddhas, 1 70; realized when mind is
empty, 108; each sutra a catalogue of,
1 74; is the Way, I70; what it looks
like, I 73 ; is whole being, I64; world
of, I6; zazen is actualization of 20,
I 21 , 1 ] 1
Buddhas, 24, 1 60 I. , 276 I.; d o not
think of Buddha-nature, 5; Dhyani,
323; have mirrorlike wisdom, ]1 2
(6); mandala arrangement of, I ] , 347;
why all strove for enlightenment, 5 ;
and world cycles, 325
Buddha's Great Crown sutra, see
R yogon sutra
Buddha Shakyamuni, 27-28, 6, 6, 90,
I49, 216, 222, 288, 324-25; "all living
I NDEX I 353
beings are Buddhas," 28; "my body is
the world," 1 5 1 ( ) ; and delusion,
I65; his determination to become
enlightened, I ] ; enlightened aeons
ago. 52 ( ) , enlightenment of, 28,
343; on force, 89; and Hinayana do
trine, 3 38, "I am the only one," I 6;
Japanese term for, 17 ( I ) ; on life after
death, 70; and makyo, 41 ; is manifesta
tion of Eternal Buddha, ]38; his Nir
vana posture, 1 14; his "noble
silence," 7; not God or super-being,
ZI Z ( I ) ; and sesshin, I9z; and sitting,
zo; his six years of zazen, 9, z8; his
three principles of existence, 1 5 ; his
transmission of Buddhism, I ] ] ; his
uniqueness, I 5 Z
Buddha statues: burning of, zn; pros
tration before, I 8, zn; spitting on,
ZI Z
Buddhism, Buddhist, 326-27; baic fea
tures of, 1 25; and breath-countng,
I z8; cosmology, xii, 6I ; docrine, n;
essence of, z83 (z); highest aim of, 8 1 ;
living Buddhism, 13 , z8 5 ; notions of
to be eliminated, 1 81; and parable of
Enyadatta, 54; philosophy, 27, 5 1 , 59,
84, 209; position of man in, I50; as ra
tional religion, zz6; scientific pres
cience of, xiii; sects, 346, and sufer
ing, I 45 ; spread of, 19I ; teaching of,
3 33; and thought, 19; transmission of,
1 3 3, 285, 346; true Buddhism, 286;
understanding of not enough, I 84;
useless for undeluded, z86; and
"wheel of life," 345 ; where study of
commence. 298; see also Hinayana,
Mahayana
Buddhist Bible, A, 17 ( 1 ) , 344
Bukka Engo, 3 3 3
Burma, 157, 3 I 6; meditation centers of,
157
Burmese posture, 3 16; illustrated, 3 I 8
butsudan, 6, 327
cakras, 68
cause and efect, see law of causation
"cave of Satan," 2]7, 327
354 I INDEX
celibacy i n Zen, 340
ceremonies (rituals) in Zen, xv, 1 9, 1 57,
1 94, 222
chair zazen, see zazen postures
Ch'an, see Zen
Ch'an and Zen Teachings: First Series
(Luk) , xi
Chant in Paise ofZaZen (Hakuin-zenji),
57. 333
chanting, 1 6, 1 7
Chao-hou, see Joshu
character, 1 4. 1 5 , 42, 104, 229, 282 ( 3) ,
]25, 343 . 348
Chih-i, see Chisha-daishi
Chisha-daishi, 50, 327, ] 30, 348
Christ, xiii
Christianity, 43, 239, 250
Chuang-tzu, 41 , 327
Chuho Myohon, 290, 327
Chung-feng, see Chuho M yohon
clouds and water, 24 (2), 26 ( l ) 244,
327-28; "Great Cloud," 26 ( 1 ) ,
"White Cloud," 24 (2) , 244
Coates and Ishizuka, 1 5 2 ( 1 ), 283 (3)
commandments, see precepts
compasion, 9, 1 2, 14, 1 6, 90, 95, 96,
9
9
1
0
,
]9, 208, 224, 252, 301 , 325,
3]2
concentration, 3, 1 1 3, 1 3 1; dificult at
frst, 102; on exhalations, 34; focal
point of, 143: on following the
breath, 44; and hara, 68, 221 ; on
inhalations, 38; methods of, 1 28-29;
and pain, 1 02; start of, ]2; strong
powers of, 1 02; variable, 1 1 5
concepts, see thought
Confucius, Confucianism, 41 , 43, 290
( l ) 326, 328
consciousness, 70, 164 (2) , 1 9, 1 91 , 272,
328, ]51 ; alaya-vinana, ]28; and
Buddha-nature, 16; clases of, ]28;
cosmic, 323, ]28; and koan, 12; manas,
323, j28 ; not confmed to brain, 68;
suspension of, 45; zazen not stopping
of, 32
cosmic consciousness, 323, 328
cosmology, see under Buddhism
cosmos, see umverse
counting the breath, l l ]2, ]], 34, 38,
1 24, 1 25, 1 27-28; as method of con
centration, ]2, 1 24; thoughts no ob
stacle U 3 3 ; value of, 3 2
cremation, 1 55 ( 1 )
"crystal palace," 91
cushion, see sitting cuhion
daigo tettei, 3 36
dio, see Mahayana
daishi, 329
Daitoku-ji, 21 7, 251 , 329, 334
Daruma, see Bodhidharma
death, dying, 1 3 , 29, 75, 85, 1 44, 1 2o-22,
1 ]5, 1 ]6, 1 39
.
