Firstpublishedin1997byTuttlePublishing,animprintofPeriplusEditions(HK)Ltd.,witheditorialofficesat364InnovationDrive,NorthClarendon,VT05759U.S.A.

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Theuseofthekoansaswellastextonpages155and174isreproducedfromTheRecordofTransmittingtheLight:ZenMasterKeizan'sDenkoroku.TranslatedbyFrancisH.Cook,©1991,ZenCenterofLosAngeles.ReproducedbypermissionoftheZenCenter

ofLosAngeles.Allrightsreserved.

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Barragato,Stefano,1930-Zenlight:unconventionalcommentariesontheDenkoroku/StefanoBarragato.—1sted.p.cm.ISBN978-1-4629-0149-41.Keizan,1268-1325.Denkoroku.2.Sotoshu.3.Priests,Zen--Biography.I.Keizan,1268-1325.Denkoroku.II.Title.BQ9449.S544D4631997294.3'927—dc21

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...comingfromtheheart,mayitagainreachtheheart.

•

—LudwigvanBeethoven

ToMargaret,mywife,friend,companion,goad,andfellowrecluse.

TostudentsoftheWhiteCliffandDragonGateSanghas,whohavehelpedmewiththisbookbylisteningtomereadittotheminplaceofDharmatalks,andbytheiralwayswonderfulcomments.

ToRoshi.

Contents

Introductionix

Case1ShakyamuniBuddha 1

Case2Mahakashyapa 6

Case3Ananda9

Case4Shanavasin15

Case5Upagupta..19

Case6Dhitika23

Case7Mishaka27

Case8Vasumitra34

Case9Buddhanandi37

Case10Buddhamitra41

Case11Parshva

44

Case12Punyayasha46

Case13Anabodhi48

Case14Kapimala52

Case15Nagarjuna56

Case16Kanadeva59

Case17Rahulabhadra64

Case18Samghanandi 68

Case19Samghayathata 73

Case20Kumaralata76

Case21Shayata.78

Case22Vasubandhu84

Case23Manorata87

Case24Haklenayasha 90

Case25Simhabodhi.93

Case26Bashashita96

Case27Punyamitra99

Case28prañadhara 102

Case29Bodhidharma 104

Case30Hui-k'o106

Case31Seng-ts'an111

Case32Tao-hsin.116

Case33Hung-jen119

Case34Hui-neng123

Case35Ch'ing-yüan128

Case36Shih-t'ou

131

Case37Yüeh-shan134

Case38Yün-yen138

Case39Tung-shan141

Case40Yun-chu144

Case41Tung-anTao-p'i148

Case42Tung-anKuan-chih 151

Case43Liang-shan154

Case44Ta-yang157

Case45Tou-tzu160

Case46Fu-jung163

Case47Tan-hsia166

Case48Chen-hsieh168

Case49Tien-t'ungTsung-chueh 170

Case50Hsueb-tou173

Case51Tien-t'ungJu-ching 176

Case52EiheiDogen178

Case53KounEjo181

SotoZenLineageChart184

AbouttheChart188

Introduction

ZenLightisastudyoftheDenkoroku,therecordofTransmittingtheLight,translatedbyFrancisH.Cook.

The author of theDenkoroku is ZenmonkKeizan Jokin (1268-1325)whowasoftheschoolofDogenZenjiandwashisthirdsuccessor.AsrecountedbyKeizan,theDenkoroku isacollectionof transmissionsof thefifty-threeancestors.Inmanyways,Keizanisresponsiblefor thestateandstructureoftheSotoSchoolofZenasweknowittoday,forhedidmuchtopopularizeZenandmakeitavailabletoavastlaypublicinways Dogen probably would not have approved of. Keizan did anamazing thing in the Denkoroku, he focused on the experience ofenlightenmentthat led to transmission.Thescenarioandactionofeachkoanhavesomethinglikethefollowingformat:

1. The master asks the disciple a question. It is not anordinary question. It is a koan, or a riddle, or a deeppenetrating query that hints at the Absolute. Often thequestionorkoancontainstheanswer,butitishidden.2.Thediscipleexpresseshisunderstanding.Itisthejobofthe disciple to penetrate the koan and delve into theAbsolute.3. Sometimes it is necessary for the master to repeat thequestionoraskit inadifferentway.ThemasterprodsthediscipleintotheAbsolute.4.Thedisciplegiveshisanswer.5. The master confirms the disciple's understanding and"transmits" theDharma,making thedisciplehis successorandthenextancestor.

This is generally how koan studyworks. TheDenkoroku is not

ordinarykoanstudybetweenaZenmasterandoneofhisstudents.Thereare two major persons in each chapter of theDenkoroku. First is thecurrentancestor.Secondisthediscipleandsuccessorofthatancestor.

Theancestor is theonewhorepresentsand"holds"or"contains"theentiretyoftheDharma.Thediscipleistheonetheancestor"sees"ashissuccessor.

The lineage begins with Shakyamuni himself, who selectsMahakashyapa as his successor. Mahakashyapa thus becomes the firstancestorofthelineage.MahakashyapathenselectsAnanda,andsoforththrough fifty-three generations toKounEjo.These are theZenmasterswho embody and preserve the Dharma of the Buddha and completelytransmittheDharmatotheirsuccessors.

At the end of this book I list the lineage in some detail, givingalternative names by which the ancestors are known. There is also adiscussionofthemeaningofthelineage.

In our Soto Zen tradition, the lineage continues fromKoun EjodowntoMaezumiRoshiandhissuccessor,myteacher,BernardTetsugenGlassman,Roshi.ThelineageissimilartotheapostolicsuccessionoftheChristianreligion.However, there isadifference.TheZen lineagedoesnotonlyincludepopesorZenmasters.IntheZentradition,eachpersonwhoreceivestheprecepts,orJukai,becomespartofthelineage.PartoftheJukaiceremonyincludesmakingapersonalcopyofthelineagechart(or Bloodline chart) beginning with Shakyamuni Buddha down to thepresent.Inmycase,forinstance,oneofthecontemporaryteacherslistedis Maezumi Roshi, who was the teacher of Tetsugen Roshi. AfterMaezumiRoshi'sname, there isTetsugenRoshi'snameand thenhe, aspart of the transmission ceremonyof Jukai entersmyname in the nextlineofthelineagechart.Subsequently,Iaddthenameofanystudentwhowill take the precepts, or Jukai, withme. Thus, the lineage extends toevery individual who makes a public declaration of his or hercommitmenttofollowtheWay.

My study of theDenkorokuwith my teacher, Glassman Roshi,tookplaceoveraperiodofabouttwoyears.Iwouldworkoneach"case"andwhenready,presentmyunderstandingtoRoshi.

The major question that struck me as I studied each case was:"What is transmitted?" The title of the book told me: "Light." The

Transmission of the Light. "Light" is a central metaphor in theDenkoroku. Keizan uses the term "Light" in much the same wayChristians use the words Inner Light or Holy Spirit. Other terms ormetaphors for Light are Buddha-nature, or The Unborn, the majormetaphor of Bankei, a Zenmaster of the eighteenth century. As I wasreading and studying theDenkoroku, at times I felt I was reading thewords of St. John theApostle, thewriter of theFourthGospel and theApocalypse,andsometimesIfeltIwasreadingSt.Paul.

IbelievethemajorteachingsofZenandBuddhismarepresentintheDenkoroku.As I went deeperwith each case, the teachings of theDenkorokuhadacumulative,powerfulimpactonme.

When I worked on the first case, Shakyamuni Buddha, thesimilaritybetween the case and aphraseofMeisterEckhart struckme:"Theeye throughwhich I seeGod is the sameeye throughwhichGodsees me." I wrote a poem using these words. In presenting myunderstandingofthefirstcasetoRoshi,Ialsopresentedmypoem.Roshithenaskedmetowriteapoemforeachcaseandmakethepoempartofmy presentation. After completing my study of the entire Denkoroku,Roshiaskedmetowritedownmypoemsandmyunderstanding.

This book contains my thoughts on each of the koans of theDenkorokuaswellaspoems.Ishouldwarnthereaderthatmythoughtsdo not necessarily reflect the understanding I presented and thatwhichwas approved by Roshi. Rather, what you have in this book iscommentary on the teachings found in each of the enlightenmentexperiencesoftheancestors.

Thisisdoneforaveryimportantreason.Ibelievekoanstudyisavery personal thing, and I do not hold with the view that there is aspecificanswerforeachofthevariouskoans.IdonotbelievethatthereisasetanswerforthekoanMu,orforHakuinZenji'sgreatkoan,"Whatisthesoundofonehand?"Ithinkeachofus,aswesitandmeditateandwrestlewiththesekoans,willfindaplaceofMuwithinourbeings.Wewill find the solitary hand thatmakes the soundwithin our being, andexpresses the essence of our being. Put another way, I see koans asarchetypesofexperiences,commontoallsentientbeings,whichareheld

deepinthecollectiveunconscious,oralayavijñana,astheoldBuddhistswould say. Zazen provides a pipeline which connects the inner self ofeach person into this vast reservoir of experience. In this way, we canconnect with that which a koan presents. But the connection is ourconnection.Thewordsareourwords,ourexperiences.Thisisthewayofkoanstudyforme.

So please don't look for answers in this book, but rather forthoughtsaboutthemajorteachingsofZen.

It is also my concern that these teachings be presented in non-technical, non-Buddhist, and non-Zen jargon so that they may beaccessibleandavailableforanyonewhoreadsthisbook.Thisbookisforthe beginning as well as the advanced student of Zen. I also think thebookmay speak to thepersonwhomayneverhaveopenedaBuddhistbookbefore,whomayneverhavedonezazen,oranytypeofmeditation—apersonwithnoexperience inZenBuddhism.Sodon'tworry ifyouareoneofthesepeople.Itrustthatwhatisinthesepages,hopefullywillreachyou,andmaypossiblyhavemeaningforyou.

Thankyou,andmayyourlifegowell.

CASE1

ShakyamuniBuddhaShakyamuni Buddha saw themorning star and wasenlightened, and he said, "I,andthegreatearthandbeings,simultaneously achieve theWay."

Keizan'sVerseA splendid branch issues fromtheoldplumtree;In time, obstructing thornsflourisheverywhere.

Thoughts

ItseemstomethatthegroundofthefaithandpracticeofZenisinthisfirstcase.ShakyamuniBuddhadeclaresconclusivelythatallsentientbeings,indeed,allofcreation, simultaneously have attained enlightenment.He includesall sentientbeings. There is a significant difference between the translations of theDenkorokuofferedbyFrancisH.CookandThomasCleary.IntheCookversion,asabove,thetranslationreads,"I,andthegreatearthandbeings,simultaneouslyachievetheWay."Cleary'sversionreads,"Iandallbeingsonearthtogether...."It'spossibletostretchCleary'stranslationtoindicatethatnotonlyareallsentientbeingsenlightenedandachievetheway,butallcreaturesandthegreatearthaswell.On theotherhand, theCook translation canmean that all things, just astheyare, rightnow,areperfect andcomplete, includingall sentientbeings, allrocks and trees and grasses and mountains and rivers and streams. Indeed,includingtheweeds!

Shakyamunitrulymeansall.Heexcludesnobody:thesick,thecriminals,

the rich, the poor, the blind, the beggars, the homeless, lawyers, politicians,blacks,whites,Asians,andLatinos.

Probably most people who will either read or hear these words are"liberals,"bywhich Imeanpeoplewhoaremostlywhite, uppermiddle class;people with a "social conscience," interested in preserving the environment,opposed to capital punishment; those who support causes such as AmnestyInternational,SavetheWhales,TheNatureConservancy,andgenerallyvotetheDemocratic ticket. I am one of these people. Naturally, we liberals concernourselves with just such a list: the sick, the criminals, the rich, the poor, theblind, the beggars, the homeless, the lawyers, the politicians, blacks, whites,Asians,Latinos.Butwaitaminute!Dowereallywanttoincludetherichinthislist?Howdidtheygetin?

Somehow,therichandpowerfuljustdon'tseemtofit.Theydon'tseemtobelong.We feel differently about the rights of the poor thanwe do about therightsoftherich.

BeforeIbecameaZenmonk,Iwasaprofessionalfund-raiser.Duringmyfund-raisingcareer,oneof thepositions IheldwasasdirectorofdevelopmentfortheCenterofUrbanAffairsoftheUniversityofSouthernCalifornia.That'sright,USC.Thealmamaterofmostof theNixonandReaganadministrators.Thehomebaseofwhitemiddleclassconservatism,ifnotRepublicanism.Whatwas I, a bona fide liberal, doing at USC? They hired me because they hadcreatedanewschool,TheCenterofUrbanAffairs,toreachouttothepoorblackneighborhoodsthatsurroundUSC.Foraseparateschoolwithitsowndean,therehadtobeafund-raiserwhosemainjobwastoidentifyaconstituency,developaboard of counselors (like trustees, only on the individual school level), andultimately, raise funds needed to support the school. Given the nature of theprogramsandpoliciesofTheCenterofUrbanAffairs,nothingbutabonafideliberalwoulddo.Iwasthatliberal.

Oneday,ononeofmyfund-raisingforays,Iwassittingontheothersideof the desk of a prominent chief executive officer in the oil industry. I wasrecruitinghimforourboard.ThiswasduringtheNixonyearsandjustafterVicePresident Spiro Agnew—who, during his heyday, had been the scourge ofliberalseverywhere—resignedfromofficeindisgrace.ThemanIwasrecruitinghadhiredMr.Agnew,muchtothedismayofliberals.

Duringourvisit,myhostreceivedaphonecall.IknewfromhisendoftheconversationthatthepersonhewasspeakingtowasMr.Agnew.Ialsoknewthat I had tomake an appropriate and probably flattering comment about the

situation.Finallythephonecallended.Myhostreplacedthephoneinitscradle,lookedatme,andasked,"Doyouknowwhothatwas?""Yes,"Iresponded,"itwasMr.Agnew,andImustsay,itreallywasawonderfulthingforyoutogivehimajob,justatthetimewhenhewasindisgraceandshunnedbyall."

Mycommentwas satisfactory. I gained anotherprestigiousmember forourboardofcounselorsandafatcheck.

Afterwards I felt dirty. I felt I had prostitutedmyself. If I had toldmyprospectjustwhatIreallythoughtofMr.Agnew,Iwouldneverhavegottenhimtojoinourboard,norwouldIhavegottenthecheck.Iwouldhavefeltgoodifmyprospecthadgivenajobtoanex-convictofanydescription,evensomeonewho had committed murder, or armed robbery, or just about anything—anycriminalwhohadpaidhisorherdebt tosocietyandneededajob.Thatwouldhavebeenallright.Butwasit?Whywasthatall right,andwhywasgivingajob toMr.Agnewnot? I then realizedmy "liberal bias." I sawmy prejudicesagainsttherich,thepowerful,thewealthy.Ididn'tknowthenthatShakyamuni'senlightenment includedthem, too,andthatallbeings,everyone—includingtherich, the powerful, the wealthy—are right now, simultaneously, perfect andcomplete,justastheyare!

Keizan's verse makes this implicitly clear by declaring "the splendidbranch"aswellas"obstructingthorns"—thegoodandthebad,thewholeandthecripple, theblind, thebeggars, thehomeless, thepoor, the rich, theprivileged,the dictators, the criminals, the absolute, the relative, the yin, the yang, alltogether, form the one body of creation. One sees the depth and beauty ofRoshi'scontributiontomypoem"Alltogether—Oneflavor."

I also feel the word "simultaneously" includes all times, not just thepresent.Allbeings—past,present,andfuture—areinthesimultaneousmomentofShakyamuni'senlightenment.

Shakyamuni realized this tremendous realitywhen he saw themorningstar.Hereisthefirstdeclarationofthegroundofourfaith.Thisisthefirstuseofthe metaphor of Light. The Light of the morning star. The Light that is theground of enlightenment. TheLight that is, from thismoment on, transmittedfrommastertodisciple—teachertostudent—tothepresent.

Theteachingcontainedinthisfirstcaseisthatallbeingsareenlightened.All beings are the Light. All beings are Shakyamuni Buddha. All beings arecomplete.Allbeingsare, touseaChristianword, "saved."Not that allbeingscontainorhaveaglimmeroftheLightwithinthem.TheyhavetheLightentire

and complete. Not that all beings "contain" the Light. They are the Light.Everyone.Noexceptions.This is theenlightenmentexperienceofBuddha: theLightthatheperceivedwithinhimself—thatburstwithinhimandistransmittedfrommastertodisciple.

Poem

ShakyamuniBuddha(AfterMeisterEckhart)TheBuddhaeyesthatseemeArethesameeyesthatseetheBuddhaTheheartthatbeatswithintheBuddhaIsthesameheartthatbeatswithinme."Alltogether—Oneflavor"

CASE2

MahakashyapaThe first ancestor wasMahakashyapa. Once, theWorld-HonoredOneheldupaflower and blinked.Mahakashyapa smiled. TheWorld-Honored One said, "IhavetheTreasuryoftheEyeofthe True Dharma andWondrous Mind of Nirvana,and I transmit it toMahakashyapa."

Keizan'sVerseKnowthatinaremoteplaceinacloud-coveredvalley,Thereisstillasacredpinethatpasses through the chill of theages.

Thoughts

Enlightenment and transmission take place instantaneously, like the lightbulbthatflashesabovetheheadofthecartooncharacterwhosays,"I'vegotit!"Youmay strive and strive for hours, days, years, until at a particular fraction of amoment—a fraction so small it is beyond measure— when for no apparentreason—bang!"That's it! I'vegot it!Now,Iknow!Whydidn't Iknowbefore?It's so easy, after all!What a fathead not to have seen it sooner!" "Getting it"probablyhasnothingtodowithformaltraining,orseeking,orstudy.It'shardlyworthmentioning,soinsignificantcantheactual"means"ofenlightenmentbe.Zen history has many stories of Zen masters who "realized it" in this way.Enlightenment is subtle. As subtle as a smile. So subtle it is easy tomiss. It

could be the holding up of a flower, the blinking of an eye, the striking of apebble on a stick of bamboo, the overhearing of a verse of the sutras, thereflectionofone'sfaceinamirror,thenudgingofacatwantingtobestroked.

Thisisoneofthe"secret"teachingsofZen.Thesecretisthatthereisnosecret.ThegreatnessofZenisthatitisnotgreat.ThemagicofZenisthatthereisnomagic.Nan-ch'uan,aZenmaster,inresponsetothequestion"WhatistheWay?"saiditis"ordinary."Zenisnotsomethingthatshakestheearthandcausesmountainstoquake.ItisnotsomeblindingLightthatallofasuddenrevealsalltruth.The truthofZen is in themost insignificantandordinarydetailsof life.Thewashingofdishes.Theshiningofapairofshoes.Thewalkinthewoods.Theholdingupofaflower.Asmile.

To "get it" we need to be awake, aware, and alert. The Sanskrit word"Buddha"meanstobeawake.Tobeenlightenedistobeaware,awake,present,notabsent.Beingpresentwhereoneis.Beingcompletelypresent.Whateverwedo—doingitwithbothhands.Walkingwithbothfeet.All iswithinus.Thatiswhywedozazen.Zazenisapracticethatgoeswithin.Ithelpsstopdistractions;everything that takes us away fromourselves. It takes us to, and allows us tofocus,within. To turn to theLightwithin. To turn to theUnborn, toBuddha-nature,totheHolySpirit.Weneednotgooutsideourownpersonalexperience.Weneednotreadthegreatbooks.Weneednotlistentothegreatteachers.Weneednot climb thegreatmountains,makepilgrimages to theholyplaces.Theholyplaces,thegreatteachers,thegreatmountains—allarewithinus.Zazenisaraftthattakesusthere.

Poem

Mahakashyapa

SittingwiththeflowerBlackie,thecat,pokeshisheadinmyuniversalhandsnudgingtobecaressed.Istrokehishead.Hestretchespawsonmyrakusu

lookswide-eyedinmyeyes.OldShakyamuniblinks.AndMahakashyapasmiles.

CASE3

AnandaThe second ancestor was theVenerable Ananda. He askedthe Venerable Mahakashyapa,"Elder Dharma brother; didthe World-Honored Onetransmit anything else to youbesides the gold brocaderobe?"

Mahakashyapa called,"Ananda!" Ananda replied.Mahakashyapa said, "Knockdown the flagpole in front ofthe gate."Anandawas greatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseWisteriawithered, trees fallen,mountainscrumbled—Valley streams gush forth, andsparks pour out from thestones.

Thoughts

AftertheBuddha'sdeath,hisfollowersheldaconference.Oneoftheimportantitems on the agenda was to recite, remember, and record the teachingsShakyamuniBuddhagaveduringhisfortyyearsofteaching.

ThechiefmonkwasMahakashyapa.Anotherof the leadingmonkswasAnanda.Anandawas special for two reasons.First, he hadbeen theBuddha'sattendantforover twentyyearsandwasveryclose toBuddha.Second,hehad

thegiftofaphotographicmemory.Hehadonly toheara thingsaidonce—nomatterhowlongorcomplex—andhecouldrepeatitwordforword.Therefore,Ananda was a great resource person at this first conference of Buddha'sfollowers.

Mahakashyapa askedAnanda to recite theBuddha's teachings.Ananda"ascendedtheseat"andbegantospeak.Hebeganwiththefamouswords,"ThushaveIheard..."andrecitedateachingoftheBuddha.Ananda'swordsbecameknownas the "sutras"because in those timesbookswere stitched (or sutured)together.Each sutraor storyor teachingof theBuddhabeginswith thewords"ThushaveIheard...."

Manydayslater,afterAnandahadfinishedhisrecitation,Mahakashyapaaskedtheotherdisciples:"IsthisdifferentfromwhattheTathagatapreached?""Tathagata" isasortofnicknamepeopleusedtorefer toBuddha.ItmeanstheThusComeOne,orTheOneWhoHasCome(andattainedenlightenment).

Thedisciplessaid,"ItdoesnotdifferbyasmuchasawordfromwhattheTathagata preached." With one voice they said, "We don't know whether theTathagatahasreturnedorwhetherthiswasspokenbyAnanda."Theycontinuedandsaid,"ThegreatoceanoftheBuddhadharmahasflowedintoAnanda.WhatAnandahasspokenistheflowing,rightnow,ofwhattheTathagatahasspoken."

WhileAnandawasquotingtheBuddha'swords,somehowtheynolongerweretheBuddha'swords,buthadbecomeAnanda's.ThewordsflowednotfromAnanda'sbrainbutfromhisheart.Somehow,duringhisrecitation,AnandahadmadetheBuddha'steachingshisown.

Before that timehehadbeen the attendant ofShakyamuniBuddha andhad heard all the Buddha's teachings. But they weren't his. They wereShakyamuni's.There'safamoussayingabouthearinganother'steaching:Tohearand to quote someone else's teaching is like counting someone else's moneywhilenothavingapennyofone'sown.Mostofusdothat.Wecountthemoneyofothersandhavenoneofourown.Whatgooddoesitdoustocountthousandsofsomebodyelse'sdollarswhenwedon'thaveadollarofourown?Wespeakthewordsofothersinsteadoffindingourown.

This remindsmeof thekoanor storyaboutGutei's finger.GuteiwasaZen master famous for responding to every question by holding up a finger."Whatisthemeaningoflife?"Guteiwouldholdupafinger."WhatisthemostimportantthingImustdorightnow?"Guteiwouldholdupafinger."IsthereaGod?"Guteiwouldholdupafinger.Nomatterwhatthequestionorthesituationortheproblem,Gutei'sanswerwastoholdupafinger.Hewasfamousforthis

gesture.Gutei'sZenwas"One-FingerZen."One day, a visiting monk, who was new to Gutei's monastery, asked

Gutei's young attendant about his master's teaching. The attendant held up afinger.Guteiheardaboutthis.Later,hemethisattendantandaskedhimaboutit.The attendant helduphis finger andGutei cut off the tip of the fingerwith aknife. The attendant screamed in pain, holding the cut finger, and ran away.Guteicalledafterhim.Theattendant turnedand lookedatGutei.Guteismiledandheldupafinger.Andtheattendantwasatthatmomentenlightened!

There's also a story about speaking another's words in the Journal ofGeorgeFox.ThefounderofQuakerism,Foxhadthehabitofvisitingdifferentchurches every Sunday, listening to the sermon made by the preacher andchallengingtheunderstandingofthepreacher.Ononeofthesevisits,apreacherwasquotingfromtheBible:Paulsaidsoandso,andJesussaidsoandso,andIsaiahsaidsoandso,andMosessaidsoandso.

"Waitaminute,"interruptedFox,"whatdoyousay?"Thepoint isweneed to findourownmoney.Weneed to findourown

treasure chest.We need to find our own words. A German theologian of thenineteenth century named Blumhardt said, "Jeder Mensch ist ein besonderesWortGottes""EachpersonisaspecialwordofGod."Weneedtofindthatword.Deep in theheart of our heart is thatword.Weneed to find it andbe able toexpress it. Zazen is a practice that helps us get to the place where the wordwithinuslives.

Onestudenttoldmeaboutanexperienceshe'dhadwithatwelve-year-oldboywhowaswritingareportonZenBuddhism.HeknewshewasaBuddhistand askedher tohelphim.She found the experienceof findingwords that hecouldunderstandtobeexhilarating.

Shakyamuni spoke to people according to "their condition." He usedwordsthatwouldmeettheircondition.Whenhemetafarmer,hewouldspeakinfarmer'sterms.WhenhemetapersonwhowashighlyversedintheoldIndianscriptures, the Vedas, he would speak to them using their knowledge of theVedas.

