2013年11月30日
Oldest Buddhist shrine found at Buddha's birthplace
Oldest Buddhist shrine found at Buddha's birthplace
A shrine consistent with the story of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, has been uncovered within a later shrine long thought to be his possible birthplace.
The teachings on which Buddhism, a world religion with an estimated 500 million followers, is based are said to have originated with Buddha.
According to an inscription on a pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC, Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, Nepal, although his birth date varies from 800 BC to 400 BC in other accounts. Buddhists believe that his mother had been on her way to her parents' house to give birth, but that she stopped in Lumbini along the way, and ended up giving birth while clinging to a tree in the gardens.
Now, archaeologists at Lumbini have uncovered the oldest known Buddhist shrine, dating back to the 6th century BC. And evidence suggests that it was originally built around a tree.
A shrine consistent with the story of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, has been uncovered within a later shrine long thought to be his possible birthplace.
The teachings on which Buddhism, a world religion with an estimated 500 million followers, is based are said to have originated with Buddha.
According to an inscription on a pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC, Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, Nepal, although his birth date varies from 800 BC to 400 BC in other accounts. Buddhists believe that his mother had been on her way to her parents' house to give birth, but that she stopped in Lumbini along the way, and ended up giving birth while clinging to a tree in the gardens.
Now, archaeologists at Lumbini have uncovered the oldest known Buddhist shrine, dating back to the 6th century BC. And evidence suggests that it was originally built around a tree.
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
23:04
2013年11月30日
Saijo Zen & Aims of Zazen
Highest Vehicle Saijo Zen
Saijo Zen was practiced by all the Buddhas of the past –viz., Shyakyamuni and Amida – and is the expression of Absolute Life, life in its purest form.
It is the zazen which Dogen zenji chiefly advocated and it involves no struggle for satori or any other object. We call it shikan-taza.
In this highest practice, means and end coalesce. When rightly practiced, you sit in the firm conviction that zazen is the actualization of your undefiled True-nature, and at the same time you sit in complete faith that the day will come when, exclaiming, “Oh, this is it!” you will unmistakably realize this True-nature.
The aims of zazen
i) development of the power of concentration (joriki)
ii) satori-awakening (kensho-godo)
iii) actualization of the Supreme Way in our daily lives (mujodo no taigen)
Joriki is the power or strength which arises when the mind has been unified and brought to one-pointedness through 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 situation to act instantly, without pausing to collect our wits, and in a manner wholly appropriate to the circumstances.
One who has developed joriki is no longer a slave to his passions, neither is he at the mercy of his environment. Always in command of both himself and the circumstances of his life, he is able to move with perfect freedom and equanimity.
The cultivation of certain supranormal power is also made possible by joriki, as is the state in which the mind becomes like perfectly still water – the state of blankness in which the conscious functioning of the mind has been stopped.
Although the power of joriki can be endlessly enlarged through regular practice, it will recede and eventually vanish if we neglect zazen.
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.
The second of these aims is kensho-godo, seeing into your True-nature and at the same time seeing into the ultimate nature of the universe and “all the ten thousand things” in it.
It is a sudden realization that “I have been complete and perfect from the very beginning. How wonderful, how miraculous!”
If it is true kensho, its substance will always be the same for whoever experiences it.
But this does not mean that we call all experience kensho to the same degree, for in the clarity, the depth, and the completeness of the experience there are great differences.
At each stages the phenomenal world he is seeing is the same, but the differences in the clarity and accuracy of his views of that world are as great as those between snow and charcoal. So it is with the difference in clarity and depth of our experiences of kensho.
The last of the three objectives is mujo no taigen, the actualization of the Supreme Way throughout our entire being and our daily activities. At this point we do not distinguish the end from the means. Saijo Zen corresponds to this stage.
When you sit earnestly and egolessly with your mind, though fully conscious, as free of thought as a pure white sheet of paper is unmarred by a blemish, there is an unfoldment of your intrinsically pure Buddha-nature whether you have had satori or not.
Kensho is “the wisdom naturally associated with joriki,” which is the power arising from concentration.
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.
Unless fortified by joriki, a single experience of kensho will have no appreciable effect on your life, and will fade away 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.
Kensho when manifested in all your actions is mujodo no taigen. With perfect enlightenment (anuttara samyak-sambodhi) we apprehend that our conception of the world as dual and antithetical is false, and upon this realization the world of Oneness, of true harmony and peace, is revealed.
While the practice of the Soto sect today stresses mujodo no taigen, in effect it amounts to little more than the accumulation of joriki, which “leaks” or recedes and ultimately disappears unless zazen is carried on regularly. The contention of the Soto sect nowadays that kensho is unnecessary and that one need to no more than carry on his daily activities with the Mind of the Buddha is specious, for without kensho you can never really know what this Buddha-mind is.
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
10:02
2013年11月30日
Hinayana Zen 小乗禅 / Mahayana Zen 大乗禅
Small Vehicle Zen /小乗禅
This is the vehicle or teaching which is to take you from one state of mind (delusion) to another (enlightenment).
