2006.02.03-serial.00017

00:00
00:00
Audio loading...

Welcome! You can log in or create an account to save favorites, edit keywords, transcripts, and more.

Serial: 
SO-00017
AI Summary: 

-

Photos: 
Transcript: 

Page 57. In the middle of page 57, it says, the third chapter of Shobo or True Dharma-Ai Treasury, Kesakudoku, Virtue of Gacchaya. This means this is the chapter. So the rest of this writing is kind of a post-script. But at the end of page 60, Dogenden write the date he wrote this chapter. Anyway, let me read this postscript. This describes Dogen Zenji's life in China.

[01:16]

When I was staying in Song, China, when I practiced on the long platform in the monk's hall. I saw the monks next to me at the end of morning zazen each day, hold their kashaya, or kesa, respectfully and place it on their head, doing gassho to venerate it and quietly reciting a verse. Dogen Zenji went to China in 1223, and so when he had this experience, he was maybe 23, 24, so he was still very young.

[02:23]

So probably, you know, this is very beginning After his practice in China, he found that the monks next to him put the orchestra on their top of their head and recite this verse. The verse is the one we chant each morning. That is, in Japanese, Daisai Gedapuku, Musou Fukudeke, Hibu Nyorai Kyou, Kodo Shashujo. My English translation is probably I already read it this morning. He mentioned this verse three places in this writing. He said, how great the law of liberation is,

[03:28]

It is the formless rope and the field of happiness. Respectfully wearing the Tathagata's teaching, I vow to save the world. Thus, I don't think I have to explain. At that time, I felt that I had never before seen such a gracious thing. My body was filled with delight, and tears of joy silently fell and moistened the lapel of my robe. So he was very moved.

[04:33]

Often, Dogen Zenji was considered kind of a very intellectual, and logical, and almost cold. But when we were writing about his own personal experience, He was very, almost emotional person. We can see another aspect of Rogen Renji's personality. This is because when I read the Agama Sutra. Agama Sutra is a Chinese equivalent of Parinikaya. Agama Sutra long ago, although I found the description of respectfully placing kashaya on the head, I have not been able to clarify the form of how to do it."

[05:46]

So even though he read about this, you know, the relation of okesa, but he couldn't find how to do it. But when he went to China, monks in the monastery did every morning. That's why he was so moved. At that time, I saw it with my own eyes. I was filled with joy and thought to myself, how sorrowful In my homeland, that means Japan, in my homeland, I never had a teacher who taught this. And I never had a friend who encouraged me to do this. How regrettable it is that so much time was wasted.

[06:52]

Again, there's a space between was and wasted. I'm not a good typist. How sad. Now I am seeing and hearing it, seeing what the monks did, venerating Okesa and chanting the verse. I'm hearing it. I should rejoice for the good karma from my past lives. If I had vainly stayed in my homeland, how would it have ever been possible for me to sit next to the Sangha treasures who have received and are wearing the two Buddha's robes? I had a mixture of extreme joy and sadness. That made me shed thousands, ten thousands flows of tears.

[08:01]

At the time, I vowed to myself, although I'm unworthy, by all means, I will become a legitimate heir of Buddha Dharma, correctly transmit the true Dharma and out of compassion to the people in my country, that means people in Japan, I will enable them to see and hear the robe and dharma that have been authentically transmitted by Buddha ancestors. So when he was in his early 20s, First he saw and heard a bunch of Chinese monks liberating their okesa and chant this robe chant. He took a vow to become a legitimate Dharma heir of this lineage and transmit this okesa, or Buddha's robe,

[09:19]

to Japan, to allow Japanese people to share the same practice. My vow at that time, when he wrote this, he was 40 years old. So it was almost 20 years later. So my vow at that time was not in vain. There are many bojisatvas, both home leavers and householders, who have received and maintained the kashaya. So after he came back from China to Japan and started his own sangha, first, when he wrote this, he was still at Koshoji, not Heiji. He gave precepts and also orchestra to both priests or monks and lay people, it seems.