There'sastoryaboutoneofthemonkswhowaswithShakyamuni.Thismonk was retarded. He wanted to become enlightened like the others. So hecametotheBuddhaandtoldhimso."OK,"saidtheBuddha,"I'lltellyouwhatyouhave todo.Sitdown in theopposite cornerof the room. I'll roll aball toyou.Youcatchitandrollitbacktome.We'lldoitthreetimesandafterthethird

time you will be enlightened." "Oh, really?" said the monk. "Yes," saidShakyamuni.SotheysatinoppositecornersoftheroomandShakyamunirolledthe ball to the monk the first time. The monk caught it and rolled it back.Shakyamuni rolled the ball the second time.Themonk caught it and rolled itback. Shakyamuni rolled the ball the third time. Themonk caught it andwasenlightened!

Whathappenedhere?IbelieveShakyamuniBuddhasawthefaithofthemonk. And because the monk's faith was so intense and so pure, he wasenlightened.

Ananda's patience was incredible. Ananda probably joined Buddha'sgroupwhileinhistwenties.HestayedwithBuddhaashisattendantfortwenty-fiveyears.AnandawasnottobetheBuddha'ssuccessorbecausehehadnotyetfoundhisword.Mahakashyapa, the chosen one, had found hisword.Anandasubsequently was Mahakashyapa's attendant for twenty more years before heattained enlightenment. So he patiently studied and persevered for forty-fiveyearsbeforehewasenlightened!

Throughout this entire period Ananda lived a life of selfless service,alwayswithjoyandnevercomplaining.Thename"Ananda"means"joy."

Whatawonderfulpersonhemusthavebeen!Alifeofcompleteservice,andthenhereachedthatpointinhislifewhenbang!hewasripe.Shakespearesaid:"Ripeness isall."At thatpoint,everythingcametogetherforAnanda.Hehadfoundthewordandnowthewordwashisown.

I'mnotsayingthewordsandteachingofothersarenotimportant.I'mnotsayingthesutras,theBible,theKoran,andalltheholybooksarenotimportant;thatweshouldnotreadthem.Iamsayingtheteachingsofthesutrasneedtobevisibleinourlives.

ButnowIwillgoa step further.Zen teaches that the sutrasandall theholybooksarereallynotnecessary.Thesutrasandalltheholybooksarewithinus,andwehaveaccesstothem.Wecanreachtheminzazen.

Poem

Ananda

Kashanda

AnakashoTettsumuiMuitettsuNorobeNosleeveNoMahakashyapaNoAnandaNopoleNogateNoTetsugenNoMuiNoNo

Yes

CASE4

ShanavasinThe third ancestor wasShanavasin.HeaskedAnanda,"What kind of thing is theoriginal unborn nature of allthings?" Ananda pointed to acorner of Shanavasin's robe.Again, asked, "What kind ofthing is the original nature ofBuddha'sawakening?"Anandathen grasped a corner ofShanavasin's robe and pulledit.Atthattime,Shanavasinwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseSourceless stream from a ten-thousand-footcliff,Washing out stones, scatteringclouds,gushingforth,Brushing away the snow,makingflowersflywildly—A length of pure white silkbeyondthedust.

Thoughts

In this case, Shanavasin asks Ananda for the uncreated, the unborn, for theAbsolute—forthemoon.HeasksAnandatorevealthesecretoftheuniverse,thegluethatholdsitalltogether.IshetestingAnanda,daringAnandatoshowhimthathecan'tshowhim?Orisheexpressinghisdeepinneryearning,indeed,theyearningofallpeople,ofallages,past,present,andfuture?Thelastwordsofa

movingandshatteringplaybyHenrikIbsen,Ghosts,are,"Mother,givemetheSun."Afterscreechingthesewords,thesonbecomesincurablyinsane.Likethemothcircling,circlingthedartingperilousflame,thereisonlyonewaytogetit,andthatwayistoloseitforever.ThegreatT'angpoetLiPodrowned,tryingtoembracethereflectionofthemoononalake,fromhisboat.Givemetheflame.Givemethesecretof theunborn, theuncreatedessenceofall things.Givemethesun.Givemethemoon.

Anandaisnofool.Heknowsthatthepassionofthemothwillleadtoaflamingdeathblaze.Heknowsthatthelongingforthemoon—thereachingoutforthemoon—canonlyleadtolunacy.Moonacy.So,hepointswithhisfingeratthemoon.Thefingerofthemoonpointsback.Indeed,thefingeritselfbecomesthemoon.Thespeckofdustontherakusu(orvest)ofShanavasinisthetotalityofthemoon,theuncreated,theunborn.Shanavasinhasonlytoseeit.Hedoesn't.SoAnandamakesitclearerbypullingontherakusu.ThenShanavasinseesandknowsforever.

Thereisawell-knownstoryof theZenstudentwhomistakesthefingerpointingtothemoonasthemoonitself.Thefingerisnotthemoon.Thefingeristhefingerandthemoonisthemoon.Butisit?Isthepointingfinger(contrarytothe teachings ofZenmasters of the past, present, and future) themoon itself?Howcanthepointingfingerbethemoon?Anandaknows.Shanavasinknows.Itisthe"purewhitesilkbeyondthedust."

Poem

ShanavasinPointingtotherakusu—themoonGraspingtherakusu—themoonPointlesscryofallbeingsthroughoutspaceandtime"Mother!Givemethemoon."

CASE5

UpaguptaThe fourth ancestor was theVenerable Upagupta. Heattended Shanavasin for threeyearsandthenshavedhisheadandbecameamonk.Once,theVenerable Shanavasin askedhim, "Did you make yourhome-departure physically orin spirit?" Themaster replied,"Truly, I made my home-departure physically." TheVenerable Shanavasin said,"How can the WondrousDharma of the Buddhas haveanything to do with body ormind?" On hearing this, themasterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseHouse demolished, the personperished, neither inside noroutside,Wherecanbodyandmindhidetheirforms?

Thoughts

TheBuddhaWayisawayofunity.TheWayisawaythattransformsfrommanytoone.TheWayhealsthewounded,conflicted,bodyandmind.TheWayrevealsbodyandmindasnotbodyandmindbutBodyMind—mindbody.One—nottwo—not two—not one. It is beyond number. Gassho: the palms of both hands

claspedtogetheristhepotentsymboloftheWay.Twojoinasone.Thewayoftheworld,however,isawayofdistinctionsandseparations,

multiplicityanddelusions.Weliveinaworldofdelusions.Thegreatdelusionisthatweareseparateanddistinct.Oursensesdonotdiscernbeyonddistinctions.

Zazen is a practice by which we can. The sixth ancestor, Hui-neng,defines zazen as the nonseparation of subject and object. To understand thisdefinition,considerwhathappenswhenonelearnstoplayamusicalinstrument.Iplaytherecorder.Whenfirstlearning,therearemanythingstoconsider.Thereistherecorderitself,withitseightholes.Therearethefingertipsthatcovertheholes.Thereis themusicsheet,withblacknotesonfivelinesandfourspaces,andbelowandabovethelinesandspaces.Somehowalloftheseseparateentitiesneedtobetogether.Atfirstwhatcomesoutoftherecorderisbitsofsqueaksandstrident sounds. It takesmuchpractice toget the fingers to cover theholes sothatapuresoundemergesfromtherecorder.Thenthereisthematterofrelatingthestoppingoftheholeswiththenotesonthesheetofmusic.Eventually,aftermany hours, days, months of practice, one approaches something almostpleasant to listen to. Eventually, one forgets the notes on themusic sheet, theholesintheinstrument,thefingerscoveringtheholes.Eventually,onejustplays.Eventually, one can call it music. Now turn to great master musicians likeCharlieParkerandDizzyGillespie.Listentotheduetstheyplaytogetherintheirearly recordings like Salt Peanuts orOrnithology.All without sheet music.There is one sound.There is no separation between instruments and sheets ofmusic.Thereisonesound.Music.Jazz.

Zazen takes place whenever we experience nonseparation and realizeunity;whenwefeelthepainorjoyoranguishofanother,eventhoughthereisnophysicalpainorjoyoranguishofourown.Whenweempathizewithanother,wecatchaglimpseofOneBody,asamotherknowswhenherbabyhurts,eventhoughnospokencommunicationtakesplace.Evenwhenthereisgreatdistancebetweenmother and child, themother knows.Themother can feel the child'sstateofbeingfrommanymilesaway.Thisisparticularlysoin"simple"people,whodealdirectlywiththeirfeelings;thepeoplewhoknowintheirboneswhatishappening to their lovedones,whoknowwhat thestateofbeing isofanyonetheymeet.

This happens to us when we don't try to make it happen.We feel the"aura"of agroupofpeopleuponenteringa room.Weknowwhat aperson isreallysayingjustbythe"look"ofthatpersoneventhoughtheirmouthissayingsomethingelse.

Oursensesaretreacherous.Theylietous.Wemustlivewiththatlieandneverthelessmakeour liveswork.Withourvision, for instance,wesee thingstopsy-turvy,andsowetrainourmindstoturnvisionaroundsowecanmaketheupside-down world work for us. Our senses are not enough. Our HeartMindneedstoinformthem.WhenthathappensweentertherealmofOneBody.

OneBody happens when we feel with one another. When we havecompassion for one another. When we love one another. When we give toanother.EverygiftwemaketoanotherisagiftofOneBody.That'swhytheoldBuddhassaythereisnogiverorreceiverorgift—thereisjustgiving.

Poem

UpaguptaAsShylockcouldnotcutapoundoffleshwithoutadropofbloodSoUpaguptacouldnotleavehomephysicallywithoutleavingmentally.WhenthehouseisbrokenandthepeoplegonethereisnoBodyMindtofindandnoformstohide.

CASE6

DhitikaThe fifth ancestor, Dhitika,said,"Becauseonewhomakeshis home-departure andbecomes a monk is a selflessSelf, is selfless and possessesnothing, and because theoriginal Mind neither arisesnor ceases, this is the eternalWay. All Buddhas are alsoeternal.TheMindhasnoformand its essence is the same."Upagupta said, "You mustbecome thoroughly awakenedand realize it with your ownmind."Themasterwasgreatlyawakened.

KeizansVerseBy acquiring the marrow, youwill know the clarity of whatyoufound;Lun-pien still possessessubtletieshedoesnotpasson.

Thoughts

"The Song of the Jewel Mirror Awareness" is an important poem in Zenliterature. One of the things it says is, "Just to depict it in literary form is torelegate it to defilement." The Way is not a way of theories or dogmas orreligiousprinciples andpractices. It is not amatterofphilosophyor theology.Wethinkwecan"understand"theWay.Wethinkweknowwhatwearetalking

aboutwhenwetalkaboutZen.Buttotalkaboutitistomissit."Themeaningisnotinthewords,"saysthe"JewelMirror."Wordsareinthewords.Wethinkweunderstandwhathappenswhenwepracticezazen.Wesit,ratheruncomfortablyoften, with much pain in our legs. We follow our breaths, or we count ourbreaths.Welosecount.Wegobacktoone.Weexperiencethewonderfulprocessofpurificationandbelieveweunderstand.Weknockourheadsagainsttherockofourkoans.Wethinkwe'vegotten it, thatweunderstand it.Butdowe?Is itpossibleto"know"anything?Thetroublewiththinkingwe"know"somethingisthat "knowing" is a position. We unconsciously, and automatically, rejectanythingthatdiffersfromourposition.Canweeverholdanythingstillenoughtosay"Thisisit!"?Ifeverythingchanges,canone"know"anything?Isitevenaccurate to use the names we use for people, places, things? Aren't namestemporaryhandles?Forinstance,whenIusethenameStefano,amIspeakingofthepersonwhoisatthismomentwritingthesewords?OramIspeakingoftheperson who was the director of development of the University of SouthernCaliforniain1978?ArethesetwopeoplethesameStefano?Iunderstandthatthecell structure of our entire body goes through a complete regeneration everyseventh year. The very physical cell structure of the Stefano of 1978 iscompletelydifferentfromtheoneof1995.Infact,theStefanoof1995evenhasanewname:Mui.TheStefanoof1978wasaQuaker.MuiisaBuddhist.Thelistofchangesbetweenthetwoisendless.SowhenwesayStefanoorMui,orJohnor Mary, we should realize we are using temporary, provisional, and highlyinaccuratehandlesornames.Weshouldnotpresumeweknowthepersonwearetalking to, or about, because of the continual changes that have andwill takeplaceinthatperson.

Science isanotherexampleofchange.Mywife,Margaret, isamedicalprovider,aphysicianassistant,specializinginAIDSwork.Sheinformsmethatmedicalprocedures,andevenmedications,thatareknownandprovenoneyearare superseded the next because of new research. In theAIDS field there aremajorchangesintheunderstandingandpracticeofmedicineallthetime.

Notknowing then becomes a pragmatic position to take on any issue.That's why the best way to know is not to know. Notknowing is the state ofopenness. When we don't know, there's space for anything to happen—evenmiraclessuchasthevirginbirthofChrist,orthemanymiraclesascribedtoHim.There is a wonderful poem, written by Tung-shan, the thirty-eighth ancestor(case 39). It is called the "Song of the Jewel Mirror Awareness." The poemcontainstworemarkablelines:

Whenthewoodenmanbeginstosing,Thestonewomangetsuptodance.

Howcanawoodenmansing?Howcanastonewomandance?Howcanavirgingivebirth?Howcanasinglebasketoffishandafewloavesofbreadfeedfivethousandpeople?Howcanmountainsmove?Howcanriversbestill?Howcan bridges flow? In the state of notknowing, it all can happen—could havehappened and will continue to happen. But "knowing" leaves no space."Knowing" is a position that says that only what can fit in this little box of"knowing"isthewayitisandnothingelsewilldo.

TheGermanmysticMeisterEckhart put it thisway: "Apoor person isonewhoknowsnothing.OnemustbesoemptyofallknowledgethatoneneitherknowsnorrecognizesnorsensesthatGodlivesinone.Furtheryet,oneshouldbeemptyofallrecognitionthatlivesinone."

Poem

DhitikaI

MuNotMuMissed!

DhitikaII(ThreeTreasuresMu)

Mu Mu MuMu Mu MuMu Mu Mu

DhitikaIII

Thegreatestrecipe

isnotequaltoacrustofbread

CASE7

MishakaThe sixth ancestor wasMishaka. Once, the fifthancestor said to him, "TheBuddha said, 'Practicingwizardry and studying thesmall is like being draggedwith a rope.' You, yourself,should know that if you leavethe small stream andimmediately come to the greatocean, you will realize thebirthless." Hearing this, themasterexperiencedawakening.

Keizan'sVerseEven with purity like anautumn flood reaching theheavens,How can it compare with thehaziness of a spring night'smoon?Many people desire to findpurityintheirlives,But though they sweep andsweep, theirminds are not yetempty.

Thoughts

Twoofthemajorpointsinthiskoanaretheeffortwemaketoachievewisdomor perfection or enlightenment, and Keizan's wonderful poem about the hazy

moon.Duringhis long teachingcareer,ShakyamuniBuddha told stories about

animalstoillustratehisteachings.ThesestoriesaretheJatakaTales.Oneofthetaleshetoldillustrateswhat"wisdom"means.

A man had a field of seedling trees that neededwatering regularly. He had to go on a trip and asked thekingofagroupofmonkeyswholivedintheforestwhethertheywouldtakecareoftheseedlingsforhim.Thekingofthemonkeyswas eager to oblige since the ownerwas sokindtothem.Sothemanwentonhistripandthemonkeysbeganwatering.Aftermanydays,thekingofthemonkeysdecided itwould be best if they knew exactly howmuchwater to give each tree, so he instructed his subject-monkeystolifteachseedlingtoseehowdrytherootswereandthentowateraccordingtothedrynessoftheroots.Sothe monkeys carefully pulled up each of the seedlings,inspectedtheirroots,andwateredasneeded.

Whiletheywerebusydoingtheirtasks,amancametothefieldandsawwhattheyweredoing.Hewenttothekingof themonkeysandaskedwhy theywerepullingupthe roots of each tree. The monkey-king told him of hisplan."Youfools,"saidtheman."Don'tyourealizethatbypullingthetreesupbytherootsyouarekillingthem?"Andtheman observed thatwhile themonkeyswere doing thebest theycould, they lackedthewisdomwithwhich todotheirjob.

Howdoesoneattainwisdom?Whywasthemanofthestorywiseandthemonkeysnot?Doweinheritwisdom?Iswisdomsomethingwearebornwith?Ifso,whydoesitseemthatsomehaveitandothersdon't?Canwedevelopwisdomthroughasystematiccourseofstudy?Throughdiligentpersistence?

Here'saZenstory.

An old Zen master met a monk who was deep inzazen meditation. "What are you doing?" asked the Zen

master. "I'm trying to become a Buddha," responded themonk. "Ah, I understand," said the Zenmaster. Later themonksawtheoldZenmastersittingonthegroundrubbinga stoneacross the faceof abrick. "What areyoudoing?"asked themonk. "I'm trying tomake amirror out of thisbrick,"saidtheZenmaster."Youcan'tmakeamirroroutofabrickbyrubbingit,nomatterhowhardorhowlongyourub," said the monk. "Ah," said the Zen master, "andneithercanyoumakeaBuddhanomatterhowlongorhardyousit."

Keizanmakes the same point in his poem. Though people "sweep andsweep, theirmindsarenotyetempty."Theyhavenotyetachievedthestateofshunyata,thestateofemptiness.

What iswisdom and how does one get it? Let's try a definition.Whatdistinguisheswisdomfromintelligence,fromknowledge?ToputitperhapsZen-like, I think thedifference is thatknowledgeor intellect is theability toknowthat one and onemake two.Wisdom is the ability to know that one and onemakethree,four,eight,seventeen,orwhatever.Wisdomistheabilitytofindthelogicalconnectionbetweenillogicalentities.

OK, so we have a somewhat working definition. How does one getwisdom?Idon'tknowthatwecan"get"wisdom.Itis"given."Itisa"grace."Itjust happens.Why does it happen for some and not for others? I don't know.Wisdomisnotabsolute,inthesensethatthepersonwhohasitalwayshasit,orthat the person who doesn't have it never has it. No. Wisdom seems to beelusive.Sometimes youhave it; sometimes youdon't.Thegreatest andwisestman canmake the stupidest and silliestmistake. I think this accounts for theunfortunate fact that someZenmasters,andother religious leaders, sometimesslip into shabby, immoralpersonalbehavior. I think this isdue toa temporarylack ofwisdom.Amistakewe oftenmake is permanently to endow a personwith"wisdom,"believing thateverythingcomingoutof thatperson'smouth iswise. No!We need to examine, weigh, and carefully evaluate each utterance,never giving up our inherent birthright that is, in some way, "wisdom." Weshouldplacewhatever any teacher, priest, guru,pope,Zenmaster, orwhoeversays,againstthat"wisdom"inourownhearts,toseeifdeepwithin,it"clicks."

Iswisdomequal?Isitthesameinallpeople?Idon'tthinkso.Ithinkeachpersonhaswisdom indifferentdegrees.Yet thewisdomwithineachperson is

"perfect." The wisdom of a fool is perfect. The wisdom of a Zen master isperfect.Inthatsensethereisequality.

Sowhataboutpractice?Polishingthestone.Sweepingandsweeping.Arewenottosweepourminds,clearingoutthedetritusthatcluttersourinnerbeing?ArewenottoengageinstrenuousZenpractice?Isitalluseless?Canwesimplygoonasweare,knowingthatourinherentwisdomwillguideus?IfthereisnopointtoZenpractice,i.e.,ifZenpracticecannotleadustowisdomoranyoftheperfections,whybother?ThisisthedeepquestionthegreatZenmasterDogenstruggled with and his thunderous resolution was: Practice itself isenlightenment.We do not practice to become Buddha.We do not practice toachieve.We practice because we are Buddha.We do not practice to achievewisdom.Wepracticebecausewearewise.Practiceitselfiswisdom.Wedonotpracticewithgoalsinmind.Practiceitselfisthegoal.

There's a story about Zen practice. When one begins practicing, onerealizes thatmountains aremountains and rivers are rivers. Later, as one getsinto practice and achieves initial insight, one realizes that mountains are notmountains and rivers arenot rivers.Later, as one achieves enlightenment, onerealizesthatmountainsaremountainsandriversarerivers.ThisisthemeaningofsuchseeminglymeaninglessstatementsofDogen,whowouldsaysomethinglike"Onecannotsaymountainsaremountainsandriversarerivers.Onecannotsay mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers. One can saymountainsaremountainsandriversarerivers."

TheQuakers have a lot to teach us.To theQuakers, thewayone doesthingsisasimportantaswhateverendonewishestoachieve."Process"itselfistheWay.Nonviolenceisnotanend,itisameans.Themeansaretheend.Itisobvious we can achieve ends with violent means. Quakers say the meansthemselvesdeterminetheshapeandcharacteroftheend.That'swhyitiscrucialtoQuakersthatwhattheydoisconsistentwithwhatevertheyhopetoachieve.Somemayargue,thistakestoolong.Allthemajorachievementsofhumankindhave been made through force, legislation—the imposition of the will of themajorityuponthereluctantminority.Thisisthequickerandpracticalway.

But I wonder, how true is this? Take the issue of slavery. Slavery hadbeen a blind spot in the history of civilization for centuries. Everyone ownedslaves—evenQuakers.IttookQuakersagoodhundredyearstoabolishslaverycompletely amongst themselves. Quakers waited until they were completelyunited, in every individual localMonthlyMeeting of Friends, throughout thecountry,ontheissueofslavery.Finally,alltogether,theyrepudiatedthisheinous

practice.Onehundredyears!Trulyalongtime,andyettheygaveupslaveryonehundredyearsbeforetherestoftheworld!Sowhowasslowandwhowasfast?Andtheydiditby"friendlypersuasion"ofeachother.

Andnowthe"hazymoon."Oneofthemistakeswemakeistothinkthegoalofpracticeistogettoa

perfectedstateofbeing.Tobecomeanarhat.Toattaina"pure"mind.Tofindinnerpeace.Tofindperfection.This,wethink,isNirvana.

ThehazymoonofKeizanisthestateofimperfection,thestateoflivingintheworldasit is.Nirvanaisnotthepuremoonwhereeverythingisperfect.ThehazymoonisNirvana.Nirvanaisrighthere,rightnow,imperfectthoughitmaybe.Paul'scomplaint toJesus isappropriate.Heprayedtoremoveamajorimperfectionhehad.Jesus'responsewas"No—inthyweaknessismystrength."

Our attempts to achieve purity are not wisdom. The very attemptindicates wisdom is lacking. Purity is not the goal. The hazy moon—or thatwhich is shrouded in the normal, everyday experience of living withimperfections—is the goal. We need to accept ourselves as imperfect humanbeings.Enlightenmentlivesinourimperfections.

In a lighter vein, Robert Herrick makes a similar point in his poem"DelightinDisorder."

AsweetdisorderinthedressKindlesinclothesawantonness:AlawnabouttheshouldersthrownIntoafinedistraction:AnerringlacewhichhereandthereEnthrallsthecrimsonstomacher:Acuffneglectful,andtherebyRibbonstoflowconfusedly:Awinningwave,deservingnote,Inthetempestuouspetticoat:Acarelessshoe-string,inwhosetieIseeawildcivility:DomorebewitchmethenwhenartIstoopreciseineverypart.

Poem

Mishaka

Agreatwavereachesforthehazymoonandforonebriefmomentlivestodie

CASE8

VasumitraThe seventh ancestor was theVenerable Vasumitra. HeplacedawinevesselbeforetheVenerable Mishaka, bowed,and stood. The VenerableMishakaaskedhim,"Isthismyvessel or yours?" The masterthoughtaboutit.TheVenerableMishakasaid,"Ifyouthinkitismy vessel, it is your intrinsicnature; if you think it is yourvessel, you will receive myDharma." Hearing this, themaster was greatly awakenedconcerning the unbornintrinsicnature.

Keizan'sVerseJustasanechofollowswhenabell sounds on a frostymorning,So,here,fromthefirstthereisnoneedforanemptycup.

Thoughts

All theZenmasterssay thebestway tostudywitha teacher iswithanemptycup. In thisway, there is space for the teaching.However, ifwe come to theteacher with a full cup—with our opinions, our ideas, our theories, ourknowledge, and so forth—then there is no space for teaching. I have beenstudying and practicing Zen for over thirty years, yet each time I enter the

DokusanRoom,theroomwherethestudentmeetsprivatelywiththeteacherforindividual study, it is necessary forme to completely emptymy cup of thirtyyearsof"learning."ThenIamabletoreceivefrommyteacher.

This koan, however, goes one step further. It challenges us not only toemptyourcup,buttothrowitaway.Thekoanchallengesustorealizethereisnocup.Evenwhenwetenaciouslyholdontothecup,itisnotthere.Itisadelusion.Itisaperniciousdelusiontothinkwehaveaccumulatedthirtyormoreyearsoflearningand thatweknow!Thecup isadelusion thatseparates. If there isnocup,whatisthere?

Poem

VasumitraI

Themasterdrinksthewineofessentialnature

TheDiscipledrinksthewineofDharma

NownoneedformasterDiscipleorDharma

Thefrostymorningchillsthebones

VasumitraII

NotmineNotyours

Theringofthefrostydawnchillsthebones

CASE9

BuddhanandiThe eighth ancestor wasBuddhanandi. He met theseventh ancestor; theVenerableVasumitra,andsaid,"I have come to discuss thetruthwithyou."TheVenerableVasumitra said, "Good sir, ifyoudiscuss, it isnot thetruth;truth is not discussed. If youintendtodiscussthetruth,thenintheenditisnotadiscussionof truth." The master realizedthat the Venerable Vasumitra'struth was superior and wasawakened to the principle oftheUnborn.

Keizan'sVerseThediscussionsbySubhutiandVimalakirtididnotreachit;Maudgalyayana andShariputrasawitasifblind.If you wish to understand themeaningofthisintimately,When is some seasoning notappropriate?

