No More Learning

[147] �Wash the anus and the urethra�: Do not neglect this. There was
an episode in which, through this practice, Sariputra13 caused a non-Buddhist
to submit himself. This was neither the original expectation of the non-
Buddhist nor the premeditated hope of Sariputra, but when the dignified
behavior of the Buddhist patriarchs is realized, false teaching naturally suc-
cumbs. When [monks] practice beneath a tree or on open ground,14 they have
no constructed toilets; they rely on conveniently located river valleys, streams,
and so on, and they clean themselves with pieces of soil. This is [when] there
is no ash. They just use two lots of seven balls of soil. The method of using
the two lots of seven balls of soil is as follows: First they take off the Dharma
robe and fold it, then they pick up some soil�not black but yellowish soil�
and divide it into balls, each about the size of a large soy bean. They arrange
these into rows of seven balls, on a stone or some other convenient place,
making two rows of seven balls each. After that they prepare a stone to be
used as a rubstone. And after that they defecate. After defecating they use a
stick, or sometimes they use paper. Then they go to the waterside to clean
themselves, first carrying three balls of soil to clean with. They take each
individual ball of soil in the palm of the hand and add just a little water so
that, when mixed with the water, [the soil] dissolves to a consistency thin-
ner than mud�about the consistency of thin rice gruel. They wash the ure-
thra first. Next, they use one ball of soil, in the same way as before, to wash
the anus. And next, they use one ball of soil, in the same way as before,
brie? y to wash the impure hand. 15
[149] Ever since [monks] started living in temples, they have built toi-
let buildings. These are called tosu (east office), or sometimes sei (toilet),
and sometimes shi (side building). 16 They are buildings that should be pres-
ent wherever monks are living. The rule in going to the toilet is always to
take the long towel. 17 The method is to fold the towel in two, and then place
it over the left elbow so that it hangs down from above the sleeve of your
jacket. Having arrived at the toilet, hang the towel over the clothes pole. 18
The way to hang it is as it has been hanging from your arm. If you have come
wearing a ka? aya of nine stripes, seven stripes, and so on, hang [the ka? aya]
alongside the towel. Arrange [the ka? aya] evenly so that it will not fall down.
Do not throw it over [the pole] hastily. Be careful to remember the mark [on
the pole]. �Remembering the mark� refers to the characters written along
the clothes pole; these are written inside moon-shaped circles on sheets of
white paper, which are then attached in a line along the pole. So remem-
bering the mark means not forgetting by which character you have put your
own gown,19 and not getting [the places] mixed up. When many monks are
present do not confuse your own place on the pole with that of others. Dur-
ing this time, when [other] monks have arrived and are standing in lines,
bow to them with the hands folded. 20 In bowing, it is not necessary to face
each other directly and bend the body; it is just a token bow of salutation
with the folded hands placed in front of the chest. At the toilet, even if you
are not wearing a gown, still bow to and salute [other] monks. If neither hand
has become impure, and neither hand is holding anything, fold both hands
and bow. If one hand is already soiled, or when one hand is holding some-
thing, make the bow with the other hand. To make the bow with one hand,
turn the hand palm upward, curl the fingertips slightly as if preparing to scoop
up water, and bow as if just lowering the head slightly. If someone else [bows]
like this, you should do likewise. And if you [bow] like this, others should
do likewise. When you take off the jacket21 and the gown, hang them next
to the towel. The way to hang them is as follows: Remove the gown and
bring the sleeves together at the back, then bring together the armpits and
lift them up so that the sleeves are one over the other. Then, take the inside
of the back of the collar of the gown with the left hand, pull up the shoul-
ders with the right hand, and fold the sleeves and the left and right lapels
over each other. Having folded the sleeves and lapels over each other, make
another fold, down the middle from top to bottom, and then throw the col-
lar of the gown over the top of the pole. The hem of the gown and the ends
of the sleeves will be hanging on the near side of the pole. For example, the
gown will be hanging from the pole by the join at the waist. Next, cross over
the ends of the towel which are hanging down on the near and far sides of
