128 There are [times when] we polish without mak-
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish.
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish.
Shobogenzo
We should see this as the Buddha's truth of essence-and-form.
We should
recognize that Gensha's present talk of the clear mirror coming is totally
penetrating,70 and we should recognize that it is brilliant in all aspects. 71 It
may be that in his encounters with human beings, [Gensha] directly mani-
fests [himself], and that in manifesting directness he can reach others. So
should we see the clear of the clear mirror and the eternal of the eternal mir-
ror, as the same, or should we see them as different? Is there eternity in the
clear mirror, or not? Is there clarity in the eternal mirror, or not? Do not
understand from the words �eternal mirror� that it must necessarily be clear.
The important point is that �I am like that, and you are also like that. � We
should practice without delay, polishing the fact that �all the patriarchs of
India were also like that. �72 An ancestral master's expression of the truth73
says that, for the eternal mirror, there is polishing. Might the same be true
for the clear mirror? What [do you say]? There must be learning in practice
that widely covers the teachings of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs.
[151] Seppo's words , �The fore igner and the Ch inese person bo th
become invisible� mean that the foreigner and the Chinese person, when it
is the clear mirror's moment, are �both invisible. � What is the meaning of
this principle of �both being invisible�? That the foreigner and the Chinese
person have already come-and-appeared does not hinder the eternal mirror,
so why should they now �both be invisible�? In the case of the eternal mir-
ror, �[when] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears,� and �[when] a Chinese
person comes a Chinese person appears,� but �the coming of the clear mir-
ror� is naturally �the coming of the clear mirror� itself; therefore the foreigner
and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror are �both invisible. �74
So even in Seppo's words there is one face of the eternal mirror and one face
of the clear mirror. 75 We should definitely confirm the principle that, just at
the moment of �the clear mirror coming,� [the clear mirror] cannot hinder the
foreigner and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror. 76 [Seppo's]
present assertion, about the eternal mirror, that �[When] a foreigner comes a
foreigner appears,� and �[When] a Chinese person comes a Chinese person
appears,� does not say that [the foreigner and the Chinese person] come-and-
appear �on the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �in
the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �on the exterior
of the eternal mirror,� and does not say that they come-and-appear �in the
same state as the eternal mirror. � We should listen to his words. At the moment
when the foreigner and the Chinese person come-and-appear, the eternal mir-
ror is actually making the foreigner and the Chinese person come. To insist
that even when �the foreigner and the Chinese person are both invisible,� the
mirror will remain, is to be blind to appearance and to be remiss with regard
to coming. To call it absurd would not be going far enough.
[153] Then Gensha says, �I am not like that. � Seppo says, �How is it in
your case? � Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. � We should not idly pass
over the words �Please, master, you ask� spoken now by Gensha. Without
father and son having thrown themselves into the moment, how could the
coming of the master's question, and the requesting of the master's ques-
tion, be like this? When [someone] requests the master's question, it may be
that �someone ineffable�77 has already understood78 decisively the state in
which the question is asked. While the state of the questioner is already thun-
dering, there is no place of escape.
[154] Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it
be then? � This question is one eternal mirror which father and son are mas-
tering together.
[155] Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � These
words mean smashed into hundred thousand myriads of bits and pieces. What
he calls �the moment,79 when suddenly a clear mirror comes along,� is
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � That which is able to experience
the state of �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� may be the clear mir-
ror. When the clear mirror is made to express itself, [the expression] may be
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces. � Therefore, the place where smashed
bits and pieces are dangling is the clear mirror. Do not take the narrow view
that formerly there was a moment of not yet being smashed to bits and pieces
and that latterly there may be a moment of no longer being smashed to bits
and pieces. [The expression] is simply �smashed into hundreds of bits and
pieces! � Confrontation with the hundreds of smashed bits and pieces is a soli-
tary and steep unity. 80 This being so, does this �smashed into hundreds of bits
and pieces� describe the eternal mirror, or does it describe the clear mirror? �
I would like to ask further for words of transformation. 81 At the same time,
it neither describes the eternal mirror nor describes the clear mirror: though
[hitherto] we have been able to ask about the eternal mirror and the clear mir-
ror, when we discuss Gensha's words, might it be that what is manifesting
itself before us as only sand, pebbles, fences, and walls has become the tip
of a tongue, and thus �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces�? What form
does �smashing� take? Eternal blue depths; the moon in space.
[157] Great Master Shinkaku of Seppo Mountain and Zen Master Enen
of Sanshoin Temple82 are walking along when they see a group of apes. There-
upon Seppo says, �These apes are each backed with one eternal mirror. �83
[157] We must diligently learn these words in practice. �Ape� means
monkey. 84 How are the apes that Seppo sees? We should ask questions like
this, and make effort further, not noticing the passing of kalpas. �Each is
backed with one eternal mirror�: though the eternal mirror is the face of
Buddhist patriarchs, at the same time, the eternal mirror, even in the ascen-
dant state, is the eternal mirror. That it backs each individual ape does not
mean that there are big mirrors and small mirrors according to individual
differences; it is �one eternal mirror. � As to the meaning of �backed,� for
example we say that a painted image of a buddha is �backed� with what we
stick behind it. When the backs of apes are backed, they are backed with
the eternal mirror. �What kind of paste could have been used? �85 To speak
tentatively, the backs of monkeys might be backed with the eternal mirror.
Is the back of the eternal mirror backed with monkeys? The back of the eter-
nal mirror is backed with the eternal mirror, and the backs of monkeys are
backed with monkeys. The words that �each back has one face�86 are never
an empty teaching: they are the truth expressed as the truth should be
expressed. So apes or eternal mirrors? Ultimately, what can we say? Are we
ourselves originally apes? Or are we other than apes? Who can we ask?
Whether we are apes is beyond our knowledge and beyond the knowledge
of others. Whether we are ourselves is beyond [intellectual] groping.
[159] Sansho says, �It has been nameless for successive kalpas. Why
would you express it as the eternal mirror? � This is a mirror, a concrete
instance, with which Sansho has certified his realization of the eternal mir-
ror. �For successive kalpas� means before a mind or a moment of con-
sciousness has ever appeared; it means the inside of a kalpa not having shown
its head. �Nameless� describes �the successive kalpas'�sun-faces, moon-
faces, and eternal mirror-faces; and describes the face of the clear mirror.
When �the nameless� is really �the nameless,� the �successive kalpas� are
never �successive kalpas. � Given that �the successive kalpas� are not �suc-
cessive kalpas,� Sansho's expression cannot be an expression of the truth.
Instead, �before a moment of consciousness has ever appeared� means today.
We should train and polish without letting today pass in vain. Frankly, though
the fame of this �nameless for successive kalpas� is heard on high, it expresses
the eternal mirror as what? A dragon's head with a snake's tail! 87
[161] Seppo might now say to Sansho, �The eternal mirror! The eter-
nal mirror! � Seppo does not say that; what he says further is, �A ? aw has
appeared,� or in other words, �a scratch has emerged. �88 We are prone to
think �how could a ? aw appear on the eternal mirror? � At the same time, [in
saying that] the eternal mirror has borne a ? aw [Seppo] may be calling the
expression �It has been nameless for successive kalpas� a ? aw. The eternal
mirror described by �a ? aw has appeared� is the total eternal mirror. San-
sho has not got out of the cave of a ? aw appearing on the eternal mirror, and
so the understanding which he has expressed is utterly a ? aw on the eternal
mirror. This being so, we learn in practice that ? aws appear even on the eter-
nal mirror and that even [mirrors] on which ? aws have appeared are the eter-
nal mirror; this is learning the eternal mirror in practice.
[162] Sansho says, �What is so deadly urgent that you are not conscious
of the story? �89 The import of these words is �why [are you in] such a deadly
hurry? � We should consider in detail and learn in practice whether this �deadly
emergency� is [a matter of] today or tomorrow, the self or the external world,
the whole universe in ten directions or [a concrete place] inside the great
kingdom of Tang? 90 As to the meaning of �story� in the words �You are not
conscious of the story,� there are stories that have continued to be told, there
are stories that have never been told, and there are stories that have already
been told completely. Now, the truths which are in �the story� are being real-
ized. Has the story itself, for example, realized the truth together with the
earth and all sentient beings? 91 It is never restored brocade. 92 Therefore it is
�not conscious�; it is the �nonconsciousness� of �the man facing the royal
personage�;93 it is being face-to-face without consciousness of each other.
