[f1] As it was not expedient to set up Chinese type in England, special
Chinese notes at the end of the book have been prepared in Japan, in
which are found all the Chinese characters considered by the author
useful for scholars’ reference. The superior figures throughout the
present work point to the Chinese notes in the Appendix.
[f2] One of the popular lectures prepared by the author for students of
Buddhism, 1911. It was first published in _The Eastern Buddhist_, under
the title, “Zen Buddhism as Purifier and Liberator of Life.” Since it
treats of Zen in its general aspect, I have decided to make it serve as
Introduction to this book.
[f3] See also the Essay entitled “History of Zen Buddhism,” p. 151 ff.
[f4] The founder of the Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism, died 867.
[f5] The founder of the Ummon School of Zen Buddhism, died 996.
[f6] Literally, an old clumsy gimlet of the Ch‘in dynasty.
[f7] Zen has its own way of practising meditations so called, for
the Zen methods are to be distinguished from what is popularly or
Hinayanistically understood by the term. Zen has nothing to do with
mere quietism or losing oneself in trance. I may have an occasion to
speak more about the subject elsewhere.
[f8] See also the Essay entitled, “Practical Methods of Zen
Instruction.”
[f9] Originally a mosquito driver in India.
[f10] A bamboo stick a few feet long.
[f11] Also a stick or baton fancifully shaped and made of all kinds of
material. It means literally “as one wishes or thinks,” (_cinta_, in
Sanskrit).
[f12] This reminds one of the remarks made by the master Ten (Chan),
of Hofuku (Pao-fu), who, seeing a monk approach, took up his staff and
struck a pillar, and then the monk. When the monk naturally cried with
pain, said the master, “How is it that this does not get hurt?” (See
Chinese Notes, [1.25].)
[f13] _Hekiganshu_ is a collection of one hundred “cases” with Seccho’s
(Hsüeh-tou) poetical comments and Yengo’s partly explanatory and partly
critical annotations. The book was brought to Japan during the Kamakura
era, and ever since it is one of the most important text-books of Zen,
especially for the followers of the Rinzai school.
[f14] Gutei was a disciple of Tenryu (T‘ien-lung), probably towards
the end of the T‘ang dynasty. While he was first residing in a small
temple, he had a visit from a travelling nun, who came right into the
temple without removing her headgear. Carrying her staff with her,
she went three times around the meditation chair in which Gutei was
sitting. Then she said to him, “Say a word of Zen, and I shall take off
my hat.” She repeated this three times, but Gutei did not know what to
say. When the nun was about to depart, Gutei suggested, “It is growing
late, and why not stay here over night?” Jissai (Shih-chi), which was
the name of the nun, said, “If you say a word of Zen, I shall stay.” As
he was still unable to say a word, she left.
This was a terrible blow on poor Gutei, who pitifully sighed: “While I
have the form of a man, I seem not to have any manly stamina!” He then
resolved to study and master Zen. When he was about to start on his Zen
“wanderings” he had a vision of the mountain god who told him not to go
away from his temple, for a Bodhisattva in flesh would be coming here
before long and enlighten him in the truth of Zen. Surely enough a Zen
master called Tenryu (T‘ien-lung) appeared the following day. Gutei
told the master all about the humiliating experience of the previous
day and his firm resolution to attain the secrets of Zen. Tenryu just
lifted one of his fingers and said nothing. This however was enough to
open Gutei’s mind at once to the ultimate meaning of Zen, and it is
said that ever since Gutei did or said nothing but just holding up a
finger to all the questions that might be asked of him concerning Zen.
There was a boy in his temple, who seeing the master’s trick imitated
him when the boy himself was asked about what kind of preaching his
master generally practised. When the boy told the master about it
showing his lifted little finger, the master cut it right off with a
knife. The boy ran away screaming in pain when Gutei called him back.
The boy turned back, the master lifted his own finger, and the boy
instantly realised the meaning of the “one finger Zen” of Tenryu as
well as Gutei.
[f15] Compare this with the statement made by the sixth patriarch
himself when he was asked how it was that he came to succeed the fifth
patriarch “Because I do not understand Buddhism.” Let me also cite a
passage from the _Kena-Upanishad_, in which the readers may find a
singular coincidence between the Brahman seer and those Zen masters,
not only in thought but in the way it is expressed:
“It is conceived of by him by whom it is not conceived of;
He by whom It is conceived of, knows It not.
It is not understood by those who understand It;
It is understood by those who understand It not.”
Lao-tzŭ, founder of Taoist mysticism, breathes the same spirit when he
says: “He who knows it speaks not, he who speaks knows not.”
[f16] The conception of Dharmakāya apart from the physical body
(_rūpakāya_) of the Buddha was logically inevitable, as we read in
the _Ekottara-Āgama_, XLIV., “The Life of the Śākyamuni-Buddha is
extremely long, the reason is that while his physical body enters
into Nirvana, his Law-body exists.” But the Dharmakāya could not
be made to function directly upon suffering souls, as it was too
abstract and transcendental; they wanted something more concrete and
tangible towards which they could feel personally intimate. Hence the
conception of another Buddha-body, that is, Sambhogakāya-Buddha or
Vipākaja-Buddha, completing the dogma of the Triple Body (_Trikāya_).
[f17] The absolute faith Shinran had in the teaching of Hōnen as is
evidenced in this quotation proves that the Shin sect is the result
of Shinran’s inner experience and not the reasoned product of his
philosophy. His experience came first, and to explain it to himself
as well as to communicate it to others, he resorted to various Sutras
for verification. _The Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Attainment_ was
thus written by him giving an intellectual and scriptural foundation
to the Shin-shu faith. In religion as in other affairs of human life,
belief precedes reasoning. It is important not to forget this fact when
tracing the development of ideas.
[f18] This was very well understood by the Buddha himself when he
first attained Enlightenment; he knew that what he realised in his
enlightened state of mind could not be imparted to others, and that
if it were imparted they could not understand it. This was the reason
why he in the beginning of his religious career expressed the desire
to enter into Nirvana without trying to revolve the Wheel of the
Dharma. We read in one of the Sutras belonging to the Agama class
of Buddhist literature, which is entitled _Sutra on the Cause and
Effect in the Past and Present_ (fas. II.): “My original vows are
fulfilled, the Dharma [or Truth] I have attained is too deep for the
understanding. A Buddha alone is able to understand what is in the mind
of another Buddha. In this age of the Five Taints (_pañca-kashāyā_),
all beings are enveloped in greed, anger, folly, falsehood, arrogance,
and flattery; they have few blessings and are stupid and have no
understanding to comprehend the Dharma I have attained. Even if I make
the Dharma-Wheel revolve, they would surely be confused and incapable
of accepting it. They may on the contrary indulge in defamation, and,
thereby falling into the evil paths, suffer all kinds of pain. It is
best for me to remain quiet and enter into Nirvana.” In the _Sutra
on the Story of the Discipline_, which is considered an earlier
translation of the preceding text and was rendered into Chinese by an
Indian Buddhist scholar, Ta-li and a Tibetan, Mang-siang, in A.D. 197,
no reference is yet made to the Buddha’s resolution to keep silent
about his Enlightenment, only that what he attained was all-knowledge
which was beyond the understanding and could not be explained, as its
height was unscalable and its depth unfathomable, containing the whole
universe in it and yet penetrating into the unpenetrable”.... Cf. the
_Mahāpadāna Suttanta_ (Dīgha Nikāya, XIV), and the _Ariyapariyesana
Suttam_ (Majjhima, XXVI).
[f19] Cf. Saṁyukta Āgama (Chinese), Fas. XXXII.
[f20] That the personality of the Buddha was an object of admiration
and worship as much as, or perhaps more than, his extraordinary
intellectual attributes, is gleaned throughout the Agama literature.
To quote one or two instances: “When Subha-Mānava Todeyyaputta saw
the Blessed One sitting in the woods, the Brahman was struck with the
beautiful serenity of his personality which most radiantly shone like
the moon among the stars; his features were perfect, glowing like a
golden mountain; his dignity was majestic with all his senses under
perfect control, so tranquil and free from all beclouding passions,
and so absolutely calm with his mind subdued and quietly disciplined.”
