approach to zens

7/30/2019 Approach to Zens

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/approach-to-zens 1/125

Aproach to Zen

Th Rali of az/Modr Civilizato d

by Kosho Uchiama Roshi

Japn Publictions, Inc.



© 1973 by Koho Uchiama

ISBN -87042 2LCC Crd o. 795

Fst ptng: Seb 9 3

Jn Publtons, Inc.pn Pubtn Td on

1255 Howard St., San Francisc Calif 9403, USAP.O Box 030 Tokyo Inernaal Tk 0-3 Japan

Prned n apan b Kmi Pinting . Lt



Forewrd

The ciilization wih beg Greee, deeloped pos-RsscEuope d l cme otrol e mode wo ws teecu iizio wi deed d tgorzed evehi. Bu te deig d tegiz eetg ite, te peple of rop d Ameitd seem to b o verge o suoig e o sg ge

iteest i h it Ortl wor T seem ee pehps e t etl wo J re "umited eth which es bod eetl eto I respos to ts logg on the p f ' opns d , boos hv bee pubsed ues o ths "uimied ept o te ie etl wrld s s pope Ze oe o ess t t ete o is d especl geumbe o oo ot Ze v bee 1te This is el e thig,

bu k hee i poblem oeig e meig o his wd"ulimie

For exple p d esil Kyoo whee 'm ow ig (Kyoois te Cpiol o tosd es ld d hs beome e cee d te e er) is soud mouts d hugh te ye mist d og ou esi d feqe This mist d og eeoh is rou Kyoto d h o soes e ce

ms Thes moss-coeed r d soes i he mis o bs sieceeem expes te meig e "ulmied. The ouis oo ie o op of e oe suouded mi og, h umi

ph We e eued ystl ids is Uil c e oos deg t Ze e e ceo he hd icues Ze teples te houses wit bd o scee c ee mis moui see

c e e hi h h o h e



around Kyoto so beuul. But I hik it 1vou be qie poblem iAmeics ad Euopes erpreted"the limie eph of he cet Ore o b his of xoic worl, o ht oo m books e peseed he eph of he Oiet on! i his se. meris ad uopes ke he umited epth he acie Oie o be is kid of ig ll go o te eps of this ms a og t o some

ge esue Hoee he he fo ms is eed he trelig of reso, will , i mos cses, he come p th alo ti a onsese.

The true epth of the ie is' simp eil of hum reso. Its ot ept ihi he jog of i-iellectul ulimiess odeiio. Te"mited he ncie Orie s sll exis e e all he tiitellecl mist s clee e of eo. T eph of he umie is bo he ech kid esoig. ts s ke sk iou clous o mi Te cle epth of he uies is theulimie iscoee ae Oels It sho be a scismbse o soe ki iilleuism. I mus be ue dph chomes about afe he ie b uie oce h i is bo e eac e ee

I o oub ees of hs book i feel h it s ee

ee h peious books abou Ze I i feel th I he uet accomplishe m purpose the ee uersts with s hm ieet h Ze oces he ue dep of"le hich is bo he ech of ht ec. (Tis le s oig o ith s o Wes I extes ouou a aki)

boe ll oe you hs book, o ill oge your ies bou o foe l a re i omplee fresh

. o a s ou ed you loo o ow le pp I e i u le Ths is te o plce here the el l e s.

Te Engis a o i book be do Toms Wit,Stephen Yenik, and Fe ob. Th h ee ctic ze Antai o sverals. Fuermoe, I oul o ke is oporu o s y eio o Mss Sumiko Ko ho k look

over t manuscrt an enured is accra.



Cott

Foreword, V

BK NE I T Ralty f Zaz I

The Meag of Doi Zazn, J Ants in a Sugr Bowl, To Rely o Others is to be Unesy, 7

Everthg s Jus as It i,

Te Menng of Livig Ou te Reait o Lif,

Te Raty of azn,

1. H to do Zzen 2 Ling Go o Thou O

Wking up t Le,

h et Sesshins 41I

Seshin itho n os, 4z. ore Time, beore 'I Eo 45

3 Te Scener of Le, 49

The Slf of t n Ma J

1. The Self s niverse z The Activ o th R o L o

3· Wking up nd Liv, 66

Te Drecon of e s,

pplm: Rpl a Fw Q 6H d K 8;H Make a Zafu, 8

TW I M Cvzat 87

r This Mder A has No Dirct 89



. The Age of Sootg Relgins s Over. Wat Now?, 92

3· The Sel Settld Itsef, 97

4 · The Stce of Life-Dependent Oginati d teMde Wy I0

5· Zazen, IOJ

6. The Rlgius Li Zaz I J

I Zazen as Religion, I I2 The Rligious Vow

3. Rpentac 8

4· Th Bodsattva-Tee Minds I20



BK ONE f The Realit o Zazen



I. / The Meaning of Doin Zazn

r

Ats in a Sugar Bowl

One day received a vist from a fty-yearold Jewsh Aericano as a copany presient. I d't speak ahig but apae b sice e brought ag an excelle Japanese nrprterwe ad o trouble communican. He ase m te ollog

queon:" ae lenty of moe and a oderu fal, but fr oreason a all about en yars ago, bega o fee a terible emness in y lf. First, tued udaism, ut codn' nd anysasfacn. Ten I sted Chraty ut couldn d anysaisfan er eier. fer tat et that only Zen Buddhsmcoud saisf me an hav e studg Zen ever snce. Now, have cme to apan order to sudy Zen moe deepy. Whado you tink about ts ling o empness have?"

I response o is sincere satement nd ueson I sai;Yo' searcing for he alue, basis, and reconin of ouexise onl igs outsie yoursel such as ropey ok,or oh poples' opinions. Peaps yo feel ts epne bcause o have' ond nhng n e ray of you o ruelf. n er words you probay el s emtiness n ou lifebas ou ae aas ivng oy relaio to other peopea tings ad aren iing ou our true sef.

Ts smle aswer seeed to srk im s quie ig, an idae agreed with me.

s js as ou sa. Eer moment f h da, I v nly relation o oer hngs, c ust b he reason I eel such an

mpness n m lie."Sce e accepted my aner so compleel and iout hsi



4 THE REALITY OF ZAZN

tation I ddn't have t make any furth explanatn.He contiued, "Wl, wat sould I d abt it?I repd, "Yoll n e o resl t uasins

ur lfe b driftng around and sacn i ti oside

self Te important ting is tt "the sl live ot te trut f teself, or tat " slf lie ot reality f te sl Zazn sito actua pactic ts ida ta "t sl lis o t ralit ote sf My eacr, Swaki Kdo Rsi ls sd o s"Zaze is te self makin te slf into t slf He noddd s my anse as jst what he had expctd d said, "That's tha I thuht aze was I would lie t do azen her t

A-ji eple t his qustions r ot js sonl opio.

I merey d him wat as ecrded in Bdist Sutsce ncient tmes In te Sutanpada, c is on o oldstBuddist sutas, t is ritn, " l n s o usAd in te equaly ld Damada tere is t ra, "Tabde of the self is ly te lf.

Ths ma as mst unsua i that as al o acct tssiml but important assas, whc I a quoed, wi schumity and readiness nd tat is y out u mycversio ith m His mind must av arady bn veped enuh to accept imediatel and it iscsintese t imprtant Buddhst pass

In mt case, hwever, uc more eplantion is necssar

befoe a pes a accet tese Buddst prases s te a. So, er h pevis discussi as a cncsion nd wil addte fi expaain.

Why is i tat tda's alt and in so n s onAericas feel ts id o emines I sa ericas, but llyma pepl r ll-o cotries ie England Franc, Grmay, Sierland, Caada, an utraa el tis empinss,

and, see t undestand Zn, tey com to a atr porcntr like Japa ad to a even pr tep lik tai-jit st lace eem elly sange bu duin the a fe



The Meanin g of Don g Zaze I 5

years I have had many oppouities to come to contact withthese people and n my own small way feel ike I can understandwhy tey come and wat tei psycholog is. Brey, and in myow wors, I tnk te bet explanation is to compare t people

vng te avanced countes of Euope and Amerca to antswc ae falle a suga bowl.

Tnk about ant tat ae alle to a bowl o ugar Theysck on the sweet stu untl ther stomaches ae swoe dpracall tansparent. And yet, everytng they see nd hear,te whol wold wh surons them, is othing but te sameteum of suga. t's only natural that they feel an emptes

ther les. Being nde th sugar bowl, there's otn ele forthem to do but bate te self-cosolng intoxcato o LSDad maijuana or else commt scid.

Wen daw th cacate of mercans and Europeans andcompare tem to ants falln n a bowl of sugar, I mut naturallytnk but wat d o ondton Japanese society n. If Iwre to pply ts crcatur to present day Japane, I wold

dw a ue stnd outde the bowl. He thking how gett would e f e ll n te owl o sugar too l te Amecansnd European He fllo te tral of spilled suga outsde thebowl an tes as hard a e ca to et n Altough thy reown a eonomc al tougout the world, te Japnesetemselvs ae rjong a tey a become a great ecoomcpowe. s a Japanee, can only sa that ts tuao is tuly

regettable. Fally, I wll ad oe more gure to ts cacatre.He, too, s standng oute te sgar bowl. He watces te wtepeopl gttng fat, and resntlly, staps an creams tat hewants soe too. Ts is te Aerican black man toay

Now, o you tink tat the aboe carcatue, the ants nte ugar bowl ae n the best poston, that te ants trying to get

in are seond, and that t most meable ants are the oe's

rsentully scean ote. f thats what you thnk, theyo're oly usng te ysk of an ecoomic anmal. Lookigat t n tms of eal lie, all tee tes are patheicall eanig



6 I THE RLTY OF ZAZEN

Blk

American

Whits-

�II

\

JpEoo l"- ',·-�

Figur 1

les ways of life. Ech on of te lfe tles i bia onl tolve in relation to othe, nd to he completel t igh o hte elf. Te r not liig out the fe o t tu ef

Maybe I ould bring p one more poit in ord to concude.We st reet on jt h hi thing we ul a ' comeabot



Mg f Dg Z I 7

2. To Rly on Oher is to be Ua

Wht is the hng we uuay ca 'I? It seems that the thig called

I comes out in relef only in cotra with other people, olywhen we mee ote ee.

For exmple, a cean an sees mself s 'ubnd wihrespect to his wfe an a 'paret wi respet to hs l. Atwork, he ees mef as an 'erior with respe is 'ue-riors nd as a ma of no bility with respe to hi laguewho hav aby He see an ' whh has a srucue e ; a

'slesm with repe the customers n onen wiespe to s elow worker, a 'po an w ree o a ne, ' c but i w reect o 'a go n le a, alose i espe o a wne, 'owees w ee oey It woud cerany be a wner i a man wo wa nious f hef by mea lke ee nt ee neur wia eeng of nferioriy. (See re z)

Figure 2

But ee i ts the case f a man who was coscius of himself ny s inerior whe aed oe maybe e ouln



8 I THE RALI OF AEN

become resentful and biter and suer frm an ifeiority compex.Mae anther part of his self cniusness wd say, just kethe prest Japanese eno anals "Oka I wor ardand stud a lot. l ase after the others-ney, stats abiity,

fae et and someday Ill cath u and pass them ll win!What uld happen if a man ived with a positive idea of isef ike ts?

!<>z: e11wZuz

Figure 3

aaoQ-aaWa.:�!

, o uld it be if a mn ue to his irustances as ithe sitin where he ould fl suiently supeir as oposedt thse ele wh must ave a siusness of inferiority

Tese seem mletely dierent r ev totaly opposite tote ase f inferiorit But eal the're all in the same categoy.Te pint is that peple tik f their as smetng tat isdetrined from te outside as setng whc is balanedagainst oter ele and ings Eentall hee isnt a bit of dierene between tese exales The is ertainly no dubttat e le like ths being consiu f ur as something

ed from the outside and in baane against oters b if onetns tat onl ts is s self if e lives n as someng baanced against ote peope and thngs then I st conlde



The Meanin g of Don Zazen I 9

f-cz-"m

:

6:

that he ha lost ight of hi ra 'elf which is he realiy of ifRoseau roe the foloig in Emie. "Ay man hher h

a ki, or a obe, or a iaire i born aked ad poor andh he es he mt die aed ad poor. Ts is crtainly he

absoe . Hoevr e aet aked durng the etire imefro rh un da. We a war om ind f ch durigor lftime There are eoe ho er ped ad gorgeusclohes lke a qees and pop ho mst ped their olife earig poor, taered rag Some people ar ary ufom; otrs priso cote ad other onk roes

ctually, the clothes arnt imed ony o those ade of

coth, but of course, there are he cohe of ca, status, fame, ealt Theyre e clohes of ob comy reidetscogremen ad ilioaires say thee are cothes becausethere i aas be a im e a an i ripped aked of thnslike class as, fae, ad a. ere are alo clothes cadbeauti oma ad gei. No matter ho beatifl aoan is here nally ce the tie he h mus change

clohes ad ear the garb of a od oman Ad he gn us the cange into he cloth cad eilit Likei, thereare the cloes sueriory coex inferorty comlex, ai-



I 0 I THE RALTY OF ZAZEN

nes, ad 'happess, ad furthe he oes caled 'o-andso im, 'oadso ace, and 'soaso people. Ao people chagerom oe sytem of thought or im to the ext, a whe tstime to die doest a man eve take o hs old cothes o acia

isictio ad de as a completely aked 'I?Eve thoh thee are jut cothe that we wea i the tera

betwee a brth ad ak eath alot a peoe are take in by oly thee lothe They tik that the ete probem o vig ot o a thee cothe hich ce oe wi they wear?A it t tre that the eer oe ak the questo: "What

is the e whh i the realty o e "hat i the ake sef?

I other wor what peioy decribed as a relatiopwch i deterid rom the otsie an aled at other poe ad ti the ame a the 'clote I tig abotow. At ay ate, whie we are ow etaily li out our 'Iwe are ot i fact ivi out the reaty o the te el. We aoy ocered wth the 'che dri the iterva whe weae aie or the se wch is etermied rom the ote ad

balaed aait others. It sees we ame that thi i al there is i ie.

A o a th s so it is ot t al trae tht people houd a epie i their ve. hether the er ro a ieriority coex (Fiure 2) r r with the pirit o coetio Fiue 3) o have a periority comx (Figure 4 t oy natura hat they al eel the sme hoowess i their

ves. "o rely o otes s to be easy. A ma a d o te peace o md ut e ves ot te eaity o te e o the set "The bode of te se is o e se



3· Everythg is Jus a I is

The Meaning of Don Ze I I 1

Doig zazen is o to hk of yoursef as someh deeried

b a eaohp wi ohe people a h r, he loesI eioe befoe, b raher i ivi ou he rey of heife of e self Ths ri. Mre ah, e we ee e ol Ze, we eer he 'or of pracice r we veou he reay of e Acuy, h or of pracce whc so ve ou he eay of e fe of e el s oh e, breardes f a, hee wrs probaby ud que srae

o has because hey perai o a worl whc is ureaeo i e sphere of Weer hou a el a i our oraryal e

a ea is ha, as ae alreay aid, we ordrly livoy a a 'I wc reae e orld, wc oly aocial aearace ad oly a wrldly evaluai oer wors,oy i he s of hers we e value, bai, ad reco-

o of exece We aume ha wa is calle s ha o f i, a coerely, we e up hki h v a e f pracice as or real seve ei seca

O he her a, Weser ou ha ured i eyes aafro e ly of fe i a ire ay Tha i o a, Weerouh whc bea i acie Greece s becme oo ued orap a exisece e for of log (aae) To ras

soeh e for of ogo esabls preciely e relao-sip o a h w ohe hi by eas of ogo. Becaeer ou as becoe o ed o s d f deioof h, it eve rie o ra he sef a fe self deos Te pora here a ee he power o der-sad a s by deio i e pwer of e fe o sefhe fe of e sef s o somehi whch coes abo b be

eed I i soeh a ies as real experece eve if i iso dersoo ad eed Alhou s i oei wcaral ou b reczed, i cao be eas reoe



I 2 I THE RL OF ZAZEN

by a Westen rtionstic wy of thinkng. If o tiks aoutth rety wch sts bfore te dtion o spcutivthougt, tht tse cretes a knd of denition So hsn't i csdo be beor denition? Threfor, one ends u thinki t he

nto itse s he rea ng.But the bss o Buddism, hch begn in da, is he reay

o e ch goes beyond a deions Mor thn tt, sncerealy ie produces a reie dentions, ny ind o detons e itse, but the reaty o e can't otted u in a denton Athough t roducs a nds of dnitios, te eaty of ife oes beyond an trnscnds dntions.

Why does Buddhs resuppose tt tre is a rey beyonddnition? he reson s simpe If e acy toc , i crtiy ued, but f, itt toucg t rty of re, sy t od ' our togus i nt d Andews, i ny tink out i, o s on't st zS, te dntion of r, ose ntu is to t, cn't t rity Fir ests bond s dnn n Zn, t s sid

tht n oy s cod tigs and w ins ei exincs tem Evyting is itprted as te ref-xpic f t sf is ns te is o vu i dions f tings, rorts of ot pop, or r osvio tins in c te fexpic f on's s s rd sr as that ge cn' e sy tht t dinc btn n ndxistntiis is tt present xistntism is te pospy of

gener existnc ad s not te rctic' of te very ife f teesetis mse Th mortnt tin fr te s s prctce

n hic te sef tuy vs out te f of t s, ot iscssioso g existnc hich hs bn osv

Accrdn to Wstrn tougt ing ust nd by logos, a rity ic s yond diti is nonsnse ndttery impossib, but as or ctcing rty, t vry por

hch s beyond hnng nd cratng dnions wth ordss be reay of e Proessor Dst Suk empasidJapanese irty.' The od anes rit' opens



The Meaning Doing Zazen I 1 3

up only when we actaly praice e reaiy of life wc transends Wesern ratonalsc ougt.

No, do you sppose ha e realt o lfe w transcendsdeniions, words, and tougt s some ysical, esoterc worl

wch is eply hden somewere, someng e can' alk abotan is even nimaginable? Ts s not at all so, becase e arealways livng ot the rety of fe.

Let's try puting or hands to or own earts. M ear doesnt beat beause I think abou mang i bea. Nor does t beatbecase o psiologcal or meal eions. A er wch s beon e eiions of words an deas s makng t beat.

B as lon as i's reall beaig inse me i is, needless to say,the re m fe.

Also my respraion goes o, iut ceasg, at a rate o smay ties a minute. Maye n take wo or tree eep breathsb nng abou i, 's ompleely mossile for me omake it funion wtou a res even wen I'm sleepng by splytnkng aou t. There are neuroic people wo feel anxiey

about almot everhng, bu ere' no one wh can't sleep becase e wrres about ho erribe i wol be i he orgo obreae so any mes a mie all ngt long. I go t sleep anleae my breatng p to soe great poer wc is beon mywn manageent. That poer is really worng. Alg hs s not done by a wer w contrl, snce s really workinginsde of me, 's notng or an he realit of my le.

is is reaty as pysological life b le's g a ttle furher.I was brn a Jaaese an o were born a Cacasian Ts isno someng wch we cse by r s-calle will, and e n act, I am a aaese, an o are a Cacasian. This s he reay lie w ranscends ur own managemen an dscreion.Also, I am a uhst pries ad 'm living a lfe of zazen practce n a certain emple n Koo, Japan, b is tis a f lie a

wa wc cose b my own power? Ceranly, in a sense, I choose t, but were di get he poer to coose t? can nlynk tha s choice oo has been gven lfe by a great ower,



I 4 I THE REALIY OF ZAZEN

whether it be coincidenc, fate, or th Prvdn f God chscend my n o-alled ll poer an tught.