140, 1 73. 1 84, 2]2, 2]4
( 1 ) , 245, 270, 271 , 272, 3]6; ofBasui,
1 59; of Harada-roshi, 276; ideal way
of in Buddhism, 272, 29; of Y aeko
Iwasaki, 272, 2891 ; of Yamamoto
roshi, Z
deBary, William Theodore, 24 ( 1 ), 89
( 1 ) , ]38
delight, see joy
delusion (ignorance) , delusive, 28, 76,
79-80, 1 1 8 , 149. 16, 1 84. 277. 28],
]o6, 329, 342, 345: and Bodhi-mind,
1 3 ( 1 ) ; and a Buddha, 169; and Bud
dhism, 286; colors reaction to every
thing, 287 (2); and disriminative
thinking, 29; dispelling of, 168, 1 76,
177; and enlightenment, 169; foe of
man, 165 ; like ice, 169; inversion of
Self, 1 86; and mind of ego, 1 85; ob
scures mind clarity, 1 86; ofensive,
287; source of karma bndage, 1 72;
source of sin, 13 1, 1 7
Dengyo-daishi, see Saicho
Denko-roku,
24, 329
,
]36, 3 37
Dentoroku, 329
determination, 1 ], 59, 6o, 61 , 99. 1 2],
1 26, l j2, 220, 247, 25 ], 282, 291
devas, 8 l , 345
dharani, 16-17, 23, 1 61
Dharma, 21 , 73-74, 280, 282, 283, 284,
287, 289, 290,
]08, 326, 329
,
346, 348
-
49
"Dharma combat," 7, 93, 1 58, 329,
, ] 34. 3 3 5. 343
Dharma-kaya, I6, 278, 326
Dharma-nature, see Buddha-nature
Dharma successor, 26, 273, 329
dhyana, 35 I
Dhyani Buddhas, 323
Diamond sutra, 20 (2) , 73, 206, 225,
329-30, 3 3 I
dignity, I O, 33, 3 5
disciple, 5 2, 1
33, 275 , 282, 324,
334, 340
discipline, disiplines, 1 8, 23, 5 1 , 1 32,
1 5 2,
21 3 , 25 J
,
26o, 277
.
J48, 351
dotrine, see under Buddhism
dog, see under Buddha-nature
Dogen-zenji, xvi, I 2I ( 1 ) , 1 59, I 79 (z) ,
226, 273 ,
278, 289 ( 1 ) , 295 j, 3 1 2
( 1 0) , 3 34, 341 , 346; and Buddha-na
ture, 73; on the Buddha's Way, 16;
childhoo of, 5; and compassion, zo8;
enlightenment of, 6; "enlightenment
and practic are one," 1 2 1 ( 1 ) ; on ex
ertion, 23; on focusing the mind, I 43;
"learning the Way of Buddha is
learning oneself, " I6; "my eyes arc
horizontal, my nose is vertical," 278
(3) ; and Jujukinkai, 14; and koans, 8,
9; novitiate at Mount Hiei, 5 ; on rela
tion of posture and mind, 1 8; his
religious problem, 5 , 1 59, 3 1 2 ( 1 0) ;
testing of his satori, 6; and zazen, 9,
1 0, 58; and shikan-taza, 46
dokusan, xiv, 4, 49-5
3, 70,
77, 85, 86
1.
,
1 23, z8I
,
330; and dress, p; and kar
mic bond, p; reaons for privacy in,
50; questions appropriate at, 5 I; and
Soto sect, 50
Dokutan-roshi, 26, 275
Dorin, 246, 330
doubt, 59, 6
"doubt-mass," 59, 225
dragon, I 91 , 344
dreams, dreaming, 72, So, 145
,
I 6I , I6z
,
I 6, 1 8 1 , 21 8, 230, 242, 283
"East Mountain strides over the
water," 1 86
eating, see food
ecstasy, see joy
ego, 1 8, 98, 1 07, 149, 1 5 I , I 52, I 74, 1 85 ,
l NDEX
I
3
SS
21 7, 220, 22 ! , 23 I , 235, 288, 327, 330,
eighth class of consciousness, 40. 236,
237, 328; see also consciouness
Eight Teachings and Five Periods, 50,
330, 348
Eihei-ji, 346
Eisai Myoan, 5 , 1 I9 { I ) , 226, 330, 343
Eka, 3 23-24, 34
electrocardiograph, IS ( 1 )
emancipation, see freedom
Emma's Method, 41 , 43
Emperor Wu of Liang, 23 1 (2)
Emptiness, emptness, empty, I 5, I 6, I 7,
74-75
.
I 8z, 19I , z86 (z), 3
0
, 3 I 2
.
(z) ,
332, 333, 338, 341 ; see also ku, Void
empty-space, I 7
,
162 l.
Engaku-ji, 21 0, 25 I , 331
enlightenment ( kensho, sa tori, Self
realization), I6, 30, 45, 47-48, 1,
1 26, I 35 , I 37
,
I44, 16, I 83, 336, 344;
adds nothing new, 272; and "Ah, of
course! " 1 I7; as aim of zazen, xv; an
swers all questions, I 50; and apira
tion, 3; through clouting, 5 5 ; and
cognition, 77; and concentration, 92;
confirmed by roshi, 92; confrmed
by single question, 93 ; desire for, 1 85;
Dogen ' s view of, 9; easier for
women, 194; experienced during
roshi 's lecture, 91 ; and feeling of
void, 17 5; first experience shallow,
92; frst sight of Truth, zo; and joriki,
1 1 1 ; and joy of, 169, 177; and koans,
186; longing for Truth essential for,
2, marking time fatal to, 1 1 3 , and
next life, I 8 1 ; and Nirvana, 341 ; not
impossible ideal, 189; and oneness
with Mu, 1 1 7; possible only with
human body, I64 (2) ; precipitated by
word or phrase, 91 ; proof of, 92; rap
ture of, 56; requires but an instant,
1 5 3 ; and seeing the "Ox, " 284; and
self-deception, 93, I63 ; and self-f
fort, 1 74; and serenty, I 86; sole cure
for all illnes, I76; and sounds, 3 5 , 9I ,
1 5 3 , 1 54; takes place anywhere, 91 ;
testing of, 93; and thoughts, 3 o, 3 1 2
(9) ; and three poisons, I76; una-
3
56
I NDEX
wareness of, 93; weak enlighten
ment, 26; and wholeness, I40
Eno (Sixth Patriarch), 20 (2), 22 ( l ),
96
( I ) , I 8I , 225 , 233
,
329,
33
1 , 332, 340,
342, 345 3 5 1
Enyadatta, parable of, 54-56, 280
Esoteric sect, see Shingon
Essays in Ze Buddhism (Suzuki) , xi, 333
Essential-nature, see Buddha-nature
Etcho, I SO
evil, I61 , I 63 , I 6, I 72, I 74, I 83, 2 I ,
338, 342, 348, 349
.
