The Sandokai is cherished in the Soto Zen tradition, both relatively and absolutely!
Although probably not actually composed by the Third Zen Ancestor in China, Sekito (Shitou) as reputed, it is nonetheless a text of ultimate Wisdom, embodying our most fundamental Teachings and Practices. For more on its history, here is a little Talk about it (from about the 1:50:00 mark):
Here is how it sounds in Japanese, in the Soto way (first 4 minutes of the following):
It has a special melodic accenting unlike that of the very steady and monotone Hannya Shingyo (Heart Sutra), which may have inspired Glassman Roshi to develop a more musical Sandokai chant in English too. However, Glassman Roshi, of the White Plum Lineage, turned to the melody of "Fiddler on the Roof" for inspiration (IT IS TRUE!
), so our way of Chanting here at Treeleaf also borrows such melody (heard from about the 9:30 mark in our Zazenkai Ceremony above), which I inherited from my mentor, Doshin Cantor Roshi, who was of the White Plum:
Sandokai Oy Vey!
Now, Glassman Roshi's version may be a bit "Jewish," but a very interesting way of chanting is from the Soto lineage of the "Order of Buddhist Contemplatives" (OTC) where Kennett Roshi sought to blend Soto Zen with Christian cultural sensibilities. OTC chanting thus is a very unique blend of some Catholic/Anglican flavors. For example, the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives based their chants on Anglican church music "plainsong", so the result is something much like lovely "Gregorian Chants." Here is their "Identity of Relative and Absolute/Sandokai" ... Lovely ...
For many other fine alternative translations in English of the Sandokai, please scroll down from here:
A little history about the Sandokai although, as I said, it is likely not actually by Sekito/Shito (from Masunaga Roshi):
Our version at Treeleaf reads:
The Identity of Relative and Absolute
(Sandokai)
EVERYONE:
The mind of the Great Sage of India
Is intimately conveyed west and east.
While human faculties are both wise or dull
In the Way there are no northern or southern ancestors.
The subtle Source shines clear in the light;
The branching streams flow in the dark.
To be attached to things is primordial illusion;
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.
* All spheres, every sense and field
intermingle even as they shine alone,
Interacting even as they merge,
Yet keeping their places in expressions of their own.
Sights differ primally in shape and character
And sounds in harsh or soothing tones.
The dark makes all words one;
The brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.
The four elements return to their true nature
As a child turns to its mother.
Fire is hot, water is wet,
Wind moves and the earth is dense.
Eye and form, ear and sound, nose and smell,
Tongue and taste, the sweet and sour:
Each independent of the other
Like leaves that come from the same root.
And though leaves and root must go back to the Source
Both root and leaves have their own uses.
Light is also darkness,
But do not think of it as darkness.
Darkness is light;
Do not see it as light.
Light and darkness are not one, not two
Like the foot before and the foot behind in walking.
* Each thing has its own being
Which is not different from its place and function.
The relative fits the absolute
As a box and its lid.
The absolute meets the relative
Like two arrow points that touch in mid air.
* Hearing this, simply perceive what is,
Make no criterion.
If you do not see the Way,
You do not see it even as you walk upon it.
Walking forward in the way
You draw no nearer, progress no farther.
One who fails to see this truth
Is mountains and rivers away.
* Listen, those who would percieve this subtle matter:
* Live well your time by night and day!
Gassho, J
STLah
Although probably not actually composed by the Third Zen Ancestor in China, Sekito (Shitou) as reputed, it is nonetheless a text of ultimate Wisdom, embodying our most fundamental Teachings and Practices. For more on its history, here is a little Talk about it (from about the 1:50:00 mark):
Here is how it sounds in Japanese, in the Soto way (first 4 minutes of the following):
It has a special melodic accenting unlike that of the very steady and monotone Hannya Shingyo (Heart Sutra), which may have inspired Glassman Roshi to develop a more musical Sandokai chant in English too. However, Glassman Roshi, of the White Plum Lineage, turned to the melody of "Fiddler on the Roof" for inspiration (IT IS TRUE!
), so our way of Chanting here at Treeleaf also borrows such melody (heard from about the 9:30 mark in our Zazenkai Ceremony above), which I inherited from my mentor, Doshin Cantor Roshi, who was of the White Plum: Sandokai Oy Vey!
Now, Glassman Roshi's version may be a bit "Jewish," but a very interesting way of chanting is from the Soto lineage of the "Order of Buddhist Contemplatives" (OTC) where Kennett Roshi sought to blend Soto Zen with Christian cultural sensibilities. OTC chanting thus is a very unique blend of some Catholic/Anglican flavors. For example, the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives based their chants on Anglican church music "plainsong", so the result is something much like lovely "Gregorian Chants." Here is their "Identity of Relative and Absolute/Sandokai" ... Lovely ...
