francis h cook: enlightenment in dogen's zen

7/25/2019 Francis H Cook: Enlightenment in Dogen's Zen

1/27

THE JOURNAL

OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

BUDDHIST STUDIES

E D I T O R I N C H I E F

A .

K. Narain

University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

E D I T O R S

L. M. Joshi

Punjabi University

Patiala, India

Alexander W. Macdonald

Universite de Paris X

Nanterre, France

Bardwell Smith

Carleton College

Northfield, Minnesota, USA

Ernst Steinkellner

University of Vienna

Wien, Austria

Jikido Takasaki

University of Tokyo

Tokyo,

Japan

Robert Thurman

Amherst College

Amherst,

Massachusetts, L'SA

A S S I S T A N T E D IT O R

Roger Jarhon

Volume6 1983 Number 1


2/27

C O N T E N T S

I . AR T I C L E S

Enl igh tenmen t in Dogen ' s Zen , by Francis H. Cook 7

The P lace o f the Sudden Teach ing wi th in the Hua-

Yen Tradi t ion : An Inves t iga t ion of the Process of

Do c t r i n a l C h a n g e ,

by Peter N. Gregory

31

Morality in the

Visuddhimagga, by Dam ien Keown

61

C o n t e m p o r a r y L a y B u d d h i s t Mo v e m e n t s i n J a p a n ,

with Special Reference to the Lotus Sutra, by Tsu-

gunari Kubo 76

Before the Pra jna Schools : The Ear l ies t Known Chi

n e s e C o m m e n t a r y o n t h e

Astasdhasrikd, by Whalen

L ai

91

The Genera l iza t ion of an Old Yogic At ta inment in

Medieva l Mahayana Su t ra L i t e ra tu re : Some

Notes onJdtismara, by Gregory Schopen 109

I I . B O O K R E V I E W S

The Bodh isa t tva Doc t r ine in Buddh ism, ed i t ed and

i n t r o d u c e d by L eslie S. K awam ura 148

Contr ibuto a l io Studio Biograf ico de i Pr imi Gter -

S ton ,

by Ramon Pratt

151

Gedatsukai : I t s Theory and Prac t ice (A Study of a

Sh in to -Buddh is t Syncre t i c Schoo l in Con tempo

r a r y J a p a n ) ,

by Minoru Kiyota

154

A Study of the Twenty- two Dia logues on Mahayana

B u d d h i s m , by W. Pachow 157


3/27

5. Zen and Chr i s t i an : T h e Journe y be twee n , by John Dyk-

stra Husden

I I I .

P R E S I D E N T I A L A D D R E S S

1.

Preside nt ial A dd res s Civen on the Occasion of the

Fif th Conference of the Internat ional Associat ion

of Buddhis t S tudies , Her t ford Col lege , Oxford ,

Eng land , Augus t

1 6 - 2 1 ,

1982,

by Walpnla

Rahula

I V . N O T E S A N D N E W S

1.

A Rep or t on the 5 th Co nfere nce of the IAB S, H er t

ford Col lege, Univers i ty of Oxford, Oxford, Eng

land , Augus t

1 6 - 2 1 ,

1982 1

Con t r i bu to r s


4/27

Enlightenment in Dogen's Zen

by Francis H . Cook

Wri t ing and t each ing in the th i r t een th cen tu ry , t he Japanese

Zen master , Dogen Kigen , had the advantage of looking back a t

e igh teen cen tu r i e s o f the deve lopment o f Buddh i s t t hough t

and pract ice. He was part icularly wel l informed in earl ier Chi

nese Zen developments . His wri t ings show tha t he was on in t i

mate te rms wi th the grea t teachers of the Chinese l ineages , wi th

Zen l i te ra ture , and wi th the i ssues tha t occupied Chinese Bud

dh ists . I t is the re fo re part ic ularly w orth w hile to re ad his wri t

ings about prac t ice , the na ture of en l ightenment , and the l ike ,

because we can see in them how he appropria ted a lmost the

ent i re t rad i t ion and remolded i t wi th h is genius . On the one

hand, a l l h i s wri t ings echo wi th the words of Hui -neng, Chao-

chou , Yim-men , and o the r g rea t s ; on the o the r hand , we a re

struck with th e start l in g d ep th a nd sub t lety of his own th o ug ht

as he often goes far beyond his predecessors. To read his works

is to un de rs ta nd why he is con side red to be Ja pa n ' s mo st or ig i

na l th inker to da te .

With this in mind, i t i s surprising that he did not respond

di rec t ly to the ancient cont roversy concern ing whether en l ight

en m en t is gr ad ua l or su d de n . As is the case wi th the quest ion of

the importance of fa i th \ , for instance, no essay in theShobo-

genzo

is devoted to th is i ssue of the suddenness or gradualness

o f the en l igh tenment exper i ence , desp i t e the ve ry g rea t impor

tance in his wri t ing of

satori

t or

sho

IE . However, there is in

Shobogenzo

ab un da n t ma te r i a l whose cumula t ive we igh t can

supply an answer to th i s quest ion , wi th which Dogen never

direct ly at leastconcerned himself in his extensive wri t ings.

The confusion of Western or ien ta l i s t s concern ing the i ssue

of g radua l ve rsus sudden en l igh tenment i s nowhere more ev i

den t than when they wr i t e abou t t ra in ing and en l igh tenment in

7


5/27

D oge n's Zen. In on e recently p ub lishe d bo ok, it is said that

The ar is tocra t ic pr ies t Dogen (1200-1253) who lef t , the Ten-

dai m ona s tery for Ch ina and r e t ur ne d to es tab li sh the m edi ta

tive,

gradual school

of Soto Zen is gene ral ly c on side red the sec

ond fo und er o f J ap an ese Zen

1

[my em phas is ] . In an ot he r

rece nt bo ok, which is des ign ed as a col lege textboo k on world

religio ns, we find the stat em en t that By con trast [ to EisaiJ Do

gen derived his version of Zen from the Northern school [ in

China ] ,

wi th its do ct r in e of gra du al en l igh ten m en t . The au

th or ad ds , . . . Do gen was especially op po se d to su dd en en

l igh tenm en t o r en l ig h ten m en t a s som eth ing apa r t from med i

tat ion.

2

A no the r au tho r o f a book on Bu ddh is t ph i losophy

says,

Th ese two sec ts [N or t he rn and Sou the rn Ch inese Zen]

were probably the forerunners of the two main s t reams of Zen

that f lour ished la ter in both China and Ja pa n . The T sao - tun g

sect , which advocated 's i lent i l luminat ion ' and which probably

was inspired by the Northern sect and i ts Yogacara ideas , came

to be known as the Soto sect of Japanese Zen.

:

* These remarks

are surp r is in g, s ince it is gene ral ly kno wn that th e N o rt he rn

school , with i ts so-cal led teaching of gradual enl ightenment,

died out af ter several generat ions , leaving the f ield to the

Sou the rn s choo l o f sudden en l igh tenmen t . A ll of the later lin

eages , such as the Lin-chi an d Ts ao - tun g , a re desc end ed f rom

Hui-neng 's Southern school , and a number of l ineage char ts in

Ja pa n es e an d W estern sourc es show clearly that Do gen 's l ine is

t raced back through Yi ieh-shan Wei-yen , Shih- t 'ou , and

Ch ' ing-yuan Hs ing-ssu to Hui-neng.

1

Thus, the question is why

Western scholars categorize Dogen's Zen as a form of the Chi

nese N or th er n school an d as advo cat ing a form of gr ad ual

en l igh ten m en t . Par t o f my pu rp os e is to de m on s t ra te tha t th is

categorizat ion is incorrect .

I t is not hard to see why some writers believe that Dogen

was a representa t ive of a l ineage tha t promoted gradual en

l ightenment, because at f i rs t glance, the Soto s tyle does seem to

be a gradual is t ic approach to en l ightenment . Dogen 's ins is tence

on a lifetime of zazen practice in contrast to the dramatic,

kimn

approach of Rinzai Zen seems to point to a relaxed, le isurely

approach, lacking in the s trenuousness and intensi ty of Rinzai

pract ice; but to see this as a gradual approach is to miss the

intensi ty of zazen pract ice. Connected with this , there is the

8


6/27

charac ter iza t ion of Soto Zen as based on en l igh ten m en t f rom

the be gin nin g in con tras t to Rinzai 's en l igh ten m en t wi th a

beg innin g, an d the assu m ption may be tha t the form er s t resses

a gradual growth in enl ightenment whi le the la t te r s t resses a

sudden accession to it . However, this is to overlook what is

m ean t by en l ig h ten m ent f rom the beg inn ing . O the r ca tch -

phrases may a lso g ive a wrong impress ion . D.T. Suzuki ' s char

acterization of Rinzai as koan intr osp ecti on Ze n in con trast

with Soto si lent i l lum ina tion may play som e pa rt in the mis

un de rs ta nd ing . T h e charac te r iza t ion o f So to as fa rm er Zen as

op po sed to Rinzai as Ge nra l iss imo Zen a lso seems to con no te

a leisurely, progressive approach on the part of Soto.

