Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

by Zen Master Dogen

  Just like hearing the sutra from the Buddha’s own mouth—who would not rush to hear it? Those who do not immediately practice it are sentient beings who lack benefaction and wisdom. Know that those who study and practice it immediately see Shakyamuni Buddha.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said to the assembly, “Good men and women, listen to my teaching that the life span of the Buddha is timeless, and understand it with trust in your deep heart. Then, you will immediately see the Buddha, who always abides and teaches on Vulture Peak surrounded by great bodhisattvas and shravakas. You will also see that the surface of this Saha World is vast and flat, made of lapis lazuli.”

  Deep heart means the Saha World. Understand it with trust means not avoiding. Who would not understand with trust the forthright and truthful words of the Buddha?

  To encounter this sutra is a condition that ought to be understood with trust. The Buddha vowed to be born in this Saha World in order to understand the Lotus Sutra and his timeless life with trust in his deep heart.

  The Tathagata’s extraordinary power, compassionate power, timeless life power takes up your heart to lead you to understand with trust [his teaching that the life span of the Buddha is timeless]. The Tathagata’s power takes up your body, the entire world, buddha ancestors, all things, reality, skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, and the coming and going of birth and death, to lead you to understand with trust. This understanding with trust is to see the Buddha.

  Thus, know that you have the eye on top of the mind and see the Buddha; you attain the eye of understanding with trust and see the Buddha.

  Not only do you see the Buddha, but you see the Buddha, who always abides and teaches on Vulture Peak. Always abiding on Vulture Peak is no other than the Tathagata’s life span. Thus, see the Buddha, who always abides on Vulture Peak means that the Tathagata and Vulture Peak from the past always abide; the Tathagata and Vulture Peak from now on always abide. It is that the bodhisattvas and shravakas [who surround the Tathagata] also always abide. It is that his teaching always abides.

  You see that the Saha World with its lapis lazuli ground is vast and flat. Don’t sway in seeing the Saha World. A high place is vast and flat in the high place, and a low place is vast and flat in the low place. Where we are is a lapis lazuli ground. Do not look down on it as merely vast and flat.

  The surface of this Saha World is vast and flat, made of lapis lazuli is like this. If you don’t see where we are as a lapis lazuli ground, Vulture Peak would not be Vulture Peak, Shakyamuni Buddha would not be Shakyamuni Buddha. Understanding that where we are is a lapis lazuli ground is no other than understanding it with trust in your deep heart. It is to see the Buddha.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said to the assembly, “When you single-mindedly want to see the Buddha and do not spare your life, I appear on Vulture Peak together with the assembly of monks.”

  The single-mindedness spoken of now is not that of ordinary people or those in the Two Vehicles. It is the single-minded pursuit to see the Buddha. The single-minded pursuit to see the Buddha is Vulture Peak. It is together with the assembly of monks. When each of you at this very moment aspires to see the Buddha, you do so with Vulture Peak mind.

  Thus, a single mind is no other than Vulture Peak. How can a single body not come forth together with the single mind? How can a single body and mind come forth together?

  The body and mind are like this. Those who live timeless life, as well as those who live transient life, are also like this. In this way, you leave your self-sparing mind to the mind of only sparing the unsurpassable way. Thus, I appear on Vulture Peak together with the assembly of monks is the single mind aspiring to see the Buddha.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said to the assembly, “If you expound this sutra, you see me as Prabhutaratna [Many Jewels] Tathagata, and all other incarnated buddhas.”

  Expound this sutra means “Although I abide here permanently, with my miraculous power I keep confused sentient beings from seeing me, however near they may be.”

  On the front and back of the Tathagata of miraculous power, there is the power of you see me.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said to the assembly, “Those who maintain this sutra see me. They also see Prabhutaratna Buddha and all buddhas who share the same body.”

  Because the Tathagata is determined to maintain this sutra, he always recommends this sutra to you. When there are those who maintain this sutra, they invariably see Shakyamuni Buddha. Thus, we know that if you see the Buddha, you maintain the sutra. Those who maintain the sutra see the Buddha.

