69/ 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

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一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[69] Examination of Dharma, as a part of the state of truth,31 is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for it illuminates all dharmas.

Examination of Dharma in Buddhism is the active, critical investigation of the Buddha's teachings—similar to a goldsmith testing gold—to verify truth through personal experience rather than blind faith. It aims to understand impermanence, suffering, and non-self, cultivating wisdom to differentiate skillful from unskillful actions. The Buddha instructed followers not to accept teachings on faith alone, but to rigorously test, analyze, and verify them. This investigation is considered a crucial factor of enlightenment, enabling practitioners to directly validate the teachings.

Once again, how do you accommodate this gate into your practice??

合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

What originally drew me to Buddhism was exactly this spirit of examination: “Don’t just take my word for it, practice and see for yourself.” That really resonated with me.
It’s one thing to agree with an idea intellectually, and quite another to understand it directly through experience. In that sense, examining the Dharma isn’t something I accommodate or integrate into my practice; it’s more just how I live my whole life!

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Choujou]

First, let me just say that I claim nothing special… but as I said in an earlier gate, it isn’t so much a faith for me as a knowing. My path to the Dharma is one in which there is no room for doubt for me. Again, it’s a strange story, so I don’t share unless asked, but I will say that my path naturally moved towards the Dharma almost like a call. (I didn’t really have much choice in the matter!)I asked for truth and, oh yes, did I get it! It was confusing at first and coming to the path of Zen and examining the Dharma was like finding the manual to a computer you figured out how to turn on, but no idea how to operate. Everything makes more sense now that I have come to practice and learn more of the Dharma, which is helping me to change my life! I’m changing habits and behaviors to more align with the Dharma, and to develop the skillful means needed to do my best to help others.

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Tenryu]

Examination, for me, doesn’t usually look like analysis. It’s more like watching what happens.

If I follow irritation, something tightens. If I don’t, something shifts. That’s already a kind of testing. No big conclusions, just observing how things play out.

In that way, the teachings are quietly checked against experience. Sometimes it’s clear, sometimes not. But staying curious about how things actually function feels close to what this gate is pointing toward.

Gasshō,
Tenryū
s@lah

[dorgan]

Read together, Gates 68 and 69 describe a complete movement of insight-practice. Mindfulness establishes the non-grasping, non-distorting presence of mind, wisdom that accords with dharmas. Examination of dharma then presses into that accord with discerning penetration, such that dharmas are illuminated in their nature. The first is receptive and stabilizing; the second is active and revelatory. But both are identified with the state of truth; neither is merely preparatory. The path and its fruit are not ultimately separable: genuine mindfulness already participates in truth; genuine examination of dharma already is illumination: being is Buddha-nature. Examining one dharma with complete discernment illuminates all dharmas, not because the mind has surveyed everything, but because the temporal-existential structure disclosed in any phenomenon is the structure of all phenomena.

Genuine examination of the nature of reality (Dharma) is not a practitioner examining dharmas from outside, but existence illuminating itself through the event of examination.

We return again and again to Zen as the practice: sitting and walking meditation, as well as mindfulness in daily life. The light within is the light without; there is no duality.

gassho, david
stlah

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai.

To me this request to not blindly accept the Dharma but to examine and investigate it for ourselves is one of the strengths of Buddhism. Particularly looking at my Christian family and friends…. They often don’t know the whys or whats of their faith. They are not encouraged to really investigate. In fact, it is almost the opposite.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Seikan]

As others have already mentioned, this Gate is one of the main reasons that I am drawn to Buddhism and Zen. It offers us a "come and see for yourself" approach. We are presented with detailed maps and directions, but we have to walk the path and see if we can't reach the summit of the mountain for ourselves. We can be told over and over again what the view might look like, but we are also told that we must see it for ourselves in order to truly "know" it.

I personally feel that it is good to cultivate a healthy sense of doubt alongside my faith/belief in the Buddhadharma as that helps prevent my faith from devolving into blind faith.

As the Buddha said in his final days, "Be lamps unto yourselves."

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Chikyou]

To me, examination of the Dharma feels like a continuous, quiet effort. It’s a constant learning: reading, discussing, experiencing (not necessarily in that order). The fact that there’s no “believe this because scripture says it” is refreshing. Experience removes all doubt.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Shokai]

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It matters not the name of your Donkey,
only that he or she gets you to the
top of the mountain