Archives: Shobogenzo

密語

mitsugo

Secret Talk

Mitsu means “secret,” or “mystical,” in the sense of not apparent to the senses or the intellect, but experienced directly or immediately — as if two things are touching. Go means “words” or “talk.” So mitsugo means “secret talk,” that is, something communicated directly without sound. In Buddhism it is said that there is secret talk that can be recognized and understood even though it has no sound. So “secret talk” suggests the existence of intuitive perception. It is a fact that we can sometimes discover meaning, or secrets, without receiving any external stimuli, but we need not see the fact as particularly mystical. An analogy that helps to understand such facts is the sympathetic resonance of tuning forks.

佛道

butsudo

The Buddhist Truth

Butsu means “Buddha” and do originally means “way,” but also “morals” and “the truth.” So butsudo means “the Buddha’s truth” or “the Buddhist truth.” The concept of “the Buddhist truth” is central to Master Dogen’s theory, and it is helpful to examine the meaning from each of the four phases of Buddhist philosophy. In the first (subjective) phase, the Buddhist truth is embodied in the Buddhist philosophical system. In the second (objective) phase, the Buddhist truth is the external world, or nature. In the third phase (based on action), the Buddhist truth is ethical or moral conduct in everyday life; that is, everyday life as we live it. In the ultimate phase, the Buddhist truth is ineffable, the complicated; the state in Zazen, or reality itself. In this chapter, however, Master Dogen does not try to explain these meanings of “the Buddhist truth”; he simply asserts that there is only one Buddhism — that which was established by Gautama Buddha. Based on his assertion, although there are several Buddhist sects, we do not need to use the titles that these sects have been given. Master Dogen insists that the title “the Buddha’s truth” or “Buddhism” is sufficient, and that it is wrong to use such titles as the Unmon Sect, the Hogen Sect, the Igyo Sect, the Rinzai Sect, and the Soto Sect. We usually think of Master Dogen as belonging to the Soto Sect, but he himself did not approve of the use of even the title “Soto Sect.”

諸法實相

shoho-jisso

All Dharmas are Real Form

Sho expresses plurality; it means “all,” “various,” or “many.” Ho means “dharmas,” both physical things and mental phenomena. Jitsu means “real.” So means form. The Lotus Sutra teaches the most important and fundamental theory in Buddhism: that “all things and phenomena are real form.” Because Buddhism is a philosophy of realism, its viewpoint is different from idealism and materialism. The idealist sees only phenomena, which cannot be confirmed to be substantially real. Idealists thus doubt that phenomena are real form. The materialist looks at the detail, breaking things into parts, thus losing the meaning and value that is included in the whole. Buddhism says that reality is all things and phenomena existing here and now and reveres them as real substance: reality itself. This teaching is found in the Lotus Sutra, expressed with the words “all dharmas are real form.” In this chapter, Master Dogen explains the meaning of the Lotus Sutra’s teaching.

説心説性

sesshin-sessho

Expounding the Mind & Expounding the Nature

Setsu means “teach,” “explain,” or “expound.” Shin means “mind,” and sho means “the essence,” or “the nature.” So sesshin means “expounding the mind” and sessho means “expounding the nature.” Some Chinese Buddhist monks asserted that expounding the mind and expounding the nature belong within the sphere of intellectual effort, and so to make such effort to explain the mind and essence is not only unnecessary but also detrimental to attainment of the Buddhist truth. They believed that the Buddhist truth could never embrace intellectual understanding. Master Dogen had a different opinion. He thought that the concepts sesshin and sessho in Buddhist thought refer to something much more real. He understood sesshin-sessho as the manifestation of the mind and the manifestation of the nature in the real world. Master Dogen saw no reason to deny the concepts sesshin and sessho; instead he used them to explain the fundamental theory of Buddhism.

