The
Lesser
Known
Zen
Reiho Masunaga
What Is Zen?
It is difficult to define Zen with precision. Some may say that Zen is
Zen. Others may say it is the oak tree in the garden; still others, that it
is three kin of flax. The wide variety of answers underscores the difficulty
of defining Zen in words and letters.
But to remain silent cuts off communication. Modern man seems
espe-cially hungry for some sort of verbal reference points. So unavoidably I
will define Zen as a practice that penetrates to the true self through zazen
(cross-legged sitting) and vitalizes this self in daily living. This definition
contains three basic points: 1) practicing zazen, 2) penetrating to the true
self, and 3) expressing this self in vital everyday activities.
Through zazen we correct our posture, harmonize our breathing, and
relax our body and mind. The true self sought in Zen can be called the
Godhead or Buddha-nature. Zen holds that this self is inherent in all beings.
We need only to look deep enough within ourselves. Because it is there,
man is attracted to religion. It can be called man's Religiositat or his true
humanity. Zen tries to find this true self and penetrate to it. Penetrating
to the true self is satori. It "turns"
the self, revives life, and reconstructs
man. To become a true men by oneself and to help others live truly is to
be the Buddha. It is to be a man embodying deep wisdom and compassion.
In Western terms this is close to the Individuation of Jungian psychotherapy
and to Pitirim Sorokin's altruization of the self. Essentially it is a turning
of selfish desire to altruistic service. This is the third element in the
defini-tion above.
Basically Zen aims at living fully in this moment. It does not seek the
ideal afar after death; it raises no hopes for rebirth in a distant heaven or
Pure Land. The way of Zen is to do what must be done now with max-imum efficiency.
The Zen Most Familiar to the west
Zen arose in India, flourished in China, and took firm root in Japan. In India the sages went into the forest to escape the intense heat and medita-ted calmly under the great trees. The meditative practices of Brahmanism were reformed by the Buddha both in form and content. Using his new method of training, the Buddha gained enlightenment. The ground for all Buddhist training was meditation. Mahayana scriptures, therefore, fall into two basic categories-teachings given within meditation and those given outside of meditation. It is not too much to say that Mahayana Buddhism stems from Zen meditation.
Against this background the Zen sect developed in China. The founder of this sect is generally said to be Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma experienced his Buddha-nature through zazen. In the early days-from Bodhidharma to
the third patriarch-Zen trainees practiced by themselves ; there was no group living. But this changed in the period of the fourth patriarch Doshin (Tao-hsin) and the fifth patriarch Konin (Hung-jen) . They lived together with some 500 trainees for 60 years at Mt. Soho (Huang-mei, Chi-chou, Hupei Province). This led to a major change in Zen. The Chinese trainees came to equate zazen with such daily activities as working in the kitchen, swe-eping, and plowing. For this approach to be valid, these activities -must be based on the Buddha-mind. Chinese Zen thus emphasized the state of mind. The essence here was Buddha-nature.
What was transmitted from mind to mind between master and disciple was essentially this Buddha-nature or Buddha-mind. Out of group living grew regulations-called shingi. Also temples that previously held to Vinaya practice took on Zen characteristics. Out of the main buildings-sodo (medi-tation hall), hatto (sermon hall), and hojo (private room of the Zen master) -developed many fully-qualified transmitters of Zen.
ucia-(14) The Lesser Known Zen (R. Masunaga)
nism and Taoism. With the sixth patriarch Eno (Hui-neng), Chinese Zen gained a firm foundation. Eno's Zen was tied to wisdom, and it featured abrupt enlightenment in contrast to the more gradual approach of Jinshu (Shen-hsiu). Many of the disciples around Eno developed into masters in their own rights. Among them were Seigen Gyoshi (Ch'ing-yuan Hsing-ssu) and Nangaku Ej6 (Nan-yueh Huai-jang). From Nangaku grew the Rinzai and Igyo schools. From Seigen grew the Soto, Ummon, and Hogen schools. The Zen itself did not differ, but the five schools reflected the different teaching styles and charaacter of the Zen masters.
Of these the Rinzai school is most familiar to the West. This is so mainly because of the efforts of Dr. Daisetz Suzuki and his interpreters. Rinzai Zen began with Rinzai Gigen (Lin-chi I-hsuan). The Rinzai style ap-pealed to many Chinese. It was severe, featuring blows from staffs and shouts of "katz." Satori was sought through the koan a formal problem based on exchanges between master and disciple, phrases from the sutras, or the sayings of the Zen masters. The number of koan increased to 1700. Covering some of the most difficult problems of Zen, they touched on matters of ultimate concern. One of the most famous-still used in Rinzai training today-was Joshu's "Mu" (Chao-chou's "Wu").
