Dogen on Bodhicitta, Kensho, and Enlightened Wisdom

As touched on in previous posts, Dogen (thus Shobogenzo) is in complete harmony with all the classic masters that accessing bodhi prajna (enlightened wisdom) always (and only) begins with bodhicitta; the thought of (or wish for) enlightenment. In his teachings on bodhicitta (giving rise to the intention to realize enlightenment), Dogen frequently refers to it as the first of the four principals of the entire Buddha Way (the other three are “training,” “practice-enlightenment,” and “arriving at the ultimate” (i.e. Buddhahood, Nirvana, etc.) respectively). Dogen’s descriptions of bodhicitta are numerous and variable, but its primary characteristic is always portrayed as a profound and powerful desire, or aspiration for enlightenment. Because of its significance as the essential first step to accessing enlightened wisdom, we need to look at this a little deeper before moving on. To do so, we will begin with this excerpt from Shobogenzo, Hotsu Bodai Shin:

The bodhisattva Makakasho, wishing to pay homage to Shakyamuni Buddha, composed the following eulogy:

Awakening one’s intention and arriving at the Ultimate, though two, are not separate.

Of these two states of mind, the former is the more difficult to arrive at,

So when those who have not yet arrived at the Ultimate first lead others to arrive,

I, for that reason, bow to their first giving rise to their intention.

With Your first arising, You were already a Teacher for humans and gods,

Surpassing those who merely listen and those who seek the Goal only for themselves.

The arising of such an intention as Yours has surpassed the triple world,

And therefore we call it the supreme state above all.

The arising of the intention means giving rise, right off, to the intention to help others reach the Other Shore, even though you yourself have not yet reached that Place. We call this giving rise to the enlightened Mind for the first time. Once you have given rise to this Mind, you will then encounter Buddhas to whom you should make alms offerings, and you should hearken to Their Teaching. Further, should you then strive to give rise to the enlightened Mind, it would be like adding frost atop snow.

The term ‘the Ultimate’ refers to the Wisdom that is the result of Buddhahood. Were we to compare the state of supreme, fully perfected enlightenment with the state of giving rise to the enlightened Mind for the first time, it is like comparing the universal, all-consuming conflagration of the final age with the light of a firefly. Even so, when you give rise to the heart that helps others reach the Other Shore, even though you yourself have not yet reached that Place, there is no difference between the two.  ~Shobogenzo, Hotsu Bodai Shin (Translated by Rev. Hubert Nearman)

This passage contains a number of assertions providing definitive clarification on some of the most important aspects of Dogen’s Zen teaching. The fact that much of Shobogenzo is as lucid and forthright as this passage makes it difficult to understand how certain key elements of Dogen’s Zen continue to be so hotly debated. This short passage alone offers evidence enough to settle, at least in a general way, Dogen’s positions concerning “enlightenment as the goal of practice,” the affirmation of “various stages (or levels) of enlightenment,” the necessity of achieving an “initial enlightenment experience,” and others.

First, notice that the Buddhist scripture Dogen quotes begins with an affirmation of the nonduality of “bodhicitta” (Awakening one’s intention) and “arriving at the ultimate.” Like “delusion” and “realization,” “self” and “not-self,” “practice” and “enlightenment,” and all the other nondual dharmas, the “first step” (bodhicitta) and the “final realization of Buddhahood” (arriving at the ultimate), “though two, are not separate.” Second, notice also that Dogen’s first comment on this passage affirms the nonduality of the “intention to awaken” (bodhicitta) and the “intention to help others awaken” (reach the Other Shore; i.e. Nirvana). Third (and finally), notice the implications: “the intention to awaken,” “arriving at the ultimate,” and “the intention to help others awaken” are not separate (i.e. are nondual; depend upon and contain each other). If so, why the debates concerning Dogen’s view of what constitutes “arriving at the ultimate”? Clearly, whenever a sentient being simply intends to help another awaken, “even though they have not yet reached it” they arrive at the ultimate. The key word here is “intention,” which, in Dogen’s use, connotes a certain “wholeheartedness” that is absent in the usual sense of the word.