三界唯心

sangai-yuishin

The Triple World is Only the Mind

San means “three” and kai means “world.” So sangai means “the three worlds,” or “the triple world.” Traditionally, Buddhist theory looks at the world as the amalgamation of three worlds: the world of thinking, the world of feeling, and the world of action. In traditional Buddhist terminology these three worlds are called the worlds of volition, matter, and non-matter. The phrase “the three worlds,” or “the triple world,” is often used to mean this world here and now, the whole world, the real world, which includes the world of thinking, the world of feeling, and the world of action. Yui means “only,” “solely,” or “alone,” and shin means “mind.” So sangai-yuishin means “the triple world is only the mind” or “the triple world is the mind alone.” The phrase “the triple world is only the mind” is often interpreted as an idealistic insistence that the whole world is produced by our mind. Historically, many Buddhist monks thought that this was the case. Master Dogen did not agree; he insisted that in Buddhism, the phrase “the triple world is only the mind” means something far more real. This phrase refers to the teaching that reality exists in the contact between subject and object. From this viewpoint, when we say that the world is only the mind, we also need to say that the mind is only the world, to express the fact that the relationship is a mutual one. In this chapter, Master Dogen explains the meaning of the phrase “the triple world is only the mind” from the Buddhist viewpoint, criticizing idealistic interpretations.

栢樹子

hakujushi

Cedar Trees

The koan, or story, of Hakujushi, “The Cedar Trees,” is very famous both in China and in Japan. Although many Buddhists have presented their interpretations of the story, most of them are unsatisfactory. In this chapter, Master Dogen gives his own interpretation. First he describes Master Joshu’s character, then he interprets the story. In the story a monk asks Master Joshu Jushin what was Master Bodhidharma’s intention in coming to China from the west. Master Joshu says “The cedar trees in the garden.” His intention is “It was just reality” or “It was just Dharma.” But the monk understood him to mean that cedar trees are just objective things. So he asked the Master for another answer. But the Master again insisted that cedar trees in the garden are just reality.

嗣書

shisho

The Certificate of Succession

Shi means “succession” or “transmission.” Sho means “certificate.” So shisho means “the certificate of succession.” Buddhism is not only theory, but also practice or experience. Therefore it is impossible for a Buddhist disciple to attain the Buddhist truth only by reading Buddhist sutras or listening to a master’s lectures. The disciple must live with a master and study the master’s behavior in everyday life. After a disciple has learned the master’s life and has realized the Buddhist truth in his or her own life, the master gives a certificate to the disciple, certifying the transmission of the truth from master to disciple. This certificate is called shisho. From a materialistic viewpoint, the certificate is only cloth and ink, and so it cannot hold religious meaning or be revered as something with religious value. But Buddhism is a realistic religion, and Buddhists find religious value in many concrete traditions. The certificate is one such traditional object which is revered by Buddhists. Therefore Master Dogen found much value in this certificate. In this chapter he explains why the certificate is revered by Buddhists, and records his own experiences of seeing such certificates in China.

葛藤

katto

The Complicated

Katsu means “arrowroot” and to means “wisteria.” Arrowroot and wisteria, being vines, are unable to stand by themselves but grow by entwining with other plants. Because of this, in China and Japan, arrowroot and wisteria are used as a symbol of something that is very complicated. Buddhist philosophy strives to describe what reality is. Because reality cannot be adequately expressed with words, it is sometimes described as “the ineffable.” Here, Master Dogen uses the word katto, the complicated, to suggest reality, which is very direct, but complicated. He felt that the words “the complicated” express the nature of reality rather well.

春秋

shunju

Spring and Autumn

Shun means “spring” and ju, which is a corruption of shu, means “autumn.” Shunju, spring and autumn, expresses the seasons. In this chapter Master Dogen describes the Buddhist attitude towards cold and heat. First Master Dogen quotes a famous conversation on this subject between Master Tozan Ryokai and a monk. Then he discusses the comments of some ancient masters in order to explain the true meaning of the story.

阿羅漢

arakan

The Arhat

Arakan represents the sound of the Sanskrit word arhan or arhat, which means a person who is worthy of veneration. Arhathood is also the ultimate state of the Sravaka, or rigoristic Buddhist. The Sravaka belongs to Hinayana Buddhism, and so Mahayana Buddhists usually did not value arhathood. But Master Dogen did not share this opinion. According to Master Dogen, there cannot be any difference between Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, because he believed that there is only one Buddhism, which has been transmitted from Gautama Buddha to us. He thought that the difference between Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism was a difference produced by the difference between ages, and so we should not affirm the existence of more than one Buddhism. From this basis he explained the supreme value of the arhat in this chapter.