Thoughts

There is a famous story about a man who was interested in the Buddha'steachings.Hewantedtohavesomequestionsansweredbeforehewouldfollow

theBuddha.HeapproachedBuddhaandtoldhimjustthat.Shakyamunitoldhimto fire away.Theman askedquestions such as: "Is there a soul?" "Is the soulimmortal?""Whathappenstothesoulwhenthebodydies?""Istrutheternal?""Does the truthapplyunderallcircumstances?""Is the truthabsoluteor is thetruthdifferentaccordingtocircumstances?"Inoneversionofthestoryitissaidthe Buddha responded with "noble silence." In another version, Shakyamuniresponded by telling a story about amanwho had been struckwith a poisonarrow.His friends immediatelywanted to remove thearrow.Themanstoppedthem,saying,"Wait.Beforeyouremovethearrow,let'sstudyit.Let'slookatthefeathersontheendoftheshaftandsodeterminethetribeofthemanwhoshotthearrow.Thenlet'sstudytheshaftandtypeofwoodusedandinthiswaywecanfindoutthefamilyofthemanwhoshotthearrow.Let'stakeasampleofthepoison anddiscover exactly how to treat the injurywith the correct antidote.""Thisisallwellandgood,"saidtheBuddha,"butifwewaituntilweknowtheanswerstothesequestions,themanwillbedead.Bettertoactquickly,removethearrow,andsavehislife."

Such questions asked of the Buddha would take years and years ofexplication,argument,discussion,explanationad infinitum.Onewouldstillbeleftwithspeculativeopinions. It'snot thatwecan'teventually findsatisfactoryanswers, it's thatwe are living in a state of emergency.We are hit todaywithsorrow, sickness, and death.We need to take direct action now to resolve thepresentdangerwearein.Weneedtodealwithwhatisbeforeusrightnow.Suchtheologicalexplication,interestingthoughitmaybe,takesusawayfromdealingwithwhatisbeforeus.Wefindallsortsofwaystoescapefromdealingwiththepresent.Paradoxically,wecanevenuseZenpracticetoescapefromthenow.

SomepeoplededicatetheirlivestoZenandyettheirpersonallivesareashambles. Their lives are boxes. One box of their life is their religious life.Another is their professional-or work-box. Another is their recreational-box.Thenthereistheat-home-box,etcetera.Theremaybeadifferentpersonineachbox. The one in the profession-boxmay be a sharp, cheerful, ambitious, andenergetic person, easy to get along with, who will go far. The one in therecreational-boxmay be fiercely competitive, needing towin at all costs. TheoneintheZen-boxmaybepious,meek,submissive.Theoneintheat-home-boxmaybeasterndisciplinarian.Worstofall,theboxesdon'tconnect.

IntheZen-boxheorshemaybeabletomaintainasterlingreligiouslife—observingtheprecepts,practicingtheparamitas,receivingJukai,andsoon.Heknowsalltherightmovesinthereligiousservice.Sheknowsallthechants

by heart—both in Japanese andEnglish.His zazen posture is solid as a rock;nevertheslightestmovementofhisbody.Herresponsestokoanstudyaresharp.Yetinherat-home-boxshemayleadafracturedlife.Theremaybeahusband,wife,lover,orpartnerathome—miserable—becauseoftheabsenceofthe"Zen"partner. Insomecases therereally isn'tamarriageor truerelationship,andyetthey are continuing to livewithin the framework ofwhatever they think theyhave.SotheyturntoZenpracticetoescapefromtheirnon-marriagemarriage.

Howmanyofusliveinboxes?Zenisapracticethatunitesratherthanseparates.Yetthebox-liver'slife

isfractured.Howisthispossible?HowisoneabletoleaveunresolvedproblemsbehindandturntoapersonalpursuitofNirvana?

Jesus put it this way: "If before you bring your gift to the altar, yourememberthatyouhaveadifferencetosettlewithanother,first,gotothatother,settleyourdifferenceandthengotothealtar."

Zen practice is not simply sitting on a pillow, chanting sutras, bangingone's head against a stone koan, havingDokusanwith one's teacher, and soforth.Zen practice iswhat is before us right now,whatever thatmay be.Zenpracticeisworkingonfracturedrelationships.Zenpracticeiswashingthedirtydishes. Zen practice is not passing the beggar with outstretched hands on thestreetwithoutgivinghimorhersomething.Zenpracticeistakingcareofrightnow.

Truthisfoundinthenow.Truthis thedirtydish, theunsweptfloor, thelonelyhusband,wife,friend,theunsettledarguments.

Poem

Buddhanandi

AsliceofpizzasprinkledwithcrushedredpepperAhhhh.

CASE10

BuddhamitraThe ninth ancestor was theVenerable Buddhamitra. HeheardBuddhanandisay:

Your speech is one with yourintrinsicMind,Andnotevenyourmotherandfather can compare incloseness.Your actions are one with theWay,And this is what the Mind ofBuddhasis.If you search externally for aBuddhawithform,Hewillnotresembleyou.If you want to know yourintrinsicMind,Youareneitheronewithitnorseparate.

Upon hearing this, the masterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseDo not say that speech andsilence are involved withseparationandconcealment;How can senses and their

objects defile one's ownnature?

Thoughts

There are two famous stories thatmay help illustrate this case. The first is akoan.Thestudentaskedthemaster:"WhatdoyoudoifyoumeettheBuddhaonaroad?"Themastershouted:"Youkillhim!"

The second story is the Jataka tale of Angulimala. Angulimala was amurdererwhokilledhisvictims,cutoffafingerfromthemurderedone'shand,andaddedthefingertoagrislynecklaceoffingersthatheworearoundhisneck.ThenameAngulimalameans"grislynecklace."Hedidthisbecauseheinsanelybelievedhehadtokillonethousandpeopletoachievesalvation.Hehadkilled999 people, and the last person he met was Shakyamuni Buddha, who waswalking along a road. He ran after Shakyamuni. Shakyamuni continued hisnormalpacewithouthurrying.ButnomatterhowfastAngulimalaran,hecouldnot catch upwith theBuddha. Finally, exhaustedwith his efforts,AngulimalacalledandaskedBuddhaifhewassomesortofmagiciansincehewasunabletocatch him. The Buddha told Angulimala who he was and converted him.Angulimala shaved his head, put on robes, and became a devout and mostwonderful monk. There is much more to this story but the point I want toillustrateisAngulimala'sinabilitytocatchupwiththeBuddhatokillhim.

In the first koan the question is, what do you do when you meet theBuddha on the road?You kill him. In the second story, theBuddha is on theroad.Nomatterhow fastyou try toget to theBuddha,youcannotcatchhim.Youcannotmeethim.ItisalmostasiftheBuddhaontheroadisaphantomoramirage. Nomatter how far you travel to that which you think is before youreyes, it recedes into the far distance, always eluding you. Is the Buddha amirage? Is the one you see a phantom?Does theBuddha exist?Where is theBuddha?

Buddhanandi says, "Not even your mother or father can compare incloseness."Furtheronhesaid,"IfyousearchexternallyforaBuddhawithform,he will not resemble you." Buddhamitra, knowing this, never spoke or evenwalked.Hesaid:

Fatherandmotherarenotclosetome;

WithwhomamImostintimate?TheBuddhasarenotmyWay;WithwhatWayamImostintimate?

Poem

Buddhamitra

DialoguebetweenMindandConsciousness

C: Whycan'tIseeyou?M: Iamyourseeing.C: Howcloseareyou?M: Thefaceinthemirror.C: WhereareyouwhenIhurt?M: Inthecenterofpain.C: HowcanIfindyou?M: Don'tlook.C: Whoareyou?M:

C: Uncle.

CASE11

ParshvaThe tenth ancestor was theVenerable Parshva. Heattended the VenerableBuddhamitra for three yearswithout ever sleeping lyingdown. One day, the VenerableBuddhamitra was reciting asutraandheexpoundedonthebirthless nature of all things.Hearing this, the master wasawakened.

Keizan'sVerseTurning, turning—so manysutrascrolls!Born here, dying there—nothing but chapters andphrases.

Thoughts

JamesJoyce'sFinnegan'sWakebeginsinthemiddleofasentence:

riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore tobendofbay,bringsusbyacommodiusvicusofrecirculationbacktoHowthCastleandEnvirons.

The lastwords of the book are the beginning of the firstwords of thebook,completingthesentence:

Awayalonealastalovedalongthe

Structurally, the book is crafted aswere the ancient sutras. Thesewerecopiedonlongstripsofpaperorclothandrolleduponaspindle.Onereadthesutraasthescrollunwoundfromonespindleandwounduponanother.Readingasutra,therefore,requiredturning.InTibet,therearehand-heldstickswithlittlewheelsonthemcontainingthewordsofasutra.Turningthewheelbyhandturnsthe sutra. By beginning Finnegan's Wake in the middle of a sentence andconcluding the book with the first half of that sentence, Joyce achieves theturning:"Fin-again."

Make the sutra your own. Make the words of the Buddha yours, asAnandawasabletodo.Untilthewordsareyoursthereisonlytheturning.Turnturnturnuntiltheveryturningbecomesyou.Untilitisnotthesutraorthewheelorthespindleor theriverrunturning.Youaretheturningtherunningriver thespindlethewheelturningturningturning.

Poem

Parshva

Catchyoursutrafromthefallingstar,andletitsleepineverypore.

CASE12

PunyayashaThe eleventh ancestor wasPunyayasha. He stood withfolded hands before theVenerable Parshva, and theVenerable Parshva asked him,"Where did you come from?"Themaster replied, "Myminddoes not go or come." TheVenerable Parshva asked,"Where do you dwell?" Themasterreplied,"Myminddoesnot stop or move." TheVenerable Parshva asked him,"Aren't you undecided?" Themaster replied, "All Buddhasare also like this." TheVenerable Parshva said, "Youare not 'all Buddhas,' and 'allBuddhas' is also wrong."Hearing this, the masterpracticed unremittingly fortwenty-one days and acquiredpatience with regard to thenon-originationofthings.Thenhe said to the VenerableParshva, " 'All Buddhas' iswrong, and they are not theVenerable." Parshvaacknowledged him andtransmittedthetrueDharmatohim.

Keizan'sVerseMy mind is not the Buddhas,norisityou.Coming and going abidehereinasalways.

Thoughts

Thisisakoanaboutabiding.Itasks,wheredoesoneabide?InNewYorkCity?No!Inanapartment?No!Inthewoodsamongthetreesandanimals?No!Inthezendo? No! In a prison cell? No! In the heart? No! In themind? No! In theteachingsofShakyamuniBuddha?No!OfJesusChrist?No!Mohammed?No!Moses?No!Freud?No!Jung?No!TheBeatles?No!NewtGingrich?No!InthewordsoftheBible?No!Thesutras?No!TheVedas?No!TheKoran?No!TheTalmud?No!Ifnotinanyofthese,thenwhereisourabiding?Letmeillustratewithapoem.

Poem

Punyayasha

JackandJillwentupabilltofetchapailofwater.ButthereisnoJack,Jill,pailorhill.Splashingwater!

CASE13

Anabodhi

The twelfth ancestor was theVenerableAnabodhi.Heaskedthe Venerable Punyayasha, "IwishtoknowtheBuddha;whatisBuddha?"

The VenerablePunyayashareplied,"Youwishto know the Buddha, but hewho does not know is theBuddha."

Themastersaid,"SinceBuddha is not knowing, howcanIknowthatitisBuddha?"

The VenerablePunyayasha said, "Since youdonotknowBuddha,howcanyou know that it is notBuddha?"

The master said, "It islikeasaw."

The VenerablePunyayasha replied, "It is likewood. Now I ask, what does'saw'mean?"

The master said, "TheVenerable and I are lined upevenlyliketheteethinthesaw.Whatdoes'wood'mean?"

The VenerablePunyayasha replied, "You are

cutthroughbyme."The master was

suddenlyenlightened.

Keizan'sVerseTheredof therusticvillage isunknown to the peachblossoms;Yet, they instruct Ling-yun* toarriveatdoubtlessness.

Thoughts

AsIindicatedinCase6,Dhitika,oneofthe"positions"inZenisthe"position"of"not-knowing."Unfortunately,thishadbecomeaclichealreadyinAnabodhi'stime.

"Not-knowing" does not mean being ignorant. It does not mean notknowing.Itmeansnot-knowing.Nothavinganyparticularpointofview.Beingopentowhateverhappens.Beingopentowhatevermayhappen.Notevaluatingthings and making moral judgments on them. Just seeing things as they arewithoutaddinganything.Ourtendencyistoaddthings.Idon'tthinkit'spossiblenot toadd things towhateverwehear.Tryanexperiment.Saysomething toagroup of five people and then immediately ask them to repeat what you toldthem. It is impossible that you will get five exact replications of what youoriginallysaidtothem.Eachpersonwilladdsomething.Theproblemishearing.Hearing is complex. Whatever enters our "hearing" does not only enter ourhearing. It enters our entire being. It is processed by everything we are,everything we have heard before. It is processed by our opinions, ourexperiences,ourprejudices,ourlikes,ourdislikes,ourreligiousbeliefs,ournon-beliefs, our doubts, our anxieties. It goes through all of this muck. When itcomesoutagainitisindeliblystainedwithallthatweare.Whenwerepeatwhatwehear,itisnevertheoriginalsomething.

Thisishowgossipworks.Gossipmaynotreallybeintentional.Whenwehearsomebitofnewsandrepeatittoanotherperson,wecan'thelpadding.

Johnphoneshismother."Guesswhat,Mom,Iwonthelottery.""What?Youdid!Fantastic!""Itwasonlythirdprize,andIhadtoshareitwithtwomillionpeople,but

Iwonawhoppingtwenty-fourdollars."MamacallshersisterJane."Guesswhat,Jane,Johnwonthelottery.""Wow,"saysJane,"Johnisrichnow.""Sure,"saysmama,"hewonthethirdprize."JanegoestothemarketandmeetscousinHarriet."Guesswhat,Harriet,

cousinJohnwonthelottery.""Wow,"saysHarriet, "he'samillionaire. Iguesshe'sgonnaquithis job

nowandretire.""Youbetcha.IknowIwould.FirstthingI'ddoisgooutandgetmyselfa

newcar."Harriet goes home and tells her husband, Jim. "Guesswhat, Jim, John

wonthelottery.He'squithisjobandisgoingtobuythatMercedeshe'salwaystalkingabout."

Etcetera.There's awonderful play byLadyGregory calledSpreading theNews,

whichillustratesthisprocessbeautifully.WhenPunyayasharepliedtoAnabodhi'squestion,"...hewhodoesnot

knowistheBuddha,"hewasnotsaying"notknowing"istheBuddha.Rather,hewas saying that Anabodhi, himself, not-knowing, is already the Buddha.Anabodhi added toPunyayasha's answerand interpreted theopinion that "not-knowing"istheBuddha.Sohemissed.

Poem

Anabodhi

Notknowingifatreefallsintheforestofthemindsavesthetree,savesthemind.

Footnote:

*Ling-yunwas a Zenmaster who arrived at enlightenment upon seeing redpeachblossomsinfullbloom.

CASE14

KapimalaThethirteenthancestorwastheVenerableKapimala.One timethe Venerable Anabodhi spokeoftheoceanofBuddha-nature,saying,"Mountains,rivers,andthe great earth appear independenceonBuddha-nature.The three kinds of spiritualknowledge and the sixparanormal powers appear asa result of it." The master,hearingthis,wasawakened.

Keizan'sVerseEven though the huge wavesfloodtheheavens,howcan thepureoceanwatereverchange?

Thoughts

ThisisakoanaboutBuddha-nature.HowcanIwriteaboutBuddha-nature?Thegreat Zenmaster Dogen Kigen spent a lifetime writing about Buddha-nature.AnotherZenmaster,Bankei,talkedabouttheUnbornforallofhisteachinglife.Buddha-nature,theUnborn,theAbsolute,theTrueSelf,theOriginalFace,It,theWay, the Tao, the Light, the Inner Light, God, the Holy Spirit, Emptiness,Shunyata,Allah,Jehovah—allmetaphors.Andallmissthepoint.Whateverwecan say about it is not it. To say it is to miss It. It is something else. It issomethingmore.Itissomethingless.Itis.Itisnot.TheSotoZenmasterSekitoKisen wrote a poem called the "Identity of Relative and Absolute," or the"Sandokai,"thatsays,"Whenyouwalktheway,yougononearer,progressno

farther."TheJatakastoryofAngulimalawhotriedtocatchtheBuddhatoldhownomatterhowhardheran,hecouldneverreachhim.NomatterhowhardandcleverlywewriteaboutBuddha-nature,wecannotdescribeit.Semantically,itisbothonthehighestandthelowestlevelofabstraction.Somewhereinbetween.Nowhereinbetween.

IhadaninterviewwithastudentattheprisonwhereIteachzazen.Theinmate-student was working on the first of the Four Great Vows of theBodhisattva:"Creationsarenumberless,Ivowtofreethem."Thisvowwasthestudent's meditation subject, his koan. The question was, How can he freecreationsiftheyarenumberless?Thestudenthadtoshowmehowhewoulddoit.He struggled and struggledwith this koan for severalweeks.Each time heenteredtheinterviewroom(whichintheprisondoublesasabathroom),hewasoffthemark,ordidn'tknowwhattoanswer.Finally,oneevening,hecameintotheroomandblurtedoutthathecouldn'tdoitbecausehehadtofindthewaytofreehimselffirst!"Righton,"Isaid.Thenhetoldmethatthatverymorningafterhehadrealized thenecessityof freeinghimself,another inmatewithwhomhewashaving troubleapproachedhimandsneered,"I'mgoing to ruinyourday."Thestudentresponded,"Youcan'truinmyday.OnlyIcanruinmyday."Hetoldmehedidn'tknowwherehiswordscamefrom,butitstoppedtheotherinmate,who remained speechless, and in someway they connected. "You know," thestudent-inmatesaidtome,"thisstuffreallyworks!"

Poem

KapimalaI(Purification)

One...two...three...four...oops!athought...BacktoOne...two...three...four...oops!One...two...three...four...oops!One...two...three...four...oops!

One...two...three...four...oops!

KapimalaII

Whenemptinessisstruckitsbeatreverberatesinspace—andfillsthespacewithinthespaces—thesun—themoon—theconstellations.Ihearitintheswingingseas,thetrembleoftheearth—thewalkingmountains—theswingofhillsandvalleys—thegrasses,weeds,theflowers—Ihearitinembracingtrees—thesecretsoftheforests—thebeingsbusybeingborn—living,flying,dying—thepoetryofsages—andinthebeatingoftheheart.Thoughtherebeearthquakes,tidalwavesandthunderstorms—thoughtherebeforestfires,fallingstars—notaninchofearth,adropofwater,abladeofgrass,atouchofsky—notathoughtskipsasinglebeat.

KapimalaIII(ASliceofPurification)

One...two...three...four...IfonlyIhadthefaithtoseewhatIdonotsee—One...two...three...four...Canthisfailing,achingbodycontainitscure?One...two...three...four...CanIcompresstheoceanstoadrop?themountainstoapea?One...two...three...four...

Notaninchofearthoutsidemyheart?Notadropofwater?

CASE15

NagarjunaThe fourteenth ancestor wasthe Venerable Nagarjuna.Once, the thirteenth ancestor,Kapimala, paid a visit at therequest of a Naga king andreceivedawish-fulfillingjewel.The master Nagarjuna asked,"This jewel is the best in theworld.Doesithaveaform,oris it formless?" Kapimalareplied, "You just understandhaving form and not havingform, but you do notunderstand that this jewelneither has form nor isformless, nor do youunderstand that this jewel isnota jewel."Hearing this, themasterwasdeeplyenlightened.

Keizan'sVerseThe orphan light, marvelouslyvast,isneverdarkened;The wish-fulfilling mani-jewelshineseverywhere.

Thoughts

MoreonBuddha-nature.Nowit takes theshapeofapearl.Amagicpearl thatwillgrantone'severywish.Apopularsongofthe1940sand1950ssays,Whenyouwishuponastar,

Makesnodifferencewhoyouare.Anythingyourheartdesireswillcometoyou.

Theproblemwiththissong,andwiththewish-fulfillingpearl,isthatourwisheshavealreadybeengranted!

TheBuddhatellsastoryabouttwomenwhospentthenightinahostel.Onewasveryrichandtheotherverypoor.Therichmandecidedtosurprisethepoorman.Whilethepoormanslept,therichmansewedavaluablepearlintheliningoftheother'scoat.Nextmorninghewouldsurprisethepoormanwithhisgift.Therichmanwenttosleep.Nextmorning,thepoormanwasnotthere.Therich man asked the innkeeper where the poor man had gone. The innkeeperdidn'tknow.The richmansearchedeverywhere for thepoorman.Hecouldn'tfindhim.Eventually,hegaveuphissearchandwentabouthisway.

Thepoorman,inthemeantime,waswellawayandcontinuedhislifeaspoor as ever. Things got worse. Often he went to bed very hungry. He spentmany nights in deep despair,wishing for some stale bread to eat,wishing forsomethingbetter.Manyyears later, by chance, the rich and the poormanmetagain.Therichmanwasoverjoyedandtoldthepoormanwhathehaddonethatnight.Thepoormanwasaghast.Heturnedhiscoatinsideout,rippedaparttheliningofhis coat, andoutpopped thepreciouspearl.Hehadhad it duringallthoseyearsofpovertyanddespair!

Andthat'swhereweare.Thereisnoneedtomakeawish.Thewishhasalreadybeengranted. It isdangerous tomakeawish. Ithasbeensaid that theproblemwithprayingforsomethingis,wealwaysgetexactlywhatweprayfor!

Wepossessthepearlintheintersticesofourbeing.Thepearlisourtrueself.Itistheinheritancewehavealreadyreceived.

Poem

Nagarjuna

Abeamoflightremovesthecloudsthatblackenthemoonofmyfrozenheart.Minotaurdefeated—SecretsscornedTriplepoisonneutralized—Spider'swebreclaimed—AwebofgoldAuniverseofpearls.Oh,myheart!Free!Free!Free!

CASE16

KanadevaThe fifteenth ancestor was theVenerable Kanadeva. He hadan audience with the GreatBeing,Nagarjuna, in thehopeof becoming a follower.Nagarjunaknewhewasamanofgreatwisdom.First,hesenthis assistant for a bowl full ofwaterandhaditplacedbeforehim. The Venerable Kanadevasawitandthrustaneedleintothe bowl of water andpresented it to Nagarjuna.They met each other andjoyfullyrealizedthattheywereoflikeminds.

Keizan'sVerseAneedlefishesupalltheoceanwater;Wherever fiercedragonsgo, itishardtoconcealthemselves.

Thoughts

Thelast lineof thiskoan,"Theymeteachotherandjoyfullyrealizedthat theywere of likeminds," remindsme of awonderful quote fromGeorge Fox.Hesaid,"Meetoneanotherinthatwhichiseternal."Thiswasthekindof"meeting"thattookplacebetweenKanadevaandNagarjuna.Nowordsspoken.Theyknew.Their"meeting"simplyhappened.

Andwhatofthebowlofwater?Whatoftheneedle?Whatisthebowlofwater? What is the needle? Two become one. There is sexual imagery here.

Sexualimageryandgenderreversalintheteacher-studentrelationshipisprofuseandtakesmanyforms,sometimesconfusing.

1.Genderreversal.Theteacherassumesthedifferentrolesofmother,lover,father,andspouse.

The teacher as mother. The mother of thestudent carefully nourishes her son or daughter.First, she gives the newborn baby her own milkfromher breast, because that is the only source offood the baby can digest at this early stage ofdevelopment.Later,asthebabygrowsanddevelopsintoachild, themotherweans thebabyawayfromher breast, and slowly introduces solid foods. Atfirst the food is a light pudding or farina. As thechild continues to be nourished and grow, themotherfeedsthechildmoresolidfoods.Eventuallythechildbecomesayoungmanorwoman,andnowthemothercanofferdharma-meat.

The teacher as lover. The teacher woos thestudent.Theteachershowersgiftsuponthestudentintheformofteachingsheorsheknowsthestudentwilleasilyunderstandandenjoy.Theteacherenticesthe student with lovely stories of the dharma, likethe Jataka tales. The teacher slowly anddeliberately nurtures the relationship with thestudentsothatthestudentgrowstolovethedharma.

The teacher as father. The teacher cares forthesafetyandwell-beingofthestudent.Thedharmagiventothestudentiscarefullypresentedsoasnotto threaten the student. The teacher is aware ofdelusionswhichsurroundthelifeofthestudentandcarefully protects the student. And so the teacheroffersmanytoysandgiftsofdharmawhichwillleadthe student away from the "burning house" of thethreepoisonsofgreed,hatred,andignorance.

The teacherasspouse.The teacher joins the

student in the student's quest for dharma, andencourages the student in whatever he or sheencounters in the experience of the dharma. Theteacher listens to the concerns, fears, doubts,realizations, of the student with an openness andspousal bias of acceptance, encouragement, andsupport.

2.The student changes roles as lover, son, husband, andfather.

Thestudentas lover.Thestudent is strickenwith love for the dharma, and follows the teacherandlistenstothedharmataughtbytheteacherwithtotalacceptance,withthebiasofalover.

The student as son or daughter.The studentreceives dharma from the teacher as a son ordaughterwouldreceiveagiftfromhisorherfatherormother.Thestudentknowssheorhecanalwaysturntotheteacherforwhateverreason,incompletetrust,knowingthatsheorhewillalwaysbereceivedunquestioningly.

Thestudentasspouse.Thestudentjoinswiththe dharma of the teacher in order to give birth tothe realization of the dharma within himself orherself.

The student as father. The student carefullynourishes thedharmasheorhehas justgivenbirthto, and allows it to slowly grow and develop intofullbloom.

3.Theteacheris themotherwhogivesbirthtothesonordaughter.Theteacherseesthatthestudenthasrealizedthedharmawithin his or her being and, in the formal act ofrecognitionofJukai,givesbirth toanewbeingbygivingthe student a new dharma name. The name will bothdescribe thespecialcharacteristicsof thestudentandbeastandardofaspirationforthestudent.4.The teacherreceives the lover, thestudent,anduniting,

they become one body. As the student matures in thedharma, the dharma-mind of the teacher and the studentbecomeone.Not that the student parrots theway and thewordsoftheteacher,butthatsomehow,althoughdifferent,theyareneverthelessthesame.IntheceremonyofDenbo(transmission), there is a sequence in which the studentplaceshisorherzagu (bowingmat)over thezaguof theteacher,andbothbow.Later, the teacherplaceshisorherzaguoverthezaguofthestudent,andbothbow.

