2006.01.30-serial.00008

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Before I started, there are so many things I have to talk about. My wife asked me to make sure that even though I'm talking about the Virtue of Kesa, and I think Almost all of you who wear raksu or okesa have sewn your own. But I never sew my own raksu or okesa. Never. So I know nothing about actual sewing. So please don't ask me. And Branson is the most experienced and best teacher of sewing in this country. So if you have a question, please ask her, not to me. And my teacher is Uchiyama Kousho Roshi.

[01:05]

And his teacher was Sawaki Kodo Roshi. And Sawaki Kodo Roshi was the original a modern sort of teacher who put emphasis on so-called Nihon-e, that is what most of us wear in this room. And as I mentioned yesterday, Hashimoto Eikoroshi, Because of Sawaki Roshi's influence, he started also studying okesa and making their own nyohoe. So Sawaki Roshi's and Hashimoto Roshi's lineages, we saw and put on the so-called nyohoe, okesa, and aksu.

[02:07]

Sawaki Roshi, probably as I said before, Sawaki Roshi, one of the most famous sayings was, shaving my head, wearing okesa, and sit, that's it, nothing else. And Uchiyama Roshi was, of course, Sawaki Roshi's disciple, so he continued this tradition. shave one's head, wear okesa, and just sit. And Sawaki and Uchiyama Roshi didn't put too much emphasis on okesa. And as far as I remember, he never gave lectures on kesakudoku. So he was rather quiet about okesa, probably because, you know, Many of Sawaki Yoshi's disciples and lay students are so much kind of eager, what is the other word?

[03:26]

Practice sewing and wearing okesa and, how can I say, put emphasis on the virtue of okesa. And Uchimura said, you know, Uchimura was a master of origami. You know origami? Origami is a paper folding. And he wrote several books on the art of origami. And in his book, in order to explain the order of folding the paper, he knows how to explain the procedure or order of making something from one sheet of paper. So, in Sawakiroshi's tesho, once Sawakiroshi said, He asked Uchiyama Roshi to make an instruction, a manual of sewing okesa using his idea and technique and experience of explanation of how to make origami.

[04:47]

But Uchiyama Roshi wrote in his writing that that was not what he was focusing. He was focusing on zazen, sitting, and explain or express the meaning of zazen in the way modern people can understand, or meaningful way, meaningful way to, for modern people. So Uchamarose focused on zazen and expressed his own understanding about the meaning of Zazen practice in modern society, so he didn't put so much emphasis on Okesa. And so, at Antaiji, I was never asked to show my own Okesa. That's my excuse. You know, because there are many lay students of Sawakiroshi saw Raksu to offer.

[05:56]

not only their own. So when I was ordained, I think Joshin-san made my koromo and rakusu and okesa, seven-jo okesa. And when I received dharma transmission, One of the Sakiroshi's lay students, whose name was Yukiko Matsuura, made 17-jo okesa for me. So, I have no experience of sewing. Yeah, that's Fundoe. My wife is here, and we married in 1983. At that time, Joshin-san was staying at her sister's house in Tokyo, and she was

[07:01]

very weak already, and she died next year, 1984, in May. So this year, we have Joshin-san's 23rd anniversary. That was one of the reasons I make a decision to study Kesa Kuroku during this Gendoe. Actually, two weeks after we married, my wife went to Antaiji and stayed there for one year to study how to make Kesa. So my wife Yuko is Joshin-san's kind of a Dharma granddaughter. So, we have many experienced sewing teachers, so about concrete things about sewing okesa, please ask them, not to me.

[08:13]

I'm talking about my understanding of Dogen Zenji's teaching about the virtue of okesa. Let me read. This is very, you know, this text has many pages, but this is both English and Japanese, so actually it's not so large writing. So hopefully I can talk entire text during this. Maybe I'm too ambitious. So I have to, and this is not so difficult, this is not like a Shobo Genzo Bussho or Buddha nature. In both Buddha nature or Uji or being time, I have to discuss even word by word.