The next thing to consider is Dogen’s points concerning, “giving rise to the enlightened Mind for the first time.” In his explication, Dogen offers an astonishingly creative portrayal of the process for “accessing bodhi prajna” by describing the dynamic interaction of “initial enlightenment,” “helping others,” and “full, perfect enlightenment.” The skill with which Dogen weaves these apparently “disparate” elements together, thus illustrating their interdependence (non-separation) is a good example of his mastery of language–and an excellent passage to seriously contemplate.

Note: Some assert that Dogen’s Zen does not acknowledge a need for “initial enlightenment experiences” [commonly called “kensho”]. Nevertheless, the above quote is typical of Dogen’s own statements on the issue; hence I leave it for the reader to discern Dogen’s own position. I trust that most readers will do so with little difficulty.

Peace,

Ted

The great Huayen master, Ch’eng Kuan, in one of his marvelous explanations of interdependence wrote:

On the eighth day of a [lunar] month, half of the moon is bright and the other half is dark; the very appearance of the bright part [the disclosed] affirms but does not negate the existence of the hidden part. Likewise, the manifestation of something always implies the existence of the unmanifested or concealed part of the same thing. At the moment when the bright part of the moon is disclosed, the dark part also “secretly” establishes itself. This is the reason for the so-called simultaneous establishment of concealment and disclosure…” Non-Obstruction of Concealment and Disclosure, by Ch’eng Kuan, The Buddhist Teaching of Totality, Garma C. C. Chang

In Case 100 of the Blue Cliff Record, a monk asked the Zen master Haryo for an explanation of this same principle:

A monk asked Haryo, “What is the razor-sharp sword?”

Haryo said, “Each branch of coral supports the moon.”

Zen’s assimilation and incorporation of figurative language achieves a vastly increased capacity of expression. The technical difference between the expressive style of the philosophical schools and that of Zen might be described as a “mere” appropriation of more figurative elements in its language; but the actual result is a practical reversal of the use of language. The precision of the great philosophical systems are dependent on the rigid application of the rules governing the language of “descriptive accuracy.” Thus, their apparent lucidity is only achieved by sacrificing a certain degree of liberation; for rigid application also means rigid adherence. Whenever a tool (such as a system of thought) commands adherence from its user the tool masters the user. Dogen often refers to this in terms of the difference between “using” something and “being used by” something.

One important factor of Zen’s method of expression is that it eliminates of the need to accept the “absolute” truth of certain presuppositions; significantly, presuppositions implying that the nature of dharmas (things, beings, etc.) is illusory, that they are mere appearances of a “higher” or “more fundamental” reality (essential nature, true nature, etc.). Also, abandoning the “abstract” elements of conceptual systemization, Zen facilitates the illumination of the real dharmas of actual experience. By replacing abstractions for actualities communication is liberated from the limitations of static (“freeze-frame”) illustrations. This liberation of communication is the hallmark characteristic of the creative adaptation and improvisation that Zen calls “skillful means” (upaya). “Skillful means” are techniques for conveying the truth of the dynamic process of the actualization of the universe (genjokoan) in ways that are appropriate to the particular circumstances of actual occasions.

Louie Wing’s instructions on how to practice zazen. Excerpted from The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Learned audience, the various meditation techniques of Buddhism can be divided into the two general, complementary modes of cessation and observation or stopping and seeing. Cessation is stopping of delusion; observation is illumination of prajna, enlightened wisdom.

One of the clearest presentations of cessation and observation is found in the great treatise of Mahayana Buddhism known as the Ta-ch’eng ch’i-hsin lun, or the Awakening of Faith treatise. The Awakening of Faith is a distillation and summarization of some of the most essential teachings of Buddhism. Good friends, because of its clarity, I will use the words of this text to briefly outline the two basic modes of Buddhist meditation. The Awakening of Faith treatise regarding cessation states:

Should there be a man who desires to practice ‘cessation’, he should stay in a quiet place and sit erect in an even temper. His attention should be focused neither on breathing nor on any form or color, nor on empty space, earth, water, fire, wind, nor even on what has been seen, heard, remembered, or conceived. All thoughts, as soon as they are conjured up, are to be discarded, and even the thought of discarding them is to be put away, for all things are essentially in the state of transcending thoughts, and are not to be created from moment to moment nor to be extinguished from moment to moment; thus, one is to conform to the essential nature of Reality (dharmata) through this practice of cessation…