Thisissomeofthestuffoftransmission.One can see that sexual metaphor and imagery permeates the teacher-

studentrelationship.Onecanalsounderstandhoweasyitisforeitherteacherorstudent to fall into the trap of either exploiting one another, or physicallyengaginginsex.Ithinksexbetweenteacherandstudentchangeseverything,andthey are no longer able to pursue their dharmic relationship, for they havesubstitutedsexfordharma.

Poem

KanadevaI

needlemindsticksmyheartnoweverybreathadeath

KanadevaII

theneedlesticksthebodysticksthemindsticksthewaterstickstheseedsticksthedragonnooutside-insidenorelative-absolutenomaster-disciplefusedyetdifferent

CASE17

RahulabhadraThesixteenthancestorwastheVenerable Rahulabhadra. Hewas serving Kanadeva, andwhen he heard about karmiccauses in former lives, heexperiencedawakening.

Keizan'sVerseWhat a pity his Dharma eyewasnotclear.Deluded about Self, repayingothers, the retribution neverends.

Thoughts

Thiscaseisaboutkarma.Rahulabhadra'sfatherhadagarden.Init,abigearoffunguswasgrowingona tree.The funguswasmagical in thatwhenever theypicked some, it grew again. Even when it was all gone, it regrew. Kanadevavisited Rahulabhadra and his father. They asked him about the fungus andKanadeva explained that a long time ago a monk was given alms by theRahulabhadra family.Themonk,however,hadnotyetcompletely"openedhiseye"totheWay.Sothealmshewasgivenwereconsumedinvain.Whenhediedhebecameamushroomtoresolvethekarmaheincurred.

Karma plays a very strong role in this case. The idea of karma is thateverythingwedo,say,orthinkwillresultinaconsequenceorreactionatsometimeorother.ShakyamuniBuddhafurtherrefinedthisideabysayingthattheseactsmustbevolitionalinordertoresultinkarmicreaction.Inthiscase,wearetalkingaboutthekarmaofmonks.InKeizan'steachingaboutthiscasehesaysamonk—andthisappliestoanyreligiousvocation—whoisnotsincereinhisorhervocationmakeskarmathatneedsresolution.Keizanwarnsthemonksinhis

care that thosewho turn to the religious life for selfish reasons,whatever theymaybe,fall into this trapofkarma.Thepoint, Ibelieve, is that ifwedogoodthings for egoistic reasons,wepervert them.Keizangoes so far as to say thatonebecomes a "traitor"of theWay if one is in this stateof egoisticvocation.This applies to all religious people who profit from their religious vocation,eitheregoistically,throughtheadulationtheymayreceivefromtheirstudents,orthroughfinancialprofit.ItisinterestingthattheBuddhaprohibitedtheuseoftheDharmatoconductabusiness.

Most religious orders include a vow of poverty in their Rule. Povertyappliesnotonlytomaterialthingsbuttospiritualmattersaswell.The"poorinspirit" Jesus talked about are those whomanaged to put aside their egos andstandbeforeHim,emptyandopen,sothatJesusmayentertheirhearts.

Let's look at this closely. Does this mean that one may not "own"anything? In the radical days of Shakyamuni Buddha and Jesus, yes, that'sexactlywhatitdidmean.Iguessthat'swhythereligiouslifeincludedcelibacy.Itwasnotpossibletoleada"homeless"lifeunlessonewasaloneandunmarried.Marriagerequirestheaccumulationofpropertytocontainit.Itmeansahouse,furnishings,etcetera.

Isitpossibletomaintainadegreeofpovertywithinmarriage?Ithinkso.Thekeywouldbenonattachmenttobothmaterialandspiritualthings.Notbeingattachedtowhateveritiswethinkwe"own."Notbeingattachedtowhateveritiswehaveeitherintellectuallyorspiritually"achieved."Whateveritiswethinkwe have, we should drop it. This reminds me of the Groucho Marx song,"Whatever it is, I'm against it!" Whatever it is, drop it! The problem withattachmentandownershipisthattheyaredelusions.Therealityisthatwhateveritiswethinkweown,wedonot.Howcanwesaywe"own"ahousewhenthehouse itself is temporary? Consider the tragedies that occur daily from fires,hurricanes,earthquakes,floods,andothernaturaldisasters.Inaninstantallwehavecanbewipedorblownaway.Theverylandwestandoncangivewayandswallow us up. Realizing the impermanency of it all, nonattachment is thepragmaticwaytogo.Weneedtolearntoliveasifitcouldallbegonetomorrow.Andit'sOK.

I'm not advocating a life of penury, grimness, and tightness. Just thecontrary.TheZenwayistoliveeachmomenttoitsfullest.Whateveryoudo,dowith a full heart.Do itwith enthusiasmandpassion.Karma is the reason thiswayispragmatic.UnlesswefollowtheWaywithanopenheart,withpovertyofspirit,withoutego,westandindangerofmakingkarmathatmustberesolvedat

sometimeorother.Westandtheriskofbecomingatreefungus—amushroom—to be devoured by others until our karma has been expiated—completelyresolved.

ThePrometheanmythechoes.WhywasPrometheus tied toastakeandhislivernibbledatbyahawk?Wasitbecausehestolefireforegoisticreasons?WasPrometheussentencedforpride?

Poem

Rahulabhadra

AmIthemonkonthetreeeatingthemushroomfleshofpastandpresentkarma?AnotherPrometheustearingmyownliver?

CASE18

SamghanandiThe seventeenth ancestor wasthe Venerable Samghanandi.Once, Rahulabhadra said inverse,

SinceIamwithoutaself,YoushouldseetheSelfBecause if you make me yourmaster,You will understand that theselfisnottheSelf

Whenthemasterheardthis,hismind opened and he soughtliberation.

Keizan'sVerseMind's activity smoothlyrollingonistheformthe mind takes; How manytimes has the Self appearedwithadifferentface!

Thoughts

OneofthegreatteachingsoftheBuddhaisthatallthingsareinflux.Allthingsareimpermanent.Thisisnothardforustounderstand.Wecanseewithoureyesand the rest of our senses that everything changes. From themoment we areborn,ourbodieschange.Theygrow.Ourmindsdevelop.Our fingersdevelop.Our legsdevelop.Welearn tocrawl.Towalk.To talk.Laterwe learn todriveautomobiles. Then comes the time when our bodies begin to run down. In a

previouscaseIwroteaboutthecompleterenewalthecellstructureofthehumanbody makes during the course of seven years. This probably matches thepsychologicalchangesthattakeplaceattheagesofseven,fourteen,twenty-one,twenty-eight,etcetera.ThebodyIhavenow,at theageofsixty-six, isnot thebodyIhadattheageoftwenty-one.ThatwhichIcallmyselfandlabel,StefanoMui Barragato, is not the same StefanoMui Barragato he was at the age oftwenty-one. Physically, he is completely different. Changes take place frommoment to moment. The person I think I am today is a completely differentpersontomorrow.Bytomorrow,manythingswillhavechangedinthatwhichIcallmyself.Therearemanyphysicalchanges;cellstructuresthatwillhavediedandnewcellstructuresthatwillhavebeenborn.EachdayIamanewperson.Anewself.

Sowhatwecansayabouttheself,ifwecansayanythingatall,isthattheselfisnotconstant.Itisnotapermanententity.Itissomethingthatisconstantlyshifting and changing.We cannot point and say this is the self.Whateverwepointatisnolongerthatwhichwepointedat;itissomethingdifferent.Theselfiselusive.Wecannotpinitdown.

Wethereforeask,whatisit thatwecall theself?Istheresomethingwecan hold, keep still for amoment, and say, "This is it!" TheBuddha teaches,"No, there is nothing that holds still." Even in the process of death there ismovement.Thebodycontinuestodecayuntiltherenolongerisabody.Dustandashes.Notatraceremainsofthatwhichwecalledthebody.

Fromthis,onecanbegintoappreciatethegreatteachingofshunyata—emptiness.Onecansaytheselfisempty.Yetthereisabody—elusive,changing,fickle,inconstantthoughitmaybe.Thereisahand,eyes,ears,nose.Therearehouses,trees,cats,dogs,flowers,rivers,mountains.Buttheyallhavethesamethingincommon.Theyareinmotion.Theychange.Neverthesame.ThatwhichIcallamountainisnotamountain.ThatwhichIcallariverisnotariver.Thatwhich I call the self is not the self.Mountainswalk. Rivers are still. Bridgesflow.

Words are treacherous. With language we try to fix things. We try topinpoint things. We do very well at that. We do so well, we forget thateverythingchanges.Weforget,whenwemeetsomeonewhomwehaven'tseenforyears, that that person is no longer thepersonweknew.Oneof themajorproblemswehaverelatingtooneanotheristhatwehangontowhatwebelievetobetheself.We'reconstantlyholdingtoideaswehaveaboutoneanother.Johnisvery funny. Jane isattractive. Joseph is selfish.Henrydoesn't lovehiswife.

"But I distinctly heard you say so and so, only just yesterday!"What one hassaidandbelievedinthepastmaynolongerbethecase.Ican'tsayhowoftenIhave changed my mind about things. We are in flux, constantly changing,constantlydeveloping,constantlyprogressing.Ourpreconceptionsareobstaclestorelationships.

An examination of the human body and the cell structure with thepowerfulmicroscopes of today reveal larger and larger spaces. The closerwelook,themoreweseeemptiness.Theselfisempty.That'swhyshunyata issoimportant.Ibelieveshunyataisthebestandmostmeaningfulwaytoconductarelationship. In emptiness,we are completely open to the other at this presentmoment.GeorgeFox,thefounderofQuakerism,said,"MeetoneanotherinthatwhichisEternal."Isay:Meetoneanotherinemptiness.

Poem

DialoguebetweenSelfandEmptiness

SELF: KnockKnockEMPTINESS:EMPTINESS: KnockKnockSELF:SELF:EMPTINESS:SELF: Thearomaofincense.EMPTINESS: Thesoundoftheheater.SELF: ThefeelofMargaret.EMPTINESS: Thecrickintheneck.SELF:EMPTINESS:

SamghanandiII

selfpenetratingtheironwallnoselfpenetratingtheironwallpenetrationpenetratespenetration

CASE19

SamghayathataThe eighteenth ancestor wasthe Venerable Samghayathata.He served the VenerableSamghanandi. One time, heheard the sound of the windblowingthebronzebellsinthetemple. The VenerableSamghanandiaskedthemaster,"Arethebellsringingoristhewind ringing?" The masterreplied, "It is neither the bellsnor the wind; it is my Mindthatisringing."TheVenerableSamghayathata asked, "Andwho is theMind?"Themasterreplied, "Because both aresilent." The VenerableSamghayathata said,"Excellent, excellent!Who butyouwillsucceedtomyWay?"

Keizan'sVerseSilent,still,theMindringsandechoesintenthousandways—Samghanandi, Samghayathata,andwindandbells.

Thoughts

ThiskoanseemstobethesourceofthesimilarfamouskoanintheMumonkan,aswellasthestoryHui-nengtellsinthePlatformSutra.Hui-nengwasvisitinga

monasteryandhemettwomonkswhowerearguingaboutwhetherthewindwasmovingtheflagortheflagwasmovingthewind.Hesaiditwasneithertheflagnorthewindmoving.Itwastheirmindsmoving.

Similarlyinthiskoan,uponhearingthewindmovingthechimes,isitthewindorthechimesmoving?Theansweristhatitisneitherthechimesnorthewind;itisthemind.Samghayathatasaid,"Itismymind."Thenextquestionisverysignificant."Whoisthemind?"Samghayathataanswered:"Allissilent."

Thereisnosoundofbell,chime,wind,flag, twomonks,Hui-neng,andnosoundinmind.

Whatevertakesplaceisinside.Whateverwesee,hear,taste,smell,touch,isinside.Iamsittingdown,recordingthesewords,lookingatthetreesthroughthewindow.What I see, I see inmymind.And themind is silent. I hear thetickingoftheclockasthependulumswingsbackandforth.WhatIhear,Ihearinmymind.Theswingingisinmymind.Whenweseesomethingoutside,weseparate.Separate fromthatwhichwesee.As longas there isseparation—thedualityofhereandthere—weareintherealmofdelusion.Thegreatdelusionisthatthereissomethingthere.

But isn't this all nonsense? Isn't the clock ticking? The pendulumswinging? Aren't the trees outside beyond the window? The great SamuelJohnsonendedallsuchmysticmisconceptionsbystubbinghistoeonarockandshouting "Ouch!" thereby proving the existence of the rock, his foot, and thepain.Didhereallyproveit?Hisfoothittherockandhescreamed,"Ouch!"Attheverymomentofimpact,didanythingexistbut"Ouch!"?Wasn'tthat"Ouch"the very essence of unity?Did rock, foot, Johnson, or anything else exist but"Ouch!"?IthinkJohnsonprovedthefactofnonseparationbetweensubjectandobjectwithhisexperiment.Heproveditwithhiscryof"Ouch!"

Everythingis"Ouch!""Ouch!"istheentireuniverse.Ouch!

Poem

Samghayathata

nodistancebetweenSamghanandiSamghayathataHui-nengRoshiMuinodistancebetweenbeginninglessbeginningendlessendsilentringingofbellsringingmindringingbellsflagwindchimesting-a-ling-a-ling

CASE20

KumaralataThe nineteenth ancestor wasthe Venerable Kumaralata.Once, the VenerableSamghayathata said to him,"Longago,theWorld-HonoredOne predicted, "One thousandyears after my death, a greatbeing will appear in Tokharawho will inherit and promotethe profound teaching." Youhave now met with this goodfortune by encountering me."Hearing this, the masteracquired the knowledge offormerlives.

Keizan'sVerseIn past lives he cast off onebodyafteranother;Right now, he encounters theOldFellow.

Thoughts

ThiskoanpresentsLight.What formdoes theknowledgeof former lives takewithinKumaralata upon hearing the prophecy that his teacher Samghayathatamakes?Keizan tells us in his poem. Casting away one body after another hemeets thesameOldFellow.ThesameOldFellow is theLight—theLight thatshinesthroughoutalltime.TheInnerLightthatunitesallhumanity,allsentientbeings,allthings.ThisisthedeclarationofthenatureoftheUnbornproclaimedmuchlaterbyBankei.TheUnbornilluminesallcreation.Itiswithineachperson

andguides,teaches,andcomforts.Keizanmakesitclearthatknowledgeofpastlivesdoesnotmeanknowledgeofpastlives.ItmeansalllivesarepresentintheLight. The words "enlightenment" and "awakening" are translations of theSanskrit word "Buddha." The Awakened One. The Enlightened One. To beBuddhameans to live in the Light, to realize the Light that is within, and toreflectit.Nottoclouditoverwithourthoughts,ideas,preconceptions,opinions,knowledge,accumulationof factsand figures.Tobeawake is tobepresent intheLight.AllthingsarepresentintheLight,justastheyare.Evenourmistakennotionsarethere.Andourmistakennotionsareenlightened!

Poem

Kumaralata

ticktocktheoldguy'slight—asinglesparkinasquareinchofheartandalltheteachingsanddelusionshotwintercoldsummerticktock

CASE21

ShayataThetwentiethancestorwastheVenerable Shayata. Once, thenineteenth ancestor said,"Although you already havefaith in the karmaof the threetimes, still, you have not yetclarified the fact thatkarmaisproduced from delusion,delusion exists as a result ofconsciousness, consciousnessresults from ignorance, andignorance results from mind.Mind is originally pure,without origination orcessation, without doing oreffort, without karmicretribution,withoutsuperiorityor inferiority, very still, andvery intelligent. If you acceptthis teaching, youwill becomethe same as all the Buddhas.All good and evil, conditionedand unconditioned, are likedreams and fantasies."Hearing this, the mastergrasped the deep meaning ofthese words and aroused thewisdomhehadpossessedsincetimeimmemorial.

Keizan'sVerseThecamphortreeasalways,is

borninthesky;Its limbs, leaves, roots, andtrunk flourish beyond theclouds.

Thoughts

Theheartofthiskoaniskarmaandjustice.TheproblemShayatahadisthathisparentsweredevoutBuddhists.Theylivedaverypiouslife,theydidalltherightthings,andyet theysufferedimmenselyduringtheir life theywerepoor, ill,etcetera.Theirneighborswereoutcastsbutchers,non-Buddhists,thosewholivedanimmorallife—andyettheyprospered.

Shayata'squestionis,"Whyshouldthegoodonessufferandtheevilonesprosper?"

Thisisatimelessquestion.Whydotheunjustprosperandthejustsuffer?Why are some people born poor and others born rich? Why the inequalitywherebypeopleare judgedsolelyonbirthandnotonmerit?Onecanhear thesongofTevyainFiddlerontheRoof."IfIwerearichman...Whycouldn'tIhavebeenborn—withasmallfortune?"AllthegoodthingsthatcouldhappentoTevyaandhisfamily,insteadofbeingpoorandinmisery,povertyandsqualor!Why,hecouldevenstudytheholybooksandhaveaseatbytheEasternWall."IfIwerearichman!"

In the days of Shakyamuni, the usual reason given for differenceswaskarma.Theideaofkarmaisthatone'sactionswillproduceequalandappropriateresults. If one commits evil acts, onewill reap evil results. However, since itdidn't seem to be thatway—since peoplewhowere evilwere achieving goodresults—then karmamust be carried over to future lives. A very complicatedsystem of karmic results was devised. There are acts that will produce directresultsinthislife,actsthatwillproduceresultsinthenextlife,andactsthatwillproduceresultsinathirdlife.Thereareactsthatwillcauseonetoberebornasaparticularanimal—thechoiceofanimaldependsontheexactcorrespondingactcommitted.

Theideaisthatjusticewilleventuallytriumph.Injusticewillnot.Thosewho, in this life, are unjust and commit evil actswill, in future lives, receivetheirjustdeserts.

TheresurrectionofChristmakessensefromthepointofviewofjustice.

Justice demands that Christ be resurrected. No other outcome is acceptable.Christianity is impossible if there is no resurrection of Christ. I believe Paulmakesthisverypoint.

Kumaralata's response to Shayata's question, however, is different. InCook'stranslationoftheDenkoroku,Kumaralatasays,"Karma isproducedbyillusion."InThomasCleary'stranslation,thewordis"confusion."

Cook's translation continues with an abbreviated "chain of causation."Illusion produces karma; illusion exists as a result of consciousness,consciousnessresultsfromignorance,andignoranceresultsfrommind.Withtheexceptionoftheword"confusion,"Cleary'stranslationfollowsthesamepatternandwords.

What does it mean that "illusion" is a result of "consciousness"? Iseverythingweareconsciousofanillusion?Howdoesconsciousnessresultfromignorance? Ignorance from Mind? Then we have the great leap: Mind isoriginallypure—withoutorigination,withoutcessation,withoutdoingoreffort.Withoutkarmicretribution.Withoutsuperiorityorinferiority.Itisverystillandveryintelligent.Clearytranslates:"Sereneandspiritual."

ThelateShunryuSuzukiRoshi,ofSanFrancisco,talkedaboutBigMindand Little Mind. It is Big Mind that is without origination or cessation,superiority, and inferiority. It is very still and serene and spiritual. Withoutkarmic retribution.LittleMind is fraughtwithorigination, destruction, doings,effort,retribution,victories,defeats,goodandevil,andkarma.LittleMindistheeverydaymindwebringtooursenses.ItisLittleMindthatcausesignorance.InLittleMindweseeallthingsandconceiveallphenomenaasreal.Allwesee—everything—is "outside." All is dualistic. LittleMind is dualistic mind. LittleMindseparatessubjectfromobject.LittleMindseesthedifferences.LittleMindseestheunjustprosperandthejustsuffer.It isLittleMindthathascreatedthecomplicatedsystemofkarmicretributionofpastandfuturelivesinwhichjusticewilltakeplace.

Shayata points to BigMind.All is still, in BigMind.All is empty. Inemptiness,thereisnogoodorevil.Thereisnoconditionedandunconditioned.Allofthesethingsaredreamsandillusions.Dreamsandfantasies.KarmadoesnotexistinBigMind.

Karmaisweddedtojustice.BigMindisbeyondjustice.BigMindisthestateof serenity.The stateof equanimity that is the stateof emptiness. In thisstatenomatterwhathappens,it'sOK.There'snothingtoeattoday.OK.

Iteachmeditationatamaximumsecurityprison.OneofthepointsIhave

greatdifficultygettingacrosstothestudent-inmatesisthatwhateverhappensisOK.Wepractice in a spacious room.Wehad togo throughhandstands togetthat room. The prison officials wanted to take it away from us and have uspractice inanotherarea.Myattitudewas,"Finewecanpracticeanywhere.Wedon'thavetopracticeinthiswonderfulbigroom.Wecanpracticeinthehallwaywithotherinmatespassingby."Ireallybelievethis.IbelieveZenpracticedoesnothave to takeplace inabeautifulzendo faroff in themountains,withverycomfortable,matching zafus and zabutons (pillows and mats), with beautifulaltars and images of the Buddha, subdued lighting, and wonderful equipmentsuchas largebeautiful-sounding Japanesebells.Theseareall trappings.Theseareallextras. Ibelievezazencantakeplaceatanytimeandatanyplace.Thesixth ancestor, Hui-neng, defines zazen as the nonseparation of subject andobject.Where there is unity there is zazen.Where there isOne-Body there iszazen.

Thisisveryhardforinmates.Theyareinamaximumsecurityprisonandkept on a very tight string. There is very little space in a prison. Little outerspaceand little inner space.The larger inmates inourgroupevenhaveahardtimefittinginto their tinycells.Theywantaplacewhere theycanhavespace.Thisismostunderstandable.Andsowefoughtforourroomandgotourspace.Wehaveblanketsinsteadofzafusandzabutons.Somedaywemayhavezafusandzabutons.Shayatasaysthatallofthesethingsaredreamsandfantasies.Buttheyareneverthelessimportant.Yes,theymayallbetrappings.So,I'mnotbeingconsistent?Sowhat?Whoneedstobea"hobgoblinoflittlemindsanddivines"?

IcomebackrepeatedlytoDogen'senlightenmentexperienceonhearinghisteacher,Ju-ching,encouragehisstudentstodropbodyanddropmind.Dropwhateveritiswehave.Whateveritiswewant.Dropourneedforjustice.Dropourantipathytoinjustice.Dropourthoughts.Dropourpoverty.Dropourriches.Dropourattachments.Leteverythinggo.Dropwhateverweneed.Whateverwethinkweneed isadelusion.Dropwhateverwe thinkwedon'tneed.Whateverwe thinkwe don't need is a delusion.Deep is the teaching that our needs aredelusions.Deeperstillistheteachingthatourdelusionsaretheenlightenedstateitself!

Poem

ShayataI

abranchofthemapletreeinmygardensnapsinthewindsnappingthetopmostbranchofthecamphortreeinChina

ShayataII

Ispottedabirdbusybuildinganesthighinthebranchesofthemapletree.Squinting—acloserlook,Isawmyself.

CASE22

VasubandhuShayatasaid,"IdonotseektheWay, yet I am not confused. Ido not pay obeisance toBuddha,yetIdonotdisregardBuddha either. I do not sit forperiods,yetIamnotlazy.Idonotlimitmymeals,yetIdonoteat indiscriminately either. Iamnotcontented,yetIamnotgreedy. When the mind doesnotseekanything,thisiscalledthe Way." When Vasubandhuheard this, he discovereduncontaminatedknowledge.

Keizan'sVerseThe wind blows through thegreat sky, clouds appear fromthemountaincaverns;Feelings for the Way andworldly affairs are of noconcernatall.

Thoughts

Thiscaseconcernsitselfwithoureffortstopractice.DogenZenjisayspracticeitself is the enlightened way. Many of us practice for the sake of achievingsomething.Wewanttoachievetranquillityofmind,peaceofmind.Wewanttosettle our minds. We want to become Zen students, Zen teachers. We haveobjectives.ThiskoantellsusthathavingobjectivesisnottheWay.Byhavinganobjective wemiss theWay. The reason wemiss it is that there is nothing to

attain.Wealreadyhaveit.Whereisit?Within.BacktoKeizan'smetaphoroftheLight.It iswithin.Withineachperson.If it's therealready,whydoweneedtopractice?BacktoDogen.WepracticebecausewehavetheWay.Nottoseekit.Nottofindit.Nottogaintranquillityofmind.Nottogainpeaceofmind.

Why not try to gain peace and tranquillity of our monkey minds thatdevour us and drive us crazy with their tempestuous storms and thunderingwavesofthoughtthatbatterusrepeatedly?Whynottrytocalmthem?Becausethereis,deepwithin,aplaceofsilence.Thereisaplaceoftranquillity,aplaceofpeace.Weneednotlookforanothertranquillity,peace,silence.Wealreadyhaveit.Theplacewherethemindissilent,asthelastcasetaughtus.Byrecognizingandrealizingwehavethisplacewithinus,thewildthoughtswillofthemselvesstop.We need not concern ourselves with them. For our concern gives thempower.Notbotheringwiththemdepletestheirpower.Onecansay,aby-productof zazen is tranquillity and peace ofmind.But that is notwhywe sit.We sitbecausetositistheWay.Wesitbecauseweareenlightened.

Keizan urges us to turn to the "square inch" of mind we have. That'swhereeverythingis.TheUnborn.TheLight.TheMind.

Shouldwethennotmakeaneffort?Shouldwebelackadaisical?Noandyes.Ifdoingzazenisforapurpose,thenitisawaste.Thereshouldbeefforttosit with determination. We sit to sit, not to become buddhas, not to achieveenlightenment,nottocrackakoan.