(The Middle Āgama, fas. XXXVIII.) This admiration of his personality
later developed into the deification of his being, and all the evils
moral and physical were supposed to be warded off if one thought of him
or his virtues. “When those beings who practised evil deeds with their
bodies, mouths, or minds, think of the merits of the Tathagata at the
moment of their deaths, they would be kept away from the three evil
paths and born in the heavens; even the vilest would be born in the
heavens.” (The Ekottara Āgama, fas. XXXII.) “Wherever Śramaṇa Gautama
appears, no evil spirits or demons can approach him; therefore let us
invite him here and all those evil gods [who have been harrassing us]
would by themselves take to their heels.” (_Loc. cit._) It was quite
natural for the Buddhists that they later made the Buddha the first
object of Recollection (_smṛti_), which, they thought, would keep their
minds from wandering away and help them realise the final aim of the
Buddhist life. These statements plainly demonstrate that while on the
one hand the teaching of the Buddha was accepted by his followers as
the Dharma beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and
beautiful in the end, his person was on the other hand regarded as
filled with miraculous powers and divine virtues, so that his mere
presence was enough to create a most auspicious atmosphere not only
spiritually but materially.
[f21] When the Buddha entered Nirvana, the monks cried, “Too soon has
the Tathagata passed away, too soon has the World-honoured One passed
away, too soon has the Great Law died out; all beings are forever
left to misery; for the Eye of the World is gone.” Their lamentation
was beyond description, they lay on the ground like great trees with
roots, stems, and branches all torn and broken to pieces, they rolled
and wriggled like a slain snake. Such excessive expressions of grief
were quite natural for those Buddhists whose hearts were directed
towards the personality of their master more than towards his sane and
rationalistic teachings, Cf. the Pali _Parinibbāna-suttanta_.
[f22] For a more or less detailed account of the various Buddhist
schools that came up within a few centuries after the Buddha, see
Vasumitra’s _Samayabhedo-paracana-cakra_. Professor Suisai Funahashi
recently published an excellent commentary on this book.
[f23] Cf. _The Sukhāvatī-vyūha_ (edited by Max Müller and B. Nanjio),
p. 7, where we have: “Buddhasvaro anantaghoshah,” that is, the Buddha’s
voice is of infinite sounds. See also the _Saddharma-puṇḍarīka_ (p.
128) where we read: “Svareṇa caikena vadāmi dharmam,” I preach the law
with one voice. The parable of the water of one taste (_ekarasaṁ vāri_)
variously producing herbs, shrubs, and others, is very well known among
the Mahayanists.
[f24] Here we find the justification of a “mystic” interpretation
of the sacred books of any religion. The Swedenborgian doctrine of
Correspondence thus grows illuminating. The philosophy of Shingon
mysticism somewhat reflects the idea of correspondence, though
naturally it is based on a different set of philosophical ideas.
Varieties of interpretation are always possible in anything not only
because of the presence of the subjective element in every judgment,
but because of infinite complications of objective relationship.
[f25] Cf. such Sutras as the _Tevijja_, _Mahāli_, _Brahmajāla_, etc.
in the Dīgha Nikāya. See also the _Sutta Nipāta_, especially the
Atthakavagga, which is one of the earliest Buddhist texts in our
possession at present. There we read about “Ajjhattasanti” (inward
peace) which cannot be attained by philosophy, nor by tradition, nor by
good deeds.
[f26] That the Buddha never neglected to impress his disciples with
the idea that the ultimate truth was to be realised by and in oneself,
is evidenced throughout the Agamas. Everywhere we encounter with such
phrases as “without depending upon another, he believed, or thought,
or dissolved his doubts, or attained self-confidence in the Law.” From
this self-determination followed the consciousness that one had all
one’s evil leakages (_āsrava_) stopped or drained off, culminating in
the realisation of Arhatship—which is the goal of Buddhist life.
[f27] _The Dialogue of the Buddha_, Sacred Books of the Buddhists, Vol.
II., p. 29.
[f28] In fact, the term, _prajñā_ or in _paiñña_ Pali, is not an
exclusive possession of the Mahayanists, for it is also fully used
by their rival disciples of the Buddha. The latter however failed to
lay any special emphasis on the idea of enlightenment and its supreme
significance in the body of Buddhism, and as the consequence Prajñā was
comparatively neglected by the Hinayanists. Mahayanism on the other
hand may be designated as the religion of Prajñā _par excellence_. It
is even deified and most reverently worshipped.
[f29] This is no other than “the opening of the pure eye of the Dharma”
(_virajaṁ vītamalaṁ dhamma-cakkhum udapādi_), frequently referred to in
the Agamas when one attains to Arhatship.
[f30] Read, for instance, chap. XV., entitled “Duration of Life of the
Tathagata.”
[f31] _Dhammanadam_, 153, 154.
[f32] Ata etasmāt kāraṇan mahāmate mayedam uktaṁ: yāṁ ca rātriṁ
tathāgato ’bhisambuddho yāṁ ca rātriṁ parinirvāsyati atrāntara ekam
api aksharaṁ tathāgatena na udāhṛitaṁ na udāharishyati.—_Laṅkāvatāra_,
Chap. III., p. 144. See also Chapter VII., p. 240. (For this reason,
O Mahāmati, I say unto you: During the time that elapsed between the
night of the Tathagata’s Enlightenment and the night of his entrance
into Nirvana, not one word, not one statement was given out by him.)
[f33] According to Aśvaghosha’s _Awakening of Faith_, Ignorance means
the sudden awakening of a thought (_citta_) in consciousness. This
may be variously interpreted, but as long as Ignorance is conceived,
not as a process requiring a certain duration of time, but an event
instantaneously taking place, its disappearance which is enlightenment
must also be an instantaneous happening.
[f34] This is the usual formula given as the qualification of an Arhat,
to be met with throughout the Nikāyas.
[f35] Chapter II., “On Skilfullness.”
[f36] In this connection it may not be amiss to say a word
about what is known in Buddhism as the “act of no-effort or
no-purpose” (_anābhogacaryā_) or “the original vows of no-purpose”
(_anābhogapraṇidhāna_). This corresponds, if I judge rightly, to the
Christian idea of not letting the right hand know what the left hand
is doing. When spirit attains to the reality of enlightenment and
as a result is thoroughly purified of all defilements, intellectual
and affective, it grows so perfect that whatever it does is pure,
unselfish, and conducive to the welfare of the world. So long as
we are conscious of the efforts we make in trying to overcome our
selfish impulses and passions, there is a taint of constraint and
artificiality, which interferes with spiritual innocence and freedom,
and love which is the native virtue of an enlightened spirit cannot
work out all that is implied in it and meant to be exercised for the
preservation of itself. The “original vows” are the content of love and
begin to be operative, anabhoga (un-purposely), only when enlightenment
is really creative. This is where religious life differs from mere
morality, this is where the mere enunciation of the Law of Origination
(_pratītya-samutpāda_) does not constitute Buddhist life, and this
is where Zen Buddhism maintains its reason of existence against the
alleged positivism of the Hinayana and against the alleged nihilism of
the Prajñā-pāramitā school.
[f37] _Dialogues of the Buddha_, Part III., p. 35.
[f38] _Dialogues of the Buddha_, Part I., p. 82.
[f39] The Pali text that will correspond to this Chinese Sutra in the
Dīrgha-Āgama is the _Kevaddha Sutta_, but the passage quoted here is
missing. See also the _Lohicca_ (_Lou-chê_) and _Sāmañña-phala_ in the
Chinese Āgamas, in which the Buddha tells how essential the life of a
recluse is to the realisation of enlightenment and the destruction of
the evil passions. Constant application, earnest concentration, and
vigilant watchfulness—without these no Buddhists are ever expected to
attain the end of their lives.
[f40] The rendering is by Rhys Davids who states in the footnote: “The
word I have here rendered ‘earnest contemplation’ is Samadhi, which
occupies in the Five Nikayas very much the same position as faith
does in the New Testament; and this section shows that the relative
importance of Samādhi, Paññā, and Śīla played a part in early Buddhism
just as the distinction between faith, reason, and works did afterwards
in Western theology. It would be difficult to find a passage in which
the Buddhist view of the relation of these _conflicting_ ideas is
stated with greater beauty of thought, or equal succinctness of form.”