the pole, and pull them across to the other side of the gown. [There,] on the
side of the gown where the towel is not hanging, cross over [the ends] again
and make a knot. Go round two or three times, crossing over [the ends] and
making a knot, to ensure that the gown does not fall from the pole to the
ground. Facing the gown, join the palms of your hands. 22 Next, take the cord
and use it to tuck in the sleeves. 23 Next, go to the washstand and fill a bucket
with water and then, holding [the bucket] in the right hand, walk up to the
toilet. The way to put water into the bucket is not to fill it completely, but to
make ninety percent the standard. In front of the toilet entrance, change slip-
pers. Changing slippers means taking off your own slippers in front of the
toilet entrance and putting on the straw [toilet] slippers. 24
[153] The Zenenshingi25 says, �When we want to go to the toilet, we
should go there ahead of time. Do not get into a state of anxiety and haste
by arriving just in time. At this time, fold the ka? aya, and place it on the desk
in your quarters, or over the clothes pole. �
[154] Having entered the toilet, close the door with the left hand. Next,
pour just a little water from the bucket into the bowl of the toilet. Then put
the bucket in its place directly in front of the hole. Then, while standing fac-
ing the toilet bowl, click the fingers three times. When clicking the fingers,
make a fist with the left hand and hold it against the left hip. Then put the
hem of your skirt and the edges of your clothes in order, face the entrance,
position the feet either side of the rim of the toilet bowl, squat down, and
defecate. Do not get either side of the bowl dirty, and do not soil the front
or back of the bowl. During this time, keep quiet. Do not chat or joke with
the person on the other side of the wall, and do not sing songs or recite verses
in a loud voice. Do not make a mess by weeping and dribbling, and do not
be angry or hasty. Do not write characters on the walls, and do not draw lines
in the earth with the shit-stick. The stick is to be used after you have relieved
yourself. Another way is to use paper; old paper should not be used, and
paper with characters written on it should not be used. Distinguish between
clean sticks and dirty sticks. The sticks are eight sun26 long, of triangular
section, and the thickness of a thumb. Some are lacquered and some are not
lacquered. Dirty [sticks] are thrown into the stick box. Clean [sticks] origi-
nally belong in the stick rack. The stick rack is placed near the board [that
screens] the front of the toilet bowl. After using the stick or using paper, the
method of washing is as follows: Holding the bucket in the right hand, dip
the left hand well [into the water] and then, making the left hand into a dip-
per, scoop up the water; first rinsing the urethra three times and then wash-
ing the anus. Make yourself pure and clean by washing according to the
method. During this time, do not tip the bucket so suddenly that water spills
out of the hand or splashes down, causing the water to be used up quickly.
After you have finished washing put the bucket in its place, and then, tak-
ing [another] stick, wipe yourself dry. Or you can use paper. Both places, the
urethra and the anus, should be thoroughly wiped dry. Next, with the right
hand, rearrange the hem of your skirt and the corners of your clothes, and
holding the bucket in the right hand, leave the toilet, taking off the straw [toi-
let] slippers and putting on your own slippers as you pass through the entrance.
Next, returning to the washstand, put the bucket back in its original place.
Then wash the hands. Taking the spoon for ash in the right hand, first scoop
[some ash] onto a tile or a stone, sprinkle a few drops of water onto it with
the right hand, and cleanse the soiled hand. Scrub the [fingers] on the tile or
the stone, as if sharpening a rusty sword on a whetstone. Wash like this,
using ash, three times. Then wash another three times, putting soil [on the
stone] and sprinkling it with water. Next, take a honey locust27 in the right
hand, dip it in a small tub of water, and scrub it between the hands. Wash
[the hands] thoroughly, going up to the forearms as well. Wash with care
and effort, dwelling in the mind of sincerity. Three lots of ash, three lots of
soil, and one honey locust, makes seven rounds altogether; that is the stan-
dard. Next, wash [the hands] in the large tub. This time skin cleansers,28 soil,
ash, and so on, are not used. Just wash with water, either cold or hot. After
washing once, pour the [used] water into a small bucket, then pour some
fresh water [into the tub], and wash the hands again.
