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55/60 Juppo

十方

juppo

The Ten Directions

Ju means “ten” and ho means “direction,” so Juppo means “the ten directions.” The ten directions are east, west, south, north, northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest, and upward and downward. These represent all directions, the whole of space, or the whole world. In Buddhist philosophy the meaning of space is frequently discussed. In these discussions, the word juppo, “the ten directions,” is often used as a concrete expression of space. In this chapter, Master Dogen picks up the word juppo, and uses it to discuss real space.