Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

by Zen Master Dogen

  There is one ridiculous custom in Japan. This is called a “secluded area” or “a Mahayana practice place,” where nuns and laywomen are not allowed to enter. This crooked custom has been going on for a long time, and people do not think about it. Those who study ancient teachings do not try to change it. Those who study extensively do not question it.

  This custom is sometimes advocated as the avatar’s establishment or the ancient sage’s style, without being challenged. If we laughed about it, our stomachs would be exhausted.

  Who is the avatar—a wise person, a sage, a god, or a demon? Is it a bodhisattva of the ten stages or three classes? Is it a bodhisattva of enlightenment equal to buddhas, or one of wondrous enlightenment? Or, do people believe that they cannot be free from the transmigration of birth and death unless they change authentic customs?

  In fact, Great Master Shakyamuni attained unsurpassable, complete enlightenment and clarified all that needed to be clarified. He practiced all that needed to be practiced. He was emancipated from all that needed emancipation. Who nowadays can even come close to him?

  In the assembly of the Buddha since his lifetime, there are four types of disciples—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. There are also eight types of guardian deities, thirty-seven wings of enlightenment, and eighty-four thousand dharma gates. They all form buddha realms, creating buddha assemblies. Which of these assemblies lacks nuns, laywomen, laymen, or the eight types of guardian deities?

  Do not look for a secluded area that is purer than the buddha assemblies that existed while the Buddha was alive. Such a secluded area is a place of heavenly demons. The rules for a buddha assembly do not vary between this world and that, or one thousand buddhas in the past, present, and future. Know that to have different rules is not a buddha assembly.

  The so-called four fruits are the ultimate ranks. Both in Mahayana and Hinayana the merits of the four fruits are not differentiated. When a number of nuns realize the four fruits, there is no place in the three realms or in the buddha land of the ten directions that they cannot reach. Who can block their practice?

  Having wondrous enlightenment is an unsurpassable stage. When women become buddhas of this stage, what in all directions cannot be thoroughly experienced? Who can try to block them and keep them from arriving at this stage? They attain the power of broadly illuminating all the ten directions. What is the point of creating a secluded area?

  Or, do you want to block heavenly women and keep them from getting to this secluded area? Do you also want to block goddesses and keep them from getting to this secluded area? Heavenly women and goddesses are those who have not yet become free from delusions. They are still sentient beings who transmigrate. Sometimes they break precepts and sometimes they don’t. Human females and animal females also at times break precepts, and at times don’t. Who is going to block the way of heavenly women and goddesses? They join the buddha assemblies of the past, present, and future and practice at the buddha places. If there are places different from the buddha places and buddha assemblies, who can trust them as places of buddha dharma? Such secluded areas are of utmost stupidity and only confuse worldly people. It is more foolish than foxes who try to protect their holes from humans.

  The ranks of the Buddha’s disciples, either bodhisattvas or shravakas, are: first, monks; second, nuns; third, laymen; and fourth, laywomen. This status has long been known among devas and humans. The secondranking disciples of the Buddha are higher than a wheel-turning king or Indra. There is no place these disciples cannot go. Their high status cannot be compared to that of kings or ministers of a small country in a remote land.

  When I look at practice places that do not allow nuns, I see that men who are country people, farmers, and woodcutters still go in freely. None of the kings, ministers, government officers, and prime ministers are prohibited from entering.

  Who, including farmers and these others, can compare to nuns in terms of the practice of the way and attainment of ranks [of the disciples of the Buddha]? Whether it is debated on the basis of worldly law or the buddha dharma, country people should not enter where nuns enter.

  The basis for a “secluded area” is an extreme confusion. This custom was initiated in our small country. What a pity that children of the compassionate father [the Buddha] of the three realms are blocked from entering some places in this country!

  Some of those who live in the so-called secluded areas do not avoid the ten unwholesome actions and commit the ten grave offenses. Is it that these areas are criminal places and those who do not commit crimes are excluded? Furthermore, the five grave crimes are regarded as the most serious of unwholesome actions. Those who live in the secluded areas may also commit such crimes. Such demon realms should be opened up. If they study the Buddha’s teaching and enter the Buddha’s world, it will certainly be an act to return the kindness of the Buddha.

  Were the ancient teachers who built the secluded areas aware of the meaning of creating it? From whom did they receive such a teaching? Whose seal of approval did they have?

  Buddhas, sentient beings, the great earth, vast space, who enter the great area established by all buddhas, are liberated from bondage and return to the source that is buddhas’ wondrous dharma. This being so, sentient beings who step into this area even once receive the buddha merit. It is the merit of not veering off and attaining purity.

  When one place of practice is established, all the worlds of phenomena are established. When it is once established, all the worlds of phenomena are established. There is an area of practice established with water. There is an area established with mind. There is also an area established with emptiness. This is something to be transmitted from person to person.

  To establish an area of practice, after sprinkling nectar water, taking refuge [in the three treasures], and purifying the ground, we chant a verse: “This area and all worlds of phenomena have been purely established.” Do senior monks who talk about the secluded areas know the meaning of this phrase?

