aya, and lectured on such sutras as the Lotus Sutra and
the Srimala Sutra,125 he experienced the miraculous omen of precious ?
the Srimala Sutra,125 he experienced the miraculous omen of precious ?
Shobogenzo
aya.
Its merits may be utterly measureless and unthink-
able. This being so, the authentic transmission to the present of the skin,
? esh, bones, and marrow of the World-honored One, is the ka? aya robe. The
ancestral masters who have authentically transmitted the right Dharma-eye
treasury have, without exception, authentically transmitted the ka? aya. The
living beings who have received and retained this robe and humbly received
it upon their heads have, without exception, attained the truth within two or
three lives. Even when people have put [the ka? aya] on their body for a joke
or for gain, it has inevitably become the causes and conditions for their attain-
ing the truth.
[87] The ancestral master Nagarjuna82 says, �Further, in the Buddha-
Dharma, people who have left family life,83 even if they break the pre-
cepts and fall into sin, after they have expiated their sins, they can
attain liberation, as the bhik? u? i Utpalavar? a explains in the Jataka-
sutra:84 When the Buddha is in the world, this bhik? u? i attains the six
mystical powers85 and the state of an arhat. 86 She goes into the houses
of nobles and constantly praises the method of leaving family life, say-
ing to all the aristocratic ladies, �Sisters! You should leave family life. '
The noblewomen say, �We are young and our figures are full of
life and beauty. It would be difficult for us to keep the precepts. Some-
times we might break the precepts. '
The bhik? u? i says, �If you break the precepts, you break them.
Just leave family life! '
They ask, �If we break the precepts we will fall into hell. Why
should we want to break them? '
She answers, �If you fall into hell, you fall. '
The noblewomen all laugh at this, saying, �In hell we would have
to receive retribution for our sins. Why should we want to fall [into
hell]? '
The bhik? u? i says, �I remember in my own past life, once I became
a prostitute, wore all sorts of clothes, and spoke in old-fashioned lan-
guage. 87 One day I put on a bhik? u? i robe as a joke, and due to this as
a direct and indirect cause, at the time of Kasyapa Buddha88 I became
a bhik? u? i. I was still proud then of my noble pedigree and fine fea-
tures: vanity and arrogance arose in my mind, and I broke the precepts.
Because of the wrongness of breaking the precepts I fell into hell and
suffered for my various sins, but after I had suffered retribution I finally
met Sakyamuni Buddha, transcended family life, and attained the six
mystical powers and the truth of an arhat. Thus, I know that when we
leave family life and receive the precepts, even if we break the pre-
cepts, due to the precepts as direct and indirect causes we can attain
the truth of an arhat. If I had only done bad, without the precepts as
direct and indirect causes, I could not have attained the truth. In the
past I fell into hell in age after age. When I got out of hell I became a
bad person, and when the bad person died, I went back into hell, and
there was no gain at all. Now therefore I know from experience that
when we leave family life and receive the precepts, even if we break
the precepts, with this as a direct and indirect cause we can attain the
bodhi-effect. '�89
[90] The primary cause of this bhik? u? i Utpalavar? a90 attaining the truth
as an arhat is just the merit of her putting the ka? aya on her body for a joke;
because of this merit, and no other merit, she has now attained the truth. In
her second life she meets the Dharma of Kasyapa Buddha and becomes a
bhik? u? i. In her third life she meets Sakyamuni Buddha and becomes a great
arhat, equipped with the three kinds of knowledge and the six powers. The
three kinds of knowledge are supernatural insight, [knowing] past lives, and
ending the super? uous. The six powers are the power of mystical transmu-
tation, the power to know others' minds, the power of supernatural sight, the
power of supernatural hearing, the power to know past lives, and the power
to end the super? uous. 91 Truly, when she was only a wrongdoer she died and
entered hell to no avail, coming out of hell and becoming a wrongdoer again.
[But] when she has the precepts as direct and indirect causes, although she
has broken the precepts and fallen into hell, they are the direct and indirect
causes of her attaining the truth at last. Now, even someone who has worn
the ka? aya for a joke can attain the truth in her third life. How, then, could
someone who has established pure belief, and who wears the ka? aya for the
sake of the supreme state of bodhi, fail to accomplish that merit? Still fur-
ther, if we receive and retain [the ka? aya] throughout our life, humbly receiv-
ing it upon the head, the merit might be universal and great beyond measure.
Any human being who would like to establish the bodhi-mind should receive
and retain the ka? aya, and humbly receive it upon the head, without delay.
To have met this favorable age but not to have sown a Buddhist seed would
be deplorable. Having received a human body on the southern continent,92
having met the Dharma of Sakyamuni Buddha, and having been born to meet
an ancestral master who is a perfectly legitimate successor to the Buddha-
Dharma, if we idly passed up the chance to receive the ka? aya which has
been transmitted one-to-one and which is directly accessible, that would be
deplorable. Now, in regard to the authentic transmission of the ka? aya, the
one authentic transmission from the ancestral master is right and traditional;
other masters cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Even to receive
and to retain the ka? aya following a master who has not received the trans-
mission is still of very profound merit. But much more than that, if we receive
and retain [the ka? aya] from a true master who has quite legitimately received
the face-to-face transmission, we may really be the Dharma children and the
Dharma grandchildren of the Tathagata himself, and we may actually have
received the authentic transmission of the Tathagata's skin, ? esh, bones, and
marrow. The ka? aya, in conclusion, has been authentically transmitted by
the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions, without interruption;
it is what the buddhas, bodhisattvas, sravakas, and pratyekabuddhas of the
three times and the ten directions have, in like manner, guarded and retained.
[93] Coarse cotton cloth is the standard [material] for making the ka? aya.
When there is no coarse cotton cloth, we use fine cotton cloth. When there
is neither coarse nor fine cotton cloth, we use plain silk. When there is nei-
ther [plain] silk nor cotton cloth, materials such as patterned cloth93 or sheer
silk may be used; [these are all] approved by the Tathagata. For countries
where there is no plain silk, cotton, patterned cloth, sheer silk, or anything
of the kind, the Tathagata also permits the leather ka? aya. Generally, we
should dye the ka? aya blue, yellow, red, black, or purple. Whichever color
it is, we should make it a secondary color. 94 The Tathagata always wore a
? esh-colored ka? aya; this was the color of the ka? aya. The Buddha's ka? aya
transmitted by the First Patriarch was blue-black, and made of the cotton
crepe of the Western Heavens. It is now on Sokeizan. It was transmitted
twenty-eight times in the Western Heavens and transmitted five times in
China. Now the surviving disciples of the eternal buddha of Sokei,95 who
have all received and retained the ancient customs of the Buddha's robe, are
beyond other monks. Broadly, there are three kinds of robe: 1) �the robe of
rags,� 2) �the robe of fur,� and 3) �the patched robe. � �Rags� are as explained
previously. In �the robe of fur,� the fine [down and] hair of birds and beasts
is called �fur. � �When practitioners cannot obtain rags, they pick up this
[fur] and make it into the robe. �The patched robe' describes our sewing and
patching, and wearing, [cloth] that has become ragged and worn with age;
we do not wear the fine clothes of the secular world. �96
[95] 97The venerable monk98 Upali99 asks the World-honored One,
�World-honored Bhadanta! 100 How many stripes does the sa? gha? i
robe have? �
The Buddha says, �There are nine kinds. What are the nine kinds?