By concentrating on the koan during zazen, the Zen trainee seeks a solution. When the trainee thinks he has solved the koan, he goes to the master and offers his solution. If it is correct, the master certifies his under-standing. The trainee thus gains enlightenment. But if carried to extremes, this Zen method becomes step-like and loses the abrupt flavor of Eno's Zen. Also the emphasis on transcending logic gives the method an overly mystical aura.
In Sung China, the characteristics of Zen were wrapped up in such catch-phrases as:
1) No dependence on the words and letters of the scriptures. 2) A special transmission outside the classified teachings. 3) Direct pointing to the mind of man.
It was -basically this type of Zen that was brought to Japan by Eisai. In the Kamakura period it spread among the shogunate, feudal lords, and
warriors, giving them spiritual support. It taught the werriors how to transcend life and death. It encouraged valor, serenity, and quick action. And it made for a thrifty attitude and the ability to get along with little.
During the age of civil wars, the Zen monks deepened their influence through their educational work among the common people. Meshing with the esthetic temper of the Japanese, Zen, fostered a unique art heavily imbued with the mood of sabi and wabi. This Zen art was characterized by simplicity, profundity, creativity, and vitality. These characteristics can be found today in the sumie of Sesshu, in-the garden of Ryoanji, and in the Noh plays of Zeami. They also permeate the art of , the tea ceremony.
The Lesser Known Zen
While Rinzai Zen has become familiar to many Westerners, it is not the strongest Zen influence in Japan today. it has less than 6,000 temples in contrast to the 15,000 belonging to Soto, the largest Zen sect. S practice tends to be somewhat plain; it does, not feature some of the start-ling techniques associated Rinzai Zen. Up to now, possibly because of the dearth of works in English, Soto Zen has dot drawn much interest in the West.
The Soto school originated in T'ang China under Tozan Ryokai (Tung-shan Liang-chieh, 807-869) and his dis disciple Sozan Honjaku (Ts'ao-(Tung-shan Pen-chi, 840-901). The name Soto came from a combination of the initial characters in Sozan and Tozan. At that time Soto featured:
1) a belief that each person already has Buddha-nature and is inhe-rently enlightened;
2) silent cross-legged sitting illuminated by the Buddha-mind;
3) self -identity of training and understanding and fusion of action and knowledge;
4) emphasis on thorough practice and its expression in daily life; 5) use of the system of Five Ranks as the basis for training.
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The Lesser Known Zen (R. Masunaga)
Soto Zen was brought to Japan by Dogen (1200-1253). It was
popular-ized by Keizan (1268-1325), who laid the foundation for present-day Soto.
Dogen's Life
Dogen was born to the nobility and orphaned at an early age. Deeply
impressed by the world's transience, he climbed Mt. Hiei to seek the true
way to ive. When about 15 years old, he was assailed by the following
doubt: If man has Buddha-nature inherently, why did the Buddhas and
patriarchs of the past seek the way and undergo training?
He took his doubt to Eisai for resolution. His going to Eisai signified
a switch from Tendai to Zen guidance. His problem was one that could
not be reached by logical instructions; it had to be penetrated by actual
practice.
To solve his problem, Dogen at 24 went to Sung China with another
disciple of Eisai called Myozen. In China he visited many Zen masters but
could not find a satisfactory answer. Then he met Nyojo (Ji-tsing) at Mt.
Tendo. Dogen finally felt that he had found a real teacher. After hard
training for two years, he freed himself from attachment to body and mind.
At 26, he gained enlightenment. Returning to Japan two years later, Dogen
stayed initially in Kyoto and its suburb Uji. Meanwhile, he reflected on his
experiences and put them into writing. He built the Kosho monastery at
Uji to develop superior trainees. Here he taught laymen and monks for 10
years. Then, encouraged by a named Hatano Yoshishige, he moved to
Echi-zen, now Fukui prefecture, and founded the Eihei temple in 1243. He stayed
here for 10 years, helping Zen trainees to live truly. At the age of 53, he
fell ill and died in Kyoto.
In his relatively short life, Dogen produced many manuscripts. His
most significant legacy is the Shobogenzo, in 95 fascicles. His ideas
were popularized by Keizan, third in the line of succession, who founded
the Soji temple in Ishikawa prefecture. (now in Yokohama) Keizan taught
many disciples with open heart, and they took his teaching throughout Japan
and brought Soto Zen into the lives of the common people.
-363-Dogen as Thinker
Dogen was an outstanding religious teacher. Without some knowledge of his thought, the essence of Japanese culture would be difficult to under-stand. His depth and intellectual integrity have reassured many modern Japanese thinkers that the nation has much to contribute to world philoso-phy. For Dogen's thought seems to have already penetrated to the apparent goal of modern philosophy.
