Good afternoon, everyone. As I said this morning, during this Genzo-e, we are going to study Dogen Zenji's Shobo Genzo Gyōbutsu-igi. As an introduction, I'd like to talk about this title first. Before that, this is my translation of Gyobu Tsuigi. Last year, I had a Genzo-e at Austin, Texas, and we studied Shobo Genzo Inmo. And after that, I started to work on Gyobu Tsuigi, so I didn't have much time. So this translation is still in the stage of working draft.

[01:06]

I made the first, very first draft translation and Mori volunteered to make some editing to make the correction of grammatical mistakes or punctuation or those things. So this is not yet complete translation. So if you have some suggestions about this translation to make it better English, you are welcome. Of course, during the class, if we start to talk about translation, then we cannot finish this. So your comments are welcome, but please give me Not during the class, but privately. This first school of Shobo Genzo is entitled Ryo-Butsu-Igi.

[02:17]

Gyo is to do, or to go, or to move, and to, in this case, to practice. So, this Gyo is movement or action. And Butsu is, of course, Buddha. And Buddha means awakening. Or awakened one. And Yi, as I said this morning, Yi is dignity. Other possible translation is my eyeglass. is as a noun, dignity or majesty or as an adjective, dignified or awesome or solemn

[04:06]

This part of this Chinese character means human or human beings. This part means light or meaning. This gi means something good or something meaningful within or among human activities. And a possible translation of this gi is like a decorum. some activity or actions in accordance with some rules or courtesy or manner. So, possible translation is dekorum or demeanor or manner or conduct.

[05:30]

behavior. One of the translations used by Kazu Tanahashi and Taigen, translated as presence. They translate Igi as awesome presence. And mean, M-I-E-N, or a pattern or a model. So this is some actions or way of doing things that can be a model of something. And as I said this morning, this phrase is usually read as a practice or practicing Buddha's dignified conduct.

[06:40]

But Dogen Zenji clearly, obviously, leaves this Gyo-Buddha as one word, and Igi as another word. And he makes this Gyo-Buddha as a name of a Buddha. So this is not someone. Someone practiced Buddha's dignified conduct. But this is gyo-butsu-tsu conduct. That means I practice something that belongs to Buddha. But there is no such I. only this practice. So, Gyo and Butsu is one thing. And the person who practices this practice, in this case, you know, Shohaku, practices something. This Shohaku and this practice and this something are one thing.

[07:46]

That is what Gyo, Butsu means. Maybe I said before, this is the same idea as Dogen Zenji wrote in Shobo Genzo Makahanya Haramitsu. In the very beginning of Shobo Genzo Makahanya Haramitsu, Dogen Zenji quotes the very first sentence of the Heart Sutra. The sentence is, as you know, Avalokiteshvara, when deeply practicing Prajnaparamita, clearly see the five skandhas are empty. You know, this is very clear sentence. There is someone whose name was Avalokiteshvara is there, and this person is practicing this practice named profound or deep Prajnaparamita.

[08:48]

And at that time, with the help or aid of this wisdom called Prajnaparamita, this person, Avalokiteshvara, sees there are nothing other than five skandhas. Everything being there is five skandhas. And not only that, but those five skandhas are empty. That is what this sentence means. It's very clear. But if we understand this first sentence of the Prajnaparamita Sutra in that way, we completely miss the point of the person or people who made the Heart Sutra. But as a sentence, it clearly says so. Nothing other than you know, this interpretation. But if we read this and understand in that way, we miss the point.

[09:53]

That means, you know, if we think there is a person whose name is Avalokiteshvara, beside five skandhas, and that person is an observer, and the five skandhas are there as an object of observation, And here is some kind of an aid or help or a device to see the truth of this object named Wisdom or Prajna Paramita. With this help of this device, this person could see these five skandhas are empty. If we think we understand this sentence in that way, You know, this is completely against the idea of emptiness. Because there is no such person beside five skandhas. And so, Avalokiteshvara is five skandhas.

[10:55]

So five skandhas is seeing the emptiness of five skandhas. And if the five skandhas are empty, you know, we don't need to say five skandhas are empty. It's already empty. So, this prajna, or wisdom, is also the wisdom which sees the emptiness. So this prajna, or wisdom, is also empty. So the only thing there is five skandhas. That is empty. And there is no such subject-object relationship. That is a fact. That is a fact that the person or people who made the Heart Sutra want to show us. So there is only five scanners. So when we think there are five scanners outside of ourselves, and we can see the true reality of five scanners, if we get this device named Prajnaparamita, then we can get that thing, that truth.

[12:07]

Then we miss that reality of emptiness. So, as the Heart Sutra says, this prajna is something we need to practice. And this practice is, in our case, zazen, sitting. You know, the version of the Heart Sutra we usually chant is called the shorter version. And within the shorter version, it's not clear. But there is another, a little bit longer version of the Heart Sutra. Within that longer version, there is some explanation before this Avalokiteshvara. That is, Shakyamuni, you know, within the version we chant, Shakyamuni Buddha doesn't appear. This is a conversation between Avalokiteshvara and Shaliputra.

