Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

by Zen Master Dogen

  Daoxing’s words What is it? mean what is it? It is called what. That is the name. It makes what. What makes it. The name is it. The name is what. It is presented as mugwort tea or green tea. It is daily tea and rice.

  Hongren’s words It is buddha nature mean that it is buddha nature. Because it is what, it is buddha. Is it merely understood as what name? Even when it is not it, it is buddha nature. This being so, although it is what and it is buddha, when Hongren drops off and slips through, the name is always present. His is Zhou. However, he did not receive the name from his father or his ancestors, and he did not resemble his mother. Who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him?

  By saying You have no buddha nature, Daoxin was saying that although Hongren is not “who he is” and it’s up to him to determine who he is, he has no buddha nature [he is beyond buddha nature]. Learn and study what kind of moment it is when there is no buddha nature. Is it no buddha nature on the top of the buddha’s head, or is it no buddha nature that is going beyond? Do not be stuck with seven penetrations or search for eight masteries.

  No buddha nature is sometimes understood as the samadhi of this one moment. Ask whether there is no buddha nature when buddha nature attains buddhahood. Ask whether there is no buddha nature that arouses the aspiration [for enlightenment]. Have a pillar ask this question, or ask a pillar this question. Have buddha nature ask this question.

  In this way, the words no buddha nature are heard all the way from the ancestral chamber of Daoxin. These words are seen and heard on Mount Huangmei, in Zhou Province, and Mount Guishan. Be sure to endeavor with the words no buddha nature without being put off by the words. In tracing no buddha nature, there, straight on, is the standard of what, the moment of you, the response of it, and the name Zhou.

  Hongren’s words As buddha nature is empty, you say I have no buddha nature express clearly that empty is not no. In speaking of the emptiness of buddha nature, he did not say half a pound or eight ounces; he just said no [buddha nature]. As it is empty, he did not call it empty. As it is no [buddha nature], he did not call it no. As buddha nature is empty, he called it no. Thus, bits and pieces of no are a standard for speaking about emptiness. Emptiness is the measure of speaking no [buddha nature].

  Empty mentioned here is not that of “Form is emptiness.” “Form is emptiness” does not mean to force form to be emptiness or to break up emptiness to establish form.

  Rather, it is the emptiness of “Emptiness is emptiness.” Emptiness is emptiness means there is a piece of rock hanging in emptiness. Thus, Daoxin and Hongren talked about no buddha nature, buddha nature that is empty, and buddha nature that is existence.

  Huineng, who would later become Zen Master Dajian of Mount Caoxi, the Sixth Ancestor, went to Huangmei to meet Hongren, the Fifth Ancestor. Hongren said, “Where are you from?”

  Huineng said, “From Lingnan.”

  Hongren said, “What do you seek?”

  Huineng said, “I seek to become a buddha.”

  Hongren said, “People from Lingnan have no buddha nature. How can you become a buddha?”

  Hongren’s words People from Lingnan have no buddha nature do not mean that people from Lingnan do not have buddha nature, or that they do have buddha nature. Rather, he was saying that people from Lingnan have no-buddha [beyond-buddha] nature.

  His words, How can you become a buddha? is asking what kind of becoming a buddha Huineng intended.

  There are few earlier teachers who clarified the essentials of buddha nature. It’s not what teachers of the Agama Sutras, other sutras, and treatises understand. It has only been transmitted person to person to the descendants of buddha ancestors.

  The essential of buddha nature is that buddha nature is embodied not before but after you attain buddhahood. Buddha nature invariably arises simultaneously with attaining buddhahood. You should thoroughly investigate this principle, studying and endeavoring for twenty or thirty years. This is not something bodhisattvas of the ten stages or the three classes can clarify.

  The words “Sentient beings have buddha nature” or “Sentient beings have no buddha nature” point to this principle. To understand that buddha nature is embodied after attaining buddhahood is hitting a mark right on. To study otherwise is not buddha dharma. Without this understanding, buddha dharma would not have reached to this day. Not understanding this principle is not clarifying, seeing, or hearing the attainment of buddhahood.