350
exertion, 6, 23 , 9, I64
eyes, position of in zazen, 3 1 , I93
Face before one's parents' birth, I JO,
I J8, I65 , I67, I SO, 285
faith, xiii, 4, I7, 58-59, 6o, I 91 , 22I , 225
fantasies, see makyo
fasting, 28, I So
fencing, see kendo
Ficino, Marsiglia, xii
Fifth Patriarch, ]29
First Zen Institute of America in Japan,
xiv ( I )
f1sh, I 73, 208, 229, 3 39
fve deadly sins, I61 , 331
Five Degrees ofTozan, 24, 28I , 331-
3
2,
349
f1ve varieties of Zen: bompu, 42-43:
gedo, 43; shojo (Hinayana), 44-
45;
dij
o (Mahayana) , 45-46
;
sa
ijojo,
46, 4s. s. o
following the breath, see breath
food (eating), 37, 9!,
I42, I 52, I93, I9-
99. 200, 284 (4)
Forms and Techniques of Altruistic and
Spiritual Growth, I9 I ( I )
Foundations ofMimlness, 89 ( 2)
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism (Go-
vinda), I I (2) , 68 ( I )
, I 40 ( I ) , I 5 1 ( I )
Four Modes of Birth, 72, I ,
3
32
Fourth Patriarch, 3 I 2 ( 7)
Four Vows, Vow, I S, 70, 20I , 202, 245,
280
,
332
freedom (emancipation, liberation) , 3 ,
6, I 3 ,
I
S , 82, 9I
, 94
.
I 52, I 57
. 1
59
.
I63 , 1 70, 208, 27!, 27 (2) , 30I , ]25,
327. 3 32, 345
Fugen, I98, 2! I , 283
,
285 , 332
Fuji, Mount, 1 57 ( I ) , 2I J
,
337
,
33
Fukan Zazengi, 9 (2) , 29
full-lotus posture, see lotus posture
Gamow, George, xii
gassho, I95 , 2I 4, 277, 3
3
2
Gautama, see Buddha Shakyamuni
gedo Zen, 43
Gempo Yamamoto-roshi, 200
,
2 I 3
General Kuan, 72, 8 I
General Recommendations for Zzen, sec
Fukan Zazengi
Genjo Koan, I6 ( I )
Genki Taji-roshi, see Taji-roshi
Genshu W atanbe-roshi, 8
ghosts, 71 , 78
God, 8 I , I76 (2) , 239, 245, 246, 254, 26
Goddard, Dwight, 17 ( I ) , 344
godo, I95-97, 2I 7, 2I , 220, 22 1 , 332
Go-i, see Five Degrees ofTozan
Golding, William, 64, ( I )
Govinda, Lama, I I , 68, I40 ( I ) , 1 5 1 ( I ) ,
]
24, 325,
]
38
Gozu, Mount, 31 2 (7)
gratitude, IO, 1 8, 23, I 22, I 3D, I 3 I , I 36,
1 98
,
208,
229
,
23 I , 234, 236, 25
0,
2
6,
276 f., J J2, 348
Great Cessation, 208
"Great Cloud," 26 ( I )
Great Question, 1 84
Great Vow, 278
Great Way, I64, 279
greed, 9, I40, I44, I76,
I
9
, 295, 302,
J JO
"Gutei's Finger, " 94 (2)
haiku, see unde Zen
Hakuin-zenji, 57, 94, 2 I2, 2I 3, 333; on
focusing the mind, I 43
Hakurakuten, 246, 333
half-lotus posture (hanka), 30, 1 35, 21 6,
333; illustrated, 3 I 8
hallucinations, see makyo
hanka, see half-lotus posture
Hannya Haramita Shingyo, 203, 333
lsho, 6
Mra, 1 4, I9 ( I ) , 67-68, 22I , 238
Harada-roshi, 4, 26, 27, 34, 67, I 37, 223 ,
2
6
f. , 27I , 272, 273-76, 278 f., J28,
3 32
Hatha yoga, 3S I
heart, Heart, xv, I7, 1 8, 7S, 84, 89, 9,
I I 3 , 26, 3 39
heaven, heavens, I6, 72, So, 82, 1 19 ( I ) ,
I 7I , 20S , 2o6, 232, 28S
Heidegger, Martin, xi
Hekigan-roku, 24, I SO, 23 I , 249 (2), 333-
34
,
3 37. 340
hell, IS6, I 6I , I68, I70, I7S

34S
henchushi, see Five Degrees ofTozan
henchusho, see Five Degrees ofToun
Hiei, Mount, s. 330
Hina yana (Theravada
,
shojo), I 4, 44-4 5,
2S8 ( I ) , 29S, 31 2 ( 16), 3
26
, 327, 338,
346, 348
Hindu sects, 43
hiragana, 3 3 7
Ho (the layman Ho), 94 ( 1 ), 1 71 , 334
hojin, see Sambhoga-kaya
Hojo Tokimune, 3 3 1
Ho-koji, see Ho
Home, 278 ( 3) , 279, 282
Honen the Buddhist Saint (Coates and
Ishizuka) , 1 52 ( 1 ) , 283 ( 3)
Honrai no Memmoku, see Face before
one's parents' birth
hossen, see "Dharma combat"
hosshin, see Dharma-kaya
Hosshin-ji, 8, 23, 26, 1 1 3 , 19 ( 1 ) , 202,
21 S, 272 f. , 334
hossu, 297
hot iron ball, 72, 79, 1 78, 24, 253 , 3 SO
Hotsugammon (Dogen), 1 79 (2) , 289 ( 1 ) ,
334
How To Know God, 2SI
Hoyle, Fred, xii
Hoyu-zenji, 3 1 2 (7)
Hsueh-tou, see Setcho Juken
Huang-po, see Obaku
Hui-k'o, see Eka
Hui-neng, see Eno
I NDEX
3
5
7
Humphreys, Christmas, 83
Hung-hih, see Wanshi