[157] The Garland Sutra says, �When we wash the hands with water,
we should pray that living beings will get excellent and fine hands, with
which to receive and to retain the Buddha-Dharma. �29
[158] To pick up the water ladle, always use your right hand. While
doing this, do not noisily clatter the ladle and bucket. Do not splash water
about, scatter honey locusts around, get the washstand area wet, or be gen-
erally hasty and messy. Next, wipe the hands on the common towel, or wipe
them on your own towel. After wiping the hands, go under the clothes pole,
in front of your gown, and take off the cord and hang it on the pole. Next,
after joining hands, untie the towel, take down the gown, and put it on. Then,
with the towel hanging over the left arm, apply fragrance. In the common
area there is a fragrance applicator. It is fragrant wood fashioned into the
shape of a treasure pot,30 as thick as a thumb and as long as the width of four
fingers. It is hung from the clothes pole with a piece of string a foot or more
long, which is threaded through a hole bored in each end of the fragrant
[wood]. When this is rubbed between the palms, it naturally spreads its scent
to the hands. When you hang your cord on the pole, do not hang it on top of
another so that cord and cord become confused and entangled. Actions like
these all �purify the Buddha's land, and adorn the Buddha's kingdom,� so
do them carefully, and do not be hasty. Do not be in a hurry to finish, think-
ing that you would like to get back. Privately, you might like to consider the
principle that �we do not explain the Buddha-Dharma while in the toilet. �31
Do not keep looking into the faces of other monks who have come there.
Cold water is considered better for washing when in the toilet itself; it is said
that hot water gives rise to intestinal diseases. [But] there is no restriction
against using warm water to wash the hands. The reason that a cauldron is
provided is so that we can boil water for washing the hands. The Shingi says,
�Late in the evening, boil water and supply oil. 32 Always ensure [a] contin-
uous [supply of] hot and cold water, so that the minds of the monks are not
disturbed. � So we see that we [can] use both hot and cold water. If the inside
of the toilet has become dirty, close the door, and hang up the �dirty� sign.
If a bucket has been dropped [into the toilet bowl] by mistake, close the door,
and hang up the �fallen bucket� sign. Do not enter33 a closet on which one
of these signs is hung. If, when you are already in the toilet, [you hear] some-
one outside clicking the fingers, you should leave presently. The Shingi says,
�Without washing, we must neither sit on the monks' platform, nor bow to
the Three Treasures. Neither must we receive people's prostrations. � The
Sutra of Three Thousand Dignified Forms says, �If we fail to wash the anus
and the urethra, we commit a du? k? ta,34 and we must not sit on a monk's
pure sitting cloth35 or bow to the Three Treasures. Even if we do bow, there
is no happiness or virtue. �
[162] Thus, at a place of the truth where we strive in pursuit of the truth,36
we should consider this behavior to be foremost. How could we not bow to
the Three Treasures? How could we not receive people's prostrations? And
how could we not bow to others? In the place of truth of a Buddhist patri-
arch, this dignified behavior is always done, and people in the place of truth
of a Buddhist patriarch are always equipped with this dignified behavior. It
is not our own intentional effort; it is the natural expression of dignified
behavior itself. It is the usual behavior of the buddhas and the everyday life
of the patriarchs. It is [buddha-behavior] not only of buddhas in this world:
it is buddha-behavior throughout the ten directions; it is buddha-behavior in
the Pure Land and in impure lands. People of scant knowledge do not think
that buddhas have dignified behavior in the toilet, and they do not think that
the dignified behavior of buddhas in the saha world37 is like that of buddhas
in the Pure Land. This is not learning of the Buddha's truth. Remember,
purity and impurity is [exemplified by] blood dripping from a human being.
At one time it is warm, at another time it is disgusting. The buddhas have
toilets, and this we should remember.
[163] Fascicle Fourteen of the Precepts in Ten Parts38 says, �Srama? era
Rahula39 spent the night in the Buddha's toilet. When the Buddha woke up,
the Buddha patted Rahula on the head with his right hand, and preached the
following verse:
You were never stricken by poverty,
Nor have you lost wealth and nobility. 40
Only in order to pursue the truth, you have left home.