Al l of the above charac ter iza t ions make some sense and

logically lead to the ass um ptio n that S oto Zen is a gr ad ua l a p

proach to enl ightenment , i f zazen medi ta t ion prac t ice is con

ceived as a

means

which resul ts in an eventual en l ig hte nm en t .

That is , the notion of meditat ion, as opposed to

koan

practice,

as well as the various catch-phrases used to characterize Soto

Zen, al l give the impression of a lengthy, progressive self-puri

f ication that wil l in theory culminate in the self- transformation

ca lled en l igh ten m en t . Th a t , however , is wh ere pa r t o f the p ro b

lem lies in the usual interpretat ion of Dogen's tradit ion, be

cause zazen medi ta t ion is not ins t ru m en ta l in na tu re , an d whi le

there are in fact gradualis t ic elements in his teaching, there also

is an im po rta nt s ud den is t or ien ta t ion , which is exp la ine d in

terms o ther than the emphasis on a l i fe t ime of medi ta t ion .

Also, par t of the pr ob lem is d ue to th in kin g of the enl ig hten

m ent expe r ience as a t em po ra l m a t te r ; pa r t o f my a r gu m en t is

that t ime is not a consideration as far as enlightenment in Do

gen 's Zen is concerned.

First , i t needs to be noted that despite the eventual Chinese

conse nsus to the effec t tha t en l ig ht en m en t is su dd en , the pr in

c ip le of gradual en l ightenment was he ld by some Buddhis ts ,

primarily in India, but also to some extent in China. The sys

tems of the

Abhidharmakosa

a n d B u d d h a g h o s a ' s

Visuddhimagga

are def in i te ly gradual is t , lay ing out a long and s t renuous pro

gra m of mo ra l dev elo pm en t (sl la ), m edi ta t ion prac t ices tha t in

themselves are gradual in consis t ing of pre l iminary t ranqui l l i ty

exercises (samatha-bhavana) followed by insight practices {vipa-

syand-bhavana), and culminat ing in pra jna , the la t te r be ing a

9


7/27

moment-by-moment , progress ive ins ight in to the val id i ty of the

four holy t ru ths and the three marks of condi t ioned being. The

Kosa points to the progress ive nature of the whole marga when

it says that La pe nse e pa r fu m e pa r le samatha (calme) peut

obteni r par lavipasyand la vimukti. .. .

r

' T his m ean s that ins ight

is preceeded by tranquil l i ty, which is the necessary condit ion

for the former . In the

vipasyand

pract ices , the obstacles pre

viously anesthet ized or t ranquil ized in

samatha

ar e definitively

destroyed one by one, as the meditator l i t t le by l i t t le perceives

the real i ty of the four holy t ruths and the three (or four) marks

of the condi t ioned. Consequent ly , the grasp of t ru th takes place

piecemeal and progress ively dur ing the ins ight pract ices , and

this insight gained in the course of insight pract ice, along with

the corol lary des t ruct ion of def i lements (klesa),is the co nt en t of

en l i gh t enmen t . T he r e f o r e , en l i gh t enmen t , de f i ned a s i n s i gh t

in to the four holy t ru ths and the marks of the condi t ioned, i s

g r adua l .

The medi ta t ion prac t i ces ou t l ined above re f l ec t charac te r

istic Ind ian a t t i tud es towa rds r i tual def i lem ent . The re lurks in

the background as a taci t presuppos i t ion a gnos t ic- l ike view of

man as essent ia l ly a pure , luminescent being t rapped in the

gross mater ia l wor ld of embodied form and natural funct ions .

Lib erat io n is usual ly de fin ed as free do m from the bod y an d i ts

d em an ds , which are conceived as obs tacles to l iberation f rom

which f reedo m is d e m an d e d . Given the corol lary view that

these mater ia l and psychic obs tacles are numerous and tena

cious , much t ime is required for thei r removal . Of ten, many

lifet imes are necessary for the complete removal of the obsta

cles.

Mahayana Buddhism redef ined the na ture o f the r e l ig ious

goal to a great extent . No longer was

visuddhi,

pur i f icat ion, the

object ; ra ther the goal was prajna , unders tood as the percep

t ion of univ ersal em pti ne ss . Prajf ia-insight is u n d er st o o d as a

sudden

percept ion of the nature of exis tence in i t s universal

empt iness , and th is includes the nature of moral and cogni t ive

faults

{klesa).

In th e real izat ion of the em pti ne ss of the se faul ts ,

the necess i ty of thei r gradual , p iecemeal removal was e l iminat

ed, for they al l vanished at one blow with the grasp of empti

ness . Now , a l tho ug h th is perc ep t io n is su dd en , the In d ian de

baters a t the Counci l of Lhasa argued that progress i s gradual ,

1


8/27

opp os in g the sud den is t pos it ion of the Chine se de lega te , Ma-

hayana . Why?

I t appears f rom the documents tha t come down f rom the

debate that the issue was not whether the t ransformative event

o f e n l i g h t e n m e n t per seis su dd en and to ta l bu t ra the r w heth er

i t is necessary to undergo a prel iminary moral and cogni t ive

pur i f ica t ion pr ior to the sudden ascens ion to en l igh tenment .

Kamalasl la , for instance, argues in opposi t ion to the Chinese

suddenis t pos i t ion tha t one must be thoroughly accompl ished

in the ten paramitas , which include mastery of moral , e thical ,

practical , and intellectual quali t ies, and in this he bases himself

on In d ian sc r ip tura l and exege t ica l l i t e ra ture . A nu m be r of

Mahayana texts , such as the

Dakibhumika

a n d

Samdhinirmocana

su t ras ,

dwell at great length on the six or ten stages of Bodhi-

sattva pract ice , each with its co rre sp on di ng pa ram ita . T h e la t

ter work, in fact , correlates each of the

bhumis

with a pa ram ita

and with a i^/?ayyana-insight practice, and then discusses how

the insight medita t ion of each s tage acts as an ant idote to such-

and-such a

kleia, vikalpa

(discursive thought) , e tc .

7

G radua l i sm

is evid ent in th is sche m a. Aside from the que st ion of the n at u re

of the cu lm ina t ing e n l ig h te nm en t , a cons ide rab le par t o f the

debates in Tibet and China seem to focus on the necessity of

th is p re l iminary , p rogress ive prepara t ion for the cu lmina t ing

m o m e n t .

I t is ent i re ly p ossible that the op p on en ts in th is d eb ate

would h ave ag ree d that en l ig ht en m en t i tself is a lways an d nec

essar i ly sudden, g iven i ts nature . T.R.V. Murt i makes the point

that

The Madhyamika concept ion of Ph i losophy as the per fec

tion of wisdom

(Prajndpdramita)

(non-dual , content less in

tu i t ion) p rec ludes progress and surpr i se . Progress impl ies

that the goal is reached progressively by a series of steps in

or de r , and tha t is can be m ea su red in quant i ta t ive te rm s .

Prajnd

is knowledge of the entire reali ty once for all , and i t

does no t depend on . . . p rev ious knowledge . A progress ive

real ization of the A bsolu te is thu s incom patib le . . . . I t i s,

however, possible to conceive of the progressive fall ing

away of the hindrances that obstruct our vis ion of the real .

But there i s ne i ther o rder nor addi t ion in the conten t o f

our knowledge of the rea l .

8

11


9/27

Murt i ' s acknowledgement of the poss ib le necess i ty for a pro

gress ive rem ova l ofobstacles to en l igh tenment re f l ec t s the domi

nant Indian concept ion of the re l ig ious pa th : f i r s t pur i f ica t ion ,

the n release . It is an essential ly conserv at ive p osi t ion a nd in

stark contrast to the Chinese radicals who, to s tate i t s imply, did

not bel ieve in the necessi ty of prel iminary purif icat ion. Others ,

inc lud ing W al ter Lie ben thal , have ar gu ed tha t N o school

ca l led i t se l f 'gradual .

, , ,

-

)

The reason is that a l l were well-enough

versed in the essentials to know that , by i ts nature, enl ighten

ment had to be a sudden, once-and-for-a l l mat ter . S t i l l , the

Indians , and some Chinese , he ld to the necess i ty of a progres

s ive removal of obs tac les to the goal . Others , l ike Tao-sheng

(5th century) , put forth a novel view based on an ent irely dif-

ferent se t of assumpt ions .

