Joriki

[Jakuden]

The recent thread about counting the breath led me to this question. Prior to joining Treeleaf, I had read some varying opinions from other sources about Zazen and breath-counting in the development of "joriki," or (as I understood it) the "power" to re-focus the mind on the breath rather than allowing it to wander. I think even Daido Loori advocated this, if I remember right in "Eight Gates" he said joriki needed to be developed first prior to practicing shikantaza. As I have said in the past, I was happy to move on to shikantaza and never look back after my first watching of the blender video . It was a relief to sit without a goal and without judging the quality of the sit! However, I was wondering, Jundo, if you had any opinion on the development of "joriki," necessary, good, bad or indifferent?

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday

[Jundo]

Hi Jakuden,

Big wonderful question!

定力 (joriki in Japanese, dingli in Chinese) means "stability strength", the power, strength or ability to remain stable, undisturbed, balanced, focused, with equanimity in Zazen or any other Practice, or simply in general circumstances in life. This is one way to describe the mind of Zazen, and what one tastes in Shikantaza as there is no disturbance of mind in reaction to whatever usually disturbs, either during Zazen or after one gets back to the "chaos" of life.

This is precisely what is tasted as we sit in Zazen, not grabbing thoughts or being reactive to our surroundings.

I believe that the best way to be "at one" with the moment, undisturbed and equanimious, is to sit and allow, not reacting to, grabbing or chasing either thoughts or circumstances. This is "Zazen Samadhi" in Master Dogen's meaning. The "Jo" of "Joriki" is sometimes translated as "Samadhi." Samadhi, in traditional Buddhist vocabulary, is a state of deep mental concentration, usually during meditation. However, our Dogen also had a bit of a twist on this meaning which he called "Zazen Samadhi". Taigen Dan Leighton gives a taste ..

This just sitting is not a meditation technique or practice, or any thing at all. ... Dogen describes this meditation as the samadhi of self-fulfillment (or enjoyment), and elaborates the inner meaning of this practice. Simply just sitting is expressed as concentration on the self in its most delightful wholeness, in total inclusive interconnection with all of phenomena. Dogen makes remarkably radical claims for this simple experience. "When one displays the buddha mudra with one's whole body and mind, sitting upright in this samadhi for even a short time, everything in the entire dharma world becomes buddha mudra, and all space in the universe completely becomes enlightenment."[13] Proclaiming that when one just sits all of space itself becomes enlightenment is an inconceivable statement, deeply challenging our usual sense of the nature of reality, whether we take Dogen's words literally or metaphorically. Dogen places this activity of just sitting far beyond our usual sense of personal self or agency. He goes on to say that, "Even if only one person sits for a short time, because this zazen is one with all existence and completely permeates all times, it performs everlasting buddha guidance" throughout space and time.[14] At least in Dogen's faith in the spiritual or "theological" implications of the activity of just sitting, this is clearly a dynamically liberating practice, not mere blissful serenity.
http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/art-j...g/introduction

This is not really a matter of "mental concentration" and is even wider than the states of concentration often thought of as "Samadhi" as a kind of concentration focused on the breath, a mantra, a koan or a single object, because it holds all the world and everything else, wholly and omitting nothing. All good Shikantaza teachers I know seek for this, whether they emphasize breath counting as a preliminary stage or not.

In my impression, however, one issue I have with the Harada-Yasutani Lineage mixed Rinzai-Soto approach of which Daido Loori's Zen Mountain Monastery is part (and also Aitken Roshi, Kapleau Roshi, Maezumi Roshi and all their students in that Lineage) is their presentation of Shikantaza as either a weak sibling to their central emphasis on Koan Introspection Zazen and Kensho, or somehow a stepping stone on the drive to Kensho focused Koan Introspection Zazen. Their instructions say ...

The counting [of the breath] is a feedback to help you know when your mind has drifted off. Each time you return to the breath you are empowering yourself with the ability to put your mind where you want it, when you want it there, for as long as you want it there. That simple fact is extremely important. We call this power of concentration joriki, or spiritual power.

When you’ve been practicing counting the breath for a while, your awareness will sharpen. You’ll begin to notice things that were always there but escaped your attention. Because of the preoccupation with the internal dialogue, you were too full to be able to see what was happening around you. The process of zazen begins to open that up.

When you’re able to stay with the counting and repeatedly get to ten without any effort and without thoughts interfering, it’s time to begin counting every cycle of the breath. Inhalation and exhalation will count as one, the next inhalation and exhalation as two. This provides less feedback, but with time you will need less feedback.

