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| 正法眼藏第六十三 發菩提心 NOTES 1. “Bringing forth the mind of bodhi” (hotsu bodai shin 發菩提心): Or “having the thought of bodhi.” A standard expression in the literature of the Mahāyāna for the aspiration of the bodhisattva to become a buddha; often abbreviated, as in our text, to the expression “bringing forth the mind (or thought)” (hosshin 發心). For more on this term, see Supplemental Note 1. “The Eminent Ancestor of the Western Country said” (saikoku kōso etsu 西國高祖曰): A saying attributed to Baizhang Huaihai 百丈懷海 (749-814); see Guzunsu yulu 古尊宿語録, ZZ.118:179b9. “Eminent ancestor” here refers to the Buddha Śākyamuni; the title is not a common epithet of the Buddha and is typically used rather for the founder of a Chan lineage. The “Western Country” is a standard term for India. “The Snowy Mountains are comparable to the great nirvāṇa” (sessen yu dai nehan 雪山喩大涅槃): Or, we might say, “the Snowy Mountains represent the great nirvāṇa.” The term sessen (“snowy mountains”) usually refers to the Himalayas; dai nehan (“the great nirvāṇa”) here, though likely indicating the mahā-parinirvāṇa of the Buddha, could also be taken as a reference to the sūtra of the same name (Da banniepan jing 大般涅槃經). See Supplemental Note 2. 2. “Personally once” (shinzō 親曾): An adverbal expression that Dōgen likes to use as a noun expressing intimate relationship. Probably derived from a verse by Dōgen’s teacher, Tiantong Rujing 天童如淨 (1163–1228); for the source, see Supplemental Note 3. “Immediately obvious” (tanteki 端的): A colloquial term, rather difficult to translate, that appears fairly often in Dōgen’s writings; it carries the senses “straightforward,” “exactly right.” Use of it here may reflect the Chinese duan 端 (translated as “obvious”) in the first line of Rujing’s verse, above, Supplemental Note 3. “To take up the Snowy Mountains is comparable to the Snowy Mountains” (iwayuru sessen wo nenrai suru ha yu sessen nari いはゆる雪山を拈來するは喩雪山なり): This and the following odd sentence presumably represent the explanation of what Dōgen means here by “personally once” and “immediately obvious”: i.e., that the Snowy Mountains and the great nirvāṇa are comparable to each other because they are “comparable” to themselves—or, we might say, each is just what it is. 3. “The First Ancestor of Cīnasthāna said” (shintan shoso etsu 晨旦初祖曰): A continuation of the quotation from Baizhang Huaihai, Guzunsu yulu, ZZ.118:179b10; the source text has “the First Ancestor of this land” (cidu chuzu 此土初祖). The reference is to Bodhidharma, the first Chinese ancestor in the Chan lineage; the term shintan represents a transliteration of the Sanskrit term for China, cīnasthāna (“land of the Chinese”). “Each mind is like trees and rocks” (shinjin nyo bokuseki 心心如木石): Or “each thought is like wood and stone”; though somewhat awkward, the translation “mind” here seeks to retain a consistant English rendering of shin throughout. For the saying, see Supplemental Note 4. 4. “Mind is like” (shinnyo 心如): Dōgen is here playfully creating a binomial expression from the subject and predicate of Bodhidharma’s saying, the sense of which might be something like “mind as such,” “mind as it is.” “As well as of the buddhas and ancestors, and of the devas and dragons of all the worlds of the ten directions” (oyobi jin jippō kai no busso oyobi ten ryū nado および盡十方界の佛祖および天龍等): The phrase might also be parsed, “as well as of the buddhas and ancestors of all the worlds of the ten directions, and of the devas and dragons.” The “ten directions” (the four cardinal and four ordinal points, plus the zenith and nadir) is standard Buddhist usage for “everywhere.” “Not cooped up” (rōra serarezu 籠籮せられず): Presumably a variant of the more common rarō 籮籠 (“basket,” “cage”), here put in a passive verbal form. “We bring forth the mind, practice and verify” (hosshin shushō 發心修證): I.e., we develop the aspiration for bodhi, practice on the bodhisattva path, and realize buddhahood. “For they are trees of mind, rocks of mind” (shin boku shin seki naru ga yue nari 心木心石なるがゆゑなり): Or “they are mind trees, mind rocks.” The grammatical subject is unexpressed here; presumably, the activities of “bringing forth the mind, practicing and verifying” (hosshin shushō) in the previous sentence. “Thinking of not thinking” (shiryo ko fushiryo tei 思量箇不思量底): An expression for meditation practice appearing prominently in Dōgen’s writings. For the source, see Supplemental Note 5. “The sound of the wind in the trees of mind and rocks of mind” (shinboku shinseki no fūshō 心木心石の風聲): The translation seeks to preserve the concrete image of wind among the trees and rocks. The term fūshō, translated here as “sound of the wind,” while sometimes understood as the “ways (fū) and words (shō)” of the masters, is perhaps more simply taken as the “news” (about the mind trees and rock trees). The term does not appear elsewhere in the Shōbōgenzō. “Followers of the alien ways” (gedō no rurui 外道の流類): I.e., those of non-Buddhist traditions (tīrthika), a common perjorative in Dōgen’s writings. 5. “National Teacher Dazheng said” (Daishō kokushi etsu 大證國師曰): The National Teacher Dazheng refers to Nanyang Huizhong 南陽慧忠 (d. 775), disciple of the Sixth Ancestor and the subject a number of famous kōan. His biography appears in the Jingde chuandeng lu 景徳傳燈録 at T.51:244a. While a source of this exact quotation has not been identified, the content reflects a well-known saying by Nanyang occurring in several Chan texts. See, e.g., the Jingde chuandeng lu (T.51:438a9):
