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Home , Blue Cliff Record, Dogen, Five Ranks, John Daido Loori, Koan

WISDOM ACADEMY

Buddhist in Depth, Part 3

JAY GARFIELD

Lessons 5: Dogen and the Formation of Soto

Reading: Sitting with : Essential Writings on the Practice of Zen Introspection “Dogen and Koans,” pages 151-162

EASTERNRELIGION/ itn ihkoans with sitting from the editor of The Art of Just Sitting

“Koans are the greatest of the ancient technologies for transforming the mind. This collection of classic writings on koans will get you started and open up the treasure in your own heart.” John Tarrant, author of Bring Me the Rhinoceros (And Other Zen Koans to Bring You Joy)

“Whether you are interested in the history of Zen, intrigued by the seeming paradoxes and puzzling stories in koan literature, or Sitting with Koans already engaged in koan practice with a qualified teacher, Sitting with Koans is a valuable resource. By combining scholarly essays with historical and modern talks by great koan masters, this collection shines light from many angles, illuminating a rich practice that is too often misunderstood.” Melissa Myozen Blacker, Zen teacher and Co-director of Professional Training, Center for , UMass Medical School

“Sitting with Koans is the essential collection of koan writings that Zen practitioners have been yearning for.” Roshi , of Los Angeles Loori Daido John

“A remarkable collection brilliantly put together by a premier modern interpreter of koans.” , author of The Zen Canon: Understanding Classic Texts

INCLUDES WRITINGS BY Robert Aitken • • Robert Buswell • Roko Francis Dojun Cook • Eihei Dogen • • essential writings Victor Sogen Hori • Jokin • • Chung-fen Ming-pen • Dennis Genpo Merzel • on the practice of zen koan introspection Sokei-an Sasaki • Nyogen Senzaki • Eido Shimano • Philip Yampolsky •

ISBN 0-86171-369-9 $16.95 EDITEDBYJOHNDAIDOLOORI Wisdom Publications • Boston www.wisdompubs.org WISDOM WITHANINTRODUCTIONBYTHOMASYUHOKIRCHNER Dogen and Koans

John Daido Loori

Dogen and the Two Shobogenzos

Relatively unknown during his lifetime in , Eihei Dogen is now considered to be one of the most remarkable religious fig- ures and teachers in the history of Zen, as well as an outstanding philosopher,mystic,and poet.His works have had a tremendous impact, not only in Japan and within the Soto School of Zen Buddhism, but also in the West. Dogen is best known for his monumental work, the Kana or Japan- ese Shobogenzo, a collection of ninety-six essays composed in Japanese between the years 1231 and 1253. Based on Dogen’s profound religious experience and enriched by his philosophical and literary gifts, the Shobogenzo or Treasury of the True Dharma Eye is a unique expression of the Buddhist teachings. Several English translations of and commen- taries on the Shobogenzo are in existence today, and scholars and practi- tioners alike share the ever-increasing body of information on Dogen’s life and work. Not as popular as Dogen’s Kana Shobogenzo is his Mana or Sam- byakusoku Shobogenzo (The Shobogenzo of Three Hundred Koans), a collection of three hundred cases that Dogen collected during his travels in China from 1227 to 1230. This seminal work, which was to influence all of Dogen’s other teachings,remained in obscurity for many centuries. It wasn’t until 1934 that it was rediscovered and made available to the general public by Professor Tokuju Oya, and only recently was its authenticity finally verified. The Mana Shobogenzo, unlike Dogen’s other writings, was written in Chinese. And though these three hundred cases were culled largely from Zen texts of the Song era—The (Hekiganroku),