hungry ghosts or spirits, 8 I , I 9, 345,
348
Huxley, Aldous, 2S I
Hyakujo, 23, 200, 207 (2), 334, 348
Hyakujo' s Fox, 207 (2)
ideas, see thought
idols (images, statues), 1 8, 19, 21 1 , 21 2
ignorance, see delusion
Ikkyu, I D-1 1 , 334
illusion, illusory, 3, 44, 1 14, 163, I6S,
1 8 1 , 1 9I , 3Z9
images, see idols
impermanence, xii, I S
incense, JS, 52. I9S ( ) I 98, 21 2, 219
India, 2H-S7
Ingen, 34I
initiation, see jukai
inka shomei, inka, 6, 26, I S8, 3 29, 334
"iron wall and silver mountain, " 94,
220, 236, 334-35
Isherwood, Chrstopher, 2SI
ittai sambo, 348-49
Iwasaki, Y aeko, 2
6
-73; enlightenment
letters of, 276 I
Japan Buddhist Council for World Fed
eration, 3 3 1
jewel sword of the Vajra king, 176, 1 82,
3 32, 335, 3 36
Jikihara, Gyokusci, xvii, 30I
jikiitsu, 332
Jizo, 167, 335
Jodo, see Pure Land
Jodoshin sect, see Pure Land sct
joriki, 20, 46-47, 48, 49, 1 1 1-IZ
joshu, 63, 71 f. , I 3S ,
1 6, I 64, 335
joy (bliss, delight, ecstasy) , I I , S6, 1 39,
1
6
,
1
77, 2
o
, 207, 229, 236, 238, 241 ,
248, 2S0, 2S4, 26S, 266, 267, 276 f.
Ju-hing, see Nyojo
Judge of the Dead, 3 so
judo, 4, 38, 41
jujukinkai (ten precepts) , 342
35
8 I NDEX
Jujukinkai (book of problems on ten
precepts), 14, 337
jukai, 342
Jung, C. G. , xi, 240
Kakuan Shien, 301
kalpa, 335
Kamakura era, I
SS
, 335
Kanon, 38, 9, 134, 163, 1 67 f., 2o,
21 4, 281 , 335
karma, karmic, 75, 76, I J I, 172, 176,
323, ] 28, 335-36, 345
kats, 174, 283, 336
Kegon sect, 346
Kegon sutra, 28, 29, 336
Keiho Shuritu, Keiho-zenji, 42, 336
keisaku, 19 ()
Kcizan-zenji, Keizan Jokin, 9, 328, 336,
345 . 3 5 1
kenchuto, see Five Degrees ofTozan
kendo (fencing), 38, 41 , 2J I-J2
, 336
kesho, kensho-godo, 336; see also enlight-
enment
kinhin (Zen walking), 33-34, 37. 1 29,
192, 253
koan, koans, 64-65, 336-37; aims of, 64,
1 2; like candy to coax a child, 1 26;
Degen's compilation of, 9; and faulty
discipline, 5 1 ; foundation of, 168; im
port of, 64; an intellectual game, 49;
and Mahayana teachings, 64; merit
of, 64; metho of practice, 1 2; not
confned to Rinzai, 8; phrasing of, 64;
and realization of Mind, 23; solution
of, 65 ; "solving" by writers of Zen,
84; spirit of, 65; subjects of, 74;
unique expresion of Buddha-nature,
64
koans, specifc: "The East Mountain
strides over the water, " 1 86; "Even
though you can say something about
it, I will give you thirty blows of the
stick," 1 86; "The fag doesn't move
. . . only your mind moves," 1 8 1 ;
"How could sitting make a Bud
dha?" 21 ; Mu, 63 f. , 105 f. , 1 3 5 f.;
"Stop the moving boat," 1 34;
"Today is the eighth of the month.
Tomorrow is the thirteenth! " 16;
"On top of a fagpole a cow gives
birth to a calf" 17 3; "I the trees fsh
pia y, in the deep sea birds arc fying,"
173; "What (who) am 11" I JO, 1 ]8
f.; "What does Buddha-mind look
like?" 173; "What is the Buddha?"
147, 1 50; "What is the meaning of
Bodidharma's coring to China?"
164; "What is my own Mind?" 16;
"What is the sound of one hand clap
ping?" 1 38, 333; "What transcends
everything in the univers?" 1 71 ;
"What is your Face before your
parents' birth?" 9, 1 30, 165; "Who is
it that hears?'' 163; "Who is the ma
ter?" 1 59 f.
Kobo-daishi, 283 (
3) , 337, 344
Kogaku-ji, 57, 337
Koho-zenji, 1 57
kojirin, 33 1
Korazawa University, 274
Kosci, 299
kotsu (baton), 87, 1 1 0, 1 19, 3
3
7
Kozen-Gokoku-Ron, 1 19 ( 1 )
kriya yoga, 252, 337
Kshitgarbha, see Jizo
ku, 74-75, 76f.; see also Emptiness, Void
Kubota, Akira, xvii
Kuci-feng Tsung-ri, see Keiho Shu-
ritsu
Kukai, see Kobo-daishi
Kuo-an Shih-yuan, see Kakuan Shien
Kusharon, 45, 337
Kwannon, see Kannon
Kwan Yin, see Kannon
kyosaku (stick), 55, 84, 88, 102, 1 1 3, 1 36,
1 41 , 145. 146
, 1 86, 196-98, 221 , 225,
259
.
