Good morning, everyone. In this Genzoe, we are going to study Shobo Genzo Bushō in Japanese. Bushō means Buddha nature. I use this translation by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe. Do all people have the text? Actually, I had Genzo in February at San Francisco Zen Center, and I talked on the first half of this chapter of Shobo Genzo. So this time, I'm going to talk on the second half. But before starting to talk on the second half, I'm going to, as an introduction, talk a little bit about the Fattage Buddha nature as a Buddhist term before Dogen.

[01:19]

Otherwise, Fattogen discussion doesn't make any sense. And I try to briefly review the first half, and probably from tomorrow I can start the second half of this chapter. First of all, I'd like to tell you the structure of this chapter. This is divided into 13 sections, 13. And if you have this book, the first beginning is page 60. And if you have this version, same translation, but this is what I typed for myself.

[02:36]

Of course, first section is page number one, and second is in this book, page 65. About the middle of this page, it says, Buddha said, if we wish to know the Buddha natures. This is the beginning of the second section. First, let me talk about this book. And third section starts page 67. The twelfth patriarch, Ashiva Gosha, is the beginning of section 3. And page 69, the beginning of 69, says, The fifth patriarch, Zen Master Taman, this is the beginning of section 4.

[03:42]

And page 72 says, from the six Chinese patriarchs, Chan Master Pachen of Mount Pasu. This is beginning of section 5. And section 6, start page 75, said, The Sixth Patriarch Taught His Disciple Shin Chan. This is the beginning of section 6. And page 77, section 7, said, The Sage Ryuju Sonja, the Fourteenth Patriarch, This is the beginning of section 7. And this section is very long. It continues until page 84. The bottom of page 84 says, National Teacher Chang of Hangzhou.

[04:56]

This is the beginning of section 8. On page 86, about the middle of this page, it says, Chan Master Tha Yang of Mount Tha Kway. This is beginning of section 9. On page 88, second paragraph, Chan Master Tha Chi of Mount Po Chan is the beginning of section 10. And the bottom of the same page, Hsuan-Pu was sitting in Nan Chan's tearoom in the beginning of section 11. Can you go back to section 10? Section 10 starts page 88, second paragraph.

[05:58]

The paragraph starts something like, Chan Master Tachi on Mount Po-Chan. Okay? And section 11 starts at the bottom of the same page. And section 12 begins page 91. The last paragraph of page 91 said, a monk asked . This is section 12. And the final section, 13, start 94. Second paragraph from the bottom said, at an assembly of the practiser under Chan-sha Chin-tien, Master Chu said, this is the beginning of section 13.

[07:02]

And this time I'm going to talk from section 8, page 84. But today, I'm going to talk about what Buddha nature is as a Buddhist terminology. And also, maybe this afternoon, I'm going to review the first seven sections. This chapter, Shōbōgenzo Bushō, was written in the year 1241. As you know, Dōgenzenji was born in the year 1200, and he became a Buddhist monk when he was 13.

[08:12]

So 1213. And he started to study Zen with his original Japanese teacher, Myozen, in 1217. So he was 17 years old. And in the year 1223, he went to China together with his teacher, Myozen. And he stayed in China until 1227. And he went back to Japan after he received Dharma transmission from Tendo Nyojo Zenji. And in this year he wrote Kanzazengi, the original version of Kanzazengi or Universal Recommendation of Zazen. This is a very short and poetic description of how to sit and what the meaning of Zazen.

[09:21]

And from 27 to 1230, He stayed at Kenrinji, the original Rinzai Monastery he practiced together with Nyozen. But somehow he found that was not a good place for him to transmit the Dharma and practice he received from his own teacher. So he left Kenminji and started to live by himself in this year. And the next year, 31, he wrote Bendoa. Bendowa is a description of what is his zazen. And he named his zazen Jiju-Yu Zanmai. And Jiju-Yu Zanmai is the main first part of Bendowa.

[10:24]

And he made up 18 questions and he gave his own answer to those questions people at his time may have. And he lived in that way by himself until 1233, so a few years. And in this year, he founded his own monastery, Koshoji. So Dogenzen became the adult of this small temple. And maybe he had a small number of disciples. And in this year, he wrote Shobo Genzo, Maka Hanyu Haramitsu. Maka Hanyu Haramitsu, Maha Prajnaparamita. This is a kind of a very precise comment on the Heart Sutra. And he wrote Maka Hanyu Haramitsu during the summer practice period.

[11:28]

And in the fall, in the autumn, he wrote Genzo Koan. This is also very well-known and important writing of Dogen. This Makahanya Haramichi and Genjo Koan is the first two writings of Shobo Genzo. So this is the beginning of writing Shobo Genzo, 1233. So Dogen Zenji was still 33 years old. very young, as a Zen master. Several years after he founded his own monastery, I think he was busy to establish the sangha and temple buildings, so he didn't write Shodo Genzo until 1237. Kuremi 37, he wrote Ikka no Myouju, or One Bright Pearl.