[09:19]

And sometimes it takes more than one hour to talk about one word. But here, I mean, in this writing, there's no such difficult points. So hopefully, I think we can finish this. So I'll go a little faster than usual. Let me read the introduction of this writing, that is, until page 9, and I start to talk paragraph by paragraph. Page 1. The third chapter of True Dharma I treasure in, Kesa Kudoku, or Virtue of Kashaya, the Orb Dharma, that has been authentically transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, ancestor to ancestor, was authentically transmitted to China only by the founding ancestor Bodhidharma of Mount Song.

[10:32]

The founding ancestor was the 28th generation from Shakyamuni Buddha. After the rope dharma, had been transmitted 28 generations from a legitimate teacher to a legitimate disciple in India. The 28th ancestor personally went to China and became the first ancestor. After it was transmitted through five generations of Chinese masters, it reached to Huy Ninh of Khaosi or Sog Keng. He was the 33rd generation from the Buddha. He is called the sixth ancestor of China. Zen master D. John or Daikan, the 33rd ancestor, correctly received the transmission of this world dharma

[11:41]

in the night at Mount Huangmei, or Orbai, and he protected and maintained it for his entire lifetime. The robe is still kept at the Baolin Temple, or Rinji, on Mount Kaoshi, or Sokei. The emperors in many generations One after another invited the wolf to their imperial palace to make offerings and pay homage to it. They protected and maintained it as a sacred object. Emperor Song, or Shu Su, or Sui, or Shuk Su, and Dai, Dai Su, of the Tang dynasty eagerly had the robe brought to their palace and made offerings to it.

[12:46]

To brought it to the palace and to return it to the temple, the emperors sent their imperial envoy and issued an imperial proclamation. On the occasion of returning the Buddha robe to Mount Kawase or Soke, Emperor Dai or Daiso made the following proclamation. Now, I order the great general, Ryu Chang Jin, Ryu Soke, the pacifier of the nation, to respectfully return the robe. I consider it a national treasure. Keep it safely at the temple according to the Dharma. Let the monks who have received the essential teaching of the lineage, strictly protected it without failure.

[13:48]

Truly, being a king in a small country in which Buddha law exists, and can see it, hear it, and make offerings to it, is the most excellent life among all worthwhile lives within life and death. even more than governing the 3,000 Great Southern Worlds, as numerous as the Thames of the Ganges River. In the 3,000 worlds where the Buddha's influence was reached, is there any place the kashaya robe does not exist? Even so, the founding ancestor of Mount Song was the only one who correctly transmitted the Buddha kashaya through face-to-face transmission from a legitimate teacher to a legitimate disciple.

[14:53]

Buddha kashaya was not endowed to the collateral lineages. Although the transmission from Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, a collateral disciple of the 27th ancestor, Prajñātāra, actually, actually read to Dharma teacher as Seng Chao, or Sojo, there was no authentic transmission of the Buddha Kāśāyā. Similarly, although Great Master Daoxin or Daoxin, the fourth ancestor in China, guided the master far along of Mount An'yoto or Gozu, he did not give the authentic transmission of the Buddha Kashaya.

[15:56]

Therefore, even for those who have not received the authentic transmission Through a legitimate teacher, the virtue of Tathagata's true Dharma is never in vain. The benefit is boundless for thousands and ten thousands of ages. And yet, those who received the authentic transmission from a legitimate teacher cannot compare with those who lack the transmission. Therefore, when human and heavenly beings receive and maintain the kashaya, they should receive the kashaya that has been correctly transmitted through Buddha ancestors. In India and China, during the age of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, even lay practitioners received and maintained kashaya.

[17:04]

Now in this remote land, in this present degenerate age, those who shave their heads and call themselves Buddha's disciples do not receive and maintain kashaya. They don't believe, know, or clarify that they should receive it. How much less do they know of the material, color, and measurements of kashaya? How much less do they know how to wear it? From ancient times, kashaya has been called the robe of revelation. It can liberate us from all the hindrances, such as karmic hindrances, hindrances of delusive desires, and hindrances of retribution. When a dragon gets a single strand of kashaya, it can be released from the three kinds of heat.