C h in e se B u d d h i sm u n d e rwe n t s e v e ra l imp o r t a n t d e v e lo p

ments , which eventual ly resul ted in a dist inct ive approach to

prac t i ce and en l igh tenment . One o f the mos t impor tan t was a

sor t o f phenomenolog ica l approach to the ques t ion o f the na

ture of enl ightenment and i t s re la t ionship to those ac t iv i t ies

usually categorized as pract ice (as dist inct from the object ive of

the p rac t i ce ) , and the re emerged a v iew of en l igh tenment tha t

devia ted f rom tha t of Indian Buddhis ts . According to the Chi

nese view, the meditat ing mind-body in i ts serenity, self lessness,

and absence of conceptual iz ing and evaluat ing , i s

itself,

at that

xiery time, in a s tate that exhibi ts the character is t ics of enl ighten

ment . Consequent ly , there i s no qual i ta t ive break be tween sa-

m ad hi and pra jna , w hich is wh at the au th or of the

Platform

Sutra seems to mean when he says,

Good f r iends , how then are medi ta t ion and wisdom al ike?

They are l ike the lamp and the l ight i t gives forth. If there

is a lam p, th er e is l ight ; if the re is no lam p, th er e is n o l ight .

The lamp is the substance of the l ight ; the l ight is the

func tion o f the l amp . T h us , a l tho ug h tney have two nam es ,

in substancethey are not tw o. M edi ta t ion [thig\ an d wisdom

[hui]ar e also lute th is

1 0

[emphas i s mine] .

Th is impor tan t passage f rom the

Tan ching

says in the most

expl ic i t te rms tha t means and end, samadhi and pra jna , a re in

fact the same thing, and in fact not means and ends at a l l .

Ra the r , wi th recourse to the common t'i-yung (substance and

12


10/27

func t ion) pa t te rn of th ink ing tha t pervades so much of Chinese

thought , the a rgument i s made tha t medi ta t ion , o r samadhi , i s

no t a separa te th ing , bu t , ra ther , the

modal

exp ression of th e

substa nce that is in na te prajna . Sh en -hu i c la ims that both m edi

ta t ion and wisdom are ident ical , each being an a l ternate expres

sion for the crucial state of wu-nien & & . Wu-nien, xvu-

hsin M

i> , the m ind tha t do es not dwell on d h ar m as , the m ind

tha t does no t ab ide any w her e , is what is m ean t by B ud dh a-

mind, and such a mind is the dis t inguishing character is t ic of

bo th medi ta t ion and wisdom.

The same unders tanding wi l l appear la te r in the wr i t ings

of Dogen, albeit in a radicalized and novel form, and the lan

guage of substance and funct ion wil l appear in s imilar form. In

both the Tan ching and the Shobogenzo, th e basic ide a is th e

same, and is rooted in the impeccable sources of Mahayana:

stated one way, i t is a denial of plural substances or essences,

becau se to see so m eth ing as a m od e of so m eth ing e lse is to den y

real , substant ia l d if ferences between the two and to aff i rm a

single reali ty th at m anife sts o r is ex pr es se d in var ious ways. In

both the

Tan ching

a n d

Shobogenzo,

sam adh i -m edi ta t ion is the

way or form that prajna takes . Sta ted another way, a l l th ings

are em pty , abso lu te no nb e in g , an d m edi ta t ion is mere ly o ne

way in which emptiness negates i tself in the form of t ime-space.

A li t t le later than the Platform Sutra, Chan m as te r H u i -ha i

r e m a r k e d ,

Should your mind wander away, do not fol low i t , where

upon your wander ing mind wi l l s top wander ing of i t s own

accora . Should your mind des i re to l inger somewhere , do

not fo l low i t and l inger there , whereupon your mind ' s

questing for a dwelling place will cease of i ts own accord.

Thereby, you wil l come to possess a nondwell ine mind, a

mind wnich remains in the s ta te of nondwell ing. I f you are

ful ly aware in yourself of a mind dwell ing on nothing, you

will disco ver tha t t h e re is ju st th e fact of dw elling, w ith

nothing to dwell upon or not to dwell upon. This ful l

awareness in vourself of a mind dwell ing upon nothing is

known as hav ing a c lear percep t ion of your own na ture . A

m ind w hich dwel ls upo n no th in g is B ud dh a- m ind . . . ,

12

In th is passage, the author makes a s ignif icant ser ies of corre la

t ions:

the medita t ive s ta te of not dwell ing on dharmas is sa id to

13


11/27

be a percept ion of one ' s own nature , and tha t same s ta te of

n o n d we l l i n g i s B u d d h a - m i n d .

This unders tanding tha t the mind in samadhi i s i t se l f Bud

dha-mind seems to be ref lected in the posi t ion taken by the

m onk , M ahay ana , in the T ibe t deb a tes , for in de f en d in g the

idea of sudden en l ightenment he r ings a ser ies of changes on a

c o m m o n t h e m e . B u d d h a - n a t u r e r e s t s a t t h e b o t t o m o f o u r b e

ing an d is revealed w hen false thou gh ts a re no long er en ter

t a i n e d .

1 3

It suffices to se p a ra te ones elf from false not io ns in

order to be in tegra l ly furn ished wi th the 37 components of

e n l i g h t e n m e n t (bodhi-pak a).

li

W he n a s ingle sense faculty re

tu rn s to its sou rce , the wh ole six sense facult ies are l ibe rate d (a

quota t ion f rom the Suramgama Sutra).

1

*

A second C hine se de ve lop m en t i s a coro l la ry of the po in t

m ad e abov e, an d s up p or ts i t. If the goal is a cer ta in qual i ty of

consciousness charac ter is t ic of samadhi and not a separa te ,

t ranscendent s ta te fo l lowing samadhi , what counts prac t ica l ly i s

the abi l i ty to achieve s ignif icant , rapid resul ts in meditat ion. In

the Chinese way of see ing th ings , some people seem to have a

natural ta lent for rapid progress , while others lack i t . Why this

is so was f requen t ly exp la ine d by recou rse to the ha nd y doc

t r ine of a s tock of mer i t accumula ted in prev ious l i fe t imes . The

obse rvat ion tha t ta lents differ is ref lected in T ao -sh en g 's te n

dency to speak of su dd en en l ig hte nm en t as grea t A: an d

small 'h .

I(>

I t is s ignif icant tha t while en l ig ht en m en t is

always

sudden , some peop le a t t a in sudden en l igh tenmen t qu ick ly and

others take a much longer t ime to achieve the same sudden

en l igh ten m en t . T h e f i rs t type of ind iv idual is la rge , the second

is smal l. T h e ma in poin t is , th ou gh , tha t en l ig h te nm en t is sud

de n for bo th types ; the re is no grad ua l en l ig h te nm en t . Also ,

however , whi le some take much t imeeven l i fe t imesto pre

pa re fo r the sudden en l igh tenmen t , o the r s do no t need the

lengthy prepara t ion . Thei r ab i l i t ies be ing grea t , they quick ly

ach ieve s amadh i and , consequen t ly , en l igh tenmen t . The s c r ip

tu ra l sou rce fo r th i s under s tand ing o f en l igh tenmen t i s the

Vimalaklrti Sutra:

O ne a t ta ins n i rva na w i thout des t ro ying the

moral and in te l lec tua l fau l t s {klesa)and wi thou t des t roy ing

the con d i t ione d . In o th e r words , en l ig h te nm en t is poss ib le

wi thout a pre l iminary program of mora l t ra in ing and re jec t ion

of the condi t ioned wor ld of b i r th and death . The Indian re jo in-

14


12/27

der to the Chinese pos i t ion a t the Lhasa debates indica tes what

t roub led the Ind ians , wi th the i r a ssumpt ions abou t the neces

sary process of becoming pur i f ied and enl ightened. The Indi

ans ins is ted on an adherence to the teachings of the twelvefold

sc r ip tu res and on a r igorous t r a in ing in the pa rami tas . The

Chinese keep insist ing that while al l that is necessary for th6se

of slight abili t ies, i t is not for those who are talented and capa

ble . This d is t inc t ion seems to ref lec t Tao-sheng 's ca tegor ies of

great and small abi l i t ies .

Th e re a r e o th e r imp o r t a n t d e v e lo p me n t s b e s id e s t h e two

ment ioned above , such as the p rominence in Chinese Bud

dh ism of the do c t r ine o f B ud dh a- na tu re . I t is im po r tan t for the

way in which the Chinese t rans la ted Indian Buddhism in to a

nat ive form, but i t l ies beyond the scope of this paper . With

these bas ic assumpt ions , the be l ie f in an immedia te sudden

e n l ig h t e n m e n t is p o ss ib le . If B u d d h a -m in d th e Ab so lu te is

the absolute , i t can have no gradat ions or par ts , and must be

acq uired or ac tua l ized to tal ly an d a t on ce . T ho se w ho believe

in Ins tan taneous I l lumina t ion dec la re tha t

li

is indivisible and

tha t wu f- ex pre sse s th at e xp er ie nc e (in w hich li appears) in

one final vision. As

It

is indivisible , the re ca nn ot be two acts in

which i t appears .

1 7

M o re o v e r , B u d d h a min d (or li) is defined

as nonde lus ive , nond isc r imina t ive consc iousness . To ach ieve

th is s ta te in samadhi in which the mind, l ike a br ight mir ror

tha t re f lec ts images c lear ly and wi thout d is tor t ion , does not

discr im inate or eva luate , is to ac tua l ize or see one 's B ud dh a-

nature . F ina l ly , some may do th is very quickly and o thers may

take a very long t ime, but the resul tant enl ightenment i s a lways

sudden and to ta l .