Eventually, you’ll want to just follow the breath and abandon the counting altogether. Just be with the breath. Just be the breath. Let the breath breathe itself. That’s the beginning of the falling away of body and mind. It takes some time and you shouldn’t rush it; you shouldn’t move too fast from counting every breath to counting every other breath and on to following the breath. If you move ahead prematurely, you’ll end up not developing strong joriki. And it’s that power of concentration that ultimately leads to what we call samadhi, or single-pointedness of mind.
http://zcnyc.mro.org/teachings/zazen-instructions/

The problem is that the emphasis then become too much "single-pointedness of mind" aiming toward Kensho. The most infamous (in my book) presentation of so-called "Shikantaza" was by their root teacher, Yasutani Roshi, who was so focused on Koan Introspection and obtaining big, booming Kensho. Yasutani described Shikantaza this way ... he speaks of Shikantaza as a means of intense concentration leading to an explosive Kensho ...

When you thoroughly practice shikantaza you will sweat-even in the winter. Such intensely heightened alertness of mind cannot be maintained for long periods of time. ... Sit with such intensely heightened concentration, patience, and alertness that if someone were to touch you while you are sitting, there would be an electrical spark! Sitting thus, you return naturally to the original Buddha, the very nature of your being.

Then, almost anything can plunge you into the sudden realization that all beings are originally buddhas and all existence is perfect from the beginning. Experiencing this is called enlightenment. Personally experiencing this is as vivid as an explosion; regardless of how well you know the theory of explosions, only an actual explosion will do anything. In the same manner, no matter how much you know about enlightenment, until you actually experience it, you will not be intimately aware of yourself as Buddha.

In short, shikantaza is the actual practice of buddhahood itself from the very beginning-and, in diligently practicing shikantaza, when the time comes, one will realize that very fact.

However, to practice in this manner can require a long time to attain enlightenment, and such practice should never be discontinued until one fully realizes enlightenment. Even after attaining great enlightenment and even if one becomes a roshi, one must continue to do shikantaza forever, simply because shikantaza is the actualization of enlightenment itself.

https://www.dailyzen.com/journal/shikantaza

Accompanying this is often also a very intense definition of "Joriki" found in that Lineage because of that emphasis on intense concentration leading to breakthrough Kensho moments. Yasutani Roshi thus wrote:

The aims of zazen are three: (1) development of the power of concentration (joriki), (2) satori-awakening (kensho-godo), and (3) actualization of the Supreme Way in our daily lives (mujodo no taigen). These three form an inseparable unity, but for purposes of discussion I am obliged to deal with them individually.

Joriki, the first of these, is the power or strength which arises when the mind has been unified and brought to one-pointedness in zazen concentration. This is more than the ability to concentrate in the usual sense of the word. It is a dynamic power which, once mobilized, enables us even in the most sudden and unexpected situations to act instantly, without pausing to collect our wits, and in a manner wholly appropriate to the circumstances. Those who have developed joriki are no longer slaves to their passions. More fully in command of both themselves and the circumstances of their lives, such people are able to move with real freedom and equanimity. The cultivation of certain supranormal powers is also made possible by joriki, as is the state in which the mind becomes like clear, still water.

The first two of the five kinds of Zen I have spoken about depend entirely on joriki. Now, although the power of joriki can be endlessly enlarged through regular practice, it will recede and eventually vanish if we neglect zazen. And while it is true that many extraordinary powers flow from joriki, nevertheless through it alone we cannot cut the roots of our illusory view of the world. Mere strength of concentration is not enough for the highest types of Zen; concomitantly there must be satori-awakening. In a little-known document handed down by Master Sekito Kisen, the founder of one of the early Zen sects, the following appears: "In our sect, realization of the Buddha-nature, and not mere devotion or strength of concentration, is paramount."

The second of these aims is kensho-godo, seeing into your True nature and the same time seeing into the ultimate nature of thie universe and "all the ten thousand things" in it. It is the sudden realization that "I have been complete and perfect from the very beginning. How wonderful, how miraculous!" If it is true kensho, it substance will always be the same for whoever experiences it, whether that one be the Buddha Shakyamuni, the Buddha Amida, or any one of you gathered in this temple. But this does not mean that we can all experience kensho to the same degree, for in the clarity, the depth and the completeness of the experience there are great differences. As an illustration, imagine a person blind from birth who gradually begins to recover his sight. At first he can see very vaguely and darkly and only objects close to him. Then as his sight improves he is able to distinguish things a yard or so away, then objects at ten yards, then at a hundred yards, until finally he can recognize anything up to a thousand yards. At each of these stages the phenomenal world he is seeing is the same, but the differences in the clarity and accuracy of his view of that world are as great as those between snow and charcoal. So it is with the differences in clarity and depth of our experiences of kensho.