They are [the sa? gha? i robe] of nine stripes, eleven stripes, thirteen
stripes, fifteen stripes, seventeen stripes, nineteen stripes, twenty-one
stripes, twenty-three stripes, and twenty-five stripes. The first three of
those kinds of sa? gha? i robe have two long segments and one short
segment [in each stripe], and we should keep [the standard] like this.
The next three kinds have three long [segments] and one short, and
the last three kinds have four long and one short. Anything with more
[segments per] stripe than this becomes an unorthodox robe. �101
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many kinds of sa? gha? i robe are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. 102 The larger is three cubits long by five cubits wide. 103 The
smaller is two and a half cubits long by four and a half cubits wide.
Anything between these two is called medium. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One: �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many stripes does the uttarasa? gha? i104 robe have? �
The Buddha says, �It has only seven stripes, each with two long
segments and one short segment. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many kinds of seven-striped [robe] are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. The larger is three cubits by five, the smaller is a half cubit
shorter on each side, and anything between these two is called medium. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One: �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many stripes does the antarvasa105 robe have? �
The Buddha says, �It has five stripes, each with one long segment
and one short segment. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �How many kinds
of antarvasa robes are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. The larger is three cubits by five. The medium and the smaller
are as before. �106 The Buddha says, �There are two further kinds of
antarvasa robes. What are those two? The first is two cubits long by
five cubits wide, and the second is two cubits long by four cubits wide. �
The sa? gha? i is translated as �the double-layered robe,� the
uttarasa? gha? i is translated as �the upper robe,� and the antarvasa is
translated as �the under robe� or as �the inner robe. � At the same time,
the sa? gha? i robe is called �the large robe,� and also called �the robe
for entering royal palaces� or �the robe for preaching the Dharma. �
The uttarasa? gha? i is called �the seven-striped robe,� or called �the
middle robe� or �the robe for going among the sangha. � The antarvasa
is called �the five-striped robe,� or called �the small robe� or �the robe
for practicing the truth and for doing work. �
[98] We should guard and retain these three robes without fail. Among
sa? gha? i robes is the ka? aya of sixty stripes, which also deserves to be
received and retained without fail. In general, the length of a [buddha's] body
depends on the span of its lifetime, which is between eighty thousand years107
and one hundred years. 108 Some say that there are differences between eighty
thousand years and one hundred years, while others say that they may be
equal. We esteem the insistence that they may be equal as the authentic tra-
dition. 109 The body measurements of buddhas and of human beings are very
different: the human body can be measured, but the buddha body ultimately
cannot be measured. 110 Therefore, in the present moment in which Sakya-
muni Buddha puts on the ka? aya of Kasyapa Buddha,111 [the ka? aya] is not
long and not wide. And in the present moment in which Maitreya Tathagata
puts on the ka? aya of Sakyamuni Buddha, it is not short and not narrow. We
should re? ect upon clearly, decide conclusively, understand completely, and
observe carefully that the buddha body is not long or short. King Brahma,112
though high in the world of matter, does not see the crown of the Buddha's
head. Maudgal yayana,113 having gone far into the World of the Bright Ban-
ner, does not discern the Buddha's voice: it is truly a mystery that [the
Buddha's form and voice] are the same whether seen and heard from far or
near. All the merits of the Tathagata are like this,114 and we should keep these
merits in mind.
[100] As regards [methods of] cutting out and sewing the ka? aya, there
is the robe of separate stripes,115 the robe of added stripes,116 the robe of
pleated stripes,117 and the single-sheet robe,118 each of which is a proper
method. We should receive and retain [the kind of robe] that accords with
the [material] obtained. The Buddha says, �The ka? aya of the buddhas of
the three times is invariably backstitched. � In obtaining the material, again,
we consider pure material to be good, and we consider so-called filthy rags
to be the purest of all. The buddhas of the three times all consider [rags] to
be pure. In addition, cloth offered by devout donors is also pure. There again,
[cloth] bought at a market with pure money is also pure. There are limits on
the [number of] days within which the robe should be made,119 but in the
present degenerate age of the latter Dharma, in a remote country, it may be
better for us to receive and to retain [the robe] by doing the cutting and sewing
whenever we are promoted by belief. It is an ultimate secret of the Great
Vehicle that laypeople, whether human beings or gods, receive and retain
the ka? aya. King Brahma and King Sakra120 have now both received and
retained the ka? aya, and these are excellent precedents in [the worlds of]
volition and matter. Excellent [precedents] in the human world are beyond
calculation. All lay bodhisattvas have received and retained [the ka? aya]. In
China, Emperor Bu121 of the Liang dynasty and Emperor Yang122 of the Sui
dynasty123 both received and retained the ka? aya. Emperors Taiso and Shukuso
both wore the ka? aya, learned in practice from monks, and received and
retained the bodhisattva precepts. Other people such as householders and their
wives who received the ka? aya and received the Buddhist precepts are excel-
lent examples in the past and present. In Japan, when Prince Shotoku124 received
and retained the ka?
aya, and lectured on such sutras as the Lotus Sutra and
the Srimala Sutra,125 he experienced the miraculous omen of precious ? ow-
ers raining from the heavens. From that time the Buddha-Dharma spread
throughout our country. Though [Prince Shotoku] was the regent of the whole
country, he was just a guiding teacher to human beings and gods. As the
Buddha's emissary, he was father and mother to many living beings. In our
country today, although the materials, colors, and measurements of the ka? aya
have all been misunderstood, that we can see and hear the word ka? aya is
due solely to the power of Prince Shotoku. We would be in a sorry state
today if, at that time, he had not destroyed the false and established the true.
Later, Emperor Shomu126 also received and retained the ka? aya and received
the bodhisattva precepts. Therefore, whether we are emperors or subjects,
we should receive and retain the ka? aya and we should receive the bodhi-
sattva precepts without delay. There can be no greater happiness for a human
body.