For many other fine alternative translations in English of the Sandokai, please scroll down from here:
A little history about the Sandokai although, as I said, it is likely not actually by Sekito/Shito (from Masunaga Roshi):
The Sandōkai (Ch. Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i) was written by Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (700-790). Built up of five-character lines in the classical style, this work has a total of 44 lines and 220 characters. Its format -- quite prevalent in the Tang and Sung dynasties -- was especially suited for Zen expression. The verse form also facilitated reciting and memorizing. With these advantages the Sandōkai became an important vehicle for expressing the flavor of Sōtō Zen.
Opinions differ on how Shih-t'ou derived his title. Some say he borrowed it from a book of the same name by Pe-yang of Wei; others, that it carne to him in the excitement of reading the Chao-lun by Seng-chao (384-414). A third school holds that the title represents an effort by Shih-t'ou to save Zen from the evils of a sectarian dispute over the relative merits of the abrupt and gradual approaches to enlightenment. At any rate, Shih-t'ou, with great literary skill, used this form and title to convey his deep understanding of Buddhism and the spirit of its true transmission.
"San refers to the multitude of appearances; "dō" to the unity of not-twoness; "kai" to their synthesis in practice. This points to one of the
main themes of the work -- the practical application of the self-identity of heaven and earth. The Sandōkai underscores the interpenetrating unity of such relative concepts as light and darkness, the ideal and the actual, and the spiritual root and its branches. It makes a special effort to clarify the relation between the unity phase of relativities and their individualistic phase. It tells us that since all things in the cosmos are essentially one while functioning individually, we fulfill our lives by upholding equality in personal relations while expressing our individuality. This comes close to describing the Sōtō view of the world and of life. The Sandōkai, therefore, has a special place in the Sōtō sect. At Sōtō temples it is often paired with the Hōkyōzammai in the morning and evening chants.
https://terebess.hu/zen/shitou-eng.html#i
Opinions differ on how Shih-t'ou derived his title. Some say he borrowed it from a book of the same name by Pe-yang of Wei; others, that it carne to him in the excitement of reading the Chao-lun by Seng-chao (384-414). A third school holds that the title represents an effort by Shih-t'ou to save Zen from the evils of a sectarian dispute over the relative merits of the abrupt and gradual approaches to enlightenment. At any rate, Shih-t'ou, with great literary skill, used this form and title to convey his deep understanding of Buddhism and the spirit of its true transmission.
"San refers to the multitude of appearances; "dō" to the unity of not-twoness; "kai" to their synthesis in practice. This points to one of the
main themes of the work -- the practical application of the self-identity of heaven and earth. The Sandōkai underscores the interpenetrating unity of such relative concepts as light and darkness, the ideal and the actual, and the spiritual root and its branches. It makes a special effort to clarify the relation between the unity phase of relativities and their individualistic phase. It tells us that since all things in the cosmos are essentially one while functioning individually, we fulfill our lives by upholding equality in personal relations while expressing our individuality. This comes close to describing the Sōtō view of the world and of life. The Sandōkai, therefore, has a special place in the Sōtō sect. At Sōtō temples it is often paired with the Hōkyōzammai in the morning and evening chants.
https://terebess.hu/zen/shitou-eng.html#i
The Identity of Relative and Absolute
(Sandokai)
EVERYONE:
The mind of the Great Sage of India
Is intimately conveyed west and east.
While human faculties are both wise or dull
In the Way there are no northern or southern ancestors.
The subtle Source shines clear in the light;
The branching streams flow in the dark.
To be attached to things is primordial illusion;
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.
* All spheres, every sense and field
intermingle even as they shine alone,
Interacting even as they merge,
Yet keeping their places in expressions of their own.
Sights differ primally in shape and character
And sounds in harsh or soothing tones.
The dark makes all words one;
The brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.
The four elements return to their true nature
As a child turns to its mother.
Fire is hot, water is wet,
Wind moves and the earth is dense.
Eye and form, ear and sound, nose and smell,
Tongue and taste, the sweet and sour:
Each independent of the other
Like leaves that come from the same root.
And though leaves and root must go back to the Source
Both root and leaves have their own uses.
Light is also darkness,
But do not think of it as darkness.
Darkness is light;
Do not see it as light.
Light and darkness are not one, not two
Like the foot before and the foot behind in walking.
* Each thing has its own being
Which is not different from its place and function.
The relative fits the absolute
As a box and its lid.
The absolute meets the relative
Like two arrow points that touch in mid air.
* Hearing this, simply perceive what is,
Make no criterion.
If you do not see the Way,
You do not see it even as you walk upon it.
Walking forward in the way
You draw no nearer, progress no farther.
One who fails to see this truth
Is mountains and rivers away.
* Listen, those who would percieve this subtle matter:
* Live well your time by night and day!
Gassho, J
STLah
Comment