[13:13]

But in the longer version of the Heart Sutra, it said, Buddha expounds certain Dharma discourse. And after he finished talking, he shut his mouth and sat in the Zen, or samadhi. And so this conversation between Avalokiteshvara and Shaliputra is happening within Buddha's zazen, Buddha's samadhi. And the longer version of the Heart Sutra says, Shaliputra asked the question, how we, who are people who aspire to study Buddhadharma, can practice. with the might of the Buddha. This means this conversation is really a conversation happening within Buddha's zazen.

[14:21]

And this is about zazen practice. So there's no such separation between object and subject. So, actually, Avalokiteśvara and Shariputra are the same person. or both are within Buddha's zazen. So, you know, in our zazen, we do nothing but sitting. So there's no object. But in our zazen, what we do, we do really nothing. That means we are just five skandhas. And this sitting, simply sitting, is itself prajna parameter. And we are just five skandhas. And these five skandhas are empty. That's all. So there's no such person who sees the five skandhas as an observer.

[15:24]

And there's no such thing called five skandhas as an object of observation. And there's no such thing called emptiness as a reality or special truth beside five skandhas. That is why in Shobo Genzo Makahanya Haramitsu, Dogen Zenji made a comment on this sentence. He said, the five aggregates are forms. Forms, sensations, perceptions, predilections or formations, and consciousness. This is the five-fold prajna. Those five skandhas are five-fold prajna. And clear seeing is itself prajna.

[16:27]

This seeing is also prajna. And to unfold, and manifest this essential truth. The Heart Sutra states that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. This is a very famous expression in Mahayana Buddhism. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Shiki-soku-ze-ku and ku-soku-ze-shiki. But Dogen Zenji said, for Dogen Zenji, this is not complete, perfect expression. So he said, he says, form is nothing but form. That is shiki, zei, shiki. And emptiness is nothing but emptiness. Ku, soku, ku. Shiki, zei, shiki, ku, soku, ku.

[17:28]

This means, if we say, shikisoku zeiku, or form is emptiness, you know, there are two things, form and emptiness. And by putting this word, is, we try to put these two things into one, to connect these two things. And we try to say these two are one and the same thing. When we say in that way, you know, there are two things, still two things. Once one reality separates into two, then it cannot be kept, you know, recover oneness. That means when we are saying form is emptiness, emptiness is form, we are still thinking. And thinking about two concepts, about form and emptiness, and try to make these two into one. That is happening in our mind.

[18:32]

But when we let go of our thoughts, only five skandhas are there. And those five skandhas themselves are completely emptiness. And these are Prajnaparamita. And this is Avalokiteshvara. So there's no statement. It's possible. Only this one reality. That is what Dogen Zenji wanted to show us. And finally he said, Form is nothing but form. Emptiness is nothing but emptiness. One hundred blades of grass, ten thousand things. So not only our five skandhas, but all each and everything, in this world is the same. So those, each and everything, are themselves emptiness and also prajna.

[19:41]

I think this is important when we try to understand what Doge is saying in Gyobutsu-gi as practice and Buddha and the person who practiced. is one thing. There is no such separation. That means our practice is Buddha. But we are not Buddha. If we think we are Buddha, we miss it. This is what Togen Zen said in... I'm sorry, I break it. In Jijuyu Zanmai, part of Bendowa, Dogen Zenji called his practice of Dazen as Jijuyu Zanmai. And he said, when one displays the Buddha mudra throughout body and mind, this entire universe becomes enlightenment.

[20:53]

So the important point is we need to display Buddha mudra within or throughout this body and mind. Buddha mudra means... You know mudra? In our Dazen, we make this mudra. This is called mudra. But mudra also means stamp or seal. And stamp or seal is the same as a signature in American culture. That means if we find this seal or stamp, then we see this painting or calligraphy is done by certain person. So when we find Buddha mudra, this belongs to Buddha. not belongs to shohaku. So, when we display Buddha mudra with our body and mind, this body and mind, these five skandhas, are not shohaku's personal possession.

[22:07]

But this practice belongs to Buddha. So, shohaku is not a subject of this practice anymore. You know, shohaku is still here. These five skandhas are shohaku, actually. But this practice is Buddha's practice. That is the idea of gyo-butsu. Gyo, or practice, is Buddha. This is my understanding of, you know, Gyo-Butsu-Igi, Gyo-Butsu-Igi. And this first school, or chapter of Shobo-Genzo, as it is said in the last page, last page, is written 1241.

