Introductory Lectureson Zen Training*

Yasutani Hakuun安谷白雲 (1885–1973)

Yasutani Roshi is the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan三宝教団, the “Three Treasures Religious Or-ganization”, a school derived from both the Rinzaiand Soto traditions of Japanese Zen.

*Translated and edited by Roshi Philip Kapleau, disciple of theauthor. Originally published as chapter 1 of The Three Pillars ofZen, Beacon Press, Boston, 1965. The present text includes somemodifications of later editions, with thanks to the Rochester ZenCenter.

1

Contents

1 From the translator’s Intro-duction

2 Theory and Practice of Zazen3 Precautions to Observe in

Zazen4 Illusory Visions and Sensations5 The Five Varieties of Zen6 The Three Aims of Zazen7 Individual Instruction8 Shikan-taza只管打坐9 The Parable of Enyadatta10 Cause and Effect are One11 Oneness and Manyness12 The Three Essentials of Zen

Practice13 Aspiration

1 From the translator’s Introduction

Since modern man, as Yasutani-roshi points out,lacks the faith and burning zeal of his predecessors inZen, he needs a map which his mind can trust, chart-ing his entire spiritual journey, before he can moveahead with confidence. For these reasons Harada-roshi, Yasutani-roshi’s own master, devised a seriesof introductory lectures on Zen practice some fortyyears ago, and it is this material which forms the basisof these lectures by Yasutani-roshi.

These lectures are more than a compendium of in-structions on the formal aspects of zazen, i.e., sitting,breathing, and concentration. They are an authorit-ative exposition of the five levels of Zen, of the aimsand essentials of zazen, and of the all-important rela-tion of zazen to enlightenment (satori). With them asmap and compass the earnest seeker need not gropealong hazardous bypaths of the occult, the psychic, orthe superstitious, which waste time and often proveharmful, but can proceed directly along a carefully

charted course, secure in the knowledge of his ulti-mate goal.

Yasutani-roshi’s emphasis on the religious aspectof Zen, that is, on faith as a prerequisite to enlight-enment, may come as a surprise to Western readersaccustomed to “intellectual images” of Zen by schol-ars devoid of Zen insight. This derives for the mostpart from the teachings of Dogen-zenji, one of thetruly imposing religious personalities of Japanese his-tory, who brought the doctrines of the Soto sect ofZen Buddhism from China to Japan.

…Although sitting is the foundation of zazen, it is

not just any kind of sitting.Not only must the backbe straight, the breathing properly regulated, and themind concentrated beyond thought, but, accordingto Dogen, one must sit with a sense of dignity andgrandeur, like a mountain or a giant pine, and with afeeling of gratitude toward the Buddha and the Patri-archs, who made manifest the Dharma. And we mustbe grateful for our human body, through which wehave the opportunity to experience the reality of the

Dharma in all its profundity. This sense of dignityand gratitude, moreover, is not confined to sittingbut must inform every activity, for insofar as eachact issues from the Bodhi-mind it has the inherentpurity and dignity of Buddhahood. This innate dig-nity of man is physiologically manifested in his erectback, since he alone of all creatures has this capa-city to hold his spinal column vertical. An erect backis related to proper sitting in other important ways,which will be discussed at a later point…

…To help awaken us to this world of Buddha-nature,

Zen masters employ yet another mode of zazen,namely, the chanting of dharani ¹ and sutras. Now,a dharani has been described as “a more or lessmeaningless chain of words or names that is sup-posed to have a magical power in helping the onewho is repeating it at some time of extremity.” As

¹ A dharani (Jap. darani陀羅尼) is a type of ritual speechsimilar to a mantra. The word dhāraṇī derives from aSanskrit root which means “to hold or maintain”.

phonetic transliterations of Sanskrit words, dharanihave doubtlessly lost much of their profound mean-ing through the inevitable alteration of the originalsounds. But as anyone who has recited them for anylength of time knows, in their effect on the spiritthey are anything but meaningless. When chantedwith sincerity and zest they impress upon the heartand mind the names and virtues of Buddhas andBodhisattvas enumerated in them, removing innerhindrances to zazen and fixing the heart in an atti-tude of reverence and devotion. But dharani are alsoa symbolic expression in sound and rhythm of the es-sential Truth of the universe lying beyond the realmof the discriminating intellect. To the degree that thediscursive mind is held at bay during the voicing ofdharani, they are valuable as another exercise in train-ing the mind to cease clinging to dualistic modes ofthought.

The intoning of sutras, while also a mode of za-zen, fulfills yet a further purpose. Since they are therecorded words and sermons of the Buddha, sutrasdo in some degree make a direct appeal to the intel-

lect. Thus for those whose faith in the Buddha’s Wayis shallow the repeated chanting of sutras eventuallyleads to a measure of understanding, and this servesto strengthen faith in the truth of the Buddha’s teach-ings. As faith grows, however, there is less need forchanting them.

In another sense sutra-chanting can be comparedto an Oriental ink painting of, say, a pine tree inwhich most of the picture consists of white space.This empty space corresponds to the deeper levels ofmeaning of the sutras which the words adumbrate.Just as in the picture our minds are brought to aheightened awareness of the white space because ofthe tree, so through the reciting of the sutras we canbe led to sense the reality lying beyond them, theEmptiness to which they point.

…The uniqueness of zazen lies in this: that the mind

is freed from bondage to all thought-forms, visions,objects, and imaginings, how ever sacred or elevat-ing, and brought to a state of absolute emptiness,

from which alone it may one day perceive its owntrue nature, or the nature of the universe.

2 Theory and Practice of Zazen

What I am about to tell you is based upon theteaching of my revered teacher, Daiun² Harada-roshi.Although he himself was of the Soto sect, he wasunable to find a truly accomplished master in thatsect and so went to train first at Shogen-ji and thenNanzen-ji, two Rinzai monasteries. At Nanzen-ji heeventually grasped the inmost secret of Zen underthe guidance of Dokutan-roshi, an outstanding mas-ter.

While it is undeniably true that one must un-dergo Zen training himself in order to comprehendthe truth of Zen, Harada-roshi felt that the mod-ern mind is so much more aware that for beginners² A Zen name meaning “Great Cloud.”

lectures of this type could be meaningful as a pre-liminary to practice. He combined the best of eachsect and established a unique method of teachingZen. Nowhere in Japan will you find Zen teachingset forth so thoroughly and succinctly, so well suitedto the temper of the modern mind, as at his monas-tery. Having been his disciple for some twenty years,I was enabled, thanks to his favor, to open my Mind’seye in some measure.

Before commencing his lectures Harada-roshiwould preface them with advice on listening. Hisfirst point was that everyone should listen with theireyes open and upon him—in other words, with theirwhole being—because an impression received onlythrough the hearing is rather shallow, akin to listen-ing to the radio. His second point was that eachperson should listen to these lectures as though theywere being given to oneself alone, as ideally theyshould be. Human nature is such that if two peoplelisten, each feels only half responsible for understand-ing, and if ten people are listening each feels one’sown responsibility to be but one tenth. However,

since there are so many of you and what I have tosay is exactly the same for everybody, I have askedyou to come as a group. You must nonetheless listenas though you were entirely alone and hold yourselvesaccountable for everything that is said.

禪

This discourse is divided into twelve parts, which willbe covered in some eight lecture sessions. The firstinvolves the rationale of zazen and direct methodsof practice; the next, special precautions; and the fol-lowing lectures, the particular problems arising fromzazen, together with their solution. In point of fact,a knowledge of the theory or principles of zazen isnot a prerequisite to practice. Students who train un-der an accomplished teacher will inevitably grasp thistheory by degrees as their practice ripens. Modernstudents, however, being intellectually more sophist-icated than their predecessors in Zen, will not followinstructions unreservedly; they must first know thereasons behind them. Therefore I feel obligated todeal with theoretical matters. The difficulty with the-

ory, however, is that it is endless. Buddhist scriptures,Buddhist doctrine, and Buddhist philosophy are nomore than intellectual formulations of zazen, and za-zen itself is their practical demonstration. From thisvast field I will now abstract what is most essentialfor your practice.

We start with Buddha Shakyamuni.³ As I thinkyou all know, he began with the path of asceticism,undergoing tortures and austerities which others be-fore him had never attempted, including prolongedfasting. But he failed to attain enlightenment bythese means and, half-dead from hunger and exhaus-tion, came to realize the futility of pursuing a coursewhich could only terminate in death. So he drank themilk-rice that was offered him by a concerned coun-try girl, gradually regained his health, and resolvedto steer a middle course between self-torture and self-³ The traditional Japanese term is O-Shaka-sama. It isboth respectful and intimate. The O and sama are hon-orifics, and rather than attempt an arbitrary translation ofthem, I have followed the usual English rendering of thistitle.

indulgence. Thereafter he devoted himself exclusivelyto zazen for six years⁴ and eventually, on the morningof the eight of December, at the very instant whenhe glanced at the planet Venus gleaming in the east-ern sky, he attained perfect enlightenment. All thiswe believe as historical truth.

The words the Buddha uttered involuntarily atthis time are recorded variously in the Buddhistscriptures. According to the Kegon (Avatamsaka)sutra, at the moment of enlightenment he spontan-eously cried out: “Wonder of wonders! Intrinsicallyall living beings are Buddhas, endowed with wis-dom and virtue, but because people’s minds havebecome inverted through delusive thinking they failto perceive this.” The first pronouncement of theBuddha seems to have been one of awe and aston-ishment. Yes, how truly marvelous that all humanbeings, whether clever or stupid, male or female, uglyor beautiful, are whole and complete just as they are.⁴ Other accounts say six years elapsed from the time he lefthis home until his supreme enlightenment.

That is to say, the nature of every being is inher-ently without a flaw, perfect, no different from that ofAmida or any other Buddha. This first declaration ofShakyamuni Buddha is also the ultimate conclusionof Buddhism. Yet human beings, restless and anxious,live half-crazed existences because their minds, heav-ily encrusted with delusion, are turned topsy-turvy.We need therefore to return to our original perfec-tion, to see through the false image of ourselves asincomplete and sinful, and to wake up to our inher-ent purity and wholeness.