In regard to observation, The Awakening of Faith treatise states:

He who practices ‘clear observation’ should observe that all conditioned phenomena in the world are unstationary and are subject to instantaneous transformation and destruction…

After reflecting in this way, he should pluck up his courage and make a great vow to this effect: may my mind be free from discriminations so that I may practice all of the various meritorious acts everywhere in the ten directions; may I, to the end of the future, by applying limitless expedient means, help all suffering sentient beings so that they may obtain the bliss of nirvana, the ultimate goal…

Learned audience, you should know that it is of the utmost importance to balance these two modes of meditation. The importance of balancing them, as well as specific instruction on how to do so, constitutes a generous amount of Zen and Buddhist literature. The Awakening of Faith affirms the necessity of this, and sums up the reason that balance is essential thus:

Whether walking, standing, sitting, lying, or rising, he should practice both ‘cessation’ and ‘clear observation’ side by side. That is to say, he is to meditate upon the fact that things are unborn in their essential nature; but at the same time he is to meditate upon the fact that good and evil karma. . .are neither lost nor destroyed…

The practice of ‘cessation’ will enable ordinary men to cure themselves of their attachments to the world… The practice of ‘clear observation’ will cure . . . the fault of having narrow and inferior minds, which bring forth no great compassion, and will free ordinary men from their failure to cultivate the capacity for goodness.

For these reasons, both ‘cessation’ and ‘clear observation’ are complementary and inseparable.

Good friends, cessation meditation aims at the realization of emptiness. To become attached to emptiness causes disengagement from the real world of everyday life. Observation meditation activates and refines the wisdom of differentiation. To become attached to differentiation causes one to live in turmoil, which blocks off clear perception of reality. Each of these modes of meditation serves to balance the other. Observation works as an antidote for attachment to emptiness. Cessation works as an antidote for attachment to differentiation.

In learning to apply any of the techniques of Zen meditation, sitting in zazen is usually the easiest and most direct method to begin with. Therefore, I will now describe the method of sitting meditation as the Zen ancestors have transmitted it down through the generations.

For practicing sitting meditation, anywhere you can sit comfortably will suffice. A lighted place that is clean, dry, quiet, and maintained at a comfortable temperature is best.

Before sitting, be moderate in food and drink. It is also good to be well rested. Wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing, and if sitting in a group, dark, solid colors are preferred, in order to lessen the distraction to others.

It is best to sit on a zafu, a round cushion that is placed on a zabutan, a larger, square cushion. If such cushions are not available, a meditation bench or a chair is adequate, the aim being a comfortable and stable, upright sitting posture.

Sit with the two sit-bones of your buttocks on the zafu, and your legs folded on the zabutan. Sit in either the full or half lotus posture. For the full lotus posture, place your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh. For the half lotus, place your left foot on your right thigh and simply keep your right foot on the zabutan with your right leg folded in close to your left leg.

Sit upright in a stable, symmetrical position. Place the left hand on the right hand, aligning the middle joints of the middle fingers, both palms upward, and allow the tips of your thumbs to lightly touch forming an oval shape, as if cradling an egg. With your hands in this position, allow them to rest in your lap, holding them close to your body just below your belt line.

Hold your head up so that your ears are aligned with your shoulders and your nose is aligned with your navel. Place the tip of your tongue gently against the roof of your mouth just behind your upper teeth, with your teeth and lips together.

Breathe through your nose. Allow your eyelids to relax so they are comfortable, neither wide open nor closed. Let your gaze fall several feet in front of you or if facing a wall, about the level of your chest. Relax your vision, neither trying to focus it nor allowing it to wander.

Once you are comfortable and stable, take several deep breaths then allow your breathing to become quiet and natural.

Allow your mind to completely relax. Disregard intentional thinking; make no effort to suppress thoughts. Mentally step back and rest in the source of your own fundamental awareness. Trust the inherent wisdom of your own mind and let go of all intention. With total, nonjudgmental acceptance, allow thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, and mental formulations to arise from, abide in, and return to the source of your fundamental awareness without interference.