It is not that there are no stories; it is just that the concrete situation is �beyond
consciousness. � �Nonconsciousness� is red mind in every situation94 and,
further, not-seeing with total clarity. 95
[163] Seppo says, �It is the old monk's mistake. � Sometimes people say
these words meaning �I expressed myself badly,� but [the words] need not
be understood like that. �The old monk� means the old man who is master
in his house;96 that is to say, [someone] who solely learns in practice the old
monk himself, without learning anything else. Though he experiences a thou-
sand changes and ten thousand transformations, heads of gods and faces of
demons, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move. 97 Though
he appears as a buddha and appears as a patriarch, at every moment and for
ten thousand years, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one
move. �Mistakes� are his �abundant jobs as temple master. �98 Upon re? ec-
tion, Seppo is an outstanding member99 of [the order of] Tokusan, and San-
sho is an excellent disciple100 of Rinzai. Neither of the two venerable patri-
archs is of humble ancestry: [Seppo] is a distant descendant of Seigen and
[Sansho] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. 101 That they have been dwelling
in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They
may be a criterion102 for students of later ages.
[165] Seppo preaches to the assembly, �[If] the world is ten feet103 wide,
the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. [If] the world is one foot104 wide, the eter-
nal mirror is one foot wide. �
At this, Gensha, pointing to the furnace, says, �Tell me then, how wide
is the furnace? �
Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. �
Gensha says, �The Old Master's heels have not landed on the ground. �105
[166] He calls ten feet the world; the world is ten feet. He sees one foot
as the world; the world is one foot. He describes the ten feet of the present,
and describes the one foot of the present, never any other unfamiliar foot or
tens of feet. When [people] study this story, they usually think of the width
of the world in terms of countless and boundless three-thousand-great-thou-
sandfold worlds or the limitless world of Dharma, but that is only like being
a small self and cursorily pointing to beyond the next village. In taking up
this world [here and now], we see it as ten feet. This is why Seppo says, �The
width of the eternal mirror is ten feet, and the width of the world is ten feet. �
When we learn these ten feet [here and now], we are able to see one con-
crete part of �the width of the world. � In other cases, when [people] hear the
words �eternal mirror� they envisage a sheet of thin ice. But it is not like
that. 106 The ten foot width [of the eternal mirror] is at one with the ten foot
width of the world, but are the form and content [of the eternal mirror and
the world] necessarily equal, and are they at one, when the world is limit-
less? 107 We should consider this diligently. The eternal mirror is never like
a pearl. Never hold views and opinions about whether it is bright or dull, and
never look at it as square or round. Even though �the whole universe in ten
directions is one bright pearl,�108 this cannot match �the eternal mirror. � So
the eternal mirror, regardless of the coming and the appearance of foreign-
ers or Chinese, is every thing [that happens] through the length and breadth
of [this state of] brilliance. 109 [But] it is not numerous and not large. �Width�
refers to this [real] quantity; it does not mean extent. �Width� means what
is expressed as two or three ordinary inches and counted, for example, in
sevens and eights. In calculation of the Buddha's truth, when we calculate
it in terms of great realization or nonrealization we clarify [a weight of] two
pounds or three pounds; and when we calculate it in terms of buddhas and
patriarchs we realize five things or ten things. 110 One unit of ten feet is the
width of the eternal mirror, and the width of the eternal mirror is one thing. 111
Gensha's words, �How wide is the furnace? � are an unconcealed expression
of the truth, which we should learn in practice for a thousand ages and for
ten thousand ages. To look now into the furnace is to look into [the furnace]
having become a person who is �Who? �112 When we are looking into the
furnace, it is not seven feet and it is not eight feet. This [story] is not a tale
of agitation and attachment; it is about the realization of a singular state in
a fresh situation�[as expressed,] for example, �What is it that comes like
this. �113 When the [meaning of] the words �what amount of width. . . � has
come to us, the �what amount [of width]� may be different from �how [wide]�
[as we have understood it] hitherto. 114 We must not doubt the fact of libera-
tion at this concrete place. We must hear in Gensha's words the fundamen-
tal point that the furnace is beyond aspects and dimensions. Do not idly allow
the one dumpling before you now to fall to the ground. Break it open! This
is the effort.
[170] Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. � We should quietly
re? ect on these words. Not wanting to say �the furnace is ten feet wide,� he
speaks like this. It is not true that saying ten feet would be the fit expression
of the truth whereas �as wide as the eternal mirror� is an unfit expression.
We should study actions that are �as wide as the eternal mirror. � Many peo-
ple have thought that not saying �the furnace is ten feet wide� was unfitness
of expression. They should diligently consider the independence of �width�;
they should re? ect that the eternal mirror is a concrete thing; and they should
not let action which is �reality� pass them by. 115 [Seppo] may be �manifest-
ing behavior in the way of the ancients, never falling into despondency. �116
[171] Gensha says , �The Old Man's heels have not landed on the
ground. �117 The point here is, whether we call him �the Old Man� or whether
we call him �the Old Master,� that is not always Seppo himself, because
Seppo may be �a [real] Old Man. � As to the meaning of �heels,� we should
ask just where they are. 118 We should master in practice just what �heels�
means. Does mastering [�heels�] in practice refer to the right Dharma-eye
treasury, or to space, or to the whole ground, or to the lifeblood? How many
[�heels�] are there? Is there one? Is there a half? Are there hundred thou-
sand myriads? We should do diligent study like this. �They have not landed
on the ground�: what kind of thing is �the ground�? 119 We provisionally call
the present earth �ground,� in conformance with the view of our own kind.
There are other kinds that see it, for instance, as �the Dharma gate to unthink-
able salvation,�120 and there is a kind that sees [the earth] as the buddhas'
many enactments of the truth. So in the case of the �ground� upon which
heels should land, what does [Gensha] see as the �ground�? Is the �ground�
the real state of being, or is it the real state of being without? Further, we
should ask again and again, and we should tell ourselves and tell others,
whether it is impossible for even an inch or so of what we generally call �the
ground� to exist within the great order? Is heels touching the ground the right
state, or is heels not landing on the ground the right state? What situation
leads [Gensha] to say �they have not landed on the ground? � When the earth
is without an inch of soil,121 [the words] �touching the ground� may be imma-
ture122 and [the words] �not having landed on the ground� may be immature.
This being so, �the Old Man's heels not having landed on the ground� is the
[very] exhalation and inhalation of the Old Man, the [very] moment of his
heels. 123
[174] Zen Master Koto124 of Kokutai-in Temple, on Kinkazan in the
Bushu125 district, the story goes, is asked by a monk, �What is the eternal
mirror like before being polished? �126
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �
The monk says, �What is it like after being polished? �
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �127
[174] Remember, the eternal mirror under discussion now has a time of
being polished, a time before being polished, and [a time] after being pol-
ished, but it is wholly the eternal mirror. This being so, when we are pol-
ishing, we are polishing the eternal mirror in its entirety. We do not polish
by mixing in mercury or anything else other than the eternal mirror. This is
neither polishing the self nor the self polishing; it is polishing the eternal
mirror. Before being polished the eternal mirror is not dull. Even if [people]
call it black, it can never be dull: it is the eternal mirror in its vivid state. In
general, we polish a mirror to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make
it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a tile; and we polish a mir-
ror to make it into a tile.
128 There are [times when] we polish without mak-
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish. 129 All equally are the traditional work of
Buddhist patriarchs.
[175] When Baso130 of Kozei,131 in former days, was learning in prac-
tice under Nangaku,132 Nangaku on one occasion intimately transmits to Baso
the mind-seal. This is the beginning of the beginning of �polishing a tile. �133
Baso has been living at Denpoin Temple, sitting constantly in zazen for a
matter of ten or so years. We can imagine what it is like in his thatched hut
on a rainy night. There is no mention of him letting up on a cold ? oor sealed
in by snow. Nangaku one day goes to Baso's hut, where Baso stands wait-
ing. Nangaku asks, �What are you doing these days? �
Baso says, �These days Doitsu just sits. �
Nangaku says, �What is the aim of sitting in zazen? �
Baso says, �The aim of sitting in zazen is to become buddha. �134
Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso's
hut.