In ti ae, n u r ntellc t up h omeaner, th i nothng ut a one-d d atrat togt. A

for the reli of le, e can only ay a jt a t . Tat'righ e realty f te lf o te lf py t e lf ut a t e elf doe nt ext becau tnk au t or becau dont thnk about t Wther tk abot t r not, th verythng, he el, m lf Zazn truly to put t real of lfent prac



The Meani n Dn Zn I I 5

4· Th Ma of Livg Out Rly f Life

said that the ealty of le s te ver fact of lvg e just as t

s, d tat zae s he pacte of th ealt of lfe. But s ea othr wa to lve besdes he ealt of vg lfe ust as t s?I oth words, s t possbe to le outsd at O cours,haeve ou a of lfe s be av s t eat o f, adter ca't suc a thg as outsde th alt o fNvrhlss, re ca b suc a thg as lvg, havg ostsght of t rat of e tself, ad ust because o tt the s

a ad sur our vsHr's a xaml Rctl a woma hr foes cam to

tk to e S as ve dtraught ad upst as sh tod m tefolog tor h had alas ovd to pat cturs ad wasaso qut talet Whe s wa about twt, h partsd r go to Toko ad t to om a atst te g-g h met wth oserabl sucs e patgs wee

td er, he ofte o rzes, ad ev t crtcsgav er gro a as a oug, bautful, ad accompshdartst owv, hr lat g mt t a ostaeJust h r reputato as bgng to go ad s wasou to succ, er fah lst a prort It was st at rsk for hr to lv ol o hr atg, ad sc sh wa wo about r aod rets, h tur to t

otr r h d al sh od to loo afe r parts Ast ar wt , r arts w qt od Hovr, ra asso for patg wo't ow r to ut ta thoutr ad ther awa o s m th dcso o go tooko ga, gt a ob or al, ad tr to stabsh hs asa ar akg hr agd art aog, s wt to oko, adw wo dug t a, s dvo rf to patg at

oted ts ort for sva ars, but sh coud'tw oto t wa s dd w wa twt Evrr t ad ac hr os , ost como



I 6 I THE REALY OF ZAZEN

As a result she codn't se ay paintigs, ad she ws focd togo woki i orde to suport hrse. Her ery ad spriwre y exhasted. She amtd her ortuate situaionsig " nuc. I ve't bee be to fu tent

bee fai st thei property.Whie I patze abot h fat of ot ing be to attai

e go s painter bese o a setba he irstaces pe p n sai,

"Yore thng bout it a rong. It big tae to ttt it ony atra o peron to he rpety fr s. ht' tura is tt a pero hve n ppet t .

In r case, oever, o ee be to std pg wh e s ch nti o were twent y es o or t. Tt' ua d o sd e ver rtefu. Fterre, ey twet-soe ears hve psse se or ost their propert. I pite the fat tt w o tv any at a o sti tn "Oh, i on fy adnt tter property! Cyig at alts is just t e gged arod

ntsie o te pt. Ist tht ind of t pete eingess ? Y st pe or eyes to te preset reit trt wit a cpetey aed ef w o propet o ntg ese.

Fterore when we in yo weties, the pictreso exibte ay o rceved rizes. Y sti rrtse ys t, "A tste of tt g Ist yr ag

we tigs nt wr t ie tt th t e agedr nts ? Y ght t forget tee tsies t tg to e te wa ty wee whe wee twet, egin wt r reset eit.

The o thg that is ost b is ts. t t tat o ie tpt pitrs d tht u pat jt bee o ie it? Yo e te it t that. Bt iste f tt, i o

te piti e s uc a te c tt te or pictres ore beig a togeter t greey. Its qite igt to ae j t pport rsef. I o c e



The Meanit�g of D Zaze I 17

ving ke tha, hen ou can spend a leasan ife wheer noereconize ou or no Soudn' ou be e apy aou hi?

I ae been di aen becuse I wn o mae i osomeg eabe Ie been eag ife of aen or ir

ers, bu for e r we I wa comeey gnoe b eord. i zazen n obscur nd oer wi r enugo ea Bu ju b doing azen, I ws abe o nd e ening f m wn ife een in ose circumsnces n he s en er peope smaize wih he aiude of aen ae coe jon me in zaen bu een now I don e e siges in-enion o mang aen no a saebe rc. js o

en Fo ou oo rea aning e cre o e orfe Soudn j be our greaes jo"

Tis woan comee undero wa I ad od er nhe wen oe wi big oo e ce

Aca, we ae aws iing o e rei of our own ifeb regaess of a oee en a erson oseg of e reai of i own fe Wen ings coe ow o

be jus erie fanasie of he a or omprin one sef oher en a peson is drged aroun b ose fases and bcomparng hief ih oer Desn s us ead o bnge wi feeings of uer isoaon and onness ad o eined wi jeaos, en, pain, an suering

This i ha hpeed o e wen I wen o a pace in hecunr once Looin fom sance, ee was a hic fore

e ide of mounain, ad I coud ae o e roof a

rge eme dden mon he ree Accordin o e sor iager reous empe ben muc bger bfer ben re down h pesen budin was u on saer sce Being guide e ier I cimbed p a onsoe sry Wen I na roched e pace n had oo e empe ar fro bei sma i was a manicen

srucue nd e i didn see o ae een ui a a recenI bean o wonder aou i and ased e aer us exacwhen e eme d burne don He od me i happeed



I 8 I THE REALY OF ZAZEN

durg the Kamakura Period (85-1333). Probably, before theKamaua Period it ad been a much bigger teple, but theKaaura Perio was seven or eight hune yars ago I bustout aughig becase when te vager as talg abot "ate

it brne ow and al, I thouht e meant ve o six eas agoo at most twenty o thirty ears ago. At any ate, on it

interestig that these count peope haed own the stoy of

someting they hadn't see temselves as if it appee onlyesterday

O eco thought, a tig that happene even or eightne yeas ago is undobtably a ece evt The Jewish

peop vivid emembe the tempe wich Sooon bt everalthousan yeas ago as i t was oy yesteray. Rely whe peopee the wod "remembe, tey sho be tang abot thinstey theseves experence o at east thig which happene thei ow etime But in this case they a "ememberwhat's written i boos o "emeberg what hey head thei ancestors te abot It would be one thig i these wee simpy

memories, but the Jewish people ae gambig the at of hei etire people or te sake of thes memories, ad alog with thMohaedans an Christians ae lng an bing kie Thisisn't at all a oe-sie aair t's aso combine i the "memoies o the ohammedan an Chistians. t ay ate, wat inhe wol is this o tg?

mythoogica a sectaia eligios peopl act accoig

to what thyv bee taught, what is witte is boos, an whathas been hae own by te ancestos. An t, th ar tooany tmes wh they wage giat was an kl each othe mass. This sn't lmited to only ythoogica a sectaia egos. t's jst the same with so-cale s an way o ogt.tea of ookig at the elity of aw ife with thi w yes, p end p stig th eait ife wit th ame f G,

the nam of Jstice, the ame of ace, an with ogmasan o thgt.

As lo as memoies, fatasies, myths, hstoy isms, o was



The Maning of Doing Zazen I 19

of thught are prducd by human lf, we ca nev sa the aeningless Howve, tese are not the aw (i. vng ght) ife-xpriece itsef, ut ath, th hav cncptuaxistc wich is ed ithn ou houghts Ts s pas exeri

ce a ast wsdom o, pehaps, th experience and wsdom of mank, but t shud be ad to ve onl ith th a frnc f h self wch is he ad nw

Bu somtmes hapens that w ung ou heads too fa intomms ad fatass, mths and hst, or s religiousdgma d th fomad wa of thught of isms Wh wadm hs, biev the ind, ad becm fz d

fanatical w vivid activat ths xd and conca xstencW tot cfus ths knd f concptua xstnc h th af xince wch s o, ad nd p being daggd ounb W do thngs whch o ste a fe Ths happns ga ma tms In t case of an ndvidua h s lik ts, hcan b dmtd t a mnta nstuon as a schzophec un hug masses f pople bgn o ac accodg to sectaan

ligons o sms, the th schzophnic actvty s f th mass sf Te s hd a hospita whr they coul b admttdad fa om that, hs fanatic gous veualy mov h vhstoy o man Can't w ally sa that h sto of man s ctinuum of ths knd of hig?

If w tnk aut t, th s o oubt whatsoeve th vn s alas vg out th at of ife, ve f t b san ut

gong ttl furthr w ha to ccud tht th mpotg is all pactc ad aim at ivig ut th a of if'

s h we tu d out what t eas t sa that zaz uts o actc th lving of h at f '



2. f The Realit o Zzen

1. How to do Zen

Above I talked about the meang of zazen, but w I wl ex-plai h to do aze.

First he roo where d azen should be as qie pos-sible. It shuld be either liht nor t dark; ar hewinter d col the su Tae care n t wi adsoke t n an keep t at a clea t ds try tcate a and peacu i e u ca aassit ts as a od idea si a Bua a hae anoe s, a bu ncs A Ba ia ste tau o aen an s a aisti xs coassn an wsdo o ae We o a ud parespect t e pace where e st Tis i e n eetr e Zeno e shod was reer a cae theeniet wich heps s aen

N oud like o O\ t Pac a zan1 acn wa a the put 2 t (S 5 ) Sitdown o the zau ad od ou s Yu su u lsb putt the riht fot n the t i a t te et fton the t thih Ts i caed the ul ltus sue (eiure 6 f you c' fold our es ke tis u cn jt puthe lef fot n te rit thih Ts s caed te a-tus pste ee Fure 7) Dont sit i e ie u T aushou be n bac o e place where our es cs ad our

I. k, usualy called a bu is a cshion about onemer squae and lle wih cotto

z Fo nstution on o to ake a zafu efe o the ak o ook.



22 I TH RLI OF ZAZEN

Ful-Lotus

igur 6

Figure 5

HalfLo

g 7

knees should be rmly down n the zaniu. Te weigh of e

upper par e b sul e dse n three pontsyour knees (on the zanu) and our butcs th zau)

Sit up an sraghen ur ack as u were pusing youbutocks rmly ino he zau. Keep your nec straht ad pu

yur chin Witout eaving an a-pcke inside, cse ou othand pu you togue rmy gains he upper palet. Project youhead s i it wer going to e he ceing. Reax our shouler



Te Realir ofZzen I 2 3

Put your ight hand o top of your left foo ad pu yor lfthnd the lm of the rght. Your thumbs shud meet bovour has (See Fgue 8)

Your es shoul be e wth or soudes and your os

n e th our ve Keep your eyes open s usul, look tth w, nd dop you ne o vso sghty

Once you've ten te zzen oso, open you mouth exhae deply By dog ths yo hge yor wole ood Iode to or out the stness the jots muce, solyswg to or thee tes to the lft nd right Now ou te themmoble posture. Oce ou te te mmoabe posture,

beathe quetly trough te os The mpotnt tng to letlong beahs be long nd shot breaths be sho o shoud beathe s aturaly s posle fom th td.1 Dont maenoe by beathing heavy.2

I. There is an area bout tree centmeters below te avel is caled te tande If you are mantanng te corrt

zaen posture, te center o gravit of our bod and mn wllatural fall to the tane I eglatig te beat te entr of gavit sould all to te taden b means of aintannh corct osture Other ta tat ou shuld just brathnatul.z "In our zaze te ot mportant thng is to sit in te or-et osture Next it is portant to regulate te breath ancalm e mind In erevada Buddis tere are to as o

do zazen One wa is to count brats and the oter s totnk tat te bod is mpe I ote words a ractoner of t eevada cotrols te yt of s rating y countgs beat. Howevr t ractie of te Budhas and te Paiarcs is comety diret from te a f Thereada I asutr it is said 'You should never tr to folo te Terevadaa of zazen in ih te tr to improv themselves TSiburitsu Sct ad the Kusa ect resety active i Japaare of tat tye. The Maayaa ay of guatg te beat isto kow tat a long breat is og ad a sor breat is sot. reat reacs te tae ad eavs from tis sa lace naaio ad eaao are dierent But owe a t



24 I TH RALITY OF ZAZEN

Csmc Mudra

Fg 8

've generaly described the zazen poure, ut I think i can bsaid that is poure is a trul uiqe iovery of th East. It'sunique beuse it's te best posture for hrowig out our smahu ouhts.

You' eily rn w I e i ou cpre the zzenpoure to Roin's stue, T Tnk. I ouds oo to chis atue T Tk but atuy it i a poiion for hsing

is, we must nhal and xhal throgh th tnden. When youbrah through th tandn the transcnc of your l beomesclar and t is a to al the mn.

J u Chng sad Th ah nhal reachs th tandn. Hoeve it isnt that ths rath cos rom sohre. For thatreason e cant say that t s thr long or sort. h rath iseplld lang rom th tandn. Bt t not a matter o toing sohr For tht rason cannot say t s short oron'

Ju Cng pland t n tht a and soon re to askm Ho do you go aot rgulatng the rath? I oud prol ansr n ths a Actual t no sothng hchan tmn as Maana or Thraa. And c-rsa it is not othng whch can trn as Thrada oMhaana (Ths s bcaus t s somthng hch trancnsboth) And th qustonr contnu ll thn ho s t?'

I ould add that both brathng n and rathng out ar nthong nor shor" (It's no matr o coparon)

Eihei Koo, Vo. 5



The Realit ofZazm I 2 5

afte lusion. The tunk f te bdy s huced ve, te amsand leg are bent, te nec and nes ae et, nd even tete ae et. We bd s et le ts, ld ececnested, yu e cugt up in u magitin d cnt

e fee. On the te had, evet-tu, c, nec,and hed tgt when yu t zzen. Because yu deni cmftbly estig dly fde legs ld leave tehead and cculates letful tad te ade ecae ld clate dwd fm te ed thee s n cestn,excitait lesee ad u c le ce fte ftsend elns eee d cect ze mes tag the

cect ste ad eg evet u t tIt' e t tell mee t at te cect pstue ith his

esh ad oe d leve eetig u t t, ut ctullynt s iple t d. I, eve le yu ae in te zazen pst,o cnte u thuts u e tg ad ledg zaze O, i y fll aseep e the zze stn,yu'e simply seep ad ge zazen Zazen i n

th, t seep; te t must e t am t alivg tl ze tue f u ece sleepy le dingze u ee ee sspte d u dy ecmesimp. f yu pusue u tt u pstue ll ecmest e s ete e p lifele t eg t;te t out t e u f le d ee

s is te same as divg a c. e ets un,

eel slee, lfe fce ece ul a ts ve daeLewse a nevus ve pep e cpletelyaed hs tugts, beces s ad ths t s danges.Th s tue nesme d pltcan, t I te'e lee

n dn n the js mae vely ted jcaht n e n tuts agan t' neus. n othe od thi eally ape t a nd . he le ce uld

e nete tanant t e m mptat tn ha he fe e ve t fulest tenta zen e ndene m e be jut ae e It uts t



26 I THE RALIY OF ZAZEN

lfe nto he most direct and pur pactic. T i te most poan thg n lf but, alhogh s easy t tak about tse dcult o do

When we actual do zazen e sod't b sleepng or

d we be caugh up n ou o thoughts. Rathe we houlde wde-aake ad am at t coect postr t o esh abones. Bu can ev atan ts? Is sc a tg s scceeg o htng k He s h az i unq zzen we must dl am a holdng t cec posture but eshould nee t the mak O at at te pesn who s dogazen shold ee pce her t the mak o no f

he peson whos dong zazen thiks "M zaze eall gtnggood o "e t he mak m zaz he s ol thknghs azen s good, hle actuall hes bcome sepaaed from teeal of hs aze Theefe e must alwas a ongcoec zazen, bu we shouldnt ecee whehe ee hit temak o no

s thee eall such a sage contadcto? Geneal ost

peole thnk tha as ong as tee an aim, ts o nata hathee taget to ht Pecse bcaus the a tage ou cam But ou kow tat thee t a taget to whos gngto attempt to am? Ths the sal d about and t.h peope sul caca wa of bo Hvrwe ou do zazn, o ha to lt go of o acla addealn wt otes Zazen jt he self mag th slf n

he elf Zazen doe ze a s the howg awa of thcaulatg wa of thnkng whc supposs at a log as theesa am e mus e a taget o ht Yo jst st the mdst of hs ctado were altgh ou m o absolut caot ecee g he a Yo st te dst of th coadcto wch s absolu clos hn ou thnk abou wh ou small nd Ho wh o o ths kd of

zaen and us s how ndete ou ma fel! ow unsated compleel ot o a fee

But aull s ju because of ths tat az s so wod



Te Reali of Zzen I z7

fu. I the sma self, this ool elf becoes aised or pudup wih arrogance, t s nothig or tan t fooi sf beisatise o arrogan. Tis being said or ro i, fr a,nothng more than a contnuaton te ho of our foos

se. Hover, in our zazn i s precsey a oint here tssma se, ur fooli se s usaise or opy bederedthat the immeaurabe naura e eyond th o of tesma sef s actvate. It s precie at te poi e e becoeompete ost tat ife operates n te por of Buda sauaed.

Peope pannng o do zaz ut re nteecuay eore

han that zen is this kind f ing, and then n o ginsazen, to just am a te corc posr-ot i the hed, ut wth th uce and boe. Finy, on mut rop eerythngand entrust everng to te correc an poure.

It ipssil to ook ry i our o naked eyes atthe raw rety of ou wn fa. Bc n culize tereai of h life of the sef, ut a it , tre i o r o tin

that you il prceive it.In tis cae we mut realie tt is ol or cauang md

hch i unsatsed becaue i anot se st of s' actty. an evnt, zen the bt pore for au vng out

te reaty of if a it i. Actuay tg i posure i shikn t.he ai of dong zazen o . t' ev dong zzen

or ome prpose uch as gang o or of pa engten

ment. s nowhere carer han i foloing passage Dogen Zei. azen f i sator. Zz is droping ody andn and s te ShobogenzoNeanmyo (true Drma).Dng zaze is t practce, pu ito ct, ad acuaiz ths str

ere and now (Str is not cld "enghent. r s some p experence whch you trie or by dog zazen.

Ony n we d zazn wih ts attde can there e sh a

thing as hn t."he correcty transmtd Dra ro uddha to Bddha

and from Priarch to arirch a aways en just o do zazen



28 I THE RALITY OF ZZEN

..Tis is very lear. Zazen elf is lre th lmate postreo r In ote ors i ut oin en

Kku vol4·

Te way which hs been ramtte m Buha to Bdd

nd o Priar to atriarh i o tie the Dm b ongzze. J Chn sai, Stng ole he otre o c ua. hereore enrtn o to aen doppin bod an n. Burnng in to el our minorshping Bddh ige reciting e enbs (repatng heBudh's name), penng, redin te sutra an oher rigiosceemonies re not eer t i eng t to do zen.'

E Kk ol. 6."Whe Bodhdha came to hna, he n' engage hisef

n sors o so-caled regios prctce Nor d he g letureso the sutras. He simp d zazen at Shorn-i emle r nneeas jst facing the og zaen, just ha the ay o Bddhas, he Shoboeno ehanyos (tre hrma.

K l 4

"J hn sai, Doing zaen s dropn bod and n, n eason, burnng nense, wospping ddha mge,recitn te Nenbuts, chantng sutras, and oter orts o reioceremone re nnecer Wi the past or or v hnreears it s on Ju Ching wo oged ot te ee' of the Budha nd atrichs n at tin that eye. Een n n theres been oe eqivent. here re extremely fe ho know

js zazen is e hara n tht the har is zazen.venough there a be some ho now experintiall, ta uszzen is the rm, ere are none wo now h doing zzen is st doing zazen. here re none ho ive te harma a it s

Sbz: Za 0 ZMy eaer, a Kodo Roh, as sed to s, t do

zzen Th s l Ts is e sme as "azen is e Dhrmahe

hr is zzen ...," "oig ze is s doing azenTheeoe zze is ee is o do becae here is sc

e de o do aot on zen i my eope fnd



The Realit ofZazen I 29

icuty in developig a orrc prtie. So my pupos is tot to expli i th of ts book ju wa zaz i Hoevas udrstnd t ere is o oter ousio o ts etirebook at ave qutd. Tat i, al do aze



30 THE REALITY OF ZAEN

2. Letting Go of Thouhts

I have redy si tha f durng zaze yo r tnkin, then

that's thinking a o zazen. Then i it that dring zazen othoght a a occur to s? Is good zaze whe a thoghthe cese to come into or minds

Here we st ceary itinguish thinking chasing afterhoghs fro houghs occurrng. If ing zzen thoughoccs to o nd you chase aer it the yo'e aeady tkingan not oing zazen. B ti doen't ea that y're ing

aze ony wh thogh hae etirey ceased to ocr So jtwht s i?

is ty pacn big roc next to peso dog zzen Snceti g rock is not i no mater how on t i there thoght i n ocr o i. Howeer a peo oing zazeike ock is a i han eig. Ee yo take a tatio-ry poio e e ro we ca't sa ht ke the ok no

toghts i occr to yo. Moreoer i hogt d cee toocc o yo we wou a say ha o were't aie. HO\eer he tth of fe er eoms omehn which i not

ae Terefre t' f th thht cee to ocr to peronsittg zazen rather ar hat thoght hod occur. Btif a peson chases afr hoghts he thinkg and no ongeroing zazen. So what sod our attte e?

Briey or meta attide shod e o aim at the pote of zazen wi our eh an ones and maye the eresion ettinggo of thoght' te os appropriate. What is etng go of thoghts? When we tin we ink of omeig.' Thinkingof somg means graspng a soehing wh thoug Butdring zazen e open ide han of hough which is tryingto grap ometng a ont grp a aything at . hi i

etting go of thogh.'Actay maye some hough w occr to o. But if oy

the thoght does o grasp wlnot e formed into any thig.'