[104] It has been said that �the ka? ayas received and retained by laypeo-
ple are either called �single-stitched' or called �secular robes. ' That is, they
are not sewn with backstitches. � It is also said that �when laypeople go to a
place of [practicing] the truth, they should be equipped with the three Dharma
robes, a willow twig,127 rinsing water,128 mealware, and a sitting cloth;129 they
should practice the same pure practices as bhik? us. �130
[105] Such were the traditions of a master of the past. 131 However, [the
tradition] that has now been received one-to-one from the Buddhist patri-
archs is that the ka? ayas transmitted to kings, ministers, householders,132 and
common folk, are all backstitched. An excellent precedent is that [Master
Daikan Eno] had already received the authentic transmission of the Buddha's
ka? aya as the temple servant Ro (Ch. Lu). 133 In general, the ka? aya is the
banner of a disciple of the Buddha. If we have already received and retained
the ka? aya, we should humbly receive it upon the head every day. Placing
it on the crown of the head, we join the hands and recite the following verse:
Daisai-gedatsu-fuku (How great is the clothing of liberation,)
Muso-fukuden-e (Formless, field of happiness, robe! )
Hibu-nyorai-kyo (Devoutly wearing the Tathagata's teaching,)
Kodo-shoshujo (Widely I will save living beings. )
After that we put it on. In the ka? aya, we should feel like [our] master
and should feel like a tower. 134 We also recite this verse when we humbly
receive [the ka? aya] on the head after washing it.
[107] The Buddha says,
When we shave the head and wear the ka? aya,
We are protected by the buddhas.
Each person who transcends family life
Is served by gods and humans.
Clearly, once we have shaved the head and put on the ka? aya, we are
protected by all the buddhas. Relying on this protection of the buddhas, [a
person] can roundly realize the virtues of the supreme state of bodhi. Celes-
tial throngs and human multitudes serve offerings to such a person.
135The World-honored One says to the bhik? u Wisdom-Brightness,136
�The Dharma robe has ten excellent merits: 1) It is able to cover the
body, to keep away shame, to fill us with humility and to [make us]
practice good ways. 137 2) It keeps away cold and heat, as well as mos-
quitoes, harmful creatures, and poisonous insects, [so that we can]
practice the truth in tranquility. 3) It manifests the form of a srama? a138
who has left family life, giving delight to those who behold it and keep-
ing away wrong states of mind. 4) The ka? aya is just the manifesta-
tion to human beings and gods of a precious ? ag; those who honor and
venerate it are able to be born in a Brahma heaven. 139 5) When we wear
the ka? aya, we feel that it is a precious ? ag; it is able to extinguish sins
and to produce all kinds of happiness and virtue. 6) A fundamental
rule in making the ka? aya is to dye it a secondary color,140 so that it
keeps us free from thoughts of the five desires,141 and does not give
rise to lust. 7) The ka? aya is the pure robe of the Buddha; for it erad-
icates af? ictions142 forever and makes them into a fertile field. 8) When
the ka? aya covers the body, it extinguishes the karma of sins and pro-
motes at every moment the practice of the ten kinds of good. 143 9) The
ka? aya is like a fertile field; for it is well able to nurture the bodhi-
sattva way. 10) The ka? aya is also like a suit of armor; for it makes
the poisoned arrows of af? iction unable to do harm. Wisdom-Bright-
ness! Remember, through these causes, when the buddhas of the three
times, and pratyekabuddhas and sravakas, and pure monks and nuns,
cover the body in the ka? aya, [these] three groups of sacred beings sit
as one on the precious platform of liberation, take up the sword of wis-
dom to destroy the demons of af? iction, and enter together into the
many spheres of nirvana which have one taste. � Then the World-hon-
ored One speaks again in verse:
Bhik? u Wisdom-Brightness, listen well!
The traditional Buddhist robe has ten excellent merits:
Secular clothes increase taintedness from desire,
The Tathagata's Dharma attire is not like that;
Dharma attire fends off social shame,
But fills us with the humility that produces a field of happiness.
It keeps away cold and heat, and poisonous insects;
Firming our will to the truth, it enables us to arrive at the
ultimate.
It manifests [the form] of a monk and keeps away greed;
It eradicates the five views144 and [promotes] right practice.
To look at and bow to the ka? aya's form of a precious banner,
And to venerate it, produces the happiness of King Brahma.
When a disciple of the Buddha wears the robe and feels like
a tower,
This produces happiness, extinguishes sins, and impresses
human beings and gods.
True srama? as, of modest appearance, showing respect,
Are not tainted in their actions by secular defilements.
The buddhas praise [the ka? aya] as a fertile field,
They call it supreme in giving benefit and joy to living beings.
The mystical power of the ka? aya is unthinkable,
It can cause us to practice deeds that plant the seeds of bodhi,145
It makes the sprouts of the truth grow like spring seedlings,
The wonderful effect of bodhi being like autumn fruit.
[The ka? aya] is a true suit of armor, as hard as a diamond;
The poisoned arrows of af? iction can do no harm.
I have now brie? y praised the ten excellent merits,
If I had successive kalpas to expound them widely, there would
be no end.
If a dragon wears a single strand [of the ka? aya],
It will escape [the fate of] becoming food for a garu? a. 146
If people retain this robe when crossing the ocean,
They need not fear trouble from dragonfish or demons.
When thunder roars, lightning strikes, and the sky is angry,
Someone who wears the ka? aya is fearless.
If one clothed in white147 is able personally to hold and retain
[the ka? aya],
All bad demons are unable to approach.
If [that person] is able to establish the will and seeks to leave
home,
Shunning the world and practicing the Buddha's truth,
All the demon palaces of the ten directions will quake and
tremble,
And that person will quickly experience the body of the
Dharma King. 148
[113] These ten excellent merits broadly include all the merits of the
Buddha's truth. We should explicitly learn in practice the merits present in
[these] long lines and [short] verses of praise, not just glancing over them
and quickly putting them aside, but studying them phrase by phrase over a
long period. These excellent merits are just the merits of the ka? aya itself:
they are not the effect of a practitioner's fierce [pursuit of] merit through
perpetual training. The Buddha says, �The mystical power of the ka? aya is
unthinkable�; it cannot be supposed at random by the common person or
sages and saints. In general, when we �quickly experience the body of the
Dharma King,� we are always wearing the ka? aya. There has never been
anyone, since ancient times, who experienced the body of the Dharma King
without wearing the ka? aya.
[114] The best and purest material for the robe is rags, whose merits are
universally evident in the sutras, precepts, and commentaries149 of the Great
Vehicle and Small Vehicle. We should inquire into [these merits] under those
who have studied them widely. At the same time, we should also be clear
about other materials for the robe. [These things] have been clarified and
authentically transmitted by the buddhas and the patriarchs. They are beyond
lesser beings.