This small vehicle is so named because it is designed to accommodate only one’s self. You can perhaps compare it to a bicycle. The large vehicle (Mahayana), on the other hand, is more like a car or bus: it takes on others as well. Hence shojo is a Zen which looks on to one’s own peace of mind.
It is rather an expedient Zen for those unable to grasp the innermost meaning of the Buddha’s enlightenment, i.e., that existence is an inseparable whole, each one of us embracing the cosmos in its totality.
This being true, it follows that we cannot attain genuine peace of mind merely by seeking our own salvation while remaining indifferent to the welfare of others.
There are those who simply cannot bring themselves to believe in the reality of such a world. No matter how often they are taught that the relative world of distinctions and opposites to which they cling is illusory, the product of their mistaken views, they cannot but believe otherwise. To such people the world can only seem inherently evil, full of sin and strife and suffering, of killing and being killed, and in their despair they long to escape from it.
Shojo Zen has its aim of stopping all thoughts so that the mind becomes a complete blank and enters into a state called mushinjo, a condition in which all the sense functions have been eliminated and the faculty of consciousness suspended. With practice this power can be cultivated by anyone.
Great Vehicle (Mahayana) Zen. / 大乗禅
The fourth classification is called daijo, Great Vehicle (Mahayana) Zen.
Daijo Zen has as its central purpose Kensho-godo., seeing into your essential nature and realizing the Way in your daily life.
For those able to comprehend the import of the Buddha’s own enlightenment experience and with a desire to break through their own illusory view of the universe and experience absolute, undifferentiated Reality, the Buddha taught this mode of Zen.
In the practice of Daijo Zen your aim in the beginning is to awaken to your True-nature, but upon enlightenment you realize that zazen is more than a means to enlightenment. It is the actualization of your True-nature.
Zazen is in fact the actualization of the innate Buddha-nature and not merely a technique for achieving enlightenment.
The more deeply you experience satori, the more you perceive the need for practice.
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
10:00
2013年11月30日
Zen outside of the Way / 外道禅
Zen outside of the Way / 外道禅
The second of the five kinds of Zen is called gedo. Gedo means literally “an outside way” and so implies, from the Buddhist point of view, teaching other than Buddhist.
Hindu yoga, the quiet sitting of Confucianism, contemplation practices in Christianity, all these belong to the category of gedo Zen.
Gedo Zen is often practiced in order to cultivate various supranormal powers or skills or to master certain arts beyond the reach of the ordinary man.
All the miraculous exploits are brought about through the cultivation of the particular strength or power which comes with the strenuous practice of mind concentration.
Another object for which gedo Zen is practiced is rebirth in various heavens. Certain Hindu sects practice Zen in order to be reborn in heaven.
The second of the five kinds of Zen is called gedo. Gedo means literally “an outside way” and so implies, from the Buddhist point of view, teaching other than Buddhist.
Hindu yoga, the quiet sitting of Confucianism, contemplation practices in Christianity, all these belong to the category of gedo Zen.
Gedo Zen is often practiced in order to cultivate various supranormal powers or skills or to master certain arts beyond the reach of the ordinary man.
All the miraculous exploits are brought about through the cultivation of the particular strength or power which comes with the strenuous practice of mind concentration.
Another object for which gedo Zen is practiced is rebirth in various heavens. Certain Hindu sects practice Zen in order to be reborn in heaven.
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
01:42
2013年11月30日
Ordinary Zen / 凡夫禅
Five main divisions of Zen as classified by Keiho-zenji, one of the early Zen masters in China
Common to all are three basic elements: an erect sitting posture, correct control of breathing, and concentration (unification) of mind.
Beginners need to bear in mind that in the substance and purpose of these various types there are distinct differences. These differences are crucial to you when you come before me individually to state your aspiration, for they will enable you to define your goal clearly the better that I may assign you the practice appropriate to it.
Ordinary Zen / 凡夫禅
The first of these types we call bompu (ordinary) Zen as opposed to the other four, each of which can be thought of as a special kind of Zen suitable for the particular aims of different individuals.
Bompu Zen, being free from any philosophical or religious content, is for anybody and everybody. It is a Zen practiced purely in the belief that it can improve both physical and mental health. Bompu Zen is bound to eliminate sickness of a psychosomatic nature and to improve the health generally.
Through the practice of bompu Zen you learn to concentrate and control your mind. It never occurs to most people to try to control their minds, and unfortunately this basic training is left out of contemporary education, not being part of what is called the acquisition of knowledge. Yet without it what we learn is difficult to retain because we learn it improperly, wasting much energy in the process.
By practicing this very excellent mod of mind training you will find yourself increasingly able to resist temptations to which you had previously succumbed, and to sever attachments which had long held you in bondage. An enrichment of personality and a strengthening of character inevitably follow since the three basic elements of mind – i.e., intellect, feeling, and will – develop harmoniously.
However, bonpu Zen is unable to resolve the fundamental problem of man and his relation to universe because it cannot pierce the ordinary man’s basic delusion of himself as distinctly other than the universe.