261
labor, see work
Lo-tzu, 41 , 1
40 ( 1 ) , 327
,
337
Law, 74, 1 79
(
1 ) , 286; see also Dhama,
law of causation
law of causation (cause and efect) , 57-
58, 74
.
175
.
198, 207, 286, 323, 335-
36, 345; see also Dharma
liberation, see freedom
Lin-hi, see Rinza1
lotus, I 70, 3 I 3 (I6), 338
Lotus of the Wonderful Law sutra, see
Lotus sutra
lotus posture, I920, 6, 1 35, 338; and
electrocardiograph, I S ( I ) ; and erect
back, 19; illustrated, 3 17-r S; ad
sens of rootedness, I9
Lotus sutra, 40, I 5 I , 1 52 ( I ) , 338, 340,
346, 34S
love, 245, 2S7, 335
Luk, Charles, xi
Maha Kashyapa, 7S
Mahasi Sayadaw, 257
Mahayana (Jaijo), 3z6-z7
,
3JS; and
alcohol, J I 2-l 3 ( r 6); like car or bus,
4; ethical basis of, 324; and Four
Vows, 3 32; and good and evil, 333,
342; ideal type in, 327; and monks,
340; sutras in Sanskrit, 346; and ten
precepts, 14, 342; and three essentials
of Zen, 5S, 6; and Three Treasures,
34S; and yoga, 3 5 1
Maitreya, see Miroku
makyo (fantasies, hallucinations), 38-41 ,
9, I00, 1 0I -Z, I I 3, I 2J, r S 1 , r S r ( I) ,
243, 253 , 262; cause of, I OI
Mampuku-ji, 341
manas, pS
madala, 12, 345, 347
Manjushri, see Monju
mantra, 345, 34 7
Mantayana, see Shingon
master, 1 59 ( 1 ), I61 f.; see also roshi
Ma-tsu, see Baso
maya, S r , 338
meditation, 3 ( I ) , I Z 256, 257, 341
Meiji, Emperor, 3 39
Mciji period, 339
Mciji Restoration, 41 , 338-39
mempeki kunen, 323
Mencius, 41; 339
Mcng-tzu, see Mcncius
mind, Mind, 1 1 9 ( I ) , 1 29, 1 61 f. , 339;
and attention, 1 29; Basui's defmition
of, I6o f. ; and body, 19; and Emp
tiness, 162; and eyes, 3 1 ; in itself, 179
I NDEX I 3 59
So; methods of concentrating, ]2,
1 2S, 129; like a mirror, 9; like moun
tains and rivers, 205; no f1xcd abode,
1 70; and posture, I9; placed in palm
of hand, 1 43; realization of, 1 1 S, 143
f. , I6o f.; as total awareness, 2S4 ( 1 )
Mind-ssence, see Buddha-nature
mindlesness (no-mindness), 91 (2),201
Mind-nature, see Buddha-nature
Mind's (mind's) eye, see mind
miracles, 40
Miroku (Maitreya) , 1 52 ( r ) , 1 79, 2S5,
339
mirror of wisdom, 1 1 1 ( 1 )
Mohasannipata Candragarbha sutra,
179 ( r )
Mokkei, 21 7
mokugyo, 17, 1 9S, 339
monastery, 23, 5 1 ,
SS, 1 9, 197, 259,
347-48
monastic system, 347-4S
mondo, 92, 339
Monju, 3S, I95, 19S, 221 , 23S, 339
monk (prest),
23, 92
, 94, 339-4
0
moon, moonlight, 29, 167, 168, 1 74,
I 8o, 1 86
morality, 1 4
Mu, 1 2, 26, 61 , 1 05 f., l i S f. , 261 f. ,
3 37; barrier of supreme teaching, 78;
and Buddha-nature, 76; commentary
on, 71-8z; like hot iron ball, 79;
method of practice, 1 35-36, 146;
source of its power, 65 ; like a scalpel,
65; is a sword, 2I 6
Mu Ch'i, see Mokkei
mudra, I 8, 345, 347
mujodo no taigen, 4S, 49
Mumon, 71 -72, 77, Sr , 82, 340
Mumonkim, 24, 63-
64
,
77, 94 ( r ) , 1 16,
I 64 ( 1 ) , 1 81 (2),
207 (2), 248, 323, 3 37.
340, 349
mushinjo, 45, 47
Myodo, 1 56 ( )
Myozcn, 6
naisan, sec Jokusan
Nakagawa-roshi, SCC Socn Nakagawa
roshi
36 I NDEX
Nakamura, Tempu, 41 -42, 43
"Namu Myoho Renge-kyo, " 340
Nan-ch'uan, see Nansen
Nangaku, 21 , 22, 323, 340
Nasen, 335
Nan-yueh, see Nangaku
Nanzen-ji, 26, 25 1 , 275
naturalness, natural, 56, 283 , 288, 3 1 2 (6)
navel, 19, 67, 97, 1 29, 143, 261 ; see also
hara
nembutsu, see Pure Land sct
Nempyo Sambyaku Soku, 9 ( 1 )
Nichiren, 340
Nichiren sect, 40, 335, 340, 346
Nippon-ji, 229, 230
Nirmana-kaya, 326
Nirvana, nirvana, 23, 71 , 179 ( 1 ) , 338,
340-41
Nirvana psture, 1 24
Nirvana sutra, 73, 76, 341
Noh, 41 , 341
no-mindness, see mindlessness
nun, 340
Nyaaponika Thera, 10 ( 1 )
Nyojo, 6, 341
Nyorai, 29, 341
Obaku (Huang-po). 22, 29, 34 1
Obaku sect, 341
Obama, 224, 3 34
obo-san, 340
ojin, see Nirmaa-kaya
Okada's System of Traquil Sitting, 41
Old Testament, 176 (2) , 239
Om, 261 , 341 , 347
"One more step! " 1 1 3, 237, 341
Oneness, 20, 49, 82, 1 54, 1 91 , 3 01 , 332,
341
Original-nature, see Buddha-nature
0-Shaka-sama, 27 ( 1 )
osho-san, 340
Ouchi Seiran, 345
Ox, 1 91 , 23 1 , 249, 276-77
279-80, 284,
301 f.