  Thus, those of you who maintain one verse or one phrase [of this sutra] see Shakyamuni Buddha, Prabhutaratna Buddha, and the incarnated buddhas. You receive the transmission of the treasury of the dharma, the true eye of the Buddha, and you see the life of the Buddha. You receive the eye going beyond, the eye on top of the head, and the nostril of the Buddha.

  [According to the Lotus Sutra:]

  Jaradhara Garjita Ghosha Susvara Nakshatra Raja Sankusumitabhijna Buddha said to King Subhavyuha, “Great King, know that a good teacher is a great cause and condition. Guided by a good teacher, you get to see the Buddha by arousing the aspiration for unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.”

  The great dharma assembly [of Jaradhara Garjita Ghosha Susvara Nakshatra Raja Sankusumitabhijna Buddha] is not yet over. Although we say buddhas of the past, present, and future, their past, present, and future are not the same as those of ordinary people’s view. Past is the top of your mind; present is your fist; future is the back of your brain.

  Thus, Jaradhara Garjita Ghosha Susvara Nakshatra Raja Sankusumitabhijna Buddha actualizes the top of his mind, sees the Buddha. The words see the Buddha mean this. Guided by a good teacher is to see the Buddha. To see the Buddha is to arouse the aspiration for unsurpassable, complete enlightenment. Arousing the aspiration for unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is, from head to tail, seeing the Buddha.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Those who practice virtue with gentleness and openness see me expounding dharma here.”

  Virtue means splattering mud and getting wet in water, or following waves to chase waves. To practice this is called the gentleness and openness of “You are like this. I am like this.” This is to see the Buddha in the mud, to see the Buddha with the heart of the waves. This is to encounter the Buddha who is expounding dharma here.

  Recently in Great Song China there are a great number of fellows with little seeing and hearing who call themselves Zen masters but don’t know the vertical and horizontal of buddha dharma. They merely memorize two or three phrases by Linji or Yunmen, regard these words as the entire path of buddha dharma.

  If buddha dharma were encompassed by a couple of phrases by Linji or Yunmen, it would not have reached this day. It is not possible to call Linji or Yunmen the most venerable in buddha dharma. Furthermore, those fellows nowadays who are short of phrases have not come close to Linji or Yunmen.

  Because they are dull, they slander buddha scriptures without studying and clarifying the meaning of them. They are not descendants of buddha ancestors and should be regarded as part of the flock outside the way. How can they reach the realm of seeing the Buddha? They cannot even reach the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. Those of you who are inside the house of buddha ancestors should not pay attention to those fellows who call themselves Zen masters. Instead, practice thoroughly and penetrate with your body the eye of seeing the Buddha.

  Rujing, my late master, Old Buddha Tiantong, said, “King Prasenajit asked Pindola, ‘Venerable Master, I hear that you personally have seen the Buddha. Is it true?’ Pindola responded by brushing up his eyebrows with his hand.”

  Then, Rujing taught in a verse:

  Pindola raised his eyebrows and answered the king’s question.

  No doubt he had personally seen the Buddha.

  Until now he has been worthy of offerings from the four quarters of the world.

  Spring is within a plum twig, bearing the snow—cold.

  Seeing the Buddha here doe
s not mean seeing the Buddha as self or seeing the Buddha as other, but it means seeing the Buddha [Shakyamuni]. Because one branch of plum blossoms sees one branch of plum blossoms, blossoms are open, bright and clear.

  The king’s question was whether Pindola had seen the Buddha and become a buddha. Pindola clearly raised his eyebrows. This was the proof that he had seen the Buddha. This should not be confused. This fact has not ceased until now, revealing that Pindola is worthy of offerings. Thus, the fact that Pindola had personally seen the Buddha cannot be doubted.

  The question Have you personally seen the Buddha? asked by the king of three hundred million people [Prasenajit] meant whether Pindola had seen the Buddha in this way. It is not seeing the thirty-two marks of the Buddha. Seeing the thirty-two marks of the Buddha can be done by anybody.