But why conflicting?
[f41] One hundred and eight samadhis are enumerated in the
_Mahāvyutpatti_. Elsewhere we read of “innumerable samadhis.”
Indians have been great adepts in this exercise, and many wonderful
spiritualistic achievements are often reported.
[f42] This series of dhyanas has also been adopted by Buddhists,
especially by Hinayanists. No doubt the Mahayana conception of dhyana
is derived or rather has developed from them, and how much it differs
from the Hinayana dhyanas will be seen later as we go on. The detailed
description of these dhyanas is given in the Agamas; see for instance
the _Sāmañña-phala Sutta_ in which the fruits of the life of a recluse
are discussed. These mental exercises were not strictly Buddhistic,
they were taught and practised more or less by all Indian philosophers
and mendicants. The Buddha, however, was not satisfied with them,
because they would not bring out the result he was so anxious to have,
that is, they were not conducive to enlightenment. This was the reason
why he left his two old teachers, Arada and Udraka, under whom he first
began his homeless life.
[f43] For example, the ten subjects for meditation are: Buddha, Dharma,
Sangha, Morality, Charity, Heaven, Serenity, Breathing, Impermanence,
and Death. The five subjects of tranquillisation are: Impurity,
Compassion, Breathing, Origination, and Buddha. The four subjects of
recollection are: Impurity of the Body, Evils of the Senses, Constant
Change of Thought, and Transitoriness of Existence.
[f44] _Laṅkāvatāra_, Nanjo Edition, p, 77.
[f45] There is however a Sutra in the Saṁyukta Āgama, fas. XXXIII.,
p. 93b (Anguttara-Nikāya, XI., 10), dealing with true dhyana
(_ājānīya-jhāna_) which is to be distinguished from untrained dhyana
(_khaḷuṅka-jhāna_). The latter is compared to an ill-disciplined horse
(_khaḷuṅka_) kept in the stable that thinks nothing of his duties but
only of the fodder he is to enjoy. In a similar way dhyana can never
be practised successfully by those who undertake the exercise merely
for the satisfaction of their selfish objects; for such will never come
to understand the truth as it is. If emancipation and true knowledge
are desired, anger, sleepiness, worrying, and doubt ought to be got
rid of, and then the dhyana can be attained that does not depend upon
any of the elements, or space, or consciousness, or nothingness, or
unthinkability—the dhyana that is not dependent upon this world or that
world or the heavenly bodies, or upon hearing or seeing or recollecting
or recognising—the dhyana that is not dependent upon the ideas of
attachment or seeking—the dhyana that is not in conformity with
knowledge or contemplation. This “true dhyana” then as is described in
this Sutra in the Nikayas, is more of the Mahayana than of the Hinayana
so called.
[f46] Kern’s translation,” Sacred Books of the East,” Vol. XXI., pp.
299–300.
[f47] For this and the following, see the Essay entitled, “History of
Zen Buddhism from Bodhi-Dharma to Hui-nêng,” p. 151 ff.
[f48] The story of Enlightenment is told in the Dīgha-Nikāya, XIV., and
also in the Introduction to the Jātaka Tales, in the Mahāvastu, and the
Majjhima-Nikāya, XXVI. and XXXVI., and again in the Samyutta-Nikāya,
XII. In detail they vary more or less, but not materially. The Chinese
translation of the _Sutra on the Cause and Effect in the Past and
Present_, which seems to be a later version than the Pali _Mahāpadāna_,
gives a somewhat different story, but as far as my point of argument is
concerned, the main issue remains practically the same. Aśvaghosha’s
_Buddhacarita_ is highly poetical. The _Lalita-vistara_ belongs to the
Mahayana. In this Essay I have tried to take my material chiefly from
_The Dialogues of the Buddha_, translated by Rhys Davids, _The Kindred
Sayings_, translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids, Majjhima-Nikāya, translated
by Sīlacāra, and the same by Neumann, the Chinese Āgamas and others.
[f49] The idea that there were some more Buddhas in the past seems
to have originated very early in the history of Buddhism as we may
notice here, and its further development, combined with the idea of the
Jātaka, finally culminated in the conception of a Bodhisattva, which is
one of the characteristic features of Mahayana Buddhism.
The six Buddhas of the past later increased into twenty-three or
twenty-four in the _Buddha-vamsa_ and _Prajñā-pāramitā_ and even into
forty-two in the _Lalita-vistara_. This idea of having predecessors
or forerunners seems to have been general among ancient peoples. In
China, Confucius claimed to have transmitted his doctrine from Yao and
Shun, and Laotzŭ from the Emperor Huang. In India, Jainism which has,
not only in the teaching but in the personality of the founder, many
similarities to Buddhism, mentions twenty-three predecessors, naturally
more or less corresponding so closely to those of Buddhism.
[f50] It is highly doubtful that the Buddha had a very distinct
and definite scheme for the theory of Causation or Dependence or
Origination, as the Paṭicca-samuppāda is variously translated. In
the present Sutra, he does not go beyond Viññāna (consciousness or
cognition), while in its accepted form now the Chain starts with
Ignorance (_avijjā_). We have however no reason to consider this
tenfold Chain of Causation the earliest and most authoritative of
the doctrine of Paṭicca-samuppāda. In many respects the Sutra itself
shows evidence of a later compilation. The point I wish to discuss
here mainly concerns itself with the Buddha’s intellectual efforts to
explain the realities of life by the theory of causation. That the
Buddha regarded Ignorance as the principle of birth-and-death and
therefore of misery in this world, is a well-established fact in the
history of Buddhism.
[f51] Cakkhu literally means an eye. It is often found in combination
with such terms as paññā (wisdom or reason), buddha, or samanta
(all-round), when it means a faculty beyond ordinary relative
understanding. As was elsewhere noticed, it is significant that
in Buddhism, both Mahayana and Hinayana, seeing (_passato_) is so
emphasised, and especially in this case the mention of an “eye” which
sees directly into things never before presented to one’s mind is
quite noteworthy. It is this cakkhu or paññā-cakkhu in fact that,
transcending the conditionality of the Fourfold Noble Truth or the
Chain of Origination, penetrates (_sacchikato_) into the very ground of
consciousness, from which springs the opposition of subject and object.
[f52] Here as well as in the next verse, “the truth” stands for Dharma.
[f53] We have, besides this, another verse supposed to have been
uttered by the Buddha at the moment of Supreme Enlightenment; it is
known as the Hymn of Victory. It was quoted in my previous Essay on Zen
Buddhism and the Doctrine of Enlightenment. The Hymn is unknown in the
Mahayana literature. The _Lalita-vistara_ has only this:
“Chinna vartmopasanta rajāḥ sushkā āsravā na punaḥ sravānti;
Chinne vartmani vartata duḥkhasyaisho ’nta ucyate.”[3.1]
[f54] _The Mahāvyutpatti_, CXLII., gives a list of thirteen terms
denoting the act of comprehending with more or less definite shades
of meaning: buddhi, mati, gati, mataṁ, dṛishtaṁ, abhisamitāvī,
samyagavabodha, supratividdha, abhilakshita, gatiṁgata, avabodha,
pratyabhijñā, and menire.
[f55] Franz Pfeiffer, p. 312, Martensen, p. 29.
[f56] Translated by Bhikkhu Sīlācāra. The original Pali runs as follows:
Sabbābhibhū sabbavidū ’ham asmi,
Sabbesu dhammesu anūpalitto,
Sabbaṁjaho tanhakkhaye vimutto,
Sayaṁ abhiññāya kam uddiseyyaṁ.
Na me ācariyo atthi, sadiso me na vijjati,
Sadevakasmiṁ lokasmiṁ na ’tthi me paṭipuggalo.
Ahaṁ hi arahā loke, ahaṁ satthā anuttaro,
Eko ’mhi sammasambuddho, sītibhūto ’smi nibbuto.
Dīgha-Nikāya, XXVI.