The Ral� oZazen I 3 1

For example, ven if thougt A (a ower) occurs to you as lngas it is ot fooed by houg B (is beatif) no signicancesch as is B (a oer is beufu is formed. Neither s it soe-thing hch could b taken in the sense f hch is B (batful

oer. Thn evn if thougt A des ccur i your hd as lngas o on't contne the thought, stnds before the fr-aton of nng. It is eangless a n that condto lldisappear as consciosness os on.

Becase blood recdes fro the head nd excitabity is lessedb kpig this psre zaze is prarily ostr n hch ocan't ch after thoughts. So as long as yo leave everytng

to h zen posue, simlaneous ettin go of houghts illcoe ntural. Hoever han lif is t a achine and soeen n te zazen posture f you feel like thnng, you ca thinhoee uch you an S e portat thig he doinzze is rst to ai, fu f e at te poure of zazen ith yuresh an bones. At the sae te, o shold leae eerthu to the osture and let go of thoughts. By aiing at the pstue

of zazen and sultneousy eng go of thoughts bot band n do zazen in the spri of zazen. Zazen is never tikigabut dong zaen in the spir of zazen. It's soehing neactually ractces.

Doen Zenj quong the ords of Ysn Osho clld tsthe thot of no thogt' Wie dong zazen th our eand bones, yu ai at (thin of lettng go f thghts n

though). Aso Esan Zenji used th ord kausk' (�$1). eent that ne is ide aae and actuly ving out relity.

Becase isan Zenji's or, kakusok' ses t state drbl te enta attitude f a persn oing zazen I i taout condiions during zazen by sng e ord ake p inthis sens. Kusok' eas as just sad t ae up nd beeal r rhps cod sa that the ral thng aes p as the

real tng A an rate, ths aking up s not at s cldthught r percepton n thoght and peceton thee is a cnfrontaton beteen the thng hch knos and th thin ch



3 2 I THE RLI OF ZAEN

is known, but in 'waking up there is n ch confrotation.Thi i important

A I already xlaned eari w are a al tie and pacesivin out the ealty o u on live Howeer rearde of

that e lose si g ht o the realit o u on live and cause thsreaty to b dul and oy w do we loe siht of the realitof ou live and caue it to be l ad foy? Thi appens be-caue of o dozin o to leep r b our thinkn If we drve acar while dozin o thikin or dri become dl and oPlea emember that thi i daneou Wakin u i to et of ou thouht to wake up from sleepin o tikn and to

prfom the aity of he zazen potue which ou ar ractnit our eh and bone In other wod by din zazen ithyou eh and bone you actuay ve out te ealty the



T Ralt of an I 3

3. Waking up to Lie

Next, I wl, in as much detail as possible, gve an nalyical

escrption of te actul intenal expeence en o are doin zazen. Frst draw lne, Tis le represents trul main-tann e posture of zazen (ee igre 9). Wen e re don zazen, s line dong zazen) gt o be te reat of ourife now, s we certainl mus maintain te lne But a umanbeing stng s no lke a rock He s not xed and so t someties apens tat e tends to moe a from ths ne Eiter

tts n though s mind or else e dozesr exple, a person goes wa fro te ine and tought

' omes s nd. If e akes ts ot 'a as a basi ndntnes t thouts a n a", e s tinkng. If sometgbout s wn ork comes o is nd nd e contnues wtts bout te arrangemens nd anagement o s ork,

z Z'.

'

b ,'

b"

f Figure 9



34 I THE REALITY OF ZAZEN

he is clearly doing noting but tnking aot i work. Then,e let go of is thoghts an, 'akes p to te potre of zaeni his esh and ones He return t the elit le I ilexres ts 'waking p wt a arrow(!)

Bt after awile e ecome drows. his is '. If th 'contines on to and ", e i reall dozing Mae it eesstrange to se tese syo te order of b, , and " for

dozing to in actually doig zzen, that te way it is Tatis when yo ecome sleepy during zaen and some thught oats nto yor head, ure alrea sleeping aving some tgtoat into or head is the sae as dreaming. I actall doing

zaze chasing afer thougts d sleeping are nt dieent hingsIf, whle we are wie awake a thoght coes o ind and echae ate it this is actally tinking. Bt if, when we are sleepa hught coe to mind an we chase after i we are csinafter a dream in our sleep. Someties yo migh e nodding nnapping and at te ae time e thinng, Im leepy ut Ilod out an stck with doig zzen In othe words, ure

reaming Speaing fo my own zzen experience tis icuall true I dont know anythng out hpnotism, ut per-haps pnoti makes a practical application of this state of sleep) Therefore, wen o ecome sleep ing zazen ut wake p y viall puttig yor energy into yor zazen ihor e and ones epecially o that ou don chae thoghtYo st e ie aake and retrn to he relity of lfe. Tis

'aking p is aso expressed y an arrow (j).Actall when we d zae, it is a continuation o tis kind

(j) or ) Smetimes ou might even copleel forget u'waking p. ae ull case ter the hugts c c and end p completel a fr the reali our life In therwords you igt ecoe separaed from he reat tat oreno doing zazen. Withot eing aware f it, yull e asociating

ih o having a dialoge t a viv gre c (eg a eutiulman) hic has een totall created withn ur n csnafter tu Even at a time lke this if a peron doin zaze



Te Realit of Zazen I 3 5

'wakes up (if he actually performs the postue of zazen th hies and boes and lets go of hs toughts), the ver vv gureof c" wll dsappear nstatly an he ca etn to the ealty o azen ZZ). Ths s tul a reakale pont. It makes yo cea

ealze that the vvd gre o c" as no eal od an that t snothng ut empty cogs and gongs. At an ate hen onotice somethg ke ths dring zazen hehe ts a stage cc c" o c ou sho wake p to zazen as soon as posslead retun to ZZ. We ma wake up at an me. Cetal thevey fom of akng up (!) whch s etunng to ZZ s zazentsef.

Tats rigt. n the begnnng I sad ta he e a ogzazen, ths lne ZZ (dong zazen) ought to e e eat o o ie. So t ecear that e mantan the ine ZZ. Hoeve Inow have to rette ths. ZZ s the eality of the poste o zazent the reit of our lfe s not jst ZZ. If t wee only ZZ thenwe oul hve no le and od e the same as a ock. Whlee are aming t the lne ZZ e can neve actually adhee to

ZZ. Rathe, we tend to dverge fom t an go o t n vaosays. However, the vey powe to ake p to ZZ an ento t s the reality of lfe hch e actuaze y doing zazen. Zazenmakes us relze tat al the thoghts hch oat nto our headsare otig but epty coms and gongs hch have no ealbody ad which ca vansh at an moment.

Yun has Shodod, t s tten:

The ve skada ae jst oatng cods that amesslycome ad go,he te three posons (cravn age and stupidity) aebt bes tat appear d vaih.When te el is attaned, nether ego no dharm exsAd i a moment te avic Kama s adcated.1

1. Avici is the la and depst of th ight hells it whicsinnrs su, di and instanly bo t su withoutittio.



36 THE REALITY OF ZAZEN

Trly, al thoughs deins and crvngs e ke bbbsad e hng b mpy ings nd gongs whih hae orea bd \he yo ke p zzen. So een hel ke aicch s deeoped by thoh a e eadiated a stant

Zaz makes s expence t s ei hs poit abo zazes ost por The n I en t po ysef to trto epain h dgams h' ey happenng dring e shi; y pope nd o hink t zzen s m at he inZ, to r and iine thi n ns n y o odry o ZZ e B I nd o mke c ha zazn rel if, hch Dogn nji e "he coe ts

zzn of the ddh d Pich i no k thtlease red he foong pssge fom Dog enjs Eihe

Korokt, vl 7.

he trarch Nargjn spoke thsly Zzen s he Waf l the ddha The herodox schoos aso hve zzeHoever, they go too fr by tng the tre of zzen andther corret vs are thns* herfor, t cno

e he s s he zzen of the ddhas nd odhsvshe hervdns so hv zzen t y sh o poehemeves nd sek to rch Niran his s not the smes he zzen o he dds ad Pararch

hee are the od ofNrgan (A.D150-25o) hch Dognenji qed In oher ord Nargjn h d de cehe deence been h zn o the das an hods

d th f ad te heterodo secs he azen o heteroo secs od of dhs not the zen f lesef I s avord an cooed h vro kds of prot anddvops from a ody d iri oook he Theavdndo zen o grd dce delon and vng, and theyee o nay extgih h nrey (Nrvna) None of ths s

*The Japanese word for icorrect vies s j Tis refers o

he saken vies of cuse and et. For example, t is ncor-rect to nk that by dong zazen ou beoe her oryou elth mproe.



Te Ralif oazen I 3 7

the zazen ic s been crec rnmed by e Budsn Prics.

In e wrs, e zzen e o is n seing c euccee nl en e sic inn ZZ' s in Figure 9· Te

purpe f zen is n ecrese eusin nd re nd n exngs i cpeen ervd Budism, e eexncin f en n cing is ce Nivn (Engeen) n zzen s ne in serc is Bu ne kes n enenen be e r f un ie, en nng bu ng e e is n-ife (e)Hee, becse in erv uis e cngs n un e

e e cse sering, ne enguises em n seeks bs Nirvn. in' seen ge r f n nd gne bss Nirvn ese n crving? Ac, s , iseie j bee f , e ne is rcicng s nserci n e becse is, ee ee , "e cic e e Ps iscpe ern fr e en i is

si Y su nee o e erv zzenn e ipre eseves.'

e zzen e nd Prircs, e zzen ue e,is n ke s ecuse eses nd crvngs e cu nesn e per f e, is s n g e en engs e. n e er n, if, s esf s e re e rn b esie n ing n cse

fer , en ie beces fgged vr Te mn ing eeis dn cuse ife be fgged ver b ugRer,e sud see g, eie, ., ng n e undn e, e e be e re, n si n be gge und em. 's n er f in gre e n be rgedru esieOne s kes u n eurn rei fes ped n zzen s ens een i r ug

ie ' n b' ccur u, e vns b kng zzen.

"Neer eine euin nr e



38 I THE REALIT OF ZAZEN

Ts is becaue ignorance, jut as it the Buddha NatueTs wody ody itsef whch appea ad diappear ke ntom in this rd nothng oher than the reay of .

en ou ctuly we up o he reaty of fe thee s not rtiuar tn whic you ca pot to n say 'thi it

Yung Chias ShodokEven in the case ere one competey o the track and hng

deeop to the point that id gure ke c appears C1 wappear intanty when one wake up to zazen e peron who

is himef dong zazen is rea ade to experece with h hoeoy tha thoughts re nothg but epty cong d gogwithout ny ra body But t ano be eay undertood if you do not acuay practce zazn

sy that you cnnot reaze th hout dog zazen anetemey f-aung expreon, but h eaon I ay o isth Uuay we are qute unae o ecog a hat e thnk

about in our heads nothng but py comg and gongWe puge our had too fa o ou hough, and e tomuch n the wod of though Onc e tn of ometng wewant or ke we aume tha he fac hat e hnk wewant or ke , s the trth he, hnkig th becaue th

ide i the truth we ought to ek it, e cha aftr t eyhrend end up deoping gree Ao, once we th of omething

we ate o dke we sume that the pe fact tat we thnwe hate it r dike t i the tuth h, hng tat cauethi dea i the tuh we ought to foow , e chae afe h deun we ay u i o ae

n other wod the acy n ou ey ay aot athe rut of chang after da ke th e caue a d magto bcome ed, nd then e moe impoac pacd upon

th xed deuon nd dr W oy ac y eng card awayy deuo d dere It oud e more coect to sayht ordnar eoe re beng ug about b ere and euion



Te Realir of zen I 39

withou even knoing it. A man who is drinking sake (fntas)knos that he s dunk, but when it gets to the stage tht thesake is rinking sake an een further hen the sake is drikingthe man, then the an is orced to drit in fantasies ithot een

knowing it and behaes ccordingl Almost all people nd socieis togo te world ehave b being carrie a bdesie and delusion. Jut becase o that, the zazen hch we ocoes to hae a great ignicance \Vhen we 'ke up in zzenwe a truly made to experience the act tht al the tings hichae deeloed in o thougts ma vanis in an instant.

In other wos, we almst alws stress the conten o our

tought, but hen we 'ake up we ake up to te eait o life and ake tis reait o ie ou cente o gat. t is thenthat we ae made to realze tat a te dese an desions ithinour togs are nothing but ept cos an goins ithout an rea od. Wen ths kind of zazen exeience ecomes areal pt o een in o dai es i nt e cai ab the congs and goings of lie-ie imges We il ae o

'ke up to ou on lies an begin cpetel ares fm teealit of le

Then, are desires delusions thoghts lke a, , c, etc, a tinghic primari do not exist an should e dened? Tis is notat a o bease een thog hich pro se nd desionre anestations o he power o lie. Hoee, if one continuethe tought and is carie awa b desie and deuson, lie is

obscued and stied Ten we ake up to ZZ' and ro tisstndpoint o waking p e can see that tohts, desies anddelusions are the scener o lie. its during zazen tee tescene of zazen

Thee is scner on ee tee is ife Tee is no scenerhe tere is no lie Whie e are iin in this worl, therewill be hainess an unapiness; aorable conditions nd

adese ondtions; inteesti things and boring things. Thereill be pleasant times and panful ties; ties to laugh nd tiesto be sad Reall these are al te scener o lie Becase people




plunge into this scenery of le, ae caied away by t, and end ning helterskeler they become frantic. Even thoug aiouslie-ike images aea to us drin zaze, we ca see th sceneryof ie for hat it is by 'aking p to Z.

No lets try thnkng about this n cnection with h 'Ihich is xed by eationshis ith others te ay I elaindarlier W a easily see that te I which determined from teotside is sceney in the lie f the self. Its not at a that there isn sch thing whic takes the form of an 'I wich is xed fromthe oide Althogh prces a this scenery, my ow truie is the reaity of fe hh I wake to itht being caied

aay by the scenery Zazen i the fondation of lif here thiseaty of fe is being real In that sense, zazen is the reality of these, the tre sef.

"aen is the ractice of the Bha Zaen is nndoigThis is indeed the eaty of the Se oting ese is t besoght after i Bddhis.

Shobo g enzo: Zuito1ki

In othe ods, the mst irtnt thing in azen is not to cton delsion and crai a trict bece Of coreere are times like this dring zaen, bt this to is ne pat of e scenery of zazen. Rather wie aiming at Z, we have adeny to go aay from it. ven thgh we hae this tendhe vry fom of rerning t ZZ an ang s most impor tems f the zazen which is he fndatio of f



J·f The Realt o Sessins

1. Sesshins wtout ay Toy

Next I wl alk bout the sesshins t Ata-j d gv ecrptive analy of ht xeriencd throug the n to make zze an te actua attud tord life trou zazev earer.

Frm h tie my eaher, Sak Kodo Roh died n 1964 began he long kn of n. It' day eery montith te rt Sunay o the mnt t me dy. There oeshn n Februry heer hen it' cold ad in ut henit' t. s te J and eember hi are ony hree dy.he chede to do ony zzen and fro 4: oo o'cockn the rnin un9 oo ck at nht W eat hree mea y an o knn mmeatey fer ac me. Th r try mnte break en everyon goes to t toilet tc Thereare to caracttc of tese in On t ter bolul o ang re ar no greetn or ocg d otr chatng econdl e on' u te kysaku h ootck omme ud to ae up t ttr ad , o m td of te tme contat fc te al d do no kp c o ot ng z ee to pont m crttc of Ata-ji Th ol nttoadd to ue r tt gdl of ll oter yo pplourf t u our o ractc d of o ag o vou otr kn of s foe I

v cou nc 964 bc blv t to b o t that I b bet o puto pc o t ur d foog ord o




teacher, Sawaki Ros, "Zazen is the self mang the sef into teself.

The reason for hav ve dys of absolute silence is so that people become the self which s ny t sef itout scazin

wth others and without the distractio of oths Ad yet at thesame tme tis makes te days of sesshn lie o iod ozazen witot any beaks aso w d' us e yosakuis, more tan at, s tat ee bcoes te sef wchis ly te self Because zaz is st tig ad face thewall jst big youself, p f a tible boeo Te, if th kyoku is caied aun, t s a toy ad pe sta

to play arod wit t For exaple, seone s sittng quietan te ksau is cmg aound How abt y ostue?No mate o ch s tking of it wi kysaku, thee pobably is't t sig ecuse O O,tse log afeoo urs! Ma I' ae i tyosaku f a littl rlef

If you ti about it, ur es s k iv f aig

it os It is as soon as we b O st toy is tee of t mik ttle Whe 'e a ittl olde, its dolls adtedd bas W we'e e a lite ode, is d-it-usef ts, caas an as At ades, it's te si sexTes stdy and es; atess n bsiness an seacfr fame Theres cetio ad sos s is all ust plaigwh toys Until we di we st cge to o anote ad

en ou wole e ith noti bt plai w toysDoing aen is be e reait o ife It s te sf c is

only self witut any paing wit toys Its like t tmbefo we de we l the tos ae tak aay But e i tsa w o ad fo s t ad ty lay wit t efo an istat Jst beaus of at, ts t ory tat wenthe kysak s bouht arod il it aw me a toy

an zaen wil case o be sef wic is t self So dont u he kyosaku

But what o you o i you get slee at an Aai-i sessi



The Ralit of Sesshins I 43

If the kyosau is for the purpoe of clearing wy your sleepineyou will go right to sleep when tere isn't ny kyosku. However,thee's no need to wory There's bsolutely no one who sleethugh te entie seventy hours of the ve dy sein. Inevi-

tbly, ou wke up. Since it's you own pcice, you just dozzen bet yu can. Zzen is not something ou should bforced to o. Its practie which you do youelf s te self wi i only the self.

Or pehs, there might be a se where you're ke but veyboed. So order to pss the ime, you nk bout one certnthing d entetin yoursef wth this ide. (t's ute nonene

to thin tat you may jut ps the time ike this regrdle of thect tht its your o prctice, but occsiony thee my bepeope lik s.) oever, f you re mentlly norml, u onbe abe to o it. At esn ee thees bsolute iene dlong ctinuous hous of zzen, youd feel extremey uno-fbe i you were going zy. e nol mnd no berto tugge wih nd elte to one delude ougt ove long

ed of e n te end, oull elize by youef tt te tcoforble thing i let g of deluns nd i zzenptue. I oe words, thee seh e jut sitng e ef whi is only te ef ihout n ouside restion. Beuseof tht, tey swing you to the pont whee you cn he butbecome the elf wih is only the self.

I lo sit fcing the wll nd not twds eveyone ele. (Usu-

ll the head of Soto temle doesnt fae the wll.)T is n orde o tke way the reltioshp f wting d

eig wtced. I I st wih he inentio of eeping wt onhe ers, then I would be doing just t nd robby lossight of y own zzen. Also, if everyone ws conscious of beingwtched le oing zze it woud beome zze wch isblnced ginst noter perso d no longer be zzen whic

is truy the self which s only self.' I mself must do us yown zze prctice nd eryne ele must respecely rcticezzen s te sef wch is ony the self.



44 I THE RALI OF ZAZEN

However in a sesshin like ths there is absolutely no guidaceconcerning zzen. For that reason one ms s hing nderstoo beforehan wht he menl ttite shol be in order opracce zazen as he self wch s only he self. or this reason,

ae preiosly written ooks ealing wih what zaen is nhave gone into as ch dea s possible I want peole o sitsesshis e avng read ad ndesood hese bs Thsbok oo is e of ose If ele sll have qesons I haehem vsit e freely an ask he uesions at es oher hasessns

As the same e hoeve eole who read my books and

decie o o zzen are dere than the sal peple who resolveto do zaen. It's a fact that a lot of hese eole ae coeedwith inellectal nderstnng In oer ws ey ae f of argentaive theories wa ese ageive ele ondersn by their own exeiee hat ae is absoluel ntheor-it's setng one eally des Fo ts eas I haehe o r nto zaen practice wich is coletely slent the

wa I have descried



z. Bfor Tm, bfr 'I Ert

e Reali Sesshns I 45

Part 1 was about he kind of essi do at Anti-ji, nd ho

by actuall doing tis kd of sesshin one ecomes ar o vaous tgs not s ome sor f theory, but a personal xperiece No et's ook at ome o thee ting h we ecome war of.

