. JUNE/JULY 1968 TEL. (716) 473-9180 VOL. I, NO. 4

TO READ OR NOT TO READ? the printed page. In Zen it is em~ phasized, "Hear the truth, believe it, Philip Kapleau practice it." Not read the truth, but HEAR it, for the truth spoken by one If to realize our innate purity and who has experienced it has a detonating wisdom we need to renounce dualistic power unmatched by the written word, thinking, cease playing with concepts, no matter how eloquent or elegant. At and stop clinging to opjnions and be­ all events, the prohibition is against liefs--as the Zen roasters endlessly unrestricted reading before enlighten­ remind us--it follows that indiscri­ minate reading, a potent incubator of ment, not after. random thoughts, must be sharply cur­ To function adequately in society tailed. ·In the Japanese Zen monas­ we all need a certain amount of formal teries novices are encouraged to read education and this of course entails only the life stories of the masters reading and study. Such study and and patriarchs in order to inspire learning can be accomplished much more . them in their own practice. Roshi effectively by a student who has through Yasutani admonishes his students that zazen developed the capacity to restrain the less reading they do before en­ random thoughts and concentrate his lightenment the better, especially mind than by one who has not. That so books ABOUT Zen or philosophy, since many college students and professors this type of reading more than any are now regularly practicing zazen in other fills the ,nind with sticky con­ Zen centers throughout the United States cepts and notions. Roshi Harada once only proves the value to them of zazen stated that the Sixth Patriarch 1 s in their studies and daily lives. unique experience of enlightenment simply through hearing the Diamond There are. other reasons why Zen sutra recited could be attributed, in teachers frown on intemperate reading. part at least, to his illiteracy, i.e., The unrestrained, almost compulsive to the fact that his mind was undefiled reading of newspapers, magazines, pop­ by the idle speculations which exten­ ular novels--almost anything one can sive reading and study foster. Needless lay one's hands on--like excessive to say, Roshi Harada, himself a former drug-taking, dulls the mind and blunts college professor, did not advocate il­ its capa~ity for creative thinking. literacy as an aid to enlightenment. Too much reading can lead to a glut­ tony for~useless facts and a pride in These stricures against reading in possession of them, qualities hardly the Zen temple, it should be noted, are conducive to spiritual progress. Again, aimed at disciples who, since they have few working individuals can find time · ready access to their teacher· and there­ for extended involvement with the print­ fore can HEAR the truth directly from ed page and zazen. Or if ~hey have time him, need not get it devitalized from for both, they will find that long

