Shobogenzo: Ch 11 (III) Uji – Existence-Time – Dogen’s different views of time

In Uji Dogen presents several different ways to look at time, including the ones we’re most familiar with. Most basically, in this world we live in time passes. We also have different roles we play through our life both on any given day, and also as we grow older.

The leaving and coming of the directions and traces [of time] are clear, and so people do not doubt it. They do not doubt it, but that does not mean they know it.

[Human] skin bags recognize [time] as leaving and coming; none has penetrated it as existence-time abiding in its place.

..in the time of the common person who does not learn the Buddha-Dharma there are views and opinions: when he hears the words “existence-time” he thinks, “Sometimes I became [an angry demon with] three heads and eight arms, and sometimes I became the sixteen-foot or eight-foot [golden body of Buddha].

But….

When we arrive in the field of the ineffable, there is just one [concrete] thing and one [concrete] phenomenon, here and now..

From a practical standpoint, the moment of Existence-Time that we that we think of as Now is primary. Because Now is the only moment in which we can act, in which we can practice, in which we move forward through life. 

On the other hand, although living in the immediate moment is a helpful, practical, and even necessary perspective, to limit our view this way denies the law of causation and limits our sense of direction. Dogen acknowledges this, recognizing that in the immediate moment our past and our future are part of us (even though the actual future we will experience is unknown). 

For example, it was like crossing a river or crossing a mountain. The mountain and the river may still exist, but now that I have crossed them and am living in a jeweled palace with crimson towers, the mountain and the river are [as distant] from me as heaven is from the earth.” But true reasoning is not limited to this one line [of thought]. That is to say, when I was climbing a mountain or crossing a river, I was there in that time. There must have been time in me. And I actually exist now, [so] time could not have departed. If time does not have the form of leaving and coming, the time of climbing a mountain is the present as existence-time.

The three heads and eight arms pass instantly as my existence-time; though they seem to be in the distance, they are [moments of] the present. The sixteen-foot or eight-foot [golden body] also passes instantly as my existence-time; though it seems to be yonder, it is [moments of] the present.

Then Dogen goes a step further to point out that we (and every other thing in the Universe) are Time itself. Because we are always in the moment of now, but moving forward carrying time with us, we are the way that time expresses itself.

The rat is time, and the tiger is time; living beings are time, and buddhas are time. This time experiences the whole universe using three heads and eight arms, and experiences the whole universe using the sixteen-foot golden body.

The mountains are time, and the seas are time. Without time, the mountains and the seas could not exist: we should not deny that time exists in the mountains and the seas here and now. If time decays, the mountains and the seas decay. If time is not subject to decay, the mountains and the seas are not subject to decay. In accordance with this truth the bright star appears, the Tathagata appears, the eye appears, and picking up a flower appears, and this is just time. Without time, it would not be like this.

So if we are time, how big can this moment of Now get? And if we are time, by extension doesn't this Now include not only our past, all our different roles in life, and all our futures -- whether realized or not?

To universally realize the whole universe by using the whole universe is called “to perfectly realize.” Enactment of the sixteen-foot golden body by using the sixteen-foot golden body is realized as the establishment of the mind, as training, as the state of bodhi, and as nirvana; that is, as existence itself, and as time itself. It is nothing other than the perfect realization of the whole of time as the whole of existence; there is nothing surplus at all.

All here and just now –

The field of ineffable

Past duality.

The nows coalesce
Into the always present
That now passes through.

Reflections: Shoes!

I was checking out my old high school's website and found this picture. Its cool that they have a 'meditation class' now!

mmm... though possibly they haven't said much about mindfulness yet?

Reflections: In control, out of control. Returning.

I love mornings because they are times I feel most at peace with the world. Then the day starts up and often the day just takes control of me according to specifics I seem to have no control over.

If I am staying 'on course' with my practice that sense of peace I have in the morning stays with me throughout the day. But sometimes there are stretches of days where that doesn't happen. Does that mean my practice is 'off course?"

Today the word that I keyed into while musing about this was 'control'. I think its important. When we get comfortable in our practice we can start feeling like we're in control or something.

Life is like sitting. To practice just means to keep coming back... It doesn't mean to be in control.

Just the same, I think I'm going to incorporate another stretch of sitting into my day if I can...

And yeah. I totally admit it. I wrote this post because I feel a day of 'monkey mind' coming on.