The most effective means by which to accom-plish this is through zazen. Not only ShakyamuniBuddha himself but many of his disciples attainedfull awakening through Zazen. Moreover, during the2,500 years since the Buddha’s death innumerable de-votees in India, China, and Japan have, by graspingthis selfsame key, resolved for themselves the mostfundamental question of all: What are life and death?Even in this day there are many who, having castoff worry and anxiety, have emancipated themselvesthrough zazen.

Between a Nyorai (i.e. a supremely perfectedBuddha) and us, who are ordinary, there is no differ-ence as to substance. This “substance” can be likenedto water. One of the salient characteristics of wateris its conformability: when put into a round vesselit becomes round, when put into a square vessel itbecomes square. We have this same adaptability, butas we live bound and fettered through ignorance ofour true nature, we have forfeited this freedom. Topursue the metaphor, we can say that the mind of aBuddha is like water that is calm, deep and crystalclear, and upon which the “moon of truth” reflectsfully and perfectly. The mind of the ordinary person,on the other hand, is like murky water, constantly be-ing churned by the gales of delusive thought and nolonger able to reflect the moon of truth. The moonnonetheless shines steadily upon the waves, but as thewaters are roiled we are unable to see its reflection.Thus we lead lives that are frustrating and meaning-less.

How can we fully illumine our life and personalitywith the moon of truth? We need first to purify this

water, to calm the surging waves by halting the windsof discursive thought. In other words, we must emptyour minds of what the Kegon (Avatamsaka) sutracalls the “conceptual thought of the human being.”Most people place a high value on abstract thought,but Buddhism has clearly demonstrated that discrim-inative thinking lies at the root of delusion. I onceheard someone say: “Thought is the sickness of thehuman mind.” From the Buddhist point of view thisis quite true. To be sure, abstract thinking is use-ful when wisely employed—which is to say, whenits nature and limitations are properly understood—but as long as human beings remain slaves to theirintellect, fettered and controlled by it, they can wellbe called sick.

All thoughts, whether ennobling or debasing, aremutable and impermanent; they have a beginningand an end even as they are fleetingly with us, andthis is as true of the thought of an era as of an indi-vidual. In Buddhism, thought is referred to as “thestream of life-and-death.” It is important in this con-nection to distinguish the role of transitory thoughts

from that of fixed concepts. Random ideas are rel-atively innocuous, but ideologies, beliefs, opinions,and points of view, not to mention the factual know-ledge accumulated since birth (to which we attachourselves), are the shadows which obscure the lightof truth.

So long as the winds of thought continue todisturb the water of our Self-nature, we cannot distin-guish truth from untruth. It is imperative, therefore,that these winds be stilled. Once they abate, thewaves subside, the muddiness clears, and we perceivedirectly that the moon of truth has never ceasedshining. The moment of such realization is kensho,i.e., enlightenment, the apprehension of the truesubstance of our Self-nature. Unlike moral and philo-sophical concepts, which are variable, true insight isimperishable. Now for the first time we can live withinner peace and dignity, free from perplexity and dis-quiet, and in harmony with our environment.

I have spoken to you briefly about these matters,but I hope I have succeed in conveying to you theimportance of zazen. Let us now talk about practice.

禪

The first step is to select a quiet room in which tosit. Lay out a fairly soft mat or pad some three feetsquare, and on top of this place a small circular cush-ion measuring about one foot in diameter to sit on,or use a square cushion folded in two or even a fol-ded or rolled-up blanket. Preferably one should notwear trousers or socks, since these interfere with thecrossing of the legs and the placing of the feet. For anumber of reasons it is best to sit in the full-lotus pos-ture. To sit full-lotus you place the foot of the rightleg over the thigh of the left and the foot of the leftover the thigh of the right. The main point of thisparticular method of sitting is that by establishing awide, solid base with the crossed legs and both kneestouching the mat, you achieve repose and absolutestability. When the body is immobile, thoughts arenot stirred into activity by physical movements andthe mind is more easily quieted.

If you have difficulty sitting in the full-lotus pos-ture because of the pain, sit half-lotus, which is done

by putting the foot of the left leg over the thighof the right and the right leg under the left thigh.For those of you who are not accustomed to sittingcross-legged, even this position may not be easy tomaintain. You will probably find it difficult to keepthe two knees resting on the mat and will have topush one or both of them down again and again untilthey remain there. In both the half- and the full-lotus postures the uppermost foot can be reversedwhen the legs become tired.

For those who find both of these traditional zazenpositions acutely uncomfortable, an alternative posi-tion is the traditional Japanese one of sitting on theheels and calves. This can be maintained for a longertime if a cushion is placed between the heels and thebuttocks. One advantage of this posture is that theback can be kept erect easily. However, should all

of these positions prove too painful, you may use achair.⁵

The next step is to rest the right hand in the lap,palm upward, and place the left hand, palm upward,on top of the right palm. Lightly touch the tips ofthe thumbs to each other so that a flattened circleis formed by the palms and thumbs. The right sideof the body is the active side, the left the passive.Accordingly, during practice we quiet the active sideby placing the left foot and left hand over the rightmembers, as an aid in achieving the highest degreeof tranquility. If you look at a figure of the Buddha,however, you will notice that the position of thesemembers is just the reverse. The significance of thisis that a Buddha, unlike the rest of us, is activelyengaged in the task of liberation.

After you have crossed your legs, bend forwardso as to thrust the buttocks out, then slowly bring⁵ See section IX of The Three Pillars of Zen for sketches ofall these postures, including one widely used in the South-east Asian Buddhist countries.

the trunk to an erect posture. The head should bestraight; if looked at from the side, your ears shouldbe in line with your shoulders and the tip of your nosein line with your navel. The body from the waist upshould be weightless, free from pressure or strain.⁶Keep the eyes open and the mouth closed. The tipof the tongue should lightly touch the back of theupper teeth. If you close your eyes you will fall intoa dull and dreamy state. The gaze should be loweredwithout focusing on anything in particular, but becareful not to incline the head forward. Experiencehas shown that the mind is quietest, with the leastfatigue or strain, when the eyes are in this loweredposition.

The spinal column must be erect at all times. Thisadmonition is important. When the body slumps,not only is undue pressure placed on the internal or-gans, interfering with their free functioning, but thevertebrae by impinging upon nerves may cause strains⁶ The center of gravity of the body-mind should be abouttwo inches below the navel.

of one kind or another. Since body and mind are one,any impairment of the physiological functions inevit-ably involves the mind and thus diminishes its clarityand one-pointedness, which are essential for effectiveconcentration. From a purely psychological point ofview, a ramrod erectness is as undesirable as a slouch-ing position, for the one springs from unconsciouspride and the other from abjectness, and since bothare grounded in ego they are equally a hindrance toenlightenment.

Be careful to hold the head erect; if it inclines for-ward or backward or sideward, remaining there foran appreciable length of time a crick in the neck mayresult.

When you have established a correct posture, takea deep breath, hold it momentarily, then exhaleslowly and quietly. Repeat this two or three times, al-ways breathing through the nose. After that breathenaturally. When you have accustomed yourself to thisroutine, one deep breath at the beginning will suf-fice. After that, breathe naturally without trying tomanipulate your breath. Now bend the body first to

the right as far as it will go, then to the left, aboutseven or eight times, in large arcs to begin with, thensmaller ones until the trunk naturally comes to restat center.

You are now ready to concentrate your mind.There are many good methods of concentration be-queathed to us by our predecessors in Zen. Theeasiest for beginners is counting incoming and out-going breaths. The value of this particular exerciselies in the fact that all reasoning is excluded andthe discriminative mind put at rest. Thus the wavesof thought are stilled and a gradual one-pointednessof mind achieved. To start with, count both inhala-tions and exhalations. When you inhale concentrateon “one”; when you exhale, on “two” and so on, up toten. Then you return to “one” and once more countup to ten, continuing as before. If you lose the count,return to “one.” It is as simple as that.

As I have previously pointed out, fleeting thoughtswhich naturally fluctuate in the mind are not inthemselves an impediment. This unfortunately is notcommonly recognized. Even among Japanese who

have been practicing Zen for five years or more thereare many who misunderstand Zen practice to be astopping of consciousness. There is indeed a kindof zazen that aims at doing just this,⁷ but it is notthe traditional zazen of Zen Buddhism. You mustrealize that no matter how intently you count yourbreaths you will still perceive what is in your line ofvision, since your eyes are open, and you will hearthe normal sounds about you, as your ears are notplugged. And since your brain likewise is not asleep,various thought forms will dart about in your mind.Now, they will not hamper or diminish the effect-iveness of zazen unless, evaluating them as “good,”you cling to them or, deciding they are “bad,” youtry to check or eliminate them. You must not regardany perceptions or sensations as an obstruction to za-zen, nor should you pursue any of them. I emphasizethis. “Pursuit” simply means that in the act of seeing,your gaze lingers on objects; in the course of hearing,your attention dwells on sounds; and in the process⁷ Shojo Zen, see below.

of thinking, your mind adheres to ideas. If you allowyourself to be distracted in such ways, your concentra-tion on the counting of your breaths will be impeded.To recapitulate: let random thoughts arise and vanishas they will, do not dally with them and do not try toexpel them, but merely concentrate all your energyon counting the inhalations and exhalations of yourbreath.

In terminating a period of sitting do not arise ab-ruptly, but begin by rocking from side to side, firstin small swings, then in large ones, for about half adozen times. You will observe that your movementsin this exercise are the reverse of those you engage inwhen you begin zazen. Rise slowly and quietly walkaround with the others in what is called kinhin経行,a walking form of zazen.

Kinhin is performed by placing the right fist, withthumb inside on the chest and covering it with theleft palm while holding both elbows at right angles.Keep the arms in a straight line and the body erect,with the eyes resting upon a point about two yardsin front of the feet. At the same time continue to

count inhalations and exhalations as you walk slowlyaround the room. Begin walking with the left footand walk in such a way that the foot sinks into thefloor, first the heel and then the toes. Walk calmlyand steadily, with poise and dignity. The walkingmust not be done absentmindedly, and the mindmust be taut as you concentrate on the counting. It isadvisable to practice walking this way for at least fiveminutes after each sitting period of twenty to thirtyminutes.