...

... There is, for instance, an essential connection between joriki and kensho. Kensho is "the wisdom naturally associated with joriki," which is the power arising from concentration. Joriki is connected with kensho in yet another way. Many people may never be able to reach kensho unless they have first cultivated a certain amount of joriki, for otherwise they may find themselves too restless, too nervous and uneasy to persevere with their zazen. Moreover, unless fortified by joriki, a single experience of kensho will have no appreciable effect on your life and will fade into a mere memory. For although through the experience of kensho you have apprehended the underlying unity of the cosmos with your Mind's eye, without joriki you are unable to act with the total force of your being on what your inner vision has revealed to you.

http://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/yasutani.html

It is a very instrumental and goal oriented view of Shikantaza. In fact, many or most of the Western Teachers in that Lineages seem to have softened a bit in their approach from Yasutani's fire and brimstone, but they still tend to present Shikantaza in a rather instrumental way. So the problem is not counting or not counting the breath, but on the ultimate aim of so-called "Shikantaza."

Gassho, J

SatToday

[Jakuden]

It is a very instrumental and goal oriented view of Shikantaza.

Thank you Jundo. So it sounds like even if you don't necessarily have the "goal" of obtaining Joriki, it is likely being developed during Zazen regardless, doing shikantaza. I still often have sits where the thoughts come so rapidly and continuously... in years past I would have reset my timer and tried harder to focus on the breath, but now I have learned to allow the sit to be what it is, cloudy sky and all. I didn't know if perhaps this was a failure on my part to develop mental concentration power (perhaps because I have ADHD, lol), but I do feel like I have developed much more equanimity--both on the cushion and off--since I started here at Treeleaf and learned to let go of the goals. Maybe I'll never experience Kensho but I'm ok with that. At least the sun is still there behind the clouds and I know that much.

That's an interesting article by Taigen Dan Leighton, thank you! I was curious and went back to look in "Eight Gates" and found a place where Daido Loori discusses an experience of his own with an early teacher, and he wanted to do shikantaza rather than Koan study (and he says he was rather rude about it, lol). He says he ended up doing Genjokoan line by line in dokusan instead of the Koans he didn't want to do, and basically learned the same thing. He says that currently (or at least at the time of the book writing) students practicing shikantaza in the sangha were given lines from Genjokoan, and other parts of Shobogenzo that apply to the student's life, to study instead of the Koan collections.

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday

[Jundo]

Thank you Jundo. So it sounds like even if you don't necessarily have the "goal" of obtaining Joriki, it is likely being developed during Zazen regardless, doing shikantaza.

I feel so.

In an nutshell, we are not after deep deep focused states of concentration Samadhi as in some forms of Buddhist meditation. (It happens sometimes in Shikantaza on some days, but that is not the goal). Shikantaza Samadhi is more an open wholeness, merging and non-resistance.

In Shikantaza as I understand it, the goal is not some sweat pouring concentration leading to a big booming opening "Kensho" (That kind of opening comes sometimes in Shikantaza as I teach too, but that is not the goal). We speak of "Kensho" (See the Nature) too, and it is also seeing "into the ultimate nature of this universe and all the ten thousand things ... all is complete and perfect from the very beginning. How wonderful, how miraculous!" But our Kensho is more an abiding and pervading knowing and experiencing of who one truly is, like the sun gently pouring through the clouds as they part, rather than flying into the sun and burning all up. The sun is always present, and we come to know so and feel its constant warmth. We are the sunlight itself.

The question of "Joriki" is thus just the intensity of concentration and the objective.

I hope that is reasonably clear and helpful.

Gassho, J

SatToday

[Jakuden]

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday

[Hoko]

Thank you, Jundo for that clear explanation of something I have also wondered about. And thank you Jakuden for asking the question in the first place.

I remember starting meditation years ago after reading The Three Pillars of Zen. There was a lot of effort exerted to stay "present" in the assumption that if I flexed that muscle long enough I would experience some thunderbolt from above. Looking back it seems as though I imagined kensho to be more aneurysm than enlightenment. 😁

Gassho,
K2
#SatToday

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

[Mp]

What a wonderful question Jaukden and wonderful response Jundo. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Washin]

Very interesting thread, thank you Jakuden. And big thank you to Jundo for the clear explanation.

