Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

by Zen Master Dogen

  Shakyamuni Buddha said, “All buddhas and bodhisattvas always abide in the practice and make it their sacred womb.”

  In this way, all buddhas and bodhisattvas make these four abodes of mindfulness their sacred womb. Know that it is the sacred womb of bodhisattvas of enlightenment equal to that of buddhas, and it is the sacred womb of bodhisattvas of wondrous enlightenment.

  Buddhas who are beyond the stage of bodhisattvas of wondrous enlightenment also make the four abodes their sacred womb. Bodhisattvas who leap beyond the bodhisattvas whose enlightenment equals that of buddhas, and those of inconceivable enlightenment, also make these four abodes of mindfulness their sacred womb. Indeed, the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of all buddhas and all ancestors are just these four abodes of mindfulness.

  The four right stoppings are also called the four right efforts. They are: Not arousing an unwholesome action that has not arisen, stopping an unwholesome action that has arisen, arousing a wholesome action that has not arisen, and allowing a wholesome action that has arisen to increase.

  In regard to “not arousing an unwholesome action that has not arisen,” there is no clear definition of an unwholesome action. It has been called this merely in accordance with the lands and realms. And yet, “not arousing what has not arisen” has been called buddha dharma and has been authentically transmitted.

  According to the theory of those outside the way, an unwholesome action that has not arisen is rooted in the permanent self that has not sprouted. However, it is not so in buddha dharma.

  For now, ask yourself: where does the unwholesome action lie before it arises? If you say that it lies in the future [apart from the self], you will remain an outsider of the way who holds a nihilistic view. If you say that the future comes and becomes the present, it is not a statement of buddha dharma; the past, present, and future would be confused. If the past, present, and future are confused, all things would be confused. If all things are confused, the reality of all things would be confused. If the reality of all things is confused, [transmission between] “only a buddha and a buddha” would be confused. This being so, we don’t say that the future will later become the present.

  Ask yourself further: What do you regard as an unwholesome action that has not arisen? Who knows this and sees this? If you can know and see this, there must already be a moment that has not arisen and a moment that has not notarisen. If so, you cannot call it something that has not yet arisen, but rather you should call it something that has already arisen.

  You should study not arousing an unwholesome action that has not arisen without following the views of those outside the way. An accumulated unwholesome action that fills the sky [whole world] is called an unwholesome action that has not arisen. That is not arousing an unwholesome action. Not arousing is “speaking of the permanence of all things yesterday and speaking of the impermanence of all things today”[beyond the discussion of permanence and impermanence].

  In regard to “stopping an unwholesome action that has arisen,” has arisen means entirely arisen. Entirely arisen means half arisen. Half arisen is rising right now. Rising right now is fully immersed in rising, leaping beyond the top of rising.

  Stopping an unwholesome action that has arisen is Devadatta falling into hell while being alive, and Devadatta receiving a prediction of enlightenment while being alive. It is entering into a donkey womb while being alive, becoming a buddha while being alive.

  Take up the meaning of this teaching and study about stopping. Stopping is stopping by leaping beyond and going through stopping.

  “Arousing a wholesome action that has not arisen” means being filled with your face before your parents are born, clearly taking up the matter before things emerge, understanding what is before the King of the Empty Eon.

  In regard to “allowing a wholesome action that has arisen to increase,” it is not that you increase a wholesome action that has arisen, but that you allow a wholesome action that has arisen to increase. It is seeing the morning star and letting others see the morning star. It is the eye becoming the morning star.

  It is like [Mazu] saying, “For thirty years after the barbarians’ invasion, the monastery has not been short of salt and vinegar.” Because you let a wholesome action increase, it has already arisen. Thus, the valley is deep and the dipper handle is long. Because he [Bodhidharma] was, he came [to China].

  The four elements of supernormal power are: the supernormal power of desire, the supernormal power of mind, the supernormal power of effort, and the supernormal power of contemplation.

  The supernormal power of desire is the intention of body-mind to become a buddha, to sleep well, to be the self, and to bow to you.

  The supernormal power of desire is not limited to the causes and conditions of body-mind. Rather, it is like a bird flying in the boundless sky, or a fish swimming at the bottom of deep water.

  The supernormal power of mind is walls, tiles, pebbles, mountains, rivers, and the great earth. It is every part of the three realms. It is a brilliant red bamboo or wooden chair.

  Because we cannot exhaust using the supernormal power of mind, there is buddha ancestor mind, mind of the ordinary and sages, mind of grass and trees, and the mind that changes. Fully exhausting mind is the supernormal power of mind.

  The supernormal power of effort is walking straight ahead on top of a one-hundred-foot bamboo pole. Where is the top of a one-hundred-foot bamboo pole? It is beyond straight ahead and beyond grasping.

  It is not that there is no one walking straight ahead. Where is right here? You speak of stepping forward and stepping backward. At the very moment of the supernormal power of effort, the entire world of the ten directions arrives, following the supernormal power of effort; the entire world of the ten directions reaches, following the supernormal power of effort.