  This is why Hongren said, People from Linguan have no buddha nature, when he was offering guidance to Huineng. What is rare to encounter and hear when first seeing a buddha and hearing dharma is the teaching that sentient beings have no buddha nature. What to rejoice upon in following a teacher and studying sutras is to hear the teaching that sentient beings have no buddha nature. Those who are not immersed in seeing, hearing, and knowing that sentient beings without exception have no buddha nature have not yet seen, heard, or known buddha nature.

  When Huineng wholeheartedly sought to become a buddha and Hongren helped him to become a buddha, he had no other words or skillful means than saying People from Linguan have no buddha nature. Know that to say and hear no-buddha nature is a direct way to become a buddha. Thus, at the very moment of no-buddha nature you become a buddha. Those who have not seen, heard, or spoken no-buddha nature have not yet become a buddha.

  Huineng said, “There are people from the south and people from the north, but in buddha nature there is no south or north.”

  Take up these words and investigate the meaning behind them. Reflect with a bare heart upon the words south and north. His words have a point—a view that people become buddhas but buddha nature doesn’t become people. Was Huineng aware of it or not?

  Buddhas, including Kashyapa Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha, are empowered to say Living beings all are buddha nature when they are buddhas and turning the dharma wheel, by receiving a portion of the all-inclusive power of the words no buddha nature spoken by Hongren and Huineng. How could the words Living beings all are buddha nature not inherit dharma from the no of no buddha nature?

  In this way, the words no buddha nature are heard far away from the chamber of Hongren and Huineng. Since Huineng was already a true person at that time, he should have further investigated the words no buddha nature. He should have asked, “Aside from whether one has buddha nature or not, how is buddha nature?” He should also have asked, “What is buddha nature?” Upon hearing the words buddha nature, people nowadays also discuss whether one has buddha nature or no buddha nature without asking what buddha nature is. This is hasty and careless.

  Thus, study the “no” of all “nos” through the no of no buddha nature. Dive over and over again into the statement of Huineng, There are people from the south and people from the north, but in buddha nature there is no south or north. Work on it and quietly let go of it.

  Some foolish people assume that Huineng’s statement means that people from the south differ from those from the north because of their qualities, but that buddha nature goes beyond south or north, as it is empty and fluid. This is ignorant beyond measure. Disregard such a crooked view and study straightforwardly.

  Later, Huineng taught his disciple Xinchang by saying, “Impermanence is itself buddha nature. Permanence is the mind that discriminates the wholesomeness and unwholesomeness of all things.”

  The impermanence Huineng speaks of is beyond the grasp of outsiders or practitioners of the Lesser Vehicles. Teachers and descendants of these people talk about impermanence, but they have not yet fully understood it.

  Impermanence expounds, practices, and realizes impermanence; all this is impermanence. Manifesting a [buddha] body and expounding dharma with the buddha body—this is buddha nature. Further, it is to manifest a tall dharma body and to manifest a short dharma body. Constantly being a sage is impermanence. Constantly being an ordinary person is impermanence.

  This is the meaning of Huineng’s words Impermanence is itself buddha nature. To say that those who are constantly sages or
ordinary people cannot be buddha nature is a limited view, the narrow thinking of foolish people. Their understanding of buddha falls short. Their understanding of buddha nature falls short.

  Permanence means no turning. “No turning” is not affected by the passage of coming and going, although there are such changes as becoming free from desire or allowing desire itself to become free. This is permanence. Grass, trees, and forests are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Humans, things, body, and mind are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Land, mountains, and rivers are impermanent, as they are buddha nature. Unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is impermanent, as it is buddha nature. Great pari-nirvana is buddha nature, as it is impermanence. Practitioners of the Lesser Vehicles who hold limited views, and teachers and commentators of the Tripitaka, should be startled at this statement of Huineng. If they aren’t, they must be a group of outsider demons.