You will be able to endure the hardship. �
[164] Thus, there are toilet buildings in the Buddha's places of practic-
ing the truth. And the dignified behavior done in the Buddha's toilet build-
ing is washing. That the Buddha's behavior, having been transmitted from
patriarch to patriarch, still survives is a delight to those who venerate the
ancients. We have been able to meet what is difficult to meet. Furthermore,
the Tathagata graciously preached the Dharma for Rahula inside the toilet
building. The toilet building was one [place of] assembly for the Buddha's
turning of the Dharma wheel. The advancing and stillness41 of that place of
truth has been authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patriarchs.
[165] Fascicle Thirty-four of the Mahasa? ghika Precepts42 says, �The
toilet building should not be located to the east or to the north. It should be
located to the south or to the west. The same applies to the urinal. �
[166] We should follow this [designation of] the favorable directions.
This was the layout of all the monasteries43 in India in the Western Heavens,
and the [method of] construction in the Tathagata's lifetime. Remember, this
is not only the buddha-form followed by one buddha; it describes the places
of truth, the monasteries, of the Seven Buddhas. It was never initiated; it is
the dignified form of the buddhas. Before we have clarified these [dignified
forms], if we hope to establish a temple and to practice the Buddha-Dharma,
we will make many mistakes, we will not be equipped with the Buddha's dig-
nified forms, and the Buddha's state of bodhi will not yet manifest itself before
us. If we hope to build a place of practicing the truth, or to establish a tem-
ple, we should follow the Dharma-form that the Buddhist patriarchs have
authentically transmitted. We should just follow the Dharma-form that has
been authentically transmitted as the right tradition. Because it is the tradi-
tional authentic transmission, its virtue has accumulated again and again.
Those who are not legitimate successors to the authentic transmission of the
Buddhist patriarchs do not know the body and mind of the Buddha-Dharma.
Without knowing the body and mind of the Buddha-Dharma, they never
clarify the buddha-actions of the Buddha's lineage. That the Buddha-Dharma
of Great Master Sakyamuni Buddha has now spread widely through the ten
directions is the realization of the Buddha's body and mind. The realization
of the Buddha's body and mind, just in the moment, is like this.
Shobogenzo Senjo
Preached to the assembly at Kannondorikosho-
horinji in the Uji district of Yoshu,44 on the
twenty-third day of the tenth lunar month in the
winter of the first year of Eno. 45

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BDK English Tripitaka
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BDK English Tripitaka
A Biography of Sakyamuni
The Lotus Sutra (Second Revised Edition)
The Sutra of Queen Srimala of the Lion's Roar
The Larger Sutra on Amitayus
The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus
The Smaller Sutra on Amitayus
The Bequeathed Teaching Sutra
The Vimalakirti Sutra
The Ullambana Sutra
The Sutra of Forty-two Sections
The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
The Vairocanabhisa? bodhi Sutra
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 1
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 2
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 3
Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 4
Tannisho: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith
Rennyo Shonin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo
The Sutra on the Profundity of Filial Love

Shobogenzo: The True Dharma-Eye Treasury vol. 1 (? ? ? ? (1))

Chapter/Section: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
B2582_1 (biblio info) Chapter/Section 8
[Chapter Eight]
Raihai-tokuzui
Prostrating to the Marrow of Attainment
Translator 's Note: Raihai means �to prostrate oneself to,� toku means �to
get,� or �to attain,� and zui means �marrow. � So raihai-tokuzui means pros-
trating oneself to attainment of the marrow, in other words, revering what
has got the truth. In this chapter Master Dogen preached to us that the value
of a being must be decided according to whether or not it has got the truth.
So, he said, even if it is a child, a woman, a devil, or an animal like a wild
fox, if it has got the truth, we must revere it wholeheartedly. In this attitude,
we can find Master Dogen's sincere reverence of the truth, and his view of
men, women, and animals.
