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An Embracing Thought: Contemporary Sōtō Interpretations of Hishiryō

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An Embracing Thought: Contemporary Sōtō Interpretations of Hishiryō This is the Accepted Manuscript for a research published by Taylor & Francis in Contemporary Buddhism: An Interdisciplinary journal vol.17, no. 1, on April 5th 2016. The final edition is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2016.1164948 . See also: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcbh20/current#.Vv6u_npO8pc An Embracing Thought: Contemporary Sōtō Interpretations of Hishiryō Eitan Bolokan School of Philosophy, Tel-Aviv University. The term hishiryō (非思 nonthinking), is found in many of Dgen Zenji's 道 元禅師 (1200-53) writings and sermons, mostly in the context of the practice of sitting known as zazen (坐禅 sitting Zen) or more specifically as shikantaza (只管打坐 just sitting).i In recent decades, thanks to the growing number of available English translations of Dgen's works, the term has been translated in various ways. Wadell and Abe (1973, 123), Kim (2007, 80), and Bielefeldt (1988, 189) used the translation 'nonthinking'. Kasulis (1989, 72), on the other hand, rendered it 'without thinking', while Leighton and Okumura (2004, 327) and Tanahashi and Levitt (2011, 301) opted for 'beyond thinking'. In this article I use either 'nonthinking' or simply the original, hishiryō. The term hishiryō is not one of Dgen's own expressions but can be found in various texts throughout Zen history which predate Dgen: Lotus Sutra (法華経 Ch. Fahua jing), Sutra of Manjusri Speaking of the Inconceivable State of Buddhahood (文殊師利所不思議境界経 Ch. Wenshu Shi li Suo Shuo Bu Siyi Fo Jingjie Jing), the treatise Faith in Mind (信心銘 Ch. Xinxin ming), and the Buddha-Realm-Sutra ( 境界経 Ch. Fo Jingjie Jing) (Harada 1985, 26). It would seem that the term most famously appears in the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (德傳燈錄 Ch. Jingde chuandeng lu) from which Dgen cited the following dialogue between Yaoshan 薬山惟儼 (751-834) and a monk: 1 1 Once, when the Great Master Hongdao of Yaoshan was sitting [in meditation], a monk asked him, "What are you thinking, [sitting there] so fixedly?" The master answered, 'I'm thinking of not thinking.' The monk asked, 'How do you think of not thinking?' The Master answered, 'Nonthinking.' (Bielefeldt 1988,188-9)ii This somewhat bewildering presentation of hishiryō has long kept Buddhologists, St scholars, and practitioners curious about its meaning and content. Though many diverse explanations have been offered, I will concentrate on two contemporary interpretations found in the writings of two representatives of traditionalist St theology from Komazawa University: Harada Kd 原田弘道 (1935–2000) and Tsunoda Tairyū 角田泰隆 (1957– ). Their analysis clarifies that hishiryō can be understood in at least two complementary manners: the first relates to the mental and psychological meanings associated with the term, while the second supports the concrete qualities of the physical experience associated with hishiryō, such as the actual performance of sitting. Harada and Tsunoda have demonstrated how hishiryō is characterized by these two aspects which are, in fact, co-dependent. Through their analysis and citations they have shown how hishiryō has been understood throughout the history of St hermeneutics as a term that cannot be limited either to the mental or to the physical; it reflects both, as it represents the living experience of practice. Hishiryō in Sōtō Dictionaries Before proceeding to the analysis of hishiryō as found in the works of Harada and Tsunoda, it is useful to survey the various interpretations of the term according to pivotal modern St dictionaries. This will clarify the traditionalist standpoint which underpinned the two scholars and the theoretical tendencies that provided the basis for their argumentations. According to the Zengaku Daijiten 禅学大辞典 (The Large Dictionary of Zen Studies): 2 2 Hishiryō is not an unconscious state that rejects the conscious activity of thinking, but [it is] thinking itself being dropped off. [It is] being free from the grasping that accompanies thinking, all the while being involved in thinking. [Thus] it is similar to a non-discriminative discrimination. (vol.1, 1044) The Zenshū Jiten 禅 宗 辞 典 (The Dictionary of the Zen School) explains 'nonthinking' as follows: The three characters of hi-shi-ryō (非思) signify a mode of thinking which is based upon the manifestation of [one's] original face—the dropping of body and mind—which is the meaning of zazen. Therefore, the character 非 [hi] should not be understood as a designation of negation but rather as liberation; the lack of any impediments which is the totally free existence of being. Therefore, in Shigetsu's Funōgo 不能語 [inadequate words] it is said: 'The immediate manifestation of thought is "non" and it is also "not". The [usual] meaning of "non" and "not" is indeed discriminative, but here they point to the reality-body of thinking'. In other words, hishiryō is an activity that departs