We h rst ting on ca't help bt eel hen doing snd of sesh is the tremendou drawig out of ime It's eclik a coupe of Zen epressons, "a day is ong and is like al of

antiquty o "a da i long d e oe inac Ho oftn in or ordary ife do we hre a joke wit� a fied or prhpsatc a bit of teiion, nd before we ow it h a day orybe e a whole dy has aedy psed? But hen we ometo sitting zan an entre day tme just oest p eai Yorlgs hut a ou ecome e ith boreomd wht' wore,

is tht ter otng to d ou fr the bored Pciel

beau o tere is noth ese to t ie out time as realty of life in ey momet

Durig essin a our actiits are rgulted bel Togongs bg the sgnal or nn e all stand up from zazennd begin alng

o 're doig hi ad unonsco the thought arisesOh Im lready fu of zaz ut \Ven thik just

t urther, it's ery disouragg to reaze tht ts still themorning th nd day, nd les than hal the sesson is orThees n dout that during or seshs eone hs hd thsthought

Ho in the ord do w get through the remang time?Arrig ths pont e bsolute h to trascend time If dont rget this g ald time it is ipossile to ontinu

through rst o the hours of the sesshIts just hn trancnd time, orget is thing led me

tht e auly eet the ra reality o Japanese ord



46 I THE REALITY OF ZAZN

for time s 'tki. I thin this ord is d wit dp mag'Toki coms rm th wrd 'toshi which mans switnss orquicns In othr words, prcily bas w hav th om

parison owig sitss, w hav in cad t. f

w ddnt ompar, w wod tascd his thng cad witnss r ti, and b th s ich i s.

s wh contin sttig t ssshi no r ra timSimp, haring thr gns zazn gis; i its two ngs, thn

ts knh Again tr ongs and sittin bi; thn, its twgngs and bac to khn. Y js nn h ssn jst thwa t gs Yo jt ow h sinas th and dont

tk whthr its a on tim or ort tm hn, witho raizn t, v das ha pasd, ad th ssshin s vr Fa, wnk, "D az, v ompt ortt tim. Bt maraid ths xprsn "Doig za Iv comt frgttnim, wi invt a b misndrstann. Rathr, "Wi appi ms to azn nd knh ths, v das av assd ab thmvs vr thr ompa, h b mr apprpriat.

At ths pont, n mattr what words w s othin s raappropriat smp hav to prsona xprin a ss.

Anwa, it s act hat his knd o xprn acta shwss jst what this thig cad 'tim is, and aso jst wat brtim is. Usa w ar ndr th imprssin that w v in thmdt o im hor, can ata xpric that it is nots, rathr, it s th o th s wh manist tim

Frthr, whn w d zaz, w r s, dnt mv orbdis ad kp prct sti, s n wd av t sa its

pan compard with a s-dnt a o , n whch a w ca mov a ish.

I drig a sshin k his, bin to tnk abt hw pain zz i, ad how o ar prsvri and barig thatan, o wnt a sit it thrh th w v

das. i a d tw hrs zaz, r v rr v hr, strit n r ab t prsr and ndrai, vr a w da, s a va



Te Realit of Sesshins I 47

sesshin, by simpl perseverig ad edurig the pa Furter-more ou culd eer led le f zazen practice and do sesshever mont jst b havig some egotistical de abou our owbilt to erseee edue p. Eve f ou did do t ths

wa t would be meagless You wuld ol be dscplgour ow abilt to peseere d endue i cmprs witother peole's In other words ths would be othg bt a ctinton o ur ow dspost to compre ourself t otherpople Rather the mst ptt thg i our sesss is tothrow aw even these deas f ow ul t is and w ourre erseveg ad endurig te pa You just becoe sub-

merged i ze ch s te self mki te sel to te self just s it s' u dot e d eve evetg up to teposture Ol then ll time pass all b itself oer thee someplace I oter ords l e ou throw awa u ideasabout hw panful it is ad h u are perseeg ca ou doa sess thut ane.

Ths exeece has a e potant eg B doi ths

kd of sess ou are made to ctuall experece wat it esto have the bttom fll out of ou ow toughts about erseverin d suerg

This exerece demostrates a great power our dl lfeWe meet ma prblems d stes i our ee d lesbut usull wt ppes s tt he e eet prole webegi t stuggle ad b struglig e e foced it eve

worse poblem We ca easl understnd whe ts soebodelse Whe somoe hs fa ito some unortunte crcustace e as obseves oten sa that he sld't struggle, otat he shuld jst calm dow As bserves e cn ver colsa ths t he te trble s w e cat elp butstruggle wt t Hw c we make ths self whch c't help butstrule to strugglig nd quet own? There's other a

tha for te bott to fll out of our tougts about our suerand our perseerence You are ade to eperiece durg oursess ut wat it is t have th bottom of our thoghts fall



48 I THE REALIY OF ZAZN

out In her wrds, r esin is e kin of pracie whic isbefre e sicn ewee 'sel-wer a 'ohereWe pracice wha mes ere eevering nd edur.



3. T cr of Le

Ralit Smhins I 49

I must te about one ore thig that is actay experienced at

te Atai-ji sesshins.One day i Septeber two Americans, Je and Fred ho

cl spek Japese very we came to y room ith someqions. Tey d both stayed at Antai-i and had bee doingte ssshns for over a year. "Wen you do zaen don't you aveto ve a tori experience? they ased

I rpied "Sator ad Zen seem to have such a intimate rea

ionshp in Japan tat hen soeboy says satori' everyonetk e' ad vice vers Rey ths sator' is an esytg d t oud be safer i w dd't bring up te word Thereaso I sy i hat peope usuay speak about satori' as oppose o rc I oter ords sator is tght of as accep wic s te opposite of igorance If that's so then thdiscso is bed o the disinctons of satori a ignrace

hic we ake wi our ordiary ids I other words e areno gr king abot aything but the dscinatins o ourordry ds.

B e re Sakmuni is o ke th I s sad hat md te fllwig saemet we he ttained stori

"I id e simutaneousy with te woe word a et beings. Everytnoutans rver trees grass

tied Bdahoodr Sakn satori wasnt soet pecuar ony to h

sl I w te sori f te ife hch inced mse a ar tins That s meti that try ges beynd the discrimi of our deued ids. Aso i the Prja arm its; "Te is o birth r det; o pri or mpurty; inrese or ecrease s mes satori is beyod birth and eath

eyd impuriy (norc) ad purity (satr) is beyonicrs ad decrease. hs is to be engtened to he reaty of ife wch coes befor the distnctios sch as yorsef an




others or ignorance and sato.On the other hand, if we pctice an s a result o ou practice

want to say, "Ive ganed st! the hs satori s merel soethn hc belongs to the 'I It is othg but the satori wich

comes after th distnctons of igorace nd satr, oursef anothers It s notn ut the worl ceated by the dstnctons of the gnorant n.

Here is a quote from Doge Zej."If yo foow a precoeved ea of stoi, the resultigsator wll not be eble Do ot t to prect t st s Bcause t transcens l thins, ol sato ca help sto

Kw that gnorance doesnt est Know tt satori destist.

Shobogenzo: YutJ!Olsu Fre resoned m exlaat like ths"But when I do zazen, hee are tmes whe no matter how

uc try t stop chas thuhts d put m er to theaze postre, toughts ust keep com one after the othe ad

I cat he but chase after them owever, at other tes, I amabe to do zazen wth a completely clear mnd , wthout havg any thouhts come p Woudnt you cal ths 'sator, or'knsho ?"

reed, "Certan when yo do sesshns ke the oes tAnta-, o often have ts eerece. ut f you cll tehn yo ant hp bt chs thoughts, 'ignoace, call

ar-ndd zazen, 'sa tor, then ignorce an satori are ott th condton f teeratre and humidt.

At the Anta- sesshns, we have varous kinds of \Vetherthroghout th yar and ven rg a sle sess, the eathery o through vaous caes f ou cotue tese sessnsov a ng eo o te, you wll naturall coe to understatht s usa reltonsp btween th dere of tepera

tr and hdt and y own pschologcal conto gnra, yo l know hen certan condtons wl ase Frea whn ht and ugg, no atte w had o tr



Te Realir ofSesshns I 5 I

to mainin your zzen, yo hed simers lke ts fereningan ou cn' ge nyplce. Bt whe e s dry d coolevenng beeze bloing, or hed cles d cernly feelse ou'e sodl ainning zze o of hese re he co-

itin o yr head which i respondng o e emperure ndhumdity Since zzen o st and manng zaze sneedless o sy h hs nd of zze is ver ne Howee, isdoe ean his kd of zze s good zzen d zzehc s ike hs filue

"Regares of his, e ipo ng e dog ze so jus s iming zze d wkg up o zze We ou

jus s d ke up o zze he ous codos o youred e ll us e sceey of zze ce yo e rey eedong zen nd sehns ere for oer ea expec you udesnd h o ce exe

The wo Americns d good ug explo stor ad ornce were odos of epeue d udya e wen ome

(Pleae efe o he wods of Doge Zej c quoed the end o Cper z, p )

To o thee ds le he epeber sessi beg eear a o eembe s ho so e sessh s only ee dyslong A ul he rst two day wer very uggy d we weredong zazen coveed i swea u on e morig of e d, i erehgl cooled o, d beg o see like fll We

ee ble to do zzen n omo d e essi eed A eend of eshns everone ele d e dr e ogee h ime Je nd Fd ook up e opc of his chge d bosai "e cerl go o eeence ou me whe ousid h or and ioane e degee of epeure adhumdiy

ee w hppened Sepee of e lf que

ipressio on e eebe i well ee wo Amecsompeel undersood wha d sid becse we d d ou iscuso jus efore e esh d edely fe ee



52 I THE RELIY OF ZAZ

hd been just the igh weaher canges to pove a le mexpeence y explaaio.

T o in hch I ie s eve soething hic ess nepenenty of y o tougs an ieas Raer te world in

hch I ve appeas to e une w my on tougs an eas So according to y ida and oughs he wor appeas to e a coe o b a completely ieen wrld Hoeve, wh I ca y ieas and thoughs is my psyclgial coiio an furo, pcologca coon s a saee y own phsiologica cniion heeoe if sog is rog ith body y oesn't cea and if y ind

oesn't clear, the eyes ih ch I see he od an m onlie e dkene And en, fe an the ol isf coes o aea gloomy appearance On her hand, he y bod lse, y d brgns an hen te o ad ow ife

pea ore bigh o eFurtheoe, my physiologcl ontio s emenous

ucd by e eio i hic I iv he cnges an

conions of cliae an he eet e e that is aus n ec lon s aiculaly ell obsved wen ontinues a f wch is a monoton ad complel oustractons lie th sesshins a Anai-i

Hoee, e iporan pn ere s e aiue of us riing to "wae up no ate e coiions ar 's nnecessaily ipoan o rac o ee ghs no oge

occur to you I's ore impor o wac hese relos cuse and eect ih a calm in an to sit s iou beicarrie aay by he is is sa aza (u oig zaz)

hee are all inds of we an codos in ou lays clou ays, ay days and s da a ll

aves produced by the er of nau ad o ng or ic e have ontol No mater ho much we esst hese aves ad

try o ke cloy a la up, e can't o Couy d e couy; any ays, ain lear as cea an i s onlynatura at the og and goig o ogts n the psyco-



Te Realit oSehins I 53

logica and physioogcal conons utuate acorgy. Tisvey tng s te y of fe isef a it's manifestations. Gobeon ts, seeing it as scer of , a not being rri way by it-tis is seig on and ts is te founaion of

Or sesshis are ik ts. As I etioned earr, do zazenaming at e ie Z'. Hower, e nno ee tP JneZ', an somimes appes ta ae apt to mov a from it It's just a reeito of ovi aa an a up' toZ', movi aa an ag up' o Z' Zze s te eosture of sit we ag up to ' vr an oe a.s o as ave s te a te tots ic cr to

s wen e moe a om ' are te scener of zan Orese a mes e m be abe o stricty maitn te e Z', bttis oo is te sc of za. is nevr a te esatio of tot s saori oo, or tat sin of tosa to case a tm s igorn an ba A arate, st s b bon oo a b or so an orce s t z wc tnscs s a o

m, wc tascs sator a gnrancePeas oo a ts qo o Riai e

"e sef ar rasceds al tigs. Even t eaven anart umbe o, I ave o msivis ve toga e Buas in te cos ap boe me, I woot rejoc ve oug tr s apa boe m woud hve no ear Wy s it e ? Bcase ere is

notig I ise.Rinzai-Roku

For Rina Zeji, he appeara f a e Bdas n etre ors as ot someig to rejoice about e appera o te tre s s not somg to be ai of. Notbg arai of t aparace of e oes't ma at for Rizaih no exst ae Rzai toug of e as a i o

cner as ere tan te aearae of a te Budhs e pon e shoud pa attto to s tha ter hea e ddas, or atvr apeared befoe Rzai, he sa



54 I THE REALITY OF ZAN

al as the scenery of lfe. Tis ver tig s as otng but tesceer o our zze.

At At-ji tee are ma oks praccng zaze ad I wttem t cotue te motl sesss and dail zaze te

morig ad eveig or at lest te ears. Te reaso s ts. If e;· cote ts lfe of zaze for te ers, os wo e ter twetes wll ve reaced ter trties. A erso faces sgrtest metl strugge dring s twetes a t's quite a tingt ss troug ts erd ig l zze ad vig oterdstracton. ere are o rios, televsios, or oter etertaiment faciltes ere. However, f a ers leds ts kd of life

ad sits zaze trougt is tweties tere is o dout tat ewill cme t ave a commg view of s. Durg teeears s dee metl suering wl all come t, ad ersow be ae t work trug tese ers on e s te fodti sc tt e ees tis suerig as te scener of te le of te sf d does ot beave b beg carr w b t. A ersowo as wored trog tse te ers b ale t tae te

atude of livig ot te relt of te true self wic is obaced gaist oers.

Tat's rigt. We o live at Atiji ot l zaze, but tedail lfe tsef s sometg in wic o c't te vue of ur exstece i oter eoe ad tgs. t's a le wc is bearable ess ou dscover te vaue of te etece of te self te sef.

Te imortnt tg for us is tt wter e are doig oeeriod f zze, a e d sessn, or t rs of rctice, wemust lve ot te ret o te self.



4· f The Sl o th Zn Man

1.

Th Self is th Uivr

Our zazen is just 'the sef makg t sl nto th self, ad I

ave ce te raty o ths n o aenBut f zazen 'th ef whch s on th sef an has o

atnhp wth other pep an thng, arent ou just cosgoursef up n a she cale ' an sregarn scet an o pepe? Ist ths st a n f sef-fascnaton an wthraal te r If zaen st sm a withrawal an escam e , or a efascinaton, an s reate tother pepe an scet, n what wa s t reate thin ts naur t be scetcal abut ts Ths s the ental proem, especa fr pepe who want to o azen an ae eachnfr a e a to v.

Hoeve, there s an even mor basc quton than th proem of se an oters We must ask agan ust hat n th worl s the 'se

After havng a new lok at the elf, l aso have a newoo at th se-other reatonsp Its onl then that we meet tebasc teacng f Mahaana Budhsm A, th re mannga atttue o aze eces vn mor ente T rest o thook w e cncernd wth th basc eachn of MaaaaBu an wth zaen whc s th rea ept of BsTs is because te acku fr our zazen must te oteacng of Buh a the backgroun of Busm must our own le An scussn aout zazen ust ncmpass t

Wel, s ben b scussng the prbem o 'sel an 'oFor the s, ust what oes 'otr ean Usa popl the el as oetg cntrast wt 'tr a consl



56 I THE RLIY OF ZAEN

the 'other is always cntrast to the sef. Tis thng we ca is external deermed b it elatonships ith others. n

other wods, t is the sef wh is not a 'otr. Converselt 'ohe awas seen and deed b the sef and is a 'oher

h i not . and 'ote are diametrial opposed and a the ame tm

muua erdependent I o t to u o h ratoph e 'oter and be hh s on , ud ertabe a knd of witdawal ad eape from e old ad a st sef-fasinaon Ts od be nothg bu ng our ees our relaoship to others ad beg sef-sasd.

Howver our zaen is no ke ths. We ernl thk abouthe 'slf ad 'othe as his d of ontratg eltohip, budurng ae, we let go of ts ver 'ida Th, ts ver frof te 'elf ad 'oher beng a orasg relaohp aadod

If we e o ts relaiosp n wh te and the 'hea daera opposed a, at te sae , uta ier

dpede, ho an here be an anmore? Aual durzae, we peel e go of ef-oe of a 'I

dermed fro the outside onverse, we 'ake up to hesef whh is e realit of i Eve if we are sus f tslf ad ata ae to i, s te self as ra, l xperene.

In oter rds, even f we use te ord, 'te self whih onl the sef te sef is never he wh s n 'other. Thi

is not te wh denes other we b tal terdepdent t i Ths l ha 'wa u nd experees'the sf h s ol the s as e re fe Trefore,te elf a is er s d pe tor, othouht oer e s; t s te su to wih ewake p. Frtermor, te o g we ae up o aealit is te fe of te el ad th is ala t 'l i

on te selfHoweer, ts doesnt m that the ef-oer relationshp

copete dsappers Rther i terms f e the sothe



The Se te Zn Man I 57

relationship is completely dieret than e usua self-other relationship. How is i dierent and jus wh is a self-other elatinsp for ppl who do zazen?

ere's a soy fro the Edo Period

Behnd a temple ther was a ed where a lot squashes ererippening One day a gh started The squases split up itoo groups and mae a bi racket shoutin at ec other. Thehead priest heard he uproar, a he he went to se hat hadhappene, e foun the sqashes quarren The priest eedand scole them sa, "e, ou squahes! Th iea f t n among yourselvs! erye o zaze!

Te priest auht the ho o do zaze "Fold your les lkeths, sit up, and strahten your back a nck Whe thesquashes ere sittn zaze ust as he pries taut the teraner subsed an te settled don Ten te pret quetlsa, "eroe put or ha o top o our hea e theases et the t o teir o eas t heir a teou soe er thi o ter heas It turned out t be e

e c cect te altethe "This is realy stae.Actuall 're all ie tr ad Jvi g js o l. I spite o hat e' been rgun What a mstake!

Figure 10

"Is just s the pries saidAfe hat he squashes go long with each other ery wel

We cetanly i s a sml, ndual body called '. k t ths sma, nual bod is our self but the seas th rat o lie is ner simply his inidual bod t u



� 8 I THE RALITY OF ZAZEN

Figure 1

ur 2

be somethng ore th that.For xaple, I talked abou i before but, he powe whch

ae my hear beat, seds lo og through whoebo, ad alos me to be so y e er me otomehg wch I contro o vae Te poe ch doeese tgs woks ompete eo m tougts B beues powe coes ro eo my thoh, a we y i

power s not I? As lg as ths powe s work e t s -deed te realt o le. I's not o these kd yico but the same s tue o the dea ad hoght hchre my ea too Lkg at he coe o hee e ogs, t cel apea a ho m oha de Bt st be s t e oer whch o to work ut thee thugh ad ies a tcee poe

beond thoughts. However, even I a th ths poe anscendent powe beond my thoughts, n mstae tht aong as t actuall workg e t the eat o the e of



Te Slf o the Zen Man I 59

the self. In other words, while the reality of the life of the elf exit beyond the thoughts of thi mal individual ' it i t thesame time, ight now, the poer fncionig in thi mall iniiual 'I.

d jut a it is w me, o it is with you too. The se a mal indvual and the vaiou thought conten o the individual aue tht each nivual a elf. In tem o te deao each ndividual, thy are ineed ditinct. But the powe o lifwhich make u think viouly and wok nie each inividuai beon e thought of th mall ', and in thi it i all pevaing. Ju a in the tory of the quahes, when the squahes

ied following the vine on to o thei head the wee livingou the eaty of one le. An in this ene e have to ay thaa ving ceature, al eene, i lving out the poe of oneea lie wich i all pevag.

Duing zazen, we let go of ou thought, and thi make u'ake up to the eaity o life hch pevde the whole univee.Becaue we lve within the thought of thi mall indiviua ',

we ae dage abot b thee thgh, an a oh which inot 'I cloe in on u. f we let go of thee thougt, an 'waeup to the realty of ife which i wokig beon o thoughe cove the elf wch i living Unveal, non-al life (befoe the diiion into two) an pevades l living ceatue andl exience.

Fom ancient time, Zen teache have expee ti in vaious

waysone oignl sel, the ef wch pede the ten wolds, el wc l al the worl, and the Unvea Sel. In anyevent, heher we realze thi o not, e a all lvig e Univel Sel. I uoe beoe, wen Shakami attaine satorihe ai, " atained the Way iutaneoul with e whole woldan all sentien beng. Eveyhingountain, ive, tee,gra attained Bhahood. I thi ee wod cealy how

hat what Shakamun becae egtened o is the elf wc se wole vee.



6o THE REALIY OF ZEN

2. The Activity of the Realit of Life (Shjo no Su)

I have just sid tht eeryoe, regrdless of wehr he rezes

t or not, or whether he "wkes up to t or not, s lg out teSef which s the whole uese. epet ths becuse t s so ery

mpor. oter ords usuy mke th de o sm ndidl se e ceer o ur wrd d becm rmy cced th hs sm nvdual is the 'se but ts s o theel Se.

