Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

by Zen Master Dogen

  Thus, it is clear that Bodhidharma moved from Liang to Wei. He walked to Mount Song and stayed at the Shaolin Temple. Although he sat in stillness facing the wall, he was not engaged in so-called learning meditation. Although he had not brought even one volume of sutra, he was a genuine master who transmitted true dharma. However, historians without understanding classified him in the section on teachers of learning meditation. This was the utmost stupidity, which is lamentable.

  When Bodhidharma arrived on Mount Song, a doglike monk barked at him. What a pity! How foolish! With what mind could one ignore Bodhidharma’s compassionate gift? How could one fail to repay his kindness? In the worldly realm, there are those who do not forget the kindness of others. People call them worthy beings. The great kindness of Bodhidharma surpasses that of one’s parents. His compassion is beyond filial love.

  The lowly birth of Japanese people is amazing, if we think about it. Not having been born in the center of the world, we haven’t seen the flourishing land. We haven’t known sages nor seen the wise. There has been no one who has ascended to heaven from our land, Japan. We are all equally immature. From the time our nation was founded, no one has guided laypeople. We have never heard of anyone purifying the nation, as no one has known what is pure and what is murky. We are not familiar with yin and yang, or with heaven, earth, and humans. How, then, could we understand the undulation of the five types of matter? This ignorance comes from not knowing the sound and form before our very eyes. It is the result of not knowing the sutras, nor having true teachers with whom to study them.

  Having no true teachers, we do not know how many score of volumes, how many hundreds of verses, and how many thousands of words the sutras have. We just read the remote aspects of the writing, instead of understanding the essential meaning of the thousands of verses and myriad words. We come to know the ancient sutras and texts as a result of our longing for the authentic teaching. As we long for the ancient teaching, the sutras of old come forth.

  The founders of the Han and Wei dynasties in China—Emperors Gao and Tai—understood the verses of heaven and transmitted the expression of the terrestrial forms. When we clarify their words, the fundamentals of heaven, earth, and humans are understood. People who have not encountered the guidance of such virtuous leaders do not know what it is to truly serve the emperor or to truly serve their parents. They are unfortunate subjects of the Emperor and unfortunate children of their parents. As subjects or children, they miss a precious jewel and waste the passage of time. Born into such a family, they have no authority to govern, and cling to petty positions. Thus, the nation is murky, rarely known for its purity. Since we have a lowly life in such a remote land as Japan where the Tathagata’s true dharma is not heard, what is the use of clinging to this bodily life? Why do we cling to this bodily life, and to what do we devote ourselves?

  Those who have a worthy and noble life should not cling to it for anything, even for the sake of dharma. This is also true for those with a lowly life. On the other hand, if those with a lowly life dedicate themselves to following the way for the sake of dharma, their life is worthier than the life of the heavenly devas, a wheel-turning king, the gods of heaven and earth, or sentient beings in the three realms.

  Now, Bodhidharma, the First Chinese Ancestor, was the third son of the King of Xiangzhi in southern India. As a prince from a royal family, of noble background, he was to be respected. But in the remote land of China, people did not know how to respect him. They had no incense, flowers, royal cushions, or palace for him. Japan is an even more distant steep cliff away, where no one knows how to honor a prince from a great nation. Even if we learn the manners, we may have difficulty in mastering them. The way to honor a lord is different from the way to honor royalty; one way is less formal than the other. But here we can’t tell the difference, as we are unaware of the degrees of nobility even among ourselves. As we don’t understand the difference, we don’t know the degrees of our own nobility.

  Bodhidharma was a dharma heir, twenty-eight generations from Shakyamuni Buddha. After he attained the way, his importance increased. A great sage, the most venerable one, he followed his teacher’s request to transmit dharma for saving beings and did not cling to his bodily life. In China they had not seen a buddha child, an authentic heir, nor had anyone received person-to-person transmission of the ancestral face. No one had met a buddha before Bodhidharma appeared. No buddhas other than his descendants emerged in China after that.