[12:39]

And after 1937, so during between 1933 and 1937, he wrote writings such as Tendo Kyokum, or Instruction for the Cook, to give an instruction how people need to practice that kind of inattitude toward the Sangha practice. And also Gakudo Yojinshu, Gakudo Yojinshu is collection of ten very short independent essays written in Chinese. And the translation of this one is points to watch in practicing the way. And he also wrote the description of precept ceremony or pre-ordination ceremony. And after 1937, he started to write many chapters of Shobo Genzo.

[13:56]

And 1240, He wrote chapters such as Raihai Tokuzui, Raihai Tokuzui is Attaining the Marrow by Making Prostration, or Keisei Sanshoku, Sound of Valley Stream and Colors of Mountains, Uji, being and time, and Sansui-kyo, mountains and waters sutra. So he wrote very important chapters in this year, 1240. And also he wrote Kesakudoku, on the virtue of Kesa, this robe. And 1241 he wrote how many? 10 volumes besides this chapter, Bussho.

[15:06]

And he keep writing many chapters of Shōbō Genzo until 1245. 1246 is the last year he wrote Shōbō Genzo. That was Shukkei or Home Living. But between 1237 to 1245 and 1243, he left Koshoji and moved to Echizen to found another monastery originally named Daibutsuji and later renamed as Eheiji. So Shobo Genzo is basically, the main part of Shobo Genzo was written at Koshoji and in the process of moving, not at Heiji.

[16:09]

So two years after he wrote Buddha Nature, he left Kyoto and moved to Echizen. And together with Dendowa and Genjo Koan, this chapter, Bushiro or Buddha Nature, have been considered to be three most important parts of Shobo Genjo. That is when this writing was written. I talk about what is the Buddha nature. Please. One question. In moving to Echizen, he still continued riding during moving?

[17:16]

Was this a long trip on foot? Well, the trip itself took about one week or so from Kyoto to Echizen. Not so far. Maybe one week was enough. But when they moved, they didn't have temples. So they had to stay one very old temple which had no kitchen. So it said that Tenzo had to cook at the farming house in the bottom of the mountain and had to carry each meal. So this move must be very kind of sudden and not well planned. So there must be some reason they had to move suddenly, and we don't know why. And we were at A.G. that we had to carry the box of noodles down, but maybe it was remembered.

[18:21]

Yeah, now A.G. is too big. But during while he stayed at those small old temples, one or two, two temples, he wrote more than 20 chapters of Shobo Genzo. So he was very productive during this period of transition. What were the two very most important parts of Shobo Genzo? I thought you said that's not part of the Shobo Genzo, though, right? Yeah. Today, we don't think Bendowa is part of the Shobo Genzo. But until I was a student, it was. Bendo was included within the 95-chapter version of Shōbō Genzō.

[19:30]

That was made up in the 18th century because people in the 18th century knew Dōgen Zenji wanted to write 100 chapters, and yet he couldn't because he died. So they tried to make Shōbōgen as close as his original plan. So they collected all possible writings of Dōgen Zenji and and includes a few things which were never considered to be a part of Shōbō Genzo, such as this one, Gendowa, and something like Jū-undōshiki. Jū-undōshiki is more like a regulation or rules in the Second Sōdō at Kōshōji, and Jiku-inmon.

[20:39]

Those three and a few more are not considered to be a part of Shōbō Genzo. But people in the 18th century put them together and made a 95-chapter version of Shōbō Genzo. But that was not Dōgenzenji's intention. So today we don't think Bendo is a part of Shōbō Genzo. No one knows. Okay, Buddha nature. Buddha nature is, of course, very important. concept in Mahayana Buddhism.

[21:45]

I mean, this is the word Buddha nature. We don't know the original word of Buddha nature in Sanskrit. Some people scholars think that is a translation of Buddha-ta. Ta is a word which makes kind of a, what is the word, make this word as a, I forget the word, something like a nest in English, so Buddha nest or something like that. But this Sanskrit word, buddhata, is translated into Chinese in a different way. Never translated as busho.

[22:47]

Pardon me? Yeah, busho. In the case of Bussho or Buddha nature, it's not about a Buddha. It's about human beings, not human beings, living beings. So Buddha nature is more like a possibility to become Buddha. And yet Buddha nature and Buddhata or Buddhanness constructively the same. I remember last time you were saying that water has wetness as a quality. Is that the same sense? Yeah, whether water is in the form of ice or steam or cloud or in the old, essentially the same, water is the same.

[23:54]

Is it the same sense? Yeah, I think so. In Mahayana Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhists need this concept, Buddha nature. Before that, in the early Buddhism, they didn't need Buddha nature because no one thought besides Shakyamuni Buddha could become a Buddha. So no one had Buddha nature, no possibility to become Buddha. So there's no need of Buddha nature. But somehow in Mahayana Buddhism, people started to think all living beings have possibility to become Buddha. And they considered we can be all bodhisattvas. The word Bodhisattva is used only refer to the Shakyamuni Buddha before he became Buddha.

