The Ninety-eighth of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

98) The Ninety-eighth Gate; The practice of the balanced state of dhyāna

The practice of the balanced state of dhyāna is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it fulfills the ten powers. (Nishijima/Cross)

The Practice of meditation is a gate of realizing dharma; it fulfills the ten types of abilities. (Tanahashi)

Gate Gatha:

May we, together with all buddhas;
Practice daily Shikantaza
That we may fulfill the ten powers.

Reflection Prompts:

1. What are the Ten Powers*?

2. How does the practice of Zazen fulfill them?

3. Do you feel the use of the metaphor of a raindrop summarizes this Gate?

Capping Verse:

Within each raindrop
The wisdom
Of infinite seas

* If the Tathāgata Buddha had not explained to Sāriputta about these 10 qualities of mind, as recorded later in the texts, we would not have been afforded this kind of insight into the supreme powers that the Tathāgata developed and exercised in his lifetime and generously shared for the welfare of many.

gassho, Shokai
stlah

[aprapti]

[emoji1374] aprapti


sat

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai

I’d never heard of the 10 Powers before so I went off to look them up. According to https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/T/67 they are

(1) the power of knowing what is true and what is not;
(2) the power of knowing karmic causality at work in the lives of all beings throughout past, present, and future;
(3) the power of knowing all stages of concentration, emancipation, and meditation;
(4) the power of knowing the conditions of life of all people;
(5) the power of judging all people’s levels of understanding;
(6) the power of discerning the superiority or inferiority of all people’s capacity;
(7) the power of knowing the effects of all people’s actions;
(8) the power of remembering past lifetimes;
(9) the power of knowing when each person will be born and will die, and in what realm that person will be reborn; and
(10) the power of eradicating all illusions

They don’t seem to come up here at Treeleaf. Do you know if there is a reason why?


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Shokai]

Tairin; In my understanding, the ten powers are a by product of the abhidhamma philosophy and as such is not totally supported by Mahayana Buddhism. There was a point in history when it was pointedly rejected by Mahayana followers. However, more recently it has been partially accepted that there are some good merits to the Abhidharma. That may include the ten powers by virtue of their inclusion in Dogen's Shobogenzo. Nishijima saw fit mention of the ten Powers be included as an appendix whereas, Tanahashi published it as Chapter 96 in his translation. Similarly, study of the Lotus Sutra is downplayed by Soto Zen Folks while it is mentioned in on several occasions throughout Dogen's writings. In the absence of any serious research, the answer to your questions comes down to being your guess is as good as mine.
In light of a cursory look at the information available at the links provided above, possibly we should be considering open discussion of these powers.

gassho, Shokai
stlah

[Tairin]

Shokai

Tairin
Sat today and lah