Your are to think of this walking as zazen in mo-tion. Rinzai and Soto differ considerably in their wayof doing kinhin. In Rinzai the walking is brisk andenergetic, while in traditional Soto it is slow and leis-urely; in fact, upon each breath you step forward onlysix inches or so. My own teacher, Harada-roshi, ad-vocated a gait somewhere between these two and thatis the method we have been practicing here. Further,the Rinzai sect cups the left hand on top of the rightwhereas in the orthodox Soto the right hand is placedon top. Harada roshi felt that the Rinzai method ofputting the left hand uppermost was more desirable

and so he adopted it into his own teaching. Now eventhough this walking relieves the stiffness in your legs,such relief is to be regarded as a mere by-product andnot the main object of kinhin. Accordingly, those ofyou who are counting your breaths should continueduring kinhin, and those of you who are working ona koan should carry on with it.

This ends the first lecture. Continue to count yourbreaths as have instructed until you come before meagain.

3 Precautions to Observe in Zazen

In this second lecture I am going to change yourbreathing exercise slightly. This morning I told youto count “one” as you inhale and “two” as you ex-haled. Hereafter I want you to count “one” only onthe exhalation, so that one full breath (inhalation andexhalation) will be “one.” Don’t bother counting theinhalations; just count “one,” “two,” “three,” and soforth, on the exhalation.

It is advisable to do zazen facing a wall, a curtain,or the like. Don’t sit too far from the wall nor withyour nose up against it; the ideal distance is fromtwo to three feet. Likewise, don’t sit where you havea sweeping view, for it is distracting, or where youlook out on a pleasant landscape, which will temptyou to leave off zazen in order to admire it. In thisconnection, remember that although your eyes areopen you are not actually trying to see. For all thesereasons it is wisest to sit facing a wall. However, if youhappen to be doing zazen formally in a Rinzai temple,you will have no choice but to sit facing others, as thisis the established custom in that sect.

In the beginning, if possible, select a room thatis quiet as well as clean and tidy, one which you canregard as special. It may be asked whether it is satis-factory to do zazen on a bed so long as the room isclean and free from noise. For the ordinary healthyperson the answer is no; there are any number ofreasons why it is difficult to keep the mind in propertension on a bed. A bedridden person, of course, hasno choice.

You will probably find that natural sounds, likethose of insects or birds or running water, will notdisturb you, neither will the rhythmic ticking of aclock nor the purring of a motor. Sudden noises, how-ever, like the roar of a jet, are jarring. But rhythmicsounds you can make use of. One student of mine ac-tually attained enlightenment by utilizing the soundof the steady threshing of rice while he was doingzazen. The most objectionable sounds are those ofhuman voices, either heard directly or over the radioor television. When you start zazen, therefore, find aroom which is distant from such sounds. When yoursitting has ripened, however, no noises will disturbyou.

Besides keeping your room clean and orderly youshould decorate it with flowers and burn incense sincethese, by conveying a sense of the pure and the holy,make it easier for you to relate yourself to zazen andthus to calm and unify your mind more quickly. Wearsimple, comfortable clothing that will give you a feel-ing of dignity and purity. In the evening it is betternot to wear night clothes, but if it is hot and a ques-

tion of either doing zazen in pajamas or not doingit at all, by all means wear the pajamas. But makeyourself clean and tidy.

The room ought not to be too light or too dark.You can put up a dark curtain if it is too light, or youcan use a small electric bulb if it is night. The effect ofa dark room is the same as closing your eyes: it dullseverything. The best condition is a sort of twilight.Remember Buddhist zazen does not aim at renderingthe mind inactive but at quieting and unifying it inthe midst of activity.

A room with plenty of fresh air, that is neithertoo hot in summer nor too cold in winter, is ideal.Punishing the body is not the purpose of zazen, soit is unnecessary to struggle with extremes of heat orcold. Experience has shown, however, that one cando better zazen where on feels slightly cool; too hot aroom tends to make one sleepy. As your ardor for za-zen deepens, you will naturally become unconcernedabout cold or heat. Nevertheless, it is wise to takecare of your health.

Next let us discuss the best time for zazen. For

the eager and determined any time of day and all sea-sons of the year are equally good. But for those whohave jobs or professions the best time is either morn-ing or evening, or better still, both. Try to sit everymorning preferably before breakfast, and just beforegoing to bed at night. But if you can sit only once—and you should sit at least once a day—you will haveto consider the relative merits of morning and even-ing. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. If youfind that either morning or evening is equally goodand you ask which I recommend (because you cansit only once a day), I would say the morning, forthe following reasons: no visitors come early in themorning, whereas in the evening you are likely to beinterrupted. Also, morning—at any rate in the city—is much quieter than evening since fewer cars are onthe streets. Furthermore, because in the morning youare rested and somewhat hungry, you are in good con-dition for zazen, whereas in the evening, when youare tired and have had your meal, you are likely to beduller. Since it is difficult to do zazen on a full stom-ach, it is better not to sit immediately after a meal

when you are a beginner. Before a meal, however, za-zen can be practiced to good advantage. As your zealgrows it won’t matter when you sit, before, after, orduring a meal.

How long should you do zazen at one sitting?There is no general rule, for it varies according tothe degree of one’s eagerness as well as the matur-ity of one’s practice. For novices a shorter time isbetter. If you sit devotedly five minutes a day for amonth or two, you will want to increase your sittingto ten or more minutes as your ardor grows. Whenyou are able to sit with your mind taut for, say, thirtyminutes without pain or discomfort, you will come toappreciate the feeling of tranquility and well-beinginduced by zazen and will want to practice regularly.For these reasons I recommend that beginners sit forshorter periods of time. On the other hand, shouldyou force yourself from the beginning to sit for longerperiods, the pain in your legs may well become un-bearable before you acquire a calm mind. Thus youwill quickly tire of zazen, feeling it to be a waste oftime, or you will always be watching the clock. In the

end you will come to dislike zazen and stop sitting al-together. This is what frequently happens. Now eventhough you sit for only ten minutes or so each day,you can compensate for this briefness by concentrat-ing intensely on the counting of each breath, thusincreasing its effectiveness. You must not count ab-sentmindedly or mechanically, as though it were aduty.

In spite of your being able to sit for an hour ormore with a feeling of exquisite serenity, it is wise tolimit your sitting to periods of about thirty or fortyminutes each. Ordinarily it is not advisable to do za-zen longer than this at one sitting, since the mindcannot sustain its vigor and tautness and the valueof the sitting decreases. Whether one realizes it ornot, a gradual diminution of the mind’s concentrat-ive intensity takes place. For this reason it is betterto alternate a thirty- or forty- minute period of sit-ting with a round of walking zazen. Following thispattern, one can do zazen for a full day or even aweek with good results. The longer zazen continues,however, the more time should be spent in walking

zazen. In fact, one might advantageously add periodsof manual labor to this routine, as has been donein the zen temple since olden times. Needless to say,you must keep your mind in a state of clear awarenessduring such manual labor and not allow it to becomelax or dull.

A word about food. It is better to eat no more thaneighty percent of our capacity. A Japanese proverbhas it that eight parts of a full stomach sustain theman; the other two sustain the doctor. The ZazenYojinki (Precautions to Observe in Zazen), compiledabout 650 years ago, says you should eat two-thirds ofyour capacity. It further says that you should choosenourishing vegetables—of course meat eating is notin the tradition of Buddhism and it was taboo whenthe Yojinki was written—such as mountain potatoes,sesame, sour plums, black beans, mushrooms, andthe root of the lotus; and it also recommends vari-ous kinds of seaweed, which are highly nutritious andleave an alkaline residue in the body. Now, I am noauthority on vitamins and minerals and calories, butit is a fact that most people today eat a diet which

creates too much acid in the blood, and a great of-fender in this respect is meat. Eat more vegetablesof the kind mentioned, which are alkalinic in theireffect. In ancient days there was a yang-yin diet. Theyang was the alkaline and the yin the acid, and theold books cautioned that a diet ought not be eithertoo yang or too yin. This is substantially what I havejust told you.

There comes a point in your sitting when insightsabout yourself will flash into your mind. For example,relationships that previously were incomprehensiblewill suddenly be clarified and difficult personal prob-lems abruptly solved. If you don’t jot down thingsthat you want to remember, this could bother youand so interfere with your concentration. For thisreason when you are sitting by yourself you may wantto keep a pencil and notebook next to you.

4 Illusory Visions and Sensations

This is the third lecture. Before I begin I will assignyou a new way of concentration. Instead of counting

your exhalations, as heretofore, count “one” on thefirst inhalation, “two” on the next inhalation, and soon, up to ten. This is more difficult than countingon the exhalation, because all mental and physicalactivity is performed on the exhaled breath. For in-stance, just before pouncing, animals take a breath.This principle is well known in kendo fencing andjudo fighting, where one is taught that by carefullyobserving his opponent’s breathing his attack can beanticipated. While this exercise is difficult, you musttry to practice it as another means of concentratingyour mind. Until you come before me again you areto concentrate on counting the inhalations of yourbreath, not audibly but in the mind only.

Makyo 魔境 are the phenomena—visions, hallu-cinations, fantasies, revelations, illusory sensations—which one practicing zazen is apt to experience at aparticular stage in his sitting. Ma means “devil” andkyo “the objective world.” Hence makyo are the dis-turbing or “diabolical” phenomena which appear toone during zazen. These phenomena are not inher-

ently bad. They become a serious obstacle to practiceonly if one is ignorant of their true nature and is en-snared by them.

The word makyo is used in both a general and aspecific sense. Broadly speaking, the entire life ofthe ordinary person is nothing but a makyo. Evensuch Bodhisattvas as Monju and Kannon, highlydeveloped though they are, still have about themtraces of makyo; otherwise they would be supremeBuddhas, completely free of makyo. One who be-comes attached to what he or she realizes throughsatori is also still lingering in the world of makyo.So you see, there are makyo even after enlightenment,but we shall not enter into that aspect of the subjectin these lectures.

