Nishijima Roshi's Views on Death as "Just This Present Moment"

[Jishin]

Your killing me, but even with no I, is it possible to "no"?

I think that most koans want to express the idea of unity. "I" does not begin nor does it end. No death, no birth. Just a wave in the sea with no beginning or end. "I" also does not talk because it has no mouth. That is my foolish understanding of this koan. But i really have no clue of its true meaning. :-)

Gassho, Jishin

[Ishin]

I think that most koans want to express the idea of unity. "I" does not begin nor does it end. No death, no birth. Just a wave in the sea with no beginning or end. "I" also does not talk because it has no mouth. That is my foolish understanding of this koan. But i really have no clue of its true meaning. :-)

Gassho, Jishin

Hi Jishin
Thank you. I found this article on this Koan, and the comments on the article very helpful.

http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com/2006/09/case-29-from-shinji-shobogenzo-book.html

Gassho C

[Jundo]

Kaz Tanahashi, the great Dogen translator, said the following during the recent Sesshin he co-led with Brad at Upaya Zen Center. He was talking about Dogen's Circle of the Way, which was mentioned on a recent thread ...

Kaz said [from about 12:30 mark] ...

Each moment of Practice is a circle, complete. Complete of aspiration, enlightenment, practice, nirvana. Nirvana is for Dogen a non-dual state, In this state of meditation, differences between large and small, far and near, other and self, even life and death becomes obscure. And so one experiences non-duality. It is not that only seasoned practitioners experience non-duality, [because] we all experience non-duality. We may not notice ... we may be thinking of something else, thinking "this is a bad Zazen", this is a failure not going anywhere. But, for Dogen there is no bad Zazen. When we take the form of an Awakened One, and sit accordingly, we're all awakened. Everything is complete. That's the good news! ... [chucklng] The bad new is, we usually don't notice!" [More Chuckling]

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/0/1/d/01d7...985ad415b2520c

So ... in Wholeness, "differences between large and small, far and near, other and self, even life and death becomes obscure."

And yet, and yet ... we live in a world of differences, large and small, far and near, other and self, life and death.

Can you come to see both "sides" as one, not running to one over the other, for both is each, and each and all is Wholeness too!

Gassho, J

[Ishin]

Thank you

C