  I suppose they don’t understand that in establishing an area of practice, all worlds of phenomena are established. Perhaps they are intoxicated with the wine of shravakas and regard a small area as a great area. I hope they will quickly come out of their everyday intoxication and merge with the worlds of phenomena that are a great area of all buddhas.

  All sentient beings should bow to and revere the merit of receiving the [Buddha’s] broad offering of awakening. Who would not call it the marrow of attaining the way?

  10

  VALLEY SOUNDS, MOUNTAIN COLORS

  IN THE TRANSMISSION of unsurpassable, complete enlightenment by numberless buddha ancestors, various practices have arisen. Study such examples as ancient practitioners crushing their bones and Huike chopping off his arm. Embody in yourself the dedication of a boy spreading his hair on muddy ground for the Buddha to walk on.

  Slipping out of your old skin, not constrained by past views, you manifest immediately what has been dormant for boundless eons. As this very moment manifests, “I” don’t know, “who” doesn’t know, “you” have no expectations, and “the buddha eye” sees beyond seeing. This experience is beyond the realm of human thinking.

  In Song China there was a man who called himself Layman Dongpo. He was originally named Shi of the Su family, and his initiatory name was Zidan. A literary genius, he studied the way of dragons and elephants in the ocean of awakening. He descended deep chasms and soared freely through clouds.

  One night when Dongpo visited Mount Lu, he was enlightened upon hearing the sound of the valley stream. He composed the following verse, which he presented to Changzong:

  Valley sounds are the long, broad tongue.

  Mountain colors are no other than the unconditioned body.

  Eighty-four thousand verses are heard through the night.

  What can I say about this in the future?

  Seeing this verse, Changzong approved his understanding.

  Changzong, also called Zen Master Zhaojiao, was a d
harma heir of Huanglong, Zen Master Huinan, who was a dharma heir of Chuyuan, Zen Master Ciming.

  Another time when Dongpo met with Liaoyuan, Zen Master Foyin, Liaoyuan transmitted the buddha precepts to him with a dharma robe, which Dongpo later wore when practicing. Dongpo presented Liaoyuan with a jeweled belt. People talked about this exchange as something extraordinary.

  The valley sounds of Dongpo would refresh practitioners of later generations. How sad for those who miss the dharma of the manifested buddha body! How are mountain colors seen and valley sounds heard otherwise? Are mountain colors and valley sounds one phrase or half a phrase? Are they eighty-four thousand verses of scripture? You may regret that mountains and waters conceal sounds and colors, but you may also rejoice that the moment of enlightenment emerges through mountains and waters.

  The tongue [of the Buddha] does not take a break. The colors are beyond coming and going. Are the sounds and colors intimate when they are apparent, or are they intimate when they are obscured? Are they one whole expression or half an expression? During past springs and autumns, Dongpo had not seen or heard the mountains and waters. He saw and heard them for the first time that night. Bodhisattvas who study the way, open your minds to mountains flowing and to water not flowing.

  Dongpo had this awakening soon after he heard Changzong talk about insentient beings speaking dharma. Although Dongpo did not leap when he heard Changzong’s words, towering billows flew into the sky upon his hearing the sounds of the valley. Was it the valley sounds or the tide of awakening that jolted Dongpo?

  I suspect that Changzong’s voices of insentient beings speaking dharma are resounding even now, still blended with the sounds of the night’s stream. Who can fathom this water? Is it a bucketful or does it fill whole oceans?

  In the end let me ask you: Was it Dongpo who was awakened or the mountains and waters that were awakened? Who today sees right away with a clear eye the long, broad tongue and the unconditioned body [of the Buddha]?

  Xiangyan Zhixian studied at the assembly of Guishan Lingyou, Zen Master Dayuan, on Mount Gui.

  Guishan said, “You are bright and knowledgeable. Say something about yourself before your parents were born, but don’t use words learned from commentaries.”

  Xiangyan tried and tried but could not say anything. He pored through many books he had collected over the years but could not come up with anything. Deeply ashamed, he burned the books and said, “A painting of a rice cake does not satisfy hunger. I will be just a cooking monk, not expecting to understand buddha dharma in this lifetime.”

  A cooking monk means one who supports the assembly by cooking rice, an equivalent of a kitchen assistant in our country. He followed this vow for years.

  One day Xiangyan said to Guishan, “My mind is undifferentiated; I cannot speak. Can you speak for me, Master?”

  Guishan said, “I wouldn’t mind explaining it to you, but if I did, you would resent me in the future.”

  Sometime later, Xiangyan went to the memorial site of Nanyang Huizhong, National Teacher Dazheng, at Mount Wudang, and built himself a hut. For company, he planted some bamboo.

  One day, while he was sweeping the path, a pebble flew up and struck a bamboo. At the unexpected sound, Xiangyan had thorough awakening. After bathing and cleansing himself, he faced Mount Gui, offered incense, prostrated himself, and said, “Master, if you had spoken for me at that time, this could not have happened. Your kindness is deeper than my parents’.” Then he wrote a poem:

  One stroke dissolves knowledge.