[18:14]

When an ox touches kashaya with its single horn, its past wrongdoings disappear of themselves. When all Buddhas attained the way, they all, without exception, wear kashaya. We should know that receiving and maintaining kashaya is the most valuable and unsurpassable virtue. Truly, although we regret that we have been born in the remote land, in the degenerated age of the last Dharma, we can rejoice that we have encountered the Dharma and the love that has been legitimately transmitted from a Buddha to a Buddha. Which other lineages have an authentic transmission of both the love Dharma of Shakyamuni such as ours?

[19:24]

Upon encountering this love Dharma, who do not venerate and make offerings to it. Even if we have to discard bodily lives as numerous as the sons of Ganges, Ganges River, every day, we should make offerings to it. We should take a vow to meet with it, respectfully receive it, venerate it, and make offerings to it. life after life, generation after generation. Although we live more than 10,000 miles from the country where the Buddha was born, and it is difficult for us to go there, such a long distance across mountains and oceans. Because of the influences of our good karma in the past, we are not blocked

[20:27]

by the mountains and oceans, and we are not rejected, though we are ignorant. Having met with this true Dharma, we persistently study and practice it every day and night. We receive and maintain this kashāya, and we always respectfully protect and maintain it. How could this be the effect of practicing the virtue under the guidance of only one or two Buddhas? We must have practiced all the various virtues under the guidance of Buddhas as numerous as the sons of the Ganges River. Even if it is our self that has done such practices, we should venerate it and rejoice in it.

[21:32]

We should humbly repay the profound debt of kindness to the ancestral masters for their transmission of Dharma. Even animals repay kindness. How could human beings ignore their kindness? If we are ungrateful for the debt of kindness, we are more foolish than animals. The virtue of this Buddha love and Buddha Dharma cannot be qualified or known by anyone but an ancestral master who has succeeded to the Buddha's two Dharma. If we wish to follow the praise of all Buddhas, we should truly appreciate the virtue of them. Even a hundred thousand million generations later, we should appreciate this authentic transmission as the authentic transmission.

[22:37]

This must be the Buddha Dharma. The verified efficacy should be always miraculous. This transmission should not be like watering milk. but rather like the crown prince acceding to the throne. Even if it is like diluted milk, if we do not have any other milk to use, we should use this milk. We should not use oil, lacquer, or wine, even if these are undiluted. This authentic transmission also must be like this. Even if a person is a mediocre follower of an ordinary master, if the person's transmission is authentic, we should consider the person as milk. Furthermore, the authentic transmission among Buddhas and ancestors is like a crown princess ascending to the throne.

[23:46]

Even in the secular world, it is said that a king does not wear robes different from the former kings. How could a Buddha's child wear a robe other than Buddha's robe? Since the 10th year of the Yang Ping, or Eihei era, that is 67 CE, of the Emperor Xiaomeng, or Cold Moon, of the later Han dynasty, although both monks and lay people often went back and forth between India and China, none of them said that they met an ancestral master who authentically received transmission from a Buddha ancestor in India. No one has a record of the lineage of face-to-face transmission

[24:48]

from the Tathagata. They simply followed masters of sutras or commentaries and brought back the teachings recorded in the sutras written in Sanskrit. They never said that they met an ancestral master who was an authentic heir of Buddhadharma. They did not say that there were ancestral masters who had transmitted the Buddha Kashaya. I'm sorry, B is missed. We clearly know that they did not enter the innermost room of Buddha Dharma. People like this did not clarify the essential Dharma that was authentically transmitted. The Tathagata Shakyamuni entrusted the true Dharma I treasured unsurpassable awakening to Maha Kasyapa.