[115] The Middle Agama Sutra150 says:
Furthermore, wise friends! 151 Suppose there is a man whose bodily
behavior is pure but whose behavior of mouth and mind is impure. If
wise people see [the impurity] and feel anger they must dispel it. Wise
friends! Suppose there is a man whose bodily behavior is impure but
whose behavior of mouth and mind is pure. If wise people see [the
impurity] and feel anger they must dispel it. How can they dispel it?
Wise friends! They should be like a forest bhik? u152 with rags, look-
ing among the rags for worn cloth to be thrown away, and for [cloth]
soiled by feces or urine, or by tears and spit, or stained by other impu-
rities. After inspecting [a rag, the bhik? u] picks it up with the left hand
and stretches it out with the right hand. 153 If there are any parts that are
not soiled by feces, urine, tears, spit, or other impurities, and which
are not in holes, [the bhik? u] tears them off and takes them. In the same
way, wise friends, if a man's bodily behavior is impure but the behav-
ior of mouth and mind is pure, do not think about his body's impure
behavior. Only be aware of his pure behavior of mouth and mind. If
wise people feel anger at what they see, they must dispel it like this.
[117] This is the method by which a forest bhik? u collects rags. There
are four sorts of rags and ten sorts of rags. When gathering those rags, we
first pick out the parts that have no holes. We should then also reject [the
parts] that cannot be washed clean, being too deeply soiled with long-accu-
mulated stains of feces and urine. We should select [those parts] that can be
washed clean.
[117] The ten sorts of rags: 1) Rags chewed by an ox, 2) rags gnawed
by rats, 3) rags scorched by fire, 4) rags [soiled by] menstruation, 5) rags
[soiled by] childbirth, 6) rags [offered at] a shrine, 7) rags [left at] a grave-
yard, 8) rags [offered in] petitional prayer, 9) rags [discarded by] a king's
officers,154 10) rags brought back from a funeral. 155 These ten sorts people
throw away; they are not used in human society. We pick them up and make
them into the pure material of the ka? aya. Rags have been praised and have
been used by the buddhas of the three times. Therefore these rags are val-
ued and defended by human beings, gods, dragons, and so on. We should
pick them up to make the ka? aya; they are the purest material and the ulti-
mate purity. Nowadays in Japan there are no such rags. Even if we search,
we cannot find any. It is regrettable that [this] is a minor nation in a remote
land. However, we can use pure material offered by a donor, and we can use
pure material donated by human beings and gods. Alternatively, we can make
the ka? aya from [cloth] bought at a market with earnings from a pure live-
lihood. Such rags and [cloth] obtained from a pure livelihood are not silk,
not cotton, and not gold, silver, pearls, patterned cloth, sheer silk, brocade,
embroidery, and so on; they are just rags. These rags are neither for a hum-
ble robe nor for a beautiful garment; they are just for the Buddha-Dharma.
To wear them is just to have received the authentic transmission of the skin,
? esh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas of the three times, and to have
received the authentic transmission of the right Dharma-eye treasury. We
should never ask human beings and gods about the merit of this [transmis-
sion]. We should learn it in practice from Buddhist patriarchs.
Shobogenzo Kesa-kudoku
[120] During my stay in Song China, when I was making effort on the long
platform, I saw that my neighbor at the end of every sitting156 would lift up
his ka? aya and place it on his head; then holding the hands together in ven-
eration, he would quietly recite a verse. The verse was:
Daisai-gedatsu-fuku (How great is the clothing of liberation,)
Muso-fukuden-e (Formless, field of happiness, robe! )
Hibu-nyorai-kyo (Devoutly wearing the Tathagata's teaching,)
Kodo-shoshujo (Widely I will save living beings. )
At that time, there arose in me a feeling I had never before experienced.
[My] body was overwhelmed with joy. The tears of gratitude secretly fell
and soaked my lapels. The reason was that when I had read the Agama sutras
previously, I had noticed sentences about humbly receiving the ka? aya on
the head, but I had not clarified the standards for this behavior. Seeing it
done now, before my very eyes, I was overjoyed. I thought to myself, �It is
a pity that when I was in my homeland there was no master to teach this,
and no good friend to recommend it. How could I not regret, how could I
not deplore, passing so much time in vain? Now that I am seeing and hear-
ing it, I can rejoice in past good conduct. If I had vainly stayed in my home
country, how could I have sat next to this treasure of a monk,157 who has
received the transmission of, and who wears, the Buddha's robe itself? � The
sadness and joy was not one-sided. A thousand myriad tears of gratitude ran
down. Then I secretly vowed: �One way or another, unworthy though I am,
I will become a rightful successor to the Buddha-Dharma. I will receive the
authentic transmission of the right Dharma and, out of compassion for liv-
ing beings in my homeland, I will cause them to see and to hear the robe and
the Dharma that have been authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patri-
archs. � The vow I made then has not been in vain now; many bodhisattvas,
in families and out of families,158 have received and retained the ka? aya. This
is something to rejoice in. People who have received and retained the ka? aya
should humbly receive it upon the head every day and night. The merit [of
this] may be especially excellent and supremely excellent. The seeing and
hearing of a phrase or a verse may be as in the story of �on trees and on
rocks,�159 and the seeing and hearing may not be limited to the length and
breadth of the nine states. 160 The merit of the authentic transmission of the
ka? aya is hardly encountered through the ten directions. To [encounter this
merit] even if only for one day or for one night may be the most excellent
and highest thing.
[123] In the tenth lunar month in the winter of the seventeenth year of
Kajo161 in great Song [China], two Korean162 monks came to the city of Kei -
genfu. 163 One was called Chigen and one was called Keiun. This pair were
always discussing the meaning of Buddhist sutras; at the same time they
were also men of letters. But they had no ka? aya and no patra, like secular
people. It was pitiful that though they had the external form of bhik? us they
did not have the Dharma of bhik? us. 164 This may have been because they
were from a minor nation in a remote land. When Japanese who have the
external form of bhik? us travel abroad, they are likely to be the same as Chi-
gen and such. Sakyamuni Buddha received [the ka? aya] upon his head for
twelve years, never setting it aside. 165 We are already his distant descendants,
and we should emulate this. To turn the forehead away from prostrations
idly done for fame and gain to gods, to spirits, to kings, and to retainers, and
to turn instead toward the humble reception upon the head of the Buddha's
robe, is joyful.