[10:35]

And so in his sangha, in his assembly, there are many monks and also lay people who wear orchestra. So he said, I am so glad about this. People who have received the kashaya should place it on the head. Again, there's space between the and head. To venerate it every day and night. That should be especially excellent. There are causes and conditions of seeing and hearing one phrase or one verse of Dharma through trees and stones. This seeing and hearing one phrase or one verse of Dharma through trees and stones refers to Jataka story.

[11:42]

Not a Jataka story, but this story appeared in the Mahayana Parinibbana Sutra. This is a story about a bodhisattva who practiced in the Himalayas. He was practicing by himself. He was searching the Dharma, of course. And one time, he heard the verse in Japanese, Shogyo Mujo Shoho. I forget. I'm sorry. Shōgyō, Mūjō, Shōmetsui, Jakumetsui, Rakuita, first, second half.

[12:56]

Anyway, it says everything is impermanent. Pardon? Yes, of course. Thank you. But he thought that is not the concrete, I mean, complete teaching. So he thought there must be another half. So he was looking for who recited that verse. And he found the word is rasetsu. Rasetsu, I don't know what in English, rasetsu, it's like a demon, our monster. And he asked the monster, could you recite another half, second half of that verse? But the monster said, I cannot, because I'm hungry. I'm too hungry to chant the verse.

[13:57]

So the bodhisattva said, I'll feed you later if you teach me the second half of the verse. And so, what do you want to eat? The monster said, I only eat human flesh, and I only drink human blood. Then the Bodhisattva said, if you teach me the verse, I'll offer my body. So please recite the second half of the verse. So the monster chanted the second half of the verse. That is, shōmetsu netsui, jakumetsu iraku. Do you know the English? How can I say this? Shō...

[15:00]

Metsu. Metsu-i. Jaku. Metsu. Iroku. Shou. Metsu. Metsu-I, Jaku, Metsu-I, Raku. Sho is arising, arising, and Metsu is perishing. So things are arising and perishing, coming and going, that is impermanence means. and all conditioned dharmas, arising and perishing.

[16:24]

And this method is the same word, perishing. That means show and not perishes, and Yi is have, perished. So show and not, the arising and perishing, perished. have perished. That means no arising and perishing. That is, nothing arises, nothing perishes. It is said in the Heart Sutra, you know, So, fu shou, fu means no arising and no perishing, no defilement, no defilement, no pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. That is the Heart Sutra.

[17:29]

So this is the same thing. Shou and metsu, or arising and perishing, is perished, is gone. And that jack, this metsu is seven metsu, and jack is, what is jack? Serenity, or calm, silence, serene, metsu. So, the perishing of arising and perishing is, what is the word? not silence, serenity. That serenity, after arising and perishing, is perished. That is called raku. Raku is opposition of ku. Ku is suffering, or dukkha.

[18:32]

So raku is sukha. What is God in English? Happiness? Pleasure? Joy? This was the second half of the verse. When the Bodhisattva heard this second half of the verse, he asked the monster to wait for a while before being eaten. And he, with his blood, he wrote this verse on the tree, everything around there, on the trees and rocks. to allow other people later can see this truth from the trees and stones.

[19:44]

And after he finished writing this poems on the trees and stones, he said, now I'm ready. You know, you can eat me. Then the story, this is a story, of course, The story said the monster was Brahma. So, instead of eating, the monster became the appearance of Brahma. And, how can I say, what happened? I forget. But anyway, that is the end of the story. So, this expression, Buddha's teaching, or Dharma can be hearing and seeing and hearing one phrase or one verse of Dharma through trees and stones because of that bodhisattva's offering his life and

[20:51]

leaving the truth of this verse on every tree and stone. Now we can see the truth of this verse through the trees and stones and everything. That means each and everything we see in nature is showing us this truth. So when we see the trees, flowers, or birds singing, we can see this teaching. So we don't really need to read or study, you know, Buddhist texts to understand this truth. Actually this, you know, the things or teachings written in sutras or Buddhist scriptures is just a copy of that actual living reality that is impermanent, unchanging, and yet everything is within a serene, maybe serenity is enough.