Thenhowdowedokoanstudy?Weletthekoanbe.Weletthekoanseepintoourporesaswesit.Wecircumambulate thekoan.Onehundredandeighttimes.Wechant it asamantra.Webecomeonewith thekoan.There'sa storyaboutamonkwhowasworkingonthekoan,"TheCypressTreeintheGarden."Whiletraveling,hestoppedataninnandwasgivenaroomonthegroundfloor.Later, the innkeeperwentout tofetchsomewood.Hehappenedto lookin thewindow of the Zenmonk and, to his astonishment, saw a cypress tree in themiddleoftheroom.Thecypresstreewasthemonkdoingzazen.

Poem

VasubanduNowayisenough.Enoughfortheheavens.

Enoughforacupofcoffee.Enoughfornoway.Nowayfornoway.

CASE23

ManorataThe twenty-second ancestorwas the Venerable Manorata.He asked Vasubandhu, "Whatis the bodhi of all theBuddhas?" The VenerableVasubandhu said, "It is theoriginal nature of Mind." Themaster again asked, "What isthe original nature of Mind?"The Venerable Vasubandhusaid,"Itistheemptinessofthesixsensebases,thesixobjects,and the six kinds ofconsciousness." Hearing this,themasterwasawakened.

Keizan'sVerseThe spirit of shunyata isneitherinsidenoroutside;Seeing, hearing, forms, andsoundsareallempty.

Thoughts

This case concerns itself with the original nature of Mind. What is it? Theansweristhatitistheemptinessofthesixsensebases,thesixobjects,andthesixkindsofconsciousness.

What does this mean? How could our senses be empty? What isemptiness?Whatisshunyata?Arewesayingthatwhenwehearsomethingweare really not hearing something? Are we saying Johann Sebastian Bach'sChromaticFantasyandFuguedoesnotexist?WeputtheCDintheplayer,turn

iton,andlisten.Arewenothearingsomething?Isthatnotaharpsichord?Isthatnot Wanda Landowska playing? We obviously are hearing, and we candistinguish this piece from, say,Mozart'sMarriage of Figaro. One is a piecewrittenfortheharpsichord,whiletheotherisanopera,writtenforanorchestraandsingers.Sowhatdoes"emptinessofthesixsensebases"mean?Whatdoesemptinessoftheearmean?

Lookingatthisdeeper,weaskanotherquestion.Whatisitthat"hears"?Is it theear thathears theChromaticFantasyandFugue?Itobviouslycan'tbethe ear, otherwise a deadpersonwith a perfectly good earwould hear. Sowehaveanotherquestion.Wheredowehear?Thebrain?Theliver?Thebigtoeoftherightfoot?WheredoesthehearingoftheChromaticFantasyandFuguetakeplace?Averysimpleanswer,ofcourse,isthatittakesplaceintheMind.Well,whereistheMind?Hui-k'o,thediscipleofBodhidharma,lookedandlookedforMindandcouldn'tfinditanywhere!

TheteachingofpreviousandlatercasesisthattheMindisempty.DoesthismeanthereisnothinginMind?Ifthereisnothing,howcanwehearBach'sChromatic Fantasy and Fugue in the Mind? Does emptiness really meanemptiness? I thinkwecanalso lookat it inanotherway. Iunderstand that theChineseideogramfor"emptiness"isthesameastheideogramfor"sky."Theskythat is full andyetempty.Thesky isemptyandyet it contains flowers,birds,trees,clouds,thunderstorms,mountaintops—everythingintheuniverseisinthesky—andatthesametimetheskyitselfisempty.

I think this approaches anunderstandingofwhatMind is andwhat theemptinessofMindisabout.Emptyyetfull,complete.Everythingiswithinthatemptiness.TheChromaticFantasyandFugueaswellasTheMarriageofFigaro—allthemusicthathaseverbeenwrittenandwillbewritteninthefuture—isinMind.AlltheliteraturethathasbeenwrittenandwillbewrittenisinMind.TheemptinessofMindcontainsallthings.

Poem

ManorataSittingonapillow,theuniversepassedby.

Itmadearumblingnoiseinmystomach.

CASE24

HaklenayashaThe twenty-third ancestor wasthe Venerable Haklenayasha.Once the Venerable Manoratasaid, "I have the unexcelledgreat Dharma Treasure. Youmust hear it, accept it, andteachitinthefuture."Hearingthis, the master experiencedawakening.

Keizan'sVerseA white precipice—snow of agreatpeakstickingthroughtheclouds.Itspurityannihilatesalldetailsandcontrastswiththebluesky.

Thoughts

ThiscasespeaksaboutteachingandtheDharmaTreasure.OftenItellstudentsitiseasytobeaZenteacherbecausethere'snothingtoteach.AndsoIamaZenteacher and, being one, I do not teach. One can also say, the great DharmaTreasureisnotreasure.ThroughouttheDenkoroku,Keizanrepeatedly turns totheLightanddescribesitinmanyways.Looksatitfrommanypointsofview.Heis lookingat it inthiscasefromthepointofviewoftheDharmaTreasure.Or,thegreatteaching.

WegetacluewhenwelistentoShakyamuni'swordsinthelastsermonhegave.Hesaid,"IhavebeenwithyouforfortyyearsandIhaveneveropenedmy mouth. I have never taught anything." How can this be? We knowShakyamuniBuddhagaveusteachingssuchastheFourNobleTruths,inwhichhespokeaboutdukkha,orsufferingoranguish,thecausesofdukkha,thearising

ofdukkha,theterminationofdukkha,andthewayofachievingthisterminationthrough the Eightfold Path. He taught the Eightfold Path. But did he teachanything?

Ininterviewingstudents,Socratesshowedthateverythingwasaprocessofrememberingwhattheyalreadyhadwithinthem.Ifwehaveitalready,whatistheretoteach?"Lookwithin,"saystheBuddha,andyouwillfindthatyouareBuddha.

DuringoneofhistravelstheBuddhaarrivedatavillageandthevillagerssaidtohim,"Lookherenow,therehavebeenmanyteacherscomingthroughourvillage.One teacher says that this and this and soand so is the truth.Anotherteachersayssomethingcompletelydifferent, that the truth issoandso,andsoandso.Athirdteachercontradictsthefirsttwoandsaysthatthetruthissoandso, and so and so. What is the true teaching? What is this great unexcelledtreasure? TheBuddha's responsewas "Look inside yourselves and thatwhichyouknow tobe agood thing todo, do, and thatwhichyouknownot tobe agoodthingtodo,don'tdo."

AttaDipa.Be a refuge unto yourselves.Do not rely on others.Do notrelyonanythingotherthanyourselves.

Why can't we believe this?Why do we doubt what we already have?Whydowelookforsomethingmore?Forsomethingdifferent?Forsomethingelse?For somethingoutsideourselves?Whydowe thinkwhat somebodyelsehastoofferismoreimportantthanwhatwehave?Whydowethinkthewordsofothersaremoremeaningfulthanours?

Zazen takes us to that place within, which illuminates, enlightens, andguides us. All we need to do is sit and turn inside. Click the button of ourtreasureandallowtheilluminationoftheLighttowarmourentirebeing.

Poem

Haklenayasha

ThegreatnessoftheDharmaTreasureisthatthereisnoTreasureandnoDharma

CASE25

SimhabobhiThetwenty-fourthancestorwasthe Venerable Simhabodhi.Heasked the twenty-thirdancestor, "I want to seek theWay. What concerns should Ihave?" The ancestor said, "IfyouwanttoseektheWay,thereis nothing to be concernedabout." The master said, "If Ihavenoconcerns,whocarriesouttheBuddhaactivities?"Theancestor said, "If you havesome business, these are notmerits. If you do nothing, thisis Buddha activity. A scripturesays, 'The merits I haveachieved are not mine.' "Hearing these words, themaster entered the wisdom oftheBuddhas.

Keizan'sVerseIf you want to reveal the sky,donotcoveritup.It is empty, tranquil andoriginallybright.

Thoughts

MoreontheWay.ThiscaseexpressestheteachingthattheBuddhaWayisnotawaytowalkon.Itisnotawaywecancreate.TheWayisnotsomethingwecan

makehappen.Plainly,Simhabodhiisasking,"WhatmustIdotowalktheWay?""Nothing,"sayshisteacher,Haklenayasha,"there'snothingtobedone—justgetoutofthewayandyou'rethere."

ThepoemthatischantedinSotoZenmonasteriesdaily,writtenbySekitoKisen,"The IdentityofRelativeandAbsolute,"has the lines"WhenyouwalktheWayyoudrawnonearer,progressnofarther."Sekitoteachesthatwecannotwalk theWay. The Zen practice we do is not theWay.We do Zen practice,period!WeareconstantlyinthewayoftheWay.Shouldweremoveourselves?Shouldweremoveour thoughts,ouropinions,ourbeliefs toachieve theWay?Donothing?Howdifficultitistodonothing.OscarWildesays,"Todonothingis the most difficult thing in the world. The most difficult and the mostintellectual!"We feelwemustdo something tomake ithappen.Yetwhateverwedomissesthepoint.Whateverwedocreatesanobstacle,becausewhateverwedowedointherealmofduality.TherealmofdualitydoesnotcontaintheWay.Stopdoing, andbe.Stop thinkingabout it.Stopplanning.Stopcreating.Justbe.Then,itispossibletobetheWayeveninduality.Ifweareworkinginthekitchenandaknifeslipsandwecutourhand,wedon'tstopandthinkandobserve,"Oh,I'vecutmyhand.Bloodiscomingoutofmyhand.Icangetaninfection. I guess I'd better go to the bathroom, stop the bleeding, put someiodineonthecut,andcoveritupwithaBand-Aid."Whatnonsense!Whenwecutourhandweimmediatelygrabit,gotothebathroom,washthewound,pouriodine on it, bandage it. All without thought. All without premeditation. Weimmediatelyact.

Our efforts to achieve the Way are like building a city on top of analready existing city.There is a citywithin our hearts.What need havewe tocreateanother?Whatneedistheretobuildanotherbuildingontopofanalreadyexistingbuilding?There is amansionwithmany roomswithinourhearts.Weshouldenterourmansionandabidethere.Theworkhasalreadybeendone.Noneedtoredoit,fortodoitagainisextra,andiscrazy.Alloureffortsaretowardbuildingasecondhouse.Imaginetryingtobuildasecondheadandputtingitontopoftheheadwealreadyhave?That'snuts!Theheadwehavealreadyworks.Ithasamouth,nose,ears,eyes,tongue,hair.Wecansee,taste,smell,hear.Whatneedisthereforasecondhead?It'snutstotrytobuildasecondhead.Notonlyis it nuts, we simply can't do it. All of our ingenuity, all the wisdom whichhumanityhasattained,isunabletomakeanotherhead.Wecannotevenmakeasinglehair!

Poem

Simhabodhi

(Donotbuildacityontopofanother.)TheWayisnotawayofdoingorundoing.Getoutofthewayandyouarethere.

CASE26

BashashitaThe twenty-fifth ancestor wasthe Venerable Bashashita. Thetwenty-fourth ancestor said, "Inow transmit the Tathagata'sTreasureoftheEyeoftheTrueDharma to you. You mustguard it and benefit all in thefuture." The master uncoveredthe karmic causes of previouslives and received the Mindseal.

Keizan'sVerseAt the time blooming flowersand falling leaves aredisplayed at once, leaves aredisplayedatonce,Thekingofmedicinetreesstillhasnodistinctflavor.

Thoughts

The key words in this case are "The master uncovered the karmic causes ofprevious lives." I believe this is a koan of OneBody. When we speak ofOneBody, we speak of all creation being somehow OneBody, somehowconnected in ways we do not understand. There are definite links betweenpeople.Empathyisproofthatthisisso.Empathyistheabilitytofeelthepainofanothereventhoughoneselfisnotinpain,andabilitytofeelthejoyofanothereventhoughwemaynothaveanythingpersonallytobejoyfulabout.

AnotherofthemetaphorsofOneBodyisthepresentbodywehave.Thedifferent parts of our bodyhavevery specialized functions and tasks.The eye

sees,thenosesmells,theearhears,etcetera.Goingdeeper,thevariouspartsofournervoussystemhaveveryhighlydevelopedtasks—allofwhichmakesourbodywork.

Eachbodypartisdistinctandcompleteinitself.Yettheyallconnect.Thefootisnotjealousifthehandreceivesadonut.Thehandisnotjealousifthefootreceivesarelaxingfootrub.Therighthandisnotjealousifthelefthandreceivesa donut. The nose is not jealous if themouth eats a donut. They all connect.Eventhefootenjoysthedonut,justasthenoseenjoystherubthefootreceives.SoweseeinourownbodiesthatdifferentbodypartscreateOneBody.Soit iswithallsentientbeings.WeareinsomewayOneBody.

Thiskoan takesOneBodyfurther. It takes itbeyondbirthanddeath.Tothepastandinto thefuture. Itsays,allbodies thateverexisted in thepastandwill exist in the future are OneBody. This includes Julius Caesar, Cleopatra,JohannSebastianBach, thebodyIpresentlyhave,andbodies thatare tocomeafterme.

OneBodytranscendstimeandspace.

Poem

BashashitaI

Originallightmindchangesfaceswithtimeandthejewelisheldfromlifetolife.

BashashitaII

EverybreathafaceEverybreathajewelEverybreathalifeEverybreathadeathEverybreath

CASE27

PunyamitraThe twenty-sixth ancestor wasthe Venerable Punyamitra.When he was a crown prince,the twenty-fifth ancestor askedhim, "You wish to make yourhome-departure. What thingmust you do?" The masterreplied, "When I make myhome-departure, I will not doany particular thing." Theancestor asked, "What thingwill you not do?" The masteranswered, "I will not do anyordinary thing." The ancestorasked, "What thing must youdo?" The master answered, "Imust do Buddha work." Theancestor said, "The crownprince's wisdom is naturallyexcellent; you must be asuccessor of various sages."Then, the ancestor permittedhim to make his home-departure.

Keizan'sVerseTheoriginalrealmisordinary,withoutaninchofgrass;Where is there room here forthewaysofZen?

Thoughts

KeizandefinesPunyamitra'sanswersinthefollowingway.Hesaysthat"thing"means ordinary things. A thing is not one's own or another's. "Being able toclarify the original mind" is what is called "Buddha work." Keizan also says"original mind" includes all things, and all beings contain original mind.Therefore, there is no difference betweenmonk, layperson,man,woman, Zenteacher,pope,president,congressperson, judge,prisoner,correctionalofficer—allbeingscontainoriginalmind.WhateverformoflifewehaveistheWay.WecanpracticetheWaywhereverweare.WhateverwedoistheexpressionoftheWay.Thereisnoneedtogoanywherespecialtolearnteachings,tostudyspecialbooks.WherewearerightnowistheWay.Allweneedtodoisdoit.

Poem

Punyamitra

SpaceNoinsidenooutsideMindNoinsidenooutsideNomonknolaypersongoodevilsamsaranirvanamalefemaleselfotherbuddhabumdelusionenlightenmentonetwoBrightmoonHotsunOwwwwwwwwww!Paininthelegs

CASE28

prajñadharaThe twenty-seventh ancestorwas the Venerableprajñadhara.Once,thetwenty-sixth ancestor asked, "Do youremember the past?" Themaster replied, "I rememberbeing with the master eonsago. The master propoundedthe great wisdommaha-prajnaand I recited the profoundsutra.Thepresenteventofourmeeting probably is connectedwiththatancientcause."

Keizan'sVerseMoonlight reflected in thebottomofthepondisbrightinthesky;The water reaching to the skyistotallyclearandpure.Though you scoop it uprepeatedlyandtrytoknowit,Vast, clarifying all, it remainsunknown.

Thoughts

This case is similar to Case 27, Punyamitra, in that it dealswith time. In histeisho,Keizansays,"Toseetodayistoseeeternity.Ifyoulookbacktoeternity,youobservetoday....Whenyoucanreachthisrealm,itisnotpast,present,orfuture,norisitamatterofsensefaculties,objects,andconsciousness.Therefore

it is said, Dharma succession transcends the three times and realization andexperiencepervadepastandpresent."

Thepresentmomentcontainsall.*

Poem

prajñadhara

Wow!IcanfeelthemastersoftheLineagedancetheLindyHopinmyheart.One!Two!Step!One!Two!Step!

Footnote:

*Asimilarexpressionofthiscanbefoundinthe"BurntNorton"sectionofT.S.Eliot'smasterful"FourQuartets."

Case29BodhidharmaThe twenty-eighth ancestorwas the VenerableBodhidharma. Once thetwenty-seventh ancestor, theVenerable prajñadhara, asked,"What among all things isformless?"Themasterreplied,"Non-arising is formless." Theancestor asked, "What amongallthingsisthegreatest?"Themaster replied, "The truenature of things is thegreatest."

Keizan'sVerseThere is no distinction orlocation,noedgeoroutside.How could anything be largerthananautumnhair?

Thoughts

The heart of this case is reality. prajñadhara plumbs Bodhidharma'sunderstanding of reality by asking two questions: "What among all things isformless?"and"Whatamongallthingsisthegreatest?"Bodhidharma'sanswerto the first question is "Non-arising" or "Non-origination" is formless. Hisresponse to the secondquestion is "The truenatureof things, or thenatureofreality,isthegreatest."

Keizan's poem says there is no distinction or location or edge—nooutside.Cook'ssecondlineofthepoemreads,"Couldanythingbelargerthananautumn hair?" Cleary's translation is "Is there anything at all even in the

slightest?"Putallthistogetherandyouhavereality.Non-arisingornon-origination.

The truenatureof things, that forwhich there isnodistinctionor location.Noinside.Nooutside.Nobounds.Anautumnhairblowing in thewind.TheHuaYenscripturestellustheentireuniverseisinthetipofahair.Realityisthenow,the blowing of thewind, themovement of the leaves at the tips of trees, thesingingofthebirds,dawnzazen,theflowingofthestream.Weknowrealityinourbones.

Poem

BodhidharmaDawnzazen.Acoldwintermorning.Thewindblowsthroughwallsandleakywindows,chillingmybones.

Well,here'stotheoldgap-toothedone!

CASE30

Hui-k'oThe twenty-ninth ancestor,China's second ancestor, greatmaster Hui-k'o, studied withthetwenty-eighthancestorandservedhim.Onedayhesaidtothe ancestor, "I have alreadyput an end to all conditions."The ancestor asked, "Doesn'tthat result in death?" Themaster replied, "It does notresult indeath.""Whatisyourproof?" asked the ancestor. "Iam always clearly aware.Therefore, words areinadequate," said the master.Theancestorsaid,"This is theMind-substancerealizedbyallBuddhas.Havenodoubt."

Keizan'sVerseIn therealm that isemptyandbright, conditions and thoughtareexhausted;It is clear, alert, and alwaysbright.

Thoughts

This is a special case.Hui-k'owas the firstChinese ancestor.He received theLight fromBodhidharma,whowas Indian.Now itwould illuminateChina. Inthesameway,Dogenwas the transmissionvehicleof theLight fromChina to

Japan.MetaphorsofLightareallaroundHui-k'o.Forinstance,hisparentswere

unable to have children until one night they saw a strange light in the room;thereupon Hui-k'o's mother became pregnant. Later, he was named Kuang,whichmeans"light,"becauseoftheilluminatedroom.

Hui-k'obecameaverylearnedman.HestudiedalltheBuddhistbooksaswellastheteachingsofLao-tzu,Confucius,Chuang-tzu,andtheIChing.Onedaywhilesittinginmeditation,zazen,hesawaspiritintheformofalightthatappearedtohim.Itadvisedhimtogosouth.HerealizedthatLightwasspiritualand so he changed his name to Shen-kuang, which means "Spiritual Light."AfterhewasacceptedbyBodhidharma,hechangedhisnametoHui-k'o,whichmeans"potentialforDharma."

After becoming Bodhidharma's student, he continued to live and workwithBodhidharma for eight years, untilBodhidharmadied.Hui-k'o passed ontheDharmatoSeng-ts'anandwenttopracticeonhisown.Heremovedhisrobesand worked with the poor. He worked in the streets and marketplaces withbutchers and cleaners of toilets—with the lowest of the low—the outcasts. Inthisway,Keizan says, he concealed his Light and obliterated all traces of hisstatus.Sohelivedalayman'slifeforthenextthirtyyears.Finally,becauseofthejealousyofanotherpriest,hewasfalselyaccused,andexecutedonthesixteenthdayinthethirdmonthinA.D.593.WhatdidBodhidharmateachHui-k'o?Keizansayshedidn'tteachhimanythinginparticular.Hismajorteachingisinonesentence:

Whenyouputanendtoallexternalconditions,andthereisnograspingofthemindinternally,andthemindbecomeslikeawall,thenyouwillentertheWay.

Another tradition says Bodhidharma's teaching is in the LankavataraSutraandtheteachinghetransmittedtoHui-k'owasthissutra.TheLankavataraSutrawasstudiedinallZenmonasteriesduringtheearlyyearsofZeninChina.

Theother startling legendaboutHui-k'owashisdetermination to studytheWay.HewasalreadyaveryaccomplishedBuddhistpriest and teacher.Heexcelled in the various religious traditions of the day. Yet he was led to

BodhidharmaknowingthatBodhidharmahadIt.Thelegendsaysthatwhenhefirst approached Bodhidharma it was snowing, so he stood outsideBodhidharma'shutinthesnow.Bodhidharmawouldn't lethimin.Finally,nextmorning,therewasHui-k'o,hip-deepinsnow.Bodhidharmaaskedhim,"Whatdoyouwant?""IwanttostudytheWaywithyou,"saidHui-k'o.Bodhidharmarejectedhimagain,saying,"It'stoodifficult.IttakesmanyyearsofhardpracticetostudytheWay."ThistraditionofrefusalofapplicantstakesplacetodaywhenaZenmonkinJapangoestoamonasterytostudy.Themonkremainsoutside,inanarrowcourtyard,inkneelingposition,sometimesfordaysbeforehecanenter.Always the first response to the applicant's entreaty is, "Go away, there's noroomforyou."Andstilltheapplicantremainswaitingandwaitinguntilroomisfound.Keizan says inhis commentary that this typeofbehavior ispartof theteaching.

Hui-k'o, the legendcontinues,went so far to showhisdetermination tostudytheWaythathecutoffhisarmandpresentedit toBodhidharma.Seeingthisfantastic,crazymutilation,BodhidharmawasfinallyconvincedofHui-k'o'ssinceritytopracticeandacceptedhimashisstudent.

Whatcanonesayofthis?Dowefeeltodaythatpracticeisamatteroflifeanddeath?Howmanyofuspracticeasifourlivesdependeduponit?

Inmyowncase,IcametoZenpracticebecauseImettwooldfriendsofminewithwhomIgrewupinBrooklyn.Thereunionwaswonderful.WehadagreattimerememberingtheolddaysinthestreetsofBrooklyn—ourgangs,ourfights,sellingpretzelsonstreetcorners,goingtoCatholicschool,roller-skatingon the streets,making roller-scooters out ofwooden vegetable boxes, playingbaseball on the corner lot. The followingweek, both of these friends died ofheartattacks.Thisstartledme.Irealizedthatoneofthemcouldhavebeenme.SoIlookedatmylife.Thenthequestionarose,"WhatwouldIdoifthiswasthelastdayofmy life?"So, I turned toZenpractice,whichwas something Ihadbeenhoveringoverformanyyears.Then,therecertainlywasasenseofurgencyinmypractice.AstheyearsgobyandIdon'tdie,thesenseofurgencyslips.

I read somewhere that aCatholic saintwas asked how to pray and thesaint replied, "Begin each prayerwith the knowledge that youwill die beforeyoufinishyourprayer."That'sreallypowerfulstuff!Dowebegineachsessionofzazenwiththeknowledgethatbeforewerisewemaybedead?Ifwedid,howpowerfulwould our zazen be?ManyZenmasters have said Zen practice is amatteroflifeanddeath.ThefactoflifeanddeathwastheturningpointinthelifeofShakyamuni.Dogenadvisesustositasifwewereextinguishingafireon

topofourheads.That'sthelevelofdeterminationtoputtoourzazen.The interesting thing about Hui-k'o's case is that nothing is really

transmitted. He is simply told to empty hismind. Upon hearing this, Hui-k'osays, "I have alreadyput an end to everything."Bodhidharma asked, "Doesn'tthisresultindeath?""No,"Hui-k'osays."Whynot?"AndHui-k'o'sthunderingresponseis"Iamalwaysclearlyaware!"Veryimportantwords.Alwaysaware!Always there!Alwaysawake!Alwayspresent!Alwaysalert!TheLightwithintransmits! And the Light is always shining. Hui-k'o is always present in theLight. Therefore, there is no need for words. There is no need for teachings.Therefore, there is unity. There is no separation between subject and object.ThereisjustLight.Light.

Hui-k'oisafullandresplendentmanifestationofLight.

Poem

Hui-k'o

Standinginthesnow—Noarmtooffer—Notevenafingernail—

CASE31

Seng-ts'anThe thirtieth ancestor, China'sthird ancestor, was greatmaster Seng-ts'an. He visitedthe twenty-ninth ancestor andsaid,"Mybodyisinfectedwithleprosy.Ibegyou,Opriest, tocleansemeofmywrongdoing."The ancestor said, "Bring meyour wrongdoing and I willcleanse you." The masterpaused awhile and then said,"When I look for mywrongdoing, I cannot find it."The ancestor replied, "I havealready cleansed you of yourwrongdoing. You must rely onthe Buddha, Dharma, and theCommunityofbelievers."

Keizan'sVerseEmpty of essential nature,withoutinsideoroutside,Goodandbadleavenotraces.Mind and Buddha arefundamentallythesame,And Dharma and Communitycanbeunderstoodinthesameway.

Thoughts

Seng-ts'anistheauthorofthewonderfulpoem"OnTrustintheHeart."Bothofthe groups Iworkwith,TheDragonGateSangha, at theEasternCorrectionalInstituteatNapanoch,NewYork,andtheWhiteCliffSangha,agroupinNewPaltz,NewYork, regularly chant this sutra.We include it in ourBook of ZenSutras.