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko -
shohorinji, on the first day of winter,166 in
the first year of Ninji. 167
---
BDK English Tripitaka
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Books
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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?
able. This being so, the authentic transmission to the present of the skin,
? esh, bones, and marrow of the World-honored One, is the ka? aya robe. The
ancestral masters who have authentically transmitted the right Dharma-eye
treasury have, without exception, authentically transmitted the ka? aya. The
living beings who have received and retained this robe and humbly received
it upon their heads have, without exception, attained the truth within two or
three lives. Even when people have put [the ka? aya] on their body for a joke
or for gain, it has inevitably become the causes and conditions for their attain-
ing the truth.
[87] The ancestral master Nagarjuna82 says, �Further, in the Buddha-
Dharma, people who have left family life,83 even if they break the pre-
cepts and fall into sin, after they have expiated their sins, they can
attain liberation, as the bhik? u? i Utpalavar? a explains in the Jataka-
sutra:84 When the Buddha is in the world, this bhik? u? i attains the six
mystical powers85 and the state of an arhat. 86 She goes into the houses
of nobles and constantly praises the method of leaving family life, say-
ing to all the aristocratic ladies, �Sisters! You should leave family life. '
The noblewomen say, �We are young and our figures are full of
life and beauty. It would be difficult for us to keep the precepts. Some-
times we might break the precepts. '
The bhik? u? i says, �If you break the precepts, you break them.
Just leave family life! '
They ask, �If we break the precepts we will fall into hell. Why
should we want to break them? '
She answers, �If you fall into hell, you fall. '
The noblewomen all laugh at this, saying, �In hell we would have
to receive retribution for our sins. Why should we want to fall [into
hell]? '
The bhik? u? i says, �I remember in my own past life, once I became
a prostitute, wore all sorts of clothes, and spoke in old-fashioned lan-
guage. 87 One day I put on a bhik? u? i robe as a joke, and due to this as
a direct and indirect cause, at the time of Kasyapa Buddha88 I became
a bhik? u? i. I was still proud then of my noble pedigree and fine fea-
tures: vanity and arrogance arose in my mind, and I broke the precepts.
Because of the wrongness of breaking the precepts I fell into hell and
suffered for my various sins, but after I had suffered retribution I finally
met Sakyamuni Buddha, transcended family life, and attained the six
mystical powers and the truth of an arhat. Thus, I know that when we
leave family life and receive the precepts, even if we break the pre-
cepts, due to the precepts as direct and indirect causes we can attain
the truth of an arhat. If I had only done bad, without the precepts as
direct and indirect causes, I could not have attained the truth. In the
past I fell into hell in age after age. When I got out of hell I became a
bad person, and when the bad person died, I went back into hell, and
there was no gain at all. Now therefore I know from experience that
when we leave family life and receive the precepts, even if we break
the precepts, with this as a direct and indirect cause we can attain the
bodhi-effect. '�89
[90] The primary cause of this bhik? u? i Utpalavar? a90 attaining the truth
as an arhat is just the merit of her putting the ka? aya on her body for a joke;
because of this merit, and no other merit, she has now attained the truth. In
her second life she meets the Dharma of Kasyapa Buddha and becomes a
bhik? u? i. In her third life she meets Sakyamuni Buddha and becomes a great
arhat, equipped with the three kinds of knowledge and the six powers. The
three kinds of knowledge are supernatural insight, [knowing] past lives, and
ending the super? uous. The six powers are the power of mystical transmu-
tation, the power to know others' minds, the power of supernatural sight, the
power of supernatural hearing, the power to know past lives, and the power
to end the super? uous. 91 Truly, when she was only a wrongdoer she died and
entered hell to no avail, coming out of hell and becoming a wrongdoer again.
[But] when she has the precepts as direct and indirect causes, although she
has broken the precepts and fallen into hell, they are the direct and indirect
causes of her attaining the truth at last. Now, even someone who has worn
the ka? aya for a joke can attain the truth in her third life. How, then, could
someone who has established pure belief, and who wears the ka? aya for the
sake of the supreme state of bodhi, fail to accomplish that merit? Still fur-
ther, if we receive and retain [the ka? aya] throughout our life, humbly receiv-
ing it upon the head, the merit might be universal and great beyond measure.
Any human being who would like to establish the bodhi-mind should receive
and retain the ka? aya, and humbly receive it upon the head, without delay.
To have met this favorable age but not to have sown a Buddhist seed would
be deplorable. Having received a human body on the southern continent,92
having met the Dharma of Sakyamuni Buddha, and having been born to meet
an ancestral master who is a perfectly legitimate successor to the Buddha-
Dharma, if we idly passed up the chance to receive the ka? aya which has
been transmitted one-to-one and which is directly accessible, that would be
deplorable. Now, in regard to the authentic transmission of the ka? aya, the
one authentic transmission from the ancestral master is right and traditional;
other masters cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Even to receive
and to retain the ka? aya following a master who has not received the trans-
mission is still of very profound merit. But much more than that, if we receive
and retain [the ka? aya] from a true master who has quite legitimately received
the face-to-face transmission, we may really be the Dharma children and the
Dharma grandchildren of the Tathagata himself, and we may actually have
received the authentic transmission of the Tathagata's skin, ? esh, bones, and
marrow. The ka? aya, in conclusion, has been authentically transmitted by
the buddhas of the three times and the ten directions, without interruption;
it is what the buddhas, bodhisattvas, sravakas, and pratyekabuddhas of the
three times and the ten directions have, in like manner, guarded and retained.
[93] Coarse cotton cloth is the standard [material] for making the ka? aya.
When there is no coarse cotton cloth, we use fine cotton cloth. When there
is neither coarse nor fine cotton cloth, we use plain silk. When there is nei-
ther [plain] silk nor cotton cloth, materials such as patterned cloth93 or sheer
silk may be used; [these are all] approved by the Tathagata. For countries
where there is no plain silk, cotton, patterned cloth, sheer silk, or anything
of the kind, the Tathagata also permits the leather ka? aya. Generally, we
should dye the ka? aya blue, yellow, red, black, or purple. Whichever color
it is, we should make it a secondary color. 94 The Tathagata always wore a
? esh-colored ka? aya; this was the color of the ka? aya. The Buddha's ka? aya
transmitted by the First Patriarch was blue-black, and made of the cotton
crepe of the Western Heavens. It is now on Sokeizan. It was transmitted
twenty-eight times in the Western Heavens and transmitted five times in
China. Now the surviving disciples of the eternal buddha of Sokei,95 who
have all received and retained the ancient customs of the Buddha's robe, are
beyond other monks. Broadly, there are three kinds of robe: 1) �the robe of
rags,� 2) �the robe of fur,� and 3) �the patched robe. � �Rags� are as explained
previously. In �the robe of fur,� the fine [down and] hair of birds and beasts
is called �fur. � �When practitioners cannot obtain rags, they pick up this
[fur] and make it into the robe. �The patched robe' describes our sewing and
patching, and wearing, [cloth] that has become ragged and worn with age;
we do not wear the fine clothes of the secular world. �96
[95] 97The venerable monk98 Upali99 asks the World-honored One,
�World-honored Bhadanta! 100 How many stripes does the sa? gha? i
robe have? �
The Buddha says, �There are nine kinds. What are the nine kinds?