In his approach to ultimate problems, Dogen:
1) avoided rigidly formulated ideas and looked on all things as flowing and dynamic;
2) saw through the illusion of opposites and its tendency to arouse conflict and established a new unitive standpoint emphasizing the self-identity of all things;
3) stressed the need for strengthening altruism and abandoning the egoistic drive for fame and profit;
4) subordinated abstract concepts to the concrete and practical; 5) tried to express the ideal where he stood instead of striving for it; 6) shunned easy compromise and upheld the high standards of the Buddhas and patriarchs;
7) cut across narrow sect lines and emphasized Buddhism as a whole. From this base Dogen vigorously opposed the tendency toward abstrac-tion in the Zen and Buddhism of the past. He attacked the sectarian trend in Buddhism, pointing out the folly of setting the Zen sect against the teaching sect; the Buddha-mind sect against the Buddha-word sect, and the five schools against each other. Dogen dismissed those who treasured such distinctions as spiritual incompetents who could not even see Buddhism in their dreams. In this way he argued for an integrated Buddhism.
In the Heian and Kamakura periods the tendency grew to adopt the mappo (declining age) view of Buddhism. Holders of this view included many famous monks. They slanted their teachings to what they considered the easy-going mood of the age. But Dogen tharply differed with this kind
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of approach. He held that the more an age seemed to be in decline, the more it was necessary to train harder.
Dogen also opposed the formalized Zen gesture, such as raising the hossu or fist, shouting "katz", and striking with staffs. He called for a freer and more natural expression of Zen in daily life.
Along the same line he opposed imitative attachment to such Zen slo-gans as "no dependence on the words and letters of the scriptures" and "a special transmission outside the classified teachings." To Rinzai's famous saying, "The three vehicles and 12 teachings are nothing but toilet paper to wipe filth," Dogen counterposed the following: "The three vehicles and 12 teachings are the eyes of the Buddhas and patriarchs." His aim here was to vitalize both Zen and other teachings.
Another Zen development seemed wrong to Dogen. It was reflected in such phrases as "transmission from mind" and "the mind itself the Bud-dha." He considered this an erroneous emphasis on mind at the expense of the body.
Finally, Dogen was disturbed by the Zen trend in Sung China to seek enlightenment through the koan.
Dogen's Basic Standpoint
Since Dogen belonged to the mainstream of Zen, he stressed zazen. But his zazen differed from the zazen that preceded him. Ordinarily enlighten-ment is considered the ideal of training: zazen is the means for attaining enlightenment. Dogen took a sharply different view. In Bendowa he wrote: "To say that training and enlightenment are not one is heretical. In Bud-dhism training and enlightenment are self-identical. Because it is training enfolding enlightenment. the training even at the outset is all of original enlightenment." Dogen thus denied any gap between training and enlighten-ment. If zazen is merely a means to enlightenment, it can be thrown away after enlightenment. According to Dogen, training actually enfolds enlighten-ment, and enlightenment enfolds training. Zazen itself is the Buddha train-ing, and those who undergo the Buddha training are Buddhas.
In line with this emphasis on abrupt enlightenment, Dogen stressed Buddha-nature. As is well known, instead of looking on God as an absolute other, seeks the Godhead within. This Buddha.nature is viewed by Buddhism in general as a potentiality within an individual that must be gradually brought out. Zen, however, spurns the gradual approach. It tries abruptly to become Buddha-nature itself. Dogen elaborated his ideas on Buddha-nature in the Bussho fascicle of the Shobogenzo. He gave his own reading to the well-known Nirvana sutra passage : "All beings have Buddha-nature inherently." He considered Buddha-nature the ground of all existences and values. In Bussho Dogen discusses Buddha-nature from several different angles, including existing Buddha-nature, non-existing Buddha-nature, demon strating Buddha-nature, flowing Buddha-nature, and practicing Buddhanature. Practicing Buddha-nature is the one that especially expresses Buddha-nature
in action.
Dogen's profound teachings did not stop at the merely conceptual. He urged the practical integration of Zen into daily life. He taught that by thorough awareness in whatever one does-whether preparing food, cleaning the yard, or any other daily activities-life takes on freshness and vitality. Dogen considered enlightened daily action the most important way of show-ing gratitude to the Buddhas and patriarchs. Working for others comes naturally with this. "Benevolence is the universal law," said Dogen. "It benefits both self and others." This aspect of, Dogen's thought seems espe-cially relevant today.
While relatively unknown to the West, Dogen's thought has much to offer a troubled world. His emphasis on enlightened daily action has a mo-dern, pragmatic ring. It is wondrous without being mystical. To Westerners familiar with John Dewey's "Art as Experience," Dogen may seem tantaliz-ingly close. Actually, Zen and American pragmatism are strikingly similar in undertone as Prof. Van Meter Ames has shown in his recently published, "Zen and American Thought." Dogen, with his practical and vitalizing ap-proach, may help the interested Westerner to a deeper understanding of Zen and to a deeper appreciation of the creative in his own culture.