(Pese oice tt m mkg dscto bewe d

Self.)The ry o lfe s beyod my d my s sm d

dul. The bsc ct s ht S s g ut -dul ewhc perd l ng d eryg c exsUers Le Uersl Ex. O suy oe gt of the r o he Ue S yg ti d ursee s s dduls. W cuse e

Sef t e cdd oe. If w n g our ugs rety e cmes pure d ce. Z ut tisrey s t s Th s " u; d -g.

At ts ery pont ou ic pcg z coms d. Th atttude i ig z s My Bdhsm e to try d dc icy s e s bymes o pcce. Nor re w mig dceg de d

y imtg t aloether. zz eiter i ga spec myscl exerence do we ty to grr egte. zen s true My Bddsm is wys theSf st truy beg e Sl. ie try big f.

rly we e eyes, bt i e cs s d the wd i bsutely drk, ut h reyof lfe. I we pe our eys, e s hiig rly. he

sme wy, when e e wth our eyes c s e wde ope,e d out tht e re lvig i te g gh o fe Athough l me the gh the Ursl S ggy d



The Sel o the Ze Ma I 61

du becase of the clds which are the ieas of or small self, e cn open our eyes to va fe of he Uivrsal Sef bydong zazn and leg go f ese ieas.

In e wrds wen we beve ta th rt o or smll

invdua self is the Unversal Sef a pracice te realit of life(d zzn) thn e have atue of zzen as rue BudhismTs kin of zazn is e zzn f Shoj no sh (JVf B-cau a vng ou a of te le of e nivrsalSe ts is e acivi sh f of the reat o lfe sho �).Tereore ts is called Soo n shu

I ust sad tha e 'bele nd 'st t mus no rscuss

he mean of 'belve in is Buddis snse Usua e us tord 'beeve to mean song ke nking a som-bo sys is ue n ron wn n gent of Go mdumseas ssvel abut an nvsible realm a measicalral and ss ta tr is suc suc a d or t man hasa soul eo sse t i s ru and c ccodg Ts iscalle 'beleng But he basic Bdhist dniton of 'b is

comle drnt he dniton givn in te Abdrmaos Kusa Ron hic is Bdst eqivan to Schoasti-csm is a bef is clarit an ri In other wors in Bds belf is no o hear sombod sa a man has an indviual Sou or at o dos exs otsd of if of te selan to tk that tis is so

Belief in Budhs is not ike tha Wile e re fact lvig

ou the lfe wc erads everthng a is beon or iivia tugs e lose sght f hs reat f e an are carriedaa b t eas of or sall ivial se ust lie the athe sqashes srte gin We ve beng toal conse Iour aze w let go of thous lower or eve of ectemnand beco cear and u n the ret of e tru versalLife is te basc eag of eef erefore the very c

of oig zazen is to beevHoeer sal e hk that r self is ol s sa a

ct i sef a e re it to tk ht e



6z I THE REALITY OF ZAZN

Sef is the very lfe whch perades a hng. We have atualost sigt of reaity ha mu. When e tak about te Sf hh the uvese, e shold reaze t s sething onengourseves but we are nabe t do so an thnk tha it s ome

plae otsie of us. Howeve, f e hear smeone a hat teSef is not oe other person, and ta e tru f the ef i tolive t the lfe hih pervae tngs, e ma eognz that

t is o. When e no longe du , the eond meaig of beief, "no oubt comes ou. Tis is no simpy hearing whatsomeboy sa an no oubting it is has nothng o o withr own eas and is regaress f whether we ink so or no,

or whether we believe r doubt. he meaning of belef in Budhs just to nt bt ha we are lvng out te eaty of nvsibe ife.

In the Maha-prajnaaraapadesa (Dacidon), sa,"We ene the g ocean o Budsm throug fh Whenazen i baial an have faith in "the Self ih s theuverse, it s azen whh e Buhis. his is te meang

of zazen hch i Shjo no u, and azen whi is o believen s. Here agan he atttude of oing zazen as Budhism ecmes deite.

Until now, I have pocee to explan things usng he ex preson 'the Se i te unvese, (:1-W § 6) jn ia jiko.his expeion a oiginal use by Dogen Zenji in the Shogenzo bt ere not limite t ths wor. In Buhs sutas an

cmmentaries, a treenous variety f wrs are se t exresst niversa Self. f we take the ost comone wors se

in dism, we ve al these whih foo: Tathaa, DaraNatre, Dharmakaa, Dharmdhaa, Budda Nare, Taagatagaba, Mn, onl Mn, Oe Min, advaa nondu,Schnes, rana, Mie Wa

yu rn crss any these wors we reing dhs

bos, y s ree tat tey are al ieent naes othe reaity e hc y atal we t in zazen Yl reae tt sras re rey cnnecte i yr w



Te Sel o the Zen Man I 63

zaen nd tt ty r mn to guid nd tc you bou you own . A ny r, t Buist rliion throughout sistory s usd rt numbr of ord, nd s m vrousxplnns un ry f xprssios I s vn prouc

l dr sors of ss t t bss for s s to v t Sf is ivn ou t c prds hngs d toprt cul ts r nd o

For xmp, itn Bus, tr t tcings of tPur L Sct According to s tcngs, in orld o tmmsurl ps, tr s m cld Drmkr-biksund vig m Grt Vo, prctcd ur Loksvj

Hs vo s on t dn compting s trnng ndttng Buood, woul rt gr Pur BudLnd Furtror, f tr r ny sntit gs o sdfrom otom of hr rs o t is Pur Ln, ouldsv t l iout xcpn, nd tk tm no PurL Drkrbks cy dd omp s nng n

cm Ab Bud tn crtd mgncn u

d Lnd lld Pu Ln rs just s od Tror,yon o s otly susnd by ts corrup wor ndvoks t nm o Amib l b sv Anon w livs n mitb's vow n ply prys fr s ur Lndil tt Nrn b n to Pur nd Ts s ttcn f t Pu n Sct ccordng o r SuvtVyu tr

Tis tcing of t Pu Lnd Sct loos vr y cmpltly drnt tn t Zn Sct r on rs stori iis on n prcti But v tis Ami Budd t Pur n St tcs out is notr nm or Unvrsl Sl t's just tt 's n md no t nm of BuddOf cours, Amb sn' nm of prson o ctullyistd storcly n Ssr, m Amt or miyus

mns nit Lgt or Etl Lf or wors, tis is tlf i prvds rtng

f ok it dpt of ts u ts y



64 I THE RALIY OF ZEN

turn ot lke ths. We are usully complel lost the toghtsof or sl, indvdualstc, dstnct seles but n ters of bsc, fe whch prvds evrtng, we ae aled saved thvow of Amtaha Buddh. e eleve n ths vo nd re cler

and pe Amtabha Buddh. e express our admto forths clarty and prt n Amth b devotng orselvs to theNenbts cnt. Ths atttud exactl the same as the tttudeof dong zazen.

In the Dajokshnron-gk, a famos commtr on heAakeg of Fath the Buddha's vow s dscrbe as folows:"The true d of the sentent beng trns aron an awakens

the sentent beng hmself. In ther wods, ts tue md s teBddha's ow tself.

e are alread ng out e lfe hch perdes al tgse are awakened and ped long b t Bdds expressests fc b sang tat the Bddha sves snent bengs b meansof ows. Thereore o shold nerstnd that een talabo te ow of Amtabh, I m not talkg at some other

person or thng ale Ambh Amtabh s not otsde o heSelf.

Here t s clear that n dhsm hle we mgt do zaze orthe Nenbsu chnt, t s basc the ver sme ttde owardsfe. The Bdst regon teces s out ths ttud towrdslfe.

In othr ords hs smll ' s mrced b the versal and

etenal mtabha Bda. Ths as notng to do wth and s beond the thougts of ths sall I.' It doesn't mtter f I cnthnk t s true or not, o wethe I belee t or not. n act I amsaved and embrced b the nversal nd nte mtbha Buddh am ery thnkf for ths. "mu Ad Bts. henwe s ts wth o mouth, t s the enbts whch expesseso dee sense of gatde. en we efo ths wth o

hoe d s zazen whc s Soo no s o azen w sto blee an st. In othe wos en peoe cat te ets a a o an we



Te Sel o the Zen Ma I 65

zazen, we are preformng the Nenbuts it our oe body.In te aove sense, or zzen must aas be to jst sit, beiev-

ing that te Se makes the Sef nto te Se Le makes Le toLe, the Budda makes the Budd to te Buddha ts ever

tht e are rada engteed d ecome ddas b measof zazen As ong s e re tan about ts distnct 1,' e wlawas e tak bout an ordinr an, bt regardess of ttzazen te Buda Terefore te te posture of te Budha t ts bo of an orinar a and thro ousees ntote udds posture n te Shodoka t spok of ike ths;"One eap d e immedate enter te o t Tatagta

Doe Ze ent to China 223 nd after sg arouspaces, chose Ju Cng s s teacer he records o teteacg e reeived ro J C r caed te Hokyoki. foong is from the okyo;

"J ng addressed te mos 'Practicing Zen s roppgmin and bod Witot emog the burnng of cese,services rtas, or te hantg o sutras ad the Nenbutsu

or repentin, st do sika taz (zazen)Dogn sked 'Wht do ou ea dro md abod?Ju ng anwered, 'Dropp d and bod is zze!

n ter words to gve orsef u ncondtiona to zzand to be verome b zazen is dropping mnd and bod I ouas at dropi mnd a o s, t s to rea o zaze

Ten, ts not a ater of radua ropng our ds bodies b means of zazen Zaze tse s te reat of dromnd an od Sttg, ratic, uttng our t zaze droppg mnd and bod n oter wors, sator s to reazetat atie is ator h is ear i the reious passage isattitde is aed te actt of e reit of fe or the dntof actiit nd te reat o e



66 THE REALITY OF ZAZEN

3· Waking up nd Livi

Above w determned our atttde when we do zzen, ut also

tis dtrmes te atttude a prson prctcng zazen tkes towards s wol lf d h vrya actvt. Tt's ghtBuddh n a word s th tachng of th Buddha (awaknedbg) nd t s wht tr tach ot ng aw lvg b zazn Jt I v made cr for sall w sgt of te lf whc prvads al th case f the thogto our smll self nd s a rslt w compltly clos or

and b beg carred awa b th togt o te sal fut a prson wo ws up to t Uvr Sf lettng go of s thought n azen ors d s ot th nvesl Sf drng hs wol lftm n ech d actt Th tb th atttud of wkn up d lvng wch person who oszaz ts towrd hs who and dl actvts

Bt ho\ c w dscrbe coct t t mans to wk up

to th Uvrsa Slf nd lv nd work as th nvrsl Sf?In th EiheShingi, Doen Zj tht h discps i grtdtl ot ths concrte wa to work Th boo s cordo dpnsble b th dcpes o Doen tat te ad to tit th the whrvr te wnt Aso whn th were lvg a onaster te alws workd thoug ther dal ctvt rdg and eckng t ths book I trul eev tt ts

s an uncomparbl gret egous book wch gve concrtgudance about puttng zazn to practce wth or dal v

Howver I tnk t s regrttbl tt ts ook s estlko ol Zn pret o folow ogn' tec nds ot wl-kown b th gnral publc I wat t ntroc thepublc to evn a lttle of the contemporar mang of th ooad I ave alead ntrduce one part of t Ts trodcto

n te o f m book The Cookbook of Le-eachis theTezokyoku and te soon to e published he Actv Lppreca te C. I ope o te a to ome en te



Te Sel of the Zen Man 67

general public understands and pactces zazen so deeply hat itis not siml meditaion or a clea md, u somethi whicfuncions as a real living practice n dal e and a vital attitudetoards le n general

B dong zazen person shold deteine s tude o-ards s whole e and ork ou te practice o hs d e.Ths book deas t e realt o aen and stops at onl explang ow to do and understand aen but n te next epages I ill jut touch on the basc sp o he Eihei-Shingi talking about the three nds Bg Mid Parental Mnd andJou Md These thee inds are dscussed n he Tezokokt.

As sa beore e come to expeence the ea o e tse b ettin go o ou thought durg en and hs real o ei the Unveral Sel Ts versa Se whc zazen akes sp to be the attitude hc cod be descibed lke sWe onl ve out the e o the Sel which etends as a as ecn see Here there are no other peope o hings hereore nomatter at apens e lie ou e e o the Se hch is

onl the Selhen ou rst hear ts it ma seem to be qute ipossibe

During zen ou stop a the counication nd associatwith other people our wor ec Because 's just ou sttingalone abe ou can becoe the Se whch s on the Sebut ist it copleel ipossbe o be he Sel ch is onthe Sel drng our dai e wen oe people and he old

ae certn beore o?But ths snt at l a matte o becomng he Se whc s o

he Sel by eans o oe seca devce hereb ou erase athe other eope who are eore ou We are not the Sel hchs on e Sel on hen e are dong zazen Rather the reaito le s at a l times e a ng ou e Sel wc is onlthe Sel st the se as e we are dong zazen

What mean s that e assue hat e are all livng togethern one coon wld and ta we mee oher peoe n tson old But ts s no a a u en o ook at



68 THE REALI OF ZAZEN

fom the viewpont o te reality o the rw le-experience cyou lea about throug zae and by letti o o your tts.Fo eample, when yo nd I ook at a u we sualy assmetat we are loon at te e sae bu tis in't so i terms

o the true raw e-exerence. am looi ro my ale nwt my powe o son an ou are looi om yor anleand wih you poe vin We absolutely cnnot echaneour raw lie exeences nor ae e abe o nw ac tes'epeiene.

Seen is not te only t e ts; it i als rue o eeyeeriene we sense and peceive suc as hearn smelli tas

in nd tou. Te world n c we live n experenceraw le anot be comon to bot o us. ie i a orl wc is ony e ad you le n a od c is oy yors. Wen oes to or tohts t's neeess to sa tat eeyone asopletely deret uts js as everyoe' ce is deent.It may see tat eole w beee n he same losop orsm use e sme eneral caby ad oow the same mal

ize way o t bt een in ts cae tere s no doubthat heir ides tes o raw realty ae reseely deren.Jut because o tat tey sometimes oenly dsaee and ntealsord arises. So these peoe too are lin ot e. tisween't lie ths e eople temsees wod be nothi btleless stanardize manequins Anyway you ssme that alo manin is lvi n te ame wold and as te same deas

this s a bi mstae Een wen it sees tt we ae commuat b usn te same ords ti s commnaon only in aeealzed nd absacte sese. We must onclue at in ers a e-eeece eeye es a dee wd andle t s own d te el w s onl te e.

Frthermoe e ten say n e " know ou vey well.But hrdy means that now everyn abut you t oy

means th I ow te aspet o u wh usually ppear beoree. or e ou ae noth bu the you' whi i within yown Se



The Sel of the Zn Man I 69

Therefore, when we talk about rw ife-experience i whchw let go of our thoghts this is not limited only to the timeswhen we are doig zazen bt it is the same even in or daily lives.Living ou the Sel which is ony the Self at all ies is not soe

special thg Its a most comonplace nd basic ac. We havebecoe too sed o ivi ad taking with othe people who,o no reason at all, we ceae by o ow hohts We havelos sight of the trth i ers o raw lie-experiece.

he most cocete and easly undesadble eale o hisis the wa peole in societ hink abot one Moey s novale except hat which is omed b the promises peole mae

their heads bt most peope thnk of oe, which is seffor radin wih othes as he el hi Conversel, he lsesight o the eaiy o the Sel

Hoev, i hoh o ae we ae a e loo a sad e e to vi o he eali o raw lie, e it ill eclea o e a wheve hes hee is ohi osie liv e Se which is oly he Sel I he Tezokyokun,

is is cad Bi i (*•') the id which hows o ethhs he sal sel a oes ot disciie t is cea a l lds eople aais and hs ae aeai beoee as he ee cicumsaces he scee o lie the coeof Sel. his is eacl the sae as whe i e al hethohs hich coe ad o ae he sce o ae he vesae i can be said abot tie Usal we i ie as

soehi wch is owng o the pas, hh the eset,and towas the futue, and we asse tha we lie iside ie.Bt i ou ink abot it in tes of the aw leeeice, yowil reale tht his is o a all so. he as has aeady oe b es eis, a te fe hast come so i doesteis eihe. What eiss is js this oe oe o the peset.Both past ad fre ae nohi bt the houhs wch oat

ito or id within this moeay peset. Yo iht wato sa tha ths isnt tre becase old bildis and boos are fact riht here ut these bldins ad books ae exsg in the




present and thinking tha ty ar ol i noting but the presentthht n m head. In thr wrd, my head wic exits righnw gves the attrte of 'old to the uildngs and ok wcexst rght nw Therefre i term f raw fe-exerinc ielf

we ae alway living out the resen whc i nly presen, then whc is on nw.

S what in the wrld des it mea o nd work a heUnversal Self? This is nw clear It is iing and wrking n enw whc is n nw and as the Self whic is nl the Self nmatter what happen. Th means that wateve apen w vet nd wrk thrugh wha we are nw face it our own

lf. In ts ttitde wards lfe there n ast futre r othepesn efre te ee f te Self Tere i nl lving ou therealt f r fe.



e Se the Zen Man I 71

4· T Dircio of Uivrsal

The reality of le whc we wake up o hrough zazen is te now

which is only now, the Sel hc s only te Sel. It is takng teattitude toards le haee appes wat you are nowacng s your li.

Wha a que calm lfe s spread ou beore us! No mater twe're hnking about we are almost always comparing and d-crating his and tat We are always calcling hv make thngs een a lile bit beter. Thereore we lie bng r

l and alays nerousl wathing ou or sometg. T s s ol ral hat ong as there is somehg beter wll be sohg wore. So e are alwys srrod g ta sometng d ll happen. I otr wor s logas we le b dtgsg beteen te better way a oreway e ca neer abslte ce o mnd s ht ht-eer hae s l rg. Ths s j lke he ack o ce o mn

a le o lways prerng to pas exams.But he we e go o or tos ch dstng eer

rom worse and see hngs ms o te Unersl Sel e ha dren ade oars l. We te he de that whteer hapes we re lg o he Sel ch only e Sel.Here a r peacel lfe nolds sel.

n Bddhsm the exressons Paradise and Hll are ued; n

Chrstny eaen and Hell; and n ou daly lie appinessand unhappness or ornae crcumsances and unorunae crusance. Te e assume as its perect naral ataradise eae ie nd ounae circmscs aeood ad ell n d nfortunae rcmsesare ad. Ts nd o dsrmton nd don is notn bute stncons we mke n our eads and s toall remoed rom

he rely o le. u st because o these dsncon we rsea camor abou wanng o go e beer wa an rng not goe worse a. A long s ts s so we e comlee o



7Z I THE RALIT OF AE

absolute peace of mnd. Fr exampe, if we f to unouncicumtaces or He we rn ound tinking it's unbeaband ty to et to Paae or hpis In ce te devis*i He etertai temsees and pa wit us jus ie a cat pas

wit a mouse. T oe we tr to run awa te more te deas wit us becomin ore an more icious.

But te impotant t ee in tems of te trut o t Se s never to tr to sta awa fom te wore wa (e, unappi-nes bad circustances) and turn to te bettr w (Heenappies, ood circumstance) b dscrating wit our eadsRate, te iportat ti is to tae te atitude of in

stait rou t tns wic a te reit o ife we aenow eeti.

In ote ods, fa into He, He itsef fe at tatime an I w e it trou e f I o t aadie aradise itef is e and I w v stat trou PaeTs is te ttitude

Howeve, we w tae te tiude towad fe tat te Sef

ve out te eit of te fe of te Sef, it den't mea ttPaade e, ppine, and uapness ce to exit It beome cear tat a tes ae on te scene of m e Ands of scener deeps in te fe of te Sef. oweer teabsoute reat te absoute fact is n tat ter apente Se ies out te Sef wic is on te e.

But in t cae of Univesa Sef, or te Sef wic s

on te Sef, sce wateve appens is ne a't w eft c pete irectioness? No, ts isn't at a so Wen ta abou Se wic is n te Sef tis Sef in't cmpete empo scene. s I just said te Sef a e et f e unfods teicess of meanin f fe, te scener f te Se te ciumtances of te pesen Te now wc s o now in' asuraced. Bot pas ad fure exst as te scene o te resent

* In the Buddst He, there are tebl devis under the com-mand of he Kng of the Dead, Ea, ad these dels havearous ways of tong the peope who a to t.