[25:03]

So Bodhisattva or Bodhisattva in Pali is only one particular person. And as Bodhisattva, Shakyamuni practiced many lives in different forms of life. And finally, 2500 years ago in India, he was born and he became really a Buddha. So both sattva and Buddha means only Shakyamuni, differ to only Shakyamuni. But in the Mahayana Buddhism, people started to think not only Shakyamuni, but all of us, all living beings, not only human, have possibility to become Buddha, only if we allowed so-called body-mind or bodhicitta.

[26:09]

that is about to become buddha and actually practice toward that direction all of us can be positive and that means we have possibility to become buddha all of us Of course, there are many interpretations. That's the point Dogen is going to discuss, what is Buddha nature. Anyway, so even though we are considered to be a bodhisattva, we allow the body-mind and start to practice, somehow we find we are not like Buddha.

[27:11]

We are so self-centered and so deluded. Even our bodhicitta can be self-centered. I want to become Buddha. It's a very deep desire. And even though we try to practice as much as possible, still we are deluded and we create so many problems and we are not so strong like, you know, Shakyamuni. And yet, somehow we want to practice. And in order to practice in this way, we need a kind of a faith that even though now at this stage, at present stage, we are so deluded. so self-centered and our practice is so incomplete, still if we continue to practice in this way for many years, there's a possibility to become Buddha.

[28:22]

Without this kind of faith or trust, we cannot practice. And that makes sense, to practice in that way. So we need something which kind of assures that in the future we can become better. Otherwise, there's no way to practice not so easy things. We need to go through very difficult conditions. So without this, there is no trust in the possibility to become Buddha. That means we are in a very immature stage. as a Buddha's children. And yet if we are Buddha's children, if we grow, keep growing and practice and study things, then we become Buddha, then we grow up.

[29:28]

For Bodhisattva or Mahayana Buddhists, this faith or trust is really important. It's almost like a foundation of Bodhisattva path or practice. so this concept or a word or expression buddha nature was made up actually using mahayana sutra before that there's no such word in buddhism and the first mahayana sutra which refer to this concept of Buddha nature. Another word for Buddha nature is tathagatagarbha. Tathagatagarbha. Tathagatagarbha is the same as Buddha, and garbha means embryo, embryo or womb.

[30:46]

The first Mahayana sutra which discuss this word in Indian Buddhism actually, Tathagatagarbha, is more common than the word Buddha nature. The first sutra that discuss about Tathagatagarbha is named Tathagatagarbha Sutra. And this is one of the so-called Middle Mahayana Sutras. That means Mahayana Sutras are categorized into three phases. First, the early Mahayana sutras, such as the Prajnaparamita Sutra or Lotus Sutra or Avatamsaka Sutra, those were written before Nagarjuna. In India, the history is not so clear, so we can only say that before Nagarjuna.

[31:54]

The sutras made before Nagarjuna, I think Nagarjuna lived second to third century. So Mahayana sutras made before that was called early Mahayana sutras. And between Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, Vasubandhu is another important Mahayana, Indian Mahayana philosopher, belongs to Yogacara school. And he lived around the fifth century. So the sutras made between Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu was called the Middle Mahayana Sutras. And the sutras made after Vastanthi was called the Later Mahayana Sutras. And this is made between Nagarjuna

[33:01]

And I mean, after Nagarjuna, before Vasubandhu, because within Nagarjuna's writings, we couldn't find this kind of concept of Buddha-nature or Tathagatagarbha. And Vasubandhu wrote a thesis about Buddha-nature. And when we read this sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra, it's kind of very interesting. In the beginning of this sutra, it describes, you know, this entire universe is filled with lotus flowers. It's so beautiful and glorious, but somehow the lotus flower withers and dies out and rots and smells so bad.

[34:12]

But somehow each and every, you know, not beautiful anymore. It smells bad. Lotus flowers, there's Buddha. Each Buddha is sitting. So the lotus flower refers to each one of us. That means we used to be like a lotus flower, dharma flower, but somehow we are rotten, smell bad. And yet within this rotten flower, Buddha is sitting. That is the beginning of this Tathagatagarbha Sutra. So the image of Tathagatagarbha or Buddha nature is even though we are covered with delusions, still within us a Buddha is sitting.

[35:23]

That is a very basic image of Tathagatagarbha, of Buddha nature. This sutra mentions four kind of metaphor or image of Buddha nature. Not four, but let's see, nine. Those are, you know, Buddha, sitting Buddha within the rotten lotus flower is first one. And second one is like a honey. Honey, honey within the beehive. Honey is, you know, very sweet thing. But if we want to get honey, we have to somehow work with the bees.

[36:29]

Until we have to, we do something to do something with the bees, we cannot get the honey. That is another image of Buddha nature or the Dharatagarbha. That means those bees are our delusions. Even though honey is there, until we get rid of bees, we cannot get the honey. That is the second image of Buddha nature. Pardon? It kind of shows that there is In my mind, a rotten flower cannot be revived. But in the Ami, it is more doable. Well, there are, you know, in each example or metaphor, there are some points which fit and some points which doesn't fit.