The question of "Joriki" is thus just the intensity of concentration and the objective.

I, too, had been interested in the subject for a while before, and the "supernormal powers" term has
always left me a little confused...

Gassho
Washin
just sat

[Seishin]

Many thanks Jakuden for raising this subject. Like Kliff I came via the TPZ path but got disheartened after a while as I never thought I'd achieve the experiences described in that book. After finding Treeleaf I've just been sitting Shikantaza but frequently wonder if I'm doing it right (I know, no right no wrong way) and if I should be concentrating harder - I know its damn cold these winter mornings, no mind body fires here. I guess this was another reason why I've been very hesitant about Jukai and if this path is the right way for me given all the contradictions and my resulting confusion.

Jundo response has made things clearer for me as I still wonder if I'll experience kensho while sitting. I've not gone as far back as counting but after the Newcomer video "relaunch" I will continue following the breaths for the foreseeable future as I don't feel ready to be set free so to speak. Anyway Gassho for this teaching.

[Onkai]

Thank you, Jakuden and Jundo. This thread aided my understanding.

Gassho,
Onkai
SatToday

[Kokuu]

Thank you for the question, Jakuden, and the answer, Jundo.

A very good illumination of one of those words and subjects often seen in Zen books and articles.

Jundo, in your responses to questions at Treeleaf you have undoubtedly written what could be a very interesting book if someone were to go back and edit together all the answers.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Kyonin]

Thank you for both the question and answer.

Sometimes my zazen is deep and meaningful. Other times is noisy and full of thoughts. Sometimes it's just what it is and I lose all judgment.

And sometimes I simply need to begin my session counting the breathing and after a couple of minutes the counting becomes and obstacle and I let it go too.

Gassho,

Kyonin
#SatToday

[Oheso]

定力 (joriki in Japanese)

Sensei, how does this differ from Jiriki (自力) one's own strength)?
is jiriki also pertinent to our Soto practice?

gassho 0
today I sat

[Jundo]

Sensei, how does this differ from Jiriki (自力) one's own strength)?
is jiriki also pertinent to our Soto practice?

gassho 0
today I sat

Hi Oheso,

The words sound similar, but the meaning is a bit different (except, of course, in the way that all things are ultimately one in Buddha).

Joriki is the power and strength of balance and stability, being still and centered, which is found in Zazen.

Jiriki means "self power," and signifies the ability of each of us to reach within ourself in Zazen, to muster that balance, stability and stillness at the center of all, to practice to find Truth, to rediscover our identity with the universe, all within and outside us beyond "inside" and "out," Buddha.

Tariki means "other power," and usually denotes those schools of Buddhism such as some flavors of Pure Land Buddhism that believe that "self power" is beyond us now, and that one must call on outside help such as faith in the saving grace of Amida Buddha.

However, many Zen folks and Pure Land folks and others note that, ultimately, inside is out and outside just in. That our reaching within, opening and allowing, is truly letting the universe in and yielding to its power. In other words, no matter where we look and which way we head on Buddha mountain, all remains Buddha mountain.

Robert, on another thread, who walks both paths had a very nice take on this. He wrote:

One thing that really helped me was to deepen my understanding of Buddha nature. In the Jodo Shinshu tradition the focus is total reliance on Amida Buddha and his vows as a path to awakening through rebirth in the Pureland of Sukhavati. At first glance I thought that I had to believe in a literal "Pure land" as a place to "Go", it was only after deeper study and lots and lots of Zazen that I came to understand that the Pureland was right here, right now; that we only needed to open our "eyes" to it. Also that Amida was not just a Buddha in some far away land, but also a reflection of our own Buddha Nature. This understanding was solidified by my Zen practice. When we sit, the Buddha sits; When we bow, the Buddha bows etc. Our own Buddha nature and that of the Tathagatas are not different, they are the same nature!

Perhaps now I can not say I am "Shin" or "Zen" buddhist, but rather somewhere in the middle.

I personally do not chant to Amida Buddha as part of my practice, but it does somehow just come down to names and artificial ideas at a certain point, and I noted in response ...

Robert, if that is how you hold the Pureland in heart, then count me in too. I might say that I also am not just "Shin" or "Zen," but beyond and right through all names and divisions. My "middle" is boundless and holds the whole universe.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Oheso]

s.t.