[f57] Ordinarily, the Chain runs as follows: 1. Ignorance (_avijjā_,
_avidyā_), 2. Disposition (_sankhāra_, _saṁskāra_), 3. Consciousness
(_viññāna_, _vijñāna_), 4. Name and Form (_nāmarūpa_), 5. Six
Sense-organs (_saḷāyatana_, _saḍāyatana_), 6. Touch (_phassa_,
_sparśa_), 7. Feeling (_vedana_), 8. Desire (_taṇhā_, _tṛshṇā_), 9.
Clinging (_upādāna_), 10. Becoming (_bhāva_), 11. Birth (_jāti_), and
12. Old Age and Death (_jarāmaranaṁ_).
[f58] _The Buddhacarita_, Book XIV.
[f59] Nānañ ca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi akuppā me ceto-vimutti ayaṁ
antimā jāti natthi dāni punabbhavo.
[f60] “Thus knowing, thus seeing,” (_evam jānato evam passato_) is
one of the set phrases we encounter throughout Buddhist literature,
Hinayana and Mahayana. Whether or not its compilers were aware of the
distinction between knowing and seeing in the sense we make now in the
theory of knowledge, the coupling is of great signification. They must
have been conscious of the inefficiency and insufficiency of the word
“to know” in the description of the kind of knowledge one has at the
moment of enlightenment. “To see” or “to see face to face” signifies
the immediateness and utmost perspicuity and certainty of such
knowledge. As was mentioned elsewhere, Buddhism is rich in terminology
of this order of cognition.
[f61] Tassa evam jānato evam passato kāmāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati
bhavāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati avijjāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati, vimuttasmiṁ
vimuttamit ñāṇaṁ hoti. Khina jāti vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ kataṁ karanīyam
nāparaṁ itthattāyāti pajānāti.
[f62] _The Brahmajāla Sutta_, p. 43. Translation by Rhys Davids.
[f63] The idea of performing miracles systematically through the power
acquired by self-concentration seems to have been greatly in vogue in
India even from the earliest days of her civilisation, and the Buddha
was frequently approached by his followers to exhibit his powers to
work wonders. In fact, his biographers later turned him into a regular
miracle-performer, at least as far as we may judge by the ordinary
standard of logic and science. But from the Prajñā-pāramitā point of
view, according to which “because what was preached by the Tathagata
as the possession of qualities, that was preached as no-possession of
qualities by the Tathagata, and therefore it is called the possession
of qualities,” (yaishā bhagavan lakshaṇasampat tathāgatena bhāshitā
alakshaṇasampad eshā tathāgatena bhāshita; tenocyate lakshaṇasampad
iti), the idea of performing wonders acquires quite a new signification
spiritually. In the _Kevaddha Sutta_, three wonders are mentioned as
having been understood and realised by the Buddha: the mystic wonder,
the wonder of education, and the wonder of manifestation. The possessor
of the mystic wonder can work the following logical and physical
impossibilities: “From being one he becomes multiform, from being
multiform he becomes one: from being visible he becomes invisible: he
passes without hindrance to the further side of a wall or a battlement
or a mountain, as if through air: he penetrates up and down through
solid ground as if through water: he walks on water without dividing
it, as if on solid ground: he travels cross-legged through the sky
like the birds on wing: he touches and feels with the hand even the
moon and sun, beings of mystic power and potency they be: he reaches
even in the body up to the heaven of Brahma.” Shall we understand this
literally and intellectually? Cannot we interpret it in the spirit of
the Prajñā-pāramitā idealism? Why? Taccittam yacittam acittam. (Thought
is called thought because it is no-thought.)
[f64] The questions are: Is the world eternal? Is the world not
eternal? Is the world finite? Is the world infinite? _Potthapāda-Sutta_.
[f65] Cf. _Dhammapada_, v. 385. “He for whom there is neither this nor
that side, nor both, him, the fearless and unshackled, I call indeed a
Brahman.”
[f66] _Sutta-nipāta_, v, 720. Sanantā yanti kussobbhā, tunḥī yāti
mahodadhi.
[f67] The Majjhima-Nikāya, 140, _Dhātuvibhangasuttam_. Asmīti bhikkhu
maññitam etaṁ; Ayam aham asmīti maññitam etaṁ; Bhavissan ti maññitam
etaṁ; Na bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Rūpī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ;
Arūpī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Saññī bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ;
Asaññi bhavissan ti maññitam etaṁ; Nevasaññi-nasaññi bhavissan ti
maññitam etaṁ.
[f68] Majjhima Nikāya, 22.
[f69] Cf. _Sutta-Nipāta_, v. 21. “By me is made a well-constructed
raft, so said Bhagavat, I have passed over to Nirvana, I have reached
the further bank, having overcome the torrent of passions; there is no
further use for a raft: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!”
[f70] I left here “dharmas” untranslated. For this untranslatable term,
some have “righteousness,” some “morality,” and some “qualities.”
This is as is well known a difficult term to translate. The Chinese
translators have rendered it by _fa_,[3.3] everywhere, regardless of
the context. In the present case, “dharma” may mean “good conduct,
“prescribed rules of morality,” or even “any religious teaching
considered productive of good results.” In the _Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra_,
Chapter 1, reference is also made to the transcending of both “adharma”
and “dharma,” saying: “Dharmā eva prahātavyāḥ prāgevādharmāḥ.” And
it is explained that this distinction comes from falsely asserting
(_vikalpagrahaṇam_) the dualism of what is and what is not, while the
one is the self-reflection of the other. You look into the mirror and
finding an image thereon you take it for a reality, while the image is
yourself and nobody else. The one who views the world thus, has the
rightful view of it, ya evam pasyati sa samyakpasyati. Indeed, when
he takes hold of _ekāgra_ (one-pointedness or oneness of things), he
realises the state of mind in which his inner wisdom reveals itself
(_svapratyātmāryajñānagocara_) and which is called the Tathāgatagarbha.
In this illustration “dharma” and “adharma” are synonyms of
being (_sat_) and non-being (_asat_) or affirmation (_asti_) and
negation (_nāsti_). Therefore, the abandoning of dharma and adharma
(_dharmādharmayoḥ prahāṇaṁ_) means the getting rid of dualism in all
its complexities and implications. Philosophically, this abandoning
is to get identified with the Absolute, and morally to go beyond good
and evil, right and wrong. Also compare _Sutta-Nipāta_, verse 886,
where dualism is considered to be the outcome of false philosophical
reasoning “Takkañ ca diṭṭhisu pakappayitvā, saccaṁ musā ti dvayadhammam
āhu.”
[f71] Abridged from the Majjhima Nikāya, 22, p. 139. Cf. also the
Samyutta Nikāya, XII., 70. p. 125.
[f72] For the Buddhist version of the story, see the
_Saddharma-puṇḍarīka Sūtra_ chapter 4, and the _Vajrasamādhi Sūtra_,
chapter 4 (Chinese translation).
[f73] Samyutta XII., 65, Nagara; cf. also one of the _Prajñā-pāramitā
sūtras_ which is known as one preached by Mañjuśrī (Nanjo Catalogue,
No. 21). In the Sutra we find that the Buddha, after mentioning the
simile of a gem-digger, makes reference to a man who feels overwhelmed
with delight when people talk pleasantly about the old towns and
villages once visited by himself. The same sort of a delightful feeling
is expressed by one who will listen to the discourse on Prajñāpāramitā
and understand it; for he was in his past lives present at the assembly
which was gathered about the Buddha delivering sermons on the same
subject. That the understanding of the doctrine of Prajñāpāramitā is a
form of memory is highly illuminating when considered in relation to
the theory of Enlightenment as advanced here.
That the ushering of Enlightenment is accompanied with the feeling of
return or remembrance is also unmistakably noted by the writer of the
_Kena-Upanishad_ (VI., 50):
“Now in respect to the Atman:
It is as though something forces its way into consciousness
And consciousness suddenly remembers—
Such a state of mind illustrates the awakening of knowledge of the
Atman.”