For beginners that find difficulty settling their minds and bodies, the method of breath counting is often helpful. To apply this method, simply count each ‘out breath’ until you reach the count of ten. If you lose track of your count or find that you have gone beyond the number ten, simply return to one and begin your count over. When you can consistently reach ten, without losing count or going over ten, for fifteen minutes or so, you can let go of your counting and simply rest comfortably in your own awareness.

Good friends, for sitting in meditation, this is the method recommended by all the Zen ancestors.

~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Peace,

Ted

Here are two sets of practical instructions on how to practice zazen, by Dogen. The first “Zazengi,” comes from Shobogenzo. The second is the popular independent treatise called, “Fukanzazengi.”

Shobogenzo, Zazengi

To train under a Master is to do seated meditation. In doing seated meditation, a quiet place serves well. Spread out your meditation mat so that it lies thickly. Do not put it in a place that is windy or smoky, and do not expose it to rain or dew. Make the place where you sit secure for your body. There is the example from the past of Shakyamuni’s sitting in a diamond-hard place under the Bodhi tree, seated upon a huge rock in the shape of a lotus, upon which He had spread out a thick cushion of dry grass. Your sitting place should be lit, without letting it be in the dark, day or night. Make ‘warm in winter and cool in summer’ your technique.

Set aside all involvements and give everything a rest. Do not think about what is good or what is bad. Do not exercise your discriminatory mind or weigh and judge your mind’s remembrances, concepts, and reflections! Do not aim at becoming a Buddha, and drop off any concern with whether you are sitting or lying down. Eat and drink in moderation. Cherish the light of days and the dark of nights. Take to doing seated meditation as though you were extinguishing a fire upon your head. The Fifth Chinese Ancestor, Daiman Konin of Mount Obai, did not do anything particularly different: he just diligently did seated meditation.

When sitting in meditation, wear your kesa. Spread out your mat and put your round cushion atop it. Do not sit in lotus position with the cushion supporting the whole of your legs, but put it well behind the back half of your legs. Consequently, the mat will be under your knees and thighs while the cushion will be under the base of your spine. This is the method for seated meditation that has been used by Buddha after Buddha and Ancestor after Ancestor.

Some people sit in the half lotus position and some sit in the full lotus position. When sitting in the full lotus position, we put the right foot atop the left thigh and the left foot atop the right thigh. The tips of our toes should line up uniformly on our thighs and not lie unevenly. When sitting in half lotus position, we simply place our left foot on our right thigh.

We should drape our clothing in a loose-fitting manner, yet neatly. We place our right hand atop our left foot and our left hand atop our right hand. The tips of our two thumbs touch each other. Both hands are then held close to our body. The point at which the two thumbs touch should be placed opposite the navel.

You should sit with your body upright, that is, not leaning to the right, inclining to the left, bending forward, or arching back. You need to align your ears with your shoulders and your nose with your navel. Let your tongue rest in your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Your lips and teeth should be touching. Your eyes should remain open, but neither widely nor narrowly so.

With body and mind regulated in this manner, breathe out once. Sit with the stillness of a mountain, and let what you are thinking about be based on not deliberately trying to think about any particular thing. How can what anyone is thinking about be based on not deliberately thinking about something? Simply, by not making ‘what I am thinking about’ the point of your meditation. This, then, is the technique for doing seated meditation. Seated meditation is a practice and not something for intellectual study. It is the Dharma Gate to peace and joy. It is unstained training to realize the Truth.  ~Shobogenzo, Zazengi, Hubert Nearman

Fukanzazengi

Now, when we research it, the truth originally is all around: why should we rely upon practice and experience? The real vehicle exists naturally: why should we put forth great effort? Furthermore, the whole body far transcends dust and dirt: who could believe in the means of sweeping and polishing? In general, we do not stray from the right state: of what use, then, are the tiptoes of training?

However, if there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation is as great as that between heaven and earth; and if a trace of disagreement arises, we lose the mind in confusion. Proud of our understanding and richly endowed with realization, we obtain special states of insight; we attain the truth; we clarify the mind; we acquire the zeal that pierces the sky; we ramble through remote intellectual spheres, going in with the head: and yet, we have almost completely lost the vigorous road of getting the body out.