[25:51]

And Maha Kasyapa received it together with the Kasyaya authentically transmitted from Kasyapa Buddha. Being transmitted from a legitimate teacher to a legitimate disciple for thirty-three generations, the Kasyaya reached to Zen Master D. John, or Daikan, of Mount Kaoshi or Sokei. Its material color and measurements had been transmitted intimately. Since then, the Dharma descendants of Kun, Yuan or Seigen and Nanyue or Nangaku have been intimately transmitting the Dharma. wearing the kashaya according to the dharma of the ancestral school and sewing kashaya according to the dharma of the ancestral school.

[26:55]

The method of washing the kashaya and the method of receiving and maintaining the kashaya cannot be known without studying in the innermost room of the tradition of the face-to-face transmission from a legitimate master to a legitimate disciple. I think this is the introduction to this entire writing called Kesa Kudoku. It's quite long. Here, Dogen Zen put emphasis on the authentic transmission. in the very first sentence, he says, the law of Dharma. I'm sure this sentence is not good English. As I said, this is still a stage of working draft, so I know this is not yet good or natural English, but I try to make it as literal as possible.

[28:15]

And maybe as a translation, the problem is the very first and second word, raw Dharma. Law, Booth, Eisner, Slash, Dharma. Original Japanese word is Eho. E is Law. Ho is Dharma. And there are two ways to read or interpret this compound. One is the dharma of the law. In this case, this dharma is teaching. Buddha's teaching about the law, about okesa. This is one possible interpretation. And some of Japanese teachers read in this way.

[29:20]

The teaching of law has been authentically transmitted. And another way of reading this is, e and ho, two things, love and dharma. That means, when dharma was transmitted from Shakyamuni to Mahakasyapa, and Mahakasyapa to Ananda, as Dogen then said, until the sixth ancestor in China, love was transmitted. Dharma, at the same time, the Dharma was transmitted. So this can be read as the robe and Dharma. So the robe and Dharma that have been authentically transmitted. But the problem is, when we translate this in English, it becomes,

[30:28]

translated as robe and dharma. You know, robe and dharma become two separate things. If we put an, we have to make it plural. But, you know, a is, or robe, is a symbol of dharma. So, as a, how can I say, buddha dharma. A or robe and dharma cannot be separated. So this should be one thing. So that's why I made this robe slash dharma. So these are two, but one. These are two, but one. But one, but two. And in this one sentence, there are, you know, authentically transmitted twice.

[31:33]

I don't think this is good English, but this is how Dogen wrote. So the authentically transmitted Bodhidharma was transmitted, authentically transmitted by the Bodhidharma, the priest. I think that is one meaning. He really put emphasis on the authenticity of Zen lineage. At that time, Zen was a very new kind of Buddhism in Japan. So, he had to say this Zen lineage transmitted through Bodhidharma, six ancestors, and his teacher. and transmitted to Japan.

[32:35]

It was authentic transmission. That is one meaning. And this robe, ofesa, was transmitted as a symbol of Dharma transmission. That was what Dogen Zenji wanted to say. But, you know, Today, I think this too much emphasis on this authenticity, authentic transmission, might be a problem. That means only this lineage has, you know, correct or authentic transmission. That means there's no authentic transmission to other lineages, not only in Zen, but, you know, in this modern times, especially in this country, you know, almost all the traditions of Buddhism from different countries in India, I mean in Asia, came to this country.

[33:48]

And there are many different traditions and approaches and schools existing here. And if we say this is only, I mean Dogen's lineage is only authentic tradition, I think that is a problem. If we put too much emphasis on this authentic transmission... But isn't that the point of the first sentence? Yes, that is what Dogen said. But I think we have to somehow modify or soften... It was something of a problem for him at that time. Pardon me? It was something of a problem for him at that time. Yeah, but I think he had to say this in order to establish his so-called newly transmitted Buddhism, style of Buddhism in Japan, where all other different schools have been already established.

[34:56]

He had to say this is authentic. And we don't need to say this is not authentic. We can say this is authentic. But if we say this is only authentic tradition, and all other traditions are not authentic, that is a problem, I think. And even when we study about Okesa, not only in Zen or in Soto Zen, particularly, tradition, but there are many other, you know, tradition of Buddhist law in Theravada, Tibetan, Chinese, Korean. And, you know, we don't need to, I think, I believe, cling to particularly Dogen's style. Of course, we have to be, how can I say, to not be proud, but we can be trust, you know, Dogen's teachings.

