The Buddha's Teaching

There is a Koan: 'What is the Buddha's Teaching?'

An answer was: 'Shiki soku ze ku, ku soku ze shiki' - 'Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is form'.

This prhase comes from what is commonly called the Heart Sutra or Hannya Shingyo; in our school we call this sutra 'the wisdom heart teaching' (and this is actually what is says, Hannya is wisdom and Shin is heart/mind and gyo is teaching); for even though this sutra is the heart of the heart or the core teaching (which is why it is also right to call it the heart sutra), the pillars of our school are wisdom and compassion... that wisdom and compassion are not really separated... that when we separate them, we may lean too far one way or the other and can lose the chu-do (middle path); This middle path forms the foundation of our school, and must be kept. But as long as we have chu-do, and both wisdom and compassion together, we can reach safely to infinity in all directions.

Shiki is form
Ku is emptiness.
soku means 'is' but also to be just so, or even here/now.

Thus this phrase as an answer is multilayered, so much so that we cannot really pick it apart in words at all like this. But let's play with it a bit more just the same.

If we relate Shiki to Wisdom and Ku to Compassion or Heart, our wisdom heart sutra is again almost repeated in the answer phrase.

But to also choose the soku is what interested me. When I learned that in some phrases in other sutra the 'soku' for 'is' can be translated as 'here/now'... this place, this moment... This too is a core teaching! The phrase 'Be Here Now' became famous from Guru Ram Dass, and he deserves credit for it's popularity and propagation; The Power of Now is also a book by Eckahart Tolle, who makes this a central theme of his tecahing; but the phrase is ancient, and at the core of many schools including ours. Be Here/Now... Be here/now in the middle path with both wisdom and compassion is core teaching of this sutra, and then just let everything else go, let everything go.

'Shiki soku ze ku, ku soku ze shiki' is truely the heart, compassion, and wisdom of the Buddha's teaching.

Gassho
jyozen

Un-Sui means Clouds-Water

A monks training must be very steady, disciplined, and stable.

We must be upright, but not rigid like a corpse; we need to be alive.

A monk in training we call 'Unsui'. Un means clouds, and sui means water. This name comes from a longer phrase Ko-un Ryu-sui which means, Drifting-Clouds Flowing-Water.

Mosshoseki is a phrase that means to leave no trace. Unsui are like this... Koun mosshoseki... 'A cloud drifts by, it leaves without a trace' comes from an old monk's poem just before he died, as was the custom of the time.

When sailing, I've heard they say, "Steady as she goes". I think monks should be 'steady as we go', too. Drifting like clouds, and flowing like water.

But leaving no trace in our wake...

Zen

There are many paths to Awaken to.

Zen is one of them.

Basic & Simple.
Handed down to us from one generation to the next,
for thousands of years.

Guaranteed to be a True Path.
Guaranteed to lead us nowhere to nothing.

Just a simple daily practice of mindfulness.
Just a simple way of living.

Osho & Tea

I had lunch with Osho-san and mentioned how much I like drinking tea.
He said, 'you know there is a story'.

In temples there is often an Osho with his own little 'an' his own little hut.
The monks would walk by and he would ask, 'Have you been into my hut?'
The monk might answer, 'No, Osho-san, I haven't'
So Osho would invite them in for tea.
Or a monk might say, 'Yes, I have Osho-san'
and Osho would respond, 'Then please come have tea'.
The Abbot was listening to these exchanges and approached the Osho;
'Osho-san,' he said, 'you ask each monk as they pass if they have been inside your hut, whether they answer yes or no, you invite them in for tea?
Osho answered, 'Abbot, please come in for tea'.

Butsu-Do - The Way of the Buddha

Our way is called Butsu-do.

Butsu-Do is the Way of the Buddha...
The way of the Awakened.
To follow the way of all Buddha's (past, present, and future).
To act as Awakened Ones act.
To live in an awakened manner...
This is Butsu-do: The way of the Awakened Ones.

Synopsis of the history of Zen as a Japanese Tradition

Zen is defined in English as Meditation. But Zen is not just any form of meditation. Zen is a Japanese Discipline as devised by Dogen Zenji and his followers. Dogen's followers took what he had set up and mixed and merged it with the existing thoughts and ideas embedded in Japanese Culture of the time. This culture had drawn from indigenous rituals and ideas, plus it was greatly influenced from Buddhism and Confucianism from the mainland.

Dogen Zenji had traveled to China and brought back a Chinese Buddhist practice called Chan. Chan was developed by the followers of Bodai Dharuma who had brought what he felt was the true Buddhism, free from the intellectualization of Buddhism that he found in China, and gave them 'Wall Gazing' as the root practice of Buddhism. Bodai Daruma's followers then expanded on 'Wall Gazing' with myriad other skillful means, mostly devised from the Chinese Taoist thought and practices. Thus Buddhism and Taoism became infused to create Chinese Chan.

This Meditation that Bodai Daruma brought came from the Natural Meditation Shakyamuni Butsu found as a boy, and sat with again as an adult, after his other Hindu practices left him still unclear; this Natural Meditation resulted in his Awakened state. This Natural Meditation was