Te Sel of the Zen Man 73

Usually peole don't take this to be e scenery wic n-folded t the Self. Rater, toug tougt they anayze tand set up oter eole and ting efore temelves Te pathemelves iti the ow of tme from a to futue Then

tey ae bud by ter reatoss th others, boud by teabts of e past, n bod by ter expectatons for e ftueBeig totay ed u lie ths, ey are caed away b ononsof her small egos, nd ed u ouderg depaon

But, wen man sees everytng as te circumstances andsceney of te present, ow sould e fco a te UnvaSef wt tis moment? Throug these circumtance in te

lf of te Slf, a man can create fe and vorou acviy ymag te past lve a s on rc expeence an eponto deon toar te fuure

As lon a a man akes up' and ve as e Univra Sel ala wor n econ e e nivral av Evin we confron i or ife cae of i e aim s to aal tin e wo oe, aa, ec, ve a nval

fe wit t a at the Sef takng care o le o teSe In t Tezokyoku, ti is caled te Pana Min (�·L),te mind f a aren looi ate c I lv n o life and t Univeral ve wn my own lf T i cayou ad I nd te nva a vin ot te lfe wc aeverytng

n te in Japan al te a wer a e but ny

whn sp comes many vare of i owe bloom n eel n s ca a of tee wild owes ae blooi fote e of srng. oong at t om te oote ot of ew becaue th le of g coe, e violet bloo a violet, tedanlo as a daneio, and e ltus as a lotu

n te se way, te owe of my fe blossoms wen I orto mae te owe of al te orld, eoe an tns w I

now face blosom an wn e owe of my ife bloom heower of Unveral le blooms ewie, te owe of youfe oos wn o wo to mae te owr of all t wo,



74 I THE RALI OF ZAZEN

people, and things whch you now face blossom and this is whehe ower of Universal life bossoms.

O te other hand there i the attitue c sties Uniral

fe People ee themelves as simply oe indiidual in a world

whch is only a pace to compete for exstene They think thatth law of the urvival of the tet is the truth, ompar ad raethemles against one aother, and in heir cmpettion try okick eah other down the ladder Thre are wnnrs and loers,but the winners degenerate in their own extraagance and thelers go from frutratio to neuro. They ed up without evebeing able to make their own ower blossom. The ower of

Uversal lfe ca never bloom here.I have ben makig y explanation by usi the expresion

'te ower f e blooms, bu, jut a a reminder, th not atall a matter of having the goal of aking a oer bom andthen raz that goal. For te S, a goal another prn,omething outide the Self, ad whn you wor toard a goaloutd yourlf you cease to be the Sf which is only the Self.

We ae alway the Self which is only the Sef, and ths Slf i thee whch prvades al thing. Although the maestation of thisUvrsal force is the dirio f l itf, it is never activitydrctd towards a goal. In thr ord, a dnated goal doenot exist for Uniersal ife. The nly the rectn of the

antton of the lfe force.Ths applies to zazen ad practiing Buddhis too. If w try

to achive soe goal by ea o zazen and pratice, even if thegoa is saori, then we have bcome completely separated romtrue zazn and practice. Th not the way. Beause there is hele o te Univeral Self, e jt pt and manit the l of t Unveral Self. The drectn f t prat is ot a gal; itis th l force itself. It is he very rtion of l. In thi sene,th atttude of our faith and pratce, when it is ruy inpired, is

never to practice with respect o some oa. It should only bethe attitude of the pure anifation of the e force Pleaeconsider hs carefuly.



Te Sel o the Zen Man I 75

The realty of ths mastation of he life force changes mo-men by moment. Theefore, the Se mus work in the pcewhich i confronts a his very momen and, must ok in tection o he manstation o the life which pevads l thng

Hee we come o nd he rue vlu of lie which is o live ouhe Sf wch is ony he Sel, no mer wha appens In theTenzokyo kokun, hs i caled the Joyful Mind (§) e mindhich live in he ue vaue of lie

To concde wh I have said up unil now i wold be mosappropiate to quoe the fooig wods of Dogen Zeji

"A e Buddhas have copleted thir prctice and atained

he Wy They hve attaid Buddhahood How ae we oundernd he uity of oselvs and he Buddhas? Fis wemust ndersad te pctc o he Bddhas The pcticeof e Buddhs is carid on wih the whoe wod and togth wih l stint gs it is not Unives it s nohe pctic of the Budds heeore rom he time west aspie to th Way ntl we attan Buddhahood both

practic d atnmen o Buddhahood must be one whhe wole od and a sntien bengs

Shobogenzo: Yubutsu Youtsu



Supplnmt: R e pli e s to a FewQcios

Before, lked about actual zazen, but now I wl add a shortsupplement by takng up a few questions which mot oftenreceve.

Qustin I. You have explaned n detai atay how to do zazen, but thnk that t's very diult t sit zzen wthut for-gettng al of these thngs. Wat abt t?Rp!: That's asurd. As I have rtedy ad zazn s tesmple at o ray ttng and amng at the zazen osure withyour esh and bones. Here's anther ut of Dn Zns:

"Is the ay attaned thrugh the nd r truh the yhe teahng schos say tat ne dy d nd r ta, it s attaned y t vr th it rtn tht the ay att y th dy In Zen tay is attaed th th y If y ntate Buhs wth te in an u t e a tttan the ay n ten t al n i tuan

ife ou ttain th Way t f yrthughts nd ive u ntt nt r-tandng hse tri n harng suns ahvd t thrgh t d rre f ou ast ade coplete the thuhts an ont of thend and just do zaze u attain t an iiy ith theay. The attanment f th is truy d wth

te bdy For ths reas I rge u t ut d zaznShobo g enzo: Zmoki

hen say tt you am at rret z t it yrsh an n t's smly a rttt "e ttn t wth our des.

have made a ngth exnatin f ze ut it i ert,sng words ny temorarl t let y reaz hat ivng out

th Sel whh s the realit f fe' sn't ttr rs r



lm a Fw I 77

inteect After you rst suciety uderstad what zaze sntellectuly, te importnt tg s o raly practce ad a atte postur of zze ith our esh ad bones wout ayrgar to rs d itelec.

Question 2. Is' the asprtion o pracc ad do zaze a desr?Rep(: There no obt t say w peopl rs dcdeto practice n o en te k tt the l somehoiprove thelves s long s ts s so, t s a dere I cal adesre becas es pople trg to te ftre ad ousdemselves, epct te gol of improving temselves nt

to become t of se Hover ts esir is o fel thvlue of lf te serc for a goa (object) ad so t are completel de-trcked from te mafesaon of he rw lfe of tSelf Dge Zni sys t folowg i t Shbgz GKa; "Wen mn rst eeks te hra is fr ay roits enviro. Bt r mproveent of he Self sn't to pt tis 'I ad cse after goas in t fuur, or outsi rle

t t s to live he reliy of te fe of the Self her an o\en or attde s ts cnge s s o loger esre This isjst te afestato of yor ow lfe thot trng toardgols ouse yourself

T, t i the orl o ou c hs poer Yo o'tc t sre; t's te lif force. e he lvg bodies of lantsor aals re nured, hey hea turall Gr b te roside

ch is g crse b rock pes out fro he se of herck ad cotines to gr Do you suppose ta t por ohea a the power to trnscen ostaces s esr? No a aTs s th lf force Th power th wc e do zaze apractice s te same tot vng a gos or expcttos,s por mnfests ad ctas he relty of he fe of heel

Quesion J. u sad ha ecaus ar o ke oks s atr tha houhs c to ou ds he e s zaz ut




it seems that when I st zazen an unusual aount of dluoa fantasies ars. at should do?Rp!: It's not that an excessve amout of elson an fantayares becau we do azen. Usually we le suoune y even

moe deuo an fantasy, but we are so stee in it that webecoe nub to these elusons and fantass. Thefo weexis without eve kowing that elusos and fata arearng. Conersely because we become st urng ae wecleary see i relef ou wn coton of ng led wth dlusonan fatasy. t only ems that we hae moe delsion ad fatasytha usual.

Hower a I hae reatly mntoe aen s never anattemt to extngush the dlusons ad ntaes. Because evenhe arsal o eluson an fantasy i our lfe forc there is noreaon o thnk that we shoul extinguh it An yet needlsso say to be carr away by the state of eluson an fatasy isto njure fe itsl Because durng zaze w let go of hesehoughts deluson an fantasy become sometng which exists

an yet fades away. Therefor zae trascns ignorance ansator an goes beyon the sags ad the ordnay man

Question 4· Is zazen a religon?Rp: ccordng to how ou ee rlgon aen mght be arelio or mght not be. n many caes the wor religon s use

in th sense of a sect or ceed. Zaen is n sese a sect or cree

no should t be.Continuously fom the rte religion of ancen mes

relgon s concerne wth an's relatonsh o an authortyaboe hm Peole ar ut ud a suggestve sell by the wordof tht authort that s th words f God ne too mdu and reesentatv of God who av recd theeeatns n call the abolu submsso to ths authot

eon.' Zen s no a relgon t sense etr.Zen Buhs oes not recogne any autrt outse o

he Sel. Ths s traition ase own snce te time o Shaka-



Spplm: Rpl a Fw I 79

muni Shakamuni imsel, as s nal teaching said the foowingto his discipe. "Pay homae to the Self Pay homae to theDharm o ot a homa to n object Also, jt befoeham's det, nana, te ony attendant with him, wanted

to cl together the est of s many isciples, but he id notpemit it He said, "I do not own the people He just ved sown lfe ad always efused o become an obect of the fith o many dsciples and wosippes Ths was hs basic attitde owads fe Thee ae vey moving passaes about ths n theDirghagama Sutra and the Yuk y . I won quote them hee, utI highly ecommend these sutas to those of you who might be

nteeste in studyin te bsic attitue of ShakamnZe Buhism has inheited Shaamuns asc attitude o

wards life hch is o just live out the life of he Self heefoe,in Zen Bdhsm, we jt ctualize wthn the Self the motened attitude towads life If region means the teachngs aboutthe most ned atitude towards life, then Buddhsm is cetnlypue elin Bt as Ive alread aid, ths Self is not simpl the

I' as oppoed to othe peopl and ings To live out the ie of he Se' oen't mean the self-intoication of I alone Rathe,ths attitue towards lfe is to discover life whch s pevadinthoughot all thngs within the Self I is to ive aimig at themanifestao of life n ech and every hg we meet and to seeeveythng we meet as an exension of ou own lfe Ths tituetowas l i called compaso A an wh cnt nd compas

son fo otes wthi the Self canot e cll a ma of zazenho has wee to the eity o th fe of the elf

Loo a the followng qutes from e Ble Gos ill eone Whehe theefoe you ea o rin, o watev oudo, o all to the lo of God "Because God love us, we nowlove We epess ou love fo Go y loving othes

hs asc Chstian atttude toads life s also he asc Bud

s ae towads fe

Question J. You sad ha urng aze we mus sit an le go of



So I TH RLITY OF ZAEN

a thoughts, b holdn't we i ho ettn go he deasc are mo mportn or humay ch a cmaio, ove,jstice ad peace?Repl': I you hnk abt tese dea nd grap hem rogh

houht, eay everyng be rared to ometngwch is' ke that. Fr exape, the jstce nd peace o a deor peope ad he je ad peace o a omnst peope arecompetely deren Th becuse hey are ony dea jutcend peace Thereore, hey dagree th each ther and agears o mas sghter nder thei respectvey ferent bannero peace and juce Ony hen e e go a r n dea

ake p' and aaze he reay e, l dagrement dapear nd he nn-d rea e perade hrgh ot everyhg s ony here tha e n mpason v, jsce, ndpee n her ue ene We auize atide ompsson,ove, jtice, and pe ny whe e wake p he reay true e and no by d nd de

Qustion 6. Why m we zazen r mny h A, a tever e h mh m we do?Rp! Zazn en' hve anythng wt he engh ofie heher be ong ho Since oden me has beenad tha "one nh o ng oe c the Budha Wheher

t's one pero zazen, one eshn or many year o e o zazen pre ' a the me in erm o vn t te eay

he e te Se herere, yov ne owever mhzzen you've dn n tere by n ch hg pang by tng ng me d ang be ng hrime Th beaue zazen rascend he en tme or hedicon pasng r ccordn o he len tme.

However, y might ay t bee zazen ranend teent of ime you'll try to get by by ng a tde a posibe,

but ti sel-centere cacuatin in't the attitue of aperson wo oe zazen. Te attiue of a peron wo doe zazenho be sometin lke s. Since zazen oen't ae anyn



Supplement: Rplies o Few Qeo I 8 1

to do with the length of time, 'll o as uch a pobe Sncezazen i ving out the realty of the Sel I'll continute to do ital f. At Ant-j e o a lot of zazen but th isn' becuee wt o e oaul in ont o other or n ode o ai

meit Sice e kno that zazen h otng to do wt te lengthof tie e jut do it

Fteoe becae zazen ha othng to do wt t lengthof tie eople ma tt o doing thity inte o an hou ata tie nd tink that i zaen As a elt they're aaid to iong ho of zaze an can't do t Bt if fom the beging,peop he the de that zaze oethng yo do ch a

oble hey c do it wtho being afraid Fo th eaon itbet to f the hbt o ittng o a long a tie a poibeo th ery beginnng

certin Aerican ad that he had been itting a hou ae for ea t temple befoe he cae to Anaj and at thate wa thnking of wrtng a deaton on zaze Howevehe laughgl a that ate h ae to ta-ji an d day

zzen nd ehn he reazed tha he coldn' et wrie a dsertation nthing on zazen Now in't that st the wa it s

Question 1· I unertand how e mpotant zazen i or lleoe thoghou the wol and I myelf woul re like too ze ut what about people wo can't o zen eceer able to l te leg o ele een if the cn ol them

it' too pnl?Rep!: The ba of zazen the ngle ct o te Sel mang teel nto he l ad to top beig the I' wch exit ol n age and ake eaonh wh othe At preet there ae oo e oege comng to the nt esn st so wllthe ut te Japanee to shame, bt tee re alo an oegnerswo eall can't keep te lg oe or lon hor he

eole oete ut teir kee p whe du th esnte eg ht o ch the cant he it he do t to cnideon o thoe ittg t to the and o



Sz THE REALITY OF ZZEN

create s litte sturbance as posbe In ths se, they're noger mantainng tr zzen posre but a g as they jonhe seshn for ve srah da tey are ot vg te orrfe f wrk a assation \ih oter. The fac is tt at eas

they ave cu f s and re cpete aone in sieneI spite f ths wen put ter knees u n en their

acks, their posture is uh at inevitay kins of thhtswi ccur to them an tey wi tend t tink an contiue heirtughs Eve tough tey tke the troube to the Sef k-ig the Sef it te Sef, they can't o it because of ssociatigwith te esis with their eas herere, hey ke

he eort to corre thei sture intai the orm f aeWe thse pepe reaize y teir w experie that the aensture is the ery best osture for etti go f tughts rthe Se t make the Sef into he Sef, tey make seco eortt mantai this posture I tnk this is kay As ng as theycontnue the ert, at soe point teir es i ecoe accs-toed to sitting an they wi become abe t ee og hurs f

zazen I short, ze is ot soethin yu shoud e force t by noher pers; rather, it shou be one by th manifesttio your ow e frce The irtnt thin is t i by yourw mtivt

Becse nti ow mk hs een ery r i materiames, most pepe e bee chase arn by erig ign hae't ha the margi f tie an srit r racticing a

spiri to tru maifest ife o the Sef i s st reer Hwer, i the tre the er weay ee iicrese they wi wish t truy ree their o ies At thesme time, many more pee wi reae tt teir ow ie issmethig hich shou e ae truy oe nd not st e hife a a witn the st of uxury Zaze sn't sometc is ertie y sekers Rater t wi srea

que s e umer e who actuy en increasesI rm eee h an i smey bece te er ichgies the wr o a



How to do Kinhi

When th be for kihin rigs twice, rst rock to the rigt andle two or thee mes in the siing positon. Then, get u quietlyYou shoud sad in back of your zazen seat and turn 90 o o therigh (A i point in a real temple all the peope wil be in asaight, singe ne) Pu he hub o the left hand in the ieo he palm and mae a st around t Turn this hand downwardsn front of our chest Cover your left and th he pal of yourright han Keep your elbows aay fro your body and ake astraigh line wih your arms Ths is called 'issu

Figure 13

hen, staighten the oture of your body an mae sure youne i aso saght or lie of vision should fal abou twoers in fn o you Now walk quiety staring with your rightfoo Ahough I sa walk, atuay you advance by aking onlyha of a step for evey breath, one unit of exhaing and inhaingDont et your posture al apart Dont ook up and own r tohe eft an right Dont sh your shoulders and ches It su

[8;]



84 I THE REALIY OF ZEN

be as if you are staning in o place. Wihou draggg yourfeet, walk quitly

Figur 1

You soul alays al stright hea a if yu turn astun to te rght. T or "nhin means to go straght the arp of a av. Just as zazen is the a te Bu stsnn s the a t uh als More th aythin e

imotat tn s to tc tis th rrt post, aa an ornatn your ling a bretng

At t nta-j sesshns o ten mnutes of nn aftr

fty nuts of zzen The bll s run onc to snal the e of inn \Vhen the bell s un ou a at your normal pcfollon the peson in frot of you Gong oce aroun theroo yo return to your orn seat t ths pint people maygo to the bathroo f t sh an the next perio of aznbegins The bell to begn zen s rung tre m.

hn you get to your et you face your sea n bo (gassho).

his s a foral greetn to te people sittn to your right anet an snes that you ar goin o o zaen togeter. henurnng to he rht untl yor sea is in bac of ou you agbo to he fr se o the room. Thi s reeti o the peopleacross te roo Turnn o the rih a yo tae your seatn bein aen You houl lo in the sme ay he you p o e. h i t pes yur ritue h you

c or e pice i he ep f e peope hore praici i ouOther th thee re rio ei e zenda



How to do Kinhin 8 5

(zazen ha), walking n the zedo and takng your set. Howver,becaue thn ' bst to ece cocte nstrus when yufrt come to a temple, I wll ot the expatis



How to .ke a Zau

165(6

Iein.)

C

WIDTH

1 em>H

5e m in.) e m5 m

1

1

-

I

:

' '

!' I' ' '

5-;�2

nem

-i)

I

�-

14 e (5 in) for usual ize20 em (7] in) for tal pople

1 e

®16em (6 15 6 in.) for usual size � 22 e m (8% in.) fr tall people � ~

Figur 5Finished

NECESSRY MTERILS:A. Two ound pieces of coth 38 m i diameter.B. One piece of coh 165cm x 6cm fo people of usua size,

or 65cm x 22cm for a peopSTRUTIOS 1. Fis make peas and bas h 65cm x 6cm (o 22cm)

piece accordig o he measuements in u 1.

2. Leave a m agi o ech side fo the mgin.3. Sew i o to each of the ound ieces o clo as i ue 4·

4 ae ou the basing and tun it inside out.5. Stu it wit kapok.

Because the kapok becomes acked down and the zfu becoea fom usae you mus gualy add moe kpo. Eac idi- vidua mus adjus he height o the zafu accoi o his own

osue. I is es hav coth which is no smooh.

[8]



BOK TW f Modern Civilization and Zen



I.f Thz's Moden Age as No Directl

A co few named Haik wanted t earn t id hrs.Th oe, oeve, wa itintiey wae e ier' prl. When e aed b a gr hp in bu treet tee ame t a hat and egn heping hi t m e-be, oing no ign f mg . e anr hp oade te anim it p ith tTh hr rrd ndoo o gao n he tret.h r hk, tuk te mane he hre tr t b h ik' end aened be ai d t e trt.At the ho Hah' ti et h e " ik! hr areo goin?

" d .. e o, came he rep

sk the hore !

Figue 16.

i a i anecote bu I ave epeted i hee ho himiai eween oure an aci.

e uman ace Ecin Ecenc . u

e ecnc whee n earh are u ging



90 MODERN CIVLIZATON ND ZN

"I duno, ask the machnery, comes the repl."Hey, moder peope I You take pleasure i your cutured e,

but were is your ife heaed?"I do' kow. Ask this cltue islf

"Hey mankind! Why are you ming H-bobs and edsiles ?"

dn kow But somehow e seem to have falle int ts pln of hun aitio.

I oher wods, modrn ople re exacy lie por uedd Hacko, friay ebrag tht lopng horWe a grasp iec and hnlgicl pogress, bu ck

te ower to coo i. Accoy eite th destinai nothe dectio in whih to procd is cler. Tis is our peset ge

Speking of iein, n th pas we oud i bn donbefore G Oe god ape f ts atiue i at it gies gre peae t o fe B there is a fect too Sie we cot seGo ih ou s o o h our our oly knowle f hi s wat is preched abou hi It is si tat this

preaig is iie reelain In my opi i is a myh. Thtiue to d recio in bwig do bf god is in ftto b l by myth. Most of the ann wrs wre promed boal a eeatios from thr respectie go; they weewars f oe mth agst anoher

Today, highy deeloped worldwie commuion faciitis place man o these ocald ytcl riios wt or reac.