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
01:28
2013年11月27日
心エコー検査
11月25日にトロントのSickKidsにてLeoの心エコー検査をしてもらいました。
これで、一連の検査は終了です。おそらく今後当分の間は心臓の状態で心配をしなくてもよいだろうと担当医の先生に言われ、ほっと胸をなでおろしてハンツビルに帰ってきました。
今後、心臓検査は1年に一回だけで十分ということなので、次回は来年の秋ということになります。
北米圏内であれば記録を共有できるシステムが病院の間であるそうです。
カリフォルニアで心エコー検査ができれば一番なのですが、これはLegal Statusをちゃんと米国で取った後に考えることになりそうです。
LBBCでは、居住スペースResidenceの写真をとり、北米事務局を通して弁護士に提出したそうです。少しずつですが、R-1ビザ申請に必要な書類が揃ってきているようです。
LBBCでの活動について、有り余るほどある時間を生かしていろいろと考えを回らせています。Soto ZenのZen Practiceは、いうまでもなく北米に浸透しきっている習慣なので無理をしなくても自然に活動の中に入ってくることは間違いのないことでしょう。
しかし、LBBCにとって最もCriteriaが高いのは、仏教の原点となるLord Buddha信仰。
「此があれば彼があり、此がなければ彼がない、此が生ずれば彼が生じ、此が滅すれば彼が滅す」
Buddhaその人の人生や生き方、教えを今一度みんなでシェアしていきながら、地域振興や教育活動、慈善事業などに膨らませていこうという計画なので、自ずと他の宗派や信仰活動から活動の要素を吸収する必要が生まれてきそうです。
ハンツビルはいよいよクリスマスのシーズンに向けてダウンタウンなどの模様替えが進んでいます。北米北東部の典型的な白人系文化に触れている今は、これから自分が出会うカナダ人やアメリカ人について理解を深める絶好の機会でもあります。
無理なく少しずつ前を向いて歩みを進めていこうと思います。
これで、一連の検査は終了です。おそらく今後当分の間は心臓の状態で心配をしなくてもよいだろうと担当医の先生に言われ、ほっと胸をなでおろしてハンツビルに帰ってきました。
今後、心臓検査は1年に一回だけで十分ということなので、次回は来年の秋ということになります。
北米圏内であれば記録を共有できるシステムが病院の間であるそうです。
カリフォルニアで心エコー検査ができれば一番なのですが、これはLegal Statusをちゃんと米国で取った後に考えることになりそうです。
LBBCでは、居住スペースResidenceの写真をとり、北米事務局を通して弁護士に提出したそうです。少しずつですが、R-1ビザ申請に必要な書類が揃ってきているようです。
LBBCでの活動について、有り余るほどある時間を生かしていろいろと考えを回らせています。Soto ZenのZen Practiceは、いうまでもなく北米に浸透しきっている習慣なので無理をしなくても自然に活動の中に入ってくることは間違いのないことでしょう。
しかし、LBBCにとって最もCriteriaが高いのは、仏教の原点となるLord Buddha信仰。
「此があれば彼があり、此がなければ彼がない、此が生ずれば彼が生じ、此が滅すれば彼が滅す」
Buddhaその人の人生や生き方、教えを今一度みんなでシェアしていきながら、地域振興や教育活動、慈善事業などに膨らませていこうという計画なので、自ずと他の宗派や信仰活動から活動の要素を吸収する必要が生まれてきそうです。
ハンツビルはいよいよクリスマスのシーズンに向けてダウンタウンなどの模様替えが進んでいます。北米北東部の典型的な白人系文化に触れている今は、これから自分が出会うカナダ人やアメリカ人について理解を深める絶好の機会でもあります。
無理なく少しずつ前を向いて歩みを進めていこうと思います。
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
10:50
2013年11月24日
Quotes from Three Pillars of Zen No. 04
Quotes from Three Pillars of Zen No. 04
--------------------- modern students, being intellectually more sophisticated than their predecessors in Zen, will not follow instructions unreservedly; they must first know the reasons behind them---------------------
--------------------- You must listen as though you were entirely alone and hold yourselves accountable for everything that is said---------------------
--------------------- the difficulty with theory, however, is that it is endless---------------------
---------------------Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist doctrine, and Buddhist philosophy are no more than intellectual formulations of zazen, and zazen itself is their practical demonstration---------------------
---------------------Buddha Shakyamuni---------------------came to realize the futility of pursuing a course which could only terminate in death---------------------and resolved to steer a middle course between self-torture and self-indulgence. ---------------------
---------------------he attained perfect enlightenment --------------------- cried out “Wonder of wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because men’s minds have become inverted through delusive thinking they fail to perceive this ---------------------
---------------------the first pronouncement of the Buddha upon his enlightenment seems to have been one of awe and astonishment. Yes, how truly marvelous that all human beings, whether clever or stupid, male or female, ugly or beautiful, are whole and complete just as they are ---------------------
---------------------the nature of every being is inherently without a flaw, perfect, no different from that of Amida or any other Buddah ---------------------
---------------------this first declaration of Shakyamuni Buddha is also the ultimate conclusion of Buddhism ---------------------
---------------------yet man, restless and anxious, lives a half-crazed existence because his mind, heavily encrusted with delusion, is turned topsy-turvy. ---------------------
--------------------- modern students, being intellectually more sophisticated than their predecessors in Zen, will not follow instructions unreservedly; they must first know the reasons behind them---------------------
--------------------- You must listen as though you were entirely alone and hold yourselves accountable for everything that is said---------------------
--------------------- the difficulty with theory, however, is that it is endless---------------------
---------------------Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist doctrine, and Buddhist philosophy are no more than intellectual formulations of zazen, and zazen itself is their practical demonstration---------------------
---------------------Buddha Shakyamuni---------------------came to realize the futility of pursuing a course which could only terminate in death---------------------and resolved to steer a middle course between self-torture and self-indulgence. ---------------------
---------------------he attained perfect enlightenment --------------------- cried out “Wonder of wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because men’s minds have become inverted through delusive thinking they fail to perceive this ---------------------
---------------------the first pronouncement of the Buddha upon his enlightenment seems to have been one of awe and astonishment. Yes, how truly marvelous that all human beings, whether clever or stupid, male or female, ugly or beautiful, are whole and complete just as they are ---------------------