Baso, on seeing this, asks, �What is the master doing? �
Nangaku says, �Polishing a tile. �
Baso says, �What is the use of polishing a tile? �
Nangaku says, �I am polishing it into a mirror. �135
Baso says, �How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror? �136
Nangaku says, �How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha? �137
[178] For several hundred years, since ancient times, most people inter-
preting this story�great matter that it is�have thought that Nangaku was
simply spurring Baso on. That is not necessarily so. The actions of great
saints far transcend the states of common folk. Without the Dharma of pol-
ishing a tile, how could the great saints have any expedient method of teach-
ing people? The power to teach people is the bones and marrow of a Buddhist
patriarch. Although [Nangaku] has devised it, this [teaching method] is a
common tool. [Teaching methods] other than common tools and everyday
utensils are not transmitted in the house of Buddha. Further, the impression
on Baso is immediate. Clearly, the virtue authentically transmitted by the
Buddhist patriarchs is directness. Clearly, in truth, when polishing a tile
becomes a mirror, Baso becomes buddha. When Baso becomes buddha, Baso
immediately becomes Baso. When Baso becomes Baso, zazen immediately
becomes zazen. This is why the making of mirrors through the polishing of
tiles has been dwelled in and retained in the bones and marrow of eternal
buddhas; and, this being so, the eternal mirror exists having been made from
a tile. While we have been polishing this mirror�in the past also�it has
never been tainted. Tiles are not dirty; we just polish a tile as a tile. In this
state, the virtue of making a mirror is realized, and this is just the effort of
Buddhist patriarchs. If polishing a tile does not make a mirror, polishing a
mirror cannot make a mirror either. 138 Who can suppose that in this �mak-
ing� there is [both] �becoming� buddha and �making� a mirror? 139 Further,
to express a doubt, is it possible, when polishing the eternal mirror, to mis-
takenly think that the polishing is making a tile? The real state at the time
of polishing is, at other times, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, because
Nangaku's words must exactly express the expression of the truth, it may
be, in conclusion, simply that polishing a tile makes a mirror. People today
also should try taking up the tiles of the present and polishing them, and they
will certainly become mirrors. If tiles did not become mirrors, people could
not become buddhas. If we despise tiles as lumps of mud, then we might
also despise people as lumps of mud. If people have mind, tiles must also
have mind. Who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] tiles
come, tiles appear? And who can recognize that there are mirrors in which,
[when] mirrors come, mirrors appear?
Shobogenzo Kokyo
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko-
shohorinji, on the ninth day of the ninth
lunar month in the second year of Ninji. 140
---
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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
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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
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B2582_1 (biblio info) Chapter/Section 21
[Chapter Twenty-one]
Kankin
Reading Sutras
Translator 's Note: Kan means �to read� and kin means �sutras. � Many
Buddhist sects revere reading sutras, because they think that the Buddhist
truth is theory which can be understood through abstract explanation. They
think that we can understand Buddhism only by reading sutras. At the same
time, there are other sects who deny the value of reading sutras; they say
that because Buddhist truth is not a theoretical system, we cannot attain the
truth by reading sutras. Master Dogen took the middle way on the problem:
rather than deny the value of reading sutras, he said that reading sutras is
one way of finding out what Buddhist practice is. He did not believe, how-
ever, that we can get the truth by reading sutras; he did not think that recit-
ing sutras might exercise some mystical in? uence over religious life. In this
way Master Dogen's view on reading sutras was very realistic. However, his
understanding of �reading sutras� was not limited to written sutras; he
believed that the universe is a sutra. He thought that observing the world
around us is like reading a sutra. So for him, grass, trees, mountains, the
moon, the sun, and so forth were all Buddhist sutras. He even extended his
view of reading sutras to include walking around the master 's chair in the
middle of the zazen hall. This viewpoint is not only Master Dogen's; it is the
viewpoint of Buddhism itself. So in this chapter, Master Dogen explains the
wider meaning of reading sutras.
[183] The practice-and-experience of anuttara samyaksa? bodhi sometimes
relies on [good] counselors and sometimes relies on the sutras. �[Good] coun-
selors�1 means Buddhist patriarchs who are totally themselves. �Sutras� means
sutras that are totally themselves. Because the self is totally a Buddhist patri-
arch and because the self is totally a sutra, it is like this. 2 Even though we call
it self, it is not restricted by �me and you. � It is vivid eyes, and a vivid fist.
[184] At the same time,3 there is the consideration of sutras, the reading
of sutras,4 the reciting of sutras, the copying of sutras, the receiving of sutras,
and the retaining of sutras: they are all the practice-and-experience of Buddhist
patriarchs. Yet it is not easy to meet the Buddha's sutras: �Throughout innu-
merable realms, even the name cannot be heard. �5 Among Buddhist patri-
archs, �even the name cannot be heard. � Amid the lifeblood, �even the name
cannot be heard. � Unless we are Buddhist patriarchs we do not see, hear,
read, recite, or understand the meaning of sutras. After learning in practice
as Buddhist patriarchs, we are barely able to learn sutras in practice. At this
time the reality of hearing [sutras], retaining [sutras], receiving [sutras],
preaching sutras, and so on, exists in the ears, eyes, tongue, nose, and organs
of body and mind,6 and in the places where we go, hear, and speak. The sort
who �because they seek fame, preach non-Buddhist doctrines�7 cannot prac-
tice the Buddha's sutras. The reason is that the sutras are transmitted and
retained on trees and on rocks, are spread through fields and through vil-
lages, are expounded by lands of dust, and are lectured by space.
[186] Great Master Kodo,8 the ancestral patriarch of Yakusan Moun-
tain, has not ascended [his seat in the Dharma] hall for a long time. The tem-
ple chief 9 says, �The monks have long been hoping for your compassionate
instruction, master. �
[Yaku]san says, �Strike the bell! �
The temple chief strikes the bell, and a few of the monks assemble.
[Yaku]san ascends [the seat in the Dharma] hall and passes a while.
Then he gets down from the seat and goes back to the abbot's quarters. The
temple chief follows behind him and says, �Just before, the master agreed
to preach the Dharma for the monks. Why have you not bestowed a single
word upon us? �
[Yaku]san says, �For sutras there are sutra teachers. For commentaries
there are commentary teachers. How could you doubt the old monk? �10
[188] The compassionate instruction of the ancestral patriarch is that
for fists there is a fist-teacher, and for eyes there is an eye-teacher. At the
same time, with due respect, I would now like to ask the ancestral patriarch
this: I do not deny [your words] �how can the old monk be doubted? � but I
still do not understand: the master is a teacher of What. 11
[188] The order of the Founding Patriarch Daikan12 is on Sokeizan in
Shoshu district. Hotatsu,13 a monk who recites the Sutra of the Flower of
Dharma,14 comes to practice there. The Founding Patriarch preaches for
Hotatsu the following verse:
When the mind is in delusion, the Flower of Dharma turns.
When the mind is in realization, we turn the Flower of Dharma.
Unless we are clear about ourselves, however long we recite [the
sutra],
It will become an enemy because of its meanings.
Without intention the mind is right.
With intention the mind becomes wrong.
When we transcend both with and without,
We ride eternally in the white ox cart. 15
[189] So when the mind is in delusion we are turned by the Flower of
Dharma; when the mind is in realization we turn the Flower of Dharma. Fur-
ther, when we spring free from delusion and realization, the Flower of Dharma
turns the Flower of Dharma. On hearing this verse Hotatsu jumps for joy
and praises it with the following verse:
Three thousand recitations of the sutra
With one phrase from Sokei, forgotten.
Before clarifying the import of [the buddhas'] appearance in the world,
How can we stop recurring lives of madness?
[The sutra] explains goat, deer, and ox as an expedient,
[But] proclaims that beginning, middle, and end are good.