  It is possible to meet the Buddha when the udumbara blossom is in bloom. People count the years looking forward to this. But the coming of the First Ancestor from India will never happen again. And yet those who call themselves descendants of the ancestors are like the one in the Kingdom of Chu who treasured an ordinary green stone, thinking it was jade. Unable to tell jade from stone, they think that teachers of sutras and treatises are equal to Bodhidharma. It is so because of their limited learning and shallow understanding. Those who do not recognize the authentic seed of prajna do not become descendants of the ancestral path. They wander around in the crooked paths of name and concept. How sad!

  Even after the Putong Era of the Kingdom of Liang, there were monks who went to India. For what reason? It is quite stupid. Because of their unwholesome past actions, they wander around in a foreign land. Step by step they go on the crooked paths of slandering dharma. Step by step they go farther away from their parental land. What do they gain by arriving in India? They merely bear hardships traveling through mountains and waters. As they do not know the true meaning of teachings brought from India and buddha dharma transmitted eastward to China, they get lost in India.

  Although they are supposed to seek for buddha dharma, they lack the right aspiration for buddha dharma, and so even in India they do not meet a true teacher, but only teachers of treatises and sutras. The reason for this is that although there are true teachers in India, seekers who lack the right mind to search for true dharma cannot find them. We have never heard of people who went to India and met true teachers. If they had done so, they would have spoken about it. But because they didn’t go, they did not speak about it.

  Also, in China there have been many monks who have depended upon sutras and treatises without seeking true dharma, even after Bodhidharma came from India. Although they read sutras and treatises, they are ignorant about the meaning of them. This dark activity comes not only from today’s action but also from unwholesome actions of the past. In this lifetime they do not learn the true teaching of the Tathagata, are not illuminated by the face-to-face transmission of the Tathagata, do not actualize the buddha mind of the Tathagata, and do not listen to the wind of the house of all buddhas. It is regrettable.

  There were many people like that in the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. But even if those who have once nurtured the seeds of prajna enter the gate unintentionally, they are freed from counting sands and become descendants of Bodhidharma. They are persons of excellent roots, the highest of the high, persons of good seeds, while those who are ignorant merely lodge forever in the huts of sutras and treatises.

  Therefore, we should look up at the profound teaching that Bodhidharma brought from India without avoiding or abhorring the steep path. For what other purpose should we save our stinky skin bags?

  Xiangyan said:

  Hundreds of plans, thousands of means,

  your body is dust in the tomb.

  Don’t say white hair has no words.

  It is a message from the yellow springs [realm of death].

  Thus, even if you make hundreds of plans and create thousands of means to save yourselves, in the end you will turn to dust in the tomb. Furthermore, driven by a king of a small nation and his retainers, you run around east and west, with thousands of hardships and myriad sufferings of body and mind. You give your life over to loyalty, even to the extent of following your king to the grave. A future driven by worldly obligations is clouds and mists of darkness. Many people since olden times have been occupied by mino
r pursuits and have given up their lives. Those human lives might have been saved, as they could have become vessels of the way.

  Now that you have met the true dharma, study it even if you have to give up the lives of hundreds and thousands of kalpas. Why would you give up your life for worthless petty people instead of devoting yourself to the broad and profound buddha dharma? Neither those who are wise nor those who are not should hesitate in making this decision. Think quietly. When the true dharma is not spread, you cannot meet it even if you want to give up your life for it. Wish right now for the self that meets the true dharma. Be ashamed of the self that would not offer your life for the sake of the true dharma. If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is this.

  This being so, to appreciate the great gift of Bodhidharma is the continuous practice of this day. Do not look back on your bodily life. Do not cling to worldly obligations and love that put you lower than birds and beasts. Even if you cling to that love, you cannot maintain it forever. Do not hold on to the house of the family that is like trash. Even if you retreat to that place, it cannot be your ultimate abode.

  The wise buddha ancestors in olden times let go of the seven types of treasure and a thousand servants, leaving behind jeweled palaces and vermilion towers. They saw these luxuries as drool and manure. These actions by the ancient buddha ancestors exemplify their kindness.