They are [the sa? gha? i robe] of nine stripes, eleven stripes, thirteen
stripes, fifteen stripes, seventeen stripes, nineteen stripes, twenty-one
stripes, twenty-three stripes, and twenty-five stripes. The first three of
those kinds of sa? gha? i robe have two long segments and one short
segment [in each stripe], and we should keep [the standard] like this.
The next three kinds have three long [segments] and one short, and
the last three kinds have four long and one short. Anything with more
[segments per] stripe than this becomes an unorthodox robe. �101
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many kinds of sa? gha? i robe are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. 102 The larger is three cubits long by five cubits wide. 103 The
smaller is two and a half cubits long by four and a half cubits wide.
Anything between these two is called medium. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One: �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many stripes does the uttarasa? gha? i104 robe have? �
The Buddha says, �It has only seven stripes, each with two long
segments and one short segment. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many kinds of seven-striped [robe] are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. The larger is three cubits by five, the smaller is a half cubit
shorter on each side, and anything between these two is called medium. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One: �World-honored
Bhadanta! How many stripes does the antarvasa105 robe have? �
The Buddha says, �It has five stripes, each with one long segment
and one short segment. �
Upali again addresses the World-honored One, �How many kinds
of antarvasa robes are there? �
The Buddha says, �There are three kinds: larger, medium, and
smaller. The larger is three cubits by five. The medium and the smaller
are as before. �106 The Buddha says, �There are two further kinds of
antarvasa robes. What are those two? The first is two cubits long by
five cubits wide, and the second is two cubits long by four cubits wide. �
The sa? gha? i is translated as �the double-layered robe,� the
uttarasa? gha? i is translated as �the upper robe,� and the antarvasa is
translated as �the under robe� or as �the inner robe. � At the same time,
the sa? gha? i robe is called �the large robe,� and also called �the robe
for entering royal palaces� or �the robe for preaching the Dharma. �
The uttarasa? gha? i is called �the seven-striped robe,� or called �the
middle robe� or �the robe for going among the sangha. � The antarvasa
is called �the five-striped robe,� or called �the small robe� or �the robe
for practicing the truth and for doing work. �
[98] We should guard and retain these three robes without fail. Among
sa? gha? i robes is the ka? aya of sixty stripes, which also deserves to be
received and retained without fail. In general, the length of a [buddha's] body
depends on the span of its lifetime, which is between eighty thousand years107
and one hundred years. 108 Some say that there are differences between eighty
thousand years and one hundred years, while others say that they may be
equal. We esteem the insistence that they may be equal as the authentic tra-
dition. 109 The body measurements of buddhas and of human beings are very
different: the human body can be measured, but the buddha body ultimately
cannot be measured. 110 Therefore, in the present moment in which Sakya-
muni Buddha puts on the ka? aya of Kasyapa Buddha,111 [the ka? aya] is not
long and not wide. And in the present moment in which Maitreya Tathagata
puts on the ka? aya of Sakyamuni Buddha, it is not short and not narrow. We
should re? ect upon clearly, decide conclusively, understand completely, and
observe carefully that the buddha body is not long or short. King Brahma,112
though high in the world of matter, does not see the crown of the Buddha's
head. Maudgal yayana,113 having gone far into the World of the Bright Ban-
ner, does not discern the Buddha's voice: it is truly a mystery that [the
Buddha's form and voice] are the same whether seen and heard from far or
near. All the merits of the Tathagata are like this,114 and we should keep these
merits in mind.
[100] As regards [methods of] cutting out and sewing the ka? aya, there
is the robe of separate stripes,115 the robe of added stripes,116 the robe of
pleated stripes,117 and the single-sheet robe,118 each of which is a proper
method. We should receive and retain [the kind of robe] that accords with
the [material] obtained. The Buddha says, �The ka? aya of the buddhas of
the three times is invariably backstitched. � In obtaining the material, again,
we consider pure material to be good, and we consider so-called filthy rags
to be the purest of all. The buddhas of the three times all consider [rags] to
be pure. In addition, cloth offered by devout donors is also pure. There again,
[cloth] bought at a market with pure money is also pure. There are limits on
the [number of] days within which the robe should be made,119 but in the
present degenerate age of the latter Dharma, in a remote country, it may be
better for us to receive and to retain [the robe] by doing the cutting and sewing
whenever we are promoted by belief. It is an ultimate secret of the Great
Vehicle that laypeople, whether human beings or gods, receive and retain
the ka? aya. King Brahma and King Sakra120 have now both received and
retained the ka? aya, and these are excellent precedents in [the worlds of]
volition and matter. Excellent [precedents] in the human world are beyond
calculation. All lay bodhisattvas have received and retained [the ka? aya]. In
China, Emperor Bu121 of the Liang dynasty and Emperor Yang122 of the Sui
dynasty123 both received and retained the ka? aya. Emperors Taiso and Shukuso
both wore the ka? aya, learned in practice from monks, and received and
retained the bodhisattva precepts. Other people such as householders and their
wives who received the ka? aya and received the Buddhist precepts are excel-
lent examples in the past and present. In Japan, when Prince Shotoku124 received
and retained the ka?
aya, and lectured on such sutras as the Lotus Sutra and
the Srimala Sutra,125 he experienced the miraculous omen of precious ? ow-
ers raining from the heavens. From that time the Buddha-Dharma spread
throughout our country. Though [Prince Shotoku] was the regent of the whole
country, he was just a guiding teacher to human beings and gods. As the
Buddha's emissary, he was father and mother to many living beings. In our
country today, although the materials, colors, and measurements of the ka? aya
have all been misunderstood, that we can see and hear the word ka? aya is
due solely to the power of Prince Shotoku. We would be in a sorry state
today if, at that time, he had not destroyed the false and established the true.
Later, Emperor Shomu126 also received and retained the ka? aya and received
the bodhisattva precepts. Therefore, whether we are emperors or subjects,
we should receive and retain the ka? aya and we should receive the bodhi-
sattva precepts without delay. There can be no greater happiness for a human
body.