By the end o f the e igh th cen tu ry , a number o f Buddhis t

wr i t ings re f l ec ted the unders tand ing o f the na tu re o f en l igh t

enment descr ibed above, and they put for th the idea , in sharp

con t ras t to the o r thodox Ind ian v iew, tha t en l igh tenment i s

ach ieved a t the ve ry commencement o f Buddhis t p rac t i ce .

T h u s ,

for ins tance , Shen-hui says , in the n in th century ,

If in the f i rs t s tage of one 's spir i tual progress which con

sis ts of the ten assurances it , in on e's initial resolve to seek

per fec t wisdom, an ins tan t o f though t cor responds wi th

the t r u t h , o ne will imm edia te ly ach ieve B ud dh ah oo d . . . .

Th i s c la r i f i e s the mys te ry o f sudden en l igh tenment .

I N

15


13/27

T h u s ,

enl ightenment does not occur a t the end of the 52 s tages

(in the system of the Avatamsaka Sutra). Instead, i t is achieved

during the stages of assurance, which are the f i rst ten of the 52

stages, when one fi rst resolves to seek enl ightenment{bodhicit-

totpada). So m ew hat ear l ie r , Fa- t sang, the th i rd pa t r ia rch of the

phi losophica l Hua-yen school , c la imed exact ly the same, bas ing

his a rguments on the Hua-yen doct r ine of the ident i ty of cause

and effec t . Quot ing the

Avatnisaka Sutra,

he says, T he Bod hi -

sa t tva who arouses the thought of en l ightenment for the f i rs t

t ime i s a Buddha (Taisho vol. 9, p. 452). Why?

Because o f the wonder fu l p r inc ip le o f dependen t o r ig ina

t ion prior and subsequent are al l the same. If the prior is

ob ta ine d , the subs equ ent i s ob ta ine d . W hen the end is fin

i shed , then one penet ra tes to the bot tom of the beginning .

Also quot ing the sutra , he says,

The Bodh i sa t tva who pu t s fo r th the though t o f en l igh ten

m en t for the f irst t im e is ident ical with the Bu d d h a , equ al

to all the tathaeatas of the thre e time per io ds , . . . he ac

qui res the one body or ten bodies of the

tathagatas

an d the

uni form wisdom of the Buddhas of the three t ime per iods .

{Taiskd 9 .425) '

The above remarks concern ing the Chinese v iew of sud

den enl ightenment serve only as a preamble to the cent ra l con

cern of th is pa pe r , which is the na tu re of en l ig hte nm en t in th e

Zen master Dogen's wri t ings. They are necessi tated because of

the requi rement to put h is teachings in a proper perspect ive ,

since he was not only an innovator but also an inheri tor of the

con t inenta l t ra d i t ion . His own con t r ibu t ions to teach ing con-

e rn ing en l igh tenment , t he re fo re , can on ly be p roper ly apprec i

a ted agains t the background of h is predecessors and the i r re

marks on the subjec t . The keystone of h is teaching on the

subjec t is the doct r in e of in t r ins ic , un iversa l B u dd h ah o o d, an d

with this as a basis , he develops his unique teaching concerning

pract ice an d en l ig ht en m en t . This is ex pre sse d in several key

terms in his wri t ing:

genjo-koan

( the present ing of th ings as they

a re % & & )

zenki

( to tal dy nam ic funct ioning & ) , an d

gu-

jin

( total pe ne t ra t io n %


14/27

the l igh t o f the fundamenta l concep t o f in t r ins ic Buddha-

n a t u r e .

However , the t e rm tha t bes t expresses Dogen ' s approach

to the religious life is shusho itto

M.

^ , which tran slates as

the one ness of pract ice an d en l ig hte nm en t , an d which is very

s imi lar to the concept of the oneness of ting a n d hui in the

Platform Sutra.

Its

locus classicus

is the seven th qu es t io n-a nd -

answer exchange in the

Beneddwa.

In reply to th e qu est io n, As

for the pract ice of /a /en, those who have not yet real ized the

B ud dh a D ha r m a ach ieve it by nego t i a t ing it by m eans o f / a / e n .

W hat is the use of zazen for som eo ne wh o has a l ready achieved

t he B ud dh a D ha r m a? DOgen r ep li e s,

To th ink tha t p rac t i ce and en l igh tenment a re no t iden t i ca l

[ ^ ] is a no n-B ud dh is t v iew. In the B ud dh a D ha rm a,

pract ice and real izat ion are one [ ? J. Be cause yo ur

pract ice r ight now is pract ice based on real iza

tion lit

Jr.

cofe , th e t ra in in g of the be gi nn er is the totali ty

of in t r ins ic real izat ion. Therefore , even though you are

ins t ruc ted to pract ice , do not th in k that th er e is any a t ta in

ment outs ide of pract ice

itself,

because pract ice must be

considered to point direct ly to intr insic real izat ion. Be

cau se real izat ion is alre ad y real izat ion based on p rac

tice ^.LSOiiiE , th e rea liza tio n is b o u n d le ss ; if pr ac tic e is

pract ice based on real izat ion, pract ice has no beginning. In

thi s way, Sak yam uni a nd M ahakasya pa bo th prac t i cea the

prac t ice of real izat ion dai ly, an d f todhidharma an d H ui-

neng were l ikewise drawn to pract ice based on enl ighten

ment . Al l the examples of the pat r iarchs are s imi lar . S ince

th er e is no pract ice ap ar t f rom at ta inm en t , we are for tu

nate in di rect ly t ransmit t ing a por t ion of wonderful prac

t ice , an d th ere fo re even the begin ne r ' s neg ot ia t ion of the

Way is the acquis i t ion of one port ion of intr insic enl ighten

m e n t .

2 0

T h e t e r m

shushoittd,

or

shushd ichi-nyo,

seem s to oc cu r only

in Bmdowa, bu t t he r e a r e many pas s ages t h r oughou t Sholw-

genzo, address ing the ques t ion of the r e la t ionsh ip be tween

pract ice and real izat ion, which ref lect the approach of the

Bendowa passage and clarify it . In Fukan zazengi, Dogen's first

p iece of wr i t ing, where universal

{fukan)

r ecom m end a t i ons f o r

prac t i ce a re p resen ted , the au thor says ,

17


15/27

That which we call za/.en is not a way of developing con

centration. It is simply the way of peace and wellbeing. It is

prac t ice which measures your

satori

to th e fullest a n d in

Fact issatori

itself.

It is the preserving of things just as they

a re[genjo-koan] and in it you will no longer be trapped as in

a basket or cag e. . . . Know that the D ha rm a is i tself pre sen t

and tha t confus ion and d is t rac t ion are e l iminated r ight

f rom the beginning. '

2 1

This passage c lear ly expresses the re la t ionship be tween prac

t ice and a t ta inment as Dogen unders tood i t : prac t ice i s not a

m eans to en l igh ten m en t o r a t t a inm ent , bu t is tha t which mea

sures, or actual izes, one 's already existent enlightenment. In fact,

says D ogen , zazen prac t ice is en l ig hte nm en t . The pre ce din g

passage from

liendowa

expresses the same re la t ionship , speak

ing in terms of identi ty, nondualism, etc . In both passages, i t is

said that practice is an expression of intrinsic realization (again

echo ing the moda l l anguage o f the Platform Sutra), and actual

realization is an exp res sio n of pra ctic e. Practice specifically

zazenis merely the way in which intr insic real izat ion mani

fests i tself in t ime and space. Realizat ion, on the other hand,

takes the form of objectivity, dispassion, clarity, and a sense of

bein g total ly h er e no w in the activity of zazen . C on seq ue ntly ,

tho ug h a d is t inc tion is m ad e between prac t ice an d rea l iza t ion ,

w hen o ne is pr es en t , the o th er is a lso pre se nt . In te rm s of the

t radi t ional d is t inc t ion be tween in t r ins ic enl ightenment and ac

qu ired en l ig ht en m en t , in which the la t te r has been seen as a

m eans whereby the fo rm er is no ur i sh ed and deve loped , in Do-

gen ' s v iew, in tr ins ic en l igh ten m en t is acqu i red en l ig h ten m en t ,

and vice-versa.

A fur ther c lar i f ica t ion occurs in an impor tant passage

from the Sesshinsessho c h a p t e r o fShdbdgenzo:

As for the Buddha Way, when one f i rs t a rouses the

tho ug ht [o f en l igh ten m en t ] , it is en l igh ten m ent ; w hen one

achieves perfec t e nl i gh ten m en t , it is en l igh ten m en t . F i rs t ,

last, an d in betw een ar e al l en l ig ht en m en t. . . . T h e foolish

th ink tha t a t the t ime one is s tudying the Way one does not

a t t a in en l igh tenment , bu t tha t on ly when one has acau i red

satori

is it en l igh ten m en t . Th ey d o no t und er s ta nd tha t ,

when one mus te r s one ' s en t i r e mind and body and p rac

tices the B u d d h a W ay, th is is the ent i re ty of the B u d dh a

Wa y .