151 152 Sitting With Koans and The Book of Equanimity (Shoyoroku, also translated as The Book of Serenity)— unlike the koans in these collections, they are not accompa - nied either by a title or commentary, yet Dogen used them frequently as seeds for his other writings, particularly the Kana Shobogenzo and the Eihei Koroku . However, because Dogen was an outspoken critic of koan study, some people insist that he would never have collected or used koans. What seems closer to the truth is that he opposed the superficial treatment of koans, not koan introspection itself. Legend has it that before he left China to return to Japan, the young Dogen stayed up all night and hand- copied The Blue Cliff Record. Dogen’s early teachers, and Myozen, both taught koan introspection. In fact, Dogen received Rinzai transmis - sion in the Oryu line from Myozen before leaving for China, and though that died out in both China and Japan, it is preserved within the Soto school to this day. Dogen’s teachings themselves require a solid understanding of Chi - nese koan literature. As William Bodiford points out in his Soto Zen in Medieval Japan , Dogen used “more than 580 koans” in his writings. In the Kana Shobogenzo alone, Dogen elaborates on fifty-five koans, quot - ing them in their entirety, and he refers to some of them more than two hundred and eighty times. In the Eihei Koroku, ninety-nine koans are quoted, and one hundred and nine are mentioned at least briefly. Clearly, we can no longer assert Dogen was flatly opposed to koans. Dogen knew about the formulaic method of koan study prevalent in both the Soto and some lineages of the where, instead of having to “see into” a koan, practitioners could simply memorize the answers. He also knew of Dahui’s huatou method (literally, “head- word”; see also Buswell’s essay in this volume) of working with koans. This method emphasized seeing into the main point of a koan, but did not delve into its subtler details. In contrast to these approaches, Dogen’s study and understanding of koans had much more breadth and depth. Using a linguistic style unpar - alleled in the history of koan literature, Dogen addressed both the key phrases of each case, as well as the secondary—yet equally important— points nestled in the dialogues. He frequently examined koans from the perspective of the of Dongshan (J.Tozan). And he pointed out Dogen and Koans 153

the questions that should be addressed in each case, challenging practi - tioners to examine them deeply. These three characteristics of Dogen’s approach to koan introspec - tion—his unique use of language, treatment of the Five Ranks of Dong - shan and meticulous study of all aspects of a koan—set Dogen’s writings on koans far apart from the traditional commentaries available in the Zen literature. They make a careful comparative reading of Dogen’s Kana Shobogenzo and his other writings with the Song-Dynasty collections extremely valuable to modern koan practitioners. To fully appreciate Dogen’s treatment of koans, it is critical to differ - entiate between koan study and formal koan introspection in the context of a vital teacher-student relationship. Koan study tends to rely on the intellect. It aims to shed light on the basic Buddhist teachings communi - cated in the koan in a similar way that a teacher will comment on a case in a teisho or formal discourse, clarifying the koan’s key points. In koan introspection, students sit with the koan in , letting go of trying to solve or understand it. They embody it as a whole body-and-mind expe - rience.The teacher then tests the students’ direct insight in dokusan, pri - vate face-to-face interviews. Dokusan demands that one directly and dynamically present one’s own realization. Because of this, it can be said that there is no one answer to a koan. Seeing into a koan requires the embodiment of a certain state of . It is this direct seeing into a koan that the teacher looks for and tests to determine the clarity of the student’s insight. And it is this direct insight that is at the heart of realization. In my own training, my first encounter with Dogen’s singular way of dealing with koans happened within that intimate teacher-student relationship. Maezumi Roshi asked me to work with a set of miscella - neous koans I had already passed through with a previous teacher. I refused. Instead of arguing with me, Maezumi Roshi instructed me to sit . Soon after, I came across Dogen’s “Genjokoan” (“The Way of Everyday Life”) and brought a few questions about it into face- to-face teachings. Maezumi encouraged me to sit with Dogen’s lines in zazen, treating them as koans. With time, reading other chapters of the Kana Shobogenzo, I began to develop a deepening appreciation of the way Dogen presented koans with an unprecedented degree of depth and 154 Sitting With Koans scope. Later still, as my traditional koan training evolved, it became increasingly clear to me that Dogen was a true master of the koan form, an amazing vista of the Buddhadharma through his koan treatment. As a Zen teacher, my chief interests in the two Shobogenzos are Dogen’s unique way of commenting on koans in the Kana Shobogenzo , as well as the choice of koans he collected in the Mana Shobogenzo , espe - cially as they may affect contemporary Western practitioners.

Dogen’s Unique Commentary Style Dogen is a master of language. It is impossible to study his writings and not be moved by the poetry and creativity of his words. He brings to each koan his literary sophistication, an extensive familiarity with Buddhism, and an unparalleled appreciation of the dharma. In his teachings, he always communicates on multiple levels: with discursive language, poetic imagery, and with “intimate words,” mitsugo . Intimate words are a direct pointing to the truth, meant to be grasped in an instant and absorbed intuitively rather than in a linear, sequential way. Dogen uses all of these methods freely to transmit his understanding. His teachings have the“lips and mouth” quality that characterized the style of Chinese masters Zhaozhou (J. Joshu) andYunmen (J. Unmon), teachers who used live, “turning words” to help practitioners see into their own . Another aspect of Dogen’s unique treatment of koans is his use of the Five Ranks of Master Dongshan to illuminate different perspectives available within a koan. The Five Ranks—first delineated by Dongshan and elaborated on by his successor Caoshan (J. Sozan)—are a formula - tion of the coming together of dualities. The first rank is “the relative within the absolute.” This is emptiness: no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind. The second rank is the realization of that emptiness, and is referred to as “the absolute within the relative”—the realm in which the enlightenment experience, or“kensho,” occurs.Yet absolute and rel - ative are still dualistic. The third rank is “coming from within the absolute.” No longer in the abstract, the whole universe becomes your very life itself and, inevitably, compassion arises. Dongshan’s fourth rank is“arriving at mutual integration,” the coming from both absolute Dogen and Koans 155