---------------------the nature of every being is inherently without a flaw, perfect, no different from that of Amida or any other Buddah ---------------------
---------------------this first declaration of Shakyamuni Buddha is also the ultimate conclusion of Buddhism ---------------------
---------------------yet man, restless and anxious, lives a half-crazed existence because his mind, heavily encrusted with delusion, is turned topsy-turvy. ---------------------
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
02:23
2013年11月18日
Prevention of Elder Abuse
Muskoka Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
How to help a victim of elder abuse
Suggestions: 11 steps for a safe beginning
1. Believe the elder person. The most important thing to remember when talking to a senior is the need to be objective and to LISTEN. When hearing stories of abuse it is also important to remain non-judgmental about all the aspects of abuse. It may take a few visits to assess what the senior’s situation is. This complete understanding of the mistreatment or abuse is necessary before taking any action.
2. Ensure confidentiality. Many older adults come from a time when talking about family situations was disrespectful. That is why it is critical that mistreated seniors are made to feel comfortable about disclosing private family matters, especially abuse. Assuring seniors that what they say is confidential is the first step to take when helping them.
3. Uphold the right of older persons to make their own decisions. Adults have the right to make their own choices (if they are mentally competent and if the decision does not pose a risk to others). A people age, their personal circumstances may change so that making decisions can be difficult for some. When helping an older person combat abuse it is important that all strategies to prevent the mistreatment are carried out with the complete knowledge and approval of the older person. Helpers need to ensure that the older person remains in control of any attempt to stop the abuse they are experiencing.
4. Each instance of mistreatment is different. Thy dynamics of an abusive situation are complex. In many cases of abuse, the abuser is also the older person’s only relative, or a person they love dearly. Different risk factors are also likely to be present in varying degrees for different people. Older people want solutions that fit their particular circumstances and may refuse many of the strategies offered by the helper. Don’t be discouraged by this as you try to empower the older person to defend their rights.
5. Identify significant others in the older person’s network of informal and formal relationships. Older people who are abused can find it more difficult to uphold their rights compared to other adults. Because of this, older people often find that having other people represent them can be the most successful means of overcoming complex situations of abuse.
6. Increase the control the older person has over the abuse. The aim of your assistance is to help the older person gain control over the abusive relationship. This means that the older person makes all decisions about what steps to take from the range of options you have suggested. This process will not happen overnight, but will take time as the older person learns to trust those who are trying to help. In some cases, it is not possible to change the abusive situation; then, all that can be done is to keep in touch and remind the older person that help is still available if and when they choose to accept it.
7. Conflict of interest. Your work will be less effective if the older person does not believe you are on their side. This could be the case if you try to mediate between the older person and their abuser. Mediation involves both parties giving something up in order to achieve a compromise. The person suffering the abuse needs to know that the helper is acting for them.
8. Maintain relationships wherever possible. It is likely that the older person is going to be closely connected to the individual(s) abusing them. They may also love the person and feel a sense of responsibility towards them. Because of this, the older person may decide not to make any changes. They may feel that speaking out would be harmful to the people they care about. If this is the case, it will be necessary to develop creative and sensitive strategies to improve the relationship and work towards stopping the abuse.
9. Do not escalate your action unnecessarily. Acting too soon may make the situation worse. It could lead to the loss of relationship with family members or friends. The only time you should take immediate action, after informing the older person needs immediate protection.
10. Do not be co-opted into someone else’s agenda. The abuse of an older person is an emotive issue. Conflicting views about the situation may be expressed by different family members. Some may act in a forceful way and ask you to assist them to resolve the problems. You are able to help them if: i) the older person gives you permission, or ii) the helper has permission from the abused person and is clearly acting in the best interest of the older person.
11. Do no harm. Assist the older person with information, options and strategies, which will cause no further harm and ensure that any course of action undertaken will be both legal and moral.