In the specific sense, the number of makyo whichcan appear are in fact unlimited, varying accordingto the personality and temperament of the sitter. Inthe Ryogon (Surangama) sutra the Buddha warns offifty different kinds, but of course he is referring onlyto the commonest. If you attend a sesshin of fromfive to seven days’ duration and apply yourself assidu-

ously, on the third day you are likely to experiencemakyo of varying degrees of intensity. Besides thosewhich involve the vision there are numerous makyowhich relate to the sense of touch, smell, or hear-ing, or which sometimes cause the body suddenly tomove from side to side or forward and backward orto lean to one side or to seem to sink or rise. Not in-frequently words burst forth uncontrollably or, morerarely, one imagines he is smelling a particularly fra-grant perfume. There are even cases where withoutconscious awareness one writes down things whichturn out to be prophetically true.

Very common are visual hallucinations. You aredoing zazen with your eyes open when suddenly theridges of the straw matting in front of you seem to beheaving up and down like waves. Or without warningeverything may go white before your eyes, or black.A knot in the wood of a door may suddenly appearas a beast or demon or angel. One disciple of mineoften used to see visions of masks—demons masksor jesters’ masks. I asked him whether he had everhad any particular experience of masks, and it turned

out that he had seen them at festival in Kyushu whenhe was a child. Another man I knew was extremelytroubled in his practice by visions of Buddha and hisdisciples walking around him reciting sutras, and wasonly able to dispel the hallucination by jumping intoa tank of ice-cold water for two or three minutes.

Many makyo involve the hearing. One may hearthe sound of piano or loud noises, such as an explo-sion (which is heard by no one else), and actuallyjump. One disciple of mine always used to hear thesound of a bamboo flute while doing zazen. He hadlearned to play the bamboo flute many years before,but had long since given it up, yet always the soundcame to him when he was sitting.

In the Zazen Yojinki we find the following aboutmakyo: “The body may feel hot or cold or glass-like or hard or heavy or light. This happens becausethe breath is not well harmonized with the mind,and needs to be carefully regulated.” It then goeson to say: “One may experience the sensation ofsinking or floating, or may alternately feel hazy andsharply alert. The disciple may develop the faculty

of seeing through solid objects as though they weretransparent, or he may experience his own body as atranslucent substance. He may see Buddhas and Bod-hisattvas. Penetrating insights may suddenly cometo him, or passages of sutras which were particularlydifficult to understand may suddenly become lumin-ously clear to him. All these abnormal visions andsensations are merely the symptoms of an impair-ment arising from a maladjustment of the mind withthe breath.”

Other religions and sects place great store by ex-periences which involve visions of God or deities orhearing heavenly voices, performing miracles, receiv-ing divine messages, or becoming purified throughvarious rites and drugs. In the Nichiren sect, forexample, devotees loudly and repeatedly invoke thename of the Lotus sutra, to the accompaniment ofvigorous body movements, and feel they have therebypurged themselves of their defilements. In varyingdegree these practices induce a feeling of well-being,yet from the Zen point of view all are abnormal states

devoid of true religious significance and thereforeonly makyo.

What is the essential nature of these disturb-ing phenomena we call makyo? They are temporarymental states which arise during zazen when yourability to concentrate has developed to a certain pointand your practice is beginning to ripen. When thethought-waves that wax and wane on the surfaceof the mind are partially calmed, residual elementsof past experiences “lodged” in the deeper levels ofconsciousness bob up sporadically to the surface ofthe mind, conveying the feeling of a greater or ex-panded reality. Makyo, accordingly, are a mixture ofthe real and the unreal, not unlike ordinary dreams.Just as dreams are usually not remembered by a per-son in deep sleep but only when one is half asleepand half awake, so makyo do not come to those indeep concentration or samadhi. Never be temptedinto thinking that these phenomena are real or thatthe visions themselves have any meaning. To havea beautiful vision of a Buddha does not mean thatyou are any nearer becoming one yourself, any more

than a dream of being a millionaire means that youare any richer when you awake. Therefore there is noreason to feel elated about such makyo. And similarly,whatever horrible monsters may appear to you, thereis no cause whatever for alarm. Above all, do not al-low yourself to be enticed by visions of the Buddha orof gods blessing you or communicating a divine mes-sage, or by makyo involving prophecies which turnout to be true. This is to squander your energies inthe foolish pursuit of the inconsequential.

But such visions are certainly a sign that you areat a crucial point in your sitting and that if you exertyourself to the utmost, you can surely experience ken-sho. Tradition states that even Shakyamuni Buddhajust before his own awakening experienced innumer-able makyo, which he termed “obstructing devils.”Whenever makyo appear, simply ignore them andcontinue sitting with all your might.

.

5 The Five Varieties of Zen

I shall now enumerate the different kinds of Zen. Un-less you learn to distinguish between them, you arelikely to err on decisive points such as whether ornot satori is indispensable in Zen, whether Zen in-volves the complete absence of discursive thought,and the like. The truth is that among the many typesof Zen there are some which are profound and someshallow, some that lead to enlightenment and somethat do not. It is said that during the time of theBuddha there were ninety or ninety-five schools ofphilosophy or religion in existence. Each school hadits particular mode of Zen, and each was slightly dif-ferent from the others.

All great religions embrace some measure of Zen,since religion needs prayer and prayer needs con-centration of mind. The teaching of Confucius andMencius, of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, all these havetheir own elements of Zen. Indeed, Zen is spreadover many different activities of life, such as the teaceremony, Noh, kendo, judo. In Japan, starting with

the Meiji Restoration, less than a hundred years agoand continuing up to the present, there have sprungup a number of teachings and disciplines with ele-ments of Zen in them. Among others I recall Okada’sSystem of Tranquil Sitting and Emma’s Method ofMind and Body Cultivation. Recently one TempuNakamura has been zealously advocating a form ofIndian Yoga Zen. All these different methods of con-centration, almost limitless in number, come underthe broad heading of Zen. Rather than try to specifythem all, I am going to discuss the five main divi-sions of Zen as classified by Keiho-zenji, one of theearly Zen masters in China, whose categories, I feel,are still valid and useful. Outwardly these five kindsof Zen scarcely differ. There may be slight variationsin the way the legs are crossed, the hands folded, orthe breathing regulated, but common to all are threebasic elements: an erect sitting posture, correct con-trol of breathing, and concentration (unification) ofmind. Beginners need to bear in mind, however, thatin the substance and purpose of these various typesthere are distinct differences. These differences are

crucial to you when you come before me individuallyto state your aspiration, for they will enable you todefine your goal clearly the better that I may assignyou the practice appropriate to it.

① The first of these types we call bompu凡夫, or“ordinary,” Zen as opposed to the other four, eachof which can be thought of as a special kind of Zensuitable for the particular aims of different individu-als. Bompu Zen, being free from any philosophic orreligious content, is for anybody and everybody. It isa Zen practiced purely in the belief that it can im-prove both physical and mental health. Since it canalmost certainly have no ill effects, anyone can un-dertake it, whatever religious beliefs they happen tohold or if they hold none at all. Bompu Zen is boundto eliminate sickness of a psychosomatic nature andto improve the health generally.

Through the practice of bompu Zen you learnto concentrate and control your mind. It never oc-curs to most people to try to control their minds,and unfortunately this basic training is left out ofcontemporary education, not being part of what is

called the acquisition of knowledge. Yet without itwhat we learn is difficult to retain because we learn itimproperly, wasting much energy in the process. In-deed, we are virtually crippled unless we know howto restrain our thoughts and concentrate our minds.Furthermore, by practicing this very excellent modeof mind training you will find yourself increasinglyable to resist temptations to which you had previ-ously succumbed, and to sever attachments whichhad long held you in bondage. An enrichment of per-sonality and a strengthening of character inevitablyfollow since the three basic elements of mind—thatis, intellect, feeling, and will—develop harmoniously.The quietist sitting practiced in Confucianism seemsto have stressed mainly these effects of mind con-centration. However, the fact remains that bompuZen, although far more beneficial for the cultivationof the mind that the reading of countless on ethicsand philosophy, is unable to resolve the fundamentalproblem of human existence and one’s relation to theuniverse. Why? Because it cannot pierce the ordin-

ary man’s basic delusion of himself as distinctly otherthan the universe.

② The second of the five kinds of Zen is calledgedo 外道. Gedo means literally “an outside way”and so implies, from the Buddhist point of view,teachings other than Buddhist. Here we have a Zenrelated to religion and philosophy but yet not aBuddhist Zen. Hindu yoga, the quietist sitting ofConfucianism, contemplation practices in Christian-ity, all these belong to the category of gedo Zen.

Another feature of gedo Zen is that it is oftenpracticed in order to cultivate various supranormalpowers or skills, or to master certain arts beyond thereach of the ordinary person. A good example of thisis Tempu Nakamura, the man whom I mentionedearlier. It is reported that he can make people actwithout himself moving a muscle or saying a word.The aim of the Emma Method is to accomplish suchfeats as walking barefooted on sharp sword blades orstaring at sparrows so that they become paralyzed. Allthese miraculous exploits are brought about throughthe cultivation of joriki, the particular strength of

power which comes with the strenuous practice ofmind concentration, and of which I shall speak laterin greater detail. Here I will simply remind you thata Zen which aims solely at the cultivation of jorikifor such ends is not a Buddhist Zen.

Another object for which gedo Zen is practiced isrebirth in various heavens. Certain sects, we know,practice Zen in order to be reborn in heaven. Thisis not the object of Zen Buddhism. While ZenBuddhists do not quarrel with the idea of variousstrata of heaven and the belief that one may be re-born into these realms through the performance often kinds of meritorious deeds, they themselves donot crave rebirth in heaven. Conditions there are al-together too pleasant and comfortable and one can alltoo easily be lured from zazen. Besides, when one’smerit in heaven expires one can very well land in hell.Zen Buddhists therefore believe it preferable to beborn into the human world and to practice zazen withthe aim of ultimately becoming a Buddha.