[35:58]

But if you become so kind of stiff and say, this is only true Dharma, and this is only authentic transmission or tradition, then that is a problem, I think. So we should be careful about that point. Anyway, within Zen tradition, Traditionally we believe that the authentic transmission of Dharma came from India to China by Bodhidharma. Please. I think the question of what is an authentic teaching has been might change. Could you say what you look for in an authentic teaching for you?

[37:08]

How do you determine what is an authentic teaching if it's not this way that's been passed down? To you or to today, what is a relevant way given all these different traditions? I am not sure if we can find one single criterion to make judgment whether this tradition is authentic, this tradition or this teaching or this practice is authentic, and this is not. Because in each tradition they have their own criterion. And what we can do is respect each other, their own tradition and their own criterion, I think.

[38:09]

We don't need to argue and fight. If we do in that way, we create samsara within Buddhist Sangha. So I think what we should do is we need to be faithful in our tradition. And yet, we should also know that other traditions are also authentic for the people who are in that tradition. So I have no desire to establish one particular criterion or standard by which we can measure all the Buddhist traditions and judge this is authentic, this is not. I think you are the first. This is kind of a, maybe not a timely question, but I remember something you said last year, about, so we're looking, is this a concrete thing we're looking at that's been passed on and we can say this?

[39:24]

And if that's the case, last year you said our Bodhidharma didn't really exist. Yes, that is what I'm going to talk about. So, what exactly are we talking about? I don't know. Please. You have taken a position simply on faith. You have put your faith And whatever we put our faith in, we have to do that wholeheartedly and take action. And maybe suffer the consequences. But it's essentially, I think, a question of still faith in ourselves.

[40:29]

Well, I think I need to go. So, this is, I think this is our call. We don't have an answer yet. This is the one way. In essence, there's only one way, and this is an expression of it. Is that ever held up as an interpretation of this? In the other interpretation of this expression? By the meaning of Dogon scholars, is that argument ever presented? This isn't an exclusive one way. This is, in essence, a one way that has many expressions. As far as I know, I'm not a scholar, so I don't know much.

[41:40]

There are a large range of scholars in Soto, not only Soto, but in Japanese Buddhist academic world. Not only academic, but so-called priest, scholar, monks. But this authentic tradition and this history of Zen of tradition, you know, transmission, is almost like a, how can I say, doctrine. So no one made a question. So I think now we are kind of in a very unique point that we have to review the tradition. because we are not really, we are from Dogen's tradition from Japan, but we are not in Japan. So we need to find what is authentic to us.

[42:46]

Traditionally, no Soto scholars question about this thing as authentic tradition. as a kind of a, how can I say, in a sense, sectarian way. You know, people belong to Soto tradition, believe Soto then is the most authentic form of Buddhist teaching, a kind of exclusive way. But all other schools, they did the same thing. So, and somehow in Buddhism they didn't fight so much. They argued, they made discussion, but they didn't fight. They, you know, each school respected their tradition and doctrine without so much, you know, fighting.

[43:57]

That is a kind of a strange point of Buddhism. I'm not sure this is the answer to your question or not. But I think we need to think about that, whether this is actual, concrete, person-to-person transmission within the history, or this is kind of an idea that the essence of Dharma has been transmitted. meeting a teacher who lives in relation to those around him as if we were all one. I think so too.

[44:58]

And this, according to Dogen and according to Zen tradition, this transmission is the lineage of people who practice, who awaken to that reality and practice in that way and transmit that truth. So this is a kind of a faith. But if we think this is historically and in a kind of a, how can I say, political, I put our, how can I say, foundation of our understanding of Dharma and practice. I think especially after the World War II, especially people, scholars younger than me, started to review even the authenticity of Dogen's teaching.