[169] In practicing the state of anuttara samyaksa? bodhi the most difficult
thing is to find a guiding teacher. Though beyond appearances such as those
of a man or a woman, the guiding teacher should be a big stout fellow,1 and
should be someone ineffable. 2 He is not a person of the past and present, but
may be a good counselor with the spirit of a wild fox. 3 These are the features
of [someone who] has got the marrow;4 he may be a guide and a benefactor;
he is never unclear about cause and effect; he may be you, me, him, or her. 5
[170] Having met with a guiding teacher, we should throw away myr-
iad involvements and, without wasting a moment of time,6 we should strive
in pursuit of the truth. We should train with consciousness, we should train
without consciousness, and we should train with semiconsciousness. Thus,
we should learn walking on tiptoes7 to put out a fire on our head. 8 When we
behave like this, we are unharmed by abusive demons.
The patriarch who
cuts off an arm and gets the marrow9 is never another, and the master who
gets free of body and mind10 is ourself already. Getting the marrow, and
receiving the Dharma, invariably come from sincerity and from belief. There
is no example of sincerity coming from outside, and there is no way for sin-
cerity to emerge from within. [Sincerity] just means attaching weight to the
Dharma and thinking light of [one's own] body. It is to get free from the sec-
ular world and to make one's home the state of truth. If we attach even slightly
more weight to self-regard for the body than to the Dharma, the Dharma is
not transmitted to us, and we do not attain the truth. Those resolute spirits
who attach [greater] weight to the Dharma are not unique, and they do not
depend upon the exhortation of others, but let us take up, for the present, one
or two instances. It is said that those who attach weight to the Dharma will
make the body into a seat on the ? oor,11 and will serve for countless kalpas
[whatever] is maintaining and relying upon the great Dharma, [whatever]
has �got my marrow,�12 whether it is an outdoor pillar, whether it is a stone
lantern, whether it is the buddhas, whether it is a wild dog, a demon or a god,
a man or a woman. Bodies and minds are easily received: they are [as com-
mon] in the world as rice, ? ax, bamboo, and reeds. The Dharma is rarely
met. Sakyamuni Buddha says, �When you meet teachers who expound the
supreme state of bodhi, have no regard for their race or caste,13 do not notice
their looks, do not dislike their faults, and do not examine their deeds. Only
because you revere their praj�a, let them eat hundreds and thousands of
pounds of gold every day, serve them by presenting heavenly food, serve
them by scattering heavenly ? owers, do prostrations and venerate them three
times every day, and never let anxiety or annoyance arise in your mind. When
we behave like this, there is always a way to the state of bodhi. Since I estab-
lished the mind, I have been practicing like this, and so today I have been
able to attain anuttara samyaksa? bodhi. � This being so, we should hope
that even trees and stones might preach to us,14 and we should request that
even fields and villages might preach to us. 15 We should question outdoor
pillars, and we should investigate even fences and walls. There is the ancient
[example of the] god Indra16 prostrating himself to a wild dog as his master,
and asking it about the Dharma; his fame as a great bodhisattva has been
transmitted. [Fitness to be asked] does not rest upon the relative nobility of
one's station. Nevertheless, stupid people who do not listen to the Buddha's
Dharma think, �I am a senior bhik? u. I cannot prostrate myself to a junior
who has got the Dharma. � �I have endured long training. I cannot prostrate
myself to a recent student who has got the Dharma. � �I sign my name with
the title of master. I cannot prostrate myself to someone who does not have
the title of master. � �I am an Administrator of Dharma Affairs. 17 I cannot
prostrate myself to lesser monks who have got the Dharma. � �I am the Chief
Administrator of Monks. 18 I cannot prostrate myself to laymen and laywomen
who have got the Dharma. � �I am [a bodhisattva] of the three clever stages
and ten sacred stages . I cannot prostrate myself to bhik? u? is and other
[women], even if they have got the Dharma. � �I am of royal pedigree. I can-
not prostrate myself to the family of a retainer or to the lineage of a minis-
ter, even if they have got the Dharma. � Stupid people like these have heed-
lessly ? ed their father's kingdom and are wandering on the roads of foreign
lands;19 therefore, they neither see nor hear the Buddha's truth.
