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Zen Is Not a Philosophy, but .. . Chapter 2: Dogen on Buddha Notes CHAPTER 1: ZEN IS NOT A PHILOSOPHY, BUT .. I. Wu-teng Hui -yiian. (J a Gotoegen) ed. Aishin Imaeda (Tokyo : Rinriikaku Shoten, (971) p. 335. 2 . In Japanese there are two terms, shukanteki and shutaiteki which can be translated by only one English term , 'subjective'. Shukanteki is the equivalent in the epistemological sense - in terms of how to perceive, think, or know - to the English term 'subjective' as opposed to 'objective'. Shutaiteki refers more to a dynamic, existential self involved in responsible, self-determined action of a moral , ethical , or religious nature. It indicates the standpoint of existential commitment which is beyond the subject-object dichotomy in the epistemo­ logical sense. To indicate the distinction, 'Subjective' with a capital'S' is used for shutaiteki throughout this book. 3. The negative realization of no differentiation (the second stage) is necessary in order for ultimate Reality to be disclosed (the third stage), but this does not imply that there must. be a timegap between the realization of the second stage and that of the third stage. In Zen practice, the negative realization of no differentiation or no self of the 'second stage' and the positive realization of true differentiation or true Self of the 'third stage' may occur simultaneously, Great Death in the genuine sense out of which Great Rebirth takes place indicates nothing but the simultaneous realization of the second and third stages . However, as his discourse clearly shows, Wei-hsin experienced the first, second, and third stages successively. Such a record of a clear step-by-step process of deepening Zen realization is rare in Zen literature, so the present author analyses Wei-hsin's Zen experience along the lines of its deepening process. This analysis, however, does not exclude the possibility of the simultaneous realization of the second and third stages in Zen Awakening. In fact, as the author states in the latter part of the essay, in authentic Zen Awakening, the third and final stage includes the first and second stages and even the term 'stage' is not appropriate, for Zen Awakening is a total existential Awakening to the ultimate Reality which is beyond the negative and the positive as well as any step-by-step approach. 4. D. T . Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (London, 1949) p. 84. CHAPTER 2: DOGEN ON BUDDHA-NATURE J. Sokuii Etii (ed.), ShObOgen?,o, Iwanami-bunko edit ion (Tokyo : Iwanami Shoten, 1942) 11, 'Butsudo' fascicle, p. 217. 2 . 'Sharnon' is the Japanese way of reading the Chinese transliteration of the Notes to pages 25-37 Sanskrit term, iramana, which means monk, mendicant, or ascetic. 3. Mappo is the third and last period of the three periods of the Dharma after the Buddha's decease . These three are the periods of the right, the imitative, and the final (shO-;:o-matsu) Dharma. The period of the right Dharma (shOho) is the period in which Buddhist doctrine, practices, and enlightenment all exist; the second period is the period of the imitative Dharma (;:ohO) in which doctrine and practices exist without enlightenment; the third period is that of the last or final (and degenerate) Dharma (mappo) in which only the doctrine remains but both practice and enlightenment have been lost. There are different views as to the duration of these periods. However, this doctrine was influent ial during the Heian and Kamakura periods, and at the time of Degen, people, including many Buddhist leaders, believed that their time was precisely the period of mappo. Unlike other Buddhist leaders of those days, Degen insisted that it was still the period of shOM, not that of mappo. 4. The collection of Dogen's discourses in Japanese, presently edited in 95 fascicles, which he delivered from 1231 to 1253. See The Eastern Buddhist, New Series (hereafter E. B.) , vol. IV, no. I, pp. 125':'6. 5. The 27th chapter, 'Lion's Roar Bodhisattva'. (Ta isho, no. 375, P: 522 c). 6. Since the Chino-Japanese characters shitsuu do not make a distinction between singul ar and plural, shitsuu means both 'all being' in its entirety and 'all beings' in their individuality. Degen actually uses the term in these two meanings according to the context. 7. Dogenshii (A collection of Dogen) ed. Koshiro Tamaki, Nihon noshisii, II (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobe, 1969) p. 146. 8. Strictly speaking, living beings other than human beings, such as animals, may not be said to realize their life and death even as 'facts', since they do not have self-consciousness. 9. Sanskrit 'manu~ya,' like the English term 'man' , is etymologically connected with 'man' - to think . Hajime Nakamura, The Ways ofThinking ofAsian Peoples (Tokyo : Japanese Nat ional Commission for UNESCO, 1960) pp . 