Dōgen discusses this exchange in his Shōbōgenzō kobutsushin 古佛心 (DZZ.1:89). “The old buddha mind” (kobutsushin 古佛心): A common expression in Chan texts, it plays on the ambiguity between “the mind of the ancient buddhas (preceding Śākyamuni)” and “the ancient (i.e., eternal) buddha mind.” See Shōbōgenzō kobutsushin (DZZ.1:87-91) for Dōgen’s treatment of the term. 6. “What is it that appears like this?” (ze jūmo motsu inmo genjō 是什麼物恁麼現成): Dōgen shifts to Chinese grammar here, in allusion to one of his favorite Chan stories. For the source, see Supplemental Note 6. “That side of the King of Emptiness” (kūō nahan 空王那畔): Or “over there by the King of Emptiness”; a common variant of the equally common ion nahan 威音那畔, often seen in Chan texts in reference to a state before any differentiation and sometimes associated with mental states of deep concentration. Kūō is the buddha during the æon of emptiness, last of the four kalpas (kō 劫) of a world cycle: formation (jōkō 成劫), endurance (jūkō 住劫), destruction (ekō 壞劫), and emptiness (kūkō 空劫); he is often identified with the Buddha Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja (ion’ō butsu 威音王佛) of Chapter 20 of the Lotus Sūtra (T.9[262]:50b29.). “The gruel is enough, the rice is enough” (shuku soku han soku 粥足飯足); “the grass is enough, the water is enough” (sōsoku suisoku 草足水足): The first phrase is a fairly common Chan expression meaning that the monk’s meals are sufficient and suggesting, by metaphorical extension, that the monk’s practice is complete; the second, somewhat less common phrase extends the image to provisions for cattle. For examples, see Supplemental Note 7. 7. “Taking it up like this” (kaku no gotoku naru wo nenrai shite かくのごとくなるを拈來して): The antecedent here is not entirely clear; presumably, “the old buddha mind” of the preceding passage. “Sitting as a buddha and making a buddha” (zabutsu shi sabutsu su 坐佛し作佛す): More literally, given the double predicates in each phrase, something like “do a sitting buddha and do a making buddha.” Likely an allusion to the story known as “Nanyue polishes a tile” (Nangaku ma sen 南嶽磨甎) that appears regularly in Dōgen’s writings. For the source, see Supplemental Note 8. “Cases of those bringing forth the mind of bodhi” (hotsu bodai shin no innen 發菩提心の因縁): The translation takes the term innen here not in its technical Buddhist sense of “causes and conditions” (hetu-pratyāya) but in its common Chan usage for historical “instances” or “the accounts of instances”—in this case, the examplesof bringing forth the mind of bodhi that follow in this section of the text. “One blade of grass” (ikkyō sō 一莖草): Likely reflecting a saying best known from the introduction to case 8 of the Biyan lu 碧巌録 (T.48:[2003]148a27-28):
For more on sources, see Supplemental Note 9. “A tree without roots” (mu kon ju 無根樹): A popular expression in Chan texts. For sources, see Supplemental Note 10. “Offer sand to the buddha” (isago wo mote kubutsu shi いさごをもて供>佛し): Perhaps an allusion to the story of a prior life of King Aśoka, when he offered sand to the buddha; see Supplemental Note 11. “Offer slop to the buddha” (shō wo mote kubutsu su 漿をもて供佛す): The term shō (“starch,” “paste,” “thick fluid”) here is generally thought to refer to the water left from washing rice. Perhaps an allusion to a story recorded in the Dazhidu lun 大智度論; see Supplemental Note 12. “Provide one ball of food to a being” (ittan no jiki wo shujō ni hodokoshi 一摶の食を衆生にほどこし): A common expression in Buddhist texts for a simple act of charity; see, e.g., the Dasheng bensheng xindi guan jing 大乘本生心地觀經, T.3(159):306a6-7:
“Offer five flowers to a tathāgata” (gokyō no ke wo nyorai ni tatematsuru 五莖の華を如來にたてまつる): Perhaps alluding to the story of the Buddha Śākyamuni in a previous life as a bodhisattva; see Supplemental Note 13. “Encouraged by another” (ta no susume ni yorite 佗のすすめによりて); “charmed by a demon” (ma ni nyō serarete 魔に嬈せられて): While some commentators have tried to identify scriptural sources for these remarks, none seems particularly apt; and it may well be that here, as is likely in the succeeding examples of bringing forth the mind in this section, Dōgen has no specific passages in mind. “Recognize that one’s home is not a home” (chi ke hi ke 知家非家): This and the following three clauses represent a variation on a standard trope in Buddhist literature describing the process by which one “leaves home” (shukke 出家) to enter the order. This same four-character phrase appears elsewhere in Dōgen’s writings, but the more common expression is “believing that one’s home is not a home” (shin ke hi ke 信家非家). “Proceeding by faith and proceeding by dharma” (shingyō hōgyō 信行法行): Or “engaging in the practices of faith and the practices of dharma.” The translation takes the two terms here as abbreviations of zuishingyō 隨信行(śraddhānusāra) and zuihōgyō 隨法行 (dharmānusāra) respectively. “Construct buddhas and construct stūpas; recite sūtras and remember the buddhas” (zōbutsu zōtō suru nari dokkyō nenbutsu suru nari 造佛造塔するなり讀經念佛するなり): I.e., the standard