Who knows that [even] within the burning house,
Originally we are kings in the Dharma?
Then the Founding Patriarch says, �From now on, you will rightly be
called the Sutra-reading Monk. � We should know that there are sutra-read-
ing monks in Buddhism: it is the direct teaching of the eternal buddha of
Sokei. �Reading� in this [phrase] �Sutra-reading Monk� is beyond �having
ideas,� �being without ideas,� and so on. 16 It is �transcendence of both hav-
ing and being without. � The fact is only that �from kalpa to kalpa the hands
never put down the sutra, and from noon to night there is no time when it is
not being read. �17 The fact is only that from sutra to sutra it is never not being
experienced. 18
[191] The twenty-seventh patriarch is Venerable Praj�atara19 of eastern
India. A king of eastern India, the story goes, invites the Venerable One to
a midday meal, at which time the king asks, �Everyone else recites20 sutras.
Why is it, Venerable One, that you alone do not recite? �
The patriarch says:
My21 out-breath does not follow circumstances,
The in-breath does not reside in the world of aggregates. 22
I am constantly reciting sutras like this. 23
Hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls.
Never only one scroll or two scrolls. 24
[192] The Venerable Praj�atara is a native of an eastern territory of
India. He is the twenty-seventh rightful successor from Venerable Maha -
kasyapa,25 having received the authentic transmission of all the tools of the
Buddha's house: he has dwelled in and retained the brains, the eyes, the fist,
and the nostrils; the staff, the patra, the robe and Dharma, the bones and
marrow, and so on. He is our ancestral patriarch, and we are his distant
descendants. 26 The words into which the Venerable One has now put his total
effort [mean] not only that the out-breath does not follow circumstances, but
also that circumstances do not follow the out-breath. Circumstances may be
the brains and eyes, circumstances may be the whole body, circumstances
may be the whole mind, but in bringing here, taking there, and bringing back
here again, the state is just �not following circumstances. � �Not following�
means totally following; therefore it is a state of bustling and jostling. The
out-breath is circumstances themselves; even so, �it does not follow cir-
cumstances. � For countless kalpas we have never recognized the situation
of breathing out and breathing in, but just now the moment has come when
we can recognize it for the first time, and so we hear �it does not reside in
the world of aggregates� and �it does not follow circumstances. � This is the
moment when circumstances study for the first time such things as �the in-
breath. � This moment has never been before, and it will never be again: it
exists only in the present. �The world of aggregates� means the five aggre-
gates: matter, perception, thought, enaction, and consciousness. The reason
he does not reside in these five aggregates is that he is in the world where
�five aggregates� have never arrived. Because he has grasped this pivotal
point, the sutras he recites are never only one or two scrolls; he is �constantly
reciting hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls. � Though we say that �hun-
dred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls� just cites for the present an example
of a large number, it is beyond only numerical quantity: it assigns the quan-
tity of �hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls� to one out-breath's �not
residing in the world of aggregates. � At the same time, [the state] is not meas-
ured by tainted or faultless wisdom27 and it is beyond the world of tainted
and faultless dharmas. 28 Thus, it is beyond the calculation of wise intelli-
gence, it is beyond the estimation of intelligent wisdom; it is beyond the con-
sideration of non-wise intelligence, and it is beyond the reach of non-intel-
ligent wisdom. It is the practice-and-experience of buddhas and of patriarchs,
it is their skin, ? esh, bones, and marrow, their eyes, fists, brains, and nos-
trils, and their staffs and whisks, springing out of the moment.
[196] Great Master Shinsai29 of Kannon-in Temple in Joshu, the story
goes, is sent a donation by an old woman, who asks the Great Master to recite
the whole of the sutras. The master descends from the zazen chair, goes
around it once, and says to the messenger, �I have finished reciting the sutras. �
The messenger returns and reports this to the old woman. The old woman
says, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did the mas-
ter only recite half the sutras? �30
[197] Evidently, the recitation of the whole of the sutras or half of the
sutras amounts to three scrolls of sutras in the old woman's case. 31 �I have
finished reciting the sutras� is the whole of Joshu's sutra. In brief, the situ-
ation of his reciting the whole of the sutras is as follows: There is Joshu going
around the zazen chair; there is the zazen chair going around Joshu, there is
Joshu going around Joshu, and there is the zazen chair going around the
zazen chair. At the same time, all instances of reciting the sutras are neither
limited to going around a zazen chair, nor limited to a zazen chair going
around.
[198] Great Master Shinsho32 of Daizuizan in Ekishu, whose original
Dharma name was Hoshin,33 succeeded Zen Master Daian34 of Chokeiji. In
the story, an old woman sends a donation and asks the master to recite the
whole of the sutras. The master descends from his zazen chair, goes around
it once, and says to the messenger, �I have already recited the whole of the
sutras. � The messenger returns and reports this to the old woman. The old
woman says, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did
the master only recite half the sutras? �35
[199] Now, do not study that Daizui is going around the zazen chair,
and do not study that the zazen chair is going around Daizui. It is not only
a grouping together of fists and eyes; his making of a circle is enaction of a
circle. Does the old woman have the eyes, or does she not have the eyes [to
see it]? Even though she has got the expression �He only recited half the
sutras� in the authentic transmission from a fist,36 the old woman should also
say, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did the mas-
ter only worry his soul? �37 If she spoke like this, even by accident, she would
be an old woman with eyes.
[200] [In the order] of the founding patriarch, Great Master Tozan
Gohon,38 the story goes, there is a government official who prepares the mid-
day meal, offers a donation, and requests the master to read and recite the
whole of the sutras. The Great Master descends from his zazen chair and
bows to39 the official. The official bows to the Great Master, who leads the
official once around the zazen chair, then bows to the official [again]. After
a while he says to the official, �Do you understand? � The official says, �I do
not understand. � The Great Master says, �You and I have read and recited
the whole of the sutras. How could you not understand? �
[201] That �You and I have read and recited the whole of the sutras�
is evident. We do not learn that to go around the zazen chair is to read and
recite the whole of the sutras, and we do not understand that to read and
recite the whole of the sutras is to go around the zazen chair. All the same,
we should listen to the compassionate instruction of the founding patriarch.
My late master, the eternal buddha, quoted this story when, while he was
residing [as master] on Tendozan, a donor from Korea entered the moun-
tain, made a donation for the monks to read the sutras, and requested that
my late master should ascend the lecture seat. When he had quoted [the
story], my late master made a big circle with his whisk and said, �Tendo
today has read and recited for you the whole of the sutras. � Then he threw
down the whisk and descended from the seat. We should read and recite
now the words spoken by the late master, never comparing them to [the
words of] others. Still, should we think that [Master Tendo], in reading and
reciting the whole of the sutras, uses a whole eye or uses half an eye? Do
the words of the founding patriarch and the words of my late master rely
on eyes or rely on tongues? How many [eyes and tongues] have they used?
See if you can get to the bottom of it.
[202] The ancestral patriarch, Great Master Kodo40 of Yakusan Moun-
tain, does not usually let people read sutras. One day he is reading a sutra
himself. A monk asks him, �The master does not usually let others read
sutras. Why then are you reading yourself? �
The master says, �I just need to shade my eyes. �
The monk says, �May I copy the master? �
The master says, �If you were to read you would surely pierce holes
even in ox-hide! �
[203] The words �I just need to shade my eyes� spoken now are words
naturally spoken by shaded eyes41 themselves. �Shading the eyes� describes
getting rid of eyes and getting rid of sutras, it describes complete eye shad-
ing and completely shaded eyes. �Shading the eyes� means opening the eyes
in the shaded state, invigorating the eyes within shade, invigorating shade
within eyes, adding an extra eyelid, utilizing the eyes within shade, and eyes
themselves utilizing shade. This being so, the virtue of �shading the eyes�
is never [mentioned] in any [sutras] other than eye-sutras.
recognize that Gensha's present talk of the clear mirror coming is totally
penetrating,70 and we should recognize that it is brilliant in all aspects. 71 It
may be that in his encounters with human beings, [Gensha] directly mani-
fests [himself], and that in manifesting directness he can reach others. So
should we see the clear of the clear mirror and the eternal of the eternal mir-
ror, as the same, or should we see them as different? Is there eternity in the
clear mirror, or not? Is there clarity in the eternal mirror, or not? Do not
understand from the words �eternal mirror� that it must necessarily be clear.