  Struggle no longer needed.

  I will follow the ancient path

  not lapsing into quietude.

  Noble conduct beyond sound and form—

  no trace anywhere.

  Those who have mastered the way

  may call this an unsurpassable activity.

  He presented this poem to Guishan, who said, “This fellow has gone through.”

  One spring day, after practicing for thirty years, Lingyun, who would later become Zen Master Zhiqin, walked into the mountains. While resting he saw peach blossoms in full bloom in a distant village and was suddenly awakened. He wrote this poem, which he presented to Guishan:

  For thirty years I have looked for a sword master.

  Many times leaves fell, new ones sprouted.

  One glimpse of peach blossoms—

  now no more doubts, just this.

  Guishan said, “One who enters with ripened conditions will never leave.” He approved Lingyun in this way.

  Who does not enter with ripened causes? Who enters and then goes away? This awakening is not limited to Lingyun. If mountain colors were not the unconditioned body, how could this awakening have occurred? This is how he inherited dharma from Guishan.

  Once a monk asked Changsha, Zen Master Jingcen, “How do you turn mountains, rivers, and the great earth into the self?”

  Changsha said, “How do you turn the self into mountains, rivers, and the great earth?”

  Saying that the self returns to the self is not contradicted by saying that the self is mountains, rivers, and the great earth.

  Langye Huijue, Great Master Guangzhao, was a dharma descendant of Nanyue. Once Zhixuan, a lecturer on scriptures, asked Langye, “If originally unconditioned, how do mountains, rivers, and the great earth suddenly emerge?”

  Langye responded, “If originally unconditioned, how do mountains, rivers, and the great earth suddenly emerge?”

  Now we know. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth, which are originally unconditioned, should not be mistaken for mountains, rivers, and the great earth. The sutra master had never heard this, so he did not understand mountains, rivers, and the great earth as just mountains, rivers, and the great earth.

  Know that without mountain colors and valley sounds, [Shakyamuni Buddha’s] taking up the flower and [Huike’s] attaining the marrow would not have taken place. Because of the power of valley sounds and mountain colors, the Buddha with the great earth and sentient beings simultaneously attains the way, and countless buddhas become enlightened upon seeing the morning star. Such skin bags are earlier sages whose aspiration for seeking dharma is profound. People today should be inspired by predecessors like these. Authentic study, free of concern for fame and gain, should be based on such aspiration.

  In this remote nation in recent days those who genuinely seek buddha dharma are rare—it is not that there are none. Many people leave their households, appearing free from worldly matters, but in fact they use the buddha way to seek fame and gain. What a pity! How sad that they waste their time in unilluminated trades! When will they break away and attain the way? If they meet a true teacher, how will they recognize the true dragon?

  Rujing, my late master, Old Buddha, called such people “pitiful fellows.” Because of unwholesome causes in previous lives, they do not seek dharma for the sake of dharma. In this life, they are suspicious of the true dragon when they see it, and are put off by genuine dharma when they encounter it. As their body, mind, flesh, and bones are not ready to follow dharma, they are unable to receive it. Because the lineage of the ancestral school started long ago, the aspiration for enlightenment has become a distant dream. How pitiful that people do not know about or see treasure even though they were born on a mountain of treasure! Where can they find dharma treasure?

  As soon as you arouse the aspiration for enlightenment, even if you transmigrate in the six realms and four forms of birth, transmigration itself will be your vow for enlightenment. Although you may have wasted time so far, you should vow immediately, before this present life ends:

  Together with all sentient beings, may I hear the true dharma from this birth throughout future births.

  When I hear the true dharma, I will not doubt or distrust it.

  When I encounter the true dharma, I will relinquish ordinary affairs and uphold the buddha dharma.

  Thus, may I realize the way together with the great earth and all sentient beings.

  This vow is the g
round for genuine aspiration. Do not slacken in this determination.

  Japan is a remote land where people are extremely ignorant. Neither sages nor geniuses have been known to arise here, and genuine students of the way are rare. When we talk about way-seeking mind, those without it become resentful instead of reflecting on themselves.

  When you arouse the aspiration for enlightenment, try to keep your practice private. Praising your own practice is out of the question. People nowadays rarely seek the truth. Deficient in practice and realization, they seek recognition for their effort and want others to acknowledge that their practice and understanding are in accord. This is delusion on top of delusion. Abandon such confused thinking.

  Among those who study the way, it is rare to find determination for true dharma. Such determination is the buddha radiance, the buddha mind, which has been transmitted from buddha to buddha.

  From the time of the Tathagata to this day, there have been many concerned with fame and gain in the study of the way. But if they meet a true master and turn toward true dharma, they will readily attain the way. Know that there is a disease for fame and gain among practitioners of the way. Among beginners as well as longtime practitioners, some have the opportunity to receive the teaching, while others don’t. Some long for the ancient way, but there are also demons who slander the teaching. Do not be attached or upset in either case. When you remember how few realize the three poisons as the three poisons, you no longer have resentment.