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35/25 Jinzu

神通

jinzu

Mystical Power

Jin means mystical and zu, which is a corruption of tsu, means ability or power, so jinzu means mystical power. It is said in Buddhism that a person who has attained the truth may have certain kinds of mystical power, but many Buddhists invented fantastic exaggerations of these powers. Master Dogen did not affirm such exaggerations. He affirmed the existence of Buddhist mystical powers, which we can get when we become buddhas, but he thought that in the case of Buddhist mystical powers, mystical means not supernatural but real. Master Dogen thought that Buddhist mystical powers are the abilities we use in our usual life. When asked what Buddhist mystical powers are, an old Chinese Buddhist replied, “Fetching water and carrying firewood.”