  In regard to the supernormal power of contemplation, all buddha ancestors have vast karma consciousness and are not based in any particular place. There is body contemplation, mind contemplation, perception contemplation, straw sandal contemplation, the self before the Empty Eon contemplation.

  The supernormal power of contemplation is also called the four aspects of the fulfillment of wishes. It means no hesitation.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Arriving without moving forward is called the fulfillment of wishes.”

  Thus, the supernormal power of contemplation is as pointed as the tip of a gimlet, and as sharp as the blade of a chisel.

  The fivefold root is the root of trust, the root of effort, the root of mindfulness, the root of samadhi, and the root of wisdom.

  Know that the root of trust is not self, not others. It is not forced by the self, nor is it created by the self or led by others. Because it is not established by the self, it has been intimately entrusted throughout east and west.

  The entire body embodying trust is called trust. Trust invariably follows and is followed by the stage of the buddha fruit. Without being at the stage of the buddha fruit, trust is not actualized.

  So, it is said [in the Treatise on Realization of Great Wisdom], “Trust makes it possible to enter the great ocean of buddha dharma.” Where trust is actualized, buddha ancestors are actualized.

  The root of effort is to reflect on just sitting. Ceasing is unable to cease, being greatly occupied and yet not being occupied. Occupied and not occupied are the first month, the second month.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said, “I always make an effort. That is why I have attained unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.”

  Always make an effort is the entire past, present, and future, from head to tail. I always make an effort is I have attained unsurpassable, complete enlightenment. I have attained unsurpassable, complete enlightenment, therefore I always make an effort.

  If not so, how would it be always make an effort? If not so, how would it be I have attained? Teachers of treatises and scriptures do not see or hear the meaning of this. How could they have studied it?

  The root of mindfulness is the red fles
h ball of a decayed tree. A red flesh ball is called a decayed tree. A decayed tree is the root of mindfulness.

  What the self has searched for is mindfulness. There is mindfulness at the time of having a body. There is mindfulness at the time of having no mind. There is mindfulness with mind. There is mindfulness with no body.

  The life root of the entire earth person is the root of mindfulness. The life root of the entire ten directions buddha is the root of mindfulness.

  There are multiple persons in a single mindfulness. There are multiple mindfulnesses in a single person. However, there is a person with mindfulness, and there is a person without mindfulness.

  It is not that a person always has mindfulness. It is not that mindfulness is always hanging on a person. May it be so, there is virtue in maintaining the root of mindfulness and thoroughly experiencing the root of mindfulness.

  The root of samadhi is refraining from touching the eyebrows and brushing up the eyebrows. Thus, it is beyond obscuring cause and effect, and beyond falling into cause and effect.

  From this root of samadhi, you enter the donkey’s womb, the horse’s womb.

  It is like a stone wrapped around a jade. Do not say the entire stone is a jade. It is also like the earth topped with the mountain. Do not say the entire earth is the mountain. Even so, you leap out and leap in from the top of the mountain.

  The root of wisdom is not known beyond the knowledge of buddhas in the past, present, and future. But it is known by badgers and white cows. Do not say why this is so. This cannot be explained. It is just like breath going through nostrils or a fist having fingertips.

  A donkey remains a donkey. A well sees a well. Thus, a root succeeds in a root.

  The fivefold power is the power of trust, the power of effort, the power of mindfulness, the power of samadhi, and the power of wisdom.

  The power of trust is to be fooled by the self and have nowhere to escape. It is to be called by someone else and turn your head around. It is to be just here from birth to old age. It is letting go of falling down seven times and falling down eight times. Trust is like a crystal that purifies the water [it is put into]. Transmitting dharma and transmitting the robe are trust. It is transmitting buddhas and transmitting ancestors.

  The power of effort is to speak of what action cannot express, to act what speaking cannot express. Thus, when speaking one sun, there is nothing like speaking one sun. When acting one sun, there is nothing like acting one sun. Effort within effort is the power of effort.

  The power of mindfulness is to be a coarse person by grabbing another’s nostrils. Thus, nostrils grab the person. It is to hurl a pearl and attract a pearl, to hurl a tile and attract a tile. Not yet hurling is worth receiving thirty blows. Even if people in the world use it, it will not wear out.

  The power of samadhi is like a child having a mother or a mother having a child. It is like a child having a child or a mother having a mother.

  However, it is not like exchanging the head with the face or buying gold with gold. It is just that singing becomes louder and louder.

  The power of wisdom is deep in time. It is like a boat meeting the river crossing.

  Thus, it was said in ancient times [in the Lotus Sutra], “It is like the river crossing meeting a boat.”

  The meaning of this phrase is that the river crossing cannot be separated from a boat. That the river crossing does not hinder the river crossing is called a boat. Spring is long and ice melts.

  The seven limbs of enlightenment are: the selection limb of enlightenment, the effort limb of enlightenment, the joy limb of enlightenment, the retreat limb of enlightenment, the letting-go limb of enlightenment, the samadhi limb of enlightenment, and the mindfulness limb of enlightenment.