(( The. mind of the Zen adept i5 fa.ut- re.a..d.y like a. dY'a.Wr, bow. " stretches of reading, especially of which, having the ceep ring of truth, facta and theories, tire the brain and of unmistakable personal experience, enervate the body, paralyzing the de­ awakens the mind, stirs the heart and sire for zazen. fires the imagination. The good book does more than supply tangential in­ The effect of zazen on the mind and formation about Zen; it clearly charts body is just the. reverse. Through prop­ the way, then shakes and moves the er sitting, body and mind are unified reader into treading it. In short, it and energiz-ed even as the nervous sys­ gets him out of the armchair and on to tem is relaxed and inner tensions eli­ the sitting mat. minated. Mental clarity and physical vigor invariably f ollow. Nor is this Confining ourselves to a limited all. In his book SHOBOGENZO Zen mas­ number of books in the field of Bud­ ter Dagen points out that "If you sit dhism, with the emphasis on Zen, the properly, random thoughts will grad­ following are recommended with a label ually disappear ;. illusions~ delusions, attached reading, "Warning: harmful if wicked and depraved though ts will go taken in ·excess." The last six books away by themselves . A pure, unstained, are .in that position not because they ~irror-like, crystal-clear mind will are, as books, less valuable than the appear. Necessary though ts and feel­ others but simply because they deal ings will arise spontaneously, like with Buddhism as a whole rather than flowing spring water.° Further, one specifically with Zen. In addition to who through zazen experiences the true 'ffiE THREE PILLARS OF ZEN, the list in­ way "is not disturbed, nor do cs he cludes: dis.turb. 'i-Ie is filled with happiness, he is serene Rnd rure ... He is not 1. THE ZEN TEACHING or HUANG PO ON bound by anything, nor does he impose THE TRANSMISSION OF MIND, translated restraints on anything." by John Blofeld, hardcover, published by Rider & Co., London; paperback by Muso Kokushi, a Japanese Zen master Grove Press, N.Y., 1958, 135 pp. of the thirteenth century , once spoke of three types of students: 2. THE ZEN TEACHING OF HUI HAI ON .SUDDEN ILLUMINATION, . translated by 1) Those who throw off all entan­ John Blofeld, hardcover, published by gling conditions to apply themselves Rider & Co., 1962, 160 pp. wholeheartedly to the practice of Zen; 3. ZEN: POEMS, PRAYERS, SERMONS, 2) those who, not so single-minded, ANECDOTES, INTERVIEWS, edited and seek a solution in books or other ac­ translated by Stryk and Ikemoto, tivities; paperback only, published by Double­ day Anchor, 1965, 160 pp. 3) the lowest group, those who mouth the words of Buddhas or others instead 4. THE PRACTICE OF ZEN, by Chang of mining their own treasure. Chen-chi, hardcover, published by Nietzsche relates that when his eye­ Harper Bros.; also by Rider & Co., sight became too poor to read books he 1959, 199 pp. began at last to read himself. True 5. THE TIGER'S CAVE, compiled and wisdom~ after all, consists in the tr ans lated by Trevor Leggett, hard­ ability to read unwritten books. cover, published by Rider & Co., 1964, If misguided and undieted reading 191 Pr. is spiritually debilitating, what kind 6, THE ZEN KOAN, by Miura and Sasaki, is strengthening? 11 1hat book is good~ n hardcover and paperback, published by says Emerson, ' 1which puts me in a work­ the First Zen Institute of America in ing mood. n For one who wishes to. Japan; .available in the United States, realize his true nature and not merely 1965, 156 pp. theorize about it, that book is good