and relative. At this stage, the absolute and relative are integrated, but they’re still two things. In the fifth rank,“unity attained,” there is no more duality. There is just one thing—neither absolute or relative, up or down, profane or holy, good or bad, male or female. Dogen never explicitly talks about the Five Ranks, except to sum - marily dismiss them, yet he definitely engages them in a way that reflects a singular understanding and appreciation of their method. In “Sansuikyo” (“The Mountains and Rivers ”) for example, he writes:

Since ancient times wise ones and sages have also lived by the water. When they live by the water they catch fish or they catch humans or they catch the Way. These are tradi - tional water styles. Further, they must be catching the self, catching the hook, caught by the hook, and being caught by the Way.

Then, Dogen introduces one of the koans from the Mana Shobo - genzo , Case 90 (“Jiashan Sees the Ferryman”), and comments on it:

In ancient times, when Chuanzi suddenly left Yaoshan and went to live on the river, he got the sage Jiashan of the flower-in-river. Isn’t this catching fish, catching humans, catching water? Isn’t this catching himself? The fact that Jiashan could see Chuanzi is because he is Chuanzi. Chuanzi teaching Jiashan is Chuanzi meeting himself.

This passage is presenting the first two of the Five Ranks. The line, “The fact that Jiashan could see Chuanzi is because he is Chuanzi” is the relative within the absolute (or the absolute containing the relative), the first rank. The line “Chuanzi teaching Jiashan is Chuanzi meeting him - self” is the absolute within the relative, the second rank. Although Dogen had some reservations about the Five Ranks, it was not because he did not find them true. He simply did not want them to become a formula—a mere intellectualization or abstraction. Dogen did not use them in the way they were taught conventionally. He wanted 156 Sitting With Koans them to be realized face-to-face in koan introspection between teacher and student. “Catching the self,”“catching the hook,”“being caught by the hook,” “being caught by the way” are all expressions of the interplay of oppo - sites—specifically about how that tension works within the teacher- student relationship. So, “Chuanzi teaching Jiashan is Chuanzi meeting himself” is “the teacher teaching the student is the teacher meeting him or herself.” Again, in “Katto,” Dogen writes about ’s transmission of the marrow to Huike (J. Eka):

You should be aware of the phrases “You attain me; I attain you; attaining both me and you and attaining both you and me.” In personally viewing the ancestors’ body/mind, if we speak of there being no oneness of internal and external or if we speak of the whole body not being completely penetrated, then we have not yet seen the realm of the ancestors’ present.

For Dogen, the relationship of a teacher and student is katto , a spiri - tual entanglement, which, from his perspective, is a process of using entanglements to transmit entanglements. “Entanglements entwining entanglements is the buddhas and ancestors interpenetrating buddhas and ancestors.” This is an expression of the merging of dualities. This is the relationship between Jiashan and Chuanzi. It is the relationship between Bodhidharma and Huike. And it is the relationship to which Dogen directs himself whenever he expounds the non-dual dharma in the koans he is using. Next we have Dogen’s meticulous treatment of all aspects of a koan. As I mentioned before, commentaries on many of the koans that Dogen deemed important and that were included in his Mana Shobogenzo can be found in the classic Song collections. When we compare the commen - taries of these collections with Dogen’s commentaries in the Kana Shobogenzo, we find that the truth—the dharma—of these koans is con - sistently presented by each commentator, and yet, there is a unique qual - ity to Dogen’s expression of the Zen truth that sets his treatment of koans in a class by itself. Dogen and Koans 157

For example, a brief look at Case 105 of the Mana Shobogenzo , “The Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion,” will help to illustrate Dogen’s depth of understanding and expression. This koan appears in two fasci - cles of the Kana Shobogenzo : in “Daishugyo” and in “Kannon.” The same koan appears as Case 89 in the Blue Cliff Record and as Case 54 in the Book of Serenity :

Yunyan asked Daowu: “How does the of Great Compassion [Kannon] use so many hands and eyes?” Daowu said: “It’s just like a person in the middle of the night reaching back in search of a pillow.” Yunyan said: “I understand.” Daowu said: “How do you understand it?” Yunyan said: “All over the body are hands and eyes.” Daowu said: “What you said is all right, but it’s only eighty percent of it.” Yunyan said: “I’m like this, senior brother. How do you understand it?” Daowu said: “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.”