[23:10]

As you know, Dogen Zenji was born in the year 1200. So when he wrote, he was 41 years old. If you are familiar with Dogen Zenji's biography, he became a Buddhist monk when he was 13 years old. And after 13, every Ten years, he had a big change. When he was 23, he went to China. And when he was 33 years old, he founded his own monastery in Kyoto, named Koshoji. And he We don't know exactly why that was the reason, but he left this monastery called Shoji in the year of 1243.

[24:29]

And the next big change happened in 1253. He died. writing, Ryobutu-gi was written in 1241, two years before he moved from Koshoji to Eiheiji. And it's said this work is written in the middle of the 10th month. Middle of the 10th month. This has, I think, something to do with the koan story he quotes in this chapter about seppu's sayings about all Buddhas in the three times expounding the Dharma in the fire.

[25:39]

This seppu's saying was given on the occasion of, you know, in the beginning of the winter. They, in the monk's hall, they put a, what do you call, fireplace or furnace. Or like, in Japanese we call it a hibachi. That is usually a square box. with ash and we put charcoal to heat the monk's hall. That is on the first day of the 10th month. So when he wrote this writing in the middle of the 10th month,

[26:42]

So it's not so distant from when they start to make a fire. So it has something to do with what he is discussing. And also another interesting thing with this date or this time is Shobo Genzo, Bussho or Buddha nature. was written around the same time. In the chapter of Buddha Nature, it said, Buddha Nature was written in the 14th day of 10th month of this year, 1241. In this chapter, it said only in the middle of, and 14th is almost the middle of the month. In the lunar calendar, Every month, 15th day is a full moon day.

[27:51]

Anyway, so, Shobo Genzo, Bussho, or Buddha Nature, and this Gyobu Tsuigi were written around the same time. I think this is an important point. So, we need to read Bussho and Gyobu Tsuigi together. That means, in the Shobogen, the Bussho, Togenzen discuss, of course, about what is Buddha nature. And this Gyo-Buti-Gi is, in a sense, how Buddha nature practice, how Buddha nature works, function, in our daily lives. You know, as you probably know, in the very beginning of Shobo Genzo, Bussho, or Buddha Nature, Dogen Zenji quotes a very important statement from the Parinibbana Sutra, Mahayana Parinibbana Sutra, that is, all living beings, without exception,

[29:06]

have Buddha nature. In Chinese it is, Issa is all. Shujo, all. Shujo is living beings. And shitsu is all of them, without exception. And u is have. And busho is Buddha nature. So all living beings, this is adverb, without exception, have

[30:07]

Buddha nature. This is a very clear statement. But Dogen Zenji read this short statement in a completely different way. He read this as all living beings, and he read this shitsugu as one word, as a noun. And this u also means to be. So, he tried to mean this as shitsu-u. That means entire being is Buddha nature. All living beings and entire being is Buddha nature. So, it's not a matter of we have Buddha nature as some kind of possession. But we are Buddha nature. All beings are Buddha nature. These all beings are Buddha nature and this gyo-butsu, is the same idea.

[31:08]

All beings are working, moving, because it's impermanent. It's changing. The way all beings are moving and changing, getting together and separate. This is how Buddha nature is working. And that is the iigi of gyōbutsu. So, Buddha is moving. Buddha is a practice. Without this moving, there is nothing. I think that is basic kind of insight of Dogen Zenji as a reality of our life. We are part of that universal movement. we are getting together as five skandhas and live for a while for 50, 60, 70, 80, or at most 100 years and disperse.

[32:19]

This is just a very tiny part of this universal movement of all living beings and entire beings. And the way things are moving is Buddha nature. And the way things are moving, this movement, is practice. Gyo-butsu is practice. Or practice of practice Buddha. So there is no such thing called sho-haku or any human beings who want to practice. Actually it's there. I always have desire, you know, to do something. in order to get something. That is how this person is. And that is not Buddha. That is my personal desire to make this person better.

[33:22]

I want to see the truth. I want to become enlightened. This I, I, I is somehow happening in my mind. But this eye is a kind of fiction. Things actually there is just movement of five scanners, getting together and separating. It's like a bubble. Bubble is one of the analogies very often used to explain the reality of emptiness. You know, bubble is a condition of air packed in the water. Somehow, air is packed in the water and stays for a while in the water, and when the bubble goes up to the surface, it disappears.

[34:27]

So, there is no such entity called, fixed entity called a bubble. It's a movement or a relation between air and water. There's no such fixed independent entity beside air and water called bubble. And, you know, so bubble is a name of a condition or a movement or a happening only for a short time. And, you know, clouds are the same thing. In the case of clouds, clouds is water floating in the air. So the relationship is opposite, but only the relationship between air and water. Nothing else. So there's no such thing as a cloud. Of course, you know, this shohaku is much more complicated.

[35:32]

It's done, you know, the bubble or a cloud. But basically, the same thing. The connection or gathering of all different things and exists for a while as a shohaku, as these five skandhas. And yet, there's no such thing as shohaku. This is just a relationship or connection or a collection of all different elements. Not only material, but also mental. Whatever we think, I think, is thought in using Japanese or English. Mainly, basically, Japanese. But this Japanese language is not my invention, my creation. But I learned Japanese language because I was born in Japan.