An ith aio duts clled gods on the mrket, we ar es key t cosie an one o them absoute. So iized countries at ea wars th ame o Go o longer ocur We haelot the so of passi whch jusies a te me of GoEen amg out Chistis, wh bliee hat thei oreate the uese, there wuld be los ne who wo

interpret the Book o Genesis lily F us mern me su

mythical cosmogony has een replace by a sientic conep of creaon. It has beome mpossbl to blie i myhca cosogoy inorn he scient one



This Modern Ag has No Dcton I 91

Now that a scientic ocpt of the od has epla the omyhogi one ad ol eachngs ae no onge accptd asnaivly as befo, t grounds fo f in Go's exstn havbec ve eak. At the sae im the ttitu of statng

usvs foe God has vanshed, an along ih it, ansesto te quesions, "Wha s ahea in the human joun? and"Wh is ost potant n o ves? Th st iotantustion f us toa s h Ecenc! Ee, e sa. As we ais inc and imp ou sni mo ilzationas ius an as hum ctall ht s to o settinpace? Te ma e sme uthinking opl wh ofus sci

entic pogss ith l huan pogss. But to etun to ouanalog, ta's scintic pogss can cope to the nstinct ht f Hachiko's hs n it got sack on thp-it laks diton

Cnnng his point t fllon ods o Anold J.on a appopiat; "Moden viliaton is nhinut as oiginal sin euiped with an inte quantit of

eng n xosiv powe.



2. / The Age of Sthing Rligis is Over.Wha Now?

Since man rst appeared on earth here have ben wo aspects toi delopment. Pogress i technlogy and th ues fo peacof id.

Man has mae a connus rt t creae a cmfortae,pleni ie for hmself; otes aaptng himself to nate,omime co-opraing ih i and someime nqeing it.By s n perevrance he has ived and posped

At he same time man ha been apprehensiv abou he imisof his bilty. Especialy in prmive an the mysry hisnatural surrungs aruse fe n ae. has found thaanger n hunting an good r luk in ng ih nimare cnroled by somethng beyond the eapn and skl of tehuner. nd ain hen ma begn to clivate nd an dnmas e fund that famin culd be frced on hm suc

naral disasrs as haisrs sec mage druhs anoods. He as alays at he erc of natre. Timid creure thahe as hen he chanced t se rlativs and her fl mee, he trebled ith fear at he mystery f dh an he nsecurit of man e

t he patiently fought bck o-perating ith nature andconering t he made steay material proge On he ote

han hen h mateia poress cam to its iit attempng ocnrl natre he pacticed ichcra ad srce; to appeaenare he ngage in itals ad prayers. There ad been n imginably vast spae of time befre n reache the tage of te early Mesopotaman and pta ivaons. Lkeise can e sre tat it a after mch gropg and trugglin opeace of nd that man arive at hat e no call prtive

eigin In this respect his earch f peace of d as essenia



Te Ag of Soothin Relgns is Over. Wha Nw? I 93

to him as was hi suggle for prorss.In modrn ociy h bc wn hs wo pursu has

b os L ilr In acin ims, mn h havor rc o bi dvin hlp i h onsuon

o a rg d hy wr ai o uid I hs soiisi wod no av b onidrd ih l or un Norwas h rligion which isd uh an oa a pariclry vion B i odrn soci, w i a hmn sai ord h opi o a da osrcion projc? Obviousy iwoud cosidrd boh c and inhum; d furh, d b a cr ons T rgion dnd sch a

scri o b hogh of as an soci and imor spr-iion rhr rgion Wha is rqird o bid d sci a ki lbor orc ad h applcion of apropri coloy o han sacric In a wrgions which proo h ur of ds hoh splriua and prrs ar righl considrd arf p Fors w shod b raf o rogrss of scinc i is rs

of a r f Scinc has sovd or us rain probs o hman aiy whh usd o b h main ous of rion and

"Religions, which mut be aled pgan supersisc abundant.

Figr 17.



94 I MODERN CIVLIZATION ND ZEN

consequently most f these "relgin ae now treated a pagasuperstitions. Can't we nd a rlgion which s nt the rains f a achaic wa o tnng, a rlion with eal eang? I sowhee?

Yes t i certain that thee is no longe a plac o te soingeigos hch hp to slv poblem b ac prhen these ame atte ae ue relabl handld b oderncence The true eln w sence s jsid in tsoen a i nt ne cnrnd wit the plms rada

ben oled setcall bt e h pusu peace f mindwi can nee be attaned b sntc mean Do u thi

te peace f mnd s wtn te each f technlogical pogess?nening hi int te acts are er poachfl fr ushua

Let's take an example clo to usele We tae moenizan f ganted Oe f u ahandd cud nt na sngle bard o pst f a tree has ot the pwe t e aingle c can not car n stel gide, et e and wr

n ne houses and ecllnt bilg W n't w hw topn a igle thad o rn cn't mae n bl f clh et ewea ne clths and een fllw te faon f the met eeat wel bt st of culd't imagie harestin a sigle grai ie what An then srud sl w cicalappac ad r sch dern oneienes and i mpet coot

f we cmpae u tatn ith that te cen Epianiizatn u e uld cmpar i luu t of a nsed b t o en hundrds f sae e are ig, wothrogh lisin enerd b the bst pfomr o thecor, and b mode transotatin card t r estiiosa spd e gptian haras coldn' iaine no ar wtn thei planu bees wee Wat as enabed u t

n suh luxu We ust ealze we are eng maeril wealand w-o acmlated oe thousands eas sggle

Nw that e ae u a lie wul ou sa we are ln



The Age of Soothing Religions s Over. What How? I 95

wth no ants or dcontentmets, th coplete peae of id?I a ara not. For the ost part peope of today are dssatsead dsctented So en re aays ghg for better ags,tey ant an even her stadar of lng, and nations are eer

ready to age ar aganst eah other for te sesh nteress Ite futur, en trouh e greate tehnogal adance a ha n atera at, o you thnk te dscontet hcuse natoa strfe and ntrnaona as aso cease? lfyou o, you are beng far too optsstc The gher the stndardof g a man gets, te hgher e ants he ore per anaton s ae to gan, the ore t res to acqre Men are nt-

n or and ore poerfu eapons and heag trd agret od r

Realy, y does ths occur? Our g stadard of g asborn f ssatsfacton and the telectua aty to satsfy tDssatsfaton s the other of nenton nd progress Becasean s dsatse th ha natre oers, he tres to soehoproe te stuaton, and thus progress s ade But no amount

of scentc progress can satsfy uan dsres Man s agaong hs road of progress carryng a bag ful of desres and ssatsfact, and no ater ho any hundreds or thousas of years pass e can expect to see h st cutchng that bag

at e ae conuous setc progress s e; ta tresuts n uan cofort s great; and tat e possess te dssatsfact hc begns ts pocss s certanl a ondeful

thng e roe s that f e e ssased t te present e beco l th te mpatnce o desre nd the ures cotton Because of ts e ae une o d genune peaeof n our lfe

In other ors o tter ho far scence rogresses, t s notgong to e the aser to our ac o ce f nd, nor can ee c b g standar o g f acs a ase for

sprtua ec g ac czaon, h e el c sen ou ays n res oe s comfrtabe as aotel an epe t odern edc ces and eey oer



96 I MODERN CIVILIZATION AND ZEN

possible conveience. But this aloe wl hardy brg us a peacefl lfe.

Cviizton aloping onard like a hrs he e ow

nohing of peace of min is a crazy cvizati Ths moern

civization hich started in Erope an sprea throughut therest of e world may itsef b caled insane The urhr civi zation advances the carer it comes that ths pure maess

As I ave already discussed, he "soothing relons have osteir plc sice te deveopn o odrn vizto, an ecn be rteul for At t sme time it is urgt that nd n ron cneed ih tru pece f md, as the

cintic iviiton deveop. We mus ma a bsic n sierr for e pc o d ra an-tng whc

caot pssily be ored by scienceGoethe says, "Man gets ot he e maches on. Is tht

han's fae? Or n e dscover te roa her marchigaong, e cn hve pece o mnd," r raer, ig peae d, e can march aog



J· / The Se Settled n Its

It is very signcan ha, n emseves dsssed wi hemoden suin, an Wesernes ave d e eyes Eas, prbin io h very essence of ancien ogh. Wins oh re s a rlgn cad Bdhs, wc, i secosey, reveals a vey niq ce.

The eas fr s is becase Bdsm has n God For season was a one ie ened e sas of a eon by Crsian-nenced schrs B i s nonsene o decie wee a cig is a reion o no by e pesence or absece of e

dea o f yo do, y s sa her as een n eonsnce he sieic ve e wod epaced e yoocane Heer, s vew is naenay fase Fo reon s hc eaes s wa s mos poan n fe, an povdesene peace of m. Bdsm, s s sense, s pegn, fr i eaches e re nae of feAs we ave sai Bddm s eion wo a W

is ass or hs eace f mn ? Te fndamena posf Bsm, n cons e "bow w befor Godposre of Cisiany and oher eions, s a of e sef sen in h re and immvabe sf. We re s ossdabo by aros os, b s sod be Re, sod e rm seed n or re sf. From m sakamnBddha ag ha e sef ms se n sef, ry and rs ecg has ben e prncp ie of Bdsm

n S1taipaa, sd o e des scpe, Bdasays, "Live n e wod eyn ny n e sef as a odnand eyn on no ns, be freed om a ns h Dmmda, e sys, "Te fondaion of e sef s ony e sef Ad n Nba-surr, Beeve yosef; beeve in e w;



98 I MODERN CIVLZATON D ZEN

beeve in notng ese" These passaes from eaest sc

tues sow te bsi tttude o te ouner hie.But ith sgh sudein o ts atu ee

ange a vey foois ivilztion beig ete One mistke

an toay's optey seti vizaton boes one of adness. If u ake e dstve fetue of huan nt andeveop it withut seig te tuth o huan e, te esut skey to be onsenic even insane

Moen iviiatio nsney exets itse, ignoing the tuth of uma fe It was in te same way that the Hnyansts, iediatey afte the Bud's eath, withot seeng te truth of ie

eveope a oois tnd he siterpete the Budh's intened meai n te os Sette th s in itse, nd seeknotng outside" to ean tht the se shou be xe on eathThs was beause te thught tht by extngushng the otway dreted deses they oud ive at a quie Nv Cosequety the samdhi (eato), whe th sef setes in ise e to en n sape a ssn a ife devod of ait

oter a tht o aiti o dth It oe wtout sing thee the tut o hu ife ws ost

T icoepton that Bus s nisti an pesssta no oubt e attribute to ths isintepetaton To be sue,

it must b aite that oe not eu ai, whee tesef sette in itsef, an have a negative ten-the tendeny to nu in esps Thi po ust ways e orn n d s

e ricove Buddist i, aen, buie in the ancient EstA pposed to esapis, the Mahayanist eveope a vng

i. S e for th se o sette n te tue nd movabe sf but immovabe" shou ot be intepeted to enout unton" or xe in an native sat" Bece teef ie e is avy; hnee b nthg anests ur fncto an ovae unaab ife snt

itfs is t te aayat reae rm th ounr tive

eoted to t avaon o a bein An t opent



Te Se Settled in Itse 99

of Mayaya Buddism lay in reazing te oanc of te trean immvae self as a manifetaton of ital ife. In brief, hese sete i ie oes no mean t slay ersonal desres, odoes i to discad vitl avt ad become ifess eiher.

O te cory, life in ielf is sily afes c, so teest be acivi. this aii an measrable an blssYo wl e open to s

Since tis discusson has ecom lite too abstrac let'sren agin o king of te concree everyday word. For

nsace igh ask "Rea, wy d w wok at al? Weca gve aiou anses, "To ea, "T acieve bete

"To rei o iios, "T otain y, an o frHowever, ese answers originate n ou phsical bodies, and

in our siu hghs. No o the is he ansr omngout of ife ise

Te i oong i e eld-w on ah does it loo?I bloms soe eause it has bee gen le. "Consir the lesof the ed, ho ey gow; e til not, neie do ey sn

nd et I sy uo yo, tat even olomon in al s gory asnot arae ike oe of thse. (Mathe, 7: 2829) Hee, tor of e impy apeas. In sam ay he vlet bomsas a vioe ad e ose exeses its ife as a rose. The owrsooi o ot fee it prid ta he o ins pie a eau oest they do no ee that e are ncompetitin wih ohe oes Te vioet des deveo an

inerior compex ing, "Te roses ae big and beal,b a l vie like mysef s useess. t doesn't say wth greedan mpaec, " s bcom mr ient It sly manifess its ow life fore wit all its migt

Of couse i a ioe pat canot roce evn a sal vioet, i laks if. u hen h i os blom, t does s fr o pos t's he lif of a volet j o bloom The Ltus Sra says,

All tngs ar t uth by thmseles. he phrs, "A wio is geen a oer is red, is a cmmon Zen saying. I srt, s a mnifestato of t wrl of fe c vlt



100 I MODR CIVLATIO AD ZEN

blooms as a violet and a rose blooms as a rose.The Jodo Sec's Amd-s dcbes Parse by syng,

"Bue thns are blue, red ings ae rd is wt w clParadise. Thi poin demnds our ention Mistakenly

ink it woud be wondef f bue tng were red Do nofen think th a pr sn cn be hppy ony when he be-comes ric?

Of course i is ne ting hen poo ppe come rc Bppess does n inriby come h l, nor unppnwith poverty If y decide tt th rc re pp and he poare uappy, hen wen you ae por, y il suely be unppy.

Hoeve, his ide is mistke. For os think his thee is a me wn n mer o much money tey ae, twill no be vld Wen te te comes fo the o de, y illfll into the uppness.

Ta is no he y l i Is there any distint dividg bewen e ic and te po? 's only me of cpOnly wen yu give up uc crisn ll u b

Hp o nvrby co wih wealth,

Fgue 18.



The Se Settled in Itse 10

settle in your te self a time an place. People ma copaeo wih othes ad ca you eithe ric or poo but that is oyapplying a label wch has ohig to do with the al you. Asyou retu o the rality of you fe, to our ue s and becoe

afest as such that is when "ue tgs ae blue and redhngs ae ed, whch is called Paraise

In other wods wiho beig tossed about b vaiou ideaseturn o ou te lfe Wihout env o sef-dereaton etwithot pde; wihout lzess et withot strife; itho bein idl just e oselwih l yo ig ve ou o te le

jst s it is Hee the go of lfe ppeashe ligh of Bdhis

sns. Wh our e lves e manfested the ht of eiionows Te wold whee th sf sels in iself does ot oth sge fo exise whee the so dvo wk hhas i ce fo ss hee he bossog of oe's onfe s fooe On he o i is he wold whee he est is s i s h oe of oe's te sf boosh foo of hs fesaio of f is his samadhi,

sceed s will aemp o ei fo yohow en as the so of lfe is cental to the mfesio of fe



4· / The Structure of Le-DepndenOrginaton and the Mddle Way

If we want to gt at th Buddis nin li, sa have totak up acings of Dpn Oriii (i) and eMidl Way. Wn spk as a ab f sl s

ing in isl mus as a is f is; r is cld "s in Budism is qui disinc rm a ic rdinarily spaof as ". Ind th niqu Buds i is sic frm ornary ay f nkng n ly in rrd cncpt osl bu als in is undrsn is rld i ich th snds sf. Ts dsnciv i xprsd i cncpt of pndn Oriinain. Fr Buism "s s li as as "lii rld in ic slf dlls r b uds in rms f Dpdn Oriii a Ml Warr crrc uis s zazn ic slf ss islf mus rd bu spakin

r s ccps.Frunal t is in rly scripurs drct rnc to

ts acns c n us rH o truy ss aggrgain f ord dos

n hd o t v f nn-isnc. H o tu ss annaon of rd ds n l t vi f isnc T vi ta r is (ukn) s on

rm: th i at nin iss (muk) is orr. T Tata dcs i trms and pracs l f l Way: css is iss cus i ris. (Paloshi Bu Kyoten S. 12. 15, 22. 90 T 301, 26.

n s on quoaon frm ncn scripur l f t tacngs of Dndnt Oriian ad Mid Wa s

an Moov te s rssd r ry ssne o

[I oz]



Th Structure o Lie I 103

the spri of wat as to devep as Maayana Buddsm. Hw-ever, the lguage of s passage is, I tnk t smple to befuy undestd at rs eadng Terefe le us ry o ge asense o ese ds n terms ou everyday le

No te scripture says o Depeden Orgaton "Becauset exss tat exsts because s rises ta rses Bu haes s mean? mes tat all concrete enttes ccur n accrance varus cndts, d h a bstac enties reeanl bese o ther mutua relatns Acry a

s ben sad ere s ta tere are no depenen ssantaeies ie n ts esg in emselves

That s no subtail ting, depedenyxstig withi ielf.

Fur 19.

Le us e my own beng as an exampe Usuay we nk o e se as an dival ndependen substance as an enurngexstee B f e thnk abu t carefuy ths s by no mensthe case I ave an abum o ptgraps aken o me evey u o ve yes rm infancy o te present Bu when look

a i I am ed wt a uterl srange feein I so clearly se cange his uman being caled "I wo s graduallyadvancng e Bu w e ace and gure cane w



104 I MODERN CIVLZATION A

years I can onl wonder at the l of cton. Withn thisconstat chge ht dues? Th birthmk de m ee, thepculiar sloe o m had-o the maigless facts remainAnd i it is true tht I a onl what edus through tim, then

his bithmar and this odd shaed had are what I tul amConsequtl, I cannot hl but ode whter these picturesre al of the sae I or not

Not ol th extior sct of h bo t hat hih istior a ll i gadull ig gd d tafom;so tht t does ot a i hoohs i lo udgoigchge

Mv nt of m d i cald " sao b il hgig fm if huh ihouth d mui to m e. i t i ui a of i Yt momtail t a gi i th t i thouh of th lf

a as "sl qu lk h m of ca b th t of h d th g is

light l i i oi Thi l fm ih t i m is gll ott aig as x had it i t hi al uhangi fom tht h gith ame "me That which is clld is imla to h me.lthouh both bod nd mid are an ucg o buthe sere wht seems a ostant fom e efe to thm ". hfo the s rea o " ig s a lum o sub

stance: th is onl he clss o this s the c oton of ts stit bing cl "; i i of all thigs Bddm tis uth is eesd th he 'shoomo aeigs are immt'' a ohouga, "l bigs ae nosstantial

Ths ese ct of im (muj) does t mlysml negation mu. n th o of immane our tmo

rr o is like an edd in th o of ir ough th atrs aas ong the edd ike th m of te adle asesu o aous ondos n a or ich aeas onstnt. Tha



The Structre of Lie I 10�

there is ts appreny ed form, bse on vrious condtons sDeendent Orginion. I e cse of e e i is n orgtion dependn on suc ngs s he wx e teperture nthe r; in te cse of te edy te volue nd speed e cur

ret te togry ec. for he condton of its estence.Not nly sc thngs s eddes nd es bu ne ever

ng i the Unverse n be osdered n silr w Fr ele e o le n he ge o ntrl sciee cn es ppreite ht owever solid ting m er t s no rel erenfr te me and the edy-its solity beng erely qestono egree.

Now et us reurn t the proe f he self hich we re herescssg. The noti o mpermnence course pplies lsoto te sel hc reresets prtlr fr onedesee Bdhs teches tt or egst ttet t the se k stl e s the sure gre,ger serng n stre Therere t s o tst ret e toroul reee the se not s sl t

s e estee.Wht t e tk s te sel? Phsl t rges

n te sper egg n s rught to its resent forthro the cmnt o sch tr s temertre osure trtin, n the lke A t ors the entl otentof te sel? Here gn we he not chose this sel ut hvesi reeie le in our er's ob nonciously (or s

Bdsts s n gnornce m) e he recee roour rent ert eredtr eleents o crcter nd e

bee iuence b the te ple nd crcstnes into wce ere bor The thut relzng t we re educte ccorng t the socet n nterlze our eperenes tn teotet o our envronent ths thrgh te obnton o etl tors the sel wreness is re

Tus he sel r ro beng our usul noto "lu serely cobinion o ccets. Ths sel y eoe delde bt e delon lso s nt permnet i too n e ssolved



106 I MODER CIVILIZATON ND Z

Ts is the rety of lfe a relity expressd in Shkmun'sdoctrin o the Twelve-old Ch of Dpnn Orgo(jn eng), sit into whc is s to hv bn the sour o his enlghenmnt.

Lt us for now pu si he problm f lusio n cocnr on h quso he con sl Wl sel as coo exsc rmns mrl cllc sin so r s t posssss sme orm s mmn ggrg t

s not nohn (u). Ths s h surl pssgquot bo: "H who rul ss ggrgto h rlos no ho h v s.

Bu i hs prst slf s n nohg sll we c s i is rmt ; rr it is n trsorm nuleing xtgus rwe Ths s mg srturl ssg " w rl ss hl rlos l o v s

" g cs msl rom s wo rmsxs ogss d rs w o Ml

W s s our o h s h h obg; s gs u s ks O s s kos s s.

ror Ml W usm s sm g "w nr "ln Rr lW consiss in csting s ll sh hrsh cncps s b

n og wu g o y lgo of s l e b.