Sonadanda the Brahman had the following to say when he grasped the
meaning of the Buddha’s discourse on the characteristics of the true
Brahman (Rhys David’s translation): “Most excellent, oh Gotama, most
excellent! Just as if a man were to set up that which has been thrown
down, or were to reveal that which has been hidden away, or were to
point out the right road to him who has gone astray, or were to bring a
light into the darkness so that those who had eyes could see external
forms—just even so has the truth been made known to me, in many a
figure, by the venerable Gotama.”
[f74] _Buddhacarita_, translated by E. B. Cowell, pp. 131–132.
[f75] Lefmann’s edition, p. 289.
[f76] _Ariyapapariyesana-sutta_, Majjhima-Nikāya, XXVI., p. 167.
[f77] Used to designate the school which upholds the doctrine of
enlightenment (_sambodhi_).
[f78] This translation is not at all satisfactory.
[f79] Jōshu (778—897) was one of the early masters of Zen in the T‘ang
dynasty when it began to flourish with its vigorous freshness. He
attained to a high age of one hundred and twenty. His sermons were
always short and to the point, and his answers are noted for their
being so natural and yet so slippery, so hard to catch.
[f80] _Six Essays by Bodhi-Dharma_[4.25] is the book in which the
so-called writings of Bodhi-Dharma are collected. See also the Essay
“On Satori” which follows.
[f81] For Tao-hsüan‘s edition in the original Chinese, see Note 4.28 in
the Appendix.
[f82] This is the most significant phrase in Dharma’s writing. I have
left it untranslated, for later this will be explained fully.
[f83] The author of this story or prefatory note is T‘an-lin (Donrin),
who, according to Dr. Tokiwa, of the Tokyo Imperial University, was a
learned scholar partaking in the translation of several Sanskrit works.
He is also mentioned in connection with Yeka (Hui-k‘ê) in the biography
of the latter by Tao-hsüan. If Donrin were more of a scholar as we can
see by this identification than a genuine Zen master, it was quite
natural for him to write down this “Meditation on Four Acts,” which
mainly appeals as it stands to the scholarly interpretation of Zen.
While the doctrine of _Pi-kwan_ is emphatically Zen, there is much in
the “Meditation” that lends itself to the philosophising of Zen.
[f84] Translated into Chinese during the Northern Liang dynasty which
lasted A.D. 397–439. The translator’s name is lost.
[f85] 大乘壁觀功業最高
[f86] We read in Tao-hsüan’s _Biographies_ that wherever Bodhi-Dharma
stayed he taught people in his Zen doctrine, but as the whole country
at the time was deeply plunged into scholastic discussions, there was a
great deal of slanderous talk against meditation when they learned of
Bodhi-Dharma’s message.
[f87] Is it possible that this passage has some reference to the
_Vajrasamādhi_ where Bodhisattva Mahābala speaks of a “flaccid mind”
and a “strong mind”? The former which is possessed by most common
people “pants” (or gasps or hankers) very much, and prevents them from
successfully attaining to the Tathāgata-dhyāna, while the “strong
mind” is characteristic of one who can enter upon the realm of reality
(_bhūtakoṭi_). As long as there are “pantings” (or gaspings) in the
mind, it is not free, it is not liberated, and cannot identify itself
with the suchness of reason. The mind must be “strong” or firm and
steady, self-possessed and concentrating, before it is ready for the
realisation of Tathāgata-dhyāna—a dhyana going far beyond the reach of
the so-called four dhyānas and eight samādhis.
[f88] This subject was treated in another place, though rather
sketchily, and will be further elaborated later in an independent essay.
[f89] In this connection I wish to make some remarks against certain
scholars who consider the philosophy of Śūnyatā to be really the
foundation of Zen. Such scholars fail utterly to grasp the true
purport of Zen which is first of all an experience and not at all
a philosophy or dogma. Zen can never be built upon any set of
metaphysical or psychological views; the latter may be advanced after
the Zen experience has taken place, but never before. The philosophy
of the Prajñāpāramitā can never precede Zen, but must always follow
it. Buddhist scholars like those at the time of Dharma are too apt
to identify teaching and life, theory and experience, description
and fact. When this confusion is allowed to grow, Zen Buddhism will
cease to yield an intelligent and satisfactory interpretation. Without
the fact of Enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree near the Nairañjanā,
no Nāgārjunas could ever hope to write a single book on the Prajñā
philosophy.
[f90] As I stated before, there is a confusion between Dharma’s
_mien-pi_ habit of sitting and his doctrine of the _pi-kuan_
meditation. The confusion dates quite early, and even at the time
of the author of the _Records_ the original meaning of _pi-kuan_,
wall-contemplation, must have been lost.
[f91] Sometimes this man is said to be a civilian and sometimes a
soldier embracing Confucianism.
[f92] As one can readily see, this story is more or less fictitious. I
mean Kuang’s standing in the snow and cutting-off of his arm in order
to demonstrate his earnestness and sincerity. Some think that the snow
story and that of self-mutilation do not belong to that of Kuang, but
borrowed from some other sources, as Tao-hsüan makes no reference to
them in his book. The loss of the arm was due to a party of robbers
who attacked Kuang after his interview with Dharma. We have no way to
verify these stories either way. The whole setting however is highly
dramatic, and there must have been once in the history of Zen some
necessity to interweave imagination largely with facts, whatever they
may be.
[f93] According to Hsieh-sung, the author of the _Right Transmission of
the Law_, Bodhi-Dharma has here followed Nāgārjuna in the anatomy of
Zen-understanding. For Nāgārjuna says in his famous commentary on the
_Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra_, “Moral conduct is the skin, meditation is the
flesh, the higher understanding is the bone, and the mind subtle and
good is the marrow.” “This subtle mind,” says Hsieh-sung, is what is
secretly transmitted from the Buddha to his successors in the faith.
He then refers to Chih-I of the Sui dynasty who regards this mind as
the abode of all the Buddhas and as the middle way in which there
is neither unity nor multiplicity and which can never be adequately
expressed in words.
[f94] According to this, there must have been a special volume of
sermons and letters by Hui-k‘ê, which were compiled evidently by
his disciples and admirers before they were put down in writing and
thoroughly revised by the author himself. In the case of Bodhi-Dharma
too, according to Tao-hsüan, his sayings were apparently in circulation
in the day of Tao-hsüan, that is, early in the T‘ang dynasty.
[f95] Understood by some to be leprosy.
[f96] In the _Vimalakīrti_, Chapter III., “The Disciples,” we have the
following: “Do not worry about the sins you have committed, O monks,”
said Vimalakīrti, “Why? Because sins are in their essence neither
within nor without nor in the middle. As the Buddha taught us, all
things are defiled when Mind is defiled; all things are pure when Mind
is pure: and Mind is neither within nor without nor in the middle. As
is Mind, so are sins and defilements, so are all things—they never
transcend the suchness of truth.”
[f97] _Hsin_, is one of those Chinese words which defy translation.
When the Indian scholars were trying to translate the Buddhist Sanskrit
works into Chinese, they discovered that there were five classes of
Sanskrit terms which could not be satisfactorily rendered into Chinese.
We thus find in the Chinese Tripitaka such words as _prajñā_, _bodhi_,
_buddha_, _nirvāṇa_, _dhyāna_, _bodhisattva_, etc., almost always
untranslated; and they now appear in their original form among the
technical Buddhist terminology. If we could leave _hsin_ with all its
nuance of meaning in this translation, it would save us from the many
difficulties that face us in its English rendering. For _hsin_ means
mind, heart, soul, spirit—each singly as well as all inclusively. In
the present composition by the third patriarch of Zen, it has sometimes
an intellectual connotation but at other times it can properly be
done by “heart.” But as the predominant note of Zen Buddhism is more
intellectual than anything else, though not in the sense of being
logical or philosophical, I decided here to translate _hsin_ by “mind”
rather than by “heart.”
[f98] This means: When the absolute oneness of things is not properly
understood, negation as well as affirmation will tend to be one-sided
view of reality. When Buddhists deny the reality of an objective
world, they do not mean that they believe in the unconditioned
emptiness of things; they know that there is something real which
cannot be done away with. When they uphold the doctrine of void this
does not mean that all is nothing but an empty hollow, which leads
to a self-contradiction. The philosophy of Zen avoids the error of
one-sidedness involved in realism as well as in idealism.