[176] Long ago, in the Tang dynasty, Great Master Shinsai of Joshu20
established the mind and set off as a wayfarer. 21 In the story he says, �I shall
question anyone who is superior to me, even a child of seven. And I shall
teach anyone who is inferior to me, even a man of a hundred. � The old man22
is willing to prostrate himself on asking a seven-year-old about the Dharma�
this is a rare example of a resolute spirit, and the working of the mind of an
eternal buddha. When a bhik? u? i who has got the truth and got the Dharma
manifests herself in the world,23 bhik? us24 who seek the Dharma and learn
in practice will devote themselves to her order, prostrating themselves and
asking about the Dharma�this is an excellent example of learning in prac-
tice. For instance, it is like the thirsty finding drink.
[178] The Chinese Zen Master Shikan25 is a venerable patriarch in Rin-
zai's lineage. Once upon a time, Rinzai sees the master coming [to visit] and
holds onto him. The master says, �It is understood. �26 Rinzai lets go and says,
�I will allow you to stop for a while. �27 From this point on, he has already
become Rinzai's disciple. He leaves Rinzai and goes to Massan,28 at which
time Massan asks him, �Where have you come from? � The master says, �The
entrance of the road. � Massan says, �Why have you come here without any-
thing on? �29 The master has no words. He just prostrates himself, bowing as
disciple to teacher. The master asks a question back to Massan: �Just what is
Massan? � Massan says, �[Massan] never shows a peak. �30 The master says,
�Just who is the person within the mountain? � Massan says, �It is beyond
appearances such as those of a man or a woman. � The master says, �Then why
do you not change [your form]? � Massan says, �I am not the ghost of a wild
fox. What might I change? � The master prostrates himself. Eventually he
decides to work as the head of the vegetable garden and works there altogether
for three years. Later, when he has manifested himself in the world,31 he
preaches to the assembly, �I got half a dipper at Old Papa Rinzai's place, and
I got half a dipper at Old Mama Massan's place. 32 Making a dipper with both
[halves], I have finished drinking, and, having arrived directly at the present,
I am completely satisfied. � Hearing these words now, I look back on the traces
of those days with veneration for the past. Massan is an excellent disciple33
of Koan Daigu. She has power in her lifeblood, and so she has become Shikan's
�Ma. � Rinzai is an authentic successor of Obaku [Ki]un. 34 He has power in
his efforts, and so he has become Shikan's �Pa. � �Pa� means father, and �Ma�
means mother. 35 Zen Master Shikan's prostration to and pursuit of the Dharma
under the nun Massan Ryonen are an excellent example of a resolute spirit,
and integrity that students of later ages should emulate. We can say that he
broke all barriers, large and small.
[180] Nun Myoshin is a disciple of Kyozan. 36 Kyozan, on one occasion,
is choosing the Chief of the Business Office. 37 He asks around the retired
officers and others on Kyozan, �Who is the right person? � They discuss it
back and forth, and eventually Kyozan says, �Disciple [Myo]shin from the
Wai River, though a woman, has the spirit of a big stout fellow. 38 She is cer-
tainly qualified to be Chief of the Business Office. � All the monks agree.
[So] at length Myoshin is assigned as Chief of the Business Office. The drag-
ons and elephants in Kyozan's order do not resent this. Though the position
is in fact not so grand, the one selected for it might need to love herself.