Bu wht, concrtely s ts W? s wll coe ouin te scssion of zazn hic follows



J·l Zazen

Budd zaen cc te Mdd Wy; a cc c fe dd vd . I d zaze

prce c o d O v i mak fe

y o dd at, d c vd v u tue v T dd . I Buddm cl (Shitsu bho-ll v Buddu; a b a by a

Y ay t, ca ay tat ae alwa v te ful eza f bause we uma uke te f te ed, bea te burde f tut. Adthout a a dua aate: it at e te prdut of fe, det c tk of tg oat que detaed from te ac dualt lead t a cquc.

I t et 'v got t wp A." (Depe ft t te peet eaty te ' fe e y a m d d f mpett t A t .

Im d mk my fre."(tu te mmd c cm te m kw te vaue f t e)

du c u dcd m te mmdac v u m y T cu H uy ee e areat f te d d d v f -xc. He w uy n d d d v xc Bu udetae m uc u d md u d cju u u cmua u u ud d u c v



108 I MODERN CIVILIZATION AD Z

estence, we ae subsequent educed to scheing and haingjuring oueves and othes. And we inevitably deveop compexes and neuoes.

Though te wod of depnden oignaion insbtani

sti it hs a dene ode. Yt ou hought ignoes that oder(i.e. asume e view of non-exsnce) nd pusung i owndee pend if n murd an deucon, a n a ashe pk o i ficon can o cu u.

In e end, en, is ou ouwee be n e vew nce o f nonexisncc eonsble f ding and obucting te d on of ie. T ough

o in e dua of beig and nonbng, Buddim call"eo aachment (gashu). Eo aacmen efe o ou cnino he "ubance' caled "I, whc n ou ance (mumo)we hav unaonab conuc wn e wd o ndeninaon.

Wave we ee, waeve w o we a aa pu abu n o ; and ou u le cu , mand and

un Is no be hus osd au e nse o "ona n comied an n n a an? Adamad ve u u a eible u.

Sang f "oina in, I a a facna caoon in tenwape e day. Aa n w all vm wat a eaen. An v and ed w awoed expeion saing, "Adam, hn hat app ou ae

com out e? was te kind o cton ae een nowadaTs peen age a vaie of pobem bu aide m teethee s e baic pobem caoon: ha apple oman cu vomit up!

We can sa a tue Bud zazn ou wc eguga e appe we hav eaen a a m. Bu u whenwas it we ate hat appe? It i b no man in ome m mi

ca past. A we have said above, we a mly a condiondexence (engi), a coection of such accidena fctos as diempoa d oca envionmen, cuom and eduanal e



Zazen I 109

Figure 20.

perience, alog with age temperture nd huiity, phsiclsrength nd ntrition etc. Yet n our ignornce we hve ttacethe digni abel "se to this ggregtion sig, tis is Ind cingi tenaciousl to ts eg s though it were fdment an necessary eing. Bt outsde the poer of this egotchment where is the ppe? We are ating tht le recisel

here nd now te ignoranc of our egotsmYet to vomit this ppe is b n means n easy mtter. Even if

we understad tha we have mere ttached the be o "seto n accientl ggregato nd tha ou egotism is withutreasn, n moreover that ts ttachen o ego is the sorceo evil, elsio suerig ught thereore to b ivnuen we erstnd ll tis, we cannot thereb vot

the apple For r eg attachment does not occur merely o hesurce onsciusness; it is beyond r conscousness: we reas were eing h pple eep wihin ur subconscious. Indeedit m wel be tht in ur vr esire to throw up the pe heper o that e's ison is wrk. Hence it oes o gooat hr t use ne's hed; or i is recisely this s te hedh is h pre

The ctice zazen dicovered deeoe nd pereced nthe Orie is n unique cutre esigned spcica t issovehs um gnrn g-tchnt. Zzen nns t sel



I 0 I MODERN CVLZATON AD ZEN

to whic is the product of or ignorance, egotitic thogts astey press up from ithin, nd assues a posture whch dos notat ith ego-attachment. W'e might sa that zazen is the postureich here and now ils the sin-burened bod of Adam to the

cross.In regard to te actul osture of zazen, one puts his ttocks on

a zafu (a smal rond cuson stue fu of kapoc to give eevationto the hps), and ten crosses te les, pacng rst the rit footon te left thih nd then te eft foot on the right tih Forthose ho cannot crss both es in this manner t is a rigt to pace te ft fot on the riht t Th the rit hand

is placed n te left foot pam pard and the eft and on theright hand so that the tps of the thumbs meet. The waist ndspne hod be erect, and one should sit as though puhng upon te sk with the bac of the crown of the ea The outh iscosed titl so that no air is held itn, n the tongue presse rm to the roof f the outh The ee re ept opennaurall, with line o vsion falin short ste in front One

hould sit straht, leanin neiter forward nor ac, left norrght

"The Thinkr s te potu of on given ov to deluon.Zazen i h oe of one eing thouht go

Fg 21.



Zazen I III

This posre is just the posite of that o Rodin's "eThinker e Thinker's bac, waist, legs and armeven hisners n t-re al ben. T cl sch a fm Te Thnkersns ie bt aly i is the ostue o one gin over t

esion, pering into an intrnl ell Unke this postre, inzazn the bdy is striht T bood descens from the eadd there is al Ideas ese n te ntins o te brai ardisse Ths when ding zn ne ust sits, letting go of allthugt A tat has been lernd is iven bak to lerng, allthat is mere, back t mmry, all that as been togt isgi back thought T le o it all-tht is th osture o

zzeBt e ugt no to think that in aen no gt ur at

, nd tat the head i s et s long as we live een if wer in zz i s qie rl for thughts to cur Bt teiprtnt ing i to let thes thoughts me go, withutcsig t an itht trying drive hm ay We atugt ocrs, i yo hse it, even oug y are sittig n

zn, i ct yu are usy tning and not realy doing zazenat l S in zazen i s importnt not folow up the toughtstha r Then oun w to driv these toghts fro ourhead? If yo try o do so yo il be a up in inn, "Oith the tghts, drive out te thouts " Rather, in zzen,witut ollong thoughts and witout driving them ou wesimply si i bnes and usles maintaining te corret postur

Simply st straight eavg evryhng o zazen poure ou dze, aain ven ug o kep e an postur

ou re real ust takg a nap; and no doin azen a al Eenas zzen is nt thiking, it is also no noozng he practe ozazen is ust t sit ith a singenss o spirit, keeping it bnesand musle te crret zazen osure

Moreor i is utmos imorane aen no o t o

oursel a l o reec on eslts o your n, nn, a a or "I am no a u ougts a o oneeant e da o aen, and lea o oplte



I 12 I MODERN CVLZATO AND EN

o the track. Zazen has nthng to d with thikin abut rsults:on shuld simply sit tent on mantanng with bnes anduscls t crrect posture.

But you wll perhap feel quite unsatsed with the prspect f

nt beng able t bsrve yurself and see sm results f yourzazn. It is uite natur fr you to fel ts; fr zazen cast asidethat sall slf which sees t be satsed, and rveas the puritf f as lif Th realty f iasurable and ubund lf snot t aisfy your litte dss. Yet nly whe u cast ut alsuch das and lt thm o wl yur lfe nd peae i t purtyf fl lif. Only because f human thught and the delusion

being an nn-bing are ur lives augt up in anxity anddraged int suerng, cnct, pelssnss, and despar Therfr, th psture whh lets g f u idas we discvr tabslute peace f lfe.

et ths pac is not the essatin r etntn f lf; it s tsclusin r escapism n t cntrar the ife f peace s thfree realzatn f life and not at lss f awareness. Rathr

the dependent rnatn s rcted tself a reaty as it is undsturbed by ur deas t s ke a clear mrr hh simplreects al tngs just a they r, wthut clngn t any n tswa zazen s te actua pratce of the mddle ay, detacd fromth viws f estence ad non-xstence.

That ts midde wa s t true way f lif can be sen n inur daily ivs Drivng a car s ne eample If we ar lst in

thuht, f we are tensef, tat , lfe s agtated by ur ideas then t wll terfer wth and mae dangers ur drvng Atte ame tme, t also dangerus t drve whl sleepl r drunkthat is, t drve whn lif is dull and uncla. But wn w arntr agtated nor dull, whn e ar ca, alrt and fully awar,then we can drive safly.

h d f eample fr dail lfe allws s t understand

retely the aze pstur, te posture n hih we realzemst aturaly and urely the pwer f ur lif.



6. f The Rel g ious Le o Zazn

1.

s Rligio

Behind zaen there is the eligion of uddhism; nd bhind uddhsm thre mst b ou own lives. Consqently t uddhistzzn i ot intended as a mens to mntal dscip o physcalhlth T ie tht thr is a md to b tind ad a body tob md elthy is one expsso of th "i o xistn, whih s we hve sid, osits aiet of acumulbl thngs.And the ish to tn this body nd mind s nothing but ou oegosti desire Fo zzn s eligo t is of pmry coc pisely to cst out this go-cntd ay of tnkig ch clgto boy and mind.

Zzen, whih lets go of ll ou humn concps, s th pimafoundtion of o lis; nd s such it tchs ov us, gudes

us nd ges stength to our on lis nd to society. This is hte itur of Bdhism s eligion Theefore n s thate i t the uddist, wht God s to th Chistin. In Pslms46: 10 it is sid, "Be still, nd kno tht I m God, nd zzeertily tulize it gi, t s sd, "The kingdom of Godometh ot ith obsevton: Nith shll thy say, Lo he!o Lo thee! fo, behold, th kingdom of God is thi you

(Le 17: 20-21 (Se lo Matth 12: 28 cts 17: 272,Romns 14: 17 Fist Corintins 2: 9·) In zzen cn se retly th "ingdom of God ithn u. In Mtthe 6 57 ve thi ssg:

5 d hn thou pyet, thou shl not b s the hpotsr: o the love to y stadng in th ynogus andin th cones of he tets tht thy my be sen of mVly I say uto you, the h thi d



I 14 I MODERN CVLZATON AD ZEN

6. But thou, when tho payest, enter to y closet, andwhen thou hat shut the oo, pay to thy Fathe whch is

eet; a e hh eeth i seet shall rewadthee openly

7· But when e pa, ue ot van epetitios, s te heathenso"

Thee is no pue atual expeson of this kd of attitde f pae tha zazen

Oh m athe . (not a , bt a tho wilt" Mattewz: 39·)

God be meul to me a ser" Lke 18: 13)

Ou ather whch at heaven, halowed by hy nae Thingdom coe Th wll be done n earth a t is n heaven"Matthew 9-Io.)

Th pure cotet of paer s all iclded n the zaen fo of pae Yet how ca the zaze practed by us o have fallennto n on that whih appoaches God Hmsef? Ths iposle as we shl see thoug te suppot of the religous vow

and o epentane To t t te oposte way, may say thatt tly elgous zazen, wen t i racticed wit the religsvow and epentane



1 L f Zazn I I I 5

2. The Religious Vow

As we have said, zazn casts aay sre. In ltig go of dsir

we rnoun all human arrogance bfo God. In tis act w say,"s tho it, and for the st tm, "Th orks of Go aremade manfst. (John 9: 3·)

The n wat fom ar th works of Go anfst in zazn?his wll b clar if compae the way of lfe basd on zaznwith tat basd on ot pricipls. Odinaril diid up hewold nto hs and that on th basis of our thought But to gi

u thouh, to b free from touht, s to b prior to toughta hece b befor the sparaton of ths ito this and that.We can say tn tha whn are practicing zazn tre s notye any sparaton betn ow and etrnit, or btn t slf the wold Ths wa o spaing may sound k mr tory; bu for he man of zan ts s n ogcal dduction as such bta irct rsonal xpic ive i zazn.

Furthermor, to say that zazen s prior to t sparaton othng s not to say that zazn w ha o aass. Bcaus zazn lfe is truy anifesing itsel, all tings are her cte,and the se, he and ow is full apparnt Bt wat does tma to sa that n zazen a at once pior to t spaationf tgs, and sill do ot lo sgt of this sf h and ow?It mans hat tis self-re an owis etnit, te worl, all

f.hs s a emarabl tn. or here again we are not spakn

of a logical idntit: zazen actall is his idntit and bcaus tis, in practcin zazen w an co to a imma princf te slf as te Peso (Persona) ich ow ad trn areuted Hec vig t region of azn i a fact of ho t sas te Penid o of ow an etrity is actual to work

in the everda orld That is, to ve wathd or an ud by zzn s o e for freedom from the es wich are awaysrampa wih us, an at e same tme to ac n s a wa



1 r6 I MDERN CIILIZATIN AND ZN

ha now nd eterniy are one.Snce we ake wic precedes divson s e ru, e wl

o conjure up e obes of desire, or oponens and comeiors. So long we ollow s wy we wll no lbor under e

burdens o greed, impience, nd eaous; we ll no ce,decee, wound nd kil one anoer: rer, keein o e rueself, we will res in perfec peae Ye e sme ime we willmake uncesng eor; for we re worig owrd e relizaioof a vial and immede self in wc now nd eerniy areuned

Here is ound our lie s Person, lie in wc w roceed

wle n pece, nd n peace s e roced. Te Ze maseDogen cls is e un o ranng d enlgenmen(shusoichnyo). I s indeed e srucure o e relon o lfe

Dogen sas, "e Budd's ciy s e sme as of eenire ear nd ll senen being i s no n ordne will ins, i s o e Budd's civy. (Shobgenzo, YubusuYobusu) is ecn, wic forms e basis of e everydy

life o e zzen suden is or one dong rue zazen, no mereleorecl; e conrms s an cul experen, and us owork in e world. o c in ccordnce wi e enre ear nd ll senien bens is or e zaze suden once e courseo is wole lie, nd e se ie is direcn ere nd nowis wy o lin is w Buddsm cls e Vo (eiga.

Aloug e spoken bove o zazen s relgon, nd e

ncluded assges r e Bible, sould be poined ou an is l o ling cording o ow, e w o zzen s quieeren ro Crsian reliious lfe. For in Buddsm ere isno noon o sacrice. W e Crisia does i e spir oscrce, e Buddis does on bsis o VO\V. I scrice" nd ou r rs separed nd e "I s ien oer sece o ou. u in uddism ere s no "-ou

dsncon, bu onl on l prior o disio. us e ma s ncounr ewen nd "ou is le bewea moer nd r cld



The Religous L Zazn I I I 7

The moter des not eny herself for the ake of her child:rather, in waching over the child he s carng for her own lfe.he Ltus Stra ays, "The hree world are my possession, the enien being therein are al my cilren. This is he

eenial spirit of Buddhism; and the source o his kind of spir s noin oher han the zazen practice whc precee l dsnction

For he ho si zazen by he ow see in al encounerwheer wh hings, een perons, or societies-nohing buhs own fe Hence h wor h the spirt wih which he akescare of his own e. Therefore ie the moher's eors for he

chil, he oers ony uniring servce askin no condiion adseeking no reurn.

We ret hins ih care, devoe oursevs o our or loethose ncouner an ake concern fr socieynvr for greed or f We jus e ce of our on ife, and n doing sore o le e wer of our e bloo and e gt o he uddh sin on every diren ccasion Ts eang

f uddas acivy n accordanc ih e rh ad aleings and for e one ho ss zan is a once e f everyday avi and e avowed goal of his enire life Thsway of e vow becomes our own through zazn



I 8 I MODERN CIVILIZATION AND ZEN

3. Repentanc

Though i zaen we are pontng toard the Bddha's ctivit,

our o act are b no me te erfect acon of the Buda.To hnk hat we hae aheed perfet acton i smply to cota n of arrogane befoe zazen For th thought after alnohng but ur own huma judgeet ut f e have taethe ow of zazen we ano e but reen or ou faure tobg t to fu frutaton.

Ye f we a 'm orr I ae faled" l the matte be

oer? No; before the abolute th wll not o A pickpocet efoe the gang bo I' or I e t" A solderma efoe the ourt maal I' orr I wan't braeenouh o the ee" Th kd of oog onl basedon ome reate adard arorate to he ao efore theAoue t mennge.

True reeae ot aoog t s to a ful before the

aoue an to et the gh of te Aboute e on one hatoe e o e he lght of the Aboue he I the Kanfu-ge ou G K (Smbhdr Bodhisv Dl ur) When one wihe to repent he hould st zazen nd

To say ''Im sorry, I blew it," before the aolute smeaningle.

Fue 22



Te Religious L of Zazn I 119

medtate on th ue naur of al things." Tat s simpy doingzazn is itsl th ralization o tru rpntanc

We wo it zaz ak a vow in zazn which givs th drcton vs, an a he sa ime n our acts o rpntanc w

re this zazen Ths h l o pntanc and th vowwhe ovr guidd and give rngth b zaz i Buddt' eigious li ithout th vow e ou b no advancmen; witho pentanc on wold ose t wa Th vogives us courage; eentanc cruss ou concit-our rigioulie ms ake hs in o vivid lvng



120 I MODER CIVILIZATION AND E

4· The Bodhisattv-Three Mds

One who nds the direction f h ife in zazen ad at the sm

time ves by repentance in zzen caled a Bosatsu Bohattva).A Boatu s an ornary man ho ha foun the direton f le in the Buddha-ie in zazn Yet, though he i an ordnaran, to the extent that he v by h ow the meang f fe i completey changed Hen he i called "one vng vw (gansh no bosatsu as ditnguhe frm the mn live hkarma (gosshO no bonpu) Therefre we neen't dpecte ourlv

sag, "I am but a common man and hne unqual t hattva Becau we are ordinary mn we pe th al lg erthl bdy; but becaue we the irctn tBu (e zz) an mae ur rt e Cqtl, tt rrv, e who rt zaz trv t Battv I te Tenzo Kykun (Isrcion in Reo Des),Dog Zj f the irt of e Btta's atul l

in term of t r Mind (Sanshin): te Grt Mnd (Disf Tendr (Rshi) ad f Jo Kishi. h tcn rma truly tt lu to wht av b sug

The rt d i the n ih a e hav , d di$crmat I le th, I dn't le that; I t tht, I wat th thout mn thee knd f tnctn, the n the great mnd e ethng a eqully h ow e; fr ever

thing he encutr exit h h on nl expr.es my lfe doe nt et ol ithn t umn b, he puto of t hrt M l cn onl e evr xpe in evry cvty f lvng exri l rvl in eer exere of encoutr erefr Buhim t the lf ttl tlf t t Uv ttle lf nd whih th elf a ll thng one, hic

discrimnate but evey enuntr a h on l, hch,owver t ma falter, e lay to manet t ift ihe Bosatu' grt min



Te Religious L of Zazen I I z

The great md nray fuctios as e mid of tdress.The mi of tdress is tht atude wth whch the paretlks fter h cd wth ce ad atteto to every deta Aswe hae ad above, w zaze maks o dstcos ths is

ot oss of awareess: rater t is costat wareess f tvg prest How are w to express hre ad ow as a eterad iversa way of beg? ths we must pay strict ttetiohat is, i his way of t ma who practcs aze shws

eery eter toughtuess cosiderati, d sympahy,wrkg let he owr of fe oom his s he md of paret teress

I ths d f tedrss tere s ife's true ae-te mdf joy Te yfu d s ot the ctd joy of desire: rathr is the it ethusiam ad sese f o's ow worth which eds the cae gve to evey ecoue It s sd that womarst become a dut ad ows t worth of her fe moherod Siary we rst scover true jo worth ad pasiost ecome dutsw each ecoute bcoes our w fe,

d to b watcd ovr wth cre Great mid, tedess a joy-these t md ar te sur ossso of tBosats wh seeks the Way of the udda

cocude wht we hve sd we ust thk oce aa of

oder cio ad th qsto of huma progress As wesaid at th ery hua prgres is y meas tesme as the adacet of atra scce, or doe t fw the

pth of t ogrss o sctc civzato Rhr, does otas progress rest o the uesto of hw ec ma s to becomea adt? ut ok at th stte of me today They ar cmpeteya the mercy of ther dsres, wrk oy ot of seshss, dohg ut erte ad ur oe othr qute ike a buch f chdre

t es it mea for rset dy ma t becoe a adut

s ha st si, it s otg but hs beo stse wh ees hs chd every ecuter watches over thtcd wt are, ad ds hs o ad asso this activty he



12 MODERN CIVILIZATON D ZEN

the wold becoms a world of Bosatva-aduts, in wch wewatch over, ar or, and work fo ac oter, man w haeome of age, and we can ghl sy tee as ee umn prgress. I suggest tat ths mag of te Bosatsu, who is watched

over ad guided y zazn, who lives by is vw ad repenancen zazen, is a dea essentia fo the cmg age Wat d oti?

approach to zens

Documents