[f99] I.e., Tat tvam asi.
[f100] There is however a variation from five years to fifteen years
according to different authorities.
[f101] These accounts, whether truly historical or not, concerning the
controversy between the two leaders of Zen early in the T‘ang dynasty
prove how heated was the rivalry between the North and the South. The
_Sermons of the Sixth Patriarch_ (_Fa-pao-tan-ching_) itself appears
as if written with the sole object of refuting the opponents of the
“abrupt” school.
[f102] This is a constant refrain in the teaching of the
_Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras_—to awaken one’s thought where there is no abode
whatever (na kvacit pratishṭitaṁ cittaṁ utpādayitavyam). When Jōshu
called on Ungo, the latter asked, “O you, old wanderer! how is it that
you do not seek an abiding place for yourself?” “Where is my abiding
place?” “There is an old temple ruin at the foot of this mountain.”
“That is a fitting place for your old self,” responded Jōshu. Later,
he came to Shūyūsan, who asked him the same question, saying, “O you,
old wanderer! why don’t you get settled?” “Where is the place for me to
get settled?” “Why, this old wanderer doesn’t know even where to get
settled for himself.” Said Jōshu, “I have been engaged these thirty
years in training horses, and to-day I have been kicked around by a
donkey!”
[f103] This is the name of the place where Hui-nêng had his Zen
headquarters.
[f104] _Hsing_ means nature, character, essence, soul, or what is
innate to one. “Seeing into one’s Nature” is one of the set phrases
used by the Zen masters, and in fact the avowed object of all Zen
discipline. Satori is its more popular expression. When one gets
into the inwardness of things, there is satori. This latter however
being a broad term, can be used to designate any kind of a thorough
understanding, and it is only in Zen that it has a restricted meaning.
In this article I have used the term as the most essential thing in
the study of Zen; for “seeing into one’s Nature” suggests the idea
that Zen has something concrete and substantial which requires being
seen into by us. This is misleading, though satori too I admit is a
vague and naturally ambiguous word. For ordinary purposes, not too
strictly philosophical, satori will answer, and whenever _chien-hsing_
is referred to, it means this, the opening of the mental eye. As to the
sixth patriarch’s view on “seeing into one’s Nature,” see above under
“History of Zen Buddhism.”
[f105] According to the _Mahāparinirvāna-sūtra_, translated into
Chinese by Dharmaraksha, A.D. 423, Vol. XXXIII., he was one of the
three sons of the Buddha while he was still a Bodhisattva. He was most
learned in all Buddhist lore, but his views tended to be nihilistic and
he finally fell into hell.
[f106] That is, from the idea that this sitting cross-legged leads to
Buddhahood. From the earliest periods of Zen in China, the quietist
tendency has been running along the whole history with the intellectual
tendency which emphasises the satori element. Even to-day these
currents are represented to a certain extent by the Soto on the one
hand and the Rinzai on the other, while each has its characteristic
features of excellence. My own standpoint is that of the intuitionalist
and not that of the quietist; for the essence of Zen lies in the
attainment of satori.
[f107] W. Lehmann, _Meister Eckhart_. Göttingen, 1917, p. 243. Quoted
by Prof. Rudolf Otto in his _The Idea of the Holy_, p. 201.
[f108] In Claud Field’s _Mystics and Saints of Islam_ (p. 25), we read
under Hasan Basri, “Another time I saw a child coming toward me holding
a lighted torch in his hand, ‘Where have you brought the light from?’ I
asked him. He immediately blew it out, and said to me, ‘O Hasan, tell
me where it is gone, and I will tell you whence I fetched.’” Of course
the parallel here is only apparent, for Tokusan got his enlightenment
from quite a different source than the mere blowing out of the candle.
Still the parallel in itself is interesting enough to be quoted here.
[f109] See the Essay entitled “Practical Methods of Zen Instruction.”
[f110] The lightning simile in the _Kena-Upanished_ (IV. 30), as is
supposed by some scholars, is not to depict the feeling of inexpressive
awe as regards the nature of Brahman, but it illustrates the bursting
out of enlightenment upon consciousness. “A—a—ah” is most significant
here.
[f111] This is spread before the Buddha and on it the master performs
his bowing ceremony, and its rolling up naturally means the end of a
sermon.
[f112] _Tou chi chia_, meaning “the verse of mutual understanding”
which takes place when the master’s mind and the disciple’s are merged
in each other’s.
[f113] It was originally a mosquito driver, but now it is a symbol of
religious authority. It has a short handle, a little over a foot long
and a longer tuft of hair, usually a horse’s tail or a yak’s.
[f114] In the Chinese Notes I have added six more such verses which may
further help the reader to gain an insight into the content of satori.
[f115] This is one of the most noted kō-an and generally given to the
uninitiated as an eye-opener. When Jōshu was asked by a monk whether
there was Buddha-Nature in the dog, the master answered “Mu!” (_wu_ in
Chinese), which literally means “no.” But as it is nowadays understood
by the followers of Rinzai, it does not mean anything negative as
the term may suggest to us ordinarily, it refers to something most
assuredly positive, and the novice is told to find it out by himself,
not depending upon others (_aparapaccaya_), as no explanation will be
given nor is any possible. This kō-an is popularly known as “Jōshu’s Mu
or Muji.” A kō-an is a theme or statement or question given to the Zen
student for solution, which will lead him to a spiritual insight. The
subject will be fully treated in the Second Series of the Essays in Zen
Buddhism.
[f116] Another kō-an for beginners. A monk once asked Jōshu, “All
things return to the One, but where does the One return?” to which the
master answered, “When I was in the province of Seiju (Ts‘ing-chou), I
had a monkish garment made which weighed seven kin (_chin_).
[f117] He is the founder of the modern Japanese Rinzai school of Zen.
All the masters belonging to this school at present in Japan trace back
their line of transmission to Hakuin.
[f118] Literally, “a great doubt”, but it does not mean that, as the
term “doubt” is not understood here in its ordinary sense. It means a
state of concentration brought to the highest pitch.
[f119] Ganto (Yen-t‘ou, 828—887) was one of the great Zen teachers in
the T‘ang dynasty. But he was murdered by an outlaw when his death-cry
is said to have reached many miles around. When Hakuin first studied
Zen, this tragic incident in the life of an eminent Zen master who is
supposed to be above all human ailments, troubled him very much, and
he wondered if Zen were really the gospel of salvation. Hence this
allusion to Ganto. Notice also here that what Hakuin discovered was a
living person and not an abstract reason or anything conceptual. Zen
leads us ultimately to somewhat living, working, and this is known as
“seeing into one’s own Nature” (_chien-hsing_). The Chinese Notes,
[5.39].
[f120] Kō-ans (_kung-an_) are sometimes called “complications,”
(_kê-t‘êng_) literally meaning “vines and wistarias” which are
entwining and entangling; for according to the masters there ought not
to be any such thing as a kō-an in the very nature of Zen, it was an
unnecessary invention making things more entangled and complicated than
ever before. The truth of Zen has no need for kō-ans. It is supposed
that there are one thousand seven hundred kō-ans which will test the
genuineness of satori.
[f121] Tsu-yüan (1226–1286) came to Japan when the Hōjō family was in
power at Kamakura. He established the Engakuji monastery which is one
of the chief Zen monasteries in Japan. While still in China his temple
was invaded by soldiers of the Yüan dynasty, who threatened to kill
him, but Bukko was immovable and quietly uttered the following verse:
“Throughout heaven and earth there is not a piece of ground where a
single stick could be inserted;
I am glad that all things are void, myself and the world:
Honoured be the sword, three feet long, wielded by the great Yüan
swordsmen;
For it is like cutting a spring breeze amidst the flashes of
lightning.”
See Chinese Notes, [5.40].
[f122] That is, sitting cross-legged in meditation.
[f123] This lively utterance remind one of a lightning simile in the
_Kena-Upanishad_ (IV. 30):
“This is the way It [that is, Brahman] is to be illustrated:
When lightnings have been loosened,—
a—a—ah!