I will stop here and at the next lecture concludethe five types of Zen.

I have now discussed with you the first two kindsof Zen, namely, bompu and gedo. Before going on tothe next three types I am going to give you anothermethod of concentration: experiencing the breath.For the time being stop counting your breaths andinstead concentrate intently on following your inhal-ations and exhalations, trying to experience themclearly. You are to carry on this exercise until youcome before me again.

③ The third type of zen is shojo 小乘, literallymeaning “small vehicle.” This is the vehicle or teach-ing that is to take you from one state of mind(delusion) to another (enlightenment). This smallvehicle is so named because it is designed to accom-modate only one’s self. You can perhaps compare it toa bicycle. The large vehicle (Mahayana), on the otherhand, is more like a car or bus: it takes on others aswell. Hence shojo is a Zen which looks only to one’sown peace of mind.

Here we have a Zen which is Buddhist but a Zennot in accord with the Buddha’s highest teaching. Itis rather an expedient Zen for those unable to grasp

the innermost meaning of the Buddha’s enlighten-ment; i.e., that existence is an inseparable whole,each one of us embracing the cosmos in its total-ity. This being true, it follows that we cannot attaingenuine peace of mind merely by seeking our ownsalvation while remaining indifferent to the welfareof others.

There are those, however—and some of you listen-ing to me now may be among them—who simplycannot bring themselves to believe in the reality ofsuch a world. No matter how often they are taughtthat the relative world of distinctions and oppositesto which they cling is illusory, the product of theirmistaken views, they cannot but believe otherwise.To such people the world can only seem inherentlyevil, full of sin and strife and suffering, of killing andbeing killed, and in their despair they long to escapefrom it. Indeed, death seems even preferable to life.The most unbearable sin of all is the taking of lifein any form and under any circumstances, since thiscondemns them to interminable suffering incarnatedas beasts or demons in countless future existences ow-

ing to the inexorable law of karma. So mere death isnot the end. Hence what they are seeking is a way ofavoiding rebirth, a method of dying without beingreborn.

Shojo Zen provides the answer to this need. It hasas its aim the stopping of all thoughts so that themind becomes a complete blank and enters into astate called mushinjo無心状, a condition in which allthe sense functions have been eliminated and the fac-ulty of consciousness suspended. With practice thispower can be cultivated by anyone. In case there isno wish to die one can enter this trance-like statefor a limited period—say an hour or two or one ortwo days—or one can remain in it indefinitely, inwhich event death follows naturally and painlessly,without—and this is most important—rebirth. Thisentire process of death without rebirth is set forth ingreat detail in a Buddhist philosophical work calledthe Kusharon.

④ The fourth classification is called daijo 大乘,great vehicle (Mahayana) Zen, and this is a trulyBuddhist Zen, for it has as its central purpose kensho-

godo, that is, seeing into your essential nature andrealizing the Way in your daily life. For those ableto comprehend the import of the Buddha’s own en-lightenment experience and with a desire to breakthrough their own illusory view of the universeand experience absolute, undifferentiated Reality, theBuddha taught this mode of Zen. Buddhism is essen-tially a religion of enlightenment. The Buddha afterhis own supreme awakening spent some fifty yearsteaching people how they might themselves realizetheir Self-nature. His methods have been transmit-ted from master to disciple right down to the presentday. So it can be said that a Zen which ignores ordenies or belittles enlightenment is not true daijoBuddhist Zen.

In the practice of daijo Zen your aim in the be-ginning is to awaken to your True-nature, but uponenlightenment you realize that zazen is more than ameans to enlightenment—it is the actualization ofyour True-nature. In this type of Zen, which has asits object satori-awakening, it is easy to mistakenlyregard zazen as but a means. A wise teacher, how-

ever, will point out from the onset that zazen is infact the actualization of the innate Buddha-natureand not merely a technique for achieving enlighten-ment. If zazen were no more than such a technique,it would follow that after satori zazen would be un-necessary. But as Dogen-zenji himself pointed out,precisely the reverse is true; the more deeply you ex-perience satori, the more you perceive the need forpractice.

⑤ Saijojo 上乘 Zen, the last of the five types,is the highest vehicle, the culmination and crownof Buddhist Zen. This Zen was practiced by theBuddhas of the past—namely, Shakyamuni andAmida—and the expression of Absolute Life, life inits purest form. It is the zazen which Dogen-zenjichiefly advocated and it involves no struggle for satorior any other object. We call it shikan-taza, and of thisI shall speak in greater detail in a subsequent lecture.

In this highest practice, means and end coalesce.Daijo Zen and saijojo Zen are, in point of fact, com-plementary. The Rinzai sect placed daijo uppermostand saijojo beneath, whereas the Soto sect does the re-

verse. In saijojo, when rightly practiced, you sit in thefirm conviction that zazen is the actualization of yourundefiled True-nature, and at the same time you sit incomplete faith that the day will come when, exclaiming,“Oh, this is it!” you will unmistakably realize this True-nature. Therefore you need not self-consciously strivefor enlightenment.

Today many in the Soto sect hold that since we areall innately Buddhas, satori is unnecessary. Such anegregious error reduces shikan-taza, which properlyis the highest form of sitting, to nothing more thanbompu Zen, the first of the five types.

This completes my account of the five varieties ofZen, but unless I now tell you about the three ob-jectives of zazen my presentation of these five types,especially the last two, will be incomplete.

6 The Three Aims of Zazen

The aims of zazen are three: (1) development ofthe power of concentration (joriki 定力), (2) satori-awakening (kensho-godo見性悟道), and (3) actualiz-

ation of the Supreme Way in our daily lives (mujodono taigen 無上道之體現). These three form an in-separable unity, but for purposes of discussion I amobliged to deal with them individually.

Joriki, the first of these, is the power or strengthwhich arises when the mind has been unified andbrought to one-pointedness in zazen concentration.This is more than the ability to concentrate in theusual sense of the word. It is a dynamic power which,once mobilized, enables us even in the most suddenand unexpected situations to act instantly, withoutpausing to collect our wits, and in a manner whollyappropriate to the circumstances. Those who have de-veloped joriki are no longer slaves to their passions.More fully in command of both themselves and thecircumstances of their lives, such people are able tomove with real freedom and equanimity. The cul-tivation of certain supranormal powers is also madepossible by joriki, as is the state in which the mindbecomes like clear, still water.

The first two of the five kinds of Zen I have spokenabout depend entirely on joriki. Now, although the

power of joriki can be endlessly enlarged throughregular practice, it will recede and eventually van-ish if we neglect zazen. And while it is true thatmany extraordinary powers flow from joriki, never-theless through it alone we cannot cut the roots ofour illusory view of the world. Mere strength of con-centration is not enough for the highest types ofZen; concomitantly there must be satori-awakening.In a little-known document handed down by Mas-ter Sekito Kisen, the founder of one of the earlyZen sects, the following appears: “In our sect, realiz-ation of the Buddha-nature, and not mere devotionor strength of concentration, is paramount.”

The second of these aims is kensho-godo, seeinginto your True nature and at the same time seeinginto the ultimate nature of the universe and “all theten thousand things” in it. It is the sudden realiza-tion that “I have been complete and perfect from thevery beginning. How wonderful, how miraculous!”If it is true kensho, its substance will always be thesame for whoever experiences it, whether that one bethe Buddha Shakyamuni, the Buddha Amida, or any

one of you gathered in this temple. But this doesnot mean that we can all experience kensho to thesame degree, for in the clarity, the depth and thecompleteness of the experience there are great dif-ferences. As an illustration, imagine a person blindfrom birth who gradually begins to recover his sight.At first he can see very vaguely and darkly and onlyobjects close to him. Then as his sight improves heis able to distinguish things a yard or so away, thenobjects at ten yards, then at a hundred yards, untilfinally he can recognize anything up to a thousandyards. At each of these stages the phenomenal worldhe is seeing is the same, but the differences in theclarity and accuracy of his view of that world are asgreat as those between snow and charcoal. So it iswith the differences in clarity and depth of our exper-iences of kensho.

The last of the three objectives is mujodo no taigen,the actualization of the Supreme Way throughoutour entire being and our daily activities. At this pointwe do not distinguish the end from the means. Sai-jojo, which I have spoken of as the fifth and highest

of the five types of Zen, corresponds to this stage.When you sit earnestly and egolessly in accordancewith the instructions of a competent teacher—withyour mind fully conscious yet as free of thought as apure white sheet of paper is unmarred by a blemish—there is an unfoldment of your intrinsically pureBuddha-nature whether you have had satori or not.But what must be emphasized here is that only withtrue awakening do you directly apprehend the truthof your Buddha-nature and perceive that saijojo, thepurest type of Zen, is no different from that practicedby all Buddhas.

The practice of Buddhist Zen should embraceall three of these objectives, for they are interre-lated. There is, for instance, an essential connectionbetween joriki and kensho. Kensho is “the wisdomnaturally associated with joriki,” which is the powerarising from concentration. Joriki is connected withkensho in yet another way. Many people may neverbe able to reach kensho unless they have first cultiv-ated a certain amount of joriki, for otherwise theymay find themselves too restless, too nervous and un-

easy to persevere with their zazen. Moreover, unlessfortified by joriki, a single experience of kensho willhave no appreciable effect on your life and will fadeinto a mere memory. For although through the exper-ience of kensho you have apprehended the underlyingunity of the cosmos with your Mind’s eye, withoutjoriki you are unable to act with the total force ofyour being on what your inner vision has revealed toyou.

Likewise there is an interconnection between ken-sho and the third of these aims, mujodo no taigen.Kensho when manifested in all your actions is mu-jodo no taigen. With perfect enlightenment (anuttarasamyak-sambodhi) we apprehend that our conceptionof the world as dual and antithetical is false, and uponthis realization the world of Oneness, of true har-mony and peace, is revealed.

The Rinzai sect tends to make satori-awakeningthe final aim of sitting and skims over joriki and mu-jodo no taigen. Thus the need for continued practiceafter enlightenment is minimized, and koan studysince it is unsupported by zazen and scarcely re-

lated to daily life becomes essentially an intellectualgame instead of a means by which to amplify andstrengthen enlightenment.