[37:33]

So we need to make the image through all these images. So let me continue. And another one is grain covered with husk, you know, like rice. Until we take the husk out, we cannot eat rice. So nutrition is there, but for us human beings, unless we take the husk out, shell out, and refine, we cannot eat. So this is also again covered by something which is not useful. And the husk is our delusion. And the fourth image or example is a piece of gold. A piece of gold

[38:35]

fell into, what is the word? I checked the word and talked at San Francisco. Yeah, it's night soil. Night soil. Night soil. Do you understand? experience. You know, in Japan we had a place to, you know, save, store the shit in order to make it a compost. And, you know, the gold is a very precious thing and it never doesn't change.

[39:41]

So even if the piece of gold is within the night soil, it's still gold. It's not affected by the smells. And yet, you know, we don't know unless we found it and wash it. you know, we cannot use as a piece of gold. So it's very precious and important and valuable, and yet it's hidden. It's a very dirty thing. That is an image of Buddha nature. Pardon? And the fifth is a very poor family, lived in a very, you know, half-broken house. But somehow, the underneath of the house, the other treasures are buried.

[40:48]

But those poor people didn't know that the gold is there underneath the ground. And someone who knew that visited the family and tell them, you have a really great treasure. And when they dug, dig the ground, they found that treasure. That is another image of Buddha nature. That means we don't know, even though we have a treasure. And yet the treasure is hidden. So we need someone teaching that you have a great treasure. And if we dig the ground, if we practice, we can find that treasure. So Buddha nature is something like a hidden treasure. Does it say that somebody else from outside has to find it for you?

[41:53]

Well, in this case, that person means a teacher or Buddha. Right. Right. Right. And sixth metaphor is a seed of trees. You know, within a seed, we cannot find anything like a tree, big, huge tree. But when a seed is planted in a soil and it has certain conditions which support to sprout and grow, the seeds start to grow and become a huge tree which provides a cool shade to all living beings. So tree is an image of Buddha.

[42:57]

And we are like a seed of the tree. Within us there's nothing like a tree, huge tree. But if we allow the body-mind, and start to practice and grow, and if all the other conditions help us to keep practice, in the future we can be like a Buddha, like a huge big tree. So that seed is another image of Buddha nature, Vatatagatagarbha. Garba also means seed? No. Garba means embryo as a baby within the womb or also means womb. It can be both. So something contained in the container. Both. So if I were to put a seed in a light of consciousness, would it be something different?

[44:06]

Put a seed, would it be a potential? What shall I do? What's the difference between Arraya Consciousness and Tathagatagarbha or Nyoraido become a kind of a topic to discussion, whether these two are same or different. And there are many interpretations. And seventh image is According to the sutra, it says someone wanted to carry a golden Buddha statue, but he was afraid of So he hide the golden Buddha statue with rugs, very dirty rugs, try not to see something important.

[45:15]

As he expected, he was attacked by the bandits and he was killed, and the golden Buddha covered with rags was abandoned in the desert. So no one knew there was such an important Buddha statue within that rug. But someone later came and found that thing and opened the rug. The person found the Golden Buddha. That is another image of Buddha nature. So our Buddha nature was We don't know, we don't care. We care more about how to take care of my desire and chase after something we want.

[46:24]

But we don't care about the golden Buddha hidden within the dirty rug. That doesn't even have to be an awe. I mean, you could just go get it from somebody. I don't know. I don't think so. This one doesn't make sense to me, but it said in ancient India, if a woman from a very, you know, in India, the caste is very strict. A woman who is from a very low caste, if that woman has a baby of the king, then the baby of that mother from the humble birth can be considered the king's son.

[47:34]

and has a right to succeed the throne. That is another image. And yet, if the empress had a baby of a man from humble birth, it doesn't work in that way. And a knife is like a pen. We, not we, but they make a Buddha statue. First they make the original form and what we call a mold. The mold. And put gold, gold is in the mold. And so the statue is still covered with mold.

[48:36]

So in order to take the Buddha out, we have to destroy the mold. That is a nice image of Tathagatagarbha or Buddha nature. So through those nine examples, we can see the concept or image of Buddha nature. That is something very... valuable, precious thing, and yet it's hidden within something dirty or valuable. That is the basic image of Buddha nature or Tathagatagarbha. These images came from different people. I think so. What period? I don't know how long was the period, but I think from the beginning of Mahayana Buddhism, that start I think around first century before Komunera, and this was written

[49:57]

I think around the 5th century, so at least 200 or 300 years. So from this metaphor, we can see Buddha nature is something very precious, but it is hidden within something dirty or valuable thing. And like a gold, even though it was hidden and covered with dirt or shit, still gold is gold. It doesn't change. It doesn't reduce the value. I think that is the important point of this necromancy. And as a Buddhist philosophy, this concept of Buddha nature or Tathagatagarbha is problematic from the very beginning.