When that has made the eyes to be closed,—
a—a—ah!
So far concerning Deity [devata].”
Lightning flash is a favourite analogue with the Zen masters too; the
unexpected onrush of satori into the ordinary field of consciousness
has something of the nature of lightning. It comes so suddenly and when
it comes the world is at once illumined and revealed in its entirety
and in its harmonious oneness; but when it vanishes everything falls
back into its old darkness and confusion.
[f124] Pao-tz‘u Wên-ch‘in, a disciple of Pao-fu Ts‘ung-chan, who died
928 A.D.
[f125] Another time when Jōshu was asked about the “first word,” he
coughed. The monk remarked, “Is this not it?” “Why, an old man is not
even allowed to cough!”—this came quickly from the old master. Jōshu
had still another occasion to express his view on the one word. A monk
asked, “What is the one word?” Demanded the master, “What do you say?”
“What is the one word?”—the question was repeated when Jōshu gave his
verdict, “You make it two.” (Ch. N., [3].)
Shuzan (Shu-shan) was once asked, “An old master says, ‘There is one
word which when understood wipes out the sins of innumerable kalpas:’
what is this one word?” Shuzan answered, “Right under your nose!” “What
is the ultimate meaning of it?” “This is all I can say”:—this was the
conclusion of the master. (Ch. N., [4].)
[f126] There are many mondoes purporting to the same subject. The
best known one by Jōshu is quoted elsewhere; of others we mention the
following. A monk asked Risan (Li-shan), “All things are reduced to
emptiness, but where is emptiness reduced?” Risan answered, “The tongue
is too short to explain it to you.” “Why is it too short?” “Within and
without, it is of one suchness,” said the master. (Ch. N., [6].)
A monk asked Keisan (Ch‘i-shan), “When relations are dissolved, all
is reduced to emptiness; but where is emptiness reduced?” The master
called out to the monk, and the monk responded, “Yes,” whereupon the
master called his attention, saying, “Where is emptiness?” Said the
monk, “Pray, you tell me.” Keisan replied, “It is like the Persian
tasting pepper.” While the one light is an etiological question as long
as its origin is the point at issue, the questions here referred to are
teleological because the ultimate reduction of emptiness is the subject
for solution. But as Zen transcends time and history, it recognises
only one beginningless and endless course of becoming. When we know the
origin of the one light, we also know where emptiness ends. (Ch. N.,
[7].)
[f127] Another time a monk was told, “Hold on to your poverty!” Nan-yin
Yegu’s (Nan-yüan Hui-yü) answer to his poverty-stricken monk was more
consoling, “You hold a handful of jewels yourself.” The subject of
poverty is the all-important one in our religious experience—poverty
not only in the material but also in the spiritual sense. Asceticism
must have as its ground-principle a far deeper sense than to be merely
curving human desires and passions, there must be in it something
positive and highly religious. “To be poor in spirit,” whatever meaning
it may have in Christianity, is rich in signification for Buddhists,
especially for Zen followers. A monk, Sei-jei (Ch‘ing-shi), came to
Sozan (Ts‘ao-shan), a great master of the Sōtō school in China, and
said, “I am a poor lonely monk: pray have pity on me.” “O monk, come on
forward!” Whereupon the monk approached the master, who then exclaimed,
“After enjoying three cupfuls of fine _chiu_ (liquor) brewed at
Ch‘ing-yüan, do you still protest that your lips are not at all wet?”
As to another aspect of poverty, cf. Hsiang-yen’s poem of poverty.
[f128] An analogous story is told of Sekito Kisen (Shih-t‘ou
Hsi-ch‘ien) who is grandson in faith of the sixth patriarch. The story
is quoted elsewhere.
[f129] When this is literally translated, it grows too long and loses
much of its original force. The Chinese runs thus: _hao li yu ch‘a
t‘ien ti hsüan chüeh_. It may better be rendered, “An inch’s difference
and heaven and earth are set apart.”
[f130] That is, Ts‘ao-ch‘i, where the sixth patriarch of Zen used to
reside. It is the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism.
[f131] Does this not remind us of an old mystic who defined God as an
unutterable sigh?
[f132] A monk asked Hsüan-sha, “What is the idea of the National
Teacher’s calling out to his attendant?” Said Hsüan-sha, “The attendant
knows well.” Yün-chü Hsi commented on this: “Does the attendant really
know, or does he not? If we say he does, why does the National Teacher
say, ‘It is you that are not fair to me’? But if the attendant knows
not, how about Hsüan-sha’s assertion? What would be our judgment of the
case?”
Hsüan-chiao Chêng said to a monk, “What is the point the attendant
understands?” Replied the monk, “If he did not understand, he would
never have responded.” Hsüan-chiao said, “You seem to understand some.”
A monk asked Fa-yen, “What is the idea of the National Teacher’s
calling out to his attendant?” Fa-yen said, “You go away now, and come
back some other time.” Remarked Yün-chü, “When Fa-yen says this, does
he really know what the National Teacher’s idea is? or does he not?”
A monk approached Chao-chou with the same question, to which he
replied, “It is like writing characters in the dark: while the
characters are not properly formed, their outlines are plainly
traceable.”
[f133] Literally, “A day [of] no work [is] a day [of] no eating.” cf.
II. Thessalonians, III., 10: “If any would not work, neither should he
eat.” It is noteworthy that St. Francis of Assisi made this the first
rule of his Brotherhood.
[f134] _Tso ch‘an_ is one of those compound Buddhist terms made of
Sanskrit and Chinese. _Tso_ is Chinese meaning “to sit,” while _ch‘an_
stands for _dhyāna_ or _jhāna_. The full transliteration of the term is
_ch‘anna_, but for brevity’s sake the first character alone has been
in use. The combination of _tso-ch‘an_ comes from the fact that dhyana
is always practised by sitting cross-legged. This posture has been
considered by the Indians the best way of sitting for a long while in
meditation. In it, according to some Japanese physicians, the centre of
gravitation rests firmly in the lower regions of the body, and when the
head is relieved of an unusual congestion of blood, the whole system
will work in perfect order and the mind be put in suitable mood to take
in the truth of Zen.
[f135] He was the noted Confucian disciple of Baso (Ma-tsu), and his
wife and daughter were also devoted Zen followers. When he thought the
time had come for him to pass away, he told his daughter to watch the
course of the sun and let him know when it was midday. The daughter
hurriedly came back and told the father that the sun had already passed
the meridian and was about to be eclipsed. Hō came out, and while he
was watching the said eclipse, she went in, took her father’s own seat,
and passed away in meditation. When the father saw his daughter already
in Nirvana, he said, “What a quick-witted girl she is!” Hō himself
passed away some days later.
[f136] This historical temple was unfortunately destroyed by the
earthquake of 1923, with many other buildings.
[f137] In those monasteries which are connected in some way with the
author of this admonition, it is read or rather chanted before a
lecture or _Teisho_ begins.
[f138] I must not forget to mention that after the reading of the
_Hṛidaya Sūtra_ the following names of the Buddhas and others are
invoked: 1. Vairocana-Buddha in his immaculate Body of the Law, 2.
Vairocana-Buddha in his perfect Body of Bliss, 3. Śākyamuni-Buddha
in his infinite manifestations as Body of Transformation, 4.
Maitreya-Buddha who is to come in some future time, 5. All the
Buddhas past, present, and future in the ten quarters of the world,
6. The great holy Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, 7. The great morally-perfect
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, 8. The great compassionate Bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara, 9. All the venerable Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and 10.
Mahāprajñāpāramitā.
[f139] When the slop-basin goes around, spiritual beings are again
remembered: “This water in which my bowls were washed tastes like
nectar from heaven. I now offer this to the numerous spirits of the
world: may they all be filled and satisfied! Om ma-ku-ra-sai (in
Pekingese, _mo-hsiu-lo-hsi_) svāha!”
[f140] This question of dust reminds one of Berkeley’s remark: “We have
just raised a dust and then complain we cannot see.”
[f141] _Shê-li_, is some indestructible substance, generally in
pebble-form, found in the body of a saint when it is cremated.