  Even a sick sparrow remembered the beneficence of someone who had cared for it, and presented a jade ring that carried a prediction of an auspicious future. A captured tortoise did not forget the beneficence of someone who helped release it, and exhibited its tortoise figure in all the seals the person commissioned. How sad that some with human faces lack the virtue of these creatures!

  Your ability to see buddhas and hear dharma right now is the result of the compassionate continuous practice of each buddha ancestor. Without the one-to-one transmission of buddha ancestors, how could the dharma have reached us today? You should gratefully repay the beneficence of having received one phrase, one dharma. How much more beneficent is the unsurpassed great dharma, the treasury of the true dharma eye? How could you not repay it with gratitude? You should vow to surrender to this day your lifetimes, which could be as immeasurable as the sands of the Ganges.

  Your corpse of a body, which is dedicated to dharma, should be revered with bows and offerings, generation after generation. Such a corpse is what devas and dragon kings respect, guard, and admire for the obvious reason. There has been a Brahman custom for a long time in India to sell and buy skulls, because people there revere the merit of the skulls of those who have practiced dharma. If you don’t dedicate your bodily life to the way right now, the power of practicing dharma will not arrive. To fully engage without sparing your bodily life is to mature your practice of dharma. Then your skull will be revered. But who would bow to your skull if you do not dedicate yourself to the way? Who would want to sell or buy such a skull found in a field? You will be regretful when your spirit looks back to this day, if you do not dedicate yourself to the way.

  A demon beat the bones of his own corpse for his unwholesome past actions, and a deva bowed to his own skeleton for his wholesome past actions. Thinking upon the time when your body will turn to dust or mud, you should care about the future generations without self-concern. Then, those who see your remains will be moved to tears. Even if you turn to dust or mud, leaving a skull that people might want to avoid, you will be very fortunate if you engage in continuous practice of the true buddha dharma.

  Thus, do not fear the suffering from cold. Suffering from cold has never crushed the way. Only be concerned about not practicing. Lack of practice leaves a person divided and hinders the way. Do not be put off by the suffering from heat. Suffering from heat has never crushed the way. Only be concerned about not practicing. Lack of practice leaves a person divided and hinders the way.

  The Buddha accepted an offering of barley for horses as food for himself. Sages of olden times lived on bracken in the mountains. These are excellent examples for both buddhas and laity. Do not be like a demon looking for blood or milk. A day of fully engaged activity is the continuous practice of all buddhas.

  Huike, who would later become Great Master Zhengzong Pujue, the Second Ancestor of China, was admired even by gods and demons. He was a teacher of high virtue, a broad-minded person, respected equally by monks and laypeople.

  He lived long in the capital city of Luoyang and read widely. Such a person is rarely encountered. His understanding was high and his virtue weighty.

  One day a spirit appeared in his dream and said to Huike, “This is not a place to stay if you want to harvest the fruit. The great road is not far away. You should go south.”

  The next day he had a piercing headache and asked his teacher, Zen Master Baojing of Mount Xiang near Luoyang, to help relieve it. Then a voice from the sky was heard, “This is not a usual headache. Your bones are being replaced.”

  Huike told Baojing about his dream. Taking a look at his head, which had the appearance of five peaks sticking out, Baojing said, “You have an auspicious appearance, which shows that you are destined to have realization. The spirit’s message for you to go south must mean that Bodhidharma, the great practitioner of the Shaolin Temple, is your teacher.”

  The spirit who had spoken to Huike was the guardian deity for his endless practice of the way.

  Following Baojing’s instruction, Huike went to see Bodhidharma at Shaoshi Peak. It was a severely cold winter night, said to be the ninth day of the twelfth month. Even without heavy rain or snow, on such a winter night in the deep mountains it would be impossible for a person to stand outdoors. It was a horrendous season when bamboo cracked. A great snow covered the entire mountain. Huike searched in the snow for a trail. Who knows the extent of his hardship?