[51:11]

Buddha nature or Tathagatagarbha is something hidden inside of us, living beings, and which doesn't change. Something like, sounds like Atman. You know, Buddha taught, only five skandhas are here. There is Buddha nature, which doesn't change, which is there even when we are deluded. So, you know, an Atman or no self or no ego, no soul is really important point of Buddha's teaching. Then what is that thing which doesn't change and which always exists within five skandhas? I think that is a question So even today, some Buddhist scholars think that idea or theory of Tathagatagarbha is against Buddhism.

[52:25]

It's more like Hinduism. Of course, this idea is generated, you know, using a kind of a interaction between Buddhist teaching and Hinduism, I think. So even today Buddhist scholars are discussing whether it can be Buddhism influenced by Hinduism or this is not Buddhism. There are a lot of exchanges like that. Like, I'd write about the Dhamma special about some Buddhist ideas from the Garjuna, but then it looks like their idea, I don't, I'd write about the school of Hinduism, Hindu philosophy, and this idea of Atman and Bodhisattva, kind of similar to each other. Yeah. I think there's a tendency to objectify, reify, and make something a thing.

[53:30]

Like, Shri Ramana Sutra and Buddha pointed out, that there is impermanence means a must in the same sense. So that which is observing change is, by definition, that which does not change, even though it's now a thing. Yeah. When we think about something and make a concept, somehow that concept seems really exist. That is a problem. So we need to always, how can I say, destroy or deconstruct those concepts. And that is what Dogen is doing in this writing. So he's trying to kind of save Buddha nature from that kind of path. you know, to consider Buddha-nature something like Atman, which exists within ourselves and which doesn't change, or something like a seed, and if it grows, it becomes a Buddha.

[54:35]

I guess experientially, you know, when we drop everything, People experience different, you know, different ways, although it's not nothing. It's experiential. Yeah. What Dogen is saying is Buddha-no-chai is not something, some kind of existence inside of ourselves, but it's a practice. It's our experience. So it's moving, it's changing. One of the most important statements by Dogen in this writing is, impermanence is Buddha-nature. That is kind of against the common idea of Buddha-nature. That is like a gold, it never changes. Dogen said Buddha-nature, the reality of impermanence itself is Buddha-nature.

[55:38]

What's the difference between Buddha nature, the idea of the Tathagata Dharma, and the Sarvabhadra idea of... There was an early school of Buddhism that people claimed that they did not feel like a permanent soul. Is there a relation between the Tathagata Dharma and that idea? I don't think they believe in souls. What they said is they analyzed Dharma more than five scandals that are analyzed and categorized into five categories and 75 dharmas. And these 75 dharmas exist all the time. So the dharmas in the past, dharmas in this present moment, and dharmas in the future are all So the dharmas in the past is still there, in the past.

[56:47]

This is the idea of the service version. I think it's interesting. Without this kind of idea, we cannot think of a time trip. If we can travel through time, then if past is still there, then we can visit the past. But if past is already really gone, then there's no way to go back to the past. And we don't know, I don't know whether it's really possible or not. But that is the idea of service wagon. Please. Space was added as a discoverer? Space? Space. Yeah, space as a... Well, there are two kinds of space. One is... space in this graph, if we fill this graph with water, that space is eliminated, disappears.

[58:00]

That is one kind of space, and that is considered to be a looper. But even if this space is filled with water, this space itself never disappears. And that is not a gopa. That is considered as one of the three unconditioned beings. So when you ask the question, five founders were living nature, not necessarily as a separate founder, but that space permeating the five founders is the same as living nature. Well, so, Dogen, there are many different discussions, but Dogen's discussion is Buddha-nature is not something, one of the five skandhas, but the way five skandhas are is Buddha-nature. That means empty. It's very much like a Buddhist analysis.

[59:04]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, any questions so far? What is the basic concept or image of Buddha nature in Mahayana Buddhism? Please. What I understand you to say is that in order to become Buddha, there has to be a higher stage before we need to be a Buddha. Pardon me? There has to be a higher stage or something. Yeah. Yeah, so within this image, Buddhist practice is first we need to find, discover the gold, the treasure for the nature. And next we need to work to break the mold or clean the gold in the sheet, you know, wash it. Our most well-known image of a diamond covered with that.

[60:12]

And we get diamond from the earth. Diamond is covered with... So first we need to find the diamond, even though it's covered with dirt. We need to take the dirt away and polish the diamond. And this polishing the diamond is a process of our practice. That is the basic idea of Buddhist practice within Mahayana teaching, based on this idea of Tathagatagarbha. It seems that I don't know if it's historically the same. You can say all beings have food in nature. All beings are Buddha.

[61:19]

But nobody seems to be saying all beings are the nature. Correct you? Yes. Oh, yeah. So basically Dogen Zenji is criticizing the idea that Buddha nature is something like a golden Buddha statue covered with dirt. And this is the kind of idea that the Rinzai practice can show. Kensho means nature. Kensho literally means seeing Buddha nature. That means we need to discover the Buddha nature. That experience of discovering Buddha nature is Kensho. Then, you know, in Rinzai Zen, that is not the goal of our practice, but that is the starting point of practice.