Oxherding Picures and Verse, 301-1 1
Pai-hang Huai-hai, see Hyakujo
pain (sufering) . 16, 21 , 25, 59, 90, 9,
97, 100, 102, 1 36, 1 39, 145, 1 61 , 1 65,
173
. 1
79
.
1 91 , 208, 2 1 1 f. , 232, 234
.
257
Pali, 346
Palomar, Mount, xii
Pang Chu-shih, see Ho
pan-nirvana, 340
Patanjali, 25 1 , 341
Patriarchs, 9, 1 0, 1 8, 71 f. , 8 1 , 89,
161 f. , 1 76, 1 80, 1 83, 2o, 277 f. ,
30. 3 1 2 (6), 323, 341 -42
pace, peace of mind, 6, 30, 1 35, 1 45,
1 91 , 252, 270, 278, 282, 2

, 324
Perennial Philosophy (Huxley) , 251
personality, 1 4, 1 5, 42, 93, 229, 232, 280,
282 (3), 325, 343
philosophers, 105, 1 41
Philosophies ofIndia (Zimmer), 65 ( 1 )
philosophy, see under Buddhism
"pit of psudo-emancipation, " 175
Platform sutra, 22 ( 1 )
Plato, xii
pstures for zazen, 30-32, 31 5-20;
bench, 320; Burmee, 3 1 8; chair, 320;
correct postures, J2; full-lotus, 3 17;
half-lots, 3 1 8; ]apanese, 3 19
practice, practices, xv, 3 f. , 27, 30, 46,
50, 5 1 , 56,
57, 58-59
. 84, 87, 1 1 2, 1 21
( 1 ) , 1 25, 142, 1 52, 1 64, 1 74, 282, 284
( 3) . 289 f.
Prajna Paramita Hridya, see Hannya
Haramita Shingyo
prayer, prayers, 41 , 179 (2), 239, 288,
334
precepts, 1 74, 342; like foundation of
a house, 1 25; grounded in Buddha
nature, 1 4; Hinayana, 258 ( 1 ) ; not
simple moral commandments, 1 4;
Mahayana, 341 ; and zazen, 1 3 1
pretas, 8 345
pride, 61 , 287 (2), 3 1 2 (6)
priest, see monk
Primal-nature (primordial nature), 1 77,
1 91 , 308 ; see also Buddha-nature
prostrations (bowing down), 18, j2,
174, 2 1 2, 279, 31 6
pseudo-Zen, xv
psychology, see under Zen
Pure Land, 28 1 , 34 2
Pure Land sect, sects, 323, 326, 335 , 342-
43
"purposeless" work, 201
reality, 59, 61 , 162 I., 349
Real-self, see Buddha-nature
Real-you, see Buddha-nature
Record of the Transmission ofthe Lmp, sec
Dento-roku
Record ofthe Transmission ofthe Light, sec
Denko-roku
religion, religious, xv, 40, 41 , 42, 1 55,
1 75. 239. 269. 348
Rinzai, 22, 49 ( 1 ) , 170, 175, 1 81 , 1 85,
335. 336, 341 , 343
Rinzai's Collected Sayings, 343
Rinzai sect, xvi, 5, 49, 88, 19 { 1 ) , 274,
343; and kyosaku, 197 {2); manner of
sitting, 34; and Mu, 1 37; revitalized
by Hakuin, 333; teachings like au
tumn frost, 49 { 1 ) ; teachings like
brave general, 49 ( 1 )
ritual, rituals, see ceremonies
R
odin's "Thinker," 6
rohatsu sesshin, 202, 21 3, 214, 26, 343
Rokuso-daishi, see Eno
roof tile {Nangaku koan), 21
roshi {master), xvi, 8, I4, 16, 21 , 22,
50 I., 64, 6 f, 87 I. , 204 I., 343
Ryogon sutra, 39, 54, 343-44
Ryoscn-an, 251
Ryutaku-ji (Ryutaku monastery), 200,
21 0, 217, 223, 25 1 , 252, 259
.
344
Saicho, 348
saiojo Zen, 46, 48, 58, 6
saint, 70, 71
Saint Teresa of Avila. 2 34 { I )
samadhi, 19, So, 84, 288, 344
Samantabhadra, see Fugcn
Sambhoga-kaya, 326
samsara, see birth-and-death
samu, 20, 201 ; see also work
Sandai, 1 8o
snzen, 259, 330
Sasaki, Ruth Rullcr, xiv ( 1 )
Satipathaa Sutta, 89 ( 2)
I NDEX I 361
satori, see enlightenment
science, sientists, xiii, 105, 29
scriptures, see sutras
Secret Teaching, 50; sec also dokusan
Scigcn, 29
seiza, 216, 344
Sekishu, 1 38, 333
Sckito Kiscn, 47, 299, 344
self, I 85, 267, 349
Self, see Buddha-nature
self-discipline, see discipline
Self-nature, see Buddha-nature
Self-realization, see enlightenment
Scnzaki, Nyogcn, 49 { I )
serenity {tranquility), 1 1 , 1 8, 36, 1 39,
1 86, 258. 327
sesshin, 22, 39, 63 , 88 { 1) , 92, 99 I.
