A lovely Teaching by Master Dogen on Continuous Practice Enlightenment, realized in every act, word and thought right now. It is from the Eihei Koroku (8 Hogo 11) and expresses the special view, so cherished and at the heart of Soto Zen ways, of "realization as practice, practice as realization."
If I may summarize each paragraph:
(1) The boundless field that Shakyamuni and all the Ancestors knew long ago and far away is alive right now timelessly, right here yet beyond measure and border, freshly reborn in your practice and realization each day;
(2) Zazen in the Soto Way is unlike other forms of meditation in that it is not a means to enlightenment, no other shore to reach, but simply the realization of sitting as Buddhahood realized in each instant of sitting itself, no other destination and nothing more to attain, for the other shore of the river is always present on this side and in every drop of the river;
(3) People often think that practice and expounding or listening to Teachings are some means to eventually reach enlightenment and the essence, yet our way is that each is the essence always and each other, something like saying that packing for a walk up Buddha Mountain, the walking on Buddha Mountain, camping on Buddha Mountain, moving forward again on Buddha Mountain, is all "the walking" and thoroughly Buddha Mountain, and each inch a total arrival of Buddha Mountain without further destination to the wise eye, not getting to some ultimate goal of "Buddha Mountain" only at the end, for beginning, middle, and end is all Buddha Mountain (as is the walker too).
Gassho, J
SatTodayLAH (sorry to run long)
~~~~~
Master Dogen declared:
Great teacher Shakyamuni’s true Dharma eye treasury has been entrusted through India and China for a long time. Its limit is not known. What has been entrusted for a long time is this single field. This single field is the field directly beneath us. Ancient people considered this the great way. This long time, mentioned just now, cannot be counted or measured. The matter [of entrusting the true Dharma eye treasury] is old, and the time is distant. But although its limits in the four directions are not [clearly drawn], when one manages, abides in, and maintains this [single field right now], it is cared for and upheld afresh each day. With this freshness each day, naturally, limits are cut away
This zazen was transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, directly pointed out by ancestors, and only [transmitted] by legitimate successors. Even when others hear of its name, it is not the same as the zazen of buddha ancestors. This is because the principle of zazen in other schools is to wait for enlightenment. For example, [their practice] is like having crossed over a great ocean on a raft, thinking that upon crossing the ocean one should discard the raft. The zazen of our buddha ancestors is not like this, but is simply Buddha’s practice. We could say that the situation of Buddha’s house is the oneness in which the essence, practice, and expounding are one and the same. The essence is verification of enlightenment; expounding is the teaching; and practice is cultivation. Even up to now, these have been studied together.
We should know that practice is the practice of essence and expounding; expounding is to expound the essence and practice; and the essence is the verification of expounding and practice. If practice is not the practice of expounding and is not the practice of verification of enlightenment, how can we say it is the practice of Buddha Dharma? If expounding is not the expounding of practice and is not the expounding of verification, it is difficult to call it the expounding of Buddha Dharma. If verification is not the verification of practice and is not the verification of expounding, how can we name it the verification of the Buddha Dharma? Just know that Buddha Dharma is one in the beginning, middle, and end. It is good in the beginning, middle, and end; it is nothing in the beginning, middle, and end; and it is empty in the beginning, middle, and end.
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