[62:22]

Then we need to polish the diamond. for many years. But Dogen Zen didn't like this idea of, you know, to discover the treasure hidden inside of our service. So he tried to show a very different form of practice, not form, but different the practice which is not, how can I say, which is free from the idea of delusion, enlightenment, or shit and gold kind of idea, what he said. Well, I'm going to talk about this. I started talking about Dogen's writing, but he said, all beings are Buddha nature, or entire beings.

[63:23]

So it's not half of the being, or essence of being is Buddha nature, and yet that is covered with that. But Dogen said that is also part of Buddha nature, not part of his Buddha nature. So it's not half and half. Yeah, because you know, when one polished the diamond, the structure, there's some expectation that it will come right. Right. So does Dogen give any idea, just a perspective, say that this practice will eventually materialize into something like a diamond? I don't think so. Our practice, according to Dogen, is only this moment, right now, right here. Whether it's diamond covered with dirt or its entirety of being is diamond.

[64:26]

So completely different kind of image. So he's criticizing this kind of image, a common idea of Buddha nature in Mahayana Buddhism. So he's trying to show then that is Buddha nature. So according to him, Buddha nature is not a possibility to become Buddha in the future. But Buddha nature is the way all things are, like now, like here. So no future expectation. And how does that start with Dalai? That both shit and gold are Buddha nature? I'm not sure. Maybe before Dogen, someone thought so. And if we go too extreme, that is a problem. That means then why we have to practice?

[65:29]

That was Dogen's question when he was a high teenager. If everything is God or Buddha nature, why we have to practice? So what Dogen want to find is everything is gold, and yet we have to practice. And which is, I think his point is, practice is the gold. Practice is Buddha nature. It's not something hidden within, and it exists within our service. Okay. Okay. Next, I'd like to discuss Buddha Nature according to the Mahayana Parinirvana Sutra.

[66:30]

Uchiyama Roshi, my teacher, gave a series of lectures on the same writing, Buddha Nature, and he quote from the Nirvana Sutra and try to discuss his understanding of Buddha nature. And I think it's important and helpful. In the Parinirvana Sutra, the most important sutra, regarding the idea of Buddha-nature. And the first statement Dogen quotes in this Shobo Genzo Busho is also from the Parinibbana Sutra. In the Parinibbana Sutra, it said Buddha-nature

[67:41]

is, well, in Japanese, . is emptiness. Dai ichi means number one. Gi is meaning. Number one literally means, in this case, ultimate meaning. Ultimate meaning of emptiness. So the Sutra, Parinirvana Sutra says, Buddha nature is emptiness in its ultimate meaning. So emptiness is Buddha nature.

[68:45]

And he continued, I mean, the Sutra continued. Daichinkū, this emptiness in its ultimate meaning, is tsu-do. Tsu-do means middle way, middle way or path. So emptiness, ultimate emptiness is middle way. Middle way means middle way between Wu and Mu. The idea of Wu or existence and Mu is non-existence. And this is really important when we read Dogen's Bussho, Wu and Mu. in traditional Buddhist philosophy, to think this being as U is one extreme, and to think this as Mu is another extreme.

[69:57]

And Chūdō, or Middle Way, is He, U, Him. He, U, and Him. Not U, not Mu. This is Chūdō. Things are arising and staying for a while, changing the shape or conditions and disappear. This is our life. Don't stay for a while, changing the shape and disappear and die away. And we think before our birth, we didn't exist. And during our life, between the time of birth and death, somehow we exist and changing the shape. So this is Mu. And when we die, we again become Mu. And according to Buddhist teaching, that idea, mu become u and u become again mu, is a mistaken view.

[71:05]

So neither u nor mu is called middle way in this case, or sometimes this middle way is you know, the way of life to indulge in the, you know, pleasure. Or another extreme is to kind of ascetic practice as Buddha did to weaken our energy, our physical energy. And people thought that is a release. from desires. But here, chudo means he or him, either you or you. And the Siddhartha continued, this chudo is Buddha. And this Buddha is Nihang.

[72:08]

Nirvana. Nirvana. So this Buddha nature is emptiness. And emptiness means middle way. And the middle way is Buddha. And Buddha is nirvana. And then what is nirvana? In the Sutra, Ujjamaa speaks up two points of nirvana. One is nirvana is a state or condition. Maybe better not to use the word state or condition, but nirvana is extinguishing the fire. of ignorance and desires based on the ignorance.

[73:18]

That is nirvana, as we studied in the Twelve Strings of Causation. you know the basic basic cause of transmigration within samsara or suffering is ignorance and because of ignorance somehow we clean grasp crave things and we have a bond with object so consciousness and nama lupa contact and the sensation of present and unpleasant arises, and depending upon whether present or unpleasant, we kind of react in different ways, and we create samsara. And according to Nirvana Sutra, Nirvana means to extinguish that fire.

[74:31]

That means calm down. And in the short sutra, which is the older version, original version of dependent origination, that commission is mentioned by Buddha as a state without ordinary perception, without disordered perception, without no perception, and without any annihilation of perception. So that is nirvana. And in my understanding, that is what we do in our zazen. So our zazen is nirvana. Anyway, another expression which I'm going to speak back from the sutra is hikkyō-hi.

