hachi-dainingaku
The Eight Truths of a Great Human Being
Ippyaku-hachi means one hundred and eight. Ho means Dharma, that is, the Buddha’s teachings or the Universe. Myo means clarity, brightness, or illumination. Mon means gate, that is, a means to something, or a partial aspect of something. So ippyakuhachi-homyo-mon means “one hundred and eight gates of Dharma-illumination.” In compiling this chapter Master Dogen quoted two long paragraphs from the sutra Butsu-hongyo-jikkyo, which is a biography of Gautama Buddha. The chapter is the 11th chapter of the 12-chapter edition of Shobogenzo, but it cannot be found in either the 95-chapter edition or the 75-chapter edition.