practices of the pious Buddhist laity: to sponsor the making of icons and building of monuments, to read and recite scripture and invoke the name of a buddha. The last practice here, nenbutsu, may refer merely to recollection of a buddha but most often implies the vocal invocation of a buddha’s name (shōmyō 稱名) mentioned just below. “Sit with legs crossed” (kekka za 結跏坐): I.e., in the traditional posture of meditation (Sanskrit paryaṅka), sometimes called the “lotus posture” (padmāsana); more commonly given as kekkafu za 結跏趺坐. “Make a single bow to the three treasures” (ichirai sanbō 一禮三寶): I.e., make obeisance to the “three jewels” (triratna), or “treasures,” of buddha, dharma, and saṅgha. “Make a single call, namo buddhāya” (isshō namu butsu 一稱南無佛): I.e., an invocation of a buddha. The phrase here may reflect a passage in the Lotus Sūtra (T.9:9a24-25):
8. “The cases in the eighty-thousandfold collection of dharma” (hachiman hōun no innen 八萬法蘊の因縁): I.e., the instances cited in Buddhist scripture. The term hachiman is here likely an abbreviation for the common hachiman shisen 八萬四千 (“eighty-four thousand”); hōun is a standard expression for the aggregate of the Buddha’s teachings (dharma-skandha). “Brought forth the mind in a dream” (muchū ni hosshin su 夢中に發心す): Buddhist literature contains a number of accounts of the role of dreams in spiritual awakening, and it is not clear whether Dōgen might have had a particular case in mind here. For two examples, see Supplemental Note 14. “Brought forth the mind while drunk” (suichū ni hosshin su 酔中に發心す): Perhaps an allusion to a story in the Dazhidu lun. See Supplemental Note 15. “Amidst flying blossoms and falling leaves” (hike rakuyōno naka yori 飛華落葉のなかより): The term hike rakuyō (more often read hika rakuyō) is a fixed expression in Japanese literature for the evidence of evanescence that prompts a turn to Buddhism. In Buddhist texts, it is especially associated with the “conditions” (en 縁; pratyāya) by which the pratyeka-buddha (engaku 縁覺) awakens. “Amidst plum blossoms and jade bamboo” (tōke suichiku no naka yori 桃華翠竹のなかより): Likely allusion to two popular stories in the Chan corpus, which appear together in Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō keisei sanshoku 谿聲山色. The first concerns the monk Lingyun Zhiqin 靈雲志勤 (dates unknown), student of Dawei Lingyou 大潙靈祐 (771-853), who gained an understanding upon seeing plum trees in bloom. For Dōgen’s telling of the story, see Supplemental Note 16. “While being in the heavens” (tenjō ni shite 天上にして): There are many accounts of Buddhism in the deva realms, and it seems impossible to say from this brief reference which, if any, particular story Dōgen may have been thinking of here. For two examples that he himself cites elsewhere in the Shōbōgenzō, see Supplemental Note 18. “While being in the ocean” (kaichū ni shite 海中にして): For a famous example, see Supplemental Note 19. “While being within the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas and ancestors”(busso no hi niku kotsu zui no naka ni shite 佛祖の皮肉骨髓のなかにして): The expression “skin, flesh, bones, and marrow” occurs repeatedly throughout Dōgen’s writings to indicate the essence or entirety of something or someone. The phrase derives from the famous story of Bodhidharma’s testing of four disciples, to whom he said of each in turn that he (or, in one case, she) had got his skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. For the source, see Supplemental Note 20. 9. “The present constructing of stūpas, constructing of buddhas” (nikon no zōtō zōbutsu 而今の造塔造佛): The implication of nikon (“the present”) here is unclear, but it is at least possible that it refers to the activities involved in the founding of Dōgen’s Daibutsuji at the time. “Bringing forth the mind of directly becoming a buddha” (jikishi jōbutsu no hosshin 直至成佛の發心): An ambiguous expression that could be interpreted “bringing forth the aspiration directly to become a buddha,” “bringing forth the mind that leads directly to becoming a buddha,” or “bringing forth the mind that directly becomes a buddha.” The expression “directly become a buddha” (jikishi jōbutsu) is commonly used in Buddhist literature in reference to the bodhisattva who will proceed to buddhahood without further rebirths in undesirable states. “Should not be abandoned half way” (chūgen ni hahai subekarazu 中間に破廢すべからず): Or “will not be abandoned half way.” The translation takes zōtō zōbutsu (“constructing of stūpas, constructing of buddhas”) as the unexpressed subject here, a reading that suggests that these devotional practices should be continued throughout one’s spiritual career. It is also possible to supply hosshin (“bringing forth the mind”) as the subject. “The merit of the unconditioned” (mui no kudoku 無爲の功徳); “the merit of the unproduced” (musa no kudoku 無作の功徳): Or, perhaps, the “merit (or virtue) of not doing”; the “merit of not making.” Tentative translations; for discussion of the terms, see Supplemental Note 21. “Contemplation of suchness” (shinnyo kan 眞如觀): I.e., the contemplation of things as they ultimately are. The term shinnyo (“truly such”) can represent the Sanskrit tathatā (“thusness”), often associated with the “emptiness” (śūnyatā) of things. This contemplation is not commonly mentioned in Chan literature and does not appear elsewhere in Dōgen’s writings.“ Contemplation of the dharma nature” (hosshō kan 法性觀): I.e, the contemplation of dharmatā, the ultimate nature of things; roughly synonymous with the shinnyo kan, immediately above. As seen in our text, below, the terms shinnyo and hosshō often occur together as a single concept, “the dharma nature of suchness.” “Samādhi of the assembly of the buddhas” (shobutsu shū zanmai 諸佛集三昧): Presumably a contemplative state in which the buddhas are assembled before one. Perhaps reflecting a line in Chapter 27 of the Lotus Sūtra (T.9:60b7-8):