The important point is that �I am like that, and you are also like that. � We
should practice without delay, polishing the fact that �all the patriarchs of
India were also like that. �72 An ancestral master's expression of the truth73
says that, for the eternal mirror, there is polishing. Might the same be true
for the clear mirror? What [do you say]? There must be learning in practice
that widely covers the teachings of all the buddhas and all the patriarchs.
[151] Seppo's words , �The fore igner and the Ch inese person bo th
become invisible� mean that the foreigner and the Chinese person, when it
is the clear mirror's moment, are �both invisible. � What is the meaning of
this principle of �both being invisible�? That the foreigner and the Chinese
person have already come-and-appeared does not hinder the eternal mirror,
so why should they now �both be invisible�? In the case of the eternal mir-
ror, �[when] a foreigner comes a foreigner appears,� and �[when] a Chinese
person comes a Chinese person appears,� but �the coming of the clear mir-
ror� is naturally �the coming of the clear mirror� itself; therefore the foreigner
and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror are �both invisible. �74
So even in Seppo's words there is one face of the eternal mirror and one face
of the clear mirror. 75 We should definitely confirm the principle that, just at
the moment of �the clear mirror coming,� [the clear mirror] cannot hinder the
foreigner and the Chinese person re? ected in the eternal mirror. 76 [Seppo's]
present assertion, about the eternal mirror, that �[When] a foreigner comes a
foreigner appears,� and �[When] a Chinese person comes a Chinese person
appears,� does not say that [the foreigner and the Chinese person] come-and-
appear �on the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �in
the eternal mirror,� does not say that they come-and-appear �on the exterior
of the eternal mirror,� and does not say that they come-and-appear �in the
same state as the eternal mirror. � We should listen to his words. At the moment
when the foreigner and the Chinese person come-and-appear, the eternal mir-
ror is actually making the foreigner and the Chinese person come. To insist
that even when �the foreigner and the Chinese person are both invisible,� the
mirror will remain, is to be blind to appearance and to be remiss with regard
to coming. To call it absurd would not be going far enough.
[153] Then Gensha says, �I am not like that. � Seppo says, �How is it in
your case? � Gensha says, �Please, master, you ask. � We should not idly pass
over the words �Please, master, you ask� spoken now by Gensha. Without
father and son having thrown themselves into the moment, how could the
coming of the master's question, and the requesting of the master's ques-
tion, be like this? When [someone] requests the master's question, it may be
that �someone ineffable�77 has already understood78 decisively the state in
which the question is asked. While the state of the questioner is already thun-
dering, there is no place of escape.
[154] Seppo says, �If suddenly a clear mirror comes along, how will it
be then? � This question is one eternal mirror which father and son are mas-
tering together.
[155] Gensha says, �Smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � These
words mean smashed into hundred thousand myriads of bits and pieces. What
he calls �the moment,79 when suddenly a clear mirror comes along,� is
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces! � That which is able to experience
the state of �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces� may be the clear mir-
ror. When the clear mirror is made to express itself, [the expression] may be
�smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces. � Therefore, the place where smashed
bits and pieces are dangling is the clear mirror. Do not take the narrow view
that formerly there was a moment of not yet being smashed to bits and pieces
and that latterly there may be a moment of no longer being smashed to bits
and pieces. [The expression] is simply �smashed into hundreds of bits and
pieces! � Confrontation with the hundreds of smashed bits and pieces is a soli-
tary and steep unity. 80 This being so, does this �smashed into hundreds of bits
and pieces� describe the eternal mirror, or does it describe the clear mirror? �
I would like to ask further for words of transformation. 81 At the same time,
it neither describes the eternal mirror nor describes the clear mirror: though
[hitherto] we have been able to ask about the eternal mirror and the clear mir-
ror, when we discuss Gensha's words, might it be that what is manifesting
itself before us as only sand, pebbles, fences, and walls has become the tip
of a tongue, and thus �smashed into hundreds of bits and pieces�? What form
does �smashing� take? Eternal blue depths; the moon in space.
[157] Great Master Shinkaku of Seppo Mountain and Zen Master Enen
of Sanshoin Temple82 are walking along when they see a group of apes. There-
upon Seppo says, �These apes are each backed with one eternal mirror. �83
[157] We must diligently learn these words in practice. �Ape� means
monkey. 84 How are the apes that Seppo sees? We should ask questions like
this, and make effort further, not noticing the passing of kalpas. �Each is
backed with one eternal mirror�: though the eternal mirror is the face of
Buddhist patriarchs, at the same time, the eternal mirror, even in the ascen-
dant state, is the eternal mirror. That it backs each individual ape does not
mean that there are big mirrors and small mirrors according to individual
differences; it is �one eternal mirror. � As to the meaning of �backed,� for
example we say that a painted image of a buddha is �backed� with what we
stick behind it. When the backs of apes are backed, they are backed with
the eternal mirror. �What kind of paste could have been used? �85 To speak
tentatively, the backs of monkeys might be backed with the eternal mirror.
Is the back of the eternal mirror backed with monkeys? The back of the eter-
nal mirror is backed with the eternal mirror, and the backs of monkeys are
backed with monkeys. The words that �each back has one face�86 are never
an empty teaching: they are the truth expressed as the truth should be
expressed. So apes or eternal mirrors? Ultimately, what can we say? Are we
ourselves originally apes? Or are we other than apes? Who can we ask?
Whether we are apes is beyond our knowledge and beyond the knowledge
of others. Whether we are ourselves is beyond [intellectual] groping.
[159] Sansho says, �It has been nameless for successive kalpas. Why
would you express it as the eternal mirror? � This is a mirror, a concrete
instance, with which Sansho has certified his realization of the eternal mir-
ror. �For successive kalpas� means before a mind or a moment of con-
sciousness has ever appeared; it means the inside of a kalpa not having shown
its head. �Nameless� describes �the successive kalpas'�sun-faces, moon-
faces, and eternal mirror-faces; and describes the face of the clear mirror.
When �the nameless� is really �the nameless,� the �successive kalpas� are
never �successive kalpas. � Given that �the successive kalpas� are not �suc-
cessive kalpas,� Sansho's expression cannot be an expression of the truth.
Instead, �before a moment of consciousness has ever appeared� means today.
We should train and polish without letting today pass in vain. Frankly, though
the fame of this �nameless for successive kalpas� is heard on high, it expresses
the eternal mirror as what? A dragon's head with a snake's tail! 87
[161] Seppo might now say to Sansho, �The eternal mirror! The eter-
nal mirror! � Seppo does not say that; what he says further is, �A ? aw has
appeared,� or in other words, �a scratch has emerged. �88 We are prone to
think �how could a ? aw appear on the eternal mirror? � At the same time, [in
saying that] the eternal mirror has borne a ? aw [Seppo] may be calling the
expression �It has been nameless for successive kalpas� a ? aw. The eternal
mirror described by �a ? aw has appeared� is the total eternal mirror. San-
sho has not got out of the cave of a ? aw appearing on the eternal mirror, and
so the understanding which he has expressed is utterly a ? aw on the eternal
mirror. This being so, we learn in practice that ? aws appear even on the eter-
nal mirror and that even [mirrors] on which ? aws have appeared are the eter-
nal mirror; this is learning the eternal mirror in practice.
[162] Sansho says, �What is so deadly urgent that you are not conscious
of the story? �89 The import of these words is �why [are you in] such a deadly
hurry? � We should consider in detail and learn in practice whether this �deadly
emergency� is [a matter of] today or tomorrow, the self or the external world,
the whole universe in ten directions or [a concrete place] inside the great
kingdom of Tang? 90 As to the meaning of �story� in the words �You are not
conscious of the story,� there are stories that have continued to be told, there
are stories that have never been told, and there are stories that have already
been told completely. Now, the truths which are in �the story� are being real-
ized. Has the story itself, for example, realized the truth together with the
earth and all sentient beings? 91 It is never restored brocade. 92 Therefore it is
�not conscious�; it is the �nonconsciousness� of �the man facing the royal
personage�;93 it is being face-to-face without consciousness of each other.