[22:15]

Everything is serene. everything before arising and perishing, and yet everything is arising and perishing. That is the truth of seeing the reality from two sides, arising and perishing, coming and going, and not arising and not perishing, never coming, never going, always here. That is the same understanding of Dogen that we should see things from u and mu, and uso and muso, form and no form, or u busho and mu busho. Okay. That is what Dogen is saying, I think.

[23:21]

So, to see and hear them means the truth or reality Buddha or Buddhist teaching showed us. To see and hear them is not limited to the nine realms, the six realms of samsara, and the realms of Shravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattvas. So that means this reality, this truth, is not limited only within the realms of living beings. Even trees and stones express and experience the same reality. So reality is all over. And yet, the virtue of authentic transmission of kashaya must be difficult to meet throughout the ten directions, even though the reality of all beings, the reality of impermanence and egolessness, we can see from everything and everywhere, but encounter

[24:43]

and receive the transmission of authentic Okesa is very difficult. We need to find a teacher who transmitted the Okesa. So, even if we wear it only one day, only one day, or one night, the virtue the virtue of wearing okesa must be most excellent, most superior. So he was really, how can I say, believed this preciousness of receiving okesa and wearing okesa and liberating okesa. So this is nothing to do with his philosophy.

[25:49]

This came from his heart and his experience and almost his emotion. And he tried to, you know, transmit this Okesa and Within his lifetime, he had many disciples and raised students who were the orchestra, so about that he was happy. You know, because of his vow he took in China when he was 23 or 24 years old, still, you know, almost 800 years later, we still chant the same verse, and we still venerate Okesa in the same way. So our practice is really the continuation of Dogen Zenji's vow.

[26:54]

And Dogen Zenji's vow about Okesa came from Shakyamuni Buddha's vow about Kesa, Dogen mentioned in this writing, the five sacred virtues or merits of Kesa from Higekyo or the Mahakalana Punarika Sutra. So Dogen Zenji, you know, succeed his vow from the Buddha. And so we also, if we consider ourselves as Dogen Zenji's disciples or students, we also need to succeed his vow and continue this tradition. That is what he wanted to say throughout this writing. So he's asking to us to continue his vow.

[27:58]

And there's one more paragraph, or two more, that says, in the 10th month of the 17th year of Katei, Jiādī era of the Great Song China, that is 1224, there were two Korean monks came to Kaigen-fu, that is the name of where Dogen-sen practiced at Mount Tendo, or Tien-ton. One was named Chi-gen. Chi-gen is Japanese, and Chi-tsuan is Chinese pronunciation. Probably we should find a Korean pronunciation of these people's names, but I can't find so. If you know, please let me know. And the other, another person's name is Kei-un, or Jing-un.

[29:03]

These two monks eagerly discussed the meaning of Buddhist scriptures. And they were also men of letters, so they are very intellectual people. They know much about Buddhist teachings. However, like lay people, they had neither kashaya nor eating bowls. So they didn't have okesa or oryoki. How sad, although they are... Their form was like that of a monk. They did not have the dharma of riku, or monk. This is probably because they were from a small, remote country, same as Japan. You know, at that time, China was the center of the world, and smaller countries around China are called barbarians.

[30:12]

by Chinese people, and yet that was true, in a sense, as a level of civilization. You know, Japanese people learned almost everything from China at that time. When Japanese people who have only the form of monks visit other countries, they must be the same as Chigen and his friend. So he wanted to promote using the correctly or authentically transmitted orchestra in Japan. Shakyamuni Buddha venerated kashaya and never set it aside for 12 years.

[31:20]

It's said right after Shakyamuni Buddha left the palace, so even before he attained Buddhahood, somehow, it's said Jushin, Jushin is a god of a tree, somehow gave the kashaya to Shakyamuni. It's kind of strange if we think logically, because it was before the kashaya was made. But somehow, the kashaya from Kashyapa Buddha was given to Shakyamuni by God. And while he was practicing by himself before attaining Buddhahood, he always put on that robe. So, and it is true that after he had, I mean, Shakyamuni had his sangha, and invented and created kashaya, rest of Shakyamuni Buddha's life, he continued to wearing kashaya.