UPDATE: The zazen helped.

Antaiji Update - Abundance

Just got this email from Antaiji. Its nice to feel connected.





Hello everyone connected to Antaiji!

Thanks to a long and very hot summer this year, we had lots of tomatoes and eggplants. Now we are harvesting potatoes, and the carrots and daikon radish are slowly growing thicker.

There is a Japanese saying that "The more abundant the rice grain, the lower it would hang its head"

Antaiji's rice used to be famous for always keeping its head high even in the strongest taiphoon, but this year the rice harvest was so abundant, that for the first time in 20 years many of the plants fell over because their heads were so heavy.

This year we will release the Antaiji yearbook again at the end of November, and as every year, everyone who lived at Antaiji this year, or who contributed to last year's yearbook, is invited to write an article. The deadline is November 6th.

If this is the first time you contribute, you can have a look at last year's version at http://antaiji.dogen-zen.de/yb/2009/eng/index.shtml

You do not have to write in English though. Any language is OK, any topic is OK.

We are looking forward to your contribution,

Muho and the rest of Antaiji

Shobogenzo: Ch 11 (II) Uji – Existence-Time – Living in the Absence of Doubt

The doubts which living beings, by our nature, have about every thing and every fact that we do not know, are not consistent; therefore our past history of doubt does not always exactly match our doubt now. We can say for the present, however, that doubt is nothing other than time. We put our self in order, and see [the resulting state] as the whole universe…Practice, and realization of the truth, are also like this. Putting the self in order, we see what it is.

About a year ago I began making some pretty drastic changes in my life and the birth of this blog was a celebration of that decision. In a lot of ways things haven’t changed that much, much less than I’d imagined at the time – for now anyway.

The reaction of family and friends has been a bit out of proportion to the actual changes, often making me feel buffeted by some pretty strong winds and weather. There have definitely been moments when I’ve felt disoriented by changing circumstances and the sometimes stubborn and seemingly deliberate misunderstanding of others. Which is funny because my mind has been perfectly clear for a long time now. Funny in a way that sometimes makes me laugh and sometimes makes me cry, probably more than ever in my life…

The reality of that sense of clarity and certainty has only grown though, even in the face of uncertainty about the specifics of ‘tomorrow.’ What I can say is that the‘true self’ or ‘universal self’ and the fullness of‘emptiness’ that is there when I drop off during sitting seems to be there more and more, not just when I sit, but as I meet and move through each day.

It is the deepest sense of trust I have known. When I sit I realize and know that trust. And it comes from being grounded in the moment and knowing that nothing has really changed as I keep getting in touch with Now on a moment-to-moment basis.

So I’ve stopped doubting. I recognize that in terms of conditions and circumstances there’s a lot I could have doubts about. External things might not turn out the way I would most like them too. In fact, in some ways I can say that’s already been the case over the past year or so, not to mention the rest of my life. But my trust has only grown and if I follow my past doubts and fears back in time, none of them has amounted to much. That sense of ground is going to be there for the rest of my life one way or another.

After reading the above quote and recognizing the immense trust in the Universe I feel during zazen, I asked myself, why not let go of doubt? Doubt is something that has to do with circumstances and not this sense of ground and trust I feel. When I do that in life, as opposed to just during zazen, I see what is… And its what IS. I don’t need a picture to see it. 

Just this moment, this

Now, these colors, this hush -- ground

That I know so well.

Shobogenzo: Ch 11 (I) Uji – Existence-Time – The Whole Universe is in the Present Moment

Awhile back, while I was reading Uji, I told someone that Dogen’s writing ‘shimmers.’ Each time I read it, this chapter manages to enthrall me a bit because of the beauty of Dogen’s language, as well as the different ways he looks at time and what it means for our existence. Each time I read it, I see something new, something thing else that resonates with me. And each time, I get the sensation like I am standing at the edge of something...

To me the ‘reality’ of Now described in this chapter far transcends any words that attempt to describe it, although Dogen comes close. It transcends, to paraphrase Uchiyama-Roshi, in the same way that any definition of ‘fire’ cannot actually be fire.

Most basically, Existence-Time is just us meeting this moment right now, plain and simple. Most of us know this already, having Ram Dass’ “Be Here Now”, or more recently Tolle’s “Power of Now,” etched somewhere in our psyche if we’ve any Buddhist inclinations whatsoever.