,
192-
204, 245, 247; monatery, 192; see also
rohatsu sesshin
Scsshu Toyo, I 32, 323, 344
Setcho Jukcn, 333
Shakyamuni, see Buddha Shakyamuni
Shaolin Temple, see Shorin Temple
Shapley, Harlow, xii
shikn-taza, 7, 53-54, 61 , 121 I. , 1 59,
190, 233, 235, 266, 288; essntials of,
1 32; foundation of, 7; hard for nov
ices, 8; is intense sitting, 1 26; misun
derstood by Westerners, xvi, 7; and
satori, 7; is no struggle for satori, 46,
1 26; and yoga, 1 27
Shingon, 1 8, 327, 344-45
Shinran, 343
Shin-t'ou Hsi-ch'icn, see Sckito Kisen
Shobogenzo {Dogcn), 9, 1 6 ( 1 ) , 23, 58,
205 (1), 271 , 273, 259-96, 345
shochuhen, see Five Degree ofTozan
shochurai, see Five Degrees ofTozan
Shodoka (Yoka Gengaku), 3 5 1
Shogcn-ji, 26, 274
shojo, see Hinayana
Shokoku-ji, 34
Sherin Temple, 3 23
Shoyo-an, 345
Shoyo-roku, 24, 337, 345
shujin-ko, 1 59 { 1 )
shunyata, sec ku
Shushogi, 273, 345
362 I I NDEX
sicknes, see under Zen
Siddhartha, see Buddha Shakyamuni
silcncc, 9, 92, I77, 249, 258
"silver mountain," see "iron wall and
silver mountain"
sin, sins, I 6I , I 76, 325
sttg cushion, 30, 3 I 7
Six Realms of Existence, 72, 8 1 , I6,
I6 f = 345
six sense, sixth sense, I 3, IOI
sixth class of consciousness, 40; see also
consciousness
Sixth Patriarch, see Eno
sleep, sleeping, I45, I j2, I 6I , 220, 262
sleepiness, 102, 143
smell, see under Zen
soo, 347
Socn Nakagawa-roshi, 204, 21 0, 222,
223, 252, 259. 345
Soji-ji, 8, 3 36, 346
solar plexus, 262, 266
Soma Maha Thera, 89 (2)
Song ofEnlightenment, sec Shodoka
Son-o, 205
Soothill, W. E., 338
Sorokin, Pitrim A., I 9I ( I )
sosan, 330
Sosci-ji, 246
Soto Mission, 241
Soto sect, xvi, 5, 7, 8, 25, 345; out
numbers Rinzai in Japan, 346; few
enlightened priests io, I J2; joriki
stressd in, 49; and satori, 46, 49;
teachings like farmer tending rice
f1eld, 49 ( I ) ; teachings like spring
breeze, 49 ( I ) ; zazen done facing
wall, 9 (3). I 97
soul, I 55-56, 2I 8, 3 39
sound, sound, 35, 9I , I 5J , I63, I 68-,
I72, I 8I , 22I , 257. 304
Sourcc, 70, 304, 3 IO
Sourc of Japanese Tradition, 24 ( I ) , 89
( I ) , 338
Sozan Honjaku, 345
space, xii, I 5 , 1 62, I6, I70, I 8o, 29
spinal column, position of in zazen, 3 1
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 255 ( I )
Stcinilbcr-Obcrlin, E. , I 1 ( I )
Su, Mount, 323
substance, 346
sufering, see pain
suprnatural, belief in, 58, I78
Supreme Way, 46, 48, 284
Surangaa sutra, see Ryogon sutra
Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful
Law, se Lotus sutra
sutas (scripture}, I 7, 23, 27, 6, I 4,
I 68, I 74, 346; as catalogue of Mind
nature, I 74; chanted to develop faith,
I 7; chanting of like Oriental paint
ing, I 7; chanting of as zazen, I7; like
empty space, I 7; like fnger poitng
to moon, I67; as inspiration, 259;
reading after satori, 346; substance of
in everybody, 174; truth lie outside
of, I77
Su-za, see Su, Mount
Suzuki, Daisetz T., x, xii, 83, 84, 3 3 3
Swami Prabhavananda, 25 1
Swami Pramananda, 25 I
swordsman, 54
tada, 284, 285, 286
Taihci-ji, 259, 26o, 346
Tai-san, 242, 243, 24
Taji-roshi, 229, 230, 272, 288, 332
takuhatsu, 22 3, 346-4 7, 348
Takusui-zenji, 16
tan, 194, 195 , 347
Tangen-san, 223, 228
Tanka, 21 2, 347
tantric Buddhism, 1 2-I 3, J27, 347
Tao, 337
Tao Chcng ofNan Ye, J28
Taoism, 326, 3 37
Tao-lin, see Dorin
Tao Teh Ching, 140
(
1 ) , 337
Tathagata, see Nyorai
tea ceremony, 41
teisho, 55, 56, 63 , 66-67
, 6.
70, 77, 86
temple, 347
Tcndai
, 50, J26, JJO
, 346, 34
8
Tendo Monatery, 6, JJO, 341
ten evil deeds, 161 , 348
ten quarters, 348
Te-shan, see Tokusan
Theravada, see Hinayana
thought, thought (concepts, ideas): all
impermanent, 29; curse of human
mind, 248; sickness of human mind,
29; "steam of life-and-death," 29;
transitory and fixed, 29, 30; when
wisely employed, 29
Three Evil Paths, I6I , I64, I84, 348
"Three Gates of Oryu," 248
Three Hundred Koans with Commentaries,
9 ( I )
three poisons, I 76
Three Treasures, I98) 342, 348-49
Three Worlds, I 65, I67, 349
Tibet, 257, 327
T'ien-jan, see Tanka
T'ien-t'ai, see Tendai
T'ien-t'ung Monastery, see Tendo
Monastery
time, xii, I S , I 7I , 296 f.
Tokugawa shogunate, 3 39
Tokusan, I 86, 349
tongue, position of in zazen, 3 I
Tozan Ryokai, 28I , 3 3 1 , 345, 349
trance, 244, 263 ; sec also makyo
Tripitaka, 323
triratna, see Three T rcasurcs
True-nature, see Buddha-nature
True-self, see Buddha-nature
Truth, 20, 23, 89, Io6, I4I , I 76 ( I) 177,
I78. 1 80, 329.