  Venerable Nagarjuna, the Fourteenth Ancestor, is called Dragon Tree, Dragon Excellence, or Dragon Ferocity in China. He was a man from western India who went to southern India. People there believed in practices that bring good fortune. When Nagarjuna expounded dharma to people, one of them said, “The best things in the world are practices that bring good fortune. Even if you talk about buddha nature, no one can see it.”

  Nagarjuna replied, “If you want to see buddha nature, first let go of your pride.”

  The man said, “Is buddha nature large or small?”

  Nagarjuna said, “Buddha nature is neither large nor small, neither broad nor narrow. It has neither goodness nor rewards. It has neither death nor birth.”

  Realizing that Nagarjuna’s teaching was extraordinary, the man’s aspiration was turned around. Then, while sitting, Nagarjuna manifested a body of complete freedom in the shape of a full moon. The assembly could hear his dharma talk, but they could not see him.

  In the assembly there was someone called Kanadeva, the son of a wealthy man, who said to the assembly, “Do you understand this?”

  People said, “We cannot see the master but we can hear him. Our minds do not understand what’s happening, and our bodies have not experienced such a thing.”

  Kanadeva said, “This is how the master manifests the form of buddha nature and shows it to us. The reason is that the samadhi of no-form has taken the shape of a full moon. Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear.”

  Just as Kanadeva said this, Nagarjuna appeared on his seat and taught in verse:

  This body manifests a full moon

  expressing the bodies of all buddhas,

  teaching that it has no particular shape,

  expressing that revealing it is neither sound nor form.

  Thus, know that a true expression is not done by sound or form, and a true teaching has no particular shape. Nagarjuna expounded on buddha nature countless times. What is shown here is just an example.

  You should reflect without fail on Nagarjuna’s words If you want to see buddha nature, first let go of your pride. It’s not that you cannot see buddha nature, but to see it, you first need to let go of your pride. Because you are complex, there are many types of pride. There are myriad ways to let go of pride, and when you do, you see buddha nature. This is to see buddha nature with your eyes.

  Do not regard Nagarjuna’s words Buddha nature is neither large nor small as ordinary people or those in the Lesser Vehicle do. Stubborn people believe that buddha nature is enormous. This is the piling up of crooked thoughts. To be immersed in Nagarjuna’s words neither large nor small is to discern them as spoken just now. This discernment is a cause for listening. Listen to his verse now. He says, This body manifests a full moon expressing the bodies of all buddhas. As he manifested the body expressing all buddhas’ bodies, the body took the shape of a full moon. Thus, you should study that everything both long and short, square and round, is manifested in the shape of a full moon. If you are ignorant about the body or the manifestation, you are ignorant not only about the shape of the full moon but about the bodies of the buddhas.

  Foolish people may think that Nagarjuna manifested the shape of a full moon tentatively. This is a crooked thought of rascals who have not inherited the buddha way. When and where could he have manifested a form that was not his own body? Know that Nagarjuna was sitting on the teaching seat, just as everyone is sitting right now. This body manifests the shape of a full moon. Manifestation of the body is not limited to square or round, existent or nonexistent, revealed or hidden. Manifestation of this body is not limited to eighty-four thousand skandhas; it is just manifestation of this body. You speak of a full moon, but what about a crescent moon or sliver moon?

  As this manifestation of the body is to first let go of your pride, it is not Nagarjuna but the bodies of all buddhas. As this manifestation expresses all buddhas, it becomes free from all buddhas. Thus, it is not limited to the realm of buddhas.

  Even if there may be a void similar to the full moon of buddha nature, it cannot be compared with that full moon. Furthermore, expression [of buddha nature] is neither sound nor form. The manifestation of this body is neither form nor mind, nor is it in the realm of the skandhas. Although the manifestation of this body may look like the realm of the skandhas, it is expressing the bodies of the buddhas. This is expounding dharma; it is having no form. When having no form is the samadhi of no-form, the body is manifested.