-2- 7. THE PLATFORM SCRIP'rURE, translated specializing ·in Buddhist literature. by Wing-tsit Chan, hardcover~ published The material in .ZEN: POEMS, PRAYERS, by St. John's University Press, 1963, etc., :i.s from Japanese sources ::md con­ 193 pp. sists largely of writings of the mas­ 8. 11fu·T\mAL OF ZEN BUDDHISM, by D ~ T. ters. A few of the tr·anslations are Suzuki, hardcover and pai>erback. pub­ arbitrary and tend to sacrifice the lished by Grove Press, 1960, 192 pp. vigor of the original for the sake of style, but on the whole they are emi­ 9. THE EMBOSSED TEA KETTLE (of Zen nently readable. Master Hakuin) ~ tra1islated by .R.D.M. Shaw, hardcover, published by Allen & Although THE PRACTICE OF ZEN is not Unwin, London, 1963, 196 pp. squarely aimed at practice as the title suggests, it is nonetheless a valuable 10. THE WORLD OF ZEN, an anthology book. ·The discourses of the Chinese compiled by Nancy W. Ross, hardcover Zen masters together with their life and paperback, publisheel by Random stories, capably translated by Chang House, 1960, 362 pp. Chen-chi, a Buddhist scholar, are es­ 11. THE MATTER OF ZEN, by Paul Wien­ pecially helpful for practicers of Zen. pahl, . hardcover, published by -N. Y. THE TIGERiS CAVE is a series of University Press, 1964, 162 pp. able translations of Japanes~ Zen texts: 12. FOUNDATIONS bF TIBETAN MYSTI°CISM, chiefly a commentary on the Heart sutra by Lama Govinda, hardcover, published (Prajna-paramita), by a contemporary bJ E.P. Dutton, 1960, 370 pp. Zen master; YASENKANNA: an autobio­ graphical narrative by Zen Master Hakuin; 13. A BUDDHIST BIBLE, compiled by and a short sermon by the present Dwight Goddard, hardcover, published kancho (chief abbot) of the. Japanese by E~P. Dutton, 1952, 677 pp. Soto sect. 14. A SURVEY OF BUDDHISM, by Bhikshu In the Foreword to THE ZEN KOAN we Sangharakshita, hardcover, puplished read: 11 Since the subject proper -of THE by The Indian Institute of World Cul­ ZEN KOAN is Hakuin's system of koan ture, London, 1966,. 527 pp. study, and since long quotations from 15. BUDDHIST TEXTS THROUGH TflE AGES, · his writings fomprise a part of Isshu ed. by Edward Conze, hardcover and Roshi's text, that great master is in a paperback, 1954, 322 pp. sense the hero of this book.'.' It is these quotations, and several shorter 16. THE SURA..~GAMA SUTP~\, translated ones from other masters. which the prac­ by Chas. · Luk> hardcover, published by ti d.ng Zen student will find most in­ Rider & Co., London, 1966, 262 pp. formative and inspiring. 17. THE PILGRIMAGE OF . BUDDHISM, by Dr. Chan's translation of THE PLAT.­ J.13. Pratt, hardcover, published by FORM SC_RIPTURE at times makes this The MacMillan Co. 9 1928, _758 pp. classic Zen work sound more like an academic text than the practical in­ In TH.E ZEN TEACHING OF HUANG PO structions of a Zen master. Despite arid THE ZEN TEACHING OF HUI HAI we have this, the _book is decidedly worthwhile the purported sermons and dialogues of as an unabridged English rendering of two great Zen masters of the T 9 ang pe­ the complete Tun-huang manuscript of riod~ perhaps better known in the We§t the disc:oufses of the great Chinese by their Japanese names of fib-aku and · ,_ master Hui-neng, the Sixth Zen Patri­ Hyakujo, respectively. The transla­ arch (known as Rokuso-daishi Japa­ tions of John Blofeld, a lifetime fol­ in nese). lower of the Buddha's Way in China and Thailandt have style and distinction. MANUAL OF ZEN BUDDH_ISM: This early Both books are gems. Happily, they work of D.T. Suzuki contains transla­ can still ~e obtained in bookstores tions of sutras·, dharanis s gathas' and