But to limit what Dogen says in Uji to “[real existence] is only this exact moment,” seems to short-change this chapter. In fact, in looking for a quote that supports this basic idea, namely that “[real existence] is only this exact moment,” that stand-alone quote is hard to find. Here’s one that's close:

When we arrive in the field of the ineffable, there is just one [concrete] thing and one [concrete] phenomenon, here and now, [beyond] understanding of phenomena and non-understanding of phenomena, and [beyond] understanding of things and non understanding of things. Because [real existence] is only this exact moment, all moments of existence-time are the whole of time, and all existent things and all existent phenomena are time.

Note the underlined part. To me, the fundamental realization of this chapter is way more than Now is the only moment there is. I feel like Dogen’s trying to show us that the whole Universe and the whole of existence are manifested in the present moment. To emphasize this, Dogen follows up the previous quote with:

Let us pause to reflect whether or not any of the whole of existence or any of the whole universe has leaked away from the present moment of time.

Is this idealism? Maybe. But the realization that we can see the world this way doses my brain with a lot of serotonin. And that feels pretty real. Plus, I suspect that sitting helps us see the moment this way, fully appreciative of the moment just as it is, rather than from a flat, black & white perspective.

Borrowing a bit from Shunryu Suzuki:

Season's splendor held

                     In a single leaf falling,

Falling through falling.

Or more intellectually:

Face of Emptiness

                                All Existence-Time, our Now

Pivoting between.

Dogen’s Shobogenzo: Ch 10 (III) Shoaku-makusa – Good Doing vs Doing Good

‘Universal Precept of the Seven Buddhas’:

The eternal buddha says,

Not to commit wrongs,

To practice the many kinds of right,

Naturally purifies the mind;

This is the teaching of the buddhas.

In this section of  Shoaku-makusa Dogen states that, like ‘wrong’, what is ‘right’ has no set shape, but varies depending on conditions and circumstances. In other words what is ‘right’ is going to be different in different dharmas, worlds, and times. 

The myriad kinds of right have no set shape but they converge on the place of doing right faster than iron to a magnet. It is utterly impossible for the earth, mountains and rivers, the world, a nation, or even the force of accumulated karma, to hinder [this] coming together of right. 

In fact, we could probably debate what ‘right’ is endlessly, either internally (in our heads) or externally (with others) because our views of any specific situation are going to be different – how can they not be, given different lives and selves? On this basis we can recognize that an intellectual understanding of what ‘right’ is likely to be flawed. And we can also recognize that while we’re debating, ‘right’ isn’t getting done.

Even though the many kinds of right are included in “rightness,” there has never been any kind of right that is realized beforehand and that then waits for someone to do it.

Doing right is “good doing,” but it is not something that can be fathomed intellectually.

Dogen’s phrase “Doing right is 'good doing'” resonates with me. What it means, for me, is that we end up doing the most good by sincerely practicing the Buddha-Dharma. As long as we are sincerely practicing, our intuitive responses to the situations that come up are most likely to result in doing ‘right.’ 'Good doing' instantaneously coalesces into 'right' at the moment of doing. In contrast, notions we have about doing ‘good’ are likely to be flawed -- notions about what ‘good’ is are limited. Not to mention that in trying to ‘do good” we’re often attempting to gain brownie points (or merit) for our ‘self’ or how we think others view us, even or especially if we think of ‘doing good’ in terms of self-sacrifice. And in trying to gain ‘brownie points’ we create separation between ourselves and others.

This “good doing” inevitably includes the realization of the many kinds of right. 

If we do not learn how buddhas should be, even if we seem to be fruitlessly enduring hardship, we are only ordinary beings accepting suffering; we are not practicing the Buddha’s truth.

By sincerely practicing the Buddha-Dharma “not committing wrongs” and “doing right by good doing” are naturally realized, and practicing in this way “naturally purifies the mind.”

Haiku for Shoaku-makusa:

'Not committing wrongs' — 

The Universal teaching

Of all the buddhas.

In each world and time 

Doing right is good doing, 

Though right changes shape.

Buddhas know no right — 

Converging right through practice 

Buddhas know no wrong.

Reflections: Things as They Are, Indirect Costs, and Gratitude

As I was working on another bit of writing, I re-read a thought I tried to articulate (though not very well) in another post, namely that:

merely by existing, i.e., by meeting the requirements that allow me to stay alive in a reasonably comfortable manner, I am indirectly responsible for killing even though that is not my intention.