Muskoka Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
P.O. Box 156, Bracebridge ON P1L 1N5
caregive@muskoka.com
How to help a victim of elder abuse
Suggestions: 11 steps for a safe beginning
1. Believe the elder person. The most important thing to remember when talking to a senior is the need to be objective and to LISTEN. When hearing stories of abuse it is also important to remain non-judgmental about all the aspects of abuse. It may take a few visits to assess what the senior’s situation is. This complete understanding of the mistreatment or abuse is necessary before taking any action.
2. Ensure confidentiality. Many older adults come from a time when talking about family situations was disrespectful. That is why it is critical that mistreated seniors are made to feel comfortable about disclosing private family matters, especially abuse. Assuring seniors that what they say is confidential is the first step to take when helping them.
3. Uphold the right of older persons to make their own decisions. Adults have the right to make their own choices (if they are mentally competent and if the decision does not pose a risk to others). A people age, their personal circumstances may change so that making decisions can be difficult for some. When helping an older person combat abuse it is important that all strategies to prevent the mistreatment are carried out with the complete knowledge and approval of the older person. Helpers need to ensure that the older person remains in control of any attempt to stop the abuse they are experiencing.
4. Each instance of mistreatment is different. Thy dynamics of an abusive situation are complex. In many cases of abuse, the abuser is also the older person’s only relative, or a person they love dearly. Different risk factors are also likely to be present in varying degrees for different people. Older people want solutions that fit their particular circumstances and may refuse many of the strategies offered by the helper. Don’t be discouraged by this as you try to empower the older person to defend their rights.
5. Identify significant others in the older person’s network of informal and formal relationships. Older people who are abused can find it more difficult to uphold their rights compared to other adults. Because of this, older people often find that having other people represent them can be the most successful means of overcoming complex situations of abuse.
6. Increase the control the older person has over the abuse. The aim of your assistance is to help the older person gain control over the abusive relationship. This means that the older person makes all decisions about what steps to take from the range of options you have suggested. This process will not happen overnight, but will take time as the older person learns to trust those who are trying to help. In some cases, it is not possible to change the abusive situation; then, all that can be done is to keep in touch and remind the older person that help is still available if and when they choose to accept it.
7. Conflict of interest. Your work will be less effective if the older person does not believe you are on their side. This could be the case if you try to mediate between the older person and their abuser. Mediation involves both parties giving something up in order to achieve a compromise. The person suffering the abuse needs to know that the helper is acting for them.
8. Maintain relationships wherever possible. It is likely that the older person is going to be closely connected to the individual(s) abusing them. They may also love the person and feel a sense of responsibility towards them. Because of this, the older person may decide not to make any changes. They may feel that speaking out would be harmful to the people they care about. If this is the case, it will be necessary to develop creative and sensitive strategies to improve the relationship and work towards stopping the abuse.
9. Do not escalate your action unnecessarily. Acting too soon may make the situation worse. It could lead to the loss of relationship with family members or friends. The only time you should take immediate action, after informing the older person needs immediate protection.
10. Do not be co-opted into someone else’s agenda. The abuse of an older person is an emotive issue. Conflicting views about the situation may be expressed by different family members. Some may act in a forceful way and ask you to assist them to resolve the problems. You are able to help them if: i) the older person gives you permission, or ii) the helper has permission from the abused person and is clearly acting in the best interest of the older person.
11. Do no harm. Assist the older person with information, options and strategies, which will cause no further harm and ensure that any course of action undertaken will be both legal and moral.
Muskoka Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
P.O. Box 156, Bracebridge ON P1L 1N5
caregive@muskoka.com
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
09:00
2013年11月17日
Quotes from Three Pillars of Zen No. 03
Quotes from Three Pillars of Zen No. 03
---------------------For the ordinary man, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections; opinions, and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; his life is thus centered not in reality itself but in his ideas of it. By focusing the mind wholly on each object and every action, zazen strips it of extraneous thoughts and allows us to enter into a full rapport with life. ---------------------
---------------------Sitting zazen and mobile zazen are two functions equally dynamic and mutually reinforcing. One who sits devotedly in zazen every day, his mind free of discriminating thoughts, finds it easier to relate himself wholeheartedly to his daily tasks, and one who performs every act with total attention and clear awareness finds it less difficult to achieve emptiness of mind during sitting periods. ---------------------
---------------------the most important result of the practice of ‘mindfulness with regard to breathing’ is the realization that the process of breathing is the connecting link between conscious and subconscious, gross-material and fine-material, volitional and non-volitional functions, and therefore the most perfect expression of the nature of all life---------------------
---------------------when the heart and mind are truly one with it, this combination of chanting and the throb of percussion instruments can arouse the deepest feelings and bring about a vibrant, heightened sense of awareness---------------------
---------------------In Shingon Buddhism particular qualities of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are evoked by the devotee through certain positions of his hands (called mudra) as well as body postures, and it is probably from the Shingon that this aspect of Dogen’s teaching derives. In any event, the prescribed postures do induce related states of mind.---------------------