-3- " works of both the Japanese and Chincsee mond, the Surangama, the Lankavatara, masters, some of them never translated the Platform (of the Sixth Patriarch), into English before ot since. and the Prajna-parami ta, plus the Life and Hymns of Milarepa, the great Tibet­ THE EMBOSSED TEA K~TTLE consists of an master, and other inspiring texts. translations of several little-known The English at times is turgid and the writings of Hakuin, the great Japanese book as a whole in need of an editing Zen master of the eighteenth century. and an index. But these are really R. D.H. Shaw, the translator, is a re­ minor shortcomings in an otherwise out­ tired Protestant missionary who spent standing translation project of huge many years in Japan. As in other trans­ p;r.oportions. Although A BUDDHIST BIBLE lations of Buddhist writings by Chris­ is now out of print·, it will undoubted­ tian clergymen, the flavor is .at times ly be reissued in paperback in the not more Christ:ian than Buddhist. Still, distant future. we must be grateful for this readable translation, BUDDHIST TEXTS THROUGH. TH.E AGES , THE WORLD OF ZEN is a handscmely edited by the noted Buddhist scholar printed anthology, ·the product of an Edward Conze contains a number of era when it was more fashionable to translations from Sanskrit, Chinese discuss Zen than practice it. So while and Japanese sources of important writ­ there are many articles about Zen by ings of both the Southern and Northern a variety of interpreters; there is schools of Buddhism. little directly from the masters them­ The title A SURVEY OF BUDDHISM is selves. Yet the generous selections ~isleading. Actually the book is an of Zen-,-inspired poetry and art couri­ 9 authoritative exposition in depth of terpointed against similar writings the doctrines, and a few of the prac~ from Western cultural sources, make tices, of virtually all the schools of this a profitable book for those un­ Buddhism by an English scholar-monk who familiar with the spiritual traditions spent many years traveling the width of both East and West. and breadth of India. THE MATTETI. OF ZEN: This excellent little volume, by a professor of phi­ Mr. Luk, an untiring translator of Buddhist texts, has made a notable con­ los ophy who had practiced Zen for sev- tribution to Buddhist literature with · eral months in a temple in Japan, is one of the first in English to under­ his THE SURANGk~A SUTRA, an English rendering from the Chinese based on Zen scoie the fact that Zen is not a theory mnster Han Shan's sixteenth-century but a practice. commentary. The Surangama s utra is un­ THE FOUNDATIONS OF TIBETAN MYSTICISM: doubtedly one of the finest documents Despite its forbidding title, here is ever written. Of all the sutras it is an outstanding e lucidation, from the the most venerated in the Mahayana 'inside,' of the doctrines of tantric countries~ especially by the Zen sect. Buddhism, done with spiritual under­ Th.e sutra describes in detail the var­ standing and unique clarity of style. ious steps leading first to concentra­ Lama Govinda, a German-born scholar- tion of mind -and then to severing the . monk now living in India, spent many fetters. of the illusory ego, culminating years at the feet of the Tibetan mas­ in supreme enlightenment. It is climax-. ters. ed by twenty-five Bodhisattvas reciting the methods by which they attained Within the almost 700 pages of A their enlightenment. This brief sum­ BUDDHIST BIBLE there is the richest mary of the contents scarcely does jus­ selection of writings from the Southern tice to this magnificent work. Re­ and Northern schools of Buddhism (Hina­ grettably s the Great Dharani, which is yana-Theravada and Mahayana) to be chanted daily in ail Mahayana Buddhist found anywhere, notably: generous por­ monasteries, is omitted fiom Mr. Ltik's tions of the following sutras: the Dia- translation, The English is on the

-4- ,.. whole more felicitous than most of his. of Buddhism involves nothing less than rende·rings . slaying the illusory self to which human beings cling out of ignorance, and rais­ . THE PILGRIMAGE OF BUDDHISM is the ing into consciousness their unblemish­ record of a journey in the late twenties ed, perfect Self. Zen achieves this by an American professor and his wife directly, whereas other Buddhist sects to the Buddhist countries of Burma, attain it in a roundabout way. The Ceylon, Thailand, Ca~bodia, China, Buddhist doctrine of the Void (shun­ Korea and Japan. Not only docs the yata), or selflessness, aims at the author skilfully elucidate the doc­ eradication of the self which is the trines and teachings of the Buddha as product of illus ion. In the Pure Land understood and practiced in these (i.e. Amida) sect this is accomplished countries, but with rare sympathy and by submitting ourselves to Amida in the insight he probes the hearts and minds ~elief that we are the most sinful of of the peoples he encountered. Long men. Th~ doctrine of sange, repent­ out of print, THE PILGRIMAGE OF BUDDHISM ance, wh:i,ch is in every sect of Bud­ is worth finding and reading. dhism, has as its object the annihila­ tion of the craving~ of ego. Theim­ port of this is quite different from that of zange, or confession, as taught THE POWER TO DESTROY AND TO BRING irt other religions. ALIVE LIES WITHIN OUR HA.~DS Such expressions in Buddhism as Roshi Hakuun Yasutani 11 Throughout heaven and earth I am the most honored One," "All are intrinsi­ In correctly-oriented Buddhism the cally endowed with Buddha-nature," and fundamental educative principle is sum­ 1.'We have all been redeemed millions of med up in the expression, "The power to years ago" reveal the innate perfection, destroy and to bring alive 1i es with in the absoluteness, of our True-nature. our hands." Change this to "I have the 11 Accordingly, emancipation in Buddhism power to bring alive and to destroy and involves wiping away the illusion of you get an entirely different meaning, ego and vitalizing our True-nature. something akin to the undesirable power Or, stated otherwise, it means putting over life and death of a hold-up man. an entl to the n:i.ghtmare of the domi­ Buddhism does not teach such dangerous nation of the ego-I and awakening to nonsense. Taken in its most favorable our pure Buddha-nature. sense, 111 have the power to bring alive · and to destroy" implies bringing good In Zen to kill the illusion of ego into being and ann,ihilating evil, which is described as ''the slaying sword," is still a benign wielding of authority. while to revive to our True-nature is Although it lies within the imperfect called "the resurrecting sword." Yet. law· of the human world, it is not found the sword that slays and the sword that in the world of spirituality, which resurrects are not two. This sword transcends law and morality. In any does not cut in two but in "one," and event, it is far less than what ' is sug­ the cutting sword does not injure but gested by the statement, i'If even the returns us to our perfect, our real · virtuous can attain rebirth (in the Self. Pure Land) j how much more so the wick­ ed!" as enunciated by Shinran Shonin, In Buddhism the slaying sword is founder of the Pure Land sect of Bud- synonymous with the .commandment to . dhism in Japan. avoid evil--in other i,mrds, observance of the ten precepts; the sword that Properly, then, the order in Buddhism brings alive is synonymous with that should always be, "The power to destroy · commandment which seeks to promote and to bring alive lies within our virtue, i.e., the performance of positive hands. ir Destruction is a necessary pre­ acts of goodness; while the third basic condition of vivification. The practice connnandment, to strive for the salvation