On the other hand, while the practice advocatedin the official quarters of the Soto sect today stressesmujodo no taigen, in effect amounts to little morethan the accumulation of joriki, which, as I poin-ted out earlier, “leaks” or recedes and ultimatelydisappear unless zazen is carried on regularly. Thecontention of the Soto sect nowadays that kensho isunnecessary and that one need do no more than carryon daily activities with the Mind of the Buddha is spe-cious for without kensho you can never really knowwhat this Buddha mind is.

These imbalances in both sects⁸ in recent times⁸ For a poetic description of the differences between Rinzaiand Soto, the following from an unpublished manuscript ofthe late Nyogen Senzaki may be of interest: “Among Zenstudents it is said that ‘Rinzai’s teaching is like the frost ofthe late autumn, making one shiver, while the teaching ofSoto is like the spring breeze which caresses the flower help-ing it to bloom.’ There is another saying: ‘Rinzai’s teaching

have, unfortunately, impaired the quality of Zenteaching.

This concludes the discussion of the three aims ofzazen.

7 Individual Instruction

Continue to practice the exercise I gave you last time,namely, concentrating on your incoming and out-going breaths and endeavoring to experience eachbreath clearly.

This lecture will deal with dokusan 独参 (indi-vidual instruction which is the time allotted forbringing all problems pertaining the practice beforethe roshi in private. This tradition of individual teach-ing started with the honored Shakyamuni himselfand has continued unbroken until today. We knowis like a brave general who moves a regiment without delay,while the Soto teaching is like a farmer taking care of a ricefield, one stalk after another, patiently.’”

this because one of the great masters of Tendai,Chisha-daishi, in his systematizatioin of all the sut-ras under Eight Teachings and Five Periods, lists theSecret Teaching, which corresponds to dokusan.

Without this individual guidance we cannot saythat our practice of zazen is authentic. Unfortunately,since the Meiji period, nearly a hundred years ago,dokusan has virtually died out in the Soto sect, con-tinuing only in the Rinzai tradition. If we comparezazen to a journey on which some start rapidly andthen slow down, others begin slowly and later accel-erate their pace, some find one phase of the journeymore hazardous than another, and all carry differentburdens of luggage (that is, preconceived ideas), wecan begin to understand why individual guidance indokusan cannot be dispensed with.

It may be asked why it is necessary to keep dokusansecret. Since nothing immoral is involved, why can itnot be open and in public? First of all, since we are or-dinary people, with ego, in the presence of others weare inclined to make ourselves out to be better thanwe are. We cannot bare our souls and stand naked, as

it were. Likewise we hesitate to speak the whole truthfor fear of being laughed at. Or if the roshi scolds us,using harsh language, we become more concernedwith the effect of this on others than in listening tohim open-mindedly.

There is yet another reason for privacy in dokusan.After your first experience of kensho you move fromkoan to koan as your understanding deepens, andwere others to be present when you demonstratedthese koans, listening to the master’s replies, theymight think, “Oh, so that’s the answer!” withoutfully understanding the import of the koan. Obvi-ously this would hurt their practice, for instead ofcoming to their own realization and presenting itto the master, they would remember that this wasan acceptable answer but that was not, and thus, totheir own detriment, their koan practice would de-generate to mere intellection. For these reasons youshould remain silent when asked about a koan whichthe questioner has not yet passed. Irresponsible talkmay lead to other harmful consequences. Rumorsmay spread that one is savagely beaten in dokusan,

for example, giving Zen an undeservedly bad name.Therefore do not discuss your koans with anybody,not even your best friends or members of your fam-ily.

It is precisely this violation of the secrecy whichformerly surrounded the koan system that hasbrought about a steady deterioration in Rinzai teach-ing. What I am about to say does not apply to laypeople, who are generally serious in their practice.But in the monasteries, where there are monks whoresent the entire training, being there in the firstplace only to serve the period required to inheritthe resident priesthood of a temple, this problem be-comes serious. In monasteries where the disciplineis faulty an older monk will often say to a youngerone: “What koan are you working on?” When toldthe older one will say: “Do you understand it?” “No.”“All right, I will tell you the answer,” the older monksays, “and you buy me some cake in return.” An ac-complished teacher can tell whether the answer isauthentic or not, but if for some reason he himselfbecomes lukewarm, he may accept an answer which is

not the monk’s own. This practice may not be particu-larly harmful if such a monk spends only two or threeyears at a monastery before becoming the residentpriest of a temple, as his duties there will not requirehis evaluating another’s kensho. But it can happenthat there is no opening when he completes thisminimal training, so that he may remain at the mon-astery for perhaps eight or ten years, going throughthe entire koan system with answers which are nothis own. Finally, as is the custom in the Rinzai sectwhen one completes all the koans, one receives thetitle of teacher. In this way one with no real under-standing becomes “qualified” to guide others. Thisinsidious practice is undermining Zen teaching. Sotoscholars studying Zen academically justifiably attackthe koan system on just these grounds.

The next point concerns what questions are appro-priate during dokusan. All questions should relateto problems growing directly out of your practice.This naturally excludes personal problems. You mayfeel that the privacy of dokusan offers an excellentopportunity for the discussion of personal or theor-

etical matters, but you must bear in mind that thereare others waiting and that if you take up problemsother than those of your practice, you are hinderingthem. Properly, you may ask about your stomach, forinstance, if it is growling, or about your teeth hurt-ing so that you cannot eat, or about visions you maybe experiencing. You should not, however, ask aboutBuddhist doctrine or comparative philosophy or thedifference between one sutra and another. You mayask anything so long as it arises directly out of yourpractice.

The procedure for a new student is to make a mon-etary offering to the roshi before taking dokusan.Why, it may be asked, all this formality? Dokusan,it cannot be emphasized too strongly, is not a frivol-ous matter. While everyone is free to practice zazenand to listen to the roshi’s commentary at sesshin,the essential character of dokusan is the forming ofa karmic bond between teacher and disciple, the sig-nificance of which is deep in Buddhism. Dokusantherefore is not to be taken lightly. Moreover, sincewhat passes between the teacher and the student in

dokusan concerns problems of a deep and ultimatenature, only the truth must be spoken between them.Very often in public meetings one hesitates to saythings which might offend others, but this is notso in dokusan, where the absolute truth must alwaysprevail. For these reasons the proprieties which es-tablish this relationship are not to be slighted.

It is proper to wear ceremonial dress to dokusan,but as this is not insisted upon nowadays you maywear anything which is presentable. When dokusanis announced take a position in line behind the belloutside the zazen hall. When your turn comes andyou hear my hand-bell, strike the bell in front of youtwice and come to this room. You should not comedashing in, as that would cause confusion and youwould not be in a frame of mind to benefit fromdokusan. Neither should you saunter in, for thereare others waiting. It was the custom originally tomake three prostrations at the threshold, three infront of the teacher, and then three more at the door-way when you left, but this has now been abbreviated

to three prostrations altogether, one at each of theplaces mentioned.

In making your prostrations you should touch thetatami mat with your forehead, your hands extendedin front of your head, palms upward. Then, bendingyour arms at the elbows, raise your hand palms up-ward, several inches above your head. This gestureof receiving the feet, the lowliest members of theBuddha’s body, symbolizes humility and the gratefulacceptance into your life of the Way of the Buddha.Unless you have submerged your ego, you cannot dothis. Bear in mind that the roshi is not simply adeputy of the Buddha but actually stands in his place.In making these prostrations you are in fact payingrespect to the Buddha just as though he himself weresitting there, and to the Dharma.

Next take a position about a foot in front of me andannounce the nature of your practice. Simply say, “Iam counting my breaths,” “I am doing Mu,” or “Iam practicing shikan-taza.” Make any questions youhave brief and to the point. Should I have anything tosay to you, I will say it after you have finished. But do

not come in and waste time wondering what to talkabout; remember, others are waiting to see me. Myringing of this bell is your signal to bow down andleave. After that if you should remember something,you will have to bring it up at the following dokusan,because the next person will already be coming in.

This concludes the fifth lecture.

8 Shikan-taza只管打坐

Up to now you have been concentrating on yourbreaths, trying to experience vividly the inhaledbreath as only inhaled breath and the exhaled breathas only exhaled breath. Next I want you to try shikan-taza, which I will shortly describe in detail. It isneither usual nor desirable to change so quickly fromthese different exercises, but I have followed thiscourse in order to give you a taste of the differentmodes of concentration. After these introductory lec-tures are completed and you come before me singly, Iwill assign you a practice corresponding to the nature

of your aspiration as well as to the degree of your de-termination.

This lecture will deal with shikan-taza. Shikan只管 means “nothing but” or “just,” while ta 打means “to hit” and za 坐 “to sit.” So shikan-taza isa practice in which the mind is intensely involved injust sitting. In this type of zazen it is all too easyfor the mind, which is not supported by such aids incounting the breath or by a koan, to become distrac-ted. The correct temper of mind therefore becomesdoubly important. In shikan-taza the mind must beunhurried yet at the same time firmly planted ormassively composed, like Mount Fuji let us say. Butit must also be alert, stretched, like a taut bowstring.So shikan-taza is a heightened state of concentratedawareness wherein one is neither tense nor hurried,and certainly never slack. It is the mind of somebodyfacing death. Let us imagine that you are engaged ina duel of swordsmanship of the kind that used to takeplace in ancient Japan. As you face your opponent youare unceasingly watchful, set, ready. Were you to re-

lax your vigilance even momentarily, you would becut down instantly. A crowd gathers to see the fight.Since you are not blind you see them from the cornerof your eye, and since you are not deaf you hear them.But not for an instant is your mind captured by thesesense impressions.

This state cannot be maintained for long—in fact,you ought not to do shikan-taza for more than halfan hour at a sitting. After thirty minutes get up andwalk around in kinhin and then resume your sitting.If you are truly doing shikan-taza, in half an houryou will be sweating, even in winter in an unheatedroom, because of the heat generated by this intenseconcentration. When you sit for too long your mindloses its vigor, your body tires, and your efforts areless rewarding than if you had restricted your sittingto thirty-minute periods.