  There are a number of humans, devas, shravakas, and pratyeka-buddhas who do not know the meaning of truly seeing the Buddha [and say that they haven’t seen the Buddha]. It is just like saying that they have hardly seen a whisk being raised [teaching being given], although they see a whisk being raised quite often.

  To see the Buddha is to be seen by the Buddha. However hard you may try to hide it, your seeing the Buddha comes forth and lets itself leak out [be revealed]. This is how seeing the Buddha works. Endeavor with your bodies and minds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and investigate thoroughly the meaning of Pindola raising his eyebrows.

  Even if you lived together with Shakyamuni Buddha day and night for one hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand eons, if you did not have the ability to raise your eyebrows, this would not be seeing the Buddha. On the other hand, even if you are far away from the Buddha by hundreds of thousands of li and by over two thousand years, if you personally actualize the ability of raising your eyebrows, you have seen Shakyamuni Buddha since the time before the King of the Empty Eon. It is seeing one branch of plum blossoms, seeing spring in a branch of plum blossoms.

  Thus, personally seeing the Buddha is formally bowing three times, greeting with hands joined together, smiling, a fist striking thunder, sitting on the cushion in meditation posture.

  Venerable Pindola went to King Ashoka’s palace to receive a meal offering. After the king distributed incense to the monks, he bowed to Pindola and asked, “I heard that you have personally seen the Buddha. Is it true?”

  Pindola brushed up his eyebrows with his hand and asked, “Do you understand it?”

  The king said, “No, I don’t.”

  Pindola said, “When the Dragon King of Anavatapta Lake invited all buddhas and offered a feast, I was one of those who were present.”

  When King Ashoka asked Pindola if he had personally seen the Buddha, he was trying to see if the venerable teacher was actually venerable. Responding to this question, Pindola immediately brushed up his eyebrows. This is to actualize seeing the Buddha in this world. This is to personally show having become a buddha.

  Pindola said, When the Dragon King of Anavatapta Lake invited all buddhas and offered a feast, I was one of those who were present. Know that in the assembly of invited buddhas, the attendees of “only a buddha and a buddha” are as numerous as stalks of straw, flax, bamboo, and reeds. This is beyond the reach of arhats who have attained the four fruits, or pratyeka-buddhas. Even if such practitioners come, don’t regard them as members of invited buddhas.

  However, Pindola proclaimed that he was one of those who were present when all buddhas were invited. This is a boundless self-expression. It is clear that he did see the Buddha. When the Dragon King invited all buddhas, not only Shakyamuni Buddha but also countless and endless buddhas of the ten directions in the past, present, and future were invited. The buddhas who were invited personally saw Shakyamuni Buddha without separation. The point of seeing the Buddha, seeing the teacher, seeing the self, seeing yourself, is also like this.

  Anavatapta Lake is also called Annoktapta Lake, the lake of no suffering from heat.

  Baoning, Zen Master Renyong, said in a verse:

  Our Buddha personally sees Pindola,

  whose eyebrows are long, whose hair is short, and whose eyes look vulgar.

  King Ashoka was still suspicious.

  OM MANI SHRI SURYA [Homage to the jewel that shines like the sun].

  This verse does not present a complete expression, but I am quoting it for your further study.

  Zhaozhou, Great Master Zhenji, was once asked by a monk, “I heard that you personally saw Nanquan. Is it true?”

  Zhaozhou said, “A giant radish was here in Zhen Region.”

  The manifestation of this expression is proof that Zhaozhou had personally seen Nanquan. It is not having words or having no-words, not having teaching words or having conversational words. It is not raising the eyebrows or brushing up the eyebrows, but it is directly seeing the eyebrows. Even if Zhaozhou was a genius standing alone, he could not have said this without personally seeing Nanquan.

  Zhaozhou said, A giant radish was here in Zhen Region, when he was abbot of the Zhenji Monastery in Doujia Garden, Zhen Region. He was later given the title Great Master Zhenji. In this way, from the time when he practiced opening the eye of seeing the Buddha, he held the authentic transmission of the buddha ancestors’ treasury of the true dharma eye. When the treasury of the true dharma eye is authentically transmitted, the gentle and awesome presence of seeing the Buddha is actualized. Right here, see the Buddha enormously and magnificently.