2 2

18


16/27

H er e, it is express ly d en ied that en l ig hte nm en t occ urs as a d is

t inct event at the end of the whole eons-long career of the

Bo dhisat tva . E nl ig hte nm en t is a fact even in the perso n wh o

firs t directs his thought to at taining the Way. In fact , i t is pres

ent even in the individual who has not s tar ted pract ice . There

are numerous passages in

Sfwbdgenzd

that eq ua te real ization or

enl ightenment wi th such events or s ta tes of mind as assurance

(or faith

is

), a ro us in g an asp i ra t ion for en l igh ten m en t

(hoLsu

bodaishin), a n d h o m e - d e p a r t u r e (shukke). All of these are t radi

t ional ly conceived as being very ear ly s tages in the rel igious

ca re er of th e as pi ra nt , an d i t is s ignif icant tha t D og en claims

that a ll ar e equ ivalen t to real izat ion and B u d d ha ho o d . The

reason can be found in h i s t each ings concern ing Buddha-

nature . Al l events or s ta tes of mind, such as assurance, home-

de p ar tu re , an d the l ike , a re concre te m ani fes ta t ions of an u t t e r

sel f - t ransc end enc e th at Do gen refers to as shinjin datsuraku,

cas t ing off min d and b ody , an d th is se l f - t ransc end enc e is the

ac tua l i za t ion of Buddha-na ture o r r ea l i za t ion .

The whole ques t ion of pract ice and real izat ion, and thei r

r e la t ionsh ip , is insep arab le from the doc t r ine o f B ud dh a-

na t u r e .

2

* In var ious chapters ofShdbdgenzd, and part icular ly in

th e

Busshd

ch ap te r , the con t inen ta l C hinese doc t r in e tha t ho lds

that a ll beings possess B u d d h a -n a tu re is com plete ly t ran s

form ed a nd radical ized in con form ity with Do gen 's a t te m pt

absolute ly to overcome al l dual isms, such as those of acquired

and i n t r i n s i c en l i gh t enmen t , B uddha and o r d i na r y be i ngs ,

pract ice and enl ightenment , and the l ike . Dogen 's point , and i t

i s one of the hal lmarks of h is brand of Buddhism, i s that a l l

be ingsareB ud dh a , and by be i ngs Dogen m eans bo t h s en t ien t

and insen t i en tevery th ing wi thout excep t ion . On one l eve l ,

d is t inct ions remain and are s igni f icant ; however , on another

level , al l dis t inct ions are united and resolved, insofar as al l

th ings are merely the presencing of th ings as they are , or the

presencing of real i ty {genjd-kdan). In Dogen 's wel l -known

reading of the passage f rom the Nirvana Sfdra that says that all

s en t i en t be ings possess Buddha-na ture , the meaning comes to

be All ar e sent ient beings an d the to ta l bein g is B u d d h a-

na ture .

2 r )

T his m ean s tha t the to ta l be ingjust as it isis B ud dh a ,

an d tha t is the m ea nin g of

genjdkdan.

The dua l ity o f Bu dd ha s

an d o th e r beings is abo lished in a refu tat io n of the so-called

19


17/27

Senika here sy, wh ich pos tula tes the exis tence in being s of

som e kind of spi r i tual pr inc iple that is d is t ingu ishab le from th e

body and that , moreover , survives biological death . Dogen to

tal ly rejects such a dual ism, and instead speaks of a s ingle real i

ty, the total i ty of exis tence, which manifests dynamical ly in ex

act ly the forms that cons t i tu te our exper ience, whatever those

forms may be. In th is way, even the t radi t ional d is t inct ions ,

such as t rue and fa lse , or real and i l lusory, are abandoned. In

Shobogenzo Gabyo,for ins tan ce, the pa inte d pic ture of rice cakes

is claim ed to be ju st as real , ju st as ul t i m ate , as rea l cake s.

T ru e , on e can no t ea t the p a in ted cakes , bu t tha t is bes ide the

poin t . Th e po int is tha t each th ing a r ice cake , a p ic ture of r ice

cakes ,

a thought or feel ing, the family dog, delus ionas i t d is

closes itself in th at p ar tic ul ar for m is, as

genjo-koan,

B u d d h a ,

and t he r e is no B u dd ha a pa r t f rom t hese t h i ngs . T he r e f o r e t he

beginner in the Buddha Way i s no l es s Buddha than one a t a

la ter s tage of t ra ining, and real izat ion as Buddha is consequent

ly present a t the very incept ion of re l ig ious t ra ining.

T hi s bein g the case , zazen -pract ice for D ogen is no lon ge r

thought of as discontinuous with i ts resul t or as an act ivi ty that

nur tu res some la ten t , undeve loped , inner sp i r i tua l en t i ty . Our

t rue na tu re , says D ogen rejec t ing ear l ie r Indo -Ch inese m eta

phors and thei r impl ied dual ismis not l ike a seed. Zazen is ,

rather , an act ivi ty through which we test i fy to, actual ize or real

ize ( in the sense of m ak in g real ) tha t wh ich we real ly ar e,

total ly, at al l t imes. Dogen is par t icular ly fond of the term

sho U ,

wh ich ca rr ies w ith i t the se m ea ni ng s, as well as thos e of

p r ov i ng an d au t he n t i ca t i ng ( and o t h e r cogna t e s ). T o be

en l ig h ten ed , the re fo re , is no t a m at te r o f t r ans form ing onse lf

gradua l ly , o r even suddenly , in to someth ing one was no t be

fore ,

bu t , r a th er , a m at te r o f se l f - au then t i ca tion . Se l f - au then t i

ca t ion m ean s be ing the au then t i c se lf tha t is B ud dh a , an d

zazen is , in al l i ts dimensions, the way one actual izes the authen

ticself. Whether unders tood as the formal , cul t ic act iv i ty of the

medi ta t ion hal l or as the more extended zazen that ideal ly per

vad es all act ivit ies , i t is th at act ivi ty in which o ne truly a p p ro p ri

ates and savors what one actual ly is .

Dogen uses a number o f synonyms for zazen , such as

kaiin

zammai &ft = ftfc an d jisho zammai S a = it$ , ea ch of w hic h

adds ano ther d imens ion to the bas ic concep t o f zazen . An im-

2


18/27

por tan t synonym i s

jijuyu zamm ai

S ^ ffl

E .

ftfc , t he sa m ad hi

that has the function of al lowing the individual to enjoy his

e n l i g h t e n e d n a tu r e /

2 6

T h e m ode l for th is sam ad hi is the pos t -

en l igh tenment medi ta t ion o f the h i s to r ica l Buddha , who , ac

cording to scriptural s tatements , is said to have continued to s i t

in samadhi for seven (or , a l ternately, twenty-one) days af ter

becoming en l igh tened . At tha t t ime , he was no t engaged in

samadhi in o rde r to a t t a in en l igh tenment , fo r the en l igh ten

m ent had a l ready occu r red . T h e m edi ta t ion was , ins tead , a

free,

spor t ive ac t iv i ty through which the Buddha enjoyed the

present fac t of h is enl ightened nature . This i s why Dogen, in

Fukan zazengi, says, D o not s it in m ed itat io n in o rd e r to becom e

a Buddha, for be ing a Buddha has nothing to do wi th s i t t ing or

ly ing do w n. W ith the basic assu m pt ion of an enl ig hten ed na

tu re tha t is an ter ior to prac t ice , Dogen the n pro cee ds to use th is

m od el for zazen pra ct ice as he u n d er st an d s i t; that is, as an

act iv i ty tha t ac tua l izes an a l ready-exis tent enl ightenment and

applies i t to the concrete affairs of everyday l i fe . Consequently,

to be injijuyu zamm ai is to ac tua li ze the B ud dh a-n a tu re tha t one

is.

If this sounds l ike some of the s tatements of the Platform

Sutra,

i t i s not surpr is ing , for Dogen had read tha t work , and

was crit ical of i t , but sti l l reflected its fundamental insights in

his own wri t ing , despi te h is own innovat ions . The fo l lowing

passage f rom the Chinese work para l le ls Dogen 's th inking in

severa l impor tant ways:

Good f r iends , my teaching of the Dharma takes medi ta t ion

(ting)

and wisdom

(hui)

as its basis. Never under any cir

cumstances say mis takenly tha t medi ta t ion and wisdom are

di f ferent . They are a uni ty , not two th ings . Medi ta t ion

itself is the substance of wisdom, wisdom itself is the func

t ion of m edi ta t ion . At the very m om en t w hen t he re is wis

dom, then medi ta t ion exis ts in wisdom; a t the very mo

ment when there i s medi ta t ion , then wisdom exis ts in

medi ta t ion . Good f r iends , th is means tha t medi ta t ion and

wisdom are al ike. Students , be careful not to say that medi

tation gives rise to wisdom or that wisdom gives rise to

medi ta t ion , or tha t medi ta t ion and wisdom are d i f ferent

f rom each o ther .