[36:38]

So this language, which is used to think, to create, produce Shohaku's thought, is a gift from the society or culture which has been created by millions of people living in those islands named Japan. So nothing is Shōhaku's original. Now I am talking about Dōgen Zenji's writings, but whatever I am talking is something I studied in the past. from my teacher, or from some text, or some sutras, or from my experience. But there's nothing personal. So there's no such thing as shohaku. And yet, from another side, you know, this is shohaku.

[37:42]

So I need to take care of these five skandhas as a shohaku. I made a choice to be a Buddhist priest in the lineage of Dogen Zenji. I tried to be a good priest. I don't like the word priest, but good practitioner. So I tried to do my best. And I studied and I practiced. So from that side, you know, I am making choice and live as a shohaku and take care of these five skandhas as shohaku and try to make effort to be a good practitioner and try to share the Dharma or teachings with other people because that is my function or job or responsibility as a priest.

[38:49]

So there are two sides. From one side, there is no such thing as shohaku. But from another side, this is nothing other than shohaku. This is my life. These two sides are really important to understand. Dogen is discussing about gyo-butsu and its practice. Well, I think That's enough as an introduction of my understanding of the meaning of this title, Gyobutsu Iigi. But there's one more thing that might be helpful to understand the impact of Hap Dogen's saying in this writing. the time of his life in Japanese Buddhist community. That is the idea of so-called Final Age, Age of Final Dharma, or Mappo.

[40:11]

This is one of the ways to see the history in Buddhism. In Buddhism, it's kind of opposite of the way we think about history. We modern people think things are getting better, improving, or progress improving. So, we are in the best time of the history. But in Buddhism, there is the opposite way of viewing the history. That is, the time of Buddha was the best time. Since then, the age is getting worse. And it is said, after Buddha's death, for 500 or 1000 years, people There's Buddha's teaching, and people practice, study and practice the teaching, and people attain so-called enlightenment.

[41:36]

But second 500 or 1000, the first age period was called Shobo. Shobo means true Dharma. The age of true Dharma. First period. And second period was called Zōhō. Zō means forms. Forms. English translation is... Does someone know the translation of Zōhō? It's something like a semblance. Semblance Dharma. That means people... Buddha's teaching is still there. And people practice, but no one attains enlightenment.

[42:42]

So it's getting worse. And the third period was called Mapo. Sorry. Matsu means final. And it says it lasts 10,000 years. In this period, only Buddha's teaching remains. No one practices and no one attains enlightenment. This is one of the ideas Buddhists view the history. And it seems, you know, this system of three periods was created in China, not in India. This is a book by Jean Nattier, titled, Once Upon a Future Time, Extinction of Dharma.

[44:00]

And she studied the source of this idea. The idea that ages are getting worse existed in India. But this system of three ages was established in China around the 5th century. And that is around the same time Bodhidharma came to China. Anyway, in Japan, Japanese people thought the age of final Dharma started the year 1052. So Dogen Zenji was born in 1200, so around 150 years before Dogen was born. This means people thought there's no meaning to practice. Because it doesn't work.

[45:04]

No matter how much we practice, we cannot attain enlightenment. The world, the age was so degenerated. That is a very basic idea of almost all Japanese Buddhists. That was the reason, you know, that Pure Land Buddhism became popular. Pure Land teaching was that our practice using our personal effort, personal power, our own power, doesn't work because we are living in a very degenerated world. Only hope we can have is to have faith in the vow of Amitābha Buddha.

[46:06]

In Pure Land Buddhism, it is said that before Amitābha Buddha became Buddha, of course, he was a bodhisattva, and he took 48 vows. And one of his 48 vows is When I became Buddha, when I attained Buddhahood, I created the Buddha Land, named Gokuraku, or Pure Land. And I allowed everyone who has faith in my vow to be reborn in my Pure Land. That was this bodhisattva's vow. And according to the sutra, this bodhisattva completed bodhisattva practice and became Amitābha Buddha.

[47:18]

That means his vows have already been completed. That means if we have a faith in Amitābha Buddha's vow, and take refuge in Amitabha Buddha. We can be born in his Pure Land. We can't hope to practice and attain enlightenment in this degenerate world. But if we have faith in Amitabha, then we can be born in the Pure Land. And there we can practice. That is a very basic teaching of pure land Buddhism. So, in Japanese pure land Buddhism, any practice is not appreciated.

[48:19]

Any practice using our personal or individual effort. But only the faith in Amitābha is important. And even the face is a gift from Amitabha. That is called other power Buddhism. Pure land Buddhists think Zen is a self-power practice and it doesn't work in this age of final Dharma. And so many people became pure land Buddhists. And not only Pure Land Buddhism, but also there was another Buddhist leader at the time, whose name was Nichiren. His teaching is also based on the same idea. We are in the age of final Dharma, so our practice doesn't work.