While she is posted at the business office, seventeen monks from the Shoku
district39 form a group to visit teachers and seek the truth, and, intending to
climb Kyozan, they lodge at dusk at the business office. In a nighttime talk,
while resting, they discuss the story of the Founding Patriarch Sokei,40 and
the wind and the ? ag. 41 The words of each of the seventeen men are totally
inadequate. Meanwhile, listening from the other side of the wall, the Chief
of the Business Office says, �Those seventeen blind donkeys! How many
straw sandals have they worn out in vain? They have never seen the Buddha-
Dharma even in a dream. � A temple servant present at the time overhears
the Chief of the Business Office criticizing the monks and informs the sev-
enteen monks themselves, but none of the seventeen monks resents the crit-
icism of the Chief of the Business Office. Ashamed of their own inability to
express the truth, they at once prepare themselves in the dignified form,42
burn incense, do prostrations, and request [her teaching]. The Chief of the
Business Office (Myoshin) says, �Come up here! � The seventeen monks
approach her, and while they are still walking, the Chief of the Business Office
says, �This is not wind moving, this is not a ? ag moving, and this is not mind
moving. � When she teaches them like this, the seventeen monks all experi-
ence re? ection. They bow to thank her and have the ceremony to become her
disciples. Then they go straight back home to western Shoku. In the end, they
do not climb Kyozan. Truly the state [demonstrated] here is beyond [bodhi-
sattvas at] the three clever and ten sacred stages;43 it is action in the truth as
transmitted by Buddhist patriarchs from authentic successor to authentic suc-
cessor. Therefore, even today, when a post as master or assistant master44 is
vacated, a bhik? u? i who has got the Dharma may be requested [to fill it]. Even
if a bhik? u is senior in years and experience, if he has not got the Dharma,
what importance does he have? A leader of monks must always rely upon
clear eyes. Yet many [leaders] are drowning in the body and mind of a vil-
lage bumpkin; they are so dense that they are prone to be derided even in the
secular world. How much less do they deserve to be mentioned in the Buddha-
Dharma? Moreover, there may be [men] who would refuse to prostrate them-
selves to women monks who are teachers that have received the Dharma, and
who are [the men's] elder sisters, aunts, and so on. 45 Because they do not
know and will not learn, they are close to animals, and far from the Buddhist
patriarchs. When the sole devotion of body and mind to the Buddha-Dharma
is retained deep in [a person's] consciousness, the Buddha-Dharma always
has compassion for the person. Even human beings and gods, in their stu-
pidity, have the sympathy to respond to sincerity, so how could the buddhas,
in their rightness, lack the compassion to reciprocate sincerity? The sublime
spirit that responds to sincerity exists even in soil, stones, sand, and pebbles.
In the temples of the great kingdom of Song today, if a resident bhik? u? i is
reputed to have got the Dharma, the government issues an imperial edict for
her to be appointed master of a nuns' temple, and she gives formal preach-
ing in the Dharma hall of her present temple. All the monks, from the mas-
ter down, attend [the formal preaching]. They listen to the Dharma, stand-
ing on the ground, and questions are also [put by] the bhik? us, the male
monks. This is a traditional standard. A person who has got the Dharma is
one individual true eternal buddha here and now, and as such should not be
met as someone from the past. When that person looks at us, we meet each
other in a new and singular state. When we look at that person, the mutual
relation may be �today having to enter today. � For example, when arhats,
pratyekabuddhas, and [bodhisattvas at]46 the three clever and ten sacred
stages come to a bhik? u? i who is retaining the transmission of the right
Dharma-eye treasury, to prostrate themselves and to ask her about Dharma,
she must receive these prostrations. Why should men be higher? Space is
space, the four elements are the four elements,47 the five aggregates are the
five aggregates,48 and women are also like this. As regards attainment of the
truth, both [men and women] attain the truth, and we should just profoundly
revere every single person who has attained the Dharma. Do not discuss man
and woman. This is one of Buddhism's finest Dharma standards.
[187] In Song dynasty [China], the term �householder�49 refers to gen-
tlemen who have not left their families. 50 Some of them live in houses with
their wives, while others are single and pure, but anyway we can say that
they are immensely busy in a dense forest of dusty toil. 51 Nevertheless, if
one of them has clarified something, patch-robed monks52 gather to do pros-
trations and to ask for the benefit [of his teaching], as to a master who had
left home. We also should be like that, even toward a woman, even toward
an animal. When [a person] has never seen the truths of the Buddha-Dharma
even in a dream, even if he is an old bhik? u of a hundred years, he cannot
arrive at the level of a man or woman who has got the Dharma, so we should
not venerate [such a person] but need only bow to him as junior to senior.