Moreover, we can [still] see the traces of the six years spent sitting up straight by the natural sage of Jetavana Park. We can still hear rumors of the nine years spent facing the wall by the transmitter of the mind-seal of Shaolin [Temple]. The ancient saints were like that already: how could people today fail to make effort?

Therefore we should cease the intellectual work of studying sayings and chasing words. We should learn the backward step of turning light and reflecting. Body and mind will naturally fall away, and the original features will manifest themselves before us. If we want to attain the matter of the ineffable, we should practice the matter of the ineffable at once.

In general, a quiet room is good for practicing [za]zen, and food and drink are taken in moderation. Cast aside all involvements. Give the myriad things a rest. Do not think of good and bad. Do not consider right and wrong. Stop the driving movement of mind, will, consciousness. Cease intellectual consideration through images, thoughts, and reflections. Do not aim to become a buddha. How could [this] be connected with sitting or lying down?

We usually spread a thick mat on the place where we sit, and use a round cushion on top of that. Either sit in the full lotus posture or sit in the half lotus posture. To sit in the full lotus posture, first put the right foot on the left thigh, then put the left foot on the right thigh. To sit in the half lotus posture, just press the left foot onto the right thigh.

Spread the clothing loosely and make it neat.9 Then put the right hand above the left foot, and place the left hand on the right palm. The thumbs meet and support each other. Just make the body upright and sit up straight. Do not lean to the left, incline to the right, slouch forward, or lean backward. The ears must be aligned with the shoulders, and the nose aligned with the navel. Hold the tongue against the palate, keep the lips and teeth closed, and keep the eyes open. Breathe softly through the nose.

When the physical posture is already settled, make one complete exhalation and sway left and right. Sitting immovably in the mountain-still state, “Think about this concrete state beyond thinking.” “How can the state beyond thinking be thought about?” “It is different from thinking.” This is just the pivot of zazen.

This sitting in zazen is not learning Zen concentration. It is simply the peaceful and joyful gate of Dharma. It is the practice-and-experience which perfectly realizes the state of bodhi. The universe is conspicuously realized, and restrictions and hindrances never reach it. To grasp this meaning is to be like a dragon that has found water, or like a tiger in its mountain stronghold. Remember, the right Dharma is naturally manifesting itself before us, and darkness and distraction have dropped away already.

When we rise from sitting, we should move the body slowly and stand up calmly. We should not be hurried or violent. We see in the past that those who transcended the common and transcended the sacred, and those who died while sitting or died while standing, relied totally on this power. Moreover, the changing of the moment, through the means of a finger, a pole, a needle, or a wooden clapper; and the experience of the state, through the manifestation of a whisk, a fist, a staff, or a shout, can never be understood by thinking and discrimination. How could they be known through mystical powers or practice and experience? They may be dignified behavior beyond sound and form. How could they be anything other than criteria that precede knowing and seeing?

Therefore, we do not discuss intelligence as superior and stupidity as inferior. Do not choose between clever people and dull ones. If we singlemindedly make effort [in zazen] that truly is pursuit of the truth. Practice-and-experience is naturally untainted. Actions are more balanced and constant.

In general, [the patriarchs] of this world and of other directions, of the Western Heavens and of the Eastern Lands, all similarly maintain the Buddha’s posture, and solely indulge in the custom of our religion. They simply devote themselves to sitting, and are caught by the still state.

Although there are myriad distinctions and thousands of differences, we should just practice [za]zen and pursue the truth. Why should we abandon our own seat on the floor to come and go without purpose through the dusty borders of foreign lands? If we misplace one step we pass over the moment of the present. We have already received the essential pivot which is the human body: we must never pass time in vain. We are maintaining and relying upon the pivotal essence which is the Buddha’s truth: who could wish idly to enjoy sparks [that fly] from flint? What is more, the body is like a dewdrop on a blade of grass. Life passes like a flash of lightning. Suddenly it is gone. In an instant it is lost.