[46:15]

I'm a student, but I don't think I'm a scholar. I study. So it depends on the definition of the word, what scholar means. If scholar means academic, I'm not academic. No, but the true scholar is the one that is true. From my experience of you, for the sake of sounding Okay. Thank you. I hope it's true. But, you know, I have been... I became my teacher's student, and because my teacher's practice was just sitting, wearing okesa and shaving head. I have been practicing in that way since I was 22 years old.

[47:37]

And I wanted to understand what this means. So I tried to study as much as possible, but studying is not a main thing to me. To me, the main thing is practice and to understand what I'm doing. I need to study. And in order to share my understanding and practice with other people, I have to study more. Actually, I have to study English. That is one extra thing to me. You know, when we studied Buddhism from China, Japanese people had to study Chinese language. And when we tried to transmit Dharma from Japan to America, we had to study English. I don't think it's fair. So I hope more American people study Japanese if they want to study Dogen.

[48:43]

And I hope younger people are willing to do that. Anyway, so here we are. Anyway, according to the traditional understanding of the history of Zen, Dharma, true Dharma, from Shakyamuni had been transmitted 28 generations in India, and the 28th ancestor, Bodhidharma, went to China and became the first ancestor of Zen in China. And Bodhidharma's a teaching transmitted five more generations and reached to the sixth ancestor, Huinan. And after Huinan, the so-called Zen school spread and became more and more popular.

[49:50]

That was basically understanding of the history of Zen Buddhism. But last 15, I think about 15 years, from the middle of 20th century, you know, this history has been reviewed by many scholars, many Zen scholars. And now we understand, at least I understand, the lineage of 28th generation in India was established in China, I think in the early 9th century, by the people in the tradition of Huinan. Before that, there's no such, how can I say, lineage of those 28 people. before that there are another version of the lineages in northern school of Zen.

[50:58]

But this one was kind of established in the tradition of Huinan, the sixth ancestor. Ninth century, early ninth century. So basically, today, scholars don't believe this is historically true. If you want to read that kind of study and discussion, I recommend you to read a book written by John McRae. The title of the book was Seeing Through Them. I think this is a good book to see, to understand you know, how modern scholars see the history of Zen. But I don't have time to discuss about that part of discussion, to study Dogen's teaching about Okesa, so... Is that the book you gave last year about Bodhidharma not being there?

[52:11]

Actually, John McRae didn't say Bodhidharma didn't exist, but Bodhidharma in the history was not like we know through those different stories. Anyway, in the first paragraph, he said, he described this transmission, authentic transmission, and in the second paragraph, Page two, he said, even the emperors of China, specifically Tang dynasty, invited the robe transmitted from Buddha to Huinan and make, venerate it. So, you know, I'm not sure, you know, people really believe it or not.

[53:19]

I mean, Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha's okesa transmitted until Huinan. Huinan lived 8th century, and Shakyamuni, I think, died 4th century BC. So, more than 1,000 years between Shakyamuni and Huinan. And, you know, especially in India, in Japan, you know, okesa is not really a practical clothing. But in India, this is really only clothing Buddhist monks used. And I don't think, you know, we use this kind of clothing for daily use, it doesn't last more than 1,000 years. Actually, in the Vinaya, it said when a monk made new set of okesa, there's a rule that at least six years, the person should not make new one, new set.

[54:31]

That means six years is a limitation. to continue to, you know, wearing one orkestra. So I don't think for, you know, 28 generations, one orchestra has been really transmitting. And also, if I start to talk, you know, I cannot, there's no end. So, this is a kind of a belief or faith And if we are skeptical, we can question everything. So I don't want to, you know, go into such a detail. And paragraph three, he said, truly being a king, I'm sorry, the number three is missing.

[55:35]

It's the last sentence in page 2, the beginning of Parallel Act 3. Through being a king in a small country in which Buddha Lord exists and can see it, hear it, and make offering to it, is the most excellent life among all worthwhile lives within life and death, even more than governing the three thousand great southern worlds, as Manilas are the sons of the Ganges River." Here, Doron called a Chinese emperor an emperor of a small country. in comparison with the entire 3,000 worlds, the king of the 3,000 worlds. So he put emphasis on the Buddha's robe, his precious robe.