-5- of all se_ntient beings,- involves men of ptirification and are the sum and sub­ '-- superior character and personality in stance of Buddhism. Withbut them it is whom the qualities of the first two com­ impossible to live a life· of purit:'y. mandments have been realized. Taken. -transl!'J,ted by Philip Kapleau together, these three are referred to and Akira Kubota ·as the fundamental commandments of

TIIE PRECEPTS

Formally to. become .a Zen Buddhist one must be initiated, i.e., receive the precepts in a prescribed ceremony wherein one pledges to give himself up wholly to the Three Treasures · of Buddhism~ to. keep the ten cardinal pre·cepts, to avoid evil and' practice goodness, and to strive ·toward _the salvation of every sentient being. The ten cardinal Mahayana precepts p·rohibit 1) the taking of life, 2) theft, 3) · unchastity, 4) lying, 5) selling or buying alcoholic liquor (i.e., causing others to drink or drinking oneself), 6) speaking of the misdeeds of. others, 7) praisin1,;: onese,lf and reviling others, 8) giving spiritual or mate.ri_al _aid grudgingly, 9) anger, and 10) . blaspheming the Three Treasures. These are the same for . laymen and monks. The observance of the precepts is important not alone for Bthical reasons. Because- one cannot progress on the road to enlightenment unless his mind is free of the inner disturbance which thoughtle?s or wanton behavior produces~ the ?recepts are the foundation of spiritual practice. Few novices, however, regardless of the strength Of their resolve, _are able to uphold evecy one of the commandments, so transgressions :i.n one degree or ancithe.r are inevitable. Such violations do not deb.ar one from· pursuing the l3udct"ha 's Way provided one acknowledges them, truly repents, and exerts himself to live .by _the precepts in the future. Transgressions become less frequent as one advances on the Way and through zazen gains in strength and purity and insight. _But ·what is permanently damaging--ein fact, fatal to one's spiritual progress--is loss of faith in the Buddha, in - t.1-ie Truth he revealed · through his . enli_gh tenment experience, and in the confirmatory words of the Patriarchs. In this event, full enlightenment, and with it the eradication of the root-source of evil, namely .ignorance and delusion, is virtual- ly impossible, ·

.-from THE-THREE PILL,ARS OF ZEN

ZEN BOW is published every other month by the Zen. Center of Rochester, 7 Arnold Park~ Rochester, New York i4607. Adviser: Philip Knpleau. Editor: · Paterson Simons. Stnff: Darryl Kinne, Maree Wilcove. Voluntary subscription rate; $3.00 a year.

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