The Zen Master's Dance - 20 - King of Samadhis (Top of p. 75 to Middle of p. 78)

[Jundo]

Dear All,

We are at the top of page 75 (from right before the Dr. Hee-jin Kim quote) to the middle of page 78 (ending with the paragraph about gold statues).

In this section, we will look at Dogen's writing style and two aspects of his teachings.

First, the use of the "over the top" superlative in Dogen's writing style. He was not subtle, even though conveying very beautiful and subtle teachings. Dogen meant that Zazen is the universe and the kitchen sink, the cat's meow, and he pulled no punches in the images with which he said so.

Second, our path from beginning to end is already Buddha, already enlightenment, and nothing can change that fact ... yet realizing that fact changes everything.

Third, Zazen transcends all dichotomies.

Just a reminder that the point of these exercises is to get a bit of a feel for Dogen, and to get into his head, by mimicking his writing style a bit. (It is actually a way to get a handle on Dogen that I don't think I have seen taught elsewhere, but I feel really works with a writer with such a unique manner of expression.)

Here are some simple exercises to get a feel for this:

Exercise 1 - Add three truly wonderful and grandiose descriptions of Zazen, be creative. The superlatives do not need to be strictly about Buddhism (e.g., "To knock a homerun out of the Buddha's ball park is to be sitting in the lotus posture"):

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To [SUPERLATIVE 1] is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To [SUPERLATIVE 2], to [SUPERLATIVE 3] is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2 - Give an example of a action or task we must accomplish, yet phrase it so that all is always already Buddha (so nothing really to accomplish). For example:

- Mowing the lawn is Buddha, every blade of grass is Buddha, thus there is nothing to cut to trim down Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep mowing.

- The infield and outfield is Buddha, every base, bat and ball is Buddha, thus there is no "home base" to reach to get to Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep playing ball.

Make your own.

Exercise 3 - Add a dichotomy and an unanswerable philosophical question or dilemma to the following of your own choosing, e.g., "Is Zazen black or white? Is it finite or infinite?"

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it [Dichotomy 1]? Is it [philosophical dilemma]? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Remember, post you own (no grades, everybody does great!) before reading what others have done.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Hosui]

Here goes...

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honoured life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To luxuriate, like Margot Robbie, in the steaming hot tub of the Buddhas and Ancestors while watching the weather channel is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To unzip the tent door flap that gives onto a glorious to-die-for sunrise over the quotidian, to resonate like a well tuned bell from a therapeutic 12-second, four octave fart is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

- Standing at the front of the class, leading the workshop, every face in front of me is Buddha, every PowerPoint slide is Buddha, there is nothing to prove. Yet still I must lead the workshop.
- Driving down the dual-carriageway that is the long broad tongue of the roaring A43, dodging the potholes, is the work of the Buddha, thus there is nowhere to go to find Buddha. Nevertheless, I need to attend work.

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it action or inaction? Is it Spinozan substance or mode? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gassho
Hosui
sat/lah today

[Jundo]

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[Koriki]

1.
To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To eat the finest meal is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To fly through the air, to compose an orchestral masterpiece is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

2.
Washing the dishes is the Buddha. The water flows from the Buddha, the soap is the Buddha, and the hands are the Buddha's hands. Although the dishes are dirty, there is nothing in need of purifying. While there is no work to be done, the dishes still need washing.

3.
We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it hot or cold? Is there even the choice of hot or cold? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gassho, Koriki

[Jundo]

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I hesitated at the "finest meal" comparison though, as that is a kind of worldly sense pleasure that we Buddhists usually discourage. We go for the more ethereal joys and insights.

[Hokuu]

Exercise 1
To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To traverse the universe at the speed of light is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To eye-witness proto-rituals of neanderthals, to completely realize the Perfect Way while looking at a falling leaf, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2
Developing an iOS application is Buddha, every line of code we write is Buddha, every feature and bug is Buddha, yet we try to avoid bugs and fix those that have already escaped.

Exercise 3
We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it endlessly large or infinitely small? Is it the stone god can't lift? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gassho
Hokuu
satlah

[Jundo]

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[DaveSumner]

Ok I did not read anyone else’s replies yet.

1. Sitting on a floating rock in the limitless celestial chasm is sitting in the lotus posture.
2. We are at Vultures Peak with all of the Ancestors when we sit the lotus posture.
3. Both Mountains and Ma are revealed to us when we sit the lotus posture.


1. walking out the front gate we encounter the Buddha. Walking out the front gate we don’t encounter the Buddha. We continue to walk out the front gate.


1. why is the garden rock so loud?

[Jundo]

Not bad. Look at some of the others, and you might want to expand a bit, Dave, or rephrase a little.

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Gassho, J
stlah

[Furyu]

Exercise 1
To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To see the absolute stillness of the windstorm raging through samsara is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To make an offering of the thousand hands of Kannon Bodhisattva, to radiate vortexes of characters spelling out all sutras across space and time, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2
There is a pile of exams to grade. The words and letters are the sutras teaching the reader and the questions and answers are Buddha’s perfect understanding. There are no words to grasp, no marks to be made or given. Seeing Buddha on the page, one keeps going on, regardless.

Exercise 3
We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it bitter or salty? Is it simply itself or not ? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gasshō
sat-lah
Fūryū

[Jundo]

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