[49:22]

But Dogen Zenji was kind of exception. In Bendowa, Dogen Zenji made 18 questions and he gave answers to those questions. And question 15 is about this idea of final age, final dharma. The question is, even in this corrupt, declining age of the world, is it possible to attain enlightenment

[50:27]

through this practice. Through this practice means through this Zazen practice. So, this must be a very common question from many, you know, numbers of Buddhist communities in Japan at Dogen Zenji's time. Then, Dogen Zenji's reply is as follows. In the teaching schools, they focus on various classification systems. Yet, in the true teaching of Mahayana, there is no distinction of true, semblance, and final dharma. So, according to Dogen, those distinctions of three ages are not actually true teachings of Mahayana.

[51:32]

And it is said that all who practice will attain the way. All who practice will attain the way. So, Dogen Zenji rejects this idea of the age of final Dharma. His idea is whether we practice or not. If we practice, because practice is itself enlightenment. If we practice, enlightenment is there. That is the very basic teaching of Dogen Zenji. That means You know, the idea of the second age is there is Buddha's teaching remains and there are people who practice Buddha's teaching and yet no one attains enlightenment.

[52:39]

But, what Phap Dogen wanted to say is practice itself is enlightenment. There is no separation between cause and result. In our common idea, practice is cause and enlightenment is result. So we practice in order to attain enlightenment. But Dogen Zenji negated this separation between cause and result. And he said, if practice is there, enlightenment is there. Practice and enlightenment are one. It means, you know, these two, practice and enlightenment, are not two separate things. But when we practice, enlightenment is there. And that is this idea of gyōbutsu.

[53:42]

Practice is Buddha. Practice, enlightenment, and Buddha, are really one thing. So if we practice displaying Buddha's modular, that means not for this person's sake. In Dogen Zenjutsu's expression, practice for the sake of practice. We practice for the sake of practice. We practice Dharma for the sake of Dharma, not for the sake of this person. Then that is How can I say? Manifestation of koan, or genjo koan. And koan is this universal truth or reality. And that universal reality is Buddha. So, within our practice, Buddha is there.

[54:49]

That is a basic message of Dogen Zenji to the people at the time... to the people in the Japanese society at the time of Dogen. That if we practice, enlightenment is there. I think, so for the people, for the Buddhists who lived in the 13th century, the time of Dogen, what he is saying is a very strong message, I think, or a surprising message. You know, those ideas of three times, and we are living in the worst age.

[55:52]

and there's no hope to attain enlightenment or Buddhahood. But he said, if we practice, enlightenment is there and Buddha is there. That is the basic message of Dogen Zenji in this writing of Gyo-Butsu-Ii-Gi. Okay, I think that's enough as an introduction, so I start to read the text. It's 4 o'clock. I try to make this translation as literal as possible, even though it doesn't make sense as English. Because any English word, to me, is just equivalent to what I understand in Japanese.

[56:55]

So I try to explain my understanding of each sentence or each word. And if you think there is a better English expression, please let me know. Let me read the first paragraph. All Buddhas, without exception, freely practice dignified conduct. This practice is Practice Buddha. Practice Buddha is neither a reward-body Buddha, nor a transformation body Buddha, neither a self-nature body Buddha, nor an other-nature body Buddha. This Buddha is neither gradual awakening, nor original awakening, neither by-nature awakening, nor no awakening.

[58:09]

These Buddhas cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with practice Buddha. We should know that all Buddhas of the Buddha way do not wait for awakening. Only practice Buddha alone can completely penetrate the practice activities within the way of going beyond Buddha. The self-natured body, Buddha, and so forth, cannot see this even within a dream. So here he talks about this Buddha named Ryobutsu. I think you are familiar with the expression of three kayas or three bodies of Buddha.

[59:24]

First is Hoshin or Dharmakaya. Second is Hojin or Sambhogakaya. And the third is... You know, we chant Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya in the middle chant. This idea of three bodies of Buddha, or three kayas, was developed in the history of Buddhism in India.

[60:30]

When Shakyamuni died, you know, for Buddha's disciples, it's a great loss, of course. Shakyamuni was very special existence or person or being. They couldn't select second Buddha. Buddha was only one. No one could take the position of the Buddha. So Buddha was only one. That means when Shakyamuni died, the Buddhists lost one of the three treasures. Buddha was gone. So only Buddha's teaching and Sangha remains. And yet, for them, Buddha is really a special being.

[61:37]

So, they tried to find what was Buddha. And they found the thing that made this person Shakyamuni, as Buddha, is Dharma. So, this Ōkeshin, or Nirmānakāya, means Shakyamuni, the person who was born in India about 2,500 years ago. The Buddha in the history. But then, because of impermanence, Buddha passed away. Buddha was gone. And so, they started to think Buddha as a Dharma. Dharma, what Buddha taught. First, they thought, what Buddha taught, Buddha's teaching, is Buddha.