It is not that there are no stories; it is just that the concrete situation is �beyond
consciousness. � �Nonconsciousness� is red mind in every situation94 and,
further, not-seeing with total clarity. 95
[163] Seppo says, �It is the old monk's mistake. � Sometimes people say
these words meaning �I expressed myself badly,� but [the words] need not
be understood like that. �The old monk� means the old man who is master
in his house;96 that is to say, [someone] who solely learns in practice the old
monk himself, without learning anything else. Though he experiences a thou-
sand changes and ten thousand transformations, heads of gods and faces of
demons, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one move. 97 Though
he appears as a buddha and appears as a patriarch, at every moment and for
ten thousand years, what he learns in practice is just the old monk's one
move. �Mistakes� are his �abundant jobs as temple master. �98 Upon re? ec-
tion, Seppo is an outstanding member99 of [the order of] Tokusan, and San-
sho is an excellent disciple100 of Rinzai. Neither of the two venerable patri-
archs is of humble ancestry: [Seppo] is a distant descendant of Seigen and
[Sansho] is a distant descendant of Nangaku. 101 That they have been dwelling
in and retaining the eternal mirror is [evidenced] as described above. They
may be a criterion102 for students of later ages.
[165] Seppo preaches to the assembly, �[If] the world is ten feet103 wide,
the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. [If] the world is one foot104 wide, the eter-
nal mirror is one foot wide. �
At this, Gensha, pointing to the furnace, says, �Tell me then, how wide
is the furnace? �
Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. �
Gensha says, �The Old Master's heels have not landed on the ground. �105
[166] He calls ten feet the world; the world is ten feet. He sees one foot
as the world; the world is one foot. He describes the ten feet of the present,
and describes the one foot of the present, never any other unfamiliar foot or
tens of feet. When [people] study this story, they usually think of the width
of the world in terms of countless and boundless three-thousand-great-thou-
sandfold worlds or the limitless world of Dharma, but that is only like being
a small self and cursorily pointing to beyond the next village. In taking up
this world [here and now], we see it as ten feet. This is why Seppo says, �The
width of the eternal mirror is ten feet, and the width of the world is ten feet. �
When we learn these ten feet [here and now], we are able to see one con-
crete part of �the width of the world. � In other cases, when [people] hear the
words �eternal mirror� they envisage a sheet of thin ice. But it is not like
that. 106 The ten foot width [of the eternal mirror] is at one with the ten foot
width of the world, but are the form and content [of the eternal mirror and
the world] necessarily equal, and are they at one, when the world is limit-
less? 107 We should consider this diligently. The eternal mirror is never like
a pearl. Never hold views and opinions about whether it is bright or dull, and
never look at it as square or round. Even though �the whole universe in ten
directions is one bright pearl,�108 this cannot match �the eternal mirror. � So
the eternal mirror, regardless of the coming and the appearance of foreign-
ers or Chinese, is every thing [that happens] through the length and breadth
of [this state of] brilliance. 109 [But] it is not numerous and not large. �Width�
refers to this [real] quantity; it does not mean extent. �Width� means what
is expressed as two or three ordinary inches and counted, for example, in
sevens and eights. In calculation of the Buddha's truth, when we calculate
it in terms of great realization or nonrealization we clarify [a weight of] two
pounds or three pounds; and when we calculate it in terms of buddhas and
patriarchs we realize five things or ten things. 110 One unit of ten feet is the
width of the eternal mirror, and the width of the eternal mirror is one thing. 111
Gensha's words, �How wide is the furnace? � are an unconcealed expression
of the truth, which we should learn in practice for a thousand ages and for
ten thousand ages. To look now into the furnace is to look into [the furnace]
having become a person who is �Who? �112 When we are looking into the
furnace, it is not seven feet and it is not eight feet. This [story] is not a tale
of agitation and attachment; it is about the realization of a singular state in
a fresh situation�[as expressed,] for example, �What is it that comes like
this. �113 When the [meaning of] the words �what amount of width. . . � has
come to us, the �what amount [of width]� may be different from �how [wide]�
[as we have understood it] hitherto. 114 We must not doubt the fact of libera-
tion at this concrete place. We must hear in Gensha's words the fundamen-
tal point that the furnace is beyond aspects and dimensions. Do not idly allow
the one dumpling before you now to fall to the ground. Break it open! This
is the effort.
[170] Seppo says, �As wide as the eternal mirror. � We should quietly
re? ect on these words. Not wanting to say �the furnace is ten feet wide,� he
speaks like this. It is not true that saying ten feet would be the fit expression
of the truth whereas �as wide as the eternal mirror� is an unfit expression.
We should study actions that are �as wide as the eternal mirror. � Many peo-
ple have thought that not saying �the furnace is ten feet wide� was unfitness
of expression. They should diligently consider the independence of �width�;
they should re? ect that the eternal mirror is a concrete thing; and they should
not let action which is �reality� pass them by. 115 [Seppo] may be �manifest-
ing behavior in the way of the ancients, never falling into despondency. �116
[171] Gensha says , �The Old Man's heels have not landed on the
ground. �117 The point here is, whether we call him �the Old Man� or whether
we call him �the Old Master,� that is not always Seppo himself, because
Seppo may be �a [real] Old Man. � As to the meaning of �heels,� we should
ask just where they are. 118 We should master in practice just what �heels�
means. Does mastering [�heels�] in practice refer to the right Dharma-eye
treasury, or to space, or to the whole ground, or to the lifeblood? How many
[�heels�] are there? Is there one? Is there a half? Are there hundred thou-
sand myriads? We should do diligent study like this. �They have not landed
on the ground�: what kind of thing is �the ground�? 119 We provisionally call
the present earth �ground,� in conformance with the view of our own kind.
There are other kinds that see it, for instance, as �the Dharma gate to unthink-
able salvation,�120 and there is a kind that sees [the earth] as the buddhas'
many enactments of the truth. So in the case of the �ground� upon which
heels should land, what does [Gensha] see as the �ground�? Is the �ground�
the real state of being, or is it the real state of being without? Further, we
should ask again and again, and we should tell ourselves and tell others,
whether it is impossible for even an inch or so of what we generally call �the
ground� to exist within the great order? Is heels touching the ground the right
state, or is heels not landing on the ground the right state? What situation
leads [Gensha] to say �they have not landed on the ground? � When the earth
is without an inch of soil,121 [the words] �touching the ground� may be imma-
ture122 and [the words] �not having landed on the ground� may be immature.
This being so, �the Old Man's heels not having landed on the ground� is the
[very] exhalation and inhalation of the Old Man, the [very] moment of his
heels. 123
[174] Zen Master Koto124 of Kokutai-in Temple, on Kinkazan in the
Bushu125 district, the story goes, is asked by a monk, �What is the eternal
mirror like before being polished? �126
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �
The monk says, �What is it like after being polished? �
The master says, �The eternal mirror. �127
[174] Remember, the eternal mirror under discussion now has a time of
being polished, a time before being polished, and [a time] after being pol-
ished, but it is wholly the eternal mirror. This being so, when we are pol-
ishing, we are polishing the eternal mirror in its entirety. We do not polish
by mixing in mercury or anything else other than the eternal mirror. This is
neither polishing the self nor the self polishing; it is polishing the eternal
mirror. Before being polished the eternal mirror is not dull. Even if [people]
call it black, it can never be dull: it is the eternal mirror in its vivid state. In
general, we polish a mirror to make it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make
it into a mirror; we polish a tile to make it into a tile; and we polish a mir-
ror to make it into a tile.
128 There are [times when] we polish without mak-
ing anything; and there are [times when] it would be possible to make some-
thing, but we are unable to polish. 129 All equally are the traditional work of
Buddhist patriarchs.