[56:41]

If I interpret this sentence in my own personal way, this, you know, the emperor of this three thousand worlds, I think, means Ichiban Uwasu. We are the center of the world. And, you know, as Dogen said in Sansuikyo, or Mountains and Waters Sutra, Mountains, although mountains belong to the nation or the country, but actually the mountains belong to the person who loves the mountains. That means if we love this entire network of interdependent origination, then this entire network belongs to us. So actually we are the emperor. That means we have responsibility to, you know, this entire network being in a healthy, harmonious condition.

[58:11]

If there are some problems, that is our responsibility. And if we have the Okesa, Buddhist law, so in this case, I think Dogen used this word, Buddha's law, Yesterday I mentioned Dogenzenji used this word orchestra in four different meanings, and we interpret what he's saying, what he's pointing at in each phrase. So we can interpret this Buddha robe as this entire network of interdependent origination. That is one piece of okesa. And we have already received that okesa. So we are the emperor of this three thousand worlds. But I think that is a possible interpretation of this sentence.

[59:22]

Let me continue. So he put emphasis on the authentic tradition. And he said, although in the middle of page three, Although the transmission from Bodhisattva Bhadrapala, a collateral disciple of the 27th ancestor Prajñātāra or Hānyātāra, actually reached to Dharma teacher Sen Chuao, a sojourn, there was no authentic transmission of the Buddha Kāśāya. Here, Dogen Zenji mentioned this person, Bhadrapala in Sanskrit. In Japanese, we pronounce this name, Bhadabala, Bhadabala Gosatsa.

[60:33]

And according to all the commentary, this is a mistake. Bhadabala is a person who is enshrined in a bathroom, right? Not in the kitchen, but bathroom. So this person's name should be Buddha Bhadra. Buddha Bhadra. Bhadra Bhadra is not actually the person in the history. But Buddha Bhadra is a person who went to China from India. He lived from 359 to 429. It's said he practiced so-called Zen, is the person whose name is Butsu Daisen.

[61:50]

I don't know the Sanskrit word, but Butsu Daisen. And according to Keitoku Dento Roku, or a transmission of Dharma lamp, this person, Butsu Daisen, was a another disciple of Prajñātāra, so Bodhidharma's dharma brother. And he said, Buddha Bhadra studied with this person, Utsadaisen, and went to China. And that was the same time as Kumāla Jīva was working on translation in China. And when Buddha Bhadra went to China, in the beginning he worked together with Kumāra Jīva, but somehow there was some conflict.

[62:59]

So Buddha Bhadra left, separated from Kumāra Jīva, and practiced in his own way. And this person, Sen Chuo, in Japanese Sojo, was a Kumāra Jīva disciple, one of the most important disciples of Kumāra Jīva. And I tried to find a connection between Sen Chuo and Buddha Bhadra, but I couldn't find any evidence these two are connected. possibility they may have met each other, because they worked in the same age, in the same place, on translations. But I couldn't find any evidence that Sojo or Senchō received some kind of translation from Buddha Badara. So I'm not sure whether this is really historically true or not.

[64:03]

And another example of so-called collateral disciples, or lineage, is the master pharaon of Mount Muto or Gozu. This is another school of Zen. And it is said, this is not from the Sixth Ancestor Huinan's lineage. this language, God's language, it is said from the first ancestor, Daoshin or Doshin. But, you know, today's scholars also doubt about this connection between first ancestor Daoshin and the founder of this school, Faolong or Houyu. Anyway, Togen's point is that Buddha's law transmitted only through the lineage of Huinan, and went through Seigen and Nangaku, and became five schools of Zen.

[65:28]

That is a common kind of understanding of the history of Zen, until about 50 years ago. Pardon? Pardon me? Yes. Yeah, it's very exclusive. That is a... How can I say? Traditionally, no one doubts, questions about that exclusiveness in Dogen's teaching here.

