Another Hermitage stuff

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  • Taigu
    Blue Mountain White Clouds Hermitage Priest
    • Aug 2008
    • 2710

    Another Hermitage stuff

    Another seemingly plain or mysterious piece written TODAY by Dogen:

    A white heron
    Hiding itself
    In the snowy field,
    where even the winter grass
    Cannot be seen


    It echoes this verse from our ancestor Tozan in the Hokkyo Zanmai, The Jewel Mirror Samadhi :

    Like a silver bowl filled with snow
    like a heron hidden in the moonlight


    These two poems are pointing at Raihai, "devotion-merging action", "prostrating onself to", Raihai is the essence of the ceremony, a ceremony beyond ceremonies. A ritual beyond rituals. We don't bow at something, rather bowing for bowing, the bowing disappears, concealed in the brightness of the Moon, the radiant nature of this whole reality.

    Sitting, we do not sit to manifest Buddha, we sit and we vanish into Buddha manifesting beyond our grasp or control.

    This practice leaves no traces behind, no footprints in the snow or blablabla on a forum.

    The self merges with the self, forgotten in this where everything is contained, beyond emptiness (snow) and manifestation (winter grass), beyond sitting practice ( snow) and original face. Here the ideas about me and others, relevance or irrelevance, likes and dislikes don't apply.
    The heron-snowy-field is one glowing flight where this and that are cast away, where form and formless are dropped, form and emptiness, body and mind, shinjindatsuraku, not bothering about being bothered or not bothered.

    Forget the heron in the field of practice, and be-snowy-heron-field-you-me-others.

    The way we cook our life here.

    gassho


    Taigu
    Last edited by Taigu; 07-31-2012, 11:02 PM.
  • Risho
    Member
    • May 2010
    • 3179

    #2
    Thank you Taigu. Funny yesterday I was bitching about not parroting this or that and complaining about why I don't like rituals.. when in fact I was complaining about my idea of rituals... not what Zen practice really is about at all.

    This says it all:

    These two poems are pointing at Raihai, "devotion-merging action", "prostrating onself to", Raihai is the essence of the ceremony, a ceremony beyond ceremonies. A ritual beyond rituals. We don't bow at something, rather bowing for bowing, the bowing disappears, concealed in the brightness of the Moon, the radiant nature of this whole reality.
    Enough words, time to practice

    Gassho,

    Risho
    Email: risho.treeleaf@gmail.com

    Comment

    • Jiken
      Member
      • Jan 2011
      • 753

      #3
      Originally posted by Taigu
      Sitting, we do not sit to manifest Buddha, we sit and we vanish into Buddha...
      Thank you,

      Daido

      Comment

      • Mp

        #4
        Originally posted by Taigu
        Sitting, we do not sit to manifest Buddha, we sit and we vanish into Buddha manifesting beyond our grasp or control.
        Thank you Taigu, I too like this point ... I will sit with this.

        Gassho
        Michael

        Comment

        • Shujin
          Treeleaf Unsui
          • Feb 2010
          • 1077

          #5
          Thank you for sharing these verses, Taigu. We studied Raihai Tokuzui for Sanshinji's May genzo-e, where I first heard Dogen's verse. As relevant as it was then.

          Gassho,
          Shujin
          Kyōdō Shujin 教道 守仁

          Comment

          • Heisoku
            Member
            • Jun 2010
            • 1338

            #6
            A Wonderful teaching Taigu. Thank you. Gassho.
            Heisoku 平 息
            Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. (Basho)

            Comment

            • Shokai
              Treeleaf Priest
              • Mar 2009
              • 6393

              #7
              Thank you Taigu-oso
              合掌,生開
              gassho, Shokai

              仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai

              "Open to life in a benevolent way"

              https://sarushinzendo.wordpress.com/

              Comment

              • Myozan Kodo
                Friend of Treeleaf
                • May 2010
                • 1901

                #8
                Ah! Great!
                Gassho and thanks.
                Myozan

                Comment

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