[104] It has been said that �the ka? ayas received and retained by laypeo-
ple are either called �single-stitched' or called �secular robes. ' That is, they
are not sewn with backstitches. � It is also said that �when laypeople go to a
place of [practicing] the truth, they should be equipped with the three Dharma
robes, a willow twig,127 rinsing water,128 mealware, and a sitting cloth;129 they
should practice the same pure practices as bhik? us. �130
[105] Such were the traditions of a master of the past. 131 However, [the
tradition] that has now been received one-to-one from the Buddhist patri-
archs is that the ka? ayas transmitted to kings, ministers, householders,132 and
common folk, are all backstitched. An excellent precedent is that [Master
Daikan Eno] had already received the authentic transmission of the Buddha's
ka? aya as the temple servant Ro (Ch. Lu). 133 In general, the ka? aya is the
banner of a disciple of the Buddha. If we have already received and retained
the ka? aya, we should humbly receive it upon the head every day. Placing
it on the crown of the head, we join the hands and recite the following verse:
Daisai-gedatsu-fuku (How great is the clothing of liberation,)
Muso-fukuden-e (Formless, field of happiness, robe! )
Hibu-nyorai-kyo (Devoutly wearing the Tathagata's teaching,)
Kodo-shoshujo (Widely I will save living beings. )
After that we put it on. In the ka? aya, we should feel like [our] master
and should feel like a tower. 134 We also recite this verse when we humbly
receive [the ka? aya] on the head after washing it.
[107] The Buddha says,
When we shave the head and wear the ka? aya,
We are protected by the buddhas.
Each person who transcends family life
Is served by gods and humans.
Clearly, once we have shaved the head and put on the ka? aya, we are
protected by all the buddhas. Relying on this protection of the buddhas, [a
person] can roundly realize the virtues of the supreme state of bodhi. Celes-
tial throngs and human multitudes serve offerings to such a person.
135The World-honored One says to the bhik? u Wisdom-Brightness,136
�The Dharma robe has ten excellent merits: 1) It is able to cover the
body, to keep away shame, to fill us with humility and to [make us]
practice good ways. 137 2) It keeps away cold and heat, as well as mos-
quitoes, harmful creatures, and poisonous insects, [so that we can]
practice the truth in tranquility. 3) It manifests the form of a srama? a138
who has left family life, giving delight to those who behold it and keep-
ing away wrong states of mind. 4) The ka? aya is just the manifesta-
tion to human beings and gods of a precious ? ag; those who honor and
venerate it are able to be born in a Brahma heaven. 139 5) When we wear
the ka? aya, we feel that it is a precious ? ag; it is able to extinguish sins
and to produce all kinds of happiness and virtue. 6) A fundamental
rule in making the ka? aya is to dye it a secondary color,140 so that it
keeps us free from thoughts of the five desires,141 and does not give
rise to lust. 7) The ka? aya is the pure robe of the Buddha; for it erad-
icates af? ictions142 forever and makes them into a fertile field. 8) When
the ka? aya covers the body, it extinguishes the karma of sins and pro-
motes at every moment the practice of the ten kinds of good. 143 9) The
ka? aya is like a fertile field; for it is well able to nurture the bodhi-
sattva way. 10) The ka? aya is also like a suit of armor; for it makes
the poisoned arrows of af? iction unable to do harm. Wisdom-Bright-
ness! Remember, through these causes, when the buddhas of the three
times, and pratyekabuddhas and sravakas, and pure monks and nuns,
cover the body in the ka? aya, [these] three groups of sacred beings sit
as one on the precious platform of liberation, take up the sword of wis-
dom to destroy the demons of af? iction, and enter together into the
many spheres of nirvana which have one taste. � Then the World-hon-
ored One speaks again in verse:
Bhik? u Wisdom-Brightness, listen well!
The traditional Buddhist robe has ten excellent merits:
Secular clothes increase taintedness from desire,
The Tathagata's Dharma attire is not like that;
Dharma attire fends off social shame,
But fills us with the humility that produces a field of happiness.
It keeps away cold and heat, and poisonous insects;
Firming our will to the truth, it enables us to arrive at the
ultimate.
It manifests [the form] of a monk and keeps away greed;
It eradicates the five views144 and [promotes] right practice.
To look at and bow to the ka? aya's form of a precious banner,
And to venerate it, produces the happiness of King Brahma.
When a disciple of the Buddha wears the robe and feels like
a tower,
This produces happiness, extinguishes sins, and impresses
human beings and gods.
True srama? as, of modest appearance, showing respect,
Are not tainted in their actions by secular defilements.
The buddhas praise [the ka? aya] as a fertile field,
They call it supreme in giving benefit and joy to living beings.
The mystical power of the ka? aya is unthinkable,
It can cause us to practice deeds that plant the seeds of bodhi,145
It makes the sprouts of the truth grow like spring seedlings,
The wonderful effect of bodhi being like autumn fruit.
[The ka? aya] is a true suit of armor, as hard as a diamond;
The poisoned arrows of af? iction can do no harm.
I have now brie? y praised the ten excellent merits,
If I had successive kalpas to expound them widely, there would
be no end.
If a dragon wears a single strand [of the ka? aya],
It will escape [the fate of] becoming food for a garu? a. 146
If people retain this robe when crossing the ocean,
They need not fear trouble from dragonfish or demons.
When thunder roars, lightning strikes, and the sky is angry,
Someone who wears the ka? aya is fearless.
If one clothed in white147 is able personally to hold and retain
[the ka? aya],
All bad demons are unable to approach.
If [that person] is able to establish the will and seeks to leave
home,
Shunning the world and practicing the Buddha's truth,
All the demon palaces of the ten directions will quake and
tremble,
And that person will quickly experience the body of the
Dharma King. 148
[113] These ten excellent merits broadly include all the merits of the
Buddha's truth. We should explicitly learn in practice the merits present in
[these] long lines and [short] verses of praise, not just glancing over them
and quickly putting them aside, but studying them phrase by phrase over a
long period. These excellent merits are just the merits of the ka? aya itself:
they are not the effect of a practitioner's fierce [pursuit of] merit through
perpetual training. The Buddha says, �The mystical power of the ka? aya is
unthinkable�; it cannot be supposed at random by the common person or
sages and saints. In general, when we �quickly experience the body of the
Dharma King,� we are always wearing the ka? aya. There has never been
anyone, since ancient times, who experienced the body of the Dharma King
without wearing the ka? aya.
[114] The best and purest material for the robe is rags, whose merits are
universally evident in the sutras, precepts, and commentaries149 of the Great
Vehicle and Small Vehicle. We should inquire into [these merits] under those
who have studied them widely. At the same time, we should also be clear
about other materials for the robe. [These things] have been clarified and
authentically transmitted by the buddhas and the patriarchs. They are beyond
lesser beings.