[75:35]

Hikkyo means after all, after all, or at the end, or at the conclusion, or ultimately. Hikkyo means to return, to return. This ki is in like a ki-e. I take refuge in Buddha. It's namu ki-e butsu. This ki is to return. And another expression for take refuge, taking refuge is ki, senki, and myo. Myo is another translation of namu, namu ki-e butsu. And nyo means life. And Utena wrote this expression, chi-myo, and he said, returning to the life.

[77:07]

So, nehan or nirvana is to return to the place we need to ultimately return. That is an expression Sawaki Roshi said in Japanese, yukitsuku tokoro e yukitsuita. That is, I don't know the good translation into English of this expression, this very unique Japanese expression by Sawaki Roshi, yukitsuku tokore yukitsuita means the way of life in the, how can I say, yukitsuku tokore yukitsuita. Having returned or reached to that point or place, we have to be returned or reached.

[78:18]

That means the ultimate or undeniable reality of our life, whether we deny it or negate it or we are living within that reality. That is, according to Buddhist teachings, that is impermanence, egolessness, and interdependent ordination. That is whether we negate it or not. That is basic reality. using our mind we almost always deviate from that reality and when we found you know our life is depart from that reality we feel sick something not healthy so we try to return to that original reality in which we are living This returning to the undeniable reality is kshimmyo, returning to the life.

[79:29]

And according to this Ucchiamara's interpretation of the expression from the sutra that this is what nirvana means, to return to the undeniable reality of life. Yeah, dropping off body and mind is returning to our life. And this is what we do in our Zen also. I mean, when we sit in the Zen door, we sit facing the wall. and we keep this upright posture and breathe through our nose deeply from our abdomen and we keep our eyes open that means we don't sleep and Whatever idea or feeling or thought coming up, we just let go.

[80:38]

That means we don't resist any thought. Most of them are like dust or shit. But we let them come up and let them go away freely. And it stays for a while, changing the shape, and disappear. So in our Zazen, those thoughts, feelings, or whatever happening in our mind is like a cloud. somehow it appears and stays for a while, changing the shape and disappears. And we don't control this movement of clouds. But what we do is keep this upright posture, deep and peaceful breathing, and keep our eyes open and let go of whatever is happening in our mind.

[81:42]

And this is the point we need to return. Whenever we find we are deviated, we return. Sometimes we find our posture is not upright at one event, and sometimes we sleep, and sometimes we interact with our thoughts, with chasing after our thoughts. Whenever we found we are deviated from that point, we return to that point. Upright posture, breathing, awakening, and letting go of thought. That is how we return to the life. And that is what we do in our Zazen. So important point in our Zazen is to return to that point. Of course, if it's possible to stay there forever, that's okay.

[82:46]

But more often we are deviant. So whenever we find we are deviant, we return. This practice of returning. is what Dogen Zenji called Shikantaza, just sitting. Just sitting. And whenever we find we do something else, we return to just sitting. That is our practice. And, you know, in our daily lives, I think our precepts and vow is a direction And whenever we found we are deviated from that direction, we try to be down. And taking this direction is our vow, bodhisattva vow. And yet, more often we deviate from that track. Then we need to make repentance.

[83:50]

So repentance is our awakening that we are not on that track. Then we try to return. There are so many ways we deviate from that track. So whenever we find we are not there, we return. This returning to the path of Bodhisattva vows is actually practice. And this practice, according to Uchenoroshi, is nirvana. So nirvana is not a motionless state of our mind, but nirvana is a very active, lively process of going, keep practicing toward the direction of Buddhahood.

[84:55]

I think this point, our nirvana, or therefore Buddha, and also middle way, and also that is emptiness, and that is Buddha-nature, is all the same thing, and that is not some motionless, lifeless condition. The way we practice, the way we live, that is Buddha-nature. So Buddha nature, according to Dogen, Buddha nature is not something precious hidden within the shit. If we understand that point clearly, what Dogen is trying to say, his writing is very difficult to follow. But we can see his point. So please keep this point in your mind when you read this chapter of Shobo Genzo.

[86:08]

Dogen is trying to show us different idea, not idea, but reality or practice of Buddha nature that is different from the original or common idea of Buddha nature within Mahayana Buddhism. I think that's all I have to say as an introduction of this writing. Please. Defining the prana in this way seems like an actual change, not just from the earlier Mahayana, but it's an actual change from early Buddhism as well, right? Because you said it's a huge invitation, and I don't even quite know the question to ask. But one of the things it means is when we talk to other people, we just understand each other a lot. But I don't know, maybe you have something to say about it.

[87:15]

Well, whenever we read Buddhist texts, you know, the same word is used in very different ways. So it's important to make what this person is saying using this word. It's really important. So when we read Dogen, if we interpret the expression like Duremecha as a common usage in Mahayana Buddhism, that Dogen thing doesn't make any sense at all. I forget what your question was. Well, it was a sort of very general question, like what are the applications of changing your meaning of your life? Yeah. Dogen's point came from the understanding of Nirvana in Mahayana Buddhism.