This koan is about karmic illness. It implies that illness is the result ofkarmic acts in the past. Seng-ts'an had leprosy and was therefore guilty of awrongdoing.Thecasedoesnotspecificallysaythewrongdoingtookplaceinthepastorinapastlife.Seng-ts'ansaid,"WhenIlookformywrongdoing,Icannotfind it." This can mean it is not a wrongdoing Seng-ts'an committed in thislifetime,andsothewrongdoingmustbekarmic.

However,therecouldbeanotherinterpretation.Thisdiscussionissimilartothemondo(atermthatmeans,aquestionandanswerordiscussionbetweenteacheranddisciple,leadingtoinsight)betweenBodhidharmaandHui-k'o.Hui-k'o told Bodhidharma, "My mind is going crazy. It is full of thoughts andactivities.Pleasehelpme settlemy troubledmind."Bodhidharma said, "BringmeyourmindandIwillputittorest."Hui-k'osatwithBodhidharma'sresponse,probably forweeks,maybe evenmonths,maybe even years. The question hegrappledwithmayhavebeen, "Howcan Ibringmymind tohim?Howcan Ishowhimmymind?HowcanIpresentmymind?"

Thenoneasks,"Whatismind?"Inanotherinterview,Hui-k'oprobablyjustsatbeforeBodhidharma,silent

and dumb, with nothing to say, nothing to ask. Just sitting, the two of them.Bodhidharma,sensingthetimewasripe,askedHui-k'o,"Haveyoubroughtmeyour mind?" Hui-k'o responded, "I've looked and looked and looked for mymindandIcan'tfindit."Bodhidharmathensaid,"Yousee,Ihavealreadysettledyourmindforyou."

Aswecansee,thereisasimilarsituationinCase31betweenSeng-ts'anandHui-k'o.Only in thiscase,Seng-ts'anspeaksofwrongdoing.Whycan'thefind his wrongdoing? Is he saying he is a saint? Is he saying there is noconnection between his acts and his illness? Has he gone beyond morality?Beyondlabelingactsasrightorwrong?Ishesimplydescribingactsastheyare?

Weareexpertsatmorality.Weputmorallabelsonthenuttiestthings.Itis"good"togetupearlyinthemorning.Itis"bad"togetuplateinthemorning.Ihada"good"walktoday.Ihada"bad"walktoday.Thiswasa"good"zazenforme.Thiswasa"bad"zazenforme.

Mydaughter,Cellina,andIweretalkingaboutthisrecentlyinconnectionwith her two-week-old baby girl, Michelle Monet. We were talking abouteducation, and the bringing up of the baby, and the many wonderful thingsCellina and her child have to look forward to. We were talking about howchildrenimmediatelybegintopickupourcrazymorality,andgetcorruptedandscrewedupbywhatwemistakenlypassoffaseducation.Oneoftheproblemsisourcrazy"good"and"bad"labels.Weinflictor,rather,infect,thechildwithournonsense-moralityandourcrazykarma.For instance,aswewereriding in thecar,wefoundourselvessayinghow"good"Michelleistohavesleptduringourrideratherthancry.Bysayingshewas"good"forsleepingwearesayingsleepisgoodandcryingisbad.Whatnonsense!Later,duringthedrive,Michelledidcry.So,Cellinafoundaconvenientplacetostopandparkthecar.Shewenttothebackseat,tookMichelleoutofhercar-crib,andfedher.

When Michelle sleeps she sleeps, and when Michelle cries she cries.There'snothinggoodorbadaboutsleepingorcrying.Cryingiscrying.Sleepingissleeping.Onedoesn'tsay,"Youbadchild,"forcrying.Onestopsthecarandtriestofigureoutwhatisbotheringthechild.Itcouldbesoileddiapers.Itcouldbecolic.Itcouldbeanynumberofreasons.Inthiscase,Michellewashungry.So her mother fed her. No good or bad involved. By eliminating the words"good"and"bad,"wedirectlydealwiththechild,withreality,anddonotburdenandinfectthechildwithourscrewed-upmorality.

It seems tomeSeng-ts'anhas seen themeaningbehindHui-k'o'swords"BringmeyourwrongdoingandIwillcleanseyou."Inhismeditation,heseesthat the idea ofwrongdoing is amoral label. It is a delusion.We cannot findwrongdoing.Thereisdoing.Notwrongdoingorgooddoing.Thereisjustdoing.Doing.Havingseenthis,Seng-ts'aniscleansed.

Beingaleperisnotgoodorbad.Itisbeingaleper.Aleperdealingwithhisorherleprosyasanillness.Beinginfectedwithanyillnessdoesnotmeanitisgoodorbad.Simplydealwiththeillness.Taketheaspirin.Callthedoctorinthemorning.Doyourlower-backexercises.Putthatcoldthatturnsintoafevertobed.Dealwith thehigh fever.We takeappropriatemedicines,drinkhot teawith lemon. Whatever. We deal with it as it is, without any labels. Withoutsaying,"WhatdidIdotodeservethis?"Wehaveit.Wedealwithit.Basta!

IcanthinkofnobetterwaytoendthesethoughtsthanalinefromSeng-ts'an's poem "OnTrust in theHeart":No blame, noDharmas; no arising, nothought.

Poem

Seng-ts'an

Iusedtogetheadachesallthetime.NowIwatchthedanceofthecloudsinthewind.Theyspinandtoss,likethoughts.Sometimes,theyevensigh.

CASE32

Tao-hsinThe thirty-first ancestor,China's fourth ancestor, Zenmaster Tao-hsin, bowed to thegreat master Seng-ts'an, andsaid, "I beg the priest in hisgreat compassion to give metheteachingofliberation."Theancestor replied, "Who isbindingyou?"Themastersaid,"No one is binding me." Theancestoranswered, "Thenwhyare you seeking liberation?"With these words, the masterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseMind is empty, and pureknowing contains no right orwrong.In this, what is there to beboundorliberated?Even though it becomes thefour great elements and fiveskandhas, in the end, seeing,hearing,forms,andsoundsarenothingelsethanMind.

Thoughts

Thesecasesgo throughcyclesand thereare similarities and subtledifferencesbetweencases.Thelastthreecasesaresimilar.Theyallrefertothedelusionswe

hang on to that prevent us from seeing and expressing the Way. The majorquestioninthiscaseis"Whatbindsus?""Whattripsusup?"Aswelookdeeplyintothingsthatbindus,canwefindanything?Ininterviews,somestudentshavetoldmetheirmindsarefullofcrazythoughts,andinperpetualstrife;thattherearethunderstormsandearthquakesintheirminds—tidalwaves.Ichallengethemtobringmethesethoughts.Theycan'tdoit.It isimpossibletoholdathought.The reason is,weare alwaysmoving.Holdingon to a thought is likeholdingwaterinone'shands.There'snowaytocontainwaterinourhands.Nowaytocontainathoughtinourmind.Itwillslipthroughourhandsandoutofourmind.Whatisthought?Canyouputitonatableandlookatit?Canyousliceit?Canyou weigh it? Measure it in any way? Is it possible that there is no way tocontainthoughtsbecausethereisnosuchthingas"thought"?Thatthoughtsaredelusions?

Whatbindsus?Ourthoughts.Sothecrazysituationisthatsomethingthatpossibly has no existence is screwing us up. That's nuts! We are our ownproblem.Weneednotseekliberationbecausewearealreadyliberated.Wearecomplete.WearetheLight.Ourcrazythoughtsscrewusup.OurthoughtskeepusfromrealizingandexpressingtheLight.Thisisnuts!

Poem

Tao-hsin

thoughtstwistintoknotstrappedaspiderstuckinitsownweb

CASE33

Hung-jenThe thirty-second ancestor,China's fifth ancestor, Zenmaster Hung-jen, met thethirty-firstancestorontheroadto Huang-mei. The ancestorasked him, "What is yourfamily name (hsing)"? Themaster replied, "I have anature (hsing)but it is not anordinary name (hsing)." Theancestor asked, "What is itsname?"Replied themaster,"Itis Buddha-nature (fo-hsing)."Theancestorasked,"Haveyouno name?" The masteranswered, "Because Buddha-nature is empty, I have none."Theancestorthoughttohimselfthat he was a vessel of theDharma and transmitted theDharmaandrobetohim.

Keizan'sVerseMoon bright, water pure, theautumnskyclear,howcanaspeckofcloudmarkthisimmensepurity?

Thoughts

Thiskoan isaboutBuddha-nature.Buddha isOneBody. It transcends timeandspace.HowcanIspeakofBuddha-nature?TheimageIget inconsideringthiskoanisthefamousZencircleoneoftensees:

Thecircleisopenbecausethereisnoinsideoroutsidethecircle.Thisisthe circle of OneBody. OneBody transcends time and space. "All Buddhasthroughoutspaceandtime"isalinefromarefrainchantedinSotoZenservice.Thecompletegathais:

AllBuddhasthroughoutspaceandtimeAllBodhisattvas,Mahasattvas,Maha,prajña,Paramita.

It includes all things.We are part of, and somehow connected to, thatwhich at one time we called Hung-jen and Shakyamuni Buddha. There is aconnectionbetweenus andpart ofHui-k'o,Bodhidharma,Mozart,Beethoven,LeonardodaVinci,Michelangelo,CaesarBorgia,JuliusCaesar,Napoleon,JesusChrist,JudasIscariot,allthemurdererswhoaresittinginthedeathrowsoftheworld,waiting for execution, and all of their victims.We are also part of theterroristsofthebombinginOklahomaCity.WearepartoftheChinesewhoareoccupyingTibet, raping that poor country. Part of all the combatants in everyongoing war. The judge, jury, and defendant in the O. J. Simpson trial. Thevictimsofthathorrendousdoublemurder.

OneBody means all of this. And deeper and more. Not merely"connected."Notmerely"apartof."Weare!Wearealltheabove—thevictims,the executioners, the heroes, heroines, murderers—all of them—withoutexception.AllsomehowheldtogetherwiththemysticglueofourbodiesandofBuddha-nature.OftheLight.TheUnborn.TheHolySpirit.

Nowarewe really talking aboutBuddha-nature?Arewenot talking inthe same sense that one speaks of the immortal or great soul? What is thedifferencebetweenBuddha-natureandthesoul?Ifsoulisapartfromus,itisnotBuddha-nature.Buddha-natureisintheveryintersticesofourcellstructure.How is OneBody possible? Through the emptiness of Buddha-nature. ThisgathaischantedaftereveryZenservice:

AllBuddhasthroughoutSpaceandTime,AllBodhisattvas,Mahasattvas,Maha,prajña,Paramita.

Allcreationexistsinemptiness.Keizan'spoemilluminatesthisdramatically:

Moonbright,waterpure,theautumnskyclear,howcanaspeckofcloudmarkthisimmensepurity?

Poem

Hung-jen

cloudscirclingtheheavensdrawdifferentshapeslookthere'sthefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornnowyou see itnowyou see itnowyou see it

CASE34

Hui-nengThe thirty-third ancestor,China'ssixthancestor,wasZenmasterHui-neng.Heworkedintherice-hullingshedatHuang-mei. Once, Zen master Hung-jenenteredtheshedandasked,"Is the rice white yet?" Themaster answered, "It's white,but it hasn't been sifted yet."Hung-jen struck the mortarthree times with his staff Themastershookthesiftingbasketthree times and entered theancestor'sroom.

Keizan'sVerseStrikingthemortar—thesoundwasloud,echoing beyond time andspace;Sifting the clouds—the silvermoonappeared,and the night was deep andclear.

Thoughts

I bow before Hui-neng. Hui-neng, the sixth ancestor, is the person mostresponsibleforZenasweknowittoday,whotransformedthepracticethatwasIndian incustomandnatureandadapted it tohisown traditions—thecustomsandsensitivitiesandfeelingsofChina.Muchhasbeenwritten,ofcourse,about

Hui-nengandthereislittleIcanadd.ThegreatmysteryofHui-nengisthatthereis hardly any historical data about him. The only record is a list of seniorstudentsofHung-jen,thefifthancestor.Hui-neng'snameisoneofadozenorsoonthislist.Hui-neng,himself,leftnowritings.Therearenodirecttranscriptionsofhisteachingscontemporarywithhim.MostofwhatweknowaboutHui-nengandthelegends,stories,andmythsofhis lifecomefromhisstudentShen-hui.ThereisalsonotmuchknownaboutShen-hui.InthePlatformSutra,attributedtoHui-neng,Shen-huihasaveryminorroleandisnotachiefdisciple.Itwashe,however,who establishedHui-neng, and insisted upon the dominance ofHui-nengas the sixthancestor.At that time therewasaconflictingclaimmadebyShen-hsui, also in that list of disciples ofHung-jen.Hewas the leader of theNorthernSchoolofZen,andclaimedthetitleofthesixthancestor.TheSouthernSchool of Zen, dominated and survived; therefore, Hui-neng is the sixthancestor.

OneofthemajorteachingsofHui-nengwashiselectrifyingdefinitionofzazenasbeing the "non-separationbetween subject andobject."OneBody.Hedoesnotsayzazenismeditation.Inall thewritingsandteachingsattributedtoHui-neng,rarelydoesheevenmentionzazen,exceptinhislastsermonwherehecounsels his followers tomeditate. For him,whenever a personbecomesone-with,whatevertheobject,thenzazentakesplace.Hui-nengtookzazen—Zen—outofthemeditationhallandmonasteriesandbroughtitintoeverydaylife.Hetookthemystiqueofmeditation—zazen—andmadeitordinary.OrdinarinessisoneofthehallmarksoftheZenwhichHui-nengtaughtandpracticed.

Hewas a very ordinaryman—in fact, illiterate.He had never read thescriptures,orheardthem,orhadthemreadtohim.HeknewnothingaboutZenor Buddhism, and yet upon hearing one verse from the Diamond Sutra, allbecame clear. At that very moment, he became enlightened. I think thebiographiesmakeagreatpointofhisilliteracytoestablishthesupremacyofthetrueselfover theacquiredself.Thesupremacyofnatural,everyday,common-senseknowledge,asopposedtoacquired,learnedknowledge.

AnandahadtostruggleforoverfortyyearstomaketheBuddha'swordshisown.Hui-neng'swordswerealwayshisown,forhehadthewordfromthefirstmomentofhisenlightenment.Hewasalwayshisownperson.Heknewwhohe was. He knew he had the Dharma and yet he did not boast about it. Hesubmittedhimselfandhispracticetohisteacher.Healsostooduptohisteacheranddidnotretreatfromwhatheknewtobeso.ThemeetingbetweenHung-jenandHui-nengillustratesthis.

Hung-jenasked,"Wheredoyoucomefrom?""IcomefromtheSouth."Well,that'stantamounttosaying,"IcomefromBrooklyn."(Cananythinggoodcome out of Brooklyn?) "What are you looking for?" asked Hung-jen. "I'mlookingforBuddha-nature.""CanonegiveBuddhanaturetoapersonfromtheSouth, a land of barbarians?" (Can one give Buddha-nature to someone fromBrooklyn,a landof thieves, thugs,andbarbarians?)Hui-nengsnapsrightbackandsays,"CanBuddha-naturebecircumscribedbygeography?"Isthereanorthor south toBuddha-nature? I amcertainHung-jen saw in thepiercing eyesofHui-nengthathehadit!Thispersoniscomplete.YetHui-nengacceptedHung-jen'sordertogoandworkintherice-mill.

Hui-neng did so, for the following seven years, deep in the pits of therice-mill,farawayfromthezendo,farawayfromthehubofthemonastery,farawayfromthegloriesandritualsoftheZenservice,andfrommeditationhalls.Knowingallthetimehehadit;yethesubmitted.Hewaiteduntilhisteacher,thefifthancestor,thepersonwhoembodiedtheDharma,said,"OK!"

That'swhatthiskoanisabout—therecognitionofHui-nengbythefifthancestor.

"Isthericewhiteyet?"ThericeisHui-neng'sspirit.Haveallthedirtanddross of the rice—all the impurities of your life been polished off? Are youcomplete?"Yes,thericeiswhite,buthasn'tbeensiftedyet."Yes,butrecognitionhas not yet come. Iwait for recognition. I await the sifting that only you cangive.ThereuponHung-jenstruckthemortarthreetimeswithhisstaff,sifting.Inthisway,herecognizedHui-nengasthesixthancestor.

Evenafterrecognition,Hui-nengcontinuedtoliveanordinarylife.Oneofthestories is thathejoinedforceswithagroupofhuntersandbecametheircook.

OneofthegreatteachingsofHui-nengistotrustthewordinone'sownheart. To know that is all one needs. Everything one reads or hears iscommentaryonthewordthatiswithinone'sheart.Knowingwehaveit,welearnfromHui-nengtowaituntilourteacherconfirmsourword.Recognition.Waitingfortheauthenticationofourword.Whenourwordbecomesonewiththewordofourteacher,thenwemayspeakit.Thisiswhattransmissionisallabout.ThisiswhathappensinCase34.

Poem

Hui-neng

theknockingreverberatingthroughoutspaceandtime—scattersmybonesWho'sbreathingonmyface?Who'swhisperinginmyears?

CASE35

Ch'ing-yüanThe thirty-fourth ancestor wasgreat master Ch'ing-yüan. Hepracticed in the community ofTs'ao-ch'i. He asked the sixthancestor,"WhatshouldIdosoasnottolandinsomeclassorstage?" The ancestor asked,"Whathave youdone so far?"Themasterreplied,"Ihavenoteventriedthefourholytruths."Theancestorasked,"Intowhatstage will you end up?" Themastersaid,"IfIstillhavenottried the holy truths, whatstage can there be?" Theancestorwasgreatlyimpressedwithhispotential.

Keizan'sVerseWhenabirdflies,itcomesandgoes,buttherearenotraces.Howcanyoulookforstagesonthedarkpath?

Thoughts

Thisisacaseabouttruthandreality.I'mfortunatetoliveinthesouthernCatskillMountains of New York, in an area called Shawangunk (pronounced"Shongum").Thewordmeans"whitestones."Rockclimbersfromallover thecountryandtheworldcometoclimbthenearbyShawangunkhills(oftencalledthe "Gunks").Therearemanymilesof trails in theGunks.Notonlydo I live

here,butIhavetwodogswhoneedtohavealongwalkeveryday.Andsoitismy privilege to take themon dailywalks in theGunks.One day, aswewerewalking,allofasuddenInoticedmountainlaurelinfullbloomallaroundme.Themountainlaurelisaveryhardyplant.ItsroottwistsintobeautifulpatternsthatremindmeoftheCaliforniamanzanita.Ioftenpickupdried-outoldrootsandwhittle,sand,andpolishthemforuseaskatsusorservicesticksinSotoZenreligious service. Themountain laurel hasmany buds, and bloomswhite.Notmucharoma.Theviewofaforestorhillside,coveredwithmountainlaureljustafterthebudshavepoppedopen,isbreathtaking.

Themountain laurel is in theGunks all year long. It's ubiquitous.Oneforgets it when it's not in bloom, or when it's covered with snow in winter.Springiscoming.Everything'sstillbare.It'shardtodistinguishmountainlaurelfromothervegetation.Thenwhenit'sinbloom,it'severywhere.

Itishereallthetimebutwedon'trealizeit.Sowepracticeandpracticeandpractice,hopingtoadvancefromonestagetotheother.Wedokoanstudy,cracking our heads against them, presenting our koans, our understandings.Finally, we pass our koans, go on to the next ones, and it feels as if we aremoving from one level to another. The reality, however, is that the mountainlaureliseverywhere.TheHoly,orNoble,Truthsarenotsomethingtopractice.TheHolyTruthsarepresentandubiquitous.Nothingtopractice."Nostages,"asKeizan says in his poem, on the "dark path"—on the path of realization.Realizationisalwayshere.Wemaynotseeit.Wemaynotfeelit.Butit'shere.Someday,oneday,ineachofourlivesitwillburst.

Poem

Ch'ing-yüan

ahthemountainlaurelburstinglikepopcornallovertheforest

CASE36

Shih-t'ouThe thirty-fifth ancestor, greatmaster Shih-t'ou, visitedCh'ing-yüan. Ch'ing-yüanasked, "Where are you from?"The master replied, "I comefrom Ts'ao-ch'i." Ch'ing-yüanthen raised his hossu andasked, "Does this exist atTs'ao-ch'i?" The masteranswered, "It's not onlynonexistentatTs'ao-ch'i,but itdoesn't exist in India either."Ch'ing-yüan asked him, "Youhaven'tbeentoIndiayet,haveyou?" The master said, "If Iwent, it would exist." Ch'ing-yüan said, "That's not goodenough;saymore."Themasterreplied, "Master, you shouldsay half of it and not dependcompletely on me." Ch'ing-yüan said, "I don't refuse tospeak to you, but I am afraidthat after this, no one will bedeeply awakened." Themastersaid, "It's not that it will notexist, it's just that no one willbe able to express it." Ch'ing-yüan hit him with the hossuand the master was greatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseWithone raisingof thehossu,he held up the totality of theWay;NeverbysomuchasahairdidShih-t'oueverdeviatefromit.

Thoughts

Thekeytothiscaseistheword"this.""Does'this'existatTs'ao-ch'i?"Whatis"this"? Is"this" thehossu?(Thehossu isaceremonial fly-whiskusedbyZenmasters as a signof theirpossessionof theDharma.) Is it thehossu? Is it theDharma?IsittheZenmasterhimself?Whatis"this"thatdoesn'texistinIndia?Itdoesn'texistatTs'ao-ch'i(whichiswhereHui-nengis).Wheredoesitexistifnotintheseplaces?WhatdoesShih-t'oumeanwhenhesays,"IfIwenttoIndiaitwouldexist."Whydoeshisteachersay,"That'snotgoodenough,saymore"?Thisissimilartothekoan"WhatdoyoudowhenyoumeettheBuddhaontheroad?"Youkillhim!WhenoneunderstandsthereasonsforkillingtheBuddha,oneunderstandswhy"this"doesnotexistinIndia,orinChinaorinAfrica,orinNewYorkCityorinLosAngeles.Ifitdoesn'texistinthoseplaces,wheredoesitexist?Andwhatis"this"thatdoesn'texistanyplace?

Poem

Shih-t'ou

likeablindturtleswimmingontheseaofchangescomingandgoingupanddownaroundandaround

CASE37

Yüeh-shanThe thirty-sixthancestor,greatmasteryüeh-shan,visitedShih-t'ou and asked him, "Iunderstand the twelve-partteachingsofthethreevehicles,for the most part, but I hearthat in the South they directlypoint to the human mind, seetheir natures, and becomeBuddhas.Thisisstillnotcleartome.Ihumblyaskyouinyourcompassion toexplain it."Theancestorsaid,"Thiswaywon'tdo and not this waywon't do,andboththiswayandnot thisway won't do. How aboutyou?" The master wasspeechless. The ancestor said,"Your conditions forunderstanding are not here.You should go to greatmasterMa." Accordingly, the masterwent and paid his respects toMa-tsu and asked the samequestion. The ancestor said,"Sometimes I make Him raisehis eyebrows and blink,sometimes I do notmakeHimraise his eyebrows and blink.Sometimes raising theeyebrows and blinking is allright, sometimes raising theeyebrows and blinking is not

all right. How about you?"With these words, the masterwas greatly awakened and hebowed. The ancestor asked, "What truth have you seen thatmakesyoubow?"

The master replied, "When Iwaswith Shih-t'ou, itwas likea mosquito mounting an ironox." The ancestor said, "Sinceyou are so, you must guard itwell, but still, your master isShih-t'ou."

Keizan'sVerseThat One whose whole life isextremelyactiveandlivelyWecalltheOnewhoraisestheeyebrowsandblinks.

Thoughts

TheZenmasters say there are two types of power: joriki,or self power, andtoriki, or other power. Calling uponAvalokiteshvara either in the form of thepowerfulchantEnmeiJukkuKannonGyoorbytheequallypowerfulmantraofTara,OmTareTuttareTureSvaha, orby theotherpowerfulmantraOmManiPadmeHum,orbyinvokingthenameoftheBuddha,NamuAmidaButsu—all

this is toriki.Callingon thepowerof theuniverse.Getting into tunewith thepowerofuniverse.Gettinginalignmentwiththepoweroftheuniverse—suchistoriki.

Jorikiisseekingwithin.Goingdeepuntilonearrivesat"this!"Untiloneseesandknowsthatwhichblinkstheeyeandthatwhichdoesnotblinktheeye.

Thisisjoriki.Becomingonewithallthings.Allthingsone.Isaythere'sanotherpower.Onecancallthisno-power.No-riki.Ormu.

Orpowerlessness.Onespeaksofthegreatfirethatonehasnowaytoenterinto,ortheclearbluelakethatonecanapproachfromanyplaceonitsshoreline.Theheartofthefireandtheheartofthelakearethesame.Onceweburstthroughtheroaringflames,therearenoflames.Oncewedivedeepintothelake,thereisnowater.

So it iswith theWay.AdialogueShih-t'ouhadwithyüeh-shan is veryimportant. yüeh-shan was meditating. Shih-t'ou asked him, "What are youdoing?" yüeh-shan: "I'm not doing anything." Shih-t'ou: "If you're not doinganything,whatawasteoftimeitis."yüeh-shan:"IfIwerewastingmytime,I'dbedoingsomething."

Zazenisthenonactofnotdoinganything.Thereisnoseekinginzazen.There isnodiscovery.There isnogoal.Thereareno steps.Noachievements.Counting thebreaths is ahindrance.When the timecomes,oneputsaway thecountingof thebreathsandturns toshikantaza—justsitting.Then there is justthis.

This really rubs against our nature. We want to do that which ismeaningful.Wedon'twanttowasteourtime.Wewanttobedoingsomething.Wewant to be on theWay. That's why it's difficult to do zazen. There is no"way" to do zazen. That's why Dogen taught shikantaza. Just sitting. Nothoughts.Nonthinking.Thinknonthinking.