“Acquiring the dhāraṇī of the buddhas” (toku shobutsu darani 得諸佛陀羅尼): Presumably one or more dhāraṇī preached by the buddhas. Possibly recalling the dhāraṇī acquired by the daughter of the dragon king alluded to above (see above, Supplemental Note 19). Such spells taught by the buddhas are described in Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sūtra—e.g., at T.9:58c4-5: “Mind of anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi” (anokutara sanmyaku sanbodai shin 阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心): Or “the mind of unexcelled, perfect awakening”—i.e., the perfect wisdom attained by a buddha. “Fruit of the arhat” (arakan ka 阿羅漢果): I.e., the last of the “four fruits”(siguo 四果; catvāri-phalāni) of the śrāvaka path to nirvāṇa. “Realization of the buddha” (butsu genjō 佛現成): Or “the appearance of a buddha”; an expression not occurring elsewhere in the Shōbōgenzō, it could be taken to mean either “the attainment of buddhahood” or “the manifestation of buddhahood (or of a buddha).” The last reading is suggested by the line in the text below, “making buddha after buddha appear” (butsu butsu wo genjō seshimete 佛佛を現成せしめて). 10. “Stupid people of the Lesser Vehicle” (shōjō gunin 小乘愚人): The reference here to the “lesser vehicle” does not necessarily reflect the standard divisions between the Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna literature: Dōgen regularly uses the term shōjō (hīnayāna) in perjorative reference to those versions of Buddhism that do not accord with what he considers the ultimate teachings of the tradition. Indeed, while it is not clear just whom he may have had in mind here, views of the sort he attributes to the “stupid people” can be found in the literature of the Mahāyāna and of Chan. “Conditioned meritorious deeds” (ui no kugō 有爲の功業): Also read ui no kugyō (or kōgyō). I.e., acts that create good karma. “To stop thinking and congeal the mind” (soku ryo gyō shin 息慮凝心): Two terms implying a concentrated state of meditation, as in common expressions such as “stop thinking and forget objects” (soku ryo bō en 息慮忘縁) or “congeal the mind and enter samādhi” (gyō shin nyū jō 凝心入定). The terms occur as positive descriptions of meditation but are also used perjoratively in Chan texts to dismiss such practice. In his Shōbōgenzō zazen shin 坐禪箴 (DZZ.1:112), Dōgen strongly rejects what he calls there “the enterprise of stopping thinking and congealing in tranquility” (soku ryo gyō jaku no keiei 息慮凝寂の經營). “The unborn, the unproduced” (mushō musa 無生無作): “The unborn” (or “unarisen”) is an exceedingly common term in Buddhism and Chan for the ultimate, “empty” nature of things; a near synonym for “the unproduced” and “the unconditioned” (q.v., above, Supplemental Note 21)—with, perhaps, the added connotation of “that which exists before anything arises.” “Contemplation of the real mark of the dharma nature” (hosshō jissō no kangyō 法性實相の觀行): Or “contemplations of the real mark and the dharma nature.” I.e., meditation on the ultimate reality of phenomena. The translation treats hossō jissō as a single expression, occurring often in Buddhist texts, for the ultimate truth; an alternative reading would take the two terms as referring to two well-known meditations, hosshō kan 法性觀 and jissō kan 實相觀. “Western Heavens and Eastern Earth” (saiten tōchi 西天東地): A literary expression, often used by Dōgen, for India (and sometimes Central Asia) and China. The phrase represents a play with the Chinese tianzhu 天竺, a transliteration of sindhu. “Grave offenses and heinous offenses”(jūzai gyakuzai 重罪逆罪): The former term is often associated with violations of the ten grave precepts of the Chinese Fanwang jing 梵網經: killing, stealing, adultery, lying, using immoral language, slandering, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views. The latter term can refer most specifically to violations of five offenses (wu ni 五逆; pañcānantarya) leading to Avici hell: matricide, patricide, killing an arhat, injuring a buddha, and disrupting the saṅgha. “The thicket of afflictions” (jinrō chūrin 塵勞稠林): More literally, “the dense grove of dust and toil.” The term jinrō is regularly used for the kleśa (bonnō 煩惱), or “defilements,” that keep beings in saṃsāra. “They do not remember the buddhas or read the scriptures” (nenbutsu dokkyō sezu 念佛讀經せず): The dismissal here of those who do not engage in these practices seems in some tension with a remark by his teacher Rujing that Dōgen quotes with approval in several places. See Supplemental Note 22. “The seeds of humans and devas” (ninten no shūji 人天の種子): I.e., the karmic potential (bīja) for birth in the favorable states of human and deva. “The three treasures” (sanbō 