Taking up only a few of the points in this rich koan, we find the fol - lowing. In the Blue Cliff Record commentary, Yuanwu refers to the 84 ,000 arms of Kannon Bodhisattva as symbolic arms and says, “Great Compassion has this many hands and eyes. Do all of you?” With this question he challenges the reader to consider the statement from the point of of intimacy. When he addresses “reaching back for a pillow in the middle of the night,”heasksthequestion,“[Inthisactivity]tellme,wherearetheeyes?” But,whereasYuanwudealswiththephrase“thenight”onlybriefly,Dogen comments on it extensively, since it is a pivotal point of the koan. Yuanwu also deals with Yunyan’s “all over the body are hands and eyes” and Daowu’s “this is all right, but it is only eighty percent of it” and “throughout the body are hands and eyes.” He asks the question, “But say, is ‘all over the body’ right, or is ‘throughout the body’ right?” Then he himself indirectly answers this with the statement “Although they seem covered with mud, nevertheless they are bright and clean,” 158 Sitting With Koans implying that although Daowu and Yunyan may appear to be having “a conversation in the weeds” (are intellectualizing), in fact they are both expressing clearly the truth of the activity of Great Compassion. Yuanwu then concludes by saying that practitioners who think that Yunyan’s response must have been wrong while Daowu’s was right are caught up in words and phrases and have not yet realized the truth. In the Book of Equanimity , Wansong begins his commentary with a quote: “Li Ao asked Ehu, ‘What does the Great Compassionate One use a thousand hands and eyes for?’ Ehu said, ‘What does the emperor use public officials for?’” This exchange seems to imply that the thousand hands and eyes of Great Compassion are meant to facilitate the bodhi - sattva’s functioning in the world. It is a reasonable and logical conclu - sion, but it entirely misses the truth of this koan. He then quotes a couple of stories that are perhaps intended to illus - trate the principles presented in the koan, but they do not in any way clarify them for the reader. They just introduce more entanglements of words and ideas. He does agree with Yuanwu about the identity of Yun - yan and Daowu’s understanding, refuting the notion that one is clearer than the other. Let us look now at Dogen, who begins his treatment of the koan by extolling the virtues of bothYunyan and Daowu, and immediately estab - lishing their unity with each other. He then presents the identity of Kan - non Bodhisattva and Yunyan, and the uniqueness of Yunyan’s understanding of Kannon. He says: “Kannon is present in Yunyan who has been experiencing it together with Daowu. And not only one or two Kannons, but hundreds of thousands of Kannons are experiencing the same state as Yunyan.” Then, speaking of the 84 ,000 hands and eyes of great compassion, Dogen makes clear that they are not limited to any number. He says, “They are indeed beyond the bounds of countlessness and limitlessness.” The limitlessly abundant hands and eyes are clearly the state of con - sciousness that Yunyan and Daowu are experiencing together. With a unique twist Dogen says, “Yunyan is asking Daowu, ‘The use [of the hands and eyes] does what?’” He is asking the reader to consider how Kannon uses her manifold hands and eyes and to ask,“Does what, moves what, expresses what?” Dogen and Koans 159

Dogen then uses Daowu’s answer, “She is like a person in the night reaching back for a pillow,” to launch into an exhaustive exploration of “in the night.” He asks us to examine the difference between “nighttime as it is supposed in the light of day” and“the nighttime as it is in the night. In sum, we should examine it as that time which is not day or night.” Then he becomes even more specific. He says, “This nighttime is not necessarily only the nighttime of the day and night of human and gods.”The night that Dogen is speaking of is in the realm of the absolute, the non-dual state of consciousness in which body and mind have fallen away. Extending this concept of night into the matter of searching for a pillow he says, “You should understand that the expression used here by Daowu does not concern taking a pillow, pulling a pillow, or pushing a pillow. If you try to deeply understand what Daowu means when he speaksof‘reachingbehindatnightforapillow,’youmustexamineitwith night eyes. Look at it carefully.” The remainder of the koan is subjected to the same kind of close scru- tiny, functioning within various levels of understanding and addressing subtleties that were not presented in the Blue Cliff Record and Book of Equanimity . This koan is only one among the many examples of the unique style and profound insight that Dogen brings to the understand - ing of classical koans.