[f142] _Kung-an_ is a question or theme given to the student for
solution. It literally means “public document,” and, according to a
Zen scholar, it is so called because it serves as such in testing the
genuineness of enlightenment a student claims to have attained. The
term has been in use since the early days of Zen Buddhism in the T‘ang
dynasty. The so-called “cases” or “dialogues” (_mondo_) are generally
used as kō-ans. A special chapter devoted to the subject will be found
in the second series of The Essays.
[f143] I cannot tell how early this “Sesshin” originated in the history
of the Zendo. It is not in Hyakujo’s Regulations, and did not start in
China but in Japan probably after Hakuin. The Sojourn period generally
being a “stay at home” season, the monks do not travel, but practise
“Sesshin” and devote themselves to the study of Zen; but in the week
specially set up as such, the study is pursued with the utmost vigour.
[f144] That is, _ti-ch‘ang_. _Tei_ means “to carry in hand,” “to show
forth,” or “manifest,” and _sho_ “to recite.” Thus by a Teisho the
old master is revived before the congregation and his discourses are
more or less vividly presented to view. It is not merely explaining or
commenting on the text.
[f145] Dharaṇī is a Sanskrit term which comes from the root _dhṛi_,
meaning “to hold.” In Buddhist phraseology, it is a collection,
sometimes short, sometimes long, of exclamatory sentences which are
not translated into other languages. It is not therefore at all
intelligible when it is read by the monks as it is done in the Chinese
and Japanese monasteries. But it is supposed to “hold” in it in some
mysterious way something that is most meritorious and has the power to
keep evil ones away. Later, dharanis and mantrams have grown confused
with one another.
[f146] The founder of Tenryuji, Kyoto. He is known as “Teacher of Seven
Emperors.” 1274–1361.
[f147] _San-ch‘an_ literally means “to attend or study Zen.” As it is
popularly used now in Japan, it has, besides its general meaning, the
special one as is referred to in the text.
[f148] Formerly, this was an open affair, and all the mondos
(askings and answerings) took place before the whole congregation,
as is stated in the Regulations of Hyakujo. But, later, undesirable
results followed, such as mere formalism, imitations, and other empty
nonsenses. In modern Zen, therefore, all sanzen is private, except on
formal occasions.
[f149] While thus going around, he came to a house where an old woman
refused to give him any rice; he however kept on standing in front of
it, looking as if nothing were said to him. His mind was so intensely
concentrated on the subject which concerned him most at the time. The
woman got angry, because she thought he was altogether ignoring her
and trying to have his own way. She struck him with a big broom with
which she was sweeping and told him to depart right at once. The heavy
broom smashed his large monkish hat and knocked him down on the ground.
He was lying there for a while, and when he came to sense again,
everything became to him clear and transparent.
[f150] As to the life of his teacher, Daito, reference was made to it
elsewhere.
[f151] The wind is probably one of the best imageries to get us into
the idea of non-attachment or Śūnyatā philosophy. The New Testament
has at least one allusion to it when it says, “The wind bloweth as it
listeth,” and here we see the Chinese mystics making use of the wind
to depict his inner consciousness of absolute identity, which is also
the Buddhist notion of the void. Now compare the following passage
from Echkart: Darum ruft die Braue auch weiter: “Weiche von mir, mein
Geliebter, weiche von mir”: “Alles, was irgend der Darstellung fähig
ist, das halte ich nicht für Gott. Und so fliehe ich vor Gott, Gottes
wegen!”—‘Ei, wo ist dann der Seele Bleiben?’—“Auf den Fittichen der
Winde!” (Büttner, _Meister Eckeharts Schriften und Predigten_, Erster
Band, p. 189.) “So flieche ich vor Gott, Gottes wegen,” reminds us of a
Zen master who said, “I hate even to hear the name of the Buddha.” From
the Zen point of view, “Gottes wegen,” may better be left out.
[f152] The full passage is: “He who seeks learnedness gets daily
enriched. He who seeks the Tao is daily made poor. He is made poorer
and poorer until he arrives at non-action (_wu wei_). With non-action,
there is nothing that he cannot achieve.” (Chap. 48.)
[f153]
Na vāsanair bhidyate cit na cittaṁ vāsanaiḥ saha,
Abbinnalakshaṇaṁ cittaṁ vāsanaiḥ pariveshtitarṁ.
Malavad vāsanā yasya manovijñāna-sambhavā,
Pata-śuklopamaṁ cittaṁ vāsanair na virājate.
Yathā na bhāvo nābhāvo gaganaṁ kathyate mayā,
Ālayaṁ hi tathā kāya bhāvābhāva-vivarjitaṁ.
Manovijñāna vyāvṛittaṁ cittaṁ kālusbya varjitam,
Sarvadharmāvabodhena cittaṁ buddhaṁ vadāmyaham.
_The Laṅkāvatāra_, p. 296.
[f154] Not an ordinary question asking enlightenment, but one that
has a point in it showing some understanding on the part of the
inquirer. All those questions already quoted must not be taken in
their superficial or literary sense. They are generally metaphors. For
instance, when one asks about a phrase having no shadow, he does not
mean any ordinary ensemble of words known grammatically as such, but
an absolute proposition whose verity is so beyond a shadow of doubt
that every rational being will at once recognise as true on hearing it.
Again, when reference is made to murdering a parent or a Buddha, it
has really nothing to do with such horrible crimes, but as we have in
Rinzai’s sermon elsewhere, the murdering is transcending the relativity
of a phenomenal world. Ultimately, therefore, this question amounts to
the same thing as asking “Where is the one to be reduced, when the many
are reduced to the one?”
[f155] This means Buddha who is supposed by Buddhists to have been the
owner of a golden-coloured body, sixteen feet in height.
[f156] Generally after a sermon the monks come out and ask various
questions bearing on the subject of the sermon, though frequently
indifferent ones are asked too.
[f157] See the article on the “History of Zen Buddhism,” p. 149 et seq.
[f158] For detail see “Practical Methods of Zen Instruction.”
[f159] Cf. also “History of Zen Buddhism” where reference is made to
the Northern and Southern school of Zen under the fifth patriarch in
China.
[f160] See for detail p. 177, “History of Zen.”
[f161] According to Fariduddin Attar, A.D. 1119–1229, of Khorassan,
Persia, Cf. Claud Field’s _Mystics and Saints of Islam_, p. 123 et seq.
[f162] Underhill—_Mysticism_, p. 369.
[f163] After this book went to the press, I have come across an old
edition of the spiritual cow-herding pictures, which end with an empty
circle corresponding to the eighth of the present series. Is this the
work of Seikyo as referred to in Kakuan’s Preface? The cow is shown to
be whitening here gradually with the progress of discipline. I may have
an occasion later to reproduce this edition.
[f164] See also a Sutra in the Anguttara Āgama bearing the same
title, which is evidently another translation of the same text. Also
compare “The Herdsman, I.,” in _The First Fifty Discourses of Gotama
the Buddha_; Vol. II., by Bhikkhu Sīlācāra. Leipzig, 1913. This a
partial translation of the Majjhima Nikāya of the Pali Tripitaka.
The eleven items as enumerated in the Chinese version are just a
little differently given. Essentially of course, they are the same
in both texts. A Buddhist dictionary called _Daizo Hossu_ gives
reference on the subject to the great Mahayana work of Nāgārjuna,
the _Māhāprājñāpāramitā-Śāstra_, but so far I have not been able to
identify the passage.
[f165] The ten pictures reproduced here were specially prepared for the
author by Reverend Seisetsu Seki, Abbot of Tenryuji, Kyoto, which is
one of the principal historical Zen monasteries in Japan. The original
Chinese verses with their introductory notes are found in the Appendix.
[f166] It will be interesting to note what a mystic philosopher would
say about this: “A man shall become truly poor and as free from his
creature will as he was when he was born. And I say to you, by the
eternal truth, that as long as ye desire to fulfil the will of God, and
have any desire after eternity and God; so long are ye not truly poor.
He alone hath true spiritual poverty who wills nothing, knows nothing,
desires nothing.”—(From Eckhart as quoted by Inge in _Light, Life, and
Love_.)