Compared with an unskilled swordsman a masteruses his sword effortlessly. But this was not alwaysthe case, for there was a time when he had to strainhimself to the utmost, owing to his imperfect tech-nique, to preserve his life. It is no different with

shikan-taza. In the beginning tension is unavoidable,but with experience this tense zazen ripens into re-laxed yet fully attentive sitting. And just as a masterswordsman in an emergency unsheathes his swordeffortlessly and attacks single-mindedly, just so theshikan-taza adept sits without strain, alert and mind-ful. But do not for one minute imagine that suchsitting can be achieved without long and dedicatedpractice. This concludes the talk on shikan-taza.

9 The Parable of Enyadatta

In the last half of this lecture I will take up the taleof Enyadatta which comes from the Ryogon (Sur-angama) sutra.⁹ This is an exceptionally fine parablethat will, if you reflect carefully upon it, clarify manyabstruse points of Buddhism.

This event is said to have occurred at the time of⁹ In the journey from India to Japan, Vajradatta, the half-demented villager mentioned in the sutra, was mysteriouslytransformed into the beautiful maiden Enyadatta.

the Buddha. Whether it is true or legendary I cannotsay. In any case, Enyadatta was a beautiful maidenwho enjoyed nothing more than gazing at herself inthe mirror each morning. One day when she lookedinto her mirror she found no head reflected there.Why not on this particular morning the sutra doesnot state. At any rate, the shock was so great that shebecame frantic, rushing around demanding to knowwho had taken her head. “Who has my head? Whereis my head? I shall die if I don’t find it!” she cried.Though everyone told her, “Don’t be silly, your headis on your shoulders where it has always been,” sherefused to believe it. “No, it isn’t! No, it isn’t! Some-body must have taken it!” she shouted, continuingher frenzied search. At length her friends, believingher mad, dragged her home and tied her to a pillarto prevent her harming herself.

The being bound can be compared to undertakingzazen. With the immobilization of the body the mindachieves a measure of tranquility. And while it is stilldistracted, as Enyadatta’s mind was in the belief that

she had no head, yet the body is now prevented fromscattering its energies.

Slowly her close friends persuaded her that she hadalways had her head and gradually she came to halfbelieve it. Her subconscious mind began to acceptthe fact that perhaps she was deluded in thinkingshe had lost her head.

Enyadatta’s receiving the reassurance of her friendscan be equated with hearing the roshi’s commentaries(teisho 提唱). Initially these are difficult to under-stand, but listening to them attentively, every wordsinking into your subconscious, you reach the pointwhere you begin to think: “Is that really true?… Iwonder… Yes, it must be.”

Suddenly one of her friends gave her a terrificclout on the head, upon which, in pain and shock,she yelled “Ouch!” “That’s your head! There it is!”her friend exclaimed, and immediately Enyadatta sawthat she had deluded herself into thinking she hadlost her head when in fact she had always had it.

In the same way, clouting in zazen is of the utmostvalue. To be jolted physically by the kyosaku stick or

verbally by a perceptive teacher at the right time—if it is too early, it is ineffective—can bring aboutSelf-realization. Not only is the kyosaku valuable forspurring you on, but when you have reached a decis-ive stage in you zazen a hard whack can precipitateyour mind into an awareness of its true nature—inother words, enlightenment.

When this happened to Enyadatta she was soelated that she rushed around exclaiming: “Oh, I’vegot it! I have my head after all! I’m so happy!”

This is the rapture of kensho. If the experienceis genuine, you cannot sleep for two or three nightsout of joy. Nevertheless, it is a half-mad state. To beoverjoyed at finding a head you had from the veryfirst is, to say the least, queer. Nor is it less oddto rejoice at the discovery of your Essential-nature,which you have never been without. The ecstasy isgenuine enough, but your state of mind cannot becalled natural until you have fully disabused yourselfof the notions, “I have become enlightened.” Markthis point well, for it is often misunderstood.

As her joy subsided, Enyadatta recovered from her

half-mad state. So it is with satori. When your deli-rium of delight recedes, taking with it all thoughtsof realization, you settle into a truly natural life andthere is nothing queer about it. Until you reach thispoint, however, it is impossible to live in harmonywith your environment or to continue on a course oftrue spiritual practice.

I shall now point out more specifically the sig-nificance of the first part of the story. Since mostpeople are indifferent to enlightenment, they are ig-norant of the possibility of such an experience. Theyare like Enyadatta when she was unconscious of herhead as such. This “head,” of course, corresponds tothe Buddha-nature, to our innate perfection. Thatthey even have a Buddha-nature never occurs tomost people until they hear衆生本来仏なり Shujohonrai hotoke nari—“All beings are endowed withBuddha-nature from the very first.” Suddenly theyexclaim: “Then I too must have the Buddha-nature!But where is it? Thus like Enyadatta when she firstmissed her head and started rushing about looking

for it, they commence their search for their Truenature.

They begin by listening to various teisho, whichseem contradictory and puzzling. They hear thattheir Essential-nature is no different from theBuddha’s—more, that the substance of the universeis coextensive with their own Buddha nature—yetbecause their minds are clouded with delusion theysee themselves confronted by a world of individualentities. Once they establish firm belief in the realityof the Buddha-nature, they are driven to discover itwith all the force of their being. Just as Enyadattawas never without her head, so are we never separ-ate from our essential Buddha-nature whether we areenlightened or not. But of this we are unaware. Weare like Enyadatta when her friends told her: “Don’tbe absurd, you have always had your head. It is anillusion to think otherwise.” The discovery of ourTrue-nature can be compared to Enyadatta’s discov-ery of her head. But what have we discovered? Onlythat we have never been without it! Nonetheless weare ecstatic, as she was at the finding of her head.

When the ecstasy recedes, we realize we have acquirednothing extraordinary, and certainly nothing pecu-liar. Only now everything is utterly natural.

10 Cause and Effect are One

You cannot hope to comprehend the exalted natureof Zen without understanding this lecture on ingaichinyo 印可一如, the meaning of which is thatcause and effect are one. This expression comes fromHakuin-senji’sChant in Praise of Zazen. Bear in mindthat this lecture will not be an explanation of causeand effect in the broad sense but only in relation tothe practice of zazen.

Strictly speaking, you ought not to think of zazenin terms of time. While it is generally true that ifyou do zazen for a year it will have an effect equalto a year’s effort, and that if you practice zazen forten years it will produce an effect proportionate toten years’ effort, yet the results of zazen in termsof enlightenment cannot be measured by the lengthof your practice. The fact is, some have gained deep

enlightenment after only a few years’ practice, whileothers have practiced as long as ten years without ex-periencing enlightenment.

From the commencement of practice one proceedsupward in clearly differentiated stages which can beconsidered a ladder of cause and effect. The wordinga印可, meaning cause and effect, implies both de-gree and differentiation, while ichinyo一如 signifiesequality or sameness or oneness. Thus while there aremany stages corresponding to the length of practice,at every one of these different stages the mind sub-stance is the same as that of a Buddha. Therefore wesay cause and effect are one. Until satori-awakening,however, you cannot expect to have a deep inner un-derstanding of inga.

Now let us relate this to the parable of Enyadatta,of which I spoke earlier. The time she saw no headreflected in the mirror and rushed about wildly look-ing for it—this is the first, or bottom, step. Whenher friends tied her to a pillar and insisted she had ahead; when she began to think, “Possibly this is so”;when they whacked her and she yelled “Ouch!” and

realized she had a head after all; when she rejoicedat finding it; when finally her joy abated and havinga head felt so natural that she no longer thoughtabout it—all these are different steps and degreesof progression—when viewed retrospectively, that is.At every one of these stages she was never withouther head, of course, but this she realized only aftershe had “found” it.

In the same way, after enlightenment we real-ize that from the very first we were never withoutBuddha-nature. And just as it was necessary for En-yadatta to go through all these phases in order tograsp the fact that she had always had a head, sowe must pass through successive stages of zazen inorder to apprehend directly our True-nature. Thesesuccessive steps are causally related, but the fact thatwe are intrinsically Buddha, which in the parableis Enyadatta’s realization that she had always had ahead—this is equality, or undifferentiation.

Thus Dogen-zenji in his Shobogenzo states: “Thezazen of every beginners manifests the whole of theirEssential-nature.” He is saying there that correct za-

zen is the actualization of the Bodhi-mind, the Mindwith which we all are endowed. This zazen is sai-jojo, wherein the Way of the Buddha suffuses yourentire being and enters into the whole of your life.Although we are unaware of all this at first, as ourpractice progresses we gradually acquire understand-ing and insight and finally, with satori, wake up to thefact that zazen is the actualization of our inherentlypure Buddha-nature, whether we are enlightened ornot.

11 Oneness and Manyness

When you have kensho you see into the world of one-ness, or equality, and this realization can be eithershallow or deep; usually a first kensho is shallow. Ineither case, you still do not understand the worldof differentiation, the world that people ordinarilyassume they do understand. As you continue yourpractice on subsequent koans your awareness of theworld of oneness, of non-differentiation becomesclearer, and since it is through this world of oneness

that you are seeing the world of differentiation, thislatter also becomes clearer.

At the beginning, the perception of oneness is notdistinct—there is still the idea of “something con-fronting me!” With deepening practice this barriergradually dissolves. Even so, the feeling that othersare actually oneself is still weak, and this is partic-ularly true when these others have qualities we donot like. With a shallow kensho we resist the feel-ing that such people are indeed oneself. With furthertraining, though, you are able to live a life of equalityand to see that even people whom you recognize ashaving negative characteristics are not less than your-self. When you truly realize the world of oneness, youcould not fight another even if that “other” wanted tokill you, for that person is nothing less than a mani-festation of yourself. It would not even be possibleto struggle against him. One who has realized theworld of equality will regard with compassion evenpeople who have homicidal intentions, since in a fun-damental sense they and oneself are of equal worth.In the same way, all of nature, mountains and rivers,

are seen as oneself. In this deeper realization of one-ness you will feel the preciousness of each object inthe universe, rejecting nothing, since things as wellas people will be seen as essential aspects of yourself.This deeper awareness, mind you, comes only afteryour practice has fully matured.