The Three Hundred Koans and Their Relevance to Modern Zen Practice All we have dealt with so far would be of little more than theoretical interest to us, were it not for the relevance that Dogen’s teachings have for contemporary western practitioners. In addition to Dogen’s style and insight, a critical aspect of his treatment of koans is how the particular cases he selected can assist practitioners to examine important areas of spiritual practice in the twenty-first century. Among these areas are the moral and ethical teachings of Zen, the teacher-student relationship—as illustrated in case 90 quoted above—and social activism. Over the years, in developing my own commentaries of the Mana Shobogenzo koans, I have attempted to present Dogen’s dharma heart as itismanifestedinthisparticulartime,thisplace,andthesecircumstances, 160 Sitting With Koans as well as address issues that were not dealt with in the past for various political, social, or cultural reasons. One example is Case 227 of the Mana Shobogenzo , “Priest Xixian’s, I Am Watching”:

Xixian Faan of Lushan was asked by a government officer, “When I took the city of Jinling with an army troop, I killed countless people. Am I at fault?” Xixian said, “I am watching closely.”

A Japanese master commenting on this koan said:

As Buddhists we take a precept not to destroy life. The gov - ernmentofficerwasworriedsincehispositioninvolvedhim in ordering the killing of many people.That his actions were sinful, of course. If we judge his conduct, he committed many sins, but he was unable to avoid this in carrying out his duty. Master Xixian recognized the difficult circum - stance of the officer’s life, and so he wouldn’t say that his actions were sins. He just said that he was always watching . In reality it is difficult at times to categorize the con - duct of others as good or bad. Reality is very severe. Mas - ter Xixian recognized the officer’s life was in reality very severe so that he himself was just watching the real situa - tion. In reality, situations are usually complex. We must recognize the existence of such a fact. It is sometimes diffi - cult to criticize or to affirm. If we see a snake crawling toward a baby and we are too concerned with following the precepts exactly we may hesitate too long to save the baby. At the moment of the present we must be free even from the precepts to act as the circumstances demand.

My own view is somewhat different. The commentary I added to this case reads:

Priest Xixian’s response, “I am watching closely” is at once fat-headed and misguided. He has missed an opportunity to Dogen and Koans 161

cause an evil that has already arisen to be extinguished, and to cause good that has not arisen to arise. Both he and the general deserve thirty blows of my stick. Governments and rulers are traditionally driven by power, politics, and money, and are usually not inclined toward clear moral commitments. However, for a Zen priest to avoid taking moral responsibility when asked is inexcusable. Enlightenment without morality is not yet enlighten - ment. Morality without enlightenment is not yet morality. Enlightenment and morality are non-dual in the Way. One does not exist without the other. The truth is not beyond good and evil as is commonly believed. It is rather a way of living one’s life with a definite moral commitment that is practiced, realized, and verified within the realm of good and evil itself, yet remains undefiled by them. Setting aside impostor priests and phony followers, you tell me, how do you transform watching into doing, the into the three virtues? More importantly, what is it that you call yourself?

How far are we willing to go to justify our position? Gary Snyder once wrote: “Institutional Buddhism has been conspicuously ready to accept or ignore the inequalities and tyrannies of whatever political sys - tem it found itself under. This can be death to Buddhism because it is death to any meaningful function of compassion.Wisdom without com - passion feels no pain.” Or, “Enlightenment without morality is not yet enlightenment. Morality without enlightenment is not yet morality.” The consequences of not engaging the wisdom of honest, raw prac - tice are that real lives suffer, people die, our fragile and wondrous planet istreatedpoorly.Weneedtochallengeandencourageoneanothertoreal - ize our clarity and compassion. That is our imperative. For me, the comparative use of the two Shobogenzos and Dogen’s other writings, along with the traditional koans in our koan introspec - tion, is a very practical—and crucial—endeavor.While this kind of study has opened up new possibilities in the training of western Zen students 162 Sitting With Koans by addressing their natural philosophical and psychological inclinations, it has not abandoned the heart of the dharma transmitted from Shakya - muni Buddha to the present. We are incredibly fortunate to have access to Master Dogen’s out - standing body of work. We should not waste the opportunity to study it. And, as he himself said often, we must study exhaustively. Because ulti - mately, no matter how many hundreds of koans we pass through, if they do not change the way we relate to the rest of the world, then they are nothing but meaningless intellectual exercises. We must realize these koans, and we must actualize them in everything that we do. That is the only way we will truly transform our lives.