Ma-tsu asks yüeh-shan, "What did you realize that makes you bow?"yüeh-shanreplied,"WhenIwaswithShih-t'ou,Iwaslikeamosquitotryingtobiteanironox."Becomethemosquito.Whatcanamosquitodotoanironox?Noway to penetrate. Each attempt at penetration blunts our fangs.Nomatterhowsharpourbite,webreakourteeth.Situntilyourteethbleed.Penetratetheimpenetrable.Penetratepenetration.Sit,therefore,withouteffort.Canweacceptthis?Canwe accept the zazen that has nothing in it?Canwe accept jumpingfrom the hundred-foot pole? Intowhat? The abyss? That would be easy. Theconundrumof thehundred-footpolekoan is that there is nopole.There is noplacetojumptoorfrom.Thiskoanrevealsourdelusions,ourattachments.

Poem

Yüeh-shanthewayneithermarkednorunmarkedhighlowheretherethisthatnotthisnotthatnotthegreatbluepoolnotthegiantballoffirenotDante'sdarkwoodnotDorothy'syellowroad

leadsnowhere

useless

whybother

Case38

Yün-yenThe thirty-seventh ancestorwas great master yün-yen. Hestudiedat firstwithPai-changfortwentyyearsandafterwardhe studied with yüeh-shan.yüeh-shan asked him, "Whatdharma does Pai-changteach?" The master said,"Once, he entered the hall tospeak and all the monks werestanding in rows.He suddenlyscattered them with his staff.Then,hecalledout,'Omonks!'Whentheyturnedaround,Pai-chang asked, 'What is it?'yüeh-shan said, 'Why didn'tyou say that before? Today,thankstoyou,Ihavebeenableto meet brother Pai-chang.' "With these words, the masterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseA solitary boat proceedsunaided in the brightmoonlight;If you turn around and look,the reeds on the ancient shoredonotsway.

Thoughts

Inhiscommentaryonthiskoan,KeizansaysthebasicpointofstudyingZenandlearning theWay is to clarifymindandawaken to theessentials.yün-yenhadstudied with Pai-chang for twenty years and still didn't get it. It's possible tostudyandpracticeZen,goingthroughallthemotions,learningallthewords,allthesutras,andstillnothaveit.

Recently, a Zen student told me a story. She had gone through deepemotionalturmoil.SheturnedtoaseniorZenstudentshehadknownformanyyearsandsharedherdistresswithhim.Toheramazement,whenevershewouldseehimagain,notoncedidheaskhowshewasdoing.Shecouldnotunderstandthis.HowcouldsomeonesoadvancedinZenpracticehavesolittlefeeling,beso lacking in compassion, never to inquire? Not once, thereafter, did he ask,"How are you doing?" I think this is another case of somebody who hadpracticedZenformanyyears,likeyün-yen,andstilldidnotgetit.

That'swhyZenteachersgothroughallsortsof"expedientmeans"toprodtheirstudentstofindit.Toclarifytheirminds.Tounderstandandfindtheirtrueselves.SometimesthetacticsZenteachersusemaybebizarre,butalwaystheytrytogetstudentstojumpovertheirrutsoftranquillityandhabitualpatternstofindit.

Soitisinthiscase.Pai-changtriedtogethisstudentstofindit.Hewasmakingnoheadway,sohedismissedthemandastheywereleaving,heshoutedafter them, "Hey!Monks!"When they turned around: "What is it?" Still theydidn'tgetit.Notevenyün-yengotit.Onlyafterwards,whenhewasdescribingthesituationtoyüeh-shandidherealizewhatwashappening.

One can attach to anything. I think the worst attachments are the bestthings.OscarWildesaid,"Theworstthingaboutabadsystemisthegoodinit."Thegoodnessperpetuatesthebadsystem.Soit iswithZenpractice.Whateverachievementswegetto,weneedtodrop.Whateverwelearn,weneedtogetridof. Emptiness is all. Always empty the cup. Even emptiness itself can be anattachment.Emptinessdoesnotmeannothaving.Emptinessmeansbeingpoisedfor action. Being ready. Being ripe. Being open. In that state—it's almost anisometricstate—it'spossibletocatchaglimpseofit.It'spossibletorespondtoPai-chang'squestion,"Whatisit?"

Poem

Yün-yenvolley

ping...pongtillyouropponent'soffcenterandtheballisrightthen

slam!!!

CASE39

Tung-shanThe thirty-eighth ancestorwasgreat master Tung-shan. Hevisited yün-yen and asked,"Whocanhearthenonsentientpreach the Dharma?' yün-yenanswered, "The nonsentientcan hear the nonsentientpreach the Dharma." Themaster asked, "Do you hearit?"yün-yenreplied,"IfIcouldhear it, youwouldnotbeableto hear me preach theDharma."Themastersaid,"Inthat case, Tung-shan does nothearyoupreach theDharma."yün-yensaid,"Ifyoustilldon'thear me preach the Dharma,how much less can you hearthe nonsentient preach theDharma?" The master wasgreatly awakened at this pointandhespokethisverse:

Wonderful!Wonderful!The preaching of the Dharmaby the nonsentient isinconceivable.If you try to hear with yourears,itishardtounderstand;When you listen with yourmind'seye,thenyouknowit.yün-yenapproved.

Keizan'sVerseExtremely fine subtleconsciousnessisnotemotionalattachment;It constantly makes That Onepreachkeenly.

Thoughts

TherearetwomeaningstotheSanskritword"dharma."Withacapital"D"theword means the teaching of the Buddha. With a small "d" the word meansphenomena. Therefore, all phenomena are teachers. Every bird, tree, blade ofgrass, animal, cat, dog, frog, ant, cockroach, spider—every flower, and chairs,tables,rugs,windows,gardens,garages,rockingchairs,walkingsticks,flowingstreams, bridges, mountains, lakes, oceans, clouds, sky—all phenomena areteachers.AllphenomenaaretheBuddha,teaching.Thiscasespecificallypointstothisfact.

ThequestionTung-shan asks is "Howcanonehear the teachingof theinanimate?"Who can hear the teaching of a running brook or of amountain?AgainwecometothegreatmetaphoroftheDenkoroku—Light.WestandintheLight.WeplaceourselvesintheLight.Thenitispossibletoheartheteachingsofamountainandofarunningbrook.It'sassimpleasthat.Itisnotsomethingwebringwordsto,nordoweusewordstoexplicatethatwhichisbeingtaughtby the brook.We just walk by the brook.Walk with the brook.Walk in thebrook.Splashourselveswiththewaterofthebrook.Becomethebrook.Becomethemountain.

Poem

Tung-shan

Listenwithyourheart

tothewindblowingthroughthetrees.Aretheleaveschantingsutras?Listentothebeatofthefishdrumbranchesbeatingtimeagainsttheirtrunks.

ListentotheIno-SpruceleadthechantandallBuddhasthroughoutspaceandtimejoinin.NoBachcantatasurpasses—noMonteverdicanonequals—noGregorianchantmatches—thesongofthesingingtrees.

CASE40

Yun-chuThe thirty-ninth ancestor wasgreat master Yun-chu. Hestudiedwith Tung-shan. Tung-shanaskedhim,"Whatisyourname?" The master replied,"Yun-chu." Tung-shan said,"Say it from beyond." Themaster said, "If I speak frombeyond,IcannotsaythatIamYun-chu." Tung-shan said,"That is the same answer Igave when I was with yün-yen."

Keizan'sVerseNever has it been bound tonamesandforms;How can you speak of it as"beyond"or"relative"?

Thoughts

This koan deals with the problem of names. Let me turn to Shakespeare. InRomeoandJuliet,act2,scene2,lines33andfollowing.JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father andrefusethyname:Or,ifthouwiltnot,bebutswornmylove,AndI'llnolongerbeaCapulet.

ROMEO:[Aside]ShallIhearmore,orshallIspeakatthis?

JULIET: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not aMontague.What'sMontague? It isnorhand,nor foot,Norarm,nor face,noranyotherpartBelongingtoaman.O,besomeothername!What'sinaname?ThatwhichwecallaroseByanyothernamewouldsmellassweet;SoRomeowould, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithoutthattitle.Romeo,doffthyname,AndforthatnamewhichisnopartoftheeTakeallmyself

AnotherquoteregardingnamesoccursintheBookofGenesis,chapter2,verses19-23.(TheNewEnglishBible,withtheApocrypha.OxfordUniversityPress,1970)

SoGodformedoutofthegroundallthewildanimalsandallthebirdsofheaven.Hebroughtthemtothemantoseewhathewouldcallthem,andwhateverthemancalledeachlivingcreature,thatwas itsname.Thus themangavenames to all cattle, to thebirdsofheaven,andtoeverywildanimal;butforthemanhimselfnopartnerhadyetbeenfound.AndsotheLordGodputthemanintoatrance,andwhileheslept,hetookoneofhisribsandclosedthefleshovertheplace.TheLordGodthenbuiltuptherib,whichhehadtakenoutoftheman,intoawoman.Hebroughthertotheman,andthemansaid:'Nowthis,atlast—bonefrommybones,fleshfrommyflesh!—thisshallbecalledwoman,forfrommanwasthistaken.'

Whatexactlyhappenshere?ThenameMontaguecarrieswithitahostoffixed conceptions. Being a Montague, Romeo has to be an enemy of theCapuletsbecausethat'sthewaythingsare.ThatwasthecurrentstateofthefeudthathadgoneonformanyyearsbetweentheMontaguesandtheCapulets.Thekeywordis"fixed."Anametendsto"fix"aperson.Anamerobsone'sdivinity.

Anametakesapersonoutoftherealmofno-placeandplantsthatpersonsome-place,therebyfixingthatpersonwithaparticularpersonality,aparticularsetofopinions,aparticularnarrationtotheirlife,etcetera.Therealplace,whichisno-place,iscompleteandistheplacewearein.Thatistheplaceweseektofindinzazen.InthemythsofChristianityandJudaism,theWesternmythsofGenesis,we find that the firstman,Adam, names everything. All the animals. All thetrees.All the flowers,plants,birds,mountains.He fixeseverything.Henamesthefirstwoman.Iwonder if this is theFall, rather than theeatingof thefruit!Rather thandisobedience!BeforeAdamnamednames,Genesis says earlier inchapter1,verse27:

SoGodcreatedmaninhisownimage;intheimageofGodhecreatedhim;maleandfemalehecreatedthem.

Nonames!Maleand femaleareOneBody.Names separate.Names fix.Namesdonotidentify.Justthecontrary.Theyconfuse.Theydisassociate.Nowofcourseweliveintheworldofduality.Weliveintheworldofnames.Yetweshouldknowthereisarealmofno-name.Wemustknowthatthenamesweusearerelative,transitory,shifting,andtheyallarelies.Thetruthisthatthereisnoname.Noplace.No thing.There is! It is!Whenone is ina lighted room,onedoesn'tturnonthelights.Itwouldbecrazy.Thelightsareon.Namingturnsthelightsoff.

Poem

Yun-chu

There'saneternityofnamesinthewarehouseoftheuniverse.Namesforeveryflower,treeorshrub;namesforeveryanimal,fishorbird;namesforpeople,babiesbeingborn;namesforbaptisms,jukais,confirmations;

namesforchemicals,drugs,diseases,cures;namesforbaseball,hockey,basketball,andfootballteams;names,names,namesnamesforeverythingimaginable.

ButnowheredoIfindthenameofthenamethathasnoname.

CASE41

T'ung-an Tao-p'iThe fortieth ancestor was ZenmasterT'ung-anTao-p'i.Once,Yun-chu said, "If you want toacquiresuchathing,youmustbecome such a person. Sinceyouaresuchaperson,whybeanxious about such a thing?"Hearing this, the master wasawakened.

Keizan'sVerseSeeking it oneself with emptyhands, you return with emptyhands;In that place wherefundamentally nothing isacquired,youreallyacquireit.

Thoughts

Againweareface-to-facewiththeLight.ThepointofthiskoanisthatnomatterhowhardwelookfortheLightwecannotfindit.LookingitselfistheLight.YetbylookingwewillnotfindtheLight.AsIsaidinthelastcase,whenweareindarkness,thereisnolight.AllthelookingaroundfortheLightwillnotrevealit.There is no switch that turns on the Light. Light-switching is a delusion weinvent.Wethinksomewherethereisabuttonorswitchonecanpressandbingo!No.Indarkness, there isnoLight.Lightexistswithin itself.Where then is theLight?RepeatedlyKeizantellus.Itiswithin.TheBuddhasays,"Lookwithin."Whydon'twebelieveit?Whydowekeeplookingforlight-switches?Buttons?

Dimmers?Undimmers?Zazenwillhelpusfindthatwhichwehavecoveredoverwiththeobfuscationsofcenturies.Obfuscationsofopinions,habits,prejudices,learning, theories, religions, zen practices, all of which is not the Light. TheLightisnotsomethingtofind.Notsomethingtobuy.Norsomethingtouncover.Ibelieveoncewerealizethis,wewillseetheLight.Andwewillseeinthedark.SekitoKisensays,"Lightisalsodarkness.Butdonotmovewithitasdarkness."Donotseeitasdarkness.LightisLight.

Poem

T'ung-anTao-p'i

IdreamtthemoonwasgoneIrubbedmyeyesrosefrommybedandallwasdark.Iflickedthelightswitchbuttherewasnolight,Iwentoutsideandsearchedbehindeverytreeundereveryrocklookingforthemoon.Istumbledinthedarksearching,stumbling,screamingforthemoon.Istubbedmytoeuponarock,andawakenedwithastart.Myeyesblindwithlightsawthemoonrestingsafewithinmyheart.

CASE42

T'ung-anKuan-chihThe forty-first ancestor wasgreat master T'ung-an theLatter. He studied with theformerT'ung-an.Hesaid,"Theancients said, 'What worldlypeople love, I love not.' Iwonderwhatyoulove."T'ung-anTao-p'isaid,"Ihavealreadybeenabletobelikethis."Withthese words, the master wasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseThe light of the Mind-moonand colors of the eye-floweraresplendid;Shining forth and bloomingbeyond time who canappreciatethem?

Thoughts

This is a koan about attachment. It is interesting to again compare thetranslations of Cook and Cleary. Cook uses the word "love" whereas Clearysays, "care for."Cleary says, "Ihavealreadygotten tobe thus."Cooksays, "Ihavealreadygottentobelikethis."

Lateroninthecommentary,Keizancastigatesloveasthegreatestcauseof attachment. Keizan says it is possible to attach to forms as well asformlessnessandbotharetraps.OnecanevenattachtoBuddha,Buddhism,Zen,

zazen,practice—allaretraps.I don't quite agreewithKeizan's use of theword "love." I believe one

shouldlove.Ibelievelovingmakesallthesenseintheworld.But I distinguish between loving which frees and loving which binds.

Thereisalovethatmakesonewanttoownthelovedoneasanobject.Wewanttoownourhusbandsorwives.Wewanttoownourgardensandhomes.Wewanttoownourbooks,ourcomputers.Inasensewedo.Butifwelookdeeper,werealizeitisimpossibletoownanything.Jesussaidwecannotaddacubittoourheight.We cannot add a hair to our head.We cannot add an eyelash.We arecomplete as we are. How can you add to completeness? We don't have thebrains,orthepsychologicalknowledgeandtechnologicaldevelopment,toaddahair.Somedayweprobablywill.Butthat'sanothermatter.

Weshouldrealizethatallwehave,wehaveintrust.Thesongsays,"Youcan'ttakeitwithyou."Wecan'teventakeourbodieswithus.Weliveinaworldofdualities.Weliveinaworldofattachments.Attachmentstothings,persons,feelings,opinions,habitswerefusetorelinquish.Weholdontothem.Werefusetoletthemgo.Thehundred-footpoleisthepoleofattachmentsandwewon'tletgoofit.Wehangonfordearlife.

Wewanttoreshapewhateverwetouch,whateverwelove,intoourownimage,intoourownhabit-formations.Wewantotherstobeinaccordwithourownopinionsandprejudices.Wewantthatwhichwelovetolikethatwhichwelike.

It is possible to love one's things, one's husband or wife or lover orchildren, without attaching to them. To love in a way that frees them to bethemselves.It'stricky,butIthinkit'spossible.

Intheplaceofopenness—intheplaceofnotknowing—wefindtruelove,truefreedom.

Poem

T'ung-anKuan-chih

tostudythewayistoforgetthewayandtokickDogeninthepants

CASE43

LiangshanThe forty-second ancestorwaspriest Liangshan. He studiedwith T'ung-an the Latter andserved him. T'ung-an askedhim, "What is the businessbeneath the patch robe?" Themaster had no answer. T'ung-ansaid, "Studying theBuddhaWayandstillnotreachingthisrealmisthemostpainfulthing.Now,youaskme."Themasterasked, "What is the businessbeneath the patch robe?"T'ung-an said, "Intimacy."Themasterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseThewater is clear to the verybottom;The pearl gleams naturally,without need of cutting andpolishing.

Thoughts

ThiscaseisapaeantotheUnborn.Inhisteishoonthiscase,KeizanreachesthesublimeheightsofPaulinhisLettertotheCorinthians.Considerthetexts.Paul,inICorinthians,chapter1,verse13,says:

Imay speak in tongues ofmen or of angels, but if I amwithout love,Iamasoundinggongoraclangingcymbal.Imay

have the gift of prophecy, and know every hidden truth; I mayhavefaithstrongenoughtomovemountains;butifIhavenolove,Iamnothing.ImaydoleoutallIpossess,orevengivemybodytobeburnt,butifIhavenolove,Iamnonethebetter.

AndnowKeizan'swords:

Evenifyoudemolishyourmeditationseatfromprolongedsittingandperseveremindlessoffatigue,andareapersonofloftyandspotlessconduct,ifyouhaven'treachedthisrealm,itwillbehardforyoutoescapetheprisonofthetripleworld.Evenifyoupossessthefourkindsofeloquenceandtheeightsounds,andyourpreaching covers everything likemist, your speech rolls like thewaves in the sea, your Dharma preaching astounds heaven andearth, and youmake flowers rain from the sky andmake rocksmove.Still,ifyouhavenotyetreachedthisrealm,oldYama,LordoftheDead,willnotfearyoureloquence.Evenifyoupracticeforan exceedingly long time, exterminate thoughts and still youremotions,makeyourbodylikeawitheredtreeandyourmindlikeashes, mind never reacting to external things, and never losingmindfulnesswhen confronting events; and you become liberatedwhilesitting,ordiewhilestanding;andyouseemtohaveacquiredindependence and freedomwith regard to life and death, if youhavestillnotreachedthisrealm,allthatisvaluelessinthehouseoftheBuddhaancestors.

Studying the BuddhaWay and still not reaching this realm "is a mostpainfulthing."Whatisthisrealm?ItistherealmoftheUnborn.Whereisit?Itis within. As simple as that. And what is the great matter? It is being theUnborn,Buddha-nature,theHolySpirit,theTrueSelf.That'swhatit'sallabout,says Keizan. That's what zazen is all about. It's about eating and drinking,sleeping, walking in the woods, reading Shakespeare, listening to Bach,Beethoven,CharlieParker,BennyGoodman,andMozart.It'sabouttheUnborn.How dowe reach theUnborn?Bankei tells us very clearly. Turn to it. It's assimple as the first stepsofmeditation—countingone'sbreath:one, two, three,four . . .oops!One, two, three, four . . .oops!One two, three, four . . .oops!

Backtoone.

Poem

Liangshan

Therealmbeyondtherealmbeyondtherealmisneverthere.Therealmbeyondtherealmbeyondtherealmisalwayshere.

Likebitingajalapeño.

CASE44

Ta-yangThe forty-third ancestor wasgreatmasterTa-yang.Once,heaskedPriestLiangshan,"Whatis the formless site ofenlightenment?" Liangshanpointed to a picture of theBodhisattvaKuan-yinandsaid,"This was painted by thescholar Wu." The master wasabouttospeakwhenLiangshansuddenly grabbed him andsaid, "This is what has form;what is it that has no form?"With these words, the mastercomprehended.

Keizan'sVerseThe mind mirror hangs highandreflectseverythingclearly;The vermilion boat is sobeautiful that no painting candoitjustice.

Thoughts

MoreonBuddha-nature,theUnborn,theLight.Whatisitthatbabiesseebeforetheycansee?Immediatelyafterbirththeystareintently.Deeply.Theireyesarewideopen.Theycannot see.Yet they see.Whatdo they see?Do they see thebodhisattvas and the angels? Do they see the Wooden Man and the StoneWoman?DotheyseetheLight?TheUnborn?Isthererecognitionintheireyes?Isitallamazement?Isitall"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

OneeveningIsawaTVprogramaboutdiseasesofthemind.Onediseasewascharacterizedbytheinabilitytorememberwhatonesees.Evenlookingintoamirror,onedoesnotrecognizeoneself.Onedoesn'tknowwhoislookingback.Whatapainful,terriblething.Onehastorelearnhowtosee.Whatbecameclearin this film is that seeingdoesnot involve seeing.Seeing involves all thatweare,allthatwehaveexperienced,fromthefirstgazeofwondertothepresent.Inthediseasedstateofmind,ofthebrain,onedoesnotknowwhatatreeis,orahouse,oracat,orabook.Onedoesnotrecognizeone'swife,orone'schildren.

Recently, in an article inThe New Yorker, I read about a person bornblind who regained the power of sight in his forties through the miracle ofsurgery.Thatperson,likethepersonwiththediseasedbrain,couldnotsee!Hedidn't knowwhat he was looking at. He did not knowwhat a tree was, or ahouse;whohischildrenwereorhiswife.Hedidn'tknowwhatwaslookingbackathiminthemirror.Hehadtorelearnallthesethings.Inexasperation,hesaidhesawbetterwhenhewasblind—whenhedidn'tsee.

Sowhatisitoneseeswhenonesees?Whatisitthatsees?Whatisitthathasform?Whatisnoform?Wearedealingwitharealmbeyondoursenses.Arealm that contains the facewehadbeforewewereborn.A realmof the trueself.OftheUnborn.OftheLight.TherealmofthesingingWoodenManandthedancingStoneWoman.

Poem

Ta-yang

EnteringabladeofgrassIsquigglethroughmyrockhardmind.IseethefacelessfaceIhadbeforeIwasborn.IseetheStoneWomandancetothesongoftheWoodenMan.

CASE45

T'ou-tzuThe forty-fourth ancestor waspriestT'ou-tzu.HestudiedwithTa-yang. Ta-yang had himinspect the story of thenonbuddhist, asking theBuddha, "Aside from speech,asidefromsilence."Afterthreeyears, one day Ta-yang askedhim, "Do you remember thecase? Try to present it." Themaster was about to speakwhen Ta-yang put his handover T'ou-tzu's mouth. Themaster was thoroughlyenlightened.

Keizan'sVerseThe outline of a peak so highthatbirdscanhardlycross;Sword blades and thin ice—whocanwalkonthem?

Thoughts

Thiskoanchallengesustoexpresstheinexpressible.OurdilemmaisthatwearepracticingaWaythatisinexpressible.WearepracticingaWaythathasnoformsornon-forms.Nocreeds.Noformulas.Noanswers.TheverypracticesofZenare hindrances.The practices themselves are not theWay.The challenge is toexpress the Absolute by means of the Relative. Speech, in this koan, is theRelative; silence is the Absolute. The Heart Sutra tells us form is emptiness;emptiness is form. TheRelative is in theAbsolute and theAbsolute is in the

Relative.SowehaveaHimalayancontradiction.Earlier, I said practice is not theWay.But now I say,withDogen, that

practice itself is the way. The practice of zazen, the counting of the breaths,forgetting and drifting into thought, catching the drift, returning to one, is theWay.ThekoanMuistheWay.Butassoonaswesayit,wemissit.Onecanalsosaywearedivinebeingsencasedinaskinbagoffleshandbones.Yetthisbodyofskinandbones isa temple.Howdoweexpressourdivinity?If thissoundsblasphemous,trytolookatitinanewway.IfwehavetheLightwithin,Buddha-nature,theUnborn,theHolySpirit,thenwearedivine!Thereisdivinitywithin.TheAbsoluteiswithinthistimorous,frail,fragile,corruptiblebodyofours.

Sohowdoweexpressthis?HowdowewalktheWay?Whatwordscanweuse?Whatnonwords?Whatactions?Whatnonactions?IfwethinkzazenistheWay,we'rewrong.IfwedonotthinkzazenistheWay,we'rewrong.Howdowegetoutofthisconundrum?It'slikeamaze.Whereverweturn,wefindourway blocked. What is the cause of the blockage? How do we find our waythrough the labyrinth? It seems all avenues are blocked. Butwe know in ourbones,ineveryfiberofourbeings,thatthereisanopening,thereisaway.That'swhatkoanstudyisabout.That'swhywedokoanstudy.Akoanisaconundrum.It'samaze.Thereseemstobenowaythroughthekoan.WhatistheanswertothekoanMu?Thereisnoanswer.Mu,plainandsimple.Whatistheanswertothesoundofonehand?Thereisnosound.Onehandcannotmakeasound.Yetweknowinourbonesthatitcan.How?What'sitallabout?Itseemsimpossibletofindourwaythroughthesekoans.Yetweworkwiththeminchbyinch,breathbybreath,untilweseeanopening.

Poem

T'ou-tzuI

UsethedelusoryPoleasacatapult—tocrashthroughtheblackholeofDoubtandentertheDragonGate

oftheUnknownHeart—wherethereisnospokenorunspoken.

T'ou-tzuII

Toseebeyondseeing—hearbeyondhearing—thinkbeyondthinking—istomisstheWay.

CASE46

Fu-jungThe forty-fifth ancestor wasZenmaster ofMountFu-jung.HestudiedwithpriestT'ou-tzu.HeaskedT'ou-tzu,"Thewordsof the Buddha ancestors arelike ordinary rice and tea, butis there anything else apartfrom these to help people?"T'ou-tzureplied,"Tellme,doesthe emperor's mandate in hiskingdomdependontheancientemperors Yao, Shun, Yu, andT'ang?"ThemasterwasabouttoanswerwhenT'ou-tzustruckhim in the mouth withhishossuand said, "When yougave way to thought, youimmediately deserved thirtyblows." The master wasawakened.