---------------------Thus to chant the Four Vows while kneeling, with the hands in gassho (palms together), as practiced in the Soto sect, evokes a reverential, humble frame of mind less readily felt when these same vows are chanted seated or standing, as in the Rinzai sect. ---------------------
---------------------lightly to touch the tips of the thumbs in seated zazen creates a feeling of poise and serenity not so easily attainable with the hands clenched---------------------
---------------------each state of mind elicits from the body its own specific response. The act of unself-conscious prostration before a Buddha is thus possible only under the impetus of reverene and gratitude. Such “horizontalizings of the mast of ego” cleanse the heart-mind, rendering it flexible and expansive, and open the way to an understanding and appreciation of the exalted mind and manifold virtues of the Buddha and the Patriarchs. ---------------------
---------------------these devotions when entered into with a single mind endow the Buddha figure with life; what was formerly a mere image now becomes a living reality with the singular power to obliterate in us awareness of self and Buddha at the moment of prostration---------------------
---------------------because in this un-self-ish, un-thinking gesture our immaculate Bodhi-mind shines brightly, we feel refreshed and renewed---------------------
---------------------zazen is neither sitting nor lying. If you are training yourself to become a sitting Buddha, Buddha has no one form (such as sitting). The Dharma, which has no fixed abode, allows of no distinctions. If you try to become a sitting Buddha, this is no less than killing the Buddha. If you cling to the sitting form you will not attain the essential truth---------------------
---------------------that Buddhahood does not exist outside himself as an object to strive for, since we are all Buddhas from the very first. ---------------------
---------------------How could you become a Buddha through sitting if you were not a Buddha to begin with? This would be as impossible as trying to polish a roof tile into a mirror ---------------------
---------------------zazen does not bestow Buddhahood; it uncovers a Buddha-nature which has always existed---------------------
---------------------through the act of grinding the tile, Nangaku is concretely revealing to Baso that the polishing is itself the expression of this Buddha-nature, which transcends all forms, including that of sitting or standing or lying down---------------------
---------------------to guard against their disciples’ becoming attached to the sitting posture, Zen masters incorporate mobile zazen into their training. ---------------------
---------------------the other twelve or thirteen hours of the day are spent on such labors as working in the rice fields and vegetable gardens, cutting wood and pumping water, cooking, serving meals, keeping the monastery clean, and sweeping and weeding its extensive grounds. At other times they tend the graves in the cemetery adjoining the monastery and chant sutras and dharani for the dead both in the homes and devotees and in the monastery. ---------------------
---------------------Zen monks spend many hours walking the streets begging food and other necessities to learn humility and gratitude ---------------------
---------------------all these activities are deemed to be the practice of mobile zazen sicne they are to be performed mindfully, with total involvement---------------------
---------------------the realization of this highest Truth demands dedication and sustained exertion, which is to say the pure and faithful practice of zazen---------------------
---------------------the great Way of the Buddha and the Patriarchs involves the highest form of exertion, which goes on unceasingly in cycles from the first dawn of religious truth, through the test of discipline and practice, to enlightenment and Nirvana. ---------------------
---------------------It is sustained exertion, proceeding without lapse from cycle to cycle ---------------------
---------------------those who do not make exertion when exertion is possible are those who hate Buddha, hate serving the Buddha, and hate exertion; they do not want to live and die with Buddha, they do not want him as their teacher and companion---------------------
---------------------Husband, father, schoolmaster, and ultimately Zen master, Hakuun Yasutani did not achieve his present distinction by avoiding the pains and joys incident to the life of the ordinary man but in experiencing and then transcending them. In this his life reflects the Mahayana ideal that Self-realization is for the householder no less than the celibate monk---------------------
---------------------Harada-roshi felt that the modern mind is so much more aware that for beginners lectures of this type could be meaningful as a preliminary to practice---------------------
---------------------For the ordinary man, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections; opinions, and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; his life is thus centered not in reality itself but in his ideas of it. By focusing the mind wholly on each object and every action, zazen strips it of extraneous thoughts and allows us to enter into a full rapport with life. ---------------------
---------------------Sitting zazen and mobile zazen are two functions equally dynamic and mutually reinforcing. One who sits devotedly in zazen every day, his mind free of discriminating thoughts, finds it easier to relate himself wholeheartedly to his daily tasks, and one who performs every act with total attention and clear awareness finds it less difficult to achieve emptiness of mind during sitting periods. ---------------------
---------------------the most important result of the practice of ‘mindfulness with regard to breathing’ is the realization that the process of breathing is the connecting link between conscious and subconscious, gross-material and fine-material, volitional and non-volitional functions, and therefore the most perfect expression of the nature of all life---------------------
---------------------when the heart and mind are truly one with it, this combination of chanting and the throb of percussion instruments can arouse the deepest feelings and bring about a vibrant, heightened sense of awareness---------------------
---------------------In Shingon Buddhism particular qualities of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are evoked by the devotee through certain positions of his hands (called mudra) as well as body postures, and it is probably from the Shingon that this aspect of Dogen’s teaching derives. In any event, the prescribed postures do induce related states of mind.---------------------
---------------------Thus to chant the Four Vows while kneeling, with the hands in gassho (palms together), as practiced in the Soto sect, evokes a reverential, humble frame of mind less readily felt when these same vows are chanted seated or standing, as in the Rinzai sect. ---------------------