Let us take the body as a concrete example of theabsolute equality of things. In the realization of thesameness aspect, of each object having equal value,your face and the soles of your feet are not different;one is not high and the other low. Similarly, a law-breaker is not inherently evil, nor is a law-abidingperson a pillar of virtue.

Nevertheless, for society to function harmoni-ously, people who go against the accepted laws—whokill or steal, for example—must be segregated for theprotection of others. This being true, it is clear thatthere is another aspect, that of relativity—in this caseof moral distinctions.

To understand and act upon differences is not asimple matter. For example, one who truly under-stood differentiation and could function in accord-

ance with it would never overeat; he or she would eatonly when hungry, and then just enough to satisfyhunger. Ordinary people who have not yet awakenedthink they understand the relative, common world ofdistinctions, but true understanding can take placeonly when the aspect of oneness has been realizedin depth. Having experienced the world of equal-ity through kensho, one now sees differences in andthrough the aspect of sameness.

When I first came to America and looked into thefaces of the people, they all looked alike. But now Ican differentiate faces here quite easily. You can helppeople only when you are able to recognize and acceptthe differences among them, seeing each individualin the light of his or her own unique qualities. To doso represents an advanced state of training.

Even after kensho, when you perceive thateverything is one and you are no longer confronted byan external world, you still cannot live in and throughthat experience. Somehow you keep returning to theprevious state of mind. However, if you continue towork on subsequent koans, each time you resolve

another koan, that experience is reaffirmed and youreturn to the world of non-duality with great clarity.Gradually the clarity and the ability to live in thisworld of oneness improve.

So there is both suddenness and gradualness inZen training. The experience of awakening is sudden,but the integration of the experience into your life isgradual.

To awaken quickly is not necessarily advantageous,nor is to take long time necessarily disadvantageous.When you practice earnestly each day, you are actu-alizing in your life the aspect of oneness. Thoughnot even striving for enlightenment, one is gradu-ally becoming aware of the world of equality throughwholehearted, single-minded zazen.

Hearing this last, you may think, “If throughwholehearted zazen in our daily life we are actualiz-ing the kensho state of mind, what need is there tothink about kensho?” As you have heard me say manytimes when you are involved in zazen to the point ofself-transcendence, that is enlightenment manifest-ing itself. Therefore it is said in Zen, “One minute

of sitting, one minute of being a Buddha.” Zazen isthe cause of which enlightenment is the effect. Butsince this cause and effect are simultaneous, or one,you are not consciously aware of this enlightenment.Realizing this intrinsic enlightenment—suddenly ex-claiming, “Oh, this is it!”—is something else again.This latter is a distinct effect, different from “causeand effect are one,” and its realization requires thestrong faith that one can awaken to one’s True-nature. This vital point must not be overlooked.

12 The Three Essentials of Zen Practice

What I am about to say is especially applicable todaijo Zen, which is specifically directed toward satori,but it also embraces saijojo, though in a lesser degree.

① The first of the three essentials of Zen prac-tice is strong faith (daishinkon大信根). This is morethan mere belief. The ideogram for kon 根 means“root,” and that for shin信, “faith.” Hence the phraseimplies a faith that is firmly and deeply rooted, im-movable, like an immense tree or a huge boulder.

It is a faith, moreover, untainted by belief in thesupernatural or the superstitious. Buddhism has of-ten been ascribed as both a rational religion and areligion of wisdom. But a religion it is, and whatmakes it one is this element of faith, without whichit is merely philosophy. Buddhism starts with theBuddha’s supreme enlightenment, which he attainedafter strenuous effort. Our deep faith, therefore, is inhis enlightenment, the substance of which he pro-claimed to be that human nature, all existence, isintrinsically whole, flawless, omnipotent—in a word,perfect. Without unwavering faith in this the heartof the Buddha’s teaching, it is impossible to progressfar in one’s practice.

② The second indispensable quality is a feelingof strong doubt (daigidan 大疑団).¹⁰ Not a simpledoubt, mind you, but a “doubt-mass”—and this in-evitably stems from strong faith. It is a doubt as towhy we and the world should appear so imperfect,¹⁰ In Zen, “doubt” implies not skepticism but a state ofperplexity, of probing inquiry, of intense self-questioning.

so full of anxiety, strife, and suffering, when in factour deep faith tells us exactly the opposite is true. Itis a doubt which leaves us no rest. It is as thoughwe knew perfectly well we were millionaires and yetinexplicably found ourselves in dire need without apenny in our pockets. Strong doubt therefore, existsin proportion to strong faith.

I can illustrate this state of mind with a simpleexample. Take a man who has been sitting smokingand suddenly finds that the pipe which was in hishand a moment before has disappeared. He beginssearch for it in the complete certainty of finding it.It was there a moment ago, no one has been near, itcannot have disappeared. The longer he fails to find it,the greater the energy and determination with whichhe hunts for it.

③ From this feeling of doubt the third essential,strong determination (dai-funshi 大憤志), naturallyarises. It is an overwhelming determination to dis-pel this doubt with the whole force of our energyand will. Believing with every pore of our being inthe truth of the Buddha’s teaching that we are all en-

dowed with the immaculate Bodhi-mind we resolveto discover and experience the reality of this Mindfor ourselves.

The other day someone who had quite misun-derstood the state of mind required by these threeessentials asked me: “Is there more for believing weare Buddhas than accepting the fact that the world asit is is perfect, that the willow is green and the carna-tion red?” The fallacy of this is self-evident. If we donot question why greed and conflict exist, why the or-dinary man or woman acts like anything but Buddha,no determination arises in us to resolve the obviouscontradiction between what we believe as a matter offaith and what our senses tell us is just the contrary,and our zazen is thus deprived of a prime source ofpower.

I shall now relate these three essentials to daijo andsaijojo Zen. While all three are present in daijo, thisdoubt is the main prod to satori because it allows usno rest. Thus we experience satori, and the resolutionof this doubt, more quickly with daijo Zen.

In saijojo, on the other hand, the element of faith

is strongest. No fundamental doubt of the kind Imentioned assails us and so we are not driven to ridourselves of it, for we sit in the unswerving faith thatwe are inherently Buddhas. Unlike daijo Zen, saijojo,which you will recall is the purest type of zazen, doesnot involve the anxious striving for enlightenment. Itis zazen wherein ripening takes place naturally, cul-minating in enlightenment. At the same time saijojois the most difficult zazen of all, demanding resoluteand dedicated sitting.

However, in both types of zazen all three elementsare indispensable, and teachers of old have said thatso long as they are simultaneously present it is easierto miss the ground with a stamp of the foot than tomiss attaining perfect enlightenment.

.

13 Aspiration

Even while we all do zazen, our individual aspirationsare not identical. These aspirations resolve them-selves into four main groups or levels.

① The first and shallowest level involves neitherfaith in Zen Buddhism nor even a cursory under-standing of it. One just happens to hear about it anddecides to try sitting with a zazen group or in a ses-shin. Nevertheless, that out of millions of deludedpeople entirely ignorant of Buddhism one particularindividual should be led to this 2,500-year-old, un-broken line of teaching is, in the Buddhist view, nota fortuitous but a karmic circumstance and thereforeof vast spiritual significance.

② The second level of aspiration is a level whichgoes no deeper than the desire to do zazen in order toimprove physical or mental health or both. This, youwill recall, falls into the first of the five classificationsof Zen, namely, bompu (ordinary) Zen.

③ At the third level we find people who, no longersatisfied merely to increase their physical and mental

well-being, want to tread the path of the Buddha.They recognize how exalted is the Buddhist cosmo-logy, which views existence as not confined to onelife-span but endlessly evolving lifetime after lifetime,with the circle of human destiny completed onlyupon the attainment of Buddhahood. More, theyhave established faith in the reality of the enlighten-ment experience, and though the resolve to attain ithas not yet been awakened, the desire to pursue theBuddha’s Way is clear and real.

④ The fourth level comprises those determined torealize their True self. They know this experience tobe a living reality, for they have encountered peoplewho have had it, and they are convinced they can like-wise attain it. When they come before their teacherthey come with an open mind and a humble heart,ready to follow whatever course he prescribes, securein the knowledge that by so doing they can realizetheir goal in the shortest time.

I will now quickly recapitulate these four classesof aspirants, those who, having no particular faith

in Zen, come to it through fortunate karmic circum-stances; those who practice zazen through desire onlyto add to their physical or mental health or both;those who practice Zen out of belief in the exaltednature of the Buddha’s teaching; and those who havea strong determination to become enlightened.

Hereafter you will come before me one by one andI will ask you what you feel to be the nature of youraspiration, that is, into which of the four classes youfall. Tell me your feelings honestly. Do not add any-thing through pride, and do not subtract anythingout of false modesty. Depending upon what you tellme, I will assign you the zazen most appropriate foryou.

There is no definitive practice which applies toeveryone. Generally speaking, those who put them-selves in the first class are assigned the practice ofcounting their breaths; those in the second categorythe following of their breath; in the third class,shikan-taza; and in the fourth, a koan, usually Mu.¹¹¹¹ It is not wise to assign yourself a koan. Only a teacher

When students come before me individually forthe first time, they make all manner of curious replies.Some say: “I think I belong between the first andsecond classes.” Others tell me: “I have a chronicallybad stomach, so would you assign me a type of zazenthat will help this condition?” Or sometimes a per-son will say: “I am somewhat neurotic; what kind ofzazen would be good for that?”

Depending on the type of person and the strengthof their determination, I prescribe what I believe tobe a suitable practice. With stolid individuals it isusually desirable to spur them on with the kyosaku,whereas somewhat nervous or sensitive people can dobetter zazen without it. Only if your appraisal of yourfeelings is frank can I select for you the most effectivepractice.

who has given you dokusan and therefore knows your tem-perament, aspiration, and capabilities can, with your helpassign you a suitable koan and, especially in the beginning,give you the necessary guidance.

Rochester Zen Center

The Matheson TrustFor the Study of Comparative Religion

•••