[32:36]

So, because we are his distant descendants, we should study and follow his example. So Dogen wants to follow Buddha's example and continue to wear okesa. To turn our head away from vainly worshipping heaven, gods, kings, and ministers for the sake of fame and profit, and to dedicate ourselves to veneration of the Buddha Lord is our joy." So, in this last sentence, he said that changing or transforming the system of value you know, from worshipping worldly things for the sake of fame and profit.

[33:41]

If we venerate this kashaya made out of materials without any marketplace, as a system of value, this is opposite. But to venerate something valueless, Valueless means priceless. We cannot value, we cannot measure, we cannot put a price on it. It is most precious. So that is our joy. So our practice as a Buddhist student is to make this transformation of our system of value. But we worship or venerate. I don't know worship and venerate is the same thing or not. But we venerate something that has no market value.

[34:46]

That is our life. We cannot buy our life. So we have to value and venerate our life. Not only our life as individual, but our life can exist or can continue to be because of the connection, interdependence with all other beings. So to venerate our life means to venerate this network of interdependent origination. That's how we as a person in the mountain live together with all beings within the mountain, and we venerate you know, this network. That is, I think, basic teaching of Buddha, and Mahayana Buddhism, and also Dogen. Well, I'm done.

[35:52]

Please. What do you think it means when he says he never set his side? I think this is until he attained Buddhahood, after he left home. It said he practiced... Historically this is not really true, but the first six years he practiced a kind of meditation and ascetic practice. And the next six years, he practiced by himself. Historically, this is not true. But that is a kind of a story. OK? Please. When it says presented at Kanagori, Kojo, was it presented as a lecture, or was it delivered as a written document?

[36:58]

I am not sure, and no one is sure, but the Japanese word doesn't use is Ji literally means to show. And shu is assembly. So this word literally means to show or present to the assembly. And some scholars think this means he complete writings and give a presentation or a lecture on this

[38:05]

writing. But there's no evidence that was true. But probably so, because his writing is very difficult. Just, you know, if he just, you know, read it, probably not many of his students understood. So I think he showed and read with his explanation. That is my guess. OK? Any questions, please? Is this the first for you? Is this the first time you've completed a text? No, not so. Actually, I cheated. Well, we have 30 minutes, please. Is this the most simple, not the most basic one that you have?

[39:18]

In Shogo Genzo, there are another chapter or facet, similar quality with kesakudoku, such as senjou. Senjou means purification or washing. In that chapter, he described how to use toilet. And in senmen, he described how to wash our face, and how to brush our teeth. These are kind of the same quality as kesakudoku. It's very concrete actions. Those were designed so that with this term, you have an abstract. If you were doing it by yourself, I guess, living with large groups of people, we can always find ways to talk to each other, right?

[40:38]

So in order to minimize that, it would be best to have a standard operating system. Yeah. And those, the way how to do those things within the community, Zen community, or monastery, is also an important part of transmitting Dharma, because Dharma is not simply a kind of psychological awakening or intellectual understanding, but that's what the Buddha taught, and that's what Dogen Zenji wanted to transplant to Japanese soil is not simply as awakening as a psychological experience or intellectual understanding, but the Dharma he wanted to transplant to Japan is a kind of a style of life, lifestyle, based on awakening and understanding of Dharma.

[41:46]

we need to live in certain ways. That was, I think, his intention. So this kind of very concrete teaching, how to use ryoki, how to cook in the kitchen for Tenzo, and how to wear clothing, and how the clothing, the robe should be, not simply a form that is less important than a kind of awakening experience. We usually think that is most important in Zen practice, but in Dogen Zen teaching that is not. Most important and basic thing is to live together with other people in the Sangha, in peace and harmony. following, not following, based on our awakening and Zazen practice and our understanding of Dharma.

[42:52]

So community life based on Dharma is what Dogen Zenji want to introduce and establish in Japan. Does it make sense? So we have about 25, 30 minutes. So I'd like to talk about Nihoe, please. Well, maybe 25 minutes is not long enough because I have to talk about the entire history of Soto Zen. to talk about New Orleans. I have to make one more history, it's very short.