三寶): I.e., the “buddha, dharma, and saṅgha” mentioned in the preceding sentence of the text. “Attaining deliverance” (tokudo 得度): Taken here in its sense “be able to cross over (to the other shore of nirvāṇa),” rather than its common use in reference to taking the precepts. “Friends” (chishiki 知識): I.e., Buddhist teachers or advisors; abbreviated version of zen chishiki 善知識 (kalyāṇa-mitra), “good friend.” “False teachers of alien ways” (gedō jashi 外道邪師): I.e., non-Buddhist teachers (tīrthika); see above, Note 4. “Followers of the alien ways.” 11. “A chiliocosm of scriptures” (daisen no kyōkan 大千の經巻): Or, as we might say, “a universe of scriptures.” The term daisen is generally used as an abbreviation for sanzen daisen sekai 三千大千世界 (trisāhasra-mahāsāhasra-loka-dhātu), the “great chiliocosm” that constitutes the domain of a buddha. A great chiliocosm equals one billion worlds (10003). “One mote of dust” (ichijin 一塵): I.e., the tiniest particle, a “grain,” an “atom” (aṇu). The term jin is also used to indicate a sense object (jing 境, viṣaya); hence this expression could also be rendered “a single object [of perception].” “Each grass, each tree is the body and mind” (issō ichiboku tomo ni shinjin nari 一草一木ともに身心なり): An odd claim that should probably be interpreted through the statement just below that “the dharmas are the one mind, are the entire body.” “The myriad dharmas do not arise” (manbō fushō 萬法不生): Probably to be taken in the sense,all things are “empty” of real arising and cessation; seen in a common saying in Chan texts, “When the mind is without concerns, the myriad dharmas do not arise” (xin ruo wu shi wan fang bu sheng 心若無事萬法不生). The translation here of fushō as “not arise” obscures its close semantic relationship with mushō 無生, rendered above as “unborn” (see, Note 10: “The unborn, the unproduced”). “The one mind also does not arise” (isshin mo fushō 一心も不生): Or “a single thought also does not arise.” A conclusion no doubt reflecting the common notion that the myriad dharmas all arise as the content of experience. “The real mark of the dharmas” (shohō jissō 諸法實相): A popular phrase occurring widely throughout the Chinese Buddhist canon. The translation here takes it to mean simply “what the dharmas really are,” but there is a long tradition of reading the phrase as “the dharmas are the real mark”—i.e., the phenomena of our experience are the ultimate reality. “The dharmas are the one mind, are the entire body” (shohō ha isshin nari zenshin nari 諸法は一心なり全身なり): Presumably, a rephrasing of the previous claim that “each grass, each tree is the body and mind.” “Merit unconditioned and uncontaminated” (mui muro no kudoku 無爲無漏の功徳): The term muro (anāsrava) refers to the undefiled states of the advanced adept (sheng 聖, ārya). “Seeing the buddha and hearing the dharma” (kenbutsu monpō 見佛聞法): A standard expression seen throughout the Buddhist canon. 12. “Gold, silver, and the seven treasures” (kin gin shippō 金銀七寶): A standard expression meaning “the seven treasures beginning with gold and silver.” Lists in Buddhist scriptures of the seven precious substances (sapta-ratna) vary somewhat; a popular version in East Asia is that given in the Lotus Sūtra (T.9:21b): gold, silver, lapis, moonstone, agate, pearl, and cornelian. “Emptiness after emptiness” (kūkū 空空): Here, and in the following three clauses, Dōgen simply duplicates the graph. The implied syntatical relationships are unclear; hence, the expression could be interpreted as “various emptinesses” (“minds,” “stūpas,” “buddhas”), “each individual instance of emptiness (etc.),” “emptiness upon emptiness (etc.).” 13. “When I had this thought, the buddhas of the ten directions all appeared” (sa ze shiyui ji jippō butsu kai ken 作是思惟時十方佛皆現): The speaker here is the Buddha Śākyamuni. Reference to a passage in the Lotus Sūtra; see Supplemental Note 23. 14. “The Buddha Śākyamuni said” (shakamuni butsu gon 釋迦牟尼佛言): A description of the Buddha’s awakening under the bodhi tree. This line is quoted in several fascicles of the Shōbōgenzō, as well as in Dōgen’s Eihei kōroku (jōdō 上堂 37, DZZ.3:28.). Although the passage appears in Chinese Chan texts from this period (see, e.g., Jianzhong jingguo xu deng lu 建中靖國續燈録, ZZ.136:36b17-18), it has not been located in any extant sūtra. “ The great earth and sentient beings” (daichi ujō 大地有情): The translation follows the usual interpretation of this phrase; it could also be parsed “sentient beings of the great earth.” 15. “A simultaneous bringing forth the mind, practice, bodhi, and nirvāṇa” (dōji no hosshin shugyō bodai nehan 同時の發心修行菩提涅槃): Dōgen is here borrowing the term dōji (“simultaneous”) from the passage just above and seems, in the process, to be shifting (or, perhaps, extending) its sense from the claim that all things achieve awakening with the Buddha to the view that all stages of the bodhisattva path occur at the same time. “Take a pinch of empty space” (kokū wo sattoku shi 虚空を撮得し): Perhaps reflecting the words of the Tang-dynasty monk Shigong Huizang 石鞏慧藏 (dates unknown). For the source, see Supplemental Note 24. “Swallow a handful of the valley stream” (keisui wo kikutan shi 渓水を掬啗し): For possible sources, see Supplemental Note 25. 