2 7

Like the passage ci ted earl ier , this passage ref lects the t'i-yung

21


19/27

pa t te rn o f th ink ing abou t the re la t ionsh ip be tween p rac t i ce and

at ta inment . I t denies any d i f ference in substance or essence

between them, explici t ly aff irms their identi ty, and conceives of

zazen act ivi t ies as being the manner in which wisdom (or Bud

dh a-m in d) is ac tua l ized in con cre te af fa i rs .

Dogen suspec ted the

Platform Sutra

of being a forgery,

2

*

and part of the reason for this is that i ts teaching of kensho

hii*k se em ed to be at va ria nc e with w ha t D og en saw as th e tr u e

s i tua t ion . The idea of

kensho,

see ing one 's na tu re , impl ies a

very fun da m en ta l d ual ism , in tha t th er e is a na tu re which is

B ud dh a , an d som eth in g e lse tha t sees . Co nsequ en t ly , the re is

a f u n d a m e n ta l d u a l i sm of B u d d h a a n d n o t -B u d d h a . Ho w e v e r ,

Do g e n ' s point d'appui for everyth ing he had to say about the

B u d d h a Wa y wa s t h e u n d e r s t a n d in g t h a t t h e r e is o nly B u d d h a ,

and the re fo re the asse r t ion o f someth ing o r someone see ing

B u d d h a c o n t r a d i c t e d h i s u n d e r s t a n d in g . He u n d o u b te d ly b e

l ieved tha t n o one as em in en t as th e Six th Pat r ia rch could have

used this kind of language. Part of Dogen's radical tzat ion of the

cont inenta l t radi t ion consis ted in the overcoming of any h in t o t

dualism implied in the idea of kenshoby taking m ost ser iously

the idea tha t Al l a re sent ient be ings an d all a re B ud dh a-

n a t u r e .

If th is is the case that the re is only Bu dd ha th en what

can see ing m ea n? O n the on e h an d , it m ust m ean tha t it is

B ud dh a who sees , and fu r th e rm or e , the s i tua t ion m us t be on e

in wh ich B u d d h a sees B u d d h a . But even this is too li teral an

unders tanding of the na ture of the event or process ca l led ken

sho, for the re is no B u d d h a th a t can be seen or even co nce ptu

al ized. Se eing , in th e f inal analysis , m ea ns bei ng , an d to see

one ' s t rue na tu re means to be one ' s t rue na tu re . Zazen , o r

jijuyu

zammai,

is the ac tua l iza t ion and concre te appl ica t ion of one 's

t r u e n a tu r e .

The teaching of the oneness of prac t ice and rea l iza t ion was

for Dogen a logical and rel igious consequence of his radical iza-

t ion of the do c t r in e of Bu dd ha -n a t u r e , and it is an im po r tan t

pa r t o f the demys t i fka t ion and demytho log iza t ion o f en l igh t

e n m e n t th a t c h a r a c te r i ze s J a p a n e se B u d d h i sm . This p ro c e s s

has cont inued down to the twent ie th century in the Soto t radi

t ion , and i t has taken the form of a genera l re luc tance to con

s ider enl ightenment as in any way divorced f rom the wor ld of

22


20/27

life an d d ea th . O n th e on e ha nd , it is a pr im e ex am pl e of the

way in which Far Eastern Buddhis ts appl ied the seminal teach

ings of Nagar juna and the su t ras tha t p reach empt iness . On the

o th er h an d , it is a no te w or thy e xa m ple of the mo re gene ra l

Buddhologica l work of unpacking the pr imi t ive symbols o f

B ud dh a , en l igh tenm en t , and the l ike , exp lo r ing them , and

drawing ou t the i r po ten t ia l . I have a l ready d iscussed Chinese

Buddh o log ica l th ink ing w ith r ega rd to en l ig h ten m en t , and

need no t repea t my d iscuss ion here . Much more Chinese ph i lo

sophical work played an important par t in the process of br ing

ing en l ig h te nm en t and n i rvan a dow n to ear th . The deba tes and

w r i tings o f the N or the rn W ei, Su i, and ea r ly T a n g con ce rn ing

w heth er the abso lu te is on ly p u re or a m ix tu re of pu re and

impure, and the consensus as i t is ref lected in the

Ta-ch'eng ch

,

i

hsin lun,

is on e pa r t of th is wo rk. T h e wo rk of th e H ua-y en

thinkers , such as Chih-yen and Fa-tsang, consis ted in par t in

creat ing a phi losophical ra t ionale for the teaching of the ident i

ty of absolute and relative (i .e . li H. a n d shih f> o r k'ung '# and

yii ii

) . Basing himself on cer ta in wel l-known scr iptural pas

sages such as th e on e tha t says tha t T h e

tathagata-garbha

t r ans

m ig ra tin g in th e six realm s of exis tenc e is called 'se ntie nt be

ings , '

Fa- tsang was able to demonstra te that the to ta l i ty of

being is the cosmic Dharmakaya. ' -

8

The effect of this kind of

work was fa r - ra ng ing for the S ino-Ja panes e Bu ddh is t t rad i t ion ,

but one effect was that of removing the other-worldly , u t ter ly

t r anscenden t conno ta t ions tha t had h i the r to c lung to en l igh t

enm en t and n i rvana .

The Chinese and Japanese Buddhis t came increas ing ly to

th ink of the en l igh tened ind iv idua l no t as someone who had

a t ta ined a rea lm a pa r t f rom an d t ran sce nd en t to the wo r ld , bu t ,

ra th er , as so m eo ne who rem ain ed co mple te ly in the wor ld a nd

tota l ly involved in his tory. He had not t ranscended the world ,

becau se the world itse lf is n irv an a; he had in stead t ra ns ce nd ed

th e

self,

or , in Do gen ' s w ord s , d r op pe d off m ind and body .

Compare Ind ian a r t i s t ic represen ta t ives of en l igh tenment wi th

typ ica l Chinese ones . Ind ian Buddhas and Bodhisa t tvas a re

royalty dress ed in jewe ls and c row ns; or , s i t ting in m ed ita t io n,

they exude a loofness and wi thdrawal . The Chinese f igures of

Puta i , Hanshan , and Shih- te a re shown s t ro l l ing noncha lan t ly

among butchers and wine dr inkers , l aughing , a t ease , the i r fee t

23


21/27

covered with the dust of the s treets . They exemplify in the most

g raph ic way the Chinese appropr ia t ion o f the t each ing o f the

iden t i ty o f n i rvana and samsara , fo r en l igh tenment has been

brough t down ou t o f the c louds , demys t i f i ed , and humanized .

As the above remarks have a t t empted to show, en l igh tenment

is no t som e ineffable , un im ag ina ble , t ra n sh um an event tha t lies

a t the culm inat io n of H erc ul ea n ef for ts . I t is rea l ized h er e a nd

now , in th e w orld , in th e act of self-forget t ing cal led m ed ita

t ion .

T h o u g h e n l ig h te nm en t has lost its o the r -w or ld ly odo r , th is

does not mean tha t Dogen did not be l ieve tha t enl ightenment i s

impor tant . However , in h is wr i t ings i t i s presented in the te rms

of everydayness , wi th no h in t of i t s be ing a separa te order of

being, my st ic ism, or an a l te red s ta te of consciousne ss .

W hen h e re tu rn ed f rom C hina and was asked wha t he had

l e a rn e d u n d e r C h a n m a s t e r Ju - c h in g , h e r e p l i e d , I le a rn e d

tha t my eyes ar e hor izo nta l and my nose is vert ical . H e is very

fond o f speak ing o f en l igh tenment in the homel ies t o f t e rms :

The everyday l i fe of the [enl ightened] pa t r ia rchs i s noth ing

but dr inking green tea and ea t ing p la in , boi led r ice .

3 0

T o be

enlightened means to l ive a rather ordinary l i fe of such act ivi

t ies as eat ing and drinking, but such events are l ived in total

at tent iveness, with mind and body cast off , so that the food and

the act of eat ing are total ly total ly real ized or penetrated

{gu-

jin ft IS ) . C on seq ue ntly , they are k no w n no t as less w orth y or

holy than some other aspect of l i fe or a more spir i tual l i fe

bey ond the w or ld , no r as def i led , no r as m er e th ing s , but ,

ra ther , as comple te and perfec t jus t as they are , which is Bud

dh a . En l igh ten m en t conseque n t ly is s t r ipp ed o f the m ys tica l-

t r a n sc e n d e n t a l , t h e su p e rn a tu r a l , t h e e x t r a o rd in a ry . Ho we v e r ,

it is necessary; D oge n 's car ee r as a Zen teach er , h is jo u rn ey to

China , and the resolu t ion of h is own exis tent ia l d i lemma began

when he solved the ques t ion tha t p lagued h im as a young man:

I f a l l be ings are Buddha f rom the beginning, then why did a l l

the Buddhas and pat r ia rchs prac t ice so hard a l l the i r l ives? The

answer is that real izat ion or actual izat ion makes al l the differ

ence in the way we experience our l ives.