[43:54]

Dōgon Zenji lived from 1200 to 1243. And Dōgon's danmōya is Eijō. 1253. Yes, thank you. And Eijō's danmōya was Tetsugikai. Tsuburika is a teacher of Keizan Jōkin. Keizan has many disciples, and from Keizan's assembly, Sōtō spread all over Japan. Until Keizan, Sōtō Zen tradition is very small. Of course, there are more disciples of Dogen, but their Sangha were not so big.

[45:24]

But Keizan lived in the early 14th century. And after Keizan, I don't have time to mention all the names, but from maybe the end of 14th century to, let's see, end of 16th century. So almost 300 years. The history, you know, end of 14th century, about 200 years. In 15th century and 16th century, Japanese, Japan was kind of, you know, stay into small countries and They fought each other always for almost 200 years.

[46:33]

And the so-called Tokugawa Shogunate was founded in the beginning of 17th century. Until then, about a few centuries, the history of Sotozen is not clear. Although during this time, Sōtō then spread all over Japan, and by the time of the beginning of the 17th century, Sōtō school, it said, has 15,000 temples. 15,000. Right? 15,000. 15,000. And still, even today, Sotoshu has about this number, a little less.

[47:39]

But the history of Sotozen is not clear, and we don't find any important teacher during this about 200 years. So traditionally, we consider this 200 years a kind of a dark age. Nothing important happened. even though Soto Zen quietly spread all over Japan. And yet after 17th century, after the Tokugawa Shogunate government was established, the government supported and also controlled all Buddhist orders. And they use Buddhist temples as a kind of government office to check the peoples, like a census, like a town office.

[48:52]

And also, of course, supported financially, supported Buddhist temples. So, within almost all Buddhist orders, they started to establish, re-establish the system, organizational system, and also teaching system. And important thing in Zen tradition is Around the same time, in the beginning of the 17th century, one Chinese Zen master whose name was Obaku, Obaku Ingen, came from China to Japan because the Ming dynasty in China was kind of conquered by, in this case, not Mongols, but some certain nation from north.

[50:09]

So some Chinese people left their home, and some of them came to Japan. And this Obaku Indian was one of them. And because Indian was Well-known Chinese Zen master, both Japanese Rinzai and Sōtō Zen monks thought, you know, a style of practice must be authentic. Authentic Zen. But so many of Japanese Zen monks went to Ingen's monastery known as Manpuku-ji in Uji. Uji is near from Kyoto. In Soto tradition, the most important monasteries such as Gesshu-soko,

[51:22]

or his disciple, Manzan, Dohaku, and Manzan's daughter, Tokuo Ryoko. All these people are from Daijoji in Kanazawa. And Tokuo Ryoko is one of my Dharma ancestors in my lineage. Those people tried to re-establish the teaching and the monastic practice in Soto tradition. And they thought somehow during that dark age, the authentic practice is missing, lost. So they went to Obaku, India's monastery, to learn the authentic Zen practice from China.

[52:39]

But after a certain period of time, they found that Obaku Zen or Indian style of practice are very much different from Dogen's. So, later people started to criticize so-called Obaku Zen, the Chinese style of practice, but Obaku Zen's influence to Japanese Soto Zen novice practice is very large. I mean, today we use Mokugyo for chanting. The Mokugyo was introduced by Ingen, so before that we didn't have Mokugyo. And I'm not sure it's true or not, but I heard that the Kyosaku, you know Kyosaku, right?

[53:41]

It's also introduced by Ingen. So, the next generation from those people, like Noizan, Zuihou, or other younger people, criticized the style of Obaku Zen and tried to return to Dogen. In order to do so, they studied Dogen's writings, of course, and Dogen's Shinri. And they started to compile Shobo Genzo and try to publish it, print and publish it. And that was done in the early 19th century. And the person who finally published Shobo Genzo was Gento Sokuchiu.