  Presented to the assembly at Yamashi Peak on the nineteenth day, the eleventh month, the first year of the Kangen Era [1243].

  62

  ALL-INCLUSIVE STUDY

  THE GREAT WAY of buddha ancestors is to penetrate the ultimate realm, soaring with no strings attached or like clouds arising below your feet.

  This being so, “The world of blossoming flowers arises,” and “I am always intimate with this.” Accordingly, sweet melon has a sweet stem, bitter gourd has a bitter root. Sweet melon and its stem are sweet through and through. Thus, the way has been studied thoroughly.

  Xuansha, who would later become Zen Master Zongyi, was called upon by his master Xuefeng, who said, “Ascetic Bei, why don’t you go toward all-inclusive study?”

  Xuansha said, “Bodhidharma did not come to China. Huike did not go to India.”

  Xuefeng was deeply impressed with this.

  All-inclusive study here means to study by doing cartwheels, where “Sacred truth doesn’t do anything. What degrees can there be?”

  Nanyue, who would later become Zen Master Dahui, first went to meet Huineng, the Old Buddha of Caoxi. Huineng said, “What is it that thus comes?”

  Nanyue studied this lump of mud all-inclusively for eight years and finally presented a move to Huineng: “I understand now. When I first came here, you instructed me: ‘What is it that thus comes?’”

  Then, Huineng said, “How do you understand it?”

  Nanyue said, “Speaking about it won’t hit the mark.”

  This is the actualization of all-inclusive study, the realization of eight years [seven years and some months].

  Huineng said, “Does it depend on practice and realization?”

  Dahui said, “It is not that there is no practice and no realization, it is just that they cannot be divided.”

  Then Huineng said, “I am like this, you are like this, and all the buddha ancestors in India are also like this.”

  After this, Nanyue praticed all-inclusively for eight more years; counting from beginning to end, it was an all-inclusive study of fifteen years.

  To thus come is all-inclusive study. To open up the hall and see all buddhas and all ancestors where Speaking about it won’t hit the mark is all-inclusive study.

  Since entering into and seeing the picture, there have been sixty-five hundred thousand myriad billions of turning bodies of all-inclusive study. Leisurely entering the monastery and leisurely leaving the monastery are not all-inclusive study. Seeing with the entire eyeball is all-inclusive study. Getting all the way through is all-incl
usive study. To understand whether the face skin is thick or not is all-inclusive study.

  The meaning of all-inclusive study as asserted by Xuefeng does not mean that he encouraged Xuansha to leave the monastery, or go north or come south. His expression provoked the all-inclusive study of Xuan-sha’s words Bodhidharma did not come to China. Huike did not go to India.

  Xuansha’s words Bodhidharma did not come to China do not confusedly state that Bodhidharma did not come although he actually did come. They mean that there is not an inch of land on earth. This Bodhidharma is the tip of the life vein. Even if the entire eastern land appears to accompany him, his body is not turned, nor is it moved by the words. Because Bodhidharma did not come to China, he faces China. Even if China sees the buddha face, the ancestor face, it is not that Bodhidharma came to China. To grasp the buddha ancestor is to lose his nostrils.

  The lands do not lie to east or west. East-and-west has nothing to do with lands. Huike did not go to India means that to study India all-inclusively, you need not go to India. Should Huike go to India, he would miss his arm.

  What then is the meaning of Huike, the Second Ancestor, not going to India? He leaped into the eyeball of the blue-eyed one [Bodhidharma]; there was no need to go to India. Had he not leaped into the blue eyes, he should have gone to India. Plucking out Bodhidharma’s eyeball is all-inclusive study. To go to India or to go to China is not all-inclusive study. To visit Tiantai or Nanyue or to reach Wutai or heaven is not all-inclusive study. If the Four Seas and Five Lakes are not penetrated, it is not all-inclusive study. To go back and forth on the Four Seas and Five Lakes is not to allow the Four Seas and Five Lakes to study all-inclusively. By treading back and forth, you will make the road smooth, the ground beneath your feet will become smooth, but all-inclusive study will be lost.