[66:31]

But I think it might be, not might be, but it is a problem to us, I think. So we have to kind of review what we should do. what we think, how we can sing and practice and work with people from different other lineages or traditions together without, you know, saying this is only authentic tradition and others are fake or not authentic. So, I think this is, we are in a kind of a very unique stage of the history of Zen. We have to review the tradition and, I think, create something for the future. And we should not create something, you know, which is not genuine.

[67:33]

And for him personally, he was disappointed. He became a Buddhist monk when he was 13, and yet he was disappointed in the condition of the so-called Buddhist establishment at that time. And he went to China to find an authentic teaching. And he found an authentic teaching through his teacher, Tendo Nyojo Zenji. So this, I think for him, this was his true faith, that he finally found a true transmission, true tradition, and he transmitted that to genuine tradition.

[68:50]

So I'm pretty clear that for Dogen Zenji, this is not a kind of a, how can I say, you know, praising himself and his tradition and look down other traditions. But this is a result of his journey of searching truth. Does it make sense? Okay. Please. What is the phrase collateral lineage? What's a collateral lineage? Okay. collateral Japanese word is in there. But the word, bo, bo-kei, I think. Bo-kei is the opposition of sei-kei, wa-sho, sei-kei.

[69:53]

You know, that means in the Chinese and Japanese family system, The family heritage is transmitted to the oldest son. And there are more than one boy. The, how can I say, family lineage was taken by the first son, oldest son. And other brothers are called collateral. Does it make sense? So this, yeah, this one, you know, this, how can I say? The oldest son who inherit the family wealth and position and profession. And this lineage, this stream is called Shoukei.

[70:58]

and other brothers separate, not separate, how do you say, deviate from that stream is called gokei. That is the word in the Chinese and Japanese family system. So this is a kind of a value judgment. So we can doubt, we can question whether this is what we want to keep it or not. But this idea came from Chinese and Japanese culture in the society. So he put emphasis on receiving an okesa as a symbol of true dharma from a genuine teacher, from a genuine tradition.

[72:14]

In page 4, He says, in India, second sentence of page four, in India and China, during the age of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, even lay practitioners received and maintained kashaya. Now, next sentence, now in this remote learned in this present degenerate age, those who shave their heads and call themselves Buddha's disciples, do not receive and maintain kashaya. They don't believe, know, or clarify that they should receive it. So this is a kind of criticism from Dogen to the condition of Japanese Buddhist establishment. And this first sentence, in India, even lay people received okesa, referred to a custom, a custom of practice in Indian Buddhist Sangha.

[73:42]

Once a month, during certain days, lay people stayed in a monastery and practiced together with monks. On that occasion, only during those days, laypeople received six precepts and practiced in the same way as monks. On that occasion, laypeople also put on uya, or kesa, and having same kind of things like a water jar, and other things. So he said even lay people receive the orchestra. I think in China also, lay people wear orchestra when they practice.

[74:43]

When I visited a Chinese Buddhist community in Northern California, I saw many lay people wearing orchestra. And in Sawakiroshi's lineage also, lay people received okasa and wearing okasa when they practiced dazen. So this tradition still continues. Oh, this, okay. This is... There are three ages. Buddha Dharma, I mean after Shakyamuni died. It said, I don't know from around what time they started to say these three ages. But it says, first 500 years after Buddha's death was called the age of true Dharma.

[75:45]

You know, okay. Please. So this statement, even lay practitioners receiving it, is that, is that, does Dogen feel that that implies a lack of respect for the Okesa? No. No, actually he really encouraged lay people to wear Okesa. So, in fact, his point here is, in India, even lay people received okesa, because they knew okesa is precious. But in Japan, even monks didn't know what okesa is, and the meaning of wearing okesa. That was his criticism against the condition of the Buddhist community in Japan at that time. Well, I think it's time to stop talking.

[76:50]

Well, I don't think we finished until page 9. So this afternoon, I'll continue from the middle of page 4. Thank you very much.

[77:12]