[115] The Middle Agama Sutra150 says:
Furthermore, wise friends! 151 Suppose there is a man whose bodily
behavior is pure but whose behavior of mouth and mind is impure. If
wise people see [the impurity] and feel anger they must dispel it. Wise
friends! Suppose there is a man whose bodily behavior is impure but
whose behavior of mouth and mind is pure. If wise people see [the
impurity] and feel anger they must dispel it. How can they dispel it?
Wise friends! They should be like a forest bhik? u152 with rags, look-
ing among the rags for worn cloth to be thrown away, and for [cloth]
soiled by feces or urine, or by tears and spit, or stained by other impu-
rities. After inspecting [a rag, the bhik? u] picks it up with the left hand
and stretches it out with the right hand. 153 If there are any parts that are
not soiled by feces, urine, tears, spit, or other impurities, and which
are not in holes, [the bhik? u] tears them off and takes them. In the same
way, wise friends, if a man's bodily behavior is impure but the behav-
ior of mouth and mind is pure, do not think about his body's impure
behavior. Only be aware of his pure behavior of mouth and mind. If
wise people feel anger at what they see, they must dispel it like this.
[117] This is the method by which a forest bhik? u collects rags. There
are four sorts of rags and ten sorts of rags. When gathering those rags, we
first pick out the parts that have no holes. We should then also reject [the
parts] that cannot be washed clean, being too deeply soiled with long-accu-
mulated stains of feces and urine. We should select [those parts] that can be
washed clean.
[117] The ten sorts of rags: 1) Rags chewed by an ox, 2) rags gnawed
by rats, 3) rags scorched by fire, 4) rags [soiled by] menstruation, 5) rags
[soiled by] childbirth, 6) rags [offered at] a shrine, 7) rags [left at] a grave-
yard, 8) rags [offered in] petitional prayer, 9) rags [discarded by] a king's
officers,154 10) rags brought back from a funeral. 155 These ten sorts people
throw away; they are not used in human society. We pick them up and make
them into the pure material of the ka? aya. Rags have been praised and have
been used by the buddhas of the three times. Therefore these rags are val-
ued and defended by human beings, gods, dragons, and so on. We should
pick them up to make the ka? aya; they are the purest material and the ulti-
mate purity. Nowadays in Japan there are no such rags. Even if we search,
we cannot find any. It is regrettable that [this] is a minor nation in a remote
land. However, we can use pure material offered by a donor, and we can use
pure material donated by human beings and gods. Alternatively, we can make
the ka? aya from [cloth] bought at a market with earnings from a pure live-
lihood. Such rags and [cloth] obtained from a pure livelihood are not silk,
not cotton, and not gold, silver, pearls, patterned cloth, sheer silk, brocade,
embroidery, and so on; they are just rags. These rags are neither for a hum-
ble robe nor for a beautiful garment; they are just for the Buddha-Dharma.
To wear them is just to have received the authentic transmission of the skin,
? esh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas of the three times, and to have
received the authentic transmission of the right Dharma-eye treasury. We
should never ask human beings and gods about the merit of this [transmis-
sion]. We should learn it in practice from Buddhist patriarchs.
Shobogenzo Kesa-kudoku
[120] During my stay in Song China, when I was making effort on the long
platform, I saw that my neighbor at the end of every sitting156 would lift up
his ka? aya and place it on his head; then holding the hands together in ven-
eration, he would quietly recite a verse. The verse was:
Daisai-gedatsu-fuku (How great is the clothing of liberation,)
Muso-fukuden-e (Formless, field of happiness, robe! )
Hibu-nyorai-kyo (Devoutly wearing the Tathagata's teaching,)
Kodo-shoshujo (Widely I will save living beings. )
At that time, there arose in me a feeling I had never before experienced.
[My] body was overwhelmed with joy. The tears of gratitude secretly fell
and soaked my lapels. The reason was that when I had read the Agama sutras
previously, I had noticed sentences about humbly receiving the ka? aya on
the head, but I had not clarified the standards for this behavior. Seeing it
done now, before my very eyes, I was overjoyed. I thought to myself, �It is
a pity that when I was in my homeland there was no master to teach this,
and no good friend to recommend it. How could I not regret, how could I
not deplore, passing so much time in vain? Now that I am seeing and hear-
ing it, I can rejoice in past good conduct. If I had vainly stayed in my home
country, how could I have sat next to this treasure of a monk,157 who has
received the transmission of, and who wears, the Buddha's robe itself? � The
sadness and joy was not one-sided. A thousand myriad tears of gratitude ran
down. Then I secretly vowed: �One way or another, unworthy though I am,
I will become a rightful successor to the Buddha-Dharma. I will receive the
authentic transmission of the right Dharma and, out of compassion for liv-
ing beings in my homeland, I will cause them to see and to hear the robe and
the Dharma that have been authentically transmitted by the Buddhist patri-
archs. � The vow I made then has not been in vain now; many bodhisattvas,
in families and out of families,158 have received and retained the ka? aya. This
is something to rejoice in. People who have received and retained the ka? aya
should humbly receive it upon the head every day and night. The merit [of
this] may be especially excellent and supremely excellent. The seeing and
hearing of a phrase or a verse may be as in the story of �on trees and on
rocks,�159 and the seeing and hearing may not be limited to the length and
breadth of the nine states. 160 The merit of the authentic transmission of the
ka? aya is hardly encountered through the ten directions. To [encounter this
merit] even if only for one day or for one night may be the most excellent
and highest thing.
[123] In the tenth lunar month in the winter of the seventeenth year of
Kajo161 in great Song [China], two Korean162 monks came to the city of Kei -
genfu. 163 One was called Chigen and one was called Keiun. This pair were
always discussing the meaning of Buddhist sutras; at the same time they
were also men of letters. But they had no ka? aya and no patra, like secular
people. It was pitiful that though they had the external form of bhik? us they
did not have the Dharma of bhik? us. 164 This may have been because they
were from a minor nation in a remote land. When Japanese who have the
external form of bhik? us travel abroad, they are likely to be the same as Chi-
gen and such. Sakyamuni Buddha received [the ka? aya] upon his head for
twelve years, never setting it aside. 165 We are already his distant descendants,
and we should emulate this. To turn the forehead away from prostrations
idly done for fame and gain to gods, to spirits, to kings, and to retainers, and
to turn instead toward the humble reception upon the head of the Buddha's
robe, is joyful.
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko -
shohorinji, on the first day of winter,166 in
the first year of Ninji. 167
---
BDK English Tripitaka
Keyword
C/W Length Limit
Books
Tools
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?