[54:44]

He is the 50th Abbot of Heiji. And he is in the lineage of Tokuro Ryoko, same as my lineage. Actually, this person, Gentō Sokuchū, became the adept of En-tsū-ji that was founded by Tokuo Ryōko, En-tsū-ji in Okayama. That was a place where Ryōkan practiced. You know Ryōkan, right? Ryokan practiced with his teacher, but his teacher's name, Kokusen. As Ryokan's teacher Kokusen died, Ryoto Sokuchu became the adult of that temple. So the lineage was kind of connected with everything.

[55:56]

Anyway, person, Gyōntō Sokuchū, later became the abbot of Eheiji, and he tried to make, return everything to Dōgen Zenji's style. So he changed the shingi. They used to add a heiji before him. And he made a heiwo shingi, his own shingi, following Dogen Zenji's tradition. That is called a heishou shingi. Anyway, this person thought the okesa, used in so-called community at his time was not authentic, somewhat different from Dogen Zenji's notion.

[57:04]

In Kesa Kuroko, Dogen said we should receive authentically transmitted Kesa, and we should not use the newly designed orchestra in China. But, during Ko Sok Choo's time, they didn't know, they couldn't know, that is Dogen's orchestra, that is a correctly transmitted orchestra. So, in Soto tradition, who supported Gento's kind of activity to, how can I say, kind of reforming Soto practice and return or restore Dogen's practice, Dogen's style, I started to study about Okesa. And at that time, in other Buddhist schools, few, not many, but few great teachers studied Vinaya.

[58:22]

And because Okesa is a part of Vinaya study, they also studied about Okesa. And a few most important names of those scholars in other schools, maybe not important, but was Hortan. He was, he belongs to Kebon School. Kebon, the school based on Avatamsaka Sutra. And another important person is Jiyun Onko. This person was a Shingon priest, Shingon school. Do you know Shingon?

[59:25]

Japanese Vajrayana school. And this Jiyun Onko was a great scholar also. He studied Sanskrit. And also he studied Okesa. And he very much emphasized on the authentic Okesa. Tradition or school was called Shobo-ritsu. Shobo is true Dharma area, school. He studied about Okesa and he tried to find what is the most authentic Okesa. And he lived at a temple named Koki-ji, between Nara and Osaka.

[60:35]

And it said this person, Jun Unko, encouraged people to sew authentic okesa. And that authentic okesa was called noho-e. Noho-e means Nyo means thus or as it is. Ho is dharma. So nyo-ho means following the dharma or being in accordance with dharma. So the love being in accordance with dharma is the meaning of this word nyo-ho-e. So some of the Soto scholar monks studied about authentic Okinawa from Jun and Houtan's writings.

[61:54]

And they also studied many of the Vinaya texts. And their effort, how can I say? was kind of viewed foods as a mokushitsu ryoyo. This person is close to the 50th Abbot of Heiji, Gento Sokuchu. To support his movement to restore Dogen Zenjutsu style of practice, this person studied Abbot Okesa, and he wrote a text named Hōbuku Kakushō. ho, buku, kaku, shou.

[63:12]

Ho is dharma, fuku is robe, clothing. And kaku and shou means to correct, correct. That means the robes people used at his time was mistaken, so we should correct the robes. And he quote, writings from Vinaya text, and show this is a correct, authentic okesa. This is still most important text about okesa in Soto lineage. And Rokushitsu was student, not Vinaya, but student was Gettan,

[64:14]

Maybe kanji is not necessary. Maybe better to give you the dates. Mokushi's dot is 1775 to 1833. And this text, Koubuku Kakusho, is written in 1821. And Mokushita's student is Getan Zenryū. His birth date is unknown, but he died 1865.

[65:22]

And he, Getan Zenryū, wrote a kind of a commentary on this text, Hōbukakushō. And he received the text of Hobu Kakusho from his teacher, Mokushitsu Ryo-Ryu. Ryo-Ryo. Ryo-Ryo. And actually, this Getan Zenryu was a teacher of Nishi-Ari Bokusan. That's a connection with us. Nishi-Ari. Nishihari Zenji's date is 1821 to 1910.