[62:38]

And then gradually they started to think, not that teachings, but the truth about which Buddha awakened to, and teach about that reality, that truth, is Dharma, capital D Dharma, and that is actually Buddha. So, there are... First, you know, these two, nirvanakaya and dharmakaya, the concept of nirvanakaya and dharmakaya was created. So, this is Buddha as a human being who was born in a certain place at a certain time of the history and died at a certain time and at a certain place. But this Dharmakaya has no body.

[63:42]

Dharma itself, the way things are, is Buddha. So there is no beginning and no end. That is the idea of Dharmakaya. And the idea or concept of Hojin or Sambhogakaya was established or created in the Mahayana Buddhism, especially in the Yogacara school. Yogacara, the main teachers or masters of Yogacara school is Vasubandhu and Asanga. Those people created this idea of Hōjin or Sambhogakaya. That means, Sambhogakaya means a reward body. Reward body Buddha.

[64:46]

Reward means as a reward of the past practice. As a result of long period of practice, this person attained Buddhahood and became a Buddha. And those Buddhas are such as Amitabha Buddha, as I said before, as a Buddha in the Pure Land Buddhism, and Medicine Master Buddha, or Yakushi Nyorai, or there are many other Buddhas in Mahayana Buddhism. They created many Buddhas. They thought this is not only world. There are numerous worlds in this dharma cosmos. And in each world there are each Buddha.

[65:48]

And those Buddhas were called Sambhogakaya. Dogen Zenji is talking about this kind of Buddha. Buddhas, he said. So each Buddha is created based on the image of Shakyamuni Buddha. Anyway. But what Dogen Reiji wants to say is that the essence of any Buddha, any kind of Buddha, is practice. He said, all Buddhas, without exception, fully practice dignified conduct. This practice is practice Buddha. So, what he is saying here is, there is another kind of names with the name of Gyo-butsu, Practice Buddha.

[67:00]

Basically, what he is trying to say is, or offer is, Practice Kaya. Instead of Dharmakaya, or Sambhogakaya, or Nirmanakaya, Practice Kaya. Practice is the body of Buddha. What he is saying is, there are such Buddha names, practice Buddha, besides those three or there are many more categorizations. But the essence of Buddha is practice. That is Dogen Zenji wants to say. So he doesn't negate these Dharmakaya or Sambhogakaya or Nirmanakaya. But all Buddhas, the essence of all Buddhas is practice. So all Buddhas are practice Buddhas.

[68:02]

All Buddhas, including Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, or Nirmanakaya, the essence of all these Buddhas, the thing, the element or thing, makes all these Buddhas as into Buddha is practice. That is what Dogen Zenji wants to say. Practice is the actual thing. Excuse me. He said, practice buddha is neither a reward body buddha. Reward body buddha is Sambhogakaya. Nor a transformation body buddha. Transformation buddha is keshini, kebutsu. That is Nirmanakaya buddha. And neither a self-nature body buddha.

[69:07]

Nor an other-nature body buddha. this self-nature body and other-nature body, there are two interpretations. One is, within Sambhogakaya, there are two kinds. One is self-nature, or jisho-shin. Another is tasho-shin. And jisho-shin and tasho-shin refer to Jijuyu. Jiju is the same word as Jijuyu Zanmai. Jijuyu Shin and Tajuyu Shin. Jiyu. Ta. Jiyu. Shin is the same as Shin, body. Ji is self. Ta is other. And, jyu is to receive, and yu is to use, to receive and use.

[70:13]

And, Jijuyoshin means, as a result or reward of his past practice, long time of practice, he received and used the Dharma joy. He enjoyed the Dharma. So, this idea came from Shakyamuni Buddha's Zazen, after he attained so-called Buddhahood, or Enlightened Awakening, before he started to teach. He enjoyed the revelation, or Dharma joy, by himself, without sharing with others. That is the original idea of Jijūyūshin. Buddha received and used this dharma joy for himself.

[71:16]

And the next one, Pajūyūshin means French Shakyamuni Buddha made his mind to teach others. He stood up from the seat under the Bodhi tree and went to the Deer Park and started to teach. His activity of teaching is to share the Dharma joy with other people. So, Dijiyoshin is Buddha sitting for himself, by himself, and enjoy the Dharma, and receive and enjoy the Dharma joy. And when Buddha started to teach and share the Dharma, with other beings. That is called Tajuyu-shin. So, the Jijuyu-shin and Tajuyu-shin, or self-natured body Buddha and other-natured body Buddha are part of this Sambhogakaya.