---------------------lightly to touch the tips of the thumbs in seated zazen creates a feeling of poise and serenity not so easily attainable with the hands clenched---------------------
---------------------each state of mind elicits from the body its own specific response. The act of unself-conscious prostration before a Buddha is thus possible only under the impetus of reverene and gratitude. Such “horizontalizings of the mast of ego” cleanse the heart-mind, rendering it flexible and expansive, and open the way to an understanding and appreciation of the exalted mind and manifold virtues of the Buddha and the Patriarchs. ---------------------
---------------------these devotions when entered into with a single mind endow the Buddha figure with life; what was formerly a mere image now becomes a living reality with the singular power to obliterate in us awareness of self and Buddha at the moment of prostration---------------------
---------------------because in this un-self-ish, un-thinking gesture our immaculate Bodhi-mind shines brightly, we feel refreshed and renewed---------------------
---------------------zazen is neither sitting nor lying. If you are training yourself to become a sitting Buddha, Buddha has no one form (such as sitting). The Dharma, which has no fixed abode, allows of no distinctions. If you try to become a sitting Buddha, this is no less than killing the Buddha. If you cling to the sitting form you will not attain the essential truth---------------------
---------------------that Buddhahood does not exist outside himself as an object to strive for, since we are all Buddhas from the very first. ---------------------
---------------------How could you become a Buddha through sitting if you were not a Buddha to begin with? This would be as impossible as trying to polish a roof tile into a mirror ---------------------
---------------------zazen does not bestow Buddhahood; it uncovers a Buddha-nature which has always existed---------------------
---------------------through the act of grinding the tile, Nangaku is concretely revealing to Baso that the polishing is itself the expression of this Buddha-nature, which transcends all forms, including that of sitting or standing or lying down---------------------
---------------------to guard against their disciples’ becoming attached to the sitting posture, Zen masters incorporate mobile zazen into their training. ---------------------
---------------------the other twelve or thirteen hours of the day are spent on such labors as working in the rice fields and vegetable gardens, cutting wood and pumping water, cooking, serving meals, keeping the monastery clean, and sweeping and weeding its extensive grounds. At other times they tend the graves in the cemetery adjoining the monastery and chant sutras and dharani for the dead both in the homes and devotees and in the monastery. ---------------------
---------------------Zen monks spend many hours walking the streets begging food and other necessities to learn humility and gratitude ---------------------
---------------------all these activities are deemed to be the practice of mobile zazen sicne they are to be performed mindfully, with total involvement---------------------
---------------------the realization of this highest Truth demands dedication and sustained exertion, which is to say the pure and faithful practice of zazen---------------------
---------------------the great Way of the Buddha and the Patriarchs involves the highest form of exertion, which goes on unceasingly in cycles from the first dawn of religious truth, through the test of discipline and practice, to enlightenment and Nirvana. ---------------------
---------------------It is sustained exertion, proceeding without lapse from cycle to cycle ---------------------
---------------------those who do not make exertion when exertion is possible are those who hate Buddha, hate serving the Buddha, and hate exertion; they do not want to live and die with Buddha, they do not want him as their teacher and companion---------------------
---------------------Husband, father, schoolmaster, and ultimately Zen master, Hakuun Yasutani did not achieve his present distinction by avoiding the pains and joys incident to the life of the ordinary man but in experiencing and then transcending them. In this his life reflects the Mahayana ideal that Self-realization is for the householder no less than the celibate monk---------------------
---------------------Harada-roshi felt that the modern mind is so much more aware that for beginners lectures of this type could be meaningful as a preliminary to practice---------------------
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
06:10
2013年11月16日
Quotations from Three Pillars of Zen No. 02
Quotations from Three Pillars of Zen No. 02
----------------------------Zazen illuminates the three characteristics of existence which the Buddha proclaimed: first, that all things (in which are included our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions) are impermanent, arising when particular causes and conditions bring them into being and passing away with the emergence of new causal factors; second, that life is pain; and third, that ultimately nothing is self-subsistent, that all forms in their essential nature are empty, that is, mutually dependent patterns of energy in flux, yet at the same time are possessed of a provisional or limited reality in time and space, in much the same way that the actions in a movie film have a reality in terms of the film but are otherwise insubstantial and unreal. ----------------------------
----------------------------Through zazen the first vital truth – that all component things are ephemeral, never the same from one moment to the next, fleeting manifestations in a stream of ceaseless transformation – becomes a matter of direct personal experience. ----------------------------
----------------------------We come to see the concatenation of our thoughts, emotions, and moods, how much they arise, how they momentarily flourish, and how they pass away. We come to know that this “dying” is the life of every thing, just as the all-consuming flame constitutes the life of a candle. ----------------------------
----------------------------our sufferings are rooted in selfish grasping and in fears and terrors which spring from our ignorance of the true nature of life ----------------------------
----------------------------zazen makes equally plain that what we term “suffering” is our evaluation of pain from which we stand apart, that pain when courageously accepted is a means to liberation in that it frees our natural sympathies and compassion even as it enables us to experience pleasure and joy in a new depth and purity. ----------------------------
