Dogen on Bodhicitta (the mind, or thought of enlightenment).

In general there are three kinds of mind. “The first, citta, is here called thinking mind. The second, hrdaya, is here called the mind of grass and trees. The third, vrddha, is here called experienced and concentrated mind.” Among these, the bodhi-mind is inevitably established relying upon thinking mind. Bodhi is the sound of an Indian word; here it is called “the truth.” Citta is the sound of an Indian word; here it is called “thinking mind.” Without this thinking mind it is impossible to establish the bodhi-mind. That is not to say that this thinking mind is the bodhi-mind itself, but we establish the bodhi-mind with this thinking mind. To establish the bodhi-mind means to vow that, and to endeavor so that, “Before I myself cross over, I will take

across all living beings.” Even if their form is humble, those who establish this mind are already the guiding teachers of all living beings. This mind is not innate and it does not now suddenly arise; it is neither one nor many; it is not natural and it is not formed; it does not abide in our body, and our body does not abide in the mind. This mind does not pervade the Dharma world; it is neither of the past nor of the future; it is neither present nor absent; it is not of a subjective nature, it is not of an objective nature, it is not of a combined nature, and it is not of a causeless nature. Nevertheless, at a place where there is mystical communication of the truth, establishment of the bodhimind occurs. It is not conferred upon us by the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and it is beyond our own ability. Establishment of the mind occurs during mystical communication of the truth, and so it is not inherent. Shobogenzo, Hotsu Bodaishin, Gudo Nishijima & Mike (Chodo) Cross

Does a Falling Tree make a Sound When Nobody is there to Hear it?

As it presupposes dualism (between “things” (dharmas) in themselves and “things” as represented) the representational view of knowledge and experience is definitely rejected in Zen Buddhism, as it is in Mahayana Buddhism generally. In Zen, all real dharmas (things, beings, instances, events, etc.) are actualized (not re-actualized, or represented) insofar as they are experienced by sentient beings.

So then, the falling tree makes no sound if no one experiences it, and in fact, there is no such thing as a falling tree that no one experiences. A tree, a human being (or any dharma) is only a real dharma if someone (a “self” or an “other”) experiences it. One obvious implication of this is that whatever (or whoever) does experience beings (or other dharmas) must also be real. This aspect of reality is one of the central topics of Dogen’s Shobogenzo.

When speaking of consciousness of self and other, there is a self and an other in what is known; there is a self and an other in what is seen.
Shobogenzo, Shoaku Makusa, Hubert Nearman

In Buddhism, as we know, experience and experiencer are nondual, and each is (like all dharmas) one with the whole universe. But the Zen masters certainly do not let matters rest there; they constantly exhorts us to look deeply and come to understand how the myriad dharmas differ, relate, and interact with each other and the rest of the world. Dogen’s Shobogenzo, for example, is a marvelous demonstration of how this task is accomplished.

Who are your five favorite Zen masters?

Mine are:

1 Dogen
2 Hakuin
3 Chinul
4 Joshu
5 Zongmi

Peace,
Ted

In Grateful Thanks to Bodhisattva Mahasattva

Jade Alexandria Biringer

April 27, 1993 – July 13, 1993

Nurse’s Song

When the voices of children are heard on the green
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast
And everything else is still.

“Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down
And the dews of night arise;
Come, come, leave off play, and let us away
Till the morning appears in the skies.”

“No, no, let us play, for it is yet day
And we cannot go to sleep;
Besides, in the sky the little birds fly
And the hills are all cover’d with sheep.”

“Well, well, go & play till the light fades away
And then go home to bed.”
The little ones leaped & shouted & laugh’d
And all the hills echoed.
~William Blake

Dogen on creating, fashioning, and concocting

Since we human beings are continually arranging the bits and pieces of what we experience in order to fashion ‘a whole universe’, we must take care to look upon this welter of living beings and physical objects as ‘sometime’ things… In a similar manner, we are continually arranging bits and pieces of what we experience in order to fashion them into what we call ‘a self ’, which we treat as ‘myself ’: this is the same as the principle of ‘we ourselves are just for a time’.

Shobogenzo, Uji, Rev. Hubert Nearman

Thus, entering into the depths of the mountains to ponder the Buddha’s Way may well be easy, whereas to fashion a stupa or fashion a Buddha is ever so hard. Though both approaches are ripened by diligence and strenuous effort, the one makes use of the mind and the other is being used by the Mind, which is different by far. Time after time, giving rise to the enlightened Mind in this way makes the Buddhas and Ancestors manifest.

Shobogenzo, Hotsu Mujo Shin, Hubert Nearman

‘The branch of Right Effort’ is the daily conduct of dredging out your whole being. And through dredging out your whole being, you fashion a truly human countenance…

It is one’s Eye creating the morning star.

Shobogenzo, Sanjushichihon Bodai Bumpo, Hubert Nearman

Because ‘simply our mind’ is not simply our mind, so ‘the tiles and stones of our walls and fences’ are not the tiles and stones of walls and fences. This is the everyday behavior of a Buddha doing His practice, and it is the principle of leaving things to the mind and leaving things to things even while we are creating both a mind and things.

Shobogenzo, Gyobutsu Iigi, Hubert Nearman

By relying on the principle of ‘turning to the next’, you should, by all means, thoroughly investigate both your creating circumstances and your not creating circumstances. And by relying on the principle of ‘turning to the next’, you should thoroughly investigate both what you are concocting and what you are not concocting.

Shobogenzo, Juki, Hubert Nearman

Huang Po On Seeing True Nature

Q: What is implied by ‘seeing into the real Nature’?

A: That Nature and your perception of it are one. You cannot use it to see something over and above itself. That Nature and your hearing of it are one. You cannot use it to hear something over and above itself. If you form a concept of the true nature of anything as being visible or audible, you allow a dharma of distinction to arise. Let me repeat that the perceived cannot perceive. Can there, I ask you, be a head attached to the crown of your head?

Huang Po, The Zen Teaching of Huang Po, John Blofeld, p.116

Peace,

Ted