[72:23]

Another interpretation is Jisho-shin, self-natured body Buddha is Dharmakaya. and Tashoshin is Nirmanakaya. You know, there are many theories about Buddha's body, Buddha's kayas. So, there are many different interpretations possible. And, commonly, because the word Buddha came from body, that is awakening, the essence of Buddha, or the thing that makes Shakyamuni as Buddha is awakening. So that is what he is saying next. This Buddha, this Buddha means practice Buddha, is neither gradual awakening nor original awakening.

[73:27]

This gradual awakening and original awakening is a term used in the Daijo Kishin-ron. What is Daijo Kishin-ron in English? Awakening the Mahayana faith, or something like that. This original awakening means that the way things are itself is original awakening. And we are part of that original awakening. But because of our delusion, we don't see the awakening. So we have to practice and study. Then we gradually reduce the delusions. And finally, this gradual awakening and original awakening become one.

[74:30]

That is the time we attain Buddhahood. That is the idea of the teaching of Tathagatagarbha, or Buddha nature. Even though we have Buddha nature, our Buddha nature was hidden within delusion. So, first we have to find this Buddha nature. and take out the delusion that is like dust or dirt. And we need to polish the Buddha nature. Then Buddha nature becomes like a diamond. That is one theory within Mahayana Buddhism. But here Dogen-ren said, this practice Buddha, or Gyo-butsu, is neither gradual awakening nor original awakening. Neither by nature awakening. By nature awakening means the reality itself is awakening.

[75:32]

Or no awakening. You know, this is mukaku, no awakening. Is, in a sense, highest awakening. There is nothing but awakening, so there is no awakening. If there is something which is not awakening, then there is awakening. But when everything is awakening, then there is no awakening. That is how this word Mu is used in Chinese. As Dogen often uses, Wu and Mu are. Wu and Mu.

[76:38]

Wu is being. And Mu is non-being. No existence. And especially in Shogun's or Bussho, He used the expression of u-Buddha nature and mu-Buddha nature. When he discussed about dog's Buddha nature, Joshu said, when Joshu was asked, does a dog have Buddha nature, Joshu said, mu. And next time, he said, to the same question, he said, U, Mu and U. And usually, Mu and U is translated as have or not, or not have. But Bogen Zenji, because he said, because in the very beginning of Shobogen Zobusho, he said, all beings and entire beings are Buddha nature.

[77:44]

Having or not having doesn't make sense. So his interpretation of this koan of Dogo's buddha nature is really different from common understanding. Because have or not have doesn't make sense. So Dogen Zenji interprets this two different, two opposite answers by Joshu as showing two sides of buddha nature. One side is u buddha nature. Another side is mu-buddha nature. So both wu and mu, being and non-being, are buddha nature. Or we can say form and emptiness. Both are two sides of reality. And wu-buddha nature shows the form, points at form. And mu-buddha nature points at emptiness. So, it has nothing to do with have or not have.

[78:50]

So, when we read Dogen, we must be very careful. Anyway, so this mukaku doesn't mean lack of awakening. But mukaku, u-kaku and mukaku, these two awakenings, u-kaku and mukaku, and mukaku is In a sense, I don't like this kind of comparison. But mukaku is higher than uzukaku. It's like when we learn something, for example, how to drive a car. First, we have to study how the car is manufactured and how it works. And we have to learn the traffic rules. And we memorize and try to understand. But when we become really used to driving, we don't think about how the car works, or which part works in this way or that way.

[80:04]

Or we don't even think about the traffic rules. Still, we can drive in a safe way. So first we have to study, and we need to understand. But next, we need to forget the understanding. That is another expression Dogen Zenji used, understanding and no understanding, or not understanding, or ee and fu e. So commonly, fuei, not understanding, is lack of understanding. But Sendō Genzenji used this word, fuei, or not understanding. This is, after we completely understand this, we forget it and just do it.

[81:05]

Just when we're just driving a car, we don't think about how car works. We don't think about the traffic rules. but somehow we just drive, and that is the best condition of driving a car. So, not only Dogen Zenji, but in Zen writings, the usage of this negative expression needs to be some attention for this means. Sometimes Togen Zenji used negative expression as usual, as commonly used as a negative thing. But more often, when he used this kind of negative expression, this is not higher, but this is, how can I say, completion.

[82:11]

Complete understanding is no understanding. Complete awakening is no awakening. That is the point. So, here, Dogen Rinzai said, this practice of Buddha... We should know that all Buddhas of the Buddha way do not wait for awakening. That means Buddha and awakening are one thing. And practice and awakening is one thing. So there's no awakening. Only Buddha's practice. Only Buddha. Only practice. Only awakening. So there's nothing else. That is the way, especially Dogen Zenji used this negative expression.

[83:12]

Before that he said, these Buddhas cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with practiced Buddha. This means these Buddhas, this is not a comparison, but this means, you know, all these Buddhas are including the practiced Buddha. So there is no shoulder to shoulder, Nothing to compare. Nothing outside of practice Buddha. All Buddhas are practice Buddha. So, here, we need to change our understanding. In our common sense, practice is a method or means to attain enlightenment or to become Buddha. But here, Dogen Zenji is saying Practice and awakening and Buddha is one and the same thing.