When [a person] practices the Buddha-Dharma and speaks the Buddha-
Dharma, even if a girl of seven, she is just the guiding teacher of the four
groups53 and the benevolent father of all living beings. We should serve and
venerate her as we do the buddha-tathagatas, and as it was, for example,
when the dragon's daughter became a buddha. 54 This is just the time-hon-
ored form in Buddhism. Those who do not know about it, and who have not
received its one-to-one transmission, are pitiful.
[188] Another case: Since the ancient past in Japan and China, there
have been women emperors. The whole country is the possession of such
an empress, and all the people become her subjects. This is not out of rev-
erence for her person but out of reverence for her position. Likewise, a
bhik? u? i has never been revered for her person but is revered solely for her
attainment of the Dharma. Furthermore, the virtues that accompany the four
effects all belong to a bhik? u? i who has become an arhat. 55 Even [these]
virtues accompany her; what human being or god could hope to surpass these
virtues of the fourth effect? Gods of the triple world are all inferior to her.
While being forsaken [by human beings] she is venerated by all the gods.
How much less should anyone fail to venerate those who have received the
transmission of the Tathagata's right Dharma, and who have established the
great will of a bodhisattva? 56 If we fail to venerate such a person it is our
own wrongness. And if we fail to revere our own supreme state of bodhi,
we are stupid people who insult the Dharma. Again, there are in our coun-
try daughters of emperors, or ministers' daughters who become queens' con-
sorts,57 or queens who are titled with the names of temples. 58 Some of them
have shaved their head, and some of them do not shave their head. In any
case, priests who [only] look like bhik? us, and who crave fame and love gain,
never fail to run to the house of such [a woman] and strike their head at her
clogs. They are far inferior to serfs following a lord. Moreover, many of
them actually become her servants for a period of years. How pitiful they
are. Having been born in a minor nation in a remote land, they do not even
know a bad custom like this for what it is. There was never [such ignorance]
in India and China but only in our country. It is lamentable. Forcedly to shave
the head and then to violate the Tathagata's right Dharma must be called
deep and heavy sin. Solely because they forget that worldly ways are dreams
and illusions, ? owers in space, they are bonded in slavery to women. It is
lamentable. Even for the sake of a tri? ing secular livelihood, they act like
this. Why, for the sake of the supreme bodhi, do they fail to venerate the
venerable ones who have got the Dharma? It is because their awe for the
Dharma is shallow and their will to pursue the Dharma is not pervasive.
When [people] are already coveting a treasure they do not think about refus-
ing it just because it is the treasure of a woman. When we want to get the
Dharma, we must surpass such resolve. If it is so, even grass, trees, fences,
and walls will bestow the right Dharma, and the heavens and the earth, myr-
iad things and phenomena, will also impart the right Dharma. This is a truth
that we must always remember. Before we seek the Dharma with this deter-
mination, even if we meet true good counselors, we will not be soaked by
the benevolent water of Dharma. We should pay careful attention [to this].
[192] Furthermore, nowadays extremely stupid people look at women
without having corrected the prejudice that women are objects of sexual
greed. Disciples of the Buddha must not be like this. If whatever may become
the object of sexual greed is to be hated, do not all men deserve to be hated
too? As regards the causes and conditions of becoming tainted, a man can
be the object, a woman can be the object, what is neither man nor woman
can be the object, and dreams and fantasies, ? owers in space, can also be the
object. There have been impure acts done with a re? ection on water as an
object, and there have been impure acts done with the sun in the sky as an
object. 59 A god can be the object, and a demon can be the object. It is impos-
sible to count all the possible objects; they say that there are eighty-four
thousand objects. Should we discard all of them? Should we not look at
them? The precepts60 say, �[Abuse of] the two male organs,61 or the three
female organs,62 are both parajika, and [the offender] may not remain in the
community. �63 This being so, if we hate whatever might become the object
of sexual greed, all men and women will hate each other, and we will never
have any chance to attain salvation. We should examine this truth in detail.
There are non-Buddhists who have no wife: even though they have no wife,
they have not entered the Buddha-Dharma, and so they are [only] non-Bud-
dhists with wrong views.