----------------------------with enlightenment, zazen brings the realization that the substratum of existence is a Voidness out of which all things ceaselessly arise and into which they endlessly return, that this Emptiness is positive and alive and in fact not other than the vividness of a sunset or the harmonies of a great symphony. ----------------------------
----------------------------this bursting into consciousness of the effulgent Buddha-nature is the “swallowing up” of the universe, the obliteration of every feeling of opposition and separateness. ----------------------------
----------------------------In this state of unconditioned subjectivity I, selfless I, am supreme. So Shakyamuni Buddha could exclaim: “Above the heavens and below the heavens I am the only honored one.” Yet since enlightenment means also an end to being possessed by the idea of an ego-I, this is as much a world of pure objectivity. ----------------------------
----------------------------Therefore, Dogen could write: “To learn the Way of the Buddha is to learn about oneself. To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to experience the world as pure object. To experience the world as pure object is to let one’s own body and mind and the “self-other” body and mind. ----------------------------
----------------------------To help awaken us to this world of Buddha-nature, Zen masters employ yet another mode of zazen, namely, the chanting of dharani and sutras. Now, a dharani has been described as “a more or less meaningless chain of words or names that is supposed to have a magical power in helping the one who is repeating it at some time of extremity.” ----------------------------
----------------------------as anyone who has recited them for any length of time knows, in their effect on the spirit they are anything but meaningless. When chanted with sincerity and zest they impress upon the heart and mind the names and virtues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas enumerated in them, removing inner hindrance to zazen and fixing the heart in an attitude of reverence and devotion. ----------------------------
----------------------------dharani are also a symbolic expression in sound and rhythm of the essential Truth of the universe lying beyond the realm of the discriminating intellect----------------------------
----------------------------to the degree that the discursive mind is held at bay during the voicing of dharani, they are valuable as another exercise in training the mind to cease clinging to dualistic modes of thought----------------------------
----------------------------Zazen illuminates the three characteristics of existence which the Buddha proclaimed: first, that all things (in which are included our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions) are impermanent, arising when particular causes and conditions bring them into being and passing away with the emergence of new causal factors; second, that life is pain; and third, that ultimately nothing is self-subsistent, that all forms in their essential nature are empty, that is, mutually dependent patterns of energy in flux, yet at the same time are possessed of a provisional or limited reality in time and space, in much the same way that the actions in a movie film have a reality in terms of the film but are otherwise insubstantial and unreal. ----------------------------
----------------------------Through zazen the first vital truth – that all component things are ephemeral, never the same from one moment to the next, fleeting manifestations in a stream of ceaseless transformation – becomes a matter of direct personal experience. ----------------------------
----------------------------We come to see the concatenation of our thoughts, emotions, and moods, how much they arise, how they momentarily flourish, and how they pass away. We come to know that this “dying” is the life of every thing, just as the all-consuming flame constitutes the life of a candle. ----------------------------
----------------------------our sufferings are rooted in selfish grasping and in fears and terrors which spring from our ignorance of the true nature of life ----------------------------
----------------------------zazen makes equally plain that what we term “suffering” is our evaluation of pain from which we stand apart, that pain when courageously accepted is a means to liberation in that it frees our natural sympathies and compassion even as it enables us to experience pleasure and joy in a new depth and purity. ----------------------------
----------------------------with enlightenment, zazen brings the realization that the substratum of existence is a Voidness out of which all things ceaselessly arise and into which they endlessly return, that this Emptiness is positive and alive and in fact not other than the vividness of a sunset or the harmonies of a great symphony. ----------------------------
----------------------------this bursting into consciousness of the effulgent Buddha-nature is the “swallowing up” of the universe, the obliteration of every feeling of opposition and separateness. ----------------------------
----------------------------In this state of unconditioned subjectivity I, selfless I, am supreme. So Shakyamuni Buddha could exclaim: “Above the heavens and below the heavens I am the only honored one.” Yet since enlightenment means also an end to being possessed by the idea of an ego-I, this is as much a world of pure objectivity. ----------------------------
----------------------------Therefore, Dogen could write: “To learn the Way of the Buddha is to learn about oneself. To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to experience the world as pure object. To experience the world as pure object is to let one’s own body and mind and the “self-other” body and mind. ----------------------------
----------------------------To help awaken us to this world of Buddha-nature, Zen masters employ yet another mode of zazen, namely, the chanting of dharani and sutras. Now, a dharani has been described as “a more or less meaningless chain of words or names that is supposed to have a magical power in helping the one who is repeating it at some time of extremity.” ----------------------------
----------------------------as anyone who has recited them for any length of time knows, in their effect on the spirit they are anything but meaningless. When chanted with sincerity and zest they impress upon the heart and mind the names and virtues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas enumerated in them, removing inner hindrance to zazen and fixing the heart in an attitude of reverence and devotion. ----------------------------
----------------------------dharani are also a symbolic expression in sound and rhythm of the essential Truth of the universe lying beyond the realm of the discriminating intellect----------------------------
----------------------------to the degree that the discursive mind is held at bay during the voicing of dharani, they are valuable as another exercise in training the mind to cease clinging to dualistic modes of thought----------------------------
Posted by Gyokei Yokoyama at
07:08