I beseech you, noble friends in learning through experience, do not become so accustomed to images that you are dismayed by the real dragon. Devote effort to the truth which is directly accessible and straightforward. Revere people who are beyond study and without intention. Accord with the bodhi of the buddhas. Become a rightful successor to the samadhi of the patriarchs. If you practice the state like this for a long time, you will surely become the state like this itself. The treasure house will open naturally, and you will be free to receive and to use [its contents] as you like.  ~Fukanzazengi, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

Dogen, Kensho, Nonthinking, and Authentic Zen Practice-Enlightenment

Dogen’s method of nonthinking is actualized by intentionally enacting a process of moving forward from the realm of thinking (particular observations) into the realm of not thinking (immediate experience) and then back into the realm of thinking. Dogen sometimes uses the common Zen terms, “stepping forward, and stepping backward,” “to and fro,” and similar variations to describe this process.

With skill in nonthinking, which Dogen describes as “the essential art of Zen,” the practitioner moves naturally forward and backward between thinking and not thinking. This process allows the wisdom of undifferentiated immediate experience to be realized, expressed, and actualized in the world of differentiation. According to Dogen’s view of time (uji; existence-time), one quality of existence is the never-ceasing moment to moment exertion of the universe into novelty—each moment the universe comes forth fresh and new and this state is immediately “cast off” as the universe is again exerted fresh and new. Dogen describes how the process of nonthinking is actualized in this moment by moment exertion, which he here alludes to as “giving up and receiving the body”:

You now and I now are people of “the real human body” that is “the whole universe in ten directions.” We learn the truth without overlooking such things. As we continue, moment by moment, to give up the body and receive the body—whether for three great asamkheyas of kalpas, for thirteen great asamkheyas of kalpas, or for countless great asamkheyas of kalpas—the momentary state of learning the truth is always to learn the truth in forward steps and backward steps.  ~Shobogenzo, Shinjin-gakudo, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross

The essential achievement of nonthinking is actualized through the alternation between the (differentiated) thinking realm and the (undifferentiated) realm of not thinking. This practice illumines certain factors or elements that remain constant in the transition. As we attentively observe “the truth in forward steps and backward steps” (thinking and not thinking) we realize that certain aspects are apparent in both thinking and not thinking—while others are not. These aspects function as “distinctions” of the undifferentiated realm of immediate experience (not thinking) which are otherwise absent (not apparent). This “toing-and-froing” (forward and backward steps) into and out of the wholeness of immediate experience allows us to see (“pause and reflect”) that nothing in the “whole of existence” is, has been, or ever will be apart from the present moment here and now:

Putting the self in order, we see what it is. The truth that self is time is like this. We should learn in practice that, because of this truth, the whole earth includes myriad phenomena and hundreds of things, and each phenomenon and each thing exists in the whole earth. Such toing-and-froing is a first step [on the way] of practice. When we arrive in the field of the ineffable, (undifferentiated realm of not thinking – TB)  there is just one [concrete] thing and one [concrete] phenomenon, here and now, [beyond] understanding of phenomena and non-understanding of phenomena, and [beyond] understanding of things and non-understanding of things. Because [real existence] is only this exact moment, all moments of existence-time are the whole of time, and all existent things and all existent phenomena are time. The whole of existence, the whole universe, exists in individual moments of time. Let us pause to reflect whether or not any of the whole of existence or any of the whole universe has leaked away from the present moment of time. ~Shobogenzo, Uji, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross (Italics added)

While the instructions on the various Zen practices for actualizing nonthinking are straightforward and fairly easy to learn and apply effectively, successful actualization is dependent on reliable teaching, genuine aspiration, and an initial enlightenment experience. Reliable teaching means teaching that enables the practitioner to focus their energy effectively. Genuine aspiration means wholehearted desire; this is needed to sustain effort and inspire courage. Without sustained effort, results are not realized; without inspired courage, we are unable to let go of ego defenses.

What Dogen refers to as the “backward step” is the state enlightenment (bodhi), the condition of immediate undifferentiated experience. Thus the need for an initial enlightenment experience is clear. Authentic Zen practice (nonthinking) requires both “forward” and “backward” steps; a practitioner that has not yet taken a “backward step” obviously has not yet actualized nonthinking (Zen practice). Dogen frequently dwells on the need for enlightenment, asserting with all the classic Zen masters that “awakening the bodhi mind is the foremost task.” But he rarely uses terms that differentiate a “first” or “initial” enlightenment experience from succeeding experience. Rarely using the usual Zen term, “kensho,” Dogen refers to the “state of enlightenment” with a number of terms including, “the condition of Buddhahood,” “the still still state,” “arrival in the field of the ineffable,” and others. However, his favorite term for this experience is, “casting off body and mind.”