from all obstructions and distracting thoughts, the realization of one's original mind—the original nature of the self. ( 923) In the Shōbōgenzō Yōgo Jiten 正法眼蔵用語辞 (The Dictionary of Shōbōgenzō Expressions) we find the following: Hishiryō is the purpose of zazen. It is the Buddha Way culmination of the dropping off body and mind; [it is] thinking which emerges upon the manifestation of one's original face; [it is] absolute thinking. Here, the character 非 [hi] should not be understood as a negation but as a [designation of an] absolute liberation. Hishiryō is the zazen-based thinking of the Samadhi king of all samadhis which is set apart from all delusions and obstructions; wholesomely contemplating not thinking. Hishiryō is the infinite wisdom of the Buddha. (343) Finally, the Shōbōgenzō Eihei Kōroku Yōgo Jiten 正法眼蔵・永平広録用語辞 典 (The Dictionary of Shōbōgenzō and Eihei Kōroku Expressions) presents this definition: 3 3 The term hishiryō originates in the Third Patriarch Sengcan's essay Faith in Mind, but it has come to indicate the vital art of zazen through the words of Yakusan Igen. Hishiryō is not a state in which the conscious activity of thinking stops, but it is thinking which is free from the grasping that accompanies thoughts, all the while being involved in thinking. For Dgen, zazen is the practice of a Buddha; 'thinking' [in zazen] goes beyond any thought. It is only here in unfathomable realm beyond both thought and no thought that the ultimate nature of zazen is realized. This is clearly demonstrated by the very posture of zazen. (319) From the above definitions we can mark two clear distinctions in the sectarian take on hishiryō. First, the term is explained as a mental quality or state that is not opposed to its own natural and dynamic circulation and ongoing flux. This is most evident in the Zengaku Daijiten which describes hishiryō as 'thinking itself being dropped off…all while being involved in thinking'. Likewise in the other dictionaries, hishiryō is seen as a term that does not represent the mental aspiration of 'stopping the mind' or other stereological goals. In this sense, hishiryō points to a vital experience that cannot be limited to any category, including the very categories of 'thought' or 'no thought'. As Leighton and Okumura put it: '[it is an] awareness that includes both thinking and not thinking, and is not caught by either' (2004, 533). The second characterization of hishiryō explains the term not only mentally and psychologically but also within the context of concrete practice and the very enactment of sitting. Thus, it is no less a designation of the concrete experience of the body than it is mental or psychological. The dictionary entries are replete with expressions such as 'activity' (用 sayō), 'zazen-based' (坐禅の zazen no ue), 'the ultimate nature of zazen' (坐禅の極致 zazen no gokuchi), and 'the posture of zazen' (坐禅のあ方 zazen no arikata).iii These all highlight the fact that hishiryō cannot be identified solely as the internal or mental attitude of the practitioners but rather as their full involvement in the activity being performed; the very enactment of sitting is hishiryō. As this enactment involves both mental and physical qualities, so it reflects the concept of hishiryō. Throughout the years, traditionalist interpretations of hishiryō were not limited to St dictionaries alone but were also evident in the studies of prominent scholars 4 4 both within and without the St School, all reflecting time and again the nondual nature of hishiryō. Notable examples include the words of Hata Egyoku 秦慧玉 (1896- 1985), the 76th abbot of Eiheiji 永平寺, who described hishiryō as 'the complete zazen of simply sitting upright' (1965, 62). Similarly, Nakane Kando 中根環堂 (1876-1959), founder of St-affiliated Tsurumi University, explained that 'the very physical posture of sitting upright is in itself hishryō' (1936, 90). Kawamura Kd 河村孝道, editor of Dōgen Zenji Zenshū (道元禅師全集 the complete works of Dgen Zenji), explained hishiryō as 'reality as manifested by the immovable sitting' (1991, 104). Mizuno Yaoko 水弥穂子, editor of an annotated edition of the Shōbōgenzō, depicted hishryō as 'the self of no thought—the unquestionable zazen of skin, flesh, bone, and marrow' (2008, 227). For Uchiyama Ksh 内山興正, it is 'aiming at the very posture of sitting and entrusting everything to this posture' (2004, 61). Finally, Tagami Taishū 田秀 asserted that 'the very form of zazen is hishiryō' (1998, 215). It is thus apparent that traditionalist explanations of hishiryō have consistently expressed the two interdependent characteristics of the term: a state of mind, yet with a representation of the concrete physical performance. Harada Kōdō's View of Hishiryō Harada Kd was a major figure in the fields of St and Dgen Studies during the latter part of the twentieth century. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1953, Harada made his way up the academic ladder becoming a professor of Buddhist Studies at Komazawa University in 1983 and chair of the Department of Zen Studies in both 1986 and 1991.
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