[84:20]

So without practice there is no Buddha. Even in Shakyamuni Buddha's life, when he attained Buddhahood, he didn't stop practice. He continued practice until his death. It's already 4.30. So practice is itself Buddha. And next sentence. Only practice Buddha alone can completely penetrate the practice activities within the way of going beyond Buddha. This expression, going beyond Buddha, one of the very important expressions in Dogen's writings. Going beyond Buddha is Butsu Kojo.

[85:22]

Butsu Kojo. Buddha. Ko is toward. Toward. Jō is upward. So, Buddhahood is not the final goal. Buddha never stopped practice, but always going beyond. Buddha is always going beyond. That is the meaning of this expression, butsu kōjō, going beyond Buddha. This is an expression, I'm not sure if he was the first person or not, but this is an important expression by Tozan. Tozan or Donshan, the founder of Chinese Soto or Soto school.

[86:39]

Butsu kojo ji, the matter of going beyond Buddha. That means, In Buddha's practice, there is no goal. We are always going beyond, going beyond, going beyond. We cannot stay in one place. That is also a very important part of bodhisattva practice. Practice or nirvana of no-abiding. No-abiding or muju-sho. no abiding, is a name of nirvana in the case of bodhisattva practice. Bodhisattva does not stay in samsara because of wisdom. And yet, bodhisattva doesn't stay in nirvana because of compassion.

[87:43]

So, bodhisattvas are always coming and going. between samsara and nirvana. That is what this no-abiding means. That means at the same time, bodhisattva is both samsara and nirvana, same as other life. At the same time, we are right within samsara, and that is nothing other than nirvana. We cannot find nirvana besides where we are. So, we are right now right here, but this right now right here can be at the same time samsara and also nirvana. So, the self-natured body Buddha and so forth cannot see this even within a dream. He said this practice Buddha, or Ryobutsu, is the actual Buddha.

[88:55]

That means the essence of all Buddhas is practice. I think it's time to stop talking. Any questions? No question. Please. The difference between Pure Land Buddhist and Zen Buddhist? The difference? Between Zen and Pure Land? Well... That's a very good question. And a very difficult question.

[90:00]

What is the difference? Pure land Buddhists negate the validity of self-power practice and only think their value is facing Amitābha to the other power, Amitābha's power. That is how the Pure Land Buddhists make distinction between Zen and Pure Land. But when we study Dogen Zenji's teachings, there is no such distinction. So I'm not sure what is really the difference between Pure Land and Zen.

[91:10]

I think basically they are both Buddhism, Buddha's teachings. But the approach is different. Which Akedabha power? Pardon? Akedabha power? Other power or power of Amitabha. Amitabha is the name of Buddha. You spoke of the idea of mapo in Gogen's agency's time. Pardon me? Mapo? What is its influence today in modern Japanese culture? Is it still an important concept? Among Pure Land Buddhists, yes. Pure land teaching is only valid teaching in this age of final dharma.

[92:10]

But, for, you know, Dogen Zenji's student, you know, as he said, it's not a true teaching of Mahayana. It's a kind of a skillful means. So would it be something you would hear taught? Could you say it again? Would it be something you would hear taught in temples today? I don't think many Soto Zen priests discuss about the idea of Mappo. But in Pure Land, they do. You were talking about the first line of the Heart Sutra.

[93:17]

I couldn't understand the word that you were using, and then I also was wondering if you would go over what the five... Five skandhas or aggregates. Skandha is a Sanskrit word for aggregates. Go-un. Or Go-un. And what are those five aggregates? You can find in the Heart Sutra. Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body and Mind. Form or Looper or Material. And Sensation, Perception, Sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness are called the five skandhas. Thank you. Please. You made a distinction between self, nature, and other nature, and the connection to joy, enjoying the Dharma before teaching, enjoying the Dharma in teaching to others.

[94:30]

The joy in the Tenzo Kyokun, the joyful mind, The word is ho-etsu. I think the word Dogen Zenji used in Tenzokyo is ki, kishin. The word is different, but same idea. The delight in dharma, or joy, ho-ki-zen-etsu. Ho-ki is the delight of dharma, and the joy of zen, or zazen. Same idea. Please. What do you know about how this radical idea of the practice of Buddha was received? It was a radical idea to do yoga. How was it received by his contemporaries? We don't know because he wrote

[95:35]

and maybe give some explanation to his Sangha members, and yet his monastery was still very small, and there's no record remained about how people accepted or rejected or criticized. But while Dogen Zenji was alive, He was not so popular. His sangha was quite small. So not many people really didn't understand what he taught. Didn't somebody burn Koshoji? It's said so. But not because they didn't like Fat Dog and Lord. They had some different Motivation, I think.

[96:38]

Okay? Okay, thank you very much.

[96:45]

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