His emphasis on the need to “cast off body and mind” (take the backward step) is most intensely expressed in his practical instructions to beginning practitioners. As this experience is essential to initiate authentic Zen practice, his guidance to beginners naturally emphasizes the “backward step” while hardly mentioning the “forward step.” Once a practitioner has managed to “cast off body and mind,” the “forward step” will inevitably take care of itself. Therefore, Dogen urges practitioners that have not yet learned “the backward step,” and thus initiated authentic Zen practice-enlightenment to cease all other activities and put all their effort into attaining the ineffable. There will be time to study sayings and do the intellectual work of “forward steps” later—besides, until we “learn the backward step” such study and work can accomplish little:  

Therefore we should cease the intellectual work of studying sayings and chasing words. We should learn the backward step of turning light and reflecting. Body and mind will naturally fall away, and the original features will manifest themselves before us. If we want to attain the matter of the ineffable, we should practice the matter of the ineffable at once.  ~Fukanzazengi, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross

Therefore we should cease the intellectual work of studying sayings and chasing words. We should learn the backward step of turning light and reflecting. Body and mind will naturally fall away, and the original features will manifest themselves before us. If we want to attain the matter of the ineffable, we should practice the matter of the ineffable at once.  ~Fukanzazengi, Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross

Passages, such as this from Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, have frequently been misconstrued (by those without actual experience of the “ineffable”) as meaning that “the backward step” is the whole process of Zen practice-enlightenment. This not only negates half the process (“the forward step”) of Zen practice-enlightenment, it distorts the other half (“the backward step”) by over-expansion. This has contributed to the widespread misunderstanding of Zen as somehow anti-intellectual or opposed to the study of texts. Worse, it has fostered aberrant doctrines advocating detachment from the world or from the “passions” of humanity, or cultic ideas about the “cessation of thought,” or “sustainment of ‘pure awareness.’” Such notions are detrimental to authentic realization; thus it is prudent to be aware of them and of their widespread acceptance.

Significantly, even after a practitioner has achieved a genuine initial experience, reliable teaching and ongoing effort remain vital in order to make progress and avoid regression. It is often a matter of decades, rather than years (if it occurs at all), before a Zen practitioner will achieve a level of total self sufficiency—that is a point of spontaneity in which intentional effort is no longer required. In the meantime, the various methods of Zen all have common components that are essential to ongoing practice-enlightenment. First, all have their origin in “chitta” (the thinking, discriminating mind). Since the realm of immediate experience (not thinking) does not admit of any differentiation it is obviously incapable of serving as a base for intentional effort. Therefore, applying ourselves to any method, engaging in any task whatsoever can only be activated from the realm of differentiation (thinking). In Dogen’s terms:

Chitta is an Indian word which we call the discriminative mind. Without this discriminative mind we could not give rise to the enlightened Mind. I am not saying that this discriminative mind is the enlightened Mind; rather, we give rise to the enlightened Mind by means of the discriminative mind.

Giving rise to the enlightened Mind not only means vowing to take all sentient beings across to the Other Shore before one has taken oneself across, but it also means actively engaging in the task.  ~Shobogenzo, Hotsu Bodai Shin, Hubert Nearman

Not only do they have their origin in the realm of thinking, Zen methods have their origin in the realm of particular thinking; thinking about a dharma (thing, being, event) that has been discerned as of particular significance to the human condition. In this way, nonthinking originates (“steps forward”) with thinking (of a particular dharma), takes backward steps (not thinking) and forward steps (thinking) thus moving back from, and forward to particular dharmas. Engaged in this process, the Zen practitioner discerns and assimilates particular aspect of truth (bodhi) that have significant application in the “ordinary” world of everyday life. The validity of this realization must always be verified by a series of checks.

Peace,

Ted