  In regard to the selection limb of enlightenment [as in the poem “Engraving Trust in the Heart”], “Even if there is a hairbreadth of difference, you are as far away as heaven from earth. This being so, the ultimate way is not difficult, it is just that selection is necessary.

  The effort limb of enlightenment is not to take advantage in the marketplace. Prices are set and values are known for buying and selling. It appears to be bending your body and pushing others, but even the entire body is not crushed when it is beaten. Before you have sold a turning word, you encounter a customer who buys a turning mind. Before a donkey matter is done, a horse matter arrives.

  The joy limb of enlightenment is an old woman’s mind intimate with drops of blood. The great compassionate one with one thousand arms and eyes [Avalokiteshvara] is quite busy. In the snow of the twelfth month, plum blossoms begin to leak out their fragrance, predicting the cold assembly [of monks] in the following spring.

  And yet, the joy limb of enlightenment is vibrant and full of laughter.

  In regard to the retreat limb of enlightenment, when you are with yourself, don’t form a group with yourself; when you are with others, don’t form a group with others. It is in the spirit of “You have not attained what I have attained.” It is like speaking with blazing clarity, traveling through other types of beings.

  In regard to the letting-go limb of enlightenment, it is like saying, “Even if I bring it forth, you may not accept it.” It is also like saying, “A Chinese person learns a Chinese way of walking. A Persian person looks for ivory.”

  In regard to the samadhi limb of enlightenment, by concentrating on things that are about to arise, you have the eye of seeing things that are about to arise. The self pokes the self’s nostrils. The self grabs the rope [through the nostrils], and the self pulls the rope. Thus, you get to tame a single water buffalo.

  In regard to the mindfulness limb of enlightenment, a pillar walks in the sky. The mouth looks like an oak leaf and the eyes are like eyebrows. In the candana [incense] tree forest, candana is burned. In the lion’s cave, a lion roars.

  The eightfold noble path limb [of enlightenment] is also called the eightfold noble path. It consists of: the right view path limb, the right thought path limb, the right speech path limb, the right action path limb, the right livelihood path limb, the right effort path limb, the right mindfulness path limb, and the right samadhi path limb.

  The right view path limb is hiding the body within an eyeball. This being so, the body before [this life] must embody the eye of the body before. Because it magnificently sees the self in the past, it actualizes the fundamental point. It is what has been intimately seen in the past. Those who do not hide the body within an eyeball are not buddha ancestors.

  In regard to the right thought path limb, when you hold a right thought, all buddhas in the ten directions emerge. Thus, the emergence of the ten directions, the emergence of all buddhas, takes place at the moment of holding a right thought.

  Although the moment of holding a right thought is not the self and is beyond others, at this very moment when a thought is held, you get to Varanasi [where the Buddha first taught]. Varanasi is where this thought is.

  An ancient buddha [Yaoshan] said, “Think not-thinking. How do you think not-thinking? Beyond thinking.”

  This is right thinking, right contemplation. Sitting and breaking through the cushion is right thinking.

  In regard to the right speech path limb, a mute is not a mute to the mute. A mute does not make an expression among people, but people in the mute world are not mutes. They do not look for sages [outside of themselves]. They do not add anything to their own spirits.

  This is to study hanging the mouth on the wall, hanging all mouths on all walls.

  The right action path limb is leaving the household and practicing the way, entering a mountain and attaining realization.

  Shakyamuni Buddha said, “The thirty-seven wings of enlightenment are a monk’s action.”

  A monk’s action is neither the Great Vehicle nor the Lesser Vehicles. Among monks, there are buddha monks, bodhisattva monks, shravaka monks, and so on.

  Those who have not left the household do not succeed in the right action of buddha ancestors, nor do they authentically
transmit the great way of buddha dharma. Although laypeople study the way as laymen and laywomen, there is no precedent for their mastering the way. At the time of mastering the way, people invariably leave the household. How can those who cannot bear to leave the household succeed in the rank of buddhas?

  Nevertheless, many of those who call themselves Zen monks in Great Song China have said for a couple of hundred years that the study of the way by the laity and the study of the way by home leavers are the same. Those who say such things are dogs who take in the urine and excrement [property] of laypeople.

  At times they say to kings and ministers that there is no difference between the minds of rulers and the minds of buddha ancestors. The kings and ministers, without knowing authentic speech and true dharma, rejoice greatly and grant them the titles of masters, and so on.

  Monks who make such statements are Devadattas. In order to eat the saliva and mucus of kings and ministers, they utter such childish, crazy words. How deplorable! They are not family members of the Seven Original Buddhas, but are beasts and demons. They are like this because they don’t know the body-mind study of the way, don’t study, and don’t have the body-mind of leaving the household. They are like this because they are ignorant about kings and ministers governing with dharma, and they do not even dream of the great way of buddha ancestors.

  Layman Vimalakirti, although he personally encountered the Buddha, had much he did not express and study. Layman Pangyun studied with some ancestors, but was not allowed to enter Yaoshan’s chamber and was not as good as Mazu of Jiangxi. He stole the credit for studying but did not possess the fruit of it.