[88:19]

That is, Sansara and Nirvana are one. That means we cannot go to nirvana giving samsara, but we need to find nirvana within samsara. I think the main point he's making here is nothing is not hidden. Right. Nothing is hidden is his point. Everything is revealed. So Buddha nature cannot be something hidden. That is the point. Buddha nature is always revealed, always here, right now, right here, if our eyes are open. Maybe underneath this, there's a kind of cultural reconciliation going on of everything. It's important for everything to kind of be at this life and Chinese culture because they didn't have this.

[89:21]

you know, karma idea as a, you know, foundation in their culture. I mean, you mentioned that Boyle was kind of like, like in Confucianism, you know, ancestors, and how they're in like, this kind of afterlife. So it seems like maybe, it's important for them to have a kind of downplay the idea of karma and talk about moral dislike and they're not being like these theories of infinite life patterns that we actually go through to kind of take all the husk off of their, you see, you know, something like that going on. Making a fit of the culture of them. I think so. I'm not sure about Chinese people. or Chinese culture, but in Japanese, in Japan, we have different idea about life and death. And we don't really believe in the idea of transmigration or rebirth.

[90:24]

Because no Japanese Buddhist negate the idea of transmigration because that is Buddha's teaching. But as actual kind of feeling, Somehow we are different. I mean, in Japan, even before Buddhism came to Japan, we had some idea about life and death. And the basic idea in Japan is when we die, we go to the realm of dead. And that is not too far. For Japanese people, when they died, our ancestors say, in the mountains or the ocean. We cannot see them, but they are there. How can I say? Even after we become Buddhist, the idea is still there.

[91:31]

That's why, you know, at least two, twice, or three times a year, the soul of ancestors come back. revisit their house. And in every Japanese Buddhist temple, there's a hole enshrined the names of the ancestors of each family. When I lived in a temple, I thought it was really strange. Then we think in a logical way, a very logical way. If the transmigration, the teaching of transmigration is true, after 49 days the person returns to something else. So there's no such thing as ancestor. And yet we think, not think, but we feel our ancestors' soul is somewhere in the mountains.

[92:39]

And they sometimes, at least a few times a year, they come back. So we are still in relationship with the ancestors. That is so-called ancestor worship in Japanese Buddhism. And to me, ancestor worship and the idea of trans-migration or rebirth doesn't go well. Maybe they don't have that thought. And maybe there's a comfort in them that it's so very much here now, that they're born in this life. I wonder, maybe. I don't know. In Indian culture, rebirth or reincarnation is something, you know, never doubt, never doubted, never questioned. But I think when Buddhism went to China, maybe Chinese people didn't really like that idea, not like, but understood that idea.

[93:54]

And in Indian Buddhism, it says from the time when we are a bodhisattva, a bodhicitta, a body-mind, until we reach the Buddhahood, there are 52 stages, and it takes more than forever to reach there. So we need to practice life after life. And Chinese people didn't really understand this idea to practice life after life in order to reach Buddhahood. So what they wanted, and one of the most well-known ways in Zen is the buddhahood is tathagatahood also. Nyoraichi, the expression, ichcho jikinyu nyoraichi, entering to the tathagatahood within one jump, directly.

[95:04]

Directly entering to the tathagatahood or buddhahood with one jump. But in this moment, So Chinese people want to reach the Tathagata food now and here and now. That's what defines. So even though the idea of karma and reverse is not negated, as I put it, philosophy, somehow deep in our mind, we don't do it. I'm sorry, but I think that is true. At least in the case of Japanese Buddhists. I'm not sure about American Buddhists. Is worship the work they use? Yeah. Yeah. That means in Shintoism, our ancestors died and they became gods. Not capital G, God, but protect us.

[96:21]

Any other question, please? Well, I was trying to digest the impact of this. I'm thinking about Roger Lipson, who says, well, Zen is a dualism. And right now, that's what I'm thinking. But the distance between everything The impact of Dogen's statement is enormous. That is a very interesting and important question. I think Dogen believes his teaching and practice is Buddhism. And I believe so. But, yeah, it's true. It's very different from the original form of Buddhism. Maybe... I was just going to ask you to answer that. That helped me, not all along the way, with the connection between Dolan and the original teachings of Shakyamuni.

[97:27]

You talked about that. Yeah, I think they're the common ground. And I think Dogen's teaching came from Chinese Zen, Chinese Zen came from Mahayana Buddhism, and Mahayana Buddhism also from Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings. So there are some, of course, connections. Question from the audience. Whereas the abiding, rising, decaying, as we spoke about earlier, happens in the shana, the microsecond. Yeah, this moment. It's reborn and different every moment. So I think this is the resolution of the graduate, if you will. It can come in this moment. Yeah, that is Chinese or Japanese or Zen approach.

[98:30]

So now we are going to study first the green thing about the Buddha nature. Okay, thank you.

[98:40]

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