16. “One bringing forth without further instances of bringing forth the mind” (ippotsu ni shite sara ni hosshin sezu 一發にしてさらに發心せず): The argument here is likely against the common use of “bringing forth the mind” in reference specifically to the initial aspiration of the bodhisattva. “Practice and verification, turning the dharma” (shushō tenbō 修證轉法): I.e., the entire bodhisattva spiritual career, from practice, through awakening, to teaching as a buddha. “Were they not grass, trees, and the rest” (sōboku tō ni arazuba 草木等にあらずば): The subject here is unexpressed; presumably, “practice and verification” (as well, perhaps, as “bringing forth the mind”). The argument here points back to the statement in the preceding section, “the body and mind on the way of the buddha is grass and trees,” etc. 17. “Pursuing the way in seated meditation” (zazen bendō 坐禪辨道): An expression occurring several times in the Shōbōgenzō; the phrase could also read with a conjunction: “sitting in meditation and pursuing the way.” The word bendō, though regularly written with the graph 辨 (which suggests “to discern,” “descriminate”), seems more often to carry the sense of the cognate 辦 (“to manage,” “transact,” “deal with”). Bendō is one of Dōgen’s favorite terms for Buddhist practice and the title of one his earliest, most celebrated writings, the Bendō wa 辨道話 (“Talk on pursuing the way”). “Bringing forth the mind is not one with nor different from” (zazen ha ichii ni arazu 坐禪は一異にあらず): This and the remainder of this passage might also be translated in more abstract terms: “Bringing forth the mind is not [a matter of] oneness or difference. Sitting in meditation is not oneness or difference, is not two or three times, is not an arrangement. Each thing should be studied in this way.” “Not at two or three times,” “not arranged” (saisan ni arazu shobun ni arazu 再三にあらず處分にあらず): The sense here is likely “do not occur one after the other, are not distinguishable as separate categories.” The term shobun typically means to “deal with,” or “handle.” “Each” (tōtō 頭頭): The antecedent is not clear; presumably “seated meditation” and “bringing forth the mind,” but it is also possible to take this as a more general reference: “each thing (or topic).” “Realize the way” (jōdō 成道): A term typically referring to the attainment of bodhi, perhaps especially in the context of Śākyamuni’s attainment under the bodhi tree. “The thirty-seven aids to bodhi” (sanjūshichi hon bodai bunpō 三十七品菩提分法): A Buddhist technical term for a common list of factors in the attainment of bodhi. Dōgen discusses the list in the Shōbōgenzō fascicle of this name. For the members of the list, see Supplemental Note 26. “Humans and devas of the three realms” (sangai ninten 三界人天): “The three realms” (triloka, tridhātu, etc.) is a common Buddhist reference to saṃsāra, understood as made up of three levels of existence: the realm of desire (yokukai 欲界, kāma-dhātu), the realm of form (shikikai 色界, rūpa-dhātu), and the formless realm (mushikikai 無色界, arūpya-dhātu). “Would have no ultimate stage” (kukyō ji arubekarazu 究竟地あるべからず): I.e., would not culminate in buddhahood. “Ultimate stage” is a standard Buddhist term referring to the culmination (niṣṭha) of the bodhisattva path. “The four major elements and the five aggregates” (shidai goun 四大五蘊): Standard Buddhist technical terms. The first refers to the basic elements (mahā-bhūta) of matter: earth, water, fire, wind; the second, to the groups (skandha) into which are analyzed the constituents of existence: form (shiki 色, rūpa), sensation (ju 受, vedanā), perception (sō 想, samjñā), formation (gyō 行, samskāra), and consciousness (shiki 識, vijñāna). Here and below, Dōgen seems to be using these terms to refer to the individual, in contrast to the “grass, trees, tiles, and pebbles” of the natural world. “Mind only” (yuishin 唯心): A version of the common claim, found throughout Chan (and other Buddhist) texts, that “the three worlds are only mind” (sangai yuishin 三界唯心) or “the three worlds are only one mind” (sangai yui isshin 三界唯一心). “Are the real mark” (jissō 實相): I.e., are ultimately real. See above, Note 11. “The real mark of the dharmas.” “All the worlds of the ten directions, the buddha nature of true suchness” (jin jippō kai shinnyo busshō 盡十方界眞如佛性): The grammatical relationship between these two phrases is unclear. Perhaps the most likely choice is to read them with an implied conjunction; it is also possible to take them in apposition or to treat them as a single phrase (“the buddha nature of the true suchness of all the worlds in the ten directions”). “The dharmas abiding in their dharma position” (hō jū hō i 法住法位): Invoking one of the most popular lines in the Lotus Sūtra (T.9:9b10):