That seems to be a pretty extreme statement at first. I say it the way I say it though because its true. I am part of humanity (I mean the human race) - a massive and often sluggish human machine.  Humanity, albeit indirectly, does things I don’t agree with, is moved by forces I have very little say in, and uses resources, causing physical suffering for some while helping others who are more privileged, and even kills in my name. I recognize there isn’t much I can do to change the situation – namely, to affect a change in this massive forward movement of the human machine.  

Even though I’m unhappy with some of the things that go on, I’ve felt pretty helpless in the face of it, so I’ve tended to accept this as ‘the way things are’ – and, as I think about it now, the irony of this phrasing, given a similar one in Buddhism is not lost on me. Because I am pretty positive that there is a difference in shrugging our shoulders in helplessness or frustration and what is intended in Buddhist literature. But how much different or is the difference in how we look at things?

I think most folks I know, myself included, often feel we are entitled to live our lives the way we do – after all, we’ve worked hard for and earned what we've got. We pay the direct costs and forget that there are Indirect Costs to our individual existences. We can’t begin envision all the indirect costs of being alive – even if we take the time to be mindful of where things come from. 

If we have to do without to make the world a better place I’m sure a lot of us would be willing to, especially if it became some sort of ‘save the world’ movement. But what would you chose to do without? Every person’s choice would be different, because we're human and unique and each have different dreams and desires. The only way we’d be able to come to some overwhelming agreement would be in the face of a major crisis or if we were to completely deny ourselves precisely what makes us human, i.e. live banal, uniform, uncreative existences. Anything less, and we’d be precisely in the same position we are now – living life within the massive forward movement of the human machine.

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m Grateful to be alive and to be allowed to express my individuality, actually, even more so, now that I recognize the indirect costs and what they’re about. 

I'm not saying we should be pacifists. Only suggesting that we can pause on those occasions we get frustrated or angry and recognize this is part of the price of being human. Remember our gratitude for being allowed to be just as we are.

Just a few thoughts, stimulated by a lot frustration I've seen in some of my friends the last couple of days.

Dogen’s Shobogenzo: Ch 10 (II) Shoaku-makusa – Not Doing Wrongs

Repeating the Universal Precept of the Seven Buddhas from my last post:

The eternal buddha says,

Not to commit wrongs,

To practice the many kinds of right,

Naturally purifies the mind;

This is the teaching of the buddhas.

At first glance ‘not committing wrongs’ sounds pretty straightforward. But when trying to conceptualize ‘not committing wrongs’ there is a great potential for complexity that rests in how we define what wrong is. Just as there is great complexity in each of the Buddhist precepts that rests in how we define them. Dogen tries to help us clarify ‘‘not committing wrongs.”

The way I understand what Dogen says is that any instant, any dharma, contains within it the characteristics of  (or at least potential for) ‘wrongness’, ‘rightness’ and ‘indifference.’* Dogen also indicates that what ‘wrongness’, ‘rightness’ and ‘indifference’ actually are varies in different dharmas, worlds, and times. In other words, ‘wrongness’, ‘rightness’ and ‘indifference’ depend on context. E.g.,:

In “wrongs,” there are similarities and differences between wrong in this world and wrong in other worlds. There are similarities and differences between former times and latter times.

Dogen says that, especially as beginners, whether we are learning from teachers or by reading the sutras, the right Dharma when we hear it should sound like “Do not commit wrongs”, which to me means that we recognize it because it resonates and changes us:

At the beginning, the sound of it is “Do not commit wrongs.” If it does not sound like “Do not commit wrongs,” it is not the Buddha’s right Dharma…

We are changed and we incorporate what we hear into our practice and in this way “not committing wrongs” is actualized:

..when we are changed by hearing it, we hope “not to commit wrongs,” we continue enacting “not to commit wrongs,” and wrongs go on not being committed; in this situation the power of practice is instantly realized.

As long as we are focused in our practice, wrong does not have the opportunity to act through us:

The power of not committing wrongs is realized, and so wrongs cannot voice themselves as wrongs, and wrongs lack an established set of tools.

There are several passages that also suggest that, if we are practicing “not committing wrongs”, the four elements, the five aggregrates, the world around us, and even 'right' and 'wrong' themselves practice “not committing wrongs.” E.g.,:

When we cause even the mountains, rivers, and the earth, and the sun, moon, and stars, to do practice, the mountains, rivers, and the earth, the sun, moon, and stars, in their turn, make us practice.