[175] When Baso130 of Kozei,131 in former days, was learning in prac-
tice under Nangaku,132 Nangaku on one occasion intimately transmits to Baso
the mind-seal. This is the beginning of the beginning of �polishing a tile. �133
Baso has been living at Denpoin Temple, sitting constantly in zazen for a
matter of ten or so years. We can imagine what it is like in his thatched hut
on a rainy night. There is no mention of him letting up on a cold ? oor sealed
in by snow. Nangaku one day goes to Baso's hut, where Baso stands wait-
ing. Nangaku asks, �What are you doing these days? �
Baso says, �These days Doitsu just sits. �
Nangaku says, �What is the aim of sitting in zazen? �
Baso says, �The aim of sitting in zazen is to become buddha. �134
Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso's
hut.
Baso, on seeing this, asks, �What is the master doing? �
Nangaku says, �Polishing a tile. �
Baso says, �What is the use of polishing a tile? �
Nangaku says, �I am polishing it into a mirror. �135
Baso says, �How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror? �136
Nangaku says, �How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha? �137
[178] For several hundred years, since ancient times, most people inter-
preting this story�great matter that it is�have thought that Nangaku was
simply spurring Baso on. That is not necessarily so. The actions of great
saints far transcend the states of common folk. Without the Dharma of pol-
ishing a tile, how could the great saints have any expedient method of teach-
ing people? The power to teach people is the bones and marrow of a Buddhist
patriarch. Although [Nangaku] has devised it, this [teaching method] is a
common tool. [Teaching methods] other than common tools and everyday
utensils are not transmitted in the house of Buddha. Further, the impression
on Baso is immediate. Clearly, the virtue authentically transmitted by the
Buddhist patriarchs is directness. Clearly, in truth, when polishing a tile
becomes a mirror, Baso becomes buddha. When Baso becomes buddha, Baso
immediately becomes Baso. When Baso becomes Baso, zazen immediately
becomes zazen. This is why the making of mirrors through the polishing of
tiles has been dwelled in and retained in the bones and marrow of eternal
buddhas; and, this being so, the eternal mirror exists having been made from
a tile. While we have been polishing this mirror�in the past also�it has
never been tainted. Tiles are not dirty; we just polish a tile as a tile. In this
state, the virtue of making a mirror is realized, and this is just the effort of
Buddhist patriarchs. If polishing a tile does not make a mirror, polishing a
mirror cannot make a mirror either. 138 Who can suppose that in this �mak-
ing� there is [both] �becoming� buddha and �making� a mirror? 139 Further,
to express a doubt, is it possible, when polishing the eternal mirror, to mis-
takenly think that the polishing is making a tile? The real state at the time
of polishing is, at other times, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, because
Nangaku's words must exactly express the expression of the truth, it may
be, in conclusion, simply that polishing a tile makes a mirror. People today
also should try taking up the tiles of the present and polishing them, and they
will certainly become mirrors. If tiles did not become mirrors, people could
not become buddhas. If we despise tiles as lumps of mud, then we might
also despise people as lumps of mud. If people have mind, tiles must also
have mind. Who can recognize that there are mirrors in which, [when] tiles
come, tiles appear? And who can recognize that there are mirrors in which,
[when] mirrors come, mirrors appear?
Shobogenzo Kokyo
Preached to the assembly at Kannondori ko-
shohorinji, on the ninth day of the ninth
lunar month in the second year of Ninji. 140
---
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B2582_1 (biblio info) Chapter/Section 21
[Chapter Twenty-one]
Kankin
Reading Sutras
Translator 's Note: Kan means �to read� and kin means �sutras. � Many
Buddhist sects revere reading sutras, because they think that the Buddhist
truth is theory which can be understood through abstract explanation. They
think that we can understand Buddhism only by reading sutras. At the same
time, there are other sects who deny the value of reading sutras; they say
that because Buddhist truth is not a theoretical system, we cannot attain the
truth by reading sutras. Master Dogen took the middle way on the problem:
rather than deny the value of reading sutras, he said that reading sutras is
one way of finding out what Buddhist practice is. He did not believe, how-
ever, that we can get the truth by reading sutras; he did not think that recit-
ing sutras might exercise some mystical in? uence over religious life. In this
way Master Dogen's view on reading sutras was very realistic. However, his
understanding of �reading sutras� was not limited to written sutras; he
believed that the universe is a sutra. He thought that observing the world
around us is like reading a sutra. So for him, grass, trees, mountains, the
moon, the sun, and so forth were all Buddhist sutras. He even extended his
view of reading sutras to include walking around the master 's chair in the
middle of the zazen hall. This viewpoint is not only Master Dogen's; it is the
viewpoint of Buddhism itself. So in this chapter, Master Dogen explains the
wider meaning of reading sutras.
[183] The practice-and-experience of anuttara samyaksa? bodhi sometimes
relies on [good] counselors and sometimes relies on the sutras. �[Good] coun-
selors�1 means Buddhist patriarchs who are totally themselves. �Sutras� means
sutras that are totally themselves. Because the self is totally a Buddhist patri-
arch and because the self is totally a sutra, it is like this. 2 Even though we call
it self, it is not restricted by �me and you. � It is vivid eyes, and a vivid fist.
[184] At the same time,3 there is the consideration of sutras, the reading
of sutras,4 the reciting of sutras, the copying of sutras, the receiving of sutras,
and the retaining of sutras: they are all the practice-and-experience of Buddhist
patriarchs. Yet it is not easy to meet the Buddha's sutras: �Throughout innu-
merable realms, even the name cannot be heard. �5 Among Buddhist patri-
archs, �even the name cannot be heard. � Amid the lifeblood, �even the name
cannot be heard. � Unless we are Buddhist patriarchs we do not see, hear,
read, recite, or understand the meaning of sutras. After learning in practice
as Buddhist patriarchs, we are barely able to learn sutras in practice. At this
time the reality of hearing [sutras], retaining [sutras], receiving [sutras],
preaching sutras, and so on, exists in the ears, eyes, tongue, nose, and organs
of body and mind,6 and in the places where we go, hear, and speak. The sort
who �because they seek fame, preach non-Buddhist doctrines�7 cannot prac-
tice the Buddha's sutras. The reason is that the sutras are transmitted and
retained on trees and on rocks, are spread through fields and through vil-
lages, are expounded by lands of dust, and are lectured by space.
[186] Great Master Kodo,8 the ancestral patriarch of Yakusan Moun-
tain, has not ascended [his seat in the Dharma] hall for a long time. The tem-
ple chief 9 says, �The monks have long been hoping for your compassionate
instruction, master. �
[Yaku]san says, �Strike the bell! �
The temple chief strikes the bell, and a few of the monks assemble.
[Yaku]san ascends [the seat in the Dharma] hall and passes a while.
Then he gets down from the seat and goes back to the abbot's quarters. The
temple chief follows behind him and says, �Just before, the master agreed
to preach the Dharma for the monks. Why have you not bestowed a single
word upon us? �
[Yaku]san says, �For sutras there are sutra teachers. For commentaries
there are commentary teachers. How could you doubt the old monk? �10
[188] The compassionate instruction of the ancestral patriarch is that
for fists there is a fist-teacher, and for eyes there is an eye-teacher. At the
same time, with due respect, I would now like to ask the ancestral patriarch
this: I do not deny [your words] �how can the old monk be doubted? � but I
still do not understand: the master is a teacher of What. 11
[188] The order of the Founding Patriarch Daikan12 is on Sokeizan in
Shoshu district. Hotatsu,13 a monk who recites the Sutra of the Flower of
Dharma,14 comes to practice there. The Founding Patriarch preaches for
Hotatsu the following verse:
When the mind is in delusion, the Flower of Dharma turns.
When the mind is in realization, we turn the Flower of Dharma.
Unless we are clear about ourselves, however long we recite [the
sutra],
It will become an enemy because of its meanings.
Without intention the mind is right.
With intention the mind becomes wrong.
When we transcend both with and without,
We ride eternally in the white ox cart. 15
[189] So when the mind is in delusion we are turned by the Flower of
Dharma; when the mind is in realization we turn the Flower of Dharma. Fur-
ther, when we spring free from delusion and realization, the Flower of Dharma
turns the Flower of Dharma. On hearing this verse Hotatsu jumps for joy
and praises it with the following verse:
Three thousand recitations of the sutra
With one phrase from Sokei, forgotten.