  Finally Huike reached Bodhidharma’s dwelling, but was not allowed to enter. Bodhidharma did not turn around. Throughout the night Huike did not sleep, sit, or rest. He stood firmly until dawn. The night snow seemed to have no mercy, piling higher and burying him up to his waist. Every drop of his tears froze. Seeing his frozen tears, he shed even more tears. Looking at his own body, he thought to himself, “A seeker in the past crushed his bones, extracted his marrow, and squeezed his blood to feed the starving people. Another seeker laid down his hair on the muddy road to let the Buddha pass. Another threw his body off the cliff to feed a tiger. They were like that. Then who am I?” Thus, his aspiration became stronger.

  Those who study nowadays should not forget Huike’s words They were like that. Then who am I? If we forget, we will drown for numberless kalpas. Thus, Huike addressed himself in this way, strengthening his aspiration for dharma. He did not mind being covered by snow. When we imagine the hair-raising ordeal of that long night, we are struck with terror.

  At dawn Bodhidharma took notice and asked, “What do you seek? Why have you stood in the snow for so long?”

  Shedding more tears, Huike said, “All I wish is that you compassionately open the gate of sweet dew in order to awaken many beings.”

  Bodhidharma said, “The unsurpassed, inconceivable way of all buddhas must be practiced hard and consistently for vast kalpas. You must bear what is unbearable. But if you wish with small virtue, small wisdom, and casual, arrogant mind for the true vehicle, you will toil in vain.”

  Then Huike was encouraged. Unnoticed by Bodhidharma, he took a sharp knife, cut off his left arm, and offered it to him.

  Bodhidharma knew then that Huike was a dharma vessel, and said, “When buddhas first seek the way, they give up bodily form for the sake of dharma. Now that I see your determination, you are invited to pursue the way here.”

  Thus, Huike entered Bodhidharma’s inner chamber, attending to him with great diligence for eight years. Huike was indeed an example and a great guide for humans and devas to follow. Such great diligence had not been heard of either in India or China. When it comes to “smiling,” you should study Mahakashyapa. And when it comes to attaining the mar
row, you should study Huike.

  Reflecting quietly, we know that even if Bodhidharma had come from India thousands of times, without the continuous practice of Huike there would not be a great number of students and practitioners today. Now, as we see and hear the true dharma, we should express our gratitude to Huike. Most ways of expressing gratitude may miss the mark. Giving up the life of your body is not enough. A castle is not solid enough, as it can be taken by others or given away to a family. The life of the body can be given to impermanence, a lord, or a crooked way. Therefore, none of these are suitable offerings. Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude.

  This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day of your life, without using it for your own sake. Why is it so? Your life is a fortunate outcome of continuous practice from the past. You should express your gratitude immediately. How sad and shameful to waste this body, which has benefited from the continuous practice of buddha ancestors, by becoming a slave of family, and surrendering to their vanities, without noticing the fall! Or, the body may be mistakenly given to that horrendous robber, the demon of fame and gain.

  If ever you value fame and gain, then be compassionate to fame and gain. If you are compassionate to fame and gain, you will not allow them to break the body that can become a buddha ancestor. Being compassionate to family and relatives is also like this. Do not think that fame and gain are phantoms and illusions, but regard them as sentient beings. If you are not compassionate to fame and gain, you will accumulate unwholesome actions. The true eye of study should be like this.

  Thoughtful people in the world express gratitude for receiving gold, silver, or rare treasures. They also express gratitude for receiving kind words. Who can forget the great gift of seeing and hearing the Tathagata’s unsurpassable true dharma, being aware that this is itself a rare treasure of a lifetime? The bones and skulls of those who did not turn back from this continuous practice are enshrined in seven-treasure pagodas, receiving respect and offerings by humans and devas. When you become aware of such a great gift, you should attentively repay the mountain of benevolence, without allowing your life to disappear like a dewdrop on the grass. This is continuous practice. The power of this practice is that you yourself practice as an ancestral buddha.