We accomplish ‘not committing of wrongs’ by practicing. We aren’t trying to 'become' someone other than what we are already at this particular moment, i.e., trying to be a 'good' person. 

In becoming a Buddhist patriarch, we do not destroy the living being, do not detract from it, and do not lose it; nevertheless, we have got rid of it.

There is the Buddhist truth of taking up at one moment, and letting go at one moment. At just this moment, the truth is known that wrong does not violate a person…

To summarize, we focus on one instant and the context we are in. Because we have heard, 'sensed', and incorporated the Buddha-Dharma, we are actively practicing it. As long as we are practicing the Buddha-Dharma we are "not commiting wrongs." To me, this seems to mean that we don't have to worry too much about the possible complexities in trying to define 'wrong' in any given instant, world, or dharma -- as long as we keep practicing. 

Admittedly, my understanding is a beginner's understanding and I still have many Chapters to go...

*I prefer neutrality over the term indifference, since indifference has negative connotations for me.

Dogen’s Shobogenzo: Ch 10 (I) Shoaku-makusa – Introduction

Shoaku-makusa is translated as "not doing wrongs". 

In Shoaku-makusa Dogen tackles the subject of moral conduct. He opens with the ‘Universal Precept of the Seven Buddhas’ poem below, emphasizing that it has been universally and authentically transmitted to all Buddhas and so “it is the teaching, practice, and experience of hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of buddhas,” and noting that “These words of Dharma of the Seven Buddhas always sound like the words of Dharma of the Seven Buddhas.”

The eternal buddha says,

                        Not to commit wrongs,

                        To practice the many kinds of right,

                        Naturally purifies the mind;

                        This is the teaching of the buddhas.

This Universal Precept supercedes all other Buddhist precepts. It may be easier to remember, but it is more difficult in practice. Why? Because you have to be rooted in practice to have a hope of knowing what "not commiting wrongs" and "practicing the many kinds of right" mean.

The Ten Grave Precepts are central to Buddhist practice, and at first glance seem easier than the Universal Precept for anybody and everybody to understand. But, if we think mindfully about it, the Ten Grave Precepts, in spite of their simplicity, are impossible to follow one hundred percent of the time. Moreover, the list of precepts seems, to me, to offer a false sense of security that we are in the right (or at least not in the wrong) without having to think carefully about our actions. Different Buddhist groups also sometimes add on or elaborate on the precepts. This seems to be taking more and more of the responsibility of thinking and acting mindfully on a moment-by-moment basis off the shoulders of the individual. (I tend to prefer the Eight-fold Path as a guide because it promotes contemplation of what right and wrong are in any given instance.)

The precepts were meant to be guidelines for action rather than commandments. The fact that they are guidelines recognizes that there can be conflicts between the precepts in certain circumstances, and that what the precepts are actually saying depends on how mindfully we think about them. For example, in my view, merely by existing I am indirectly responsible for killing even though that is not my intention. So, to me, I’m already breaking the first precept just by meeting the requirements that allow me to stay alive. Some might say the precepts only refer to direct action. Some might say that I’m going too far with this example, but shouldn't I at least be aware of the cost and feel gratitude for the opportunity of life?

As another example in which right and wrong are more obvious, there is a story about a Buddhist layman who lies to his children to get them out of a burning house. This layman directly breaks the precept to not lie in order avoid killing indirectly. Even a young child would intuitively know what to do under these circumstances and do it. But would an older man intuitively know if his life was spent following the precepts to the letter or thinking they only applied to direct action? Admittedly these are extreme examples. But having lost the naivety of a child, some people only see what they are used to seeing, do what they are used to doing...

In the story of Kyo-i presented in this Chapter:

Kyo-i asks, “What is the great intention of the Buddha-Dharma?”

Dorin says, “Not to commit wrongs. To practice the many kinds of right.”

Kyo-i says, “If it is so, even a child of three can express it!”

Dorin says, “A child of three can speak the truth, but an old man of eighty cannot practice it.”
Thus informed, Kyo-i makes at once a prostration of thanks, and then leaves.

In the rest of Shoaku-makusa Dogen relates what he thinks each line of the verse of the Universal Precept means and concludes the chapter with the story of Kyo-i and his thoughts on Kyo-i's understanding...