[66:23]

And Nishihari Bokusan was the first person who published this text, Hōbuku Kakusho. So, the tradition of Nihoe in Sōtō lineage was transmitted through this lineage. And these people, Mokushitsu, lived near Nagoya. So Nagoya, Nagoya, you know Nagoya, right? Nagoya is a kind of a center of this movement of Nihon-e. So the movement of Nihon-ryu came to the Meiji era until Nishihara Bokusan. Now I start to talk about Sankyurashi.

[67:32]

Even though the text was transmitted until Mishari Bokusan, the movement of really sewing Nihoe did not become so popular. It's limited within the Soto Zen priest circle. Sawaki Roshi practiced when he was young. if I start to talk about his life, Sawakiroshi's life is too long. So, when he was younger, around, before he was 20, he practiced with a priest whose name was Fueoka Ryoun. He was the disciple, not disciple, but student of Nishiyari Bokusan. And so, when Sawakiroshi was still a teenager, He saw that this teacher, Fueoka Ryoun, wearing war nihoe, and Sawakiroshi was very impressed about that okesa.

[68:52]

But he had to go to war. He was drafted and went to war, and he was a soldier for seven years from when he was 20th to 27th, and he was almost killed during the war. But somehow he arrived, he survived, and he graduated, as I said, he graduated only from the elementary school. He was from a very humble family. So he didn't have money, and he really wanted to study Buddhist teachings. So he studied Yogacara teaching at Horyu-ji in Nara. Horyu-ji was a temple I mentioned, founded by Shotoku Taishi, so one of the

[69:55]

all the Buddhist temples in Japan, and that was a so-called study monastery of Hossoshu, that is a Japanese yoga chara school. And friend Sawaki Roshi studied yoga chara at that monastery, so that was in his 30s. He had a chance to meet nuns, And those nuns asked Sawakiroshi to give lectures about anything about Buddhism, because they didn't have a chance to study Buddhism. So he and Sawakiroshi gave lectures on Dogenzen's writings. But at a certain time, those nuns asked Sawakiroshi to teach about certain texts. And that was the text on Okesa. And those nuns were, it said, fourth generation from Jiyun Onko.

[71:06]

So they, the orchestra they were wearing was Nyohohe. So, because he had a memory of Nyohohe when he was young, with his first teacher, Fuyukarun, Sawakiroshi really wanted to study about Nihon-e. And because Nara is close to Jun Onko's temple called Kiji, Sawakiroshi often walked to that temple, and it says Jun Onko collected 1,000 okesa. I mean, he... he encouraged his students to sew okesa. And at Koki-ji, 1,000 okesa was stored. And Sawaki Yoshi often visited that temple and studied actual okesa, how to make it.

[72:08]

And he wanted to wear the same kind of okesa, but he couldn't find anyone who could sew for him. But one time, one of the women who came to listen to Sawakiroshi's lecture said, I can. So an orchestra like that, the person's name was Kitamura Satoko. That was mentioned in the biography of Sawakiroshi. Anyway, that was the beginning, the first okesa Saokiroshi was given. That was 25-jo okesa. And he said, even he was pretty old, he still used that okesa. Anyway, since then, Saokiroshi studied about Nyoho-e extensively and very deeply, and he always encouraged

[73:13]

the people to sow okesa. And when he started to study and practice with Oka Sotan Roshi, you know, he always wear the nihon-e. And when he visited Shuzen-ji, the Oka Sotan was the abbot of Shuzen-ji, and there, Kishizawa Ian Roshi and Hashimoto Eko Roshi practiced under the guidance of Oka Sotan, and Sawaki Roshi often visited to practice with Oka Roshi. And Hashimoto Roshi, Hashimoto Eko Roshi, still he was a young, young training monk, but he was impressed with Sawaki Roshi's Nihoe, and he started to study about Nihoe with Sawaki Roshi. And both Saoki Roshi and Hashimoto Roshi became famous teachers.