Keizan'sVerseEven without cosmetics, nouglinessshows;We naturally admire theornaments of lustrous jadebones.

Thoughts

ThecentralthemeoftheDenkorokuisthetransmissionoftheLight.Inoneway

oranother,eachcaseopensadifferentdoor to theLight.Alldoors lead to theLight.Thiscase isabout the teachingsof thebuddhasand theancestors.Howshould we hold these teachings? How do we hold the sutras? Zen is a wayoutside the sutras and outside the teachings. Indeed, Zen brazenly proclaimstherearenoteachings.WhatthenofthewordsoftheZenancestors?Arewetodisregardthem?

TheBuddha tells a story of a raft.Amanwas going on a journey.Hecametoariverthatwasimpossibletocrossonfoot.Sohebuiltaraftfromthestraw and reeds and planks of wood he found along the riverside. He thenmanaged to rowhimself across the river on the raft.Once he got to the otherside,hecontinuedhiswayonfoot,leavingtheraftbehind.

The teachings, the sutras, Zen practice, the words you are hearing orreadingrightnow,arerafts.Raftsthatmayhelpyoucrosstheriver.Onceacross,it's crazy to carry the raft ondry land.Drop it, andbeonyourway.OncewehaveopenedthedoorandseentheLight,nothingelsematters.That'sit!Wecangetonwithourlives;drinkourwineandeatourpasta.TheWaythenbecomesawayofwineandpasta.

Poem

Fu-jung

ThewordsoftheBuddhasandalltheZenmastersilluminetheskylikebrilliantfireworksandthenaregone.Tousethesewordsislikemakingcoffeewiththesamegroundsoverandoveragain.

CASE47

Tan-hsiaThe forty-sixth ancestor wasZenmasterTan-hsia.HeaskedFu-jung, "What is the singlephrase that all the sages havetransmitted from ancienttimes?" Fu-jung replied, "Ifyoucallitaphrase,youreallybury the Ts'ao-tung tradition."With these words, the masterwasgreatlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseThepurewindcirclestheearthandshakesittimeaftertime,But who can pluck it up andshowittoyou?

Thoughts

"What is the single phrase that all the sages have transmitted from ancienttimes?" This misses the point! There's no phrase. Light is transmitted.Repeatedlyweturntowords,teachings,sutras,Zenpractice,liturgy,mass,HolyCommunion.ThepointofHolyCommunion is tobecomeonewithChrist.SothatChrist feelsChristwithin.ThepointofZenpractice is to reach theLight.There isnoway tounlock the lockof thedoor to theLight.There isnodoor,muchlessalocktounlock.

Poem

Tan-hsia

4A.M.

dawnzazennamelessstreamrushesdownthemountainpoursintotheStonykillchorusofcicadas,cricketsfrogssmellofincenseflickerofcandlesilentbreathingsilenceorbreakfastacupofcoffeeasliceoflemon-blueberrycakeahhor

CASE48

Chen-hsiehTheforty-seventhancestorwasZen master Chen-hsieh. HestudiedwithTan-hsia.Tan-hsiaasked him, "What is the Selfprior to the empty eon?" Themaster started to speak andTan-hsia said, "You're noisy;goawayforawhile."Oneday,Chen-hsieh climbed Po-yuPeak and was suddenlyawakened.

Keizan'sVerseThe icy spring of the valleystream—noonepeeksintoit.It does not allow travelers topenetrateitsdepth.

Thoughts

Afamouskoanallofusneedtoworkthroughis"WhatisthefaceIhadbeforeIwasborn?"This isanotherwayofasking,What ismyTrueSelf?What is theLight? The Unborn BuddhaMind? The Holy Spirit? In koan study we mustpresentthisface.Howtopresentit?Allwordsarenoisy.Allactionsarenoisy.Yetwemustmakeapresentationtopassthekoan.PresenttheFace.PresenttheLight.PresenttheHolySpirit.

It is interesting that these statementsuse theword"present,"whichhastheidenticalspellingfortheword"present,"tobehere.Howdowepresentthepresent?Howisthepresentpresented?Presentthepresent?Presentpresented.

Poem

Chen-hsiehI(anoisypoem)

thefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornisthefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornisthefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornbeforeIwasthefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornbeforeIwasbornbeforethefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornIhadthefaceIhadbeforeIwasborn

Chen-hsiehII

thefaceIhadbeforeIwasbornisthefaceIhadbeforeIwasborn

CASE49

T'ien-t'ungTsung-chuehThe forty-eighth ancestor wasZen master T'ien-t'ung Tsung-chueh. He was Chen-hsieh'sattendant fora long time.Oneday, Chen-hsieh asked him,"How do you see it thesedays?"

The master said,"Suppose I say that I am likethis."

Chen-hsiehsaid,"That'snotenough;saysomemore."

The master replied,"Whyisn'titenough

Chen-hsieh answered,"Ididn'tsayitwasnotenough,but you aren't familiar withthatwhichisbeyond."

The master said, "Iexpressed that which isbeyond."

Chen-hsieh then asked,"What is that which isbeyond?"

The master replied,"Even supposing that I canexpressthatwhichisbeyond,Icannot put it into words foryou,master."

Chen-hsieh said, "You

can'treallyexpressit."Themaster said, "Ibeg

youtosayit."Chen-hsieh answered,

"Askme,andI'llsayit."The master asked,

"What is that which isbeyond?"

Chen-hsieh replied,"Suppose I say that I am notlike this." The master wasawakenedwhen he heard this,and Chen-hsieh gave hisapproval.

Keizan'sVerseIt is like trying to drive awedgebetweentwoplanks;Youcan'tdriveinthewedgeorprythemapart.

Thoughts

Thiskoanasks,Whatisthatwhichisbeyond?Istheresuchathingasbeyond?Ifthere is OneBody, can there be anything beyond it? OneBody encompasseseverythingincludingbeyond.Theheavens,theearth,theseas,andalllifewithintheheavens,theearth,theseas.Allthetrees,rivers,mountains,theangels, thebodhisattvas,gods,goddesses,demons,thedreams,theaspirations,youandme.

To think of anything beyond is to separate OneBody. It can't be done.Keizan'sversesayswecan'tdriveinawedgeorprythemapart.Becausethereisnoother.Thereisnoseparation.

Separation implies therearenoconsequences toouracts.Butweknowthat whatever we do, say, think, feel, has a consequence. Whenever we say"this,""that"happens.That'sthewayitis.Everythingwedoaffectstheuniverse.

Thefartheststarfeelsmyindifference.

Poem

T'ien-t'ungTsung-chueh

SiftingthroughscrapsofspaceIcameuponaspeckofstarIopeneditsdoorandlookedinsideandthereIfoundmyheart.

CASE50

Hsueh-touThe forty-ninth ancestor wasZen master Hsueh-tou. T'ien-t'ung,onedayentered thehallandsaid,"TheWorld-HonoredOne spoke with a hiddenmeaning, but it was notconcealed to Mahakashyapa."Whenthemasterheardthis,hewas suddenly awakened to itsprofound meaning. Standingthere in the ranks with theothers, his tears fell. Heunconsciously burst out, "Whyhaven't I heard this before?"T'ien-t'ungfinishedhistalkandsummoned the master. Heasked, "Why were youweeping?"Themaster replied,"The World-Honored Onespoke with a hidden meaning,but it was not concealed toMahakashyapa." T'ien-t'unggavehisapproval,saying,"Youmust be the one that Yun-chupredicted."

Keizan'sVerseIt is called the indestructiblehiddenbody;Thatbodyisemptyandbright.

Thoughts

Thereisaparadoxinthiscase."TheWorld-HonoredOnespokewithahiddenmeaning, but itwas not concealed toMahakashyapa."The paradox lies in thefactthatwhenBuddhaspoke,hespokeopenlyandclearly.Therewerenohiddenmeanings.IntheMahaparinibbanaSutta,(16.2.25),whichisanaccountoftheBuddha'slastdays,heclearlysays:

IhavetaughttheDhamma,Ananda,makingno"inner"and"outer": the Tathagata has no "teacher's fist" in respect ofdoctrines.

TheBuddhahasnothingtohide.No"secret"teachingsheldinaclenchedfist.Everythingisoutintheopen.

Sowhydoes this case speakof a hiddenmeaning?What is the hiddenmeaning?What ishidden isourunderstanding.Whenwedon'tunderstand thething,itishiddenfromus.Whatisitthatishiddenfromus?Keizanquotestheancientswhosay,"Learning theWayis likemakingfirebyrubbing twostickstogether. Do not stop for a second when you see smoke." It will always behiddenifwestopwhenweseesmoke.Wemustkeeprubbingrubbingrubbingthesticksuntilweburstintoflame.Thenallisrevealed.Thennothingishidden.Thenweseethereisnodarknessinlight.Thenweseethatdarknessisalsolight.

PoemHsueh-touTheheartthatisnotistheheartthatis.Theheartthatisistheheartthatisnot.

CASE51

Tien-t'ung Ju-chingThefiftiethancestorwaspriestT'ien-t'ung Ju-ching. HestudiedwithHsueh-tou.Hsueh-tou asked him, "Disciple Ju-ching,howcansomething thathas never been soiled becleaned?" The master spentmore than a year on thisquestion. Suddenly, he wasawakened,andsaid,"Ihavehituponthatwhichisnotsoiled."

Keizan'sVerseThe wind of the Way,circulating everywhere, isharderthandiamond;The whole earth is supportedbyit.

Thoughts

WenowarriveatthegreatJu-ching,theZenmasterwhoDogenZenjifoundjustas hewas about to leaveChina in despair at not having found a true teacher.WhatwouldZenbetodayifDogenhadnotfoundJu-ching?OnceDogenfoundJu-chingheknewthiswasthemaster:Ju-ching.

WhatisstrikingaboutJu-chingformeishisuncompromisingrejectionofall pomp and circumstance. Throughout his entire life he remained a simplemonk,neverwearingthegrandrobesandrakususofdifferentcolorsappropriatetohisoffice.Hisrobewasalwaysasimpleblack.Amonkamongmonks.

What is also equally remarkable about Ju-ching is his openness. TherewereseveralTaoistpriestswhoappliedtostudywithhimathismonastery.Hewelcomedthem,anddidnotrequirethattheyconverttoBuddhismtoremaininthe monastery or to study with him. So we have the first interfaith Zencommunity.HereisthefirststatementthatitisnotnecessarytobeaBuddhisttopracticeZen.

Turningtoourcase:Bynowweknowthatwhichhasneverbeendefiled.Ordowe? Is itpossible todefile theUnborn, theHolySpirit,Buddha-nature?The last of the Ten Great precepts is "I vow not to speak ill of the ThreeTreasures."IsspeakingilloftheThreeTreasuresadefilement?Asoiling?Canwecleansomethingthatisnotdirtyandwasneversoiled?Whatistheprocessofpurification?Inanearlierpoem,Iindicatethisprocessis"One,two,three,four.. .oops!One,two,three,four. . .oops!One,two,three,four. . .oops!"Howdoesthisprocesspurify?Andwhatispurified?

Poem

T'ien-t'ungJu-ching

Themoonspearsallcreationwithitscool,penetratinglight.Eachbladeofgrass,eachbusyant,eachleaf,eachsolitaryheart,receivesthemelancholystigmata.

CASE52

EiheiDogen

The fifty-first ancestor waspriestEiheiDogen.Hestudiedwith priest T'ien-t'ung Ju-ching.Once, during late nightzazen,Ju-chingtoldthemonks,"Studying Zen is the droppingoffofbodyandmind."Hearingthis, the master was suddenlygreatly awakened. He went atonce to the abbot's room andburnedincense.Ju-chingaskedhim, "Why are you burningincense?" The masteranswered, "Body and mindhave dropped off." Ju-chingsaid, "Body and mind havedropped off, the dropped-offbody and mind." The mastersaid, "This is a temporaryability, you must not approveme without reason." Ju-chingreplied, "I am not approvingyou without reason." Themaster asked, "Why are younot approving me withoutreason?" Ju-ching said, "Youhave dropped off body andmind." Themaster bowed. Ju-chingsaid,"Youhavedroppedoffdroppingoff."

Then Ju-ching's

attendant, Huang-p'ing of Fu-chou,said,"Itisnosmallthingfor a foreigner to experiencethis realm." Ju-ching said,"How many here have gottenit? Liberated, he is mild andpeaceful, and the thunderroars."

Keizan'sVerseThat bright and shiny realmhasneitherinsidenoroutside;How can there be any bodyandmindtodropoff?

Thoughts

ItisjustaboutimpossibletoappreciatethegeniusofDogen.Dogenwasachildprodigy comparable toWolfgangAmadeusMozart.At the age of six,Dogen,borninJapan,hadalreadymasteredclassicalChineseandpresentedavolumeofpoems,writteninChinese,tohisuncle.Bytheageofseventeen,hehadreadtheentire Buddhist canon. He thoroughly studied the way of Taoism, Shingon,Tendai,andRinzaiZen.HereceivedtransmissioninRinzaiZen.Later,inChina,he received transmission from Ju-ching in the Soto Zen lineage while in histwenties! Truly, a remarkable achievement. The Soto lineage, therefore, isimbuedwiththeseothertraditions.Dogen'swritingreflectshisvastknowledgeanderudition.

Attheendofhisteishotothiskoan,Keizanspeaksofapuncturedcup.HegoesastepbeyondametaphorIusedearlieroftheemptycup.ThewaytopursueZenpracticeistohaveacuppuncturedwithholes.Whateverisplacedinthecupimmediatelypoursout.Alwaysempty.Droppingbodyandmind—thisisthe punctured cup.When the cup is punctured, there is no inside or outside.There isnocup.There isonly theLight.Then,droppingoffbodyandmindisdropped.

Poem

EiheiDogendroptheholeinthebucketdearLizadearLizadropthewoodenmandropthestonewomandroptheunseeingeyesdroptheunhearingearsdropbodydropminddropno-bodydropno-minddropdropping

CASE53

KounEjoThe fifty-second ancestor waspriest Koun Ejo. He studiedwithpriestDogen.Once,whileaskingforinstruction,heheardthe expression "a single hairpierces many holes," and wasawakened. That evening, hemade his bows to Dogen andasked, "Irrespective of thesinglehair,whatare themanyholes?" Dogen smiled andsaid, "Completely pierced."Themasterbowed.

Keizan'sVerseSpace,fromthebeginning,hasnotadmittedevenaneedle;Vast, nonreliant, it is beyondalldiscussion.Do not say that a hair passesthroughthemanyholes;Empty and spotless, it isunmarkedbyanyscars.

Thoughts

AtlastwecometothefinalcaseoftheDenkoroku.KeizanagainreachesgreatheightsofeloquenceindescribingtheLight.Inthefinalparagraphshewrites:

Even though the myriad things are extinguished, thereremains something that is not extinguished. Even though

everything is gone, there is something that is not exhausted. Itturns out to be as expected, naturally. Utterly empty, it ismarvelouslybrightbynature.Therefore, it issaidtobepureandnaked,emptyandspotless,obvious,bright,andshining.There isnot ahairofdoubt, not awhisperof false thought. It is brighterthan a billion suns and moons. You cannot say it is white, youcannot say it is red. It is likewaking fromadream. It is simplyvivid alertness within yourself, so we call it "vivid alertness."Callingit"alertness"meansjustthatyouareveryawake.Callingit"bright"meansjustthatitisverybright.Youdonothavetosaythatithasneitherinsidenoroutside,noristhereanyneedtosaythat it extends into the past and extends into the present.Therefore,donotsaythat"asinglehairpiercesmanyholes."Whatcompletepiercingcantherebe?

ThishymnofLightistheconclusionoftheDenkoroku.Whatarethemanyholes?CantherebeholesinLight?Cantherebeholes

inemptiness?What ispunctured?What is the singlehair?Finally,what is theLight?

Poem

KounEjoWhenallisgonesomethingstillisleft—asomethingthatisnothinganothingthatissomething.Itstridesandlightstheuniverse.Clear—open—completeitwarmsthecavernsoftheheart.

SotoZenLineageChartTheIndianAncestors

Shambhala ZenLight Cook Cleary ZenCommunityNY

BuddhaShakyamuni

ShakyamuniBuddha

Sakyamuni

ShakyamuniBuddha

Shakyamuni

Mahakashyapa

Mahakashyapa

Mahakasyapa

Kasyapa

Makakasho

Ananda

Ananda

Ananda

Ananda

Ananda

Shanavasin

Shanavasin

Sanavasa

Shanavasa

Shonawashu

Upagupta

Upagupta

Upagupta

Upagupta

Ubakikuta

Dhitika

Dhitika

Dhrtaka

Dhrtaka

Daitaka

Mishaka

Mishaka

Micchaka

Micchaka

Mishaka

Vasumitra

Vasumitra

Vasumitra

Vasumitra

Bashumitsu

Buddhanandi

Buddhanandi

Buddhanandi

Buddhanandi

Butsudanandai

Buddhamitra

Buddhamitra

Buddhamitra

Punyamitra

Fudamitta

Parshva

Parshva

Parsva

Parshva

Barishiba

Punyayasha

Punayayasha

Punyayasas

Punyayashas

Anabotei

Anabodhi

Anabodhi

Asvaghosa

Ashvaghosa

Funayasha

Kapimala

Kapimala

Kapimala

Kapimala

Kabimora

Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna

Nagyaharajuna

Kanadeva

Kanadeva

Kanadeva

Kanadeva

Kanadaiba

Rahulabhadra

Rahulabhadra

Rahulata

Rahulata

Ragorata

Samghanandi

Samghanandi

Sanghanandi

Sanghanandi

Sogyanandai

Samghayathata

Samghayathata

Gayasata

Jayashata

Kayashata

Kumaralata

Kumaralata

Kumarata

Kumarata

Kumorata

Shayata

Shayata

Jayata

Jayata

Shayata

Vasubandhu

Vasubandhu

Vasubandhu

Vasubandhu

Bashubanzu

Manorata

Manorata

Manorhita

Manora

Manura

Haklenayasha

Haklenayasha

Haklenayasas

Haklena

Kakurokuna

Simhabodhi

Simhabodhi

Aryasimha

Sinha

Shishibodai

Bashashita

Bashashita

Basiasita

Vashashita

Bashashita

Punyamitra

Punyamitra

Punyamitra

Punyamitra

Funyomitta

prajñadhara prajñadhara prajñatara

Prajnatara

Hannyatara

Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma

Bodaidaruma

ChineseAncestors

Shambhala ZenLight Cook Cleary ZenCommunityNYHui-k'o Hui-k'o T'ai-tsuHui-k'o Huike(Shenguang)

TaisoEka

Seng-ts'an Seng-ts'an Chien-chihSeng-ts'an

Sengcan

KanchiSosan

Tao-hsin Tao-hsin T-aiTao-hsin

Daoxin

DaiiDoshin

Hung-jen Hung-jen Ta-manHung-jen

Hongren

DaimanKonin

Huineng

Huineng Ta-chienHuineng

Huineng

DaikanEno

Ch'ing-yüan Ch'ing-yüan Ch'ing-yüanHsing-ssu

Qingyuan

SeigenGyoshi

Shih-t'ou Shih-t'ou Shih-t'ouHsi-ch'ien

Shitou

SekitoKisen

yüeh-shan yüeh-shan YaoshanWei-yen

Yaoshan

YukusanIgen

Yün-yen Yün-yen Yün-yenT'an-sheng

Yunyan

UnganDonjo

Tung-shan Tung-shan Tung-shanLiang-chieh

Dongshan

TozanRyokai

Yun-chu Yun-chu Yun-chuTao-ying

Yunju

UngoDoyo

— T'ung-anTao-p'i T'ung-anTao-p'i

Daopi

DoanDohi

— T'ung-anKuan-chih T'ung-anKuan-chih

Tongan

DoanKanshi

Ling-shan

Liangshan Liangshanyüan-kuan

Liangshan

RyozanEnkan

— Ta-yang Ta-yangChing-hsüan

Dayang

TaiyoKyogen

— T'ou-tzu T'ou-tzuI-ch'ing

— Fu-jung Fu-jungTao-k'ai

Touzi

ToshiGisei

Tan-hsia Tan-hsia Tan-hsiaTzu-ch'un

Daokai

FuyoDokai

Chen-hsieh Chen-hsieh Chen-hsiehCh'ing-liao

Danxia

TankaShijun

— T'ien-t'ung T'ien-t'ung

Wukong

ChoroSeiryo

Tsung-chueh Tsung-chüeh

Zongjue

TendoSokaku

— Hsueh-tou Hsüeh-touChih-chien

Zhijian

SetchoChikan

T'ien-t'ungJu-ching T'ien-t'ungJu-ching T'ien-t'ungJu-ching

Rujing

TendoNyojo

DogenZenji

EiheiDogen

EiheiDogen

Dogen

EiheiDogen

—

KounEjo

KounEjo

Ejo

KounEjo

AbouttheChart

InanattempttoclarifythelineageoftheZenancestorsdiscussedinZenLight,Ihaveassembledtheabovechart.Unfortunately,thereisnosetpatternofspellingthenamesoftheseancestors.WeespeciallygetintomassiveconfusionwiththeChinese Ch'anmasters, beginning with Hui-k'o. So, I thought it maymake iteasierforthereadertofigureoutwho'swhobylistingthefollowingversionsofthenamesoftheancestors.

In the first column we have the lineage according to The ShambhalaDictionaryofBuddhismandZen.IhavebasicallytriedtofollowthisversionofthespellinginZenLight.However,Ihaveaddedtheremainingancestors:T'ung-anTao-p'i, T'ung-anKuan-chih,Ta-yang,T'ou-tzu, Fu-jung,T'ien-tungTsung-chueh,Hsueh-tou,andKounEjo.

The secondcolumn lists the ancestors I use inZenLight, based on theShambhalaversionspellings.

ThethirdcolumnliststheancestorsaccordingtoCook.ThefourthcolumnliststheancestorsaccordingtoCleary.The fifth column lists the Japanese version of the ancestors' names, as

chantedintheZenCommunityofNewYork,theDragonGate,andWhiteCliffSangas.

Foryears I smiled at this lineage,knowing thatmanyof thenamesarefictitious.Someofthemastersrepresentedprobablyneverexisted.Forinstance,thereisgreatdoubtastothehistoricalrealityofBodhidharma,oneofthemostimportantancestors.Thenthereareothersofwhomthereisnoprovenhistoricalrecord.So, ifweknow this,whydowevenerate theseancestors?Whydowereverently, in gassho always, chant these ancestors' names daily in ourmonasteriesandZencommunities?

The answer came tome one evening in the prisonwhere I teach Zen.Threeoftheinmateshadstudiedfortwoyearsinordertoreceivetheprecepts,orJukai.Partofthestudyandprepartionisforeachstudenttomakeapersonallist of the ancestors, on a beautiful large parchment chart, known asKechimyaku.ThenI takeeachof thecharts,affixaspecial seal,knownas the

ThreeTreasuresSeal,uponthenamesofShakyamuni,Bodhidharma,Huineng,andDogenZenji.Finally,Iaddthenewdharmaname(whichIcreateforhimorher)ofthestudentonthelastlineofthechart.

WesetasideoneeveningforcompletingthelineagechartsbytheJukaistudents.Thatevening,thethreeJukaistudentssatonchairsinfrontoftables,sothattheycouldhand-lettertheirlineagecharts.TwoseniorstudentsfromtheWhiteCliffSangha,ofNewPaltz,NewYork, camewithme, andassisted theJukaistudents. Itwaswonderful.Ononesideof theroomtheusualgroupdidzazen.OntheothersidethethreestudentswiththeirtwoWhiteCliffcolleagueswereworkingontheirlineagecharts.

Attheendofthesession,oneoftheJukaistudentsbroughthischart tome.Hewantedmetoseeit,forhewasveryproudoftheworkhehaddone.Heshowedmethelinewherehisnamewouldgo.

AndthenIgotit!Ifeltthathefeltconnected!Thatline,wherehisnamewastobeletteredbyme,washisdirectconnectiontothelineage,goingthroughall of the venerated ancestors to Shakyamuni himself! He counted! He wasconnected! The connection established his reality, and made him personallyresponsible—to Shakyamuni, Bodhidharma, Huineng, Dogen Zenji—toall ofthe ancestors, fictitious or not—for representing the Dharma. It was a verymovingmomentforme.

Andso,Ibowtothelineage.

TableofContents

CoverCopyrightContentsIntroductionCase1ShakyamuniBuddhaCase2MahakashyapaCase3AnandaCase4ShanavasinCase5UpaguptaCase6DhitikaCase7MishakaCase8VasumitraCase9BuddhanandiCase10BuddhamitraCase11ParshvaCase12PunyayashaCase13AnabodhiCase14KapimalaCase15NagarjunaCase16KanadevaCase17RahulabhadraCase18SamghanandiCase19SamghayathataCase20Kumaralata

Case21ShayataCase22VasubandhuCase23ManorataCase24HaklenayashaCase25SimhabobhiCase26BashashitaCase27PunyamitraCase28PrajñadharaCase29BodhidharmaCase30Hui-k'oCase31Seng-ts'anCase32Tao-hsinCase33Hung-jenCase34HuinengCase35Ch'ing-yūanCase36Shih-t'ouCase37Yūeh-shanCase38Yūn-yenCase39Tung-shanCase40Yun-chuCase41T'ung-anTao-p'iCase42T'ung-anKuan-chihCase43LiangshanCase44Ta-yangCase45T'ou-tzuCase46Fu-jungCase47Tan-hsia

Case48Chen-hsiehCase49T'ien-t'ungTsung-chuehCase50Hsueh-touCase51Tien-t'ungJu-chingCase52EiheiDogenCase53KounEjoSotoZenLineageChartAbouttheChartBackCover