3 39
Truth ofLife, The, 245
Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi, see Sozan Honjaku
Tsing-tu-tsung, see Pure Land
Ts'ung-jung-lu, se Shoyo-roku
Udana I, I O ( I)
Ummon, 186 (2), 350
universe (cosmos, world) , xii, 93. 94 (2) ,
1 1 4, I I9, I 20, I 4I , 233, 253, 274, 288,
3 1 2 ( I 2) ; and deth, I 20; hara as
center of, 67; illuminated by One
mind, I 67, 1 69; and man, 43,
4
, 1 1 4, I 48, I SO
, l
S I (I ), 247, 248;
and Mind, 162, 233; and "Ouch! "
I NDEX I 363
I I9; and time, 296; true nature of, 1 65
unsui, 327, 340
Vairochana, see Birushana
vajra, 350
Vajracchcdika Prajna Paramita, see
Diamond sutra
Vajra king, 176, 182, 335
vajra sword, see jewel sword
Vasubandhu, 337
visions, 38-41 , 223, 266; sec also makyo
Void, xiii, I 62, 1 91 , p8; see also Emp-
tiness
Vow, see Four Vows
Wadeigassui (Bassui) , I 59
Wai-tao, Bhikshu, 344
walking, see kinhin
Wanshi, 345
water, 29, 30, 164, I 8o, 193, 327-28
wato, 3 37
Watts, Alan, 2I , 22, 83, 84
Way, I 70, 209, 279, 284, 29 ( 1 )
,
30I ,
3 I 1 325, 340, 349
Way ofZe, The (Watts), 2I , 83
Wei-lang, see Eno
West River, I 7I , I 78
"wheel oflife, " 345
Wheel of Life, The (Blofcld), I96 ( I ),
328
White, Lynn, xi
"White Cloud," 24 (2), 244
will, I4, 59, 9. 97, 9
William ofMocrbcke, xii
wisdom, 28, 7I , 89, 98, 279, 280, 28 1 ,
325. 332
work (manual labor), I 8, 37, ZUUI
225. 334. 348
world, see universe
Wu-men, see Muran
wu wei, 2I S, 350
Yaezakura, 273
Yakusan Igen-zcnji, 297 ( 1 )
yakuseki, 202 ( I )
.
Yamada, Kyozo, xvii-xviii, 2I 3 , 21 4
Yama-raja, I78, 350
364 I I NDEX
yang and yin, 37, 350
Yasutani-roshi, 4, ), 8, 24-26, 95-6,
1 9 (2), 21 3-14, 224, 241
l
. , 259, 272,
J JO, 346, and "bat" Zen, 1 5 ; his em
phasis on faith, 4
yaza, 23, 351
yoga, 42, 43, 1 27, 351
"Yoga and Chrstian Spiritual Tech-
niques" {Bloom) , 191 ( 1 )
Y ogaanda, 240
Yoka, 165, 351
Yung-chia, see Yoka
Yun-men, see Ummon
zazen: actalization of Buddha-nature,
20, 45, 58, 1 26; argument against, 21 ;
batle between delusion and bodhi,
1 3 ; best time for, 36; and body-mind
equilibrium, 1 4; and body-mind
vigor, 1 3 ; and breathing, 1 1 ; and the
Buddha's enlightenment, 28; in a
chair, 21 , 3 1 6, 320; and clcar aware
ness, w; and countng at!!e
counting the breath; docs nt bcs.
t
Buddhahood, 22; Dogen's view of, 9;
ad enlightenment, _8; and eyes, 3 1 ,
193; and food, j7t 93 ; fundamcnt;
to Zen discipline, 2

,
S
4; "gateway to
total liberation," 9; how long at one
sitting, 36-37; how to tcrminate,

J J ;
illumines three principles of exist
ence, 1 5 ; indispensable, 288; and
jorki, 200; and koans, 12; a method of
sarching heart-mind, 9; mobile
zazen, 1 1 ; and moral conduct, 14;
more than technique for enlighten
ment, 45 ; not asceticism, 19 3; not idle
reverie, I J; not meditation, 1 2; not
stopping of consciousness, 32; for
physical and mental health, 61 ; post
satori zazen, 1 9; postures, see ps
tures for zazen; and precept, 1 3 ; dur
ing pregnancy, 13 3-34; removes anx
iety, 2; and spinal column, 3 1 ;
theory not essential for, 27; three aims
of, 46; and time, 57; transforms per
sonality ad character, 1 3 ; uniqueness
of, 1 3
zazenkai, 24, 246, 247, J5 1
Zzen Wasan, sec Chant in Paise of
Zazen
Zazen Yojinki, ]7, 40, 351
Zen, 351 ; and archery, 4; attraction of,
xiii; "beat" Zen, 1 5 ; a Buddhist way
of liberation, xv; buji Zen, 282; fve
varieties of, see ftve varieties of Zen;
and haiku, 4; impression on three
noted W cstcrncrs, xi-xii; introduc
tion into Japan, xi, 3 3 0; and
Mahayana sect, 3 5 1 ; a method of
direct experience, xiii; its monastery
life, 348; no dependence on words,
346; not alien or mystical, 85; not
ppilosophy, 20; pseudo-Zen, xv;
rd psychology, 4, 84; a religion, xv;
sickness, 289; "smell" of, 287, 3 1 3 ;
transmission outside the surras, 346;
ad the West, xii-xiii, 83, 226
zendo, 192, 351
Zn in English Liteature and Oriental
Classics (Blyth), 83
zenji, 35 1
Zenrui No. I U_ 205 ( 1 )
Zen sect, 47, 325, 346, 348, 3 5 1
Zenso Mondo, 1 1 ( 1 )
Zen Teaching ofHuang Po, The, ZZ
Zen texts, xviii
Zimmer, Heinrich, 65 { 1 )
Zuimonki, 89