Before clarifying the import of [the buddhas'] appearance in the world,
How can we stop recurring lives of madness?
[The sutra] explains goat, deer, and ox as an expedient,
[But] proclaims that beginning, middle, and end are good.
Who knows that [even] within the burning house,
Originally we are kings in the Dharma?
Then the Founding Patriarch says, �From now on, you will rightly be
called the Sutra-reading Monk. � We should know that there are sutra-read-
ing monks in Buddhism: it is the direct teaching of the eternal buddha of
Sokei. �Reading� in this [phrase] �Sutra-reading Monk� is beyond �having
ideas,� �being without ideas,� and so on. 16 It is �transcendence of both hav-
ing and being without. � The fact is only that �from kalpa to kalpa the hands
never put down the sutra, and from noon to night there is no time when it is
not being read. �17 The fact is only that from sutra to sutra it is never not being
experienced. 18
[191] The twenty-seventh patriarch is Venerable Praj�atara19 of eastern
India. A king of eastern India, the story goes, invites the Venerable One to
a midday meal, at which time the king asks, �Everyone else recites20 sutras.
Why is it, Venerable One, that you alone do not recite? �
The patriarch says:
My21 out-breath does not follow circumstances,
The in-breath does not reside in the world of aggregates. 22
I am constantly reciting sutras like this. 23
Hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls.
Never only one scroll or two scrolls. 24
[192] The Venerable Praj�atara is a native of an eastern territory of
India. He is the twenty-seventh rightful successor from Venerable Maha -
kasyapa,25 having received the authentic transmission of all the tools of the
Buddha's house: he has dwelled in and retained the brains, the eyes, the fist,
and the nostrils; the staff, the patra, the robe and Dharma, the bones and
marrow, and so on. He is our ancestral patriarch, and we are his distant
descendants. 26 The words into which the Venerable One has now put his total
effort [mean] not only that the out-breath does not follow circumstances, but
also that circumstances do not follow the out-breath. Circumstances may be
the brains and eyes, circumstances may be the whole body, circumstances
may be the whole mind, but in bringing here, taking there, and bringing back
here again, the state is just �not following circumstances. � �Not following�
means totally following; therefore it is a state of bustling and jostling. The
out-breath is circumstances themselves; even so, �it does not follow cir-
cumstances. � For countless kalpas we have never recognized the situation
of breathing out and breathing in, but just now the moment has come when
we can recognize it for the first time, and so we hear �it does not reside in
the world of aggregates� and �it does not follow circumstances. � This is the
moment when circumstances study for the first time such things as �the in-
breath. � This moment has never been before, and it will never be again: it
exists only in the present. �The world of aggregates� means the five aggre-
gates: matter, perception, thought, enaction, and consciousness. The reason
he does not reside in these five aggregates is that he is in the world where
�five aggregates� have never arrived. Because he has grasped this pivotal
point, the sutras he recites are never only one or two scrolls; he is �constantly
reciting hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls. � Though we say that �hun-
dred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls� just cites for the present an example
of a large number, it is beyond only numerical quantity: it assigns the quan-
tity of �hundred thousand myriad ko? is of scrolls� to one out-breath's �not
residing in the world of aggregates. � At the same time, [the state] is not meas-
ured by tainted or faultless wisdom27 and it is beyond the world of tainted
and faultless dharmas. 28 Thus, it is beyond the calculation of wise intelli-
gence, it is beyond the estimation of intelligent wisdom; it is beyond the con-
sideration of non-wise intelligence, and it is beyond the reach of non-intel-
ligent wisdom. It is the practice-and-experience of buddhas and of patriarchs,
it is their skin, ? esh, bones, and marrow, their eyes, fists, brains, and nos-
trils, and their staffs and whisks, springing out of the moment.
[196] Great Master Shinsai29 of Kannon-in Temple in Joshu, the story
goes, is sent a donation by an old woman, who asks the Great Master to recite
the whole of the sutras. The master descends from the zazen chair, goes
around it once, and says to the messenger, �I have finished reciting the sutras. �
The messenger returns and reports this to the old woman. The old woman
says, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did the mas-
ter only recite half the sutras? �30
[197] Evidently, the recitation of the whole of the sutras or half of the
sutras amounts to three scrolls of sutras in the old woman's case. 31 �I have
finished reciting the sutras� is the whole of Joshu's sutra. In brief, the situ-
ation of his reciting the whole of the sutras is as follows: There is Joshu going
around the zazen chair; there is the zazen chair going around Joshu, there is
Joshu going around Joshu, and there is the zazen chair going around the
zazen chair. At the same time, all instances of reciting the sutras are neither
limited to going around a zazen chair, nor limited to a zazen chair going
around.
[198] Great Master Shinsho32 of Daizuizan in Ekishu, whose original
Dharma name was Hoshin,33 succeeded Zen Master Daian34 of Chokeiji. In
the story, an old woman sends a donation and asks the master to recite the
whole of the sutras. The master descends from his zazen chair, goes around
it once, and says to the messenger, �I have already recited the whole of the
sutras. � The messenger returns and reports this to the old woman. The old
woman says, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did
the master only recite half the sutras? �35
[199] Now, do not study that Daizui is going around the zazen chair,
and do not study that the zazen chair is going around Daizui. It is not only
a grouping together of fists and eyes; his making of a circle is enaction of a
circle. Does the old woman have the eyes, or does she not have the eyes [to
see it]? Even though she has got the expression �He only recited half the
sutras� in the authentic transmission from a fist,36 the old woman should also
say, �I asked him before to recite the whole of the sutras. Why did the mas-
ter only worry his soul? �37 If she spoke like this, even by accident, she would
be an old woman with eyes.
[200] [In the order] of the founding patriarch, Great Master Tozan
Gohon,38 the story goes, there is a government official who prepares the mid-
day meal, offers a donation, and requests the master to read and recite the
whole of the sutras. The Great Master descends from his zazen chair and
bows to39 the official. The official bows to the Great Master, who leads the
official once around the zazen chair, then bows to the official [again]. After
a while he says to the official, �Do you understand? � The official says, �I do
not understand. � The Great Master says, �You and I have read and recited
the whole of the sutras. How could you not understand? �
[201] That �You and I have read and recited the whole of the sutras�
is evident. We do not learn that to go around the zazen chair is to read and
recite the whole of the sutras, and we do not understand that to read and
recite the whole of the sutras is to go around the zazen chair. All the same,
we should listen to the compassionate instruction of the founding patriarch.
My late master, the eternal buddha, quoted this story when, while he was
residing [as master] on Tendozan, a donor from Korea entered the moun-
tain, made a donation for the monks to read the sutras, and requested that
my late master should ascend the lecture seat. When he had quoted [the
story], my late master made a big circle with his whisk and said, �Tendo
today has read and recited for you the whole of the sutras. � Then he threw
down the whisk and descended from the seat. We should read and recite
now the words spoken by the late master, never comparing them to [the
words of] others. Still, should we think that [Master Tendo], in reading and
reciting the whole of the sutras, uses a whole eye or uses half an eye? Do
the words of the founding patriarch and the words of my late master rely
on eyes or rely on tongues? How many [eyes and tongues] have they used?
See if you can get to the bottom of it.
[202] The ancestral patriarch, Great Master Kodo40 of Yakusan Moun-
tain, does not usually let people read sutras. One day he is reading a sutra
himself. A monk asks him, �The master does not usually let others read
sutras. Why then are you reading yourself? �
The master says, �I just need to shade my eyes. �
The monk says, �May I copy the master? �
The master says, �If you were to read you would surely pierce holes
even in ox-hide! �
[203] The words �I just need to shade my eyes� spoken now are words
naturally spoken by shaded eyes41 themselves. �Shading the eyes� describes
getting rid of eyes and getting rid of sutras, it describes complete eye shad-
ing and completely shaded eyes. �Shading the eyes� means opening the eyes
in the shaded state, invigorating the eyes within shade, invigorating shade
within eyes, adding an extra eyelid, utilizing the eyes within shade, and eyes
themselves utilizing shade. This being so, the virtue of �shading the eyes�
is never [mentioned] in any [sutras] other than eye-sutras.