  Although the assembly saw the shape of a full moon, what they did not see was a turning point of expounding dharma, the manifestation of a free body beyond form and sound. This hiding and revealing is the going back and forth of the full moon.

  At the very moment when Nagarjuna sat on his seat and manifested the body of freedom, the whole assembly only heard dharma without seeing him. His heir, Kanadeva, clearly understood the meaning of the full-moon shape, of the manifestation of the body, of the nature of all buddhas, and of the bodies of all buddhas. Although there were many who entered Nagarjuna’s room and received water, vessel to vessel, there was no one who could compare with Kanadeva, who was a venerable student sharing the seat with Nagarjuna, and was a guiding master of the assembly on the half seat. He authentically received the treasury of the true dharma eye, the unsurpassable great dharma, just like Venerable Mahakashyapa did on Vulture Peak.

  Previously, Nagarjuna was a Brahman master outside the buddha dharma. When his mind was turned, he sent away the students who had been studying with him. After he became a buddha ancestor, Kanadeva alone received the treasury of the great dharma as an authentic heir. This is a person-to-person transmission of the unsurpassable buddha way.

  However, a crooked group of people who hid their falsehood and groundlessly called themselves dharma heirs of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva compiled treatises and interpretations. Many of them were attributed to Nagarjuna although they were not by him. Those who had been driven away by him were confusing both humans and devas with these texts. Disciples of the Buddha should know that the teachings that were not passed on by Kanadeva are not the words of Nagarjuna. You can genuinely trust the teaching through Kanadeva. But many people knowingly accept the false teaching. We should deplore the foolishness of those who slander great prajna.

  Kanadeva pointed to Nagarjuna’s manifested body and said to the assembly, This is how the master manifests the form of buddha nature and shows it to us. The reason is that the samadhi of no-form has taken the shape of a full moon. Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear. Who, among those skin bags here and there, seeing and hearing the buddha dharma spread in the billion worlds of phenomena of humans and devas, can say that the body of Nagarjuna was manifesting as buddha nature? In the billion worlds Kanadeva alone could say this. Others merely said that buddha nature is neither seen with the eyes, nor heard with the ears, nor known through consciousness. As they didn’t know that Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the body was buddha nature, they could not say so. Even though Ancestor Nagarjuna did not withhold his teaching, they could not see or hear it, as their eyes and ears were covered. They were unable to realize it, as
their body consciousness had not arisen. When they saw and bowed to the samadhi of no-form that had taken the shape of a full moon, they could not see it.

  As Kanadeva says, Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear. Thus, manifesting the body is itself expounding buddha nature, vast, empty, and clear. Expounding buddha nature is that body manifested [in a full-moon shape], expressing the bodies of all buddhas. Are there one or two buddhas who embody this expression? The buddha bodies are a manifestation of that body. Also, buddha nature is manifested as that body.

  The buddha ancestors’ perception that discerns the four great elements and the five skandhas is also a working of this manifested body. The skandhas, places, and realms are like this in all buddhas’ bodies. All merits are this merit. All buddhas’ merits are fully expressed and encompassed by this manifested body. The coming and going of all the innumerable, boundless merits are part of the working of this manifested body.

  However, those in early and later generations in the three countries [India, China, and Japan] who studied dharma later than Nagarjuna and Kanadeva have not spoken as these masters did. How many scholars of sutras and treatises have missed Nagarjuna and Kanadeva’s words? From the early times in China, people tried to paint this story, but they have not been able to paint it on body, mind, emptiness, or the wall. They have only painted the story with the tips of their brush. They have merely painted a mirrorlike circle on the dharma seat and claimed it as Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the full-moon body. For hundreds of years such paintings have been specks of gold [hindrances] in human eyes, but no one has pointed out that these paintings are false. What a pity! Myriad interpretations are off the mark.

  If people think that Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the full-moon shape is merely a single circle, they truly see a piece of a painted rice cake. It is fooling others; such laughing kills people.