En l ig h t e n m e n t , a s Do g e n u n d e r s to o d i t, is n o th in g m o r e

than a profound a t -one-ness wi th the event a t hand, in to ta l

openness to i t s wonder and perfec t ion as manifes t ing absolute

24


22/27

real i ty , and this a t -one-ness in tota l openness is what is meant

by sa m ad h i. T h is pr oce ss (for I believe tha t it is a pro ces s a n d

not a on e- t im e spec tacula r even t ) is , acco rd ing to Do gen , t ime

less.

The processive nature of the real izat ion consis ts in the fact

tha t t he a t -one -ness o r immedia t e expe r i ence mus t be r epea t ed

over an d over as each new event occurs , an d consequ ent ly th ere

can never be an end to pract ice as a conscious commitment to

real izat ion. In this way, there is something of the gradual is t ic

approach in Dogen 's Zen . However , accord ing to h im, the ac tu

al realization is t imeless each t ime i t occurs. From the point of

view of the realization

itself,

i t has ne i ther an tecedent nor con

sequent , fo r the rea l ized eventsipping the tea , for ins tance

engulfs a l l o ther events and swal lows up past and future . Do

gen calls this t imelessness of realization nikon ifd v , o r N o w .

No w is no t an abs t rac t , razo r - th in qu an tu m of t ime forever

moving forward and separat ing past f rom future . In fact , i t

does not even exis t apar t f rom the concrete real izat ion mo

men t -by -moment o f each even t , and may be synonymous wi th

the real ized eve nt . As an abso lute N ow , it th ere fo re crysta l

l izes and focuses within i tself al l t ime and being, and there is , in

that No w , n o th in g e lse . W he n on e s ide is real ized, says

D oge n, the o th er s ide is ob scu red . (ippo o sho sum toki wa, ippo

wa kurashi)

:u

In

Shobogenzo Gyoji

he says , T h e t im e w hen c on

t inuous prac t ice

{gyoji)

is ma nife sted is w hat we call 'Now . ' *

2

T h u s ,

whi le there is a gradual is t ic t inge to real izat ion, the abso

lute nowness of real izat ion seems to preclude categor iz ing i t as

e i the r g radua l o r sudden .

How might en l igh tenment in Dogen 's wr i t ings be ass imi la t

ed to the t rad i t iona l ca tegor ies of sudden and gradua l , wi th

their several variat ions? If i t has to be categorized, i t has to be

said to be sudden, because i t i s s imul taneous with , and in fact

ident ical wi th , pract ice . That is , pr ior to pract ice , there is no

rea l iza t ion , and one ' s in t r ins ic Buddhahood i s no t ac tua l ized .

When one begins to pract ice , even a l i t t le , real izat ion becomes a

l ived fact . One may perform cer ta in act ivi t ies that enhance the

possibil i ty of realization, but these activi t ies are not realization;

realization is actu alized in th e form of prac tice, which is no n e

o the r t han ac t ive Buddha

(gyobutsu

frfl* ). However, as I have

remarked above , rea l iza t ion has to occur over and over , end

less ly , as eac h ev ent is ex pe r ie nc ed in se lf less op en ne ss , an d

25


23/27

thu s th er e is a gr ad ua l e lem en t in the pract ice in the sense t ha t

the individual progresses l i t t le-by-li t t le in skil l in actualizing

B u d d h a - n a t u r e .

In t r in s i c en l ig h ten m en t , says D o gen , is w on de r fu l p rac

t ice , because in t rins ic en l ig h te nm en t is bo th the gr ou nd of

pract ice and is expressed in the form of pract ice . As was re

marked earlier , practice, in i ts own turn, is always practice of

e n l i g h t e n m e n t ^ i E co ^ . T h e e n l i g h t e n m e n t o r B u d d h a - n a

ture that is the ground of pract ice is thus the

point d'appui

of the

religious l ife, but, as I have shown elsewhere,

3 S

the o ve rw he lm

ing em pha s is in Do gen ' s teach ing is on prac t ice ra the r tha n

at t a in m en t or real izat ion, and , inde ed , it is wh at ch aracte r izes

h is b r an d of B ud dh ism . I t is exp ressed th ro ug ho u t h is wr i t ings

in his concern for the smallest details of r i tual or l i turgical

act ivi ty , formal zazen, manual labor , ea t ing, bathing, and dress

ing, using th e l ibrary, an d the l ike . Pr ee m in en t , of co urs e , is the

cons tan t emphas is on regula r , in tens ive zazen as the hear t o f

the re l ig ious life an d the way of a ll the Bu dd ha s an d patr i

a rchs . It is this emphasis on zazenspecifically in the form of

shikan taza

that gives his Zen its pe cu lia r flavor. H e re , zazen is

tota lly s t r ipp ed of its o l de r , t rad i t ion al , ins tru m en tal funct ion

and comes to be e levated to the very essence of the re l ig ious

life, as the be-al l and end-al l of the Buddha Way. I f real izat ion

is ident ical with th e sa m ad hi

oi'jijuyu zammai,

then to be enl ight

ened means cons tan t ly to deve lop the power of samadhi , and

this de ve lo pm en t has no en d as far as D oge n is co nc er ne d. I t is

th is emphas is on cons tan t ly deve lop ing samadhi tha t may have

led va r ious Wes te rn com m enta to r s to cha rac te r i ze en l igh ten

m en t in th is form of Zen as gr ad ua l . H ow eve r , if by gr ad ua l is

m ea nt e i the r that real izat ion is necessari ly pr ec ed ed by prel im i

nary mora l pur i f ica t ion , sc r ip tura l s tudy , and some sor t

oi'vipa-

syand-Yxke

s tudy of ce r ta in Buddhis t t ru ths , o r tha t en l igh ten

ment i tse lf may be acquired progressively and piecemeal (which

ar e the two possible m ea nin gs of gr ad ua l ) , the n the re is no

way tha t en l igh tenment can be gradua l in Dogen ' s Zen . For

want of a bet ter term, le t us cal l Dogen 's v iew of enl ightenment

one o f sudd en ly - sud den ly - sudde n ly , o r pe rha ps sudden ly

t ime af ter t im e. I t is un iq ue to D og en .

One f inal point needs c lar i f icat ion, and that is the term

e n l i g h t e n m e n t itself. I have used tha t t e rm th roughou t th i s

26


24/27

paper , a long with a l ternate express ions that I bel ieve convey

bet ter the nature of the exper ience that has been the subject of

the pa pe r . T he se express ion s a re r ea l iza t ion an d ac tua liza

t ion as r e la ted to in t rins ic B ud dh a- na tu re . Dog en uses the

t e r m s

sho

IE ,

satori

If , a n d , to give the San skri t form ,

anuttara

samyak sambodhi,the h ighes t , per fec t en l igh ten m en t . T h e la t

ter is the final and per fec t en l ig ht en m en t th at com es a t the

culminat ion of the Bodhisat tva 's ages- long career , and i t i s gen

erally fel t in Buddhism in general that no one achieves i t in the

present l ife- t ime. I t is always in the future, and Dogen, l ike al l

Buddhis t s in the S ino-Japanese t r ad i t ion , r e ta ined the concep t

out of piety, but was not really concerned about i t . However , at

t imes ,

perhaps in rhetor ical imprecis ion , he speaks of present

a t t a in men t a s anuttara samyak sambodhi, an d , ind eed , he m ay

have bel ieved that the re is only on e en l ig hte nm en t , by wh ateve r

term it was given. However , his favori te term is sho, realiza

t ion , au then t ica t ion , proof, evi den ce , etc. H e also uses

the te rm

satori,

an d som etim es it seem s to refer to a m or e de

fin itive t ran sfo rm at io n tha n is de no te d bysho.A gain , how ever ,

he seems to use the two terms in terchangeably . I t may be poss i

b le to see a h ierarchy of enl ightenment exper iences in the use

of the th ree te rms , r ang ing f rom sho,as the re cu rr e n t actualiza

t io n o f B u d d h a n a tu r e , t o

satori,

which may de no te a m ajor ,

r a ther d ramat ic t r ans fo rmat ion , to the f ina l , comple te en l igh t

enment ages hence, which remains only theoret ical and ideal .

But , as I hav e re m a rk e d, an d as is c lear from som e of th e

passages quoted above, Dogen seems to have bel ieved that wi th

e i th e r

sho

or

satori

the ind iv idua l a t ta ins the on ly en l igh ten m en t

th ere is, an d th is may be pa r t of his dem ytho logiz ing w ork . T h e

point , though, is th is : nei ther

satori

as separate f rom

sho

nor

annuttara samyak sambodhi seems to have assum ed the im por

tance of

sho

in the fo rm of B ud dh ism he tau gh t and wro te

abo ut . Per fect , com ple te en l ig ht en m en t is a lmost inconceivable

an d, wh at is m or e, is ter r ib ly re m ot e f rom today 's con ce rns .