108-10. 10. Keiji Nishitani, Religion and Nothingness (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982) p. 49. [I. See Isshii Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Zen Dust (Kyoto: The First Zen Institute of America in Japan, 1966) pp. 253-5. 12. The Senika heresy was a heretical thought that appeared during the Buddha's lifetime, emphasizing the concept of a permanent self. It appears in the Nirvana Sutra, ch. 39. See also E. B., vol. IV, no. I, pp. 145-8, and vol. VIII, no. 2, pp. 100-2. 13. ShOhogen;:o, I, 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 317. See E. B., vol. vtil, no. 2, p. 102. 14. Ibid ., p. 316, E. B., ibid., pp. 99-100. When grasped neither in terms of the duality of body and soul, nor in terms of the duality of potentiality and actuality, all beings man ifest themselves right here and now in their wholeness, totality, and suchness. This complete disclosure of 'all beings' takes place only in the dehomocentric boundless universe , the universe which is most fun­ damental for everything. 15. ShObogen;:o, I, 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 315. See E. B., vol. VIII, no. 2, P: 97. 16. Immo, the Japanese reading of the Chinese term f£;'~, a colloquial expression of the Sung dynasty often used in a Zen context. It is (I) an interrogative, meaning 'how', 'in what way', 'in what manner' and (2) a demonstrative, which signifies ' this', 'such', 'thus', 'thus and so', 'that', 'like that', etc. Here in Notes to pages 37-56 Hui-neng's question, immo indicates the second meaning, particularly 'thus'. In ShOhOgen{,o, Degen has a fascicle entitled 'Shobogenzo immo,' in which he discusses the Zen meaning of the term immo as he understands it. t7. See Chapter I, 'Zen Is not a Philosophy, but . ..' pp. 11-14. 18. Ethics, tr. by R. H. M. Elwes, in Phi/osop", ofBenedict de Spinoza (NY: Tudor Publishing Company, n.d.) Part I, def 3. 19. Speculation and Revelation in Modern Phi/osop'" (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, n.d.) p. 126. 20. ShOhOgen{,o, I, 'Keiseisanshoku' fascicle, p. 139. 21. ShObogen{,o, I 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 317; E. B., vol. VIII; no. 2, p. 102. 22. 'No Buddha-nature' refers to the ordinary idea of the term , i.e. the countercon­ cept of 'Buddha-nature'; 'no -Buddha-nature' indicates Degen's idea, i.e. the unobject ifiable Buddha-nature which is freed from 'having' or 'not having'. 23. ShObOgen{,o, I 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 334; E. B., vol. IX; no. 2, p. 74. 24. Ibid ., pp. 321-2; E. B., vol. VIII , no. 2, p. III . 25. Ibid ., pp. 334-5; E. B., vol. IX, no. 2, pp. 74-5. 26. Ibid ., p. 322; E. B., vol. IX, no. I, p. 87. 27. Ibid ., pp. 322-3; E. B., ibid ., pp. 87-'-8. 28. Ibid ., p. 322; E. B., vol. VIII, no. 2, p. III. 29. Ibid ., p. 323. E. B., vol. IX; no. I, p. 88. In this paragraph Degen wanted to negate the idea of the endowment of the Buddha-nature prior to enlightenment and thus talked about its endowment after enlightenment. His fundamental idea, however, lies in the simultaneity of the Buddha-nature and enlightenment. 30. Ibid., p. 335; E. B., vol. IX; no. 2, p. 75. 31. In the 'Genjokoan' fascicle, Dogen says, 'When budd has are truly buddhas, there is no need for the perception that one is a buddha. Nevertheless, he is a confirmed buddha, performing the confirmation of buddha.' ShObogen{,o, I, p. 83; E. B., vol. v; no. 2, p. 134. 32. ShObogen{,o I, 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 315; E. B., vol. VIII; no. 2, p. 97. Another interpretation of shitsuu no isshitsu which is, in the present text, translated 'All beings in their entirety', is 'A part of all beings' (is called shujo], Degen's view in Figure 2.2 follows this interpretation. 33. Ibid ., p. 333; E. B., vol. IX; no. 2, pp. 71-2. 34. Ibid ., p. 315; E. B., vol. VIII; no. 2, p. 98. 35. Paul Edwards (ed.), The Encyclopedia ofPhi/osop"" (NY: The Macmillan Co. & The Free Press, 1967) vol. 3, p. 463. 36. Sanbbin. The other two are 'Nothing has an ego' and 'Nirvana is tranquil.' 37. ShOhOgen{,o, I, 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 325; E. B., vol. IX, no~ I, p. 91. 38. Ibid ., pp. 325-6; E. B., vol. IX, no. I, p. 93. 39. Ibid., II, 'Hossho' fascicle, pp. 283-4. 40. Science ofLogic, tr, by W. H.Johnston and L. G. Struthers, (London: GAlien & Unwin ., 1929) vol. I, p. 95. Wissenschaft der Logik, herausgegeben von Georg Lasson (Leipzig: Felix Meiner, 1923) P. B. Erster Teil, p. 67. 41 . ShObogen{,o, I, 'Bussho' fascicle, p. 343; E. B., vol. IX, no. 2, p. 87. 42. 'Cosmological' here does not refer to the cosmos created by or distingusihed from God, but to the cosmos in its broadest sense in which even 'God' is embraced.
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