[74:18]

And in Saoki Roshi's and Hashimoto Roshi's lineage, we still wear this style of okesan. It's called nihoe. And I'm not sure what is the connection Yoshida Eshun Roshi came to San Francisco, but Yoshida Roshi was a disciple of Hashimoto Eko Roshi. And Kasai Joshin, Joshin-san, was a disciple of Sawaki Roshi. Ah, please. Joshin-san first was a nun with... Hashimoto Roshi. With Yoshida Roshi. Yeah, she changed the teacher. And she became Sawaki Roshi's disciple. What is the connection?

[75:22]

Suzuki Roshi invited Yoshidae Shun Roshi? Yeah, Suzuki Roshi had a woman student who wanted to be ordained, and he never ordained a woman. So he sent her to Kaizenji, Katagiri Roshi, I see. He was at A. A. Rubin Hashimoto Roshi. Yes. So he sent his student to Kaizenji, where the style was, if you want to be ordained, you sit in the Buddha hall and you sow, and then you ordain her. So she was there a couple of years, and when she came back, as I understand it, Yoshida Roshi came with her at that time because he was curious about where did she come from? Who's this person who wants to be ordained as a so-called nun coming from America? How did that happen? So she came to visit and when she was here, she talked enthusiastically to Suzuki Roshi and convinced him he should do more junai and he should have people sew their umrakasu and he should sew nyohoe cases for all the

[76:36]

So, it's not Suzuki Roshi who invited Yoshida Roshi, but Yoshida Roshi came with that person from here. I see. So, originally that's the connection through Katagiri Roshi. Katagiri Roshi and Hashimoto Roshi's connection. I see. I understand. And then Suzuki Roshi asked Virginia Baker, Baker Roshi's wife, they were in Kyoto and said, I see. Well, it's already time to stop talking. Please. What? Dogenzenjizuokesa. Dogenzenjizuokesa? Okay.

[77:43]

This is a book written by one of my elder brothers, whose name was Sekiguchi Dojun. He is excellent. Of course, he's a monk, but he's an excellent scholar also. And because he was curious about the history of Okesa in the Soto Zen lineage, He had a temple near Nagoya, very close with the temple of Okamoto Kobun, one of Sawaki Roshi's woman disciples, and Kyuma Echiu, the person who wrote those two books. So, he had a chance to study about Okesa, and he wanted to make sure that Nihoe is a Okesa Dogenzenji, you know,

[78:54]

called a sho-den-e, or correctly or authentically transmitted okesa. So he visited many of the temples where they stored very old okesas. And he, how can I say, he checked more than 30 very old okesas in Soto lineage. And one of them was the okesa sewn by Dogen Zenji and transmitted through Keizan to Taichi Zenji and stored in a temple in Kyushu. He found that was a 25-jou orchestra, and usually it has a lining, 25 has a lining, but the orchestra didn't have a lining.

[80:05]

So it was kind of an unusual orchestra, and he found the orchestra was very well, what do you call, preserved. So he had a little question whether this is really sung by Dogen or not. But anyway, as a... And as a result of his research on all those 30 old orchestra, His conclusion was that the okesa Dogenzenji used is different from Nyoho-e. But our faith is Nyoho-e was the authentic okesa Dogenzenji used.

[81:08]

So, this is very interesting. And I think we should understand this. I mean, about the ring on okesa. People who studied Nihoe thought the ring was started to use in the early Song dynasty. So it was so-called newly designed okesa. But it seems Dogen Zenji's okesa has the ring. But Dogenbeni never discussed about the ring, so he didn't say to have ring is mistaken. But those people, as a result of their study on pinayas, the okesa with ring is not authentic.

[82:11]

So the 50th avatar of Gento Sokuchu decided we should not use the okesa with ring. So that was his decision. And since then, we use okesa without ring, except rakusu. But in Nyoho-e, we don't have ring. But in Konon-soto people, we are rakusu with ring. That decision was made in early Meiji, that means end of 19th century. So our style of orchestra, so-called Nihoe, and the orchestra and the raksu, many of Soto priests using right now, these days are a little different. Well, it's already 4.30.

[83:13]

Any questions? I hope I have another time to talk about Inuhoe. This is too short. Okay, thank you very much for your patience to listen to my English.

[83:42]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