Satori,

in the sense in which it is used in the Rinzai tradition,

and as dist inct f rom sho, may be a w onde r fu l exp er ien ce and

may deepen the exper ience a t ta ined in

sho,

b u t w ha t is finally

impor tan t , and tha t which charac te r izes Dogen ' s teach ing , i s

the cons tan t , r ecur r ing ac tua l iza t ion o f Buddha-na tu re in sa -

madhi, which is the realization called

sho.

H en c e , t h e ch a r ac te r -

27


25/27

izat ion of th is ap pr oa ch to prac t ice as en l ig hte nm en t f rom the

beg inn in g , in con t ras t to the en l igh ten m en t wi th a beg in

ning of Rinzai Zen.

Final ly , i t i s noteworthy tha t the venerable teaching of sud

d e n e n l ig h t e n me n t i n t h e fo rm r e c o n c e p tu a l i z e d a n d d e e p e n e d

by Dogen served very well his mission of creating a universal ,

practicable rel igion suited to the needs of the masses. His cen

t ra l t each ing o f un ive rsa l Buddhahood , the oneness o f p rac t ice

and realization, and the conduct of the ordinary affairs of l i fe

as a means o f express ing in t r ins ic en l igh tenment accompl i shed

severa l impor tan t th ings . F i r s t , i t made en l igh tenment a rea l

possibil i ty for common people, by el iminating i ts older associ

a t ions o f remoteness , improbab i l i ty , and ex t raord ina r iness , and

showing that , on the contrary, i t was available to ordinary folk,

tha t i t was re la ted to ord inary problems, and tha t i t could be

pursued with in the context of ord inary l i fe . The s imilar i ty be

tween Dogen 's teaching and those of Suzuki Shosan and Ikkyu,

for ins tance , l ies in the idea tha t en l ightenment is mere ly a

cer ta in manner of tak ing care of one ' s ra ther ord inary l i fe , not

someth ing mys te r ious and ou t o f reach to p la in peop le . Thus ,

such a hum aniza t ion an d demy s t i fka t ion o f en l igh ten m en t a lso

tended to e l imina te the doub t o r anx ie ty over the o rd ina ry

man's abil i ty to achieve the genuine, ful l goals of the rel igious

life.

Th e ig n o ra n t , s t u p id , a n d u n wa sh e d a r e n o l e s s Bu d d h a s

than Monju or Fugen, and have the means of ac tua l iz ing tha t

Buddhahood whi le p lant ing r ice or cu t t ing wood. F ina l ly , re l i

g ion becomes poss ib le for the average person in tha t , u l t imate

ly, th e only re qu ir em en t is a s teadfa st as su ran ce or fai th tha t

one is a l ready tha t than w hich no th i ng is m ore su pr em e o r

wonderfu l , tha t one has an innate d igni ty and perfec t ion , and

that these can really be actualized through the self less at tention

to the mundane s t ruc tu res and demands o f da i ly l i f e . In th i s

way, Dogen's way is s tr ikingly similar to those of Shinran and

Nichiren , and const i tu tes an important par t of the re l ig ious

revo lu t ion o f the Kamakura pe r iod .

NOTES

1.

Thomas Hoover,Zen Culture(New York: Vintage Hooks, 1977). p. 53.

28


26/27

2.

J o h n A . H u t c h i n s o n , Paths of Faith (New York: McGraw-Hil l , 1969) ,

p p . 52 and 254.

3. Da vid Ka lu p a h a n a ,

Buddhist Philosophy

(H on olu lu: Universi ty Press of

Hawaii) , 1976, p. 174.

4. For instance, Phi l ip Yampolsky, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patri

arch, Miura and Saski ,Zen Dust, and some of I ) . T . Suzuki ' s wri t ings. Japanese

sources, such as the Zen Shujiten, also contain extensive l ineage cha rts .

5.

Louis de LaVallee Poussin , t i \ ,L'A bhidhannakosa de Vasubandhu (Paris:

Paul Ge uth ne r , 19 23 -19 31 ) , c:h. 6 , p . 30 1 .

6. Paul Demieville,

Le Connie de Lhasa

(Paris, 1952).

7 . L t ienne Lamot te , ed . and t i \ ,

Samdhinirmocana, L'Explication des mys-

teres (Lou vain: B ure au du M useo n, 1935). CI . , for instanc e, p . 236 for a

co rre latio n of the 10 stages with th e fou r puri ficatio ns {visuddhi).

8 . T .R .V. Mur t i , The C entral Philosophy of Buddhism (L o n d o n : Ge o rg e

Allen and Unwin, 1955) , p . 220.

9 . W al te r L ieben tha l , A Biography of Chu Tao -she ng . Momimenta

Nipponica,

11 (October, 1955), p. 90.

10. Yampolsky ,

Platform Sutra,

p. 137.

11 . Jacques G erne t ,

Entretiens du Mat/re de Dhyana Chenhouei du Ho-tso

(Hanoi , 1949) , p . 50.

12 . John Blofeld, The Zen Teachings of Hui-hai on Sudden Illumination

(Lon don : R ider and Com pan y) , 1962 , p . 56 .

13 . Demievi l le , Connie, p. 95.

14.

Ibid.

, p. 60.

15 .

Ibid., p. 43.

16. W al te r L ieben tha l , Th e W or ld Con cep t ion ol Ch u Tao -she ng ,

Monumenta Nipponica, 1 2 - 1 3 ( 1 9 5 6 - 5 8 ) , p p . 2 5 7 - 2 5 8 .

17.

Ibid., p. 89.

18 . Wing- ts i t Chan , ed . and comp. , A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

(Princeton Universi ty Press . 1963) , p . 440.

19.

Francis H. Cook , Fa- tsan g 's T reat ise on the Five D octr ines (u np ub

lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1970), pp. 500, 504. Origi

nal in

Taislio

no . 1866 , p . 505 . b -c .

2 0. My trans la t ion , based on that of N or m an W addell and M asao Abe in

th e Eastern Buddhist.

2 1 . Francis Dojun Cook, How to Raise an Ox (Los Angeles: Center Publi

cations, 1978), p. 97.

2 2 . Shdbdgenzd sesshiusesshd, in Nakamura So ich i , Zenyuku Shdbdgenzd,vol.

2 (Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1972) , p . 202.

2 3 .

Do g e n ' s r e m a rk s c o n c e rn in g B u d d h a -n a tu re a n d its r e l a ti o n sh ip to

ph en om en al ex is tence is d iscussed in many places . See, for instance, M asu-

naga Re iho ,

The Soto Approach to Zen,

Hee-j in Kim,

Dogen Kigen: Mystical

Realist, a n d T a k a sh i J a m e s Ko d e ra , T h e B u d d h a -N a tu r e in Do g e n ' s S h o b o -

gen/.o, Japanese journal of Religious Studies, 4, no . 4 (De cem ber, 1977), pp .

2 6 7 - 2 9 2 .

2 4. Th is t rans la t ion o f the te rm genjd-kdan was suggested by T.P. Kasulis,

29


27/27

in T he Zen Ph i losop her : A Review Art ic le on Dogen Sch olarsh ip in Engl i sh ,

Philosophy East and West, 28, no. 3 (July, 1978), p . 368.

2 5 .

See the t rans la t ion o i

Bussho

by No rm an W addel l an d M asao Abe in

The Eastern H uddhist,

8 , no . 2 , pp . 94 -1 12 . ; 9 , no . 1; pp . 87 -1 0 5 ; and 9 , no . 2 ,

p p .

7 1 - 8 7 .

2 6.

Do gen refers to th i s sam ad hi in

Bejidowa.

See the t ranslat ion by Wad

del l and Abe in the Eastern Buddhist, 4 , no . 1 (May, 1971).

2 7 .

Yampo l sky ,

Platform Sutra,

p, 135.

2 8 . Hee-j in Kim, Dogen Kigen: Mystical Realist (T ucs on: Univers i ty of

Arizona Press , 1975) , p . 68-69 .

2 9 .

Franc i s H . Cook ,Hua-yen Buddhism: T he JewelMeto f India (Pennsylva

nia State Universi ty Press , 1977), ch. 7 .

30 .

Shohogenzo

genjo-koan.

Ha k u y u T a i z a n M a e z u m i ,

The Way of

Everyday

Life (Los Angeles : Cen ter Publ ica t ions , 1978) . A recent t rans la t ion .

3 1 .

C o o k ,

How to Raise an Ox,

p. 176.

32 .

C o o k , How to Raise an Ox, is a t ran slat io n of 10 p rac t ice- orie nte d

chap te rs f rom

Shohogenzo,

wi th t he t rans l a to r ' s own in t e rp re t i ve com m en t s

a d d e d .

3

francis h cook: enlightenment in dogen's zen

Documents