Glasgow Zen Groupshukke
Leaving Family Life
It was the custom in ancient India that people who wanted to pursue the truth left their family, and this custom was retained in Buddhist orders. First of all, it is said that Gautama Buddha originally left his family life and began the life of a monk when he was 29 years old. Therefore, in the Buddhist order, people highly revere transcendence of family life in order to pursue the truth. This chapter explains the custom.
o-saku-sendaba
A King’s Seeking of Saindhava
O means “king,” saku means “to seek,” and sendaba is a phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit saindhava. Saindhava means “products of the Indus river basin.” In the Maha-parinirvana-sutra there is a story which expresses the multiple meanings of words and the ambiguity of reality. When a king needs to wash his hands and seeks saindhava, his servant will bring water. When the king is eating a meal and seeks saindhava, the servant will bring salt. When the king wants to drink water and seeks saindhava, the servant will bring a cup. And when the king wants to go out and seeks saindhava, the servant will bring a horse. Buddhist monks in China often used this story to discuss the multiple meanings of words and the ambiguity of reality. So Master Dogen explained the meaning of “A King’s Seeking of Saindhava” on the basis of his own thoughts.
tashintsu
The Power to Know Others’ Minds
Ta means “others,” shin means “mind,” and tsu (short for jinzu) means “mystical power.” So tashintsu means “the mystical power to know others’ minds.” In some Buddhist theory it is said to be possible for Buddhist practitioners to attain a mystical power to know others’ minds. Related to this matter there is a famous story about questions and answers between Master Nanyo Echu and an Indian monk called Daini Sanzo. And five famous Buddhist masters discussed the meaning of the story. But Master Dogen was not satisfied by the explanations of the five famous masters. So in this chapter Master Dogen criticizes the views of the five masters, and in the process he expresses his own view.
ango
The Retreat
An means “peaceful” and go means “reside.” Ango means the ninety-day summer retreat. In India, the rainy season lasts for about three months in the summer. Buddhists in ancient India used this time for concentrated practice of Zazen, and this period was called varsika in Sanskrit. The tradition was imported into China, and so when Master Dogen went to China he experienced the concentrated practice of Zazen for three months in the summer and felt his mission to introduce it into Japan. So he wrote this chapter.
hatsu-u
The Patra
Hatsu represents the Sanskrit patra, and u means bowl or bowls. In India, Buddhist monks ate their meals from a large bowl called a patra. And the word patra was translated into hatsu-u in China. So hatsu-u means the Buddhist food bowls used in China. In this chapter, Master Dogen explained the importance of the patra, which has traditionally been revered very highly as a symbol of Buddhist life.
koku
Space
Ko means “vacant” or “void,” and ku means “air,” “space,” or “emptiness.” So koku means “space.” Space and time have been most important concepts in philosophy since ancient times, and even in ancient India people frequently discussed the problem of space and time. And this tradition influenced Buddhism, so the problem of space and time became very important in Buddhism in India. The tendency was also accepted by Chinese Buddhism, so there are many stories of Chinese Buddhist masters discussing space and time. In this chapter Master Dogen discusses space. He first quotes a discussion about space between Master Shakkyo Ezo and Master Seido Chizo. Then he gives his own explanation, quoting a poem by Master Tendo Nyojo, a discussion between Master Baso Do-itsu and a monk called Seizan Ryo, and the words of Master Vasumitra.
jisho-zanmai
Samadhi as Self Experience
Ji means “self,” sho means “to experience,” and zanmai means “samadhi,” or “the balanced state.” So jisho zanmai expresses samadhi, as the state of self-experience. In this chapter Master Dogen explains the meaning of jisho zanmai, or “samadhi, as self-experience.” At the same time, he criticizes the wrong understanding of Master Dai-e Soko and his disciples. They understood that jisho zanmai means getting so-called enlightenment, and they made their efforts to get so-called enlightenment on an intellectual level. Master Dogen did not agree with their idea, and so in this chapter he strongly criticizes Master Dai-e Soko in order to show the true meaning of jisho zanmai.
dai-shugyo
Great Practice
Dai means “great,” and shugyo means “practice.” So dai shugyo means “great practice.” There is a famous Chinese story about Master Hyakujo Ekai and a wild fox; the story concerns the relation between Buddhist practice and the law of cause and effect. This relation is explained in two ways, each totally at odds with the other. The first explanation says that someone of great practice “does not fall into cause and effect”; in other words, it denies the influence of cause and effect upon someone of great practice. The other explanation says “do not be unclear about cause and effect”; in other words, it affirms the influence of cause and effect upon someone of great practice. But Master Dogen considered the difference between these two explanations to be only a matter of intellectual thought, not the situation in reality. He explained that someone of great practice transcends both the negation and the affirmation of the law of cause and effect, by acting in the real world.
temborin
Turning the Dharma Wheel
Ten means “turn”; ho means “Dharma,” or the Buddha’s teaching, and rin means “wheel,” or in Sanskrit “cakra.” In ancient India a cakra was a wheel with pointed spokes, used as a weapon. The Buddha’s preaching was likened to the turning of a cakra, so temborin, or the turning of the Dharma wheel, means Buddhist preaching. In this chapter Master Dogen explains the true meaning of Buddhist preaching. Before this explanation, he quotes the words of several masters on what happens when someone realizes the truth and returns to the origin. Master Dogen does this to illustrate the value of Buddhist scriptures written in China. Some people claim that only scriptures written in India can be called Buddhist scriptures, and that scriptures written in China cannot be called true Buddhist scriptures. But Master Dogen takes a wider view: According to him, sutras quoted by true Buddhist Masters are true Buddhist scriptures, even if they are produced outside of India. They become true Buddhist scriptures by being quoted by true Buddhist masters. On this basis, Master Dogen, insists that the preaching of Buddhism can be done at all places and at all times. So in this chapter Master Dogen explains the universal validity of Buddhist preaching. At the same time, he insists that to preach true Buddhism is to spend one’s life in a temple, and to practice Zazen in Zazen Halls.
zanmai-o-zanmai
The Samadhi That Is King of Samadhis
Zanmai is the Japanese pronunciation of the phonetic rendering in Chinese of the Sanskrit word “samadhi,” which means the state in Zazen; that is, the balanced state of body and mind. O means “king.” We can consider that there are many kinds of samadhi in our daily lives. However, according to Buddhist theory the most important and best samadhi is just the samadhi that we can experience in Zazen. Therefore, we call the state in Zazen “the king of samadhis.” In this chapter, Master Dogen explains what Zazen is, and so he chose the title Zanmai-o-zanmai, The Samadhi That Is King of Samadhis.