“The real mark of suchness” (nyoze jissō 如是實相): Or “such a real mark.” No doubt a variant of the common nyoze sō 如是相(“such marks” or “such a mark”); see Supplemental Note 27. “Do not dislike walking on water and walking on rock” (mizu wo fumi ishi wo fumu wo kirafu koto nakare 水をふみ石をふむをきらふことなかれ): The suggestion would seem to be, “do not disdain action in the world of grass and trees, tiles and pebbles.” “Walking on water” (risui 履水) is commonly associated with the spiritual powers (jinsoku 神足; ṛddhi-pāda) of the contemplative adept, often occurring in the expression “walking on water as if it were earth; walking on earth as if it were water” (lü shui ru di lü di ru shui 履水如地履地如水). “Taking up a single blade of grass and constructing a sixteen-foot golden body” (ikkyō sō wo nenjite jōroku konjin wo zōsa shi 一茎草を拈じて丈六金身を造作し): “A sixteen-foot golden body” refers to the body of a buddha (or an image of the buddha). The phrase reflects a well-known Chan saying; see above, Note 7. “One blade of grass” (ikkyō sō 一莖草). “One atom” (ichi mijin 一微塵): The tiniest particle of matter; see above, Note 11. “One mote of dust.” “It is making a buddha; it is practicing buddhahood” (sabutsu nari gyōbutsu nari 作佛なり行佛なり): The second phrase might also be rendered “it is a practicing buddha,” an expression appearing often in Dōgen’s writings and the title theme of his Shōbōgenzō gyōbutsu iigi 行佛威儀. The rendering here tries to retain the predicate-object construction of the preceding statements. 18. “The Buddha Śākyamuni said” (Shakamuni butsu gon 釋迦牟尼佛言): The source of this quotation is unknown. Note that, though the grammatical subject here is gender inclusive, the offerings are those of a male. For examples of such offerings, see Supplemental Note 28. “Upāsakas and upāsikās, sons and daughters of good family” (ubasoku ubai zennanshi zennyonin 優婆塞優婆夷善男子善女人): I.e., the Buddhist laity. The terms “upāsakas” and “upāsikās” refer to observant laymen and laywomen respectively; “son of good family” (kula-putra) and “daughter of good family” (kula-duhitṛ) are standard forms of address to the laity in Buddhist texts. “The flesh of their own bodies” (jishin niku 自身肉): Or, “offer their own flesh.” Here and below, the graphs jishin may be taken either as “one’s own” or as “own body.” “Donations of the faithful” (shinse 信施): Or“donations [given] in faith.” 19. “Flesh, skin, bones, and marrow” (niku hi kotsu zui 肉皮骨髄): Here and below, Dōgen is playing on the expression hi niku kotsu zui associated with Bodhidharma; see above, Note 8 “While being within the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of the buddhas and ancestors.” “They are of one taste” (ichi mi nari 一味なり): From the common Buddhist metaphor that the Buddha’s teachings are all of a single purport, as the waters of the ocean all have the single taste (eka-rasa) of salt. The grammatical subject here is unexpressed; presumably, the “offerings” of the preceding sentence. “Exerted concentration on pursuing the way” (shōgon no bendō kufū 精勤の辨道功夫): The expression bendō kufū (as well as the reverse, kufū bendō) occurs regularly in the Shōbōgenzō in reference to Zen spiritual practice. Kufū is a common colloquial expression with such meanings as “to work away” at something, “to figure out” how to do something, “to concentrate” one’s energies or attention on something; regularly used in Chan texts and throughout the Shōbōgenzō, perhaps especially for the practices of meditation and kōan study. For bendō, see above Note 17. “Pursuing the way in seated meditation.” “Nature and marks of the World-Honored One” (seson no shōsō 世尊の性相): I.e., the essential nature (svabhāva) and attributes (lakṣana) of the Buddha. “World-Honored One” translates a common Chinese rendering of such epithets of a buddha as bhagavat (“blessed one”) or lokanātha (“lord of the world”). “Correct from head to tail” (zushin bishin 頭正尾正): Also read zushō bishō. A common idiom in Chan texts, occurring very often in Dōgen’s writings; here, likely carrying the sense “[the practice of the bhikṣus is] proper throughout.” 20. “As soon as one mote of dust is brought forth, one mind is brought forth in accordance with it” (ichijin tachimachi ni hossureba 一塵たちまちに發すれば一心したがひて發す): Or, more naturally,“as soon as a single object arises, a single thought follows it.” The awkward translation seeks to preserve the text’s play with the verb hotsu, as both “to produce” and “to occur,” and with the terms jin, as both “particle” and “object,” and shin, as both “mind” and “thought.” For jin, see above, Note 11. “One dust mote.” “Students or non-students” (ugaku mugaku 有覺無覺): I.e., those training on the bodhisattva path (śaikṣa) and those who have completed training (aśaikṣa). “Can first plant a single buddha nature” (hajimete ichi busshō wo shutoku su はじめて一佛性を種得す): The figure of “planting” the buddha nature here likely serves to introduce the examples of horticultural practice in the following paragraph. The notion that the buddha nature is “planted” both before and after completion of training seems akin to Dōgen’s treatment of the concept elsewhere in the Shōbōgenzō—e.g., in Hakujushi 柏樹子 (DZZ.1:442):
“The same study” (dōsan 同參): Or “study together”; a term usually referring to fellow students. The translation seeks to retain the parallel with the following “same nature” (dōshō 同性), etc. “The same function” (dōki 同機): A tentative translation of an unusal expression, not occurring elsewhere in Dōgen’s writing.. The graph ki may also refer to the “faculties” or “abilities” of students. 21. “This is the form of bringing forth the mind of bodhi” (kore hotsu bodai shin no yōsu nari これ發菩提心の様子なり): Or “this is a form of bringing forth the mind of bodhi.” The term yōsu, occuring often in Dōgen’s writing, carries the sense both of the “shape” of something and a “model” of something. “The Fifth Ancestor was once a practitioner who grew pines” (goso ha ichiji no saimatsu dōsha nari 五祖は一時の栽松道者なり): Reference to a story about the Fifth Ancestor of Chan in China, Daman Hongren 大滿弘忍 (602-675). See Supplemental Note 29. The term dōsha (“person of the way”) may refer to any Buddhist (or Daoist) practitioner or to a Buddhist acolyte. Linji worked at planting cedar and pine on Mt. Huangbo (Linji ha Ōbaku san no sai sanmatsu no kufū ari 臨濟は黄檗山の栽杉松の功夫あり): The term sanmatsu (“cedar and pine”) may also be taken simply as a generic term for connifers. Reference to a story about the famed Chan master Linji Yixuan (d. 867); see Supplemental Note 30. “On Dongshan, there was old Mr. Liu, who planted pines” (Dongshan ni ha Ryū shi ō ari saishō su 洞山には劉氏翁あり栽松す): Reference to an incident recorded in the biography of Dongshan Siqian 洞山師虔 (d. 904); see Supplemental Note 31. “Discipline of pine and cypress” (shō haku no sōsetsu 松栢の操節): The term sōsetsu (“discipline”) does not occur elsewhere in Dōgen’s writings; likely synonymous with the more common sōgyō 操行(“restrained conduct”). The notion of a discipline of cypress is reminiscent of Zhaozhou’s famous “cypress at the front of the garden” (enzen hakujushi 庭前柏樹子), which Dōgen treats at length in his Shōbōgenzō hakujushi (DZZ.1:438ff). “Gouge out the eye of the buddhas and ancestors” (busso no ganzei kesshutsu su 佛祖の眼睛抉出す): An idiomatic expression for getting the point of Chan, as in “gouge out Bodhidharma’s eye” (daruma ganzei kesshutsu rai 達磨眼睛抉出來); used interchangeably with tosshutsu ganzei 突出眼睛(“poke out the eye”). “In this, they show that the power to play with the living eye is to open the clear eye” (kore rō katsu ganzei no chikara kai myō ganzei naru koto wo genjō suru nari これ弄活眼睛のちから開明眼睛なることを見成するなり). This sentence might also be parsed, “This reveals the power to play with the living eye, the opening of the clear eye.” The expression “to open the eye” (kaigen 開眼) typically refers to the final act of consecrating a buddhist icon, though the Chan masters regularly use it as a metaphor for spiritual awakening. 22. “Taste bringing forth the mind” (kitsu hosshin 喫發心); “deploy bringing forth the mind” (shi hosshin 使發心): Tentative translations of two odd expressions. The verbskitsu (“to eat” or “drink”; “to endure”) and shi (“to use,” “employ,” “send off,” etc.) might be taken as passive and causative markers respectively; hence “to suffer bringing forth the mind”; “to cause bringing forth the mind.” “Not defiled by dust” (jin’ai ni senna serarezu 塵埃に染汚せられず): The image shifts here from the “dust” (jindo 塵土) that remains from the ruined stūpa to the “dust” (jin’ai) that defiles the mind; possibly recalling the famous verse attributed to the Sixth Ancestor, Huineng; see, e.g., Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:223a7-8:
“Where are we, that we’re talking about conditioned and talking about unconditioned?” (shari ze jinmo shozai setsu ui setsu mui nari 遮裡是甚麼處在説有爲説無爲なり): Dōgen here slips into Chinese to aska common Chan rhetorical question. For an example of this usage, see Supplemental Note 32. 23. “It is said in a sūtra” (kyō etsu 經曰): From the Huayan jing 華嚴經 (Avataṃsaka-sūtra), T.9[278]:432c29-433a3. 24. “In the language of the end of the kalpa” (gūgō wo gongo toshite 窮劫を言語として): A tentative translation of an odd play on the sūtra passage; literally, “taking ‘the end of the kalpa’ as his words.” Dōgen seems to want to parse the Chinese phrase rulai fenbie shuo qiong jie bu neng jin 如來分別説窮劫不能盡 as if qiong jie (“end of the kalpa”) were the object of the predicate shuo “to explain.” Possibly the sense is, “to speak from the ultimate position.” “When the ocean dries up, the bottom remains; though a person dies, the mind remains” (kai karete naho soko nokori hito ha shisu tomo shin nokoru beki 海かれてなほ底のこり人は死すとも心のこるべき): Presumably, we are to understand “mind” here as the mind of bodhi. The sentence is a variation on a saying found in Chan texts; see Supplemental Note 33. “Seven feet or eight feet” (shichi shaku hachi shaku 七尺八尺): The use of this measurement occurs regularly in the Shōbōgenzō, generally in ironic reference to something immeasurable. Given his identification of bringing forth the mind with constructing a stūpa, Dōgen may here be recalling the Chan Master Xuansha’s proposal for a “seamless stūpa” of seven or eight feet. See Supplemental Note 34. 25. “Entering the deep mountains and thinking onthe way of the buddha” (nyū o shinzan shiyui butsudō 入於深山思惟佛道): I.e., the practices of the renunciate. From the Lotus Sūtra (T.9:3a20-22):
26. “The second year of Kangen (kinoe-tatsu) (gannen ninen kinoe-tatsu 寛元二年甲辰): I.e., 1244, the cyclical year of the firstcelestial stem and fifthterrestrial branch. “Kippō shōja” 吉峯精舍: Also called Yoshimine-dera 吉峰寺. The monastery in the province of Echizen (present-day Fukui prefecture), where Dōgen resided following his move from the capital area in summer 1243 and prior to the construction of Daibutsuji 大佛寺(later named Eiheiji 永平寺). 27. “The second year of Kōan (tsuchinoto-u)” (kōan ninen tsuchinoto u 弘安二年己卯): I.e., 1279, the cyclical year of the sixth celestial stem and fourth terrestial branch. “Ejō” 懐奘: Koun Ejō 孤雲懐奘 (1198-1280). Dōgen’s close disciple and successor to the abbacy of Eiheiji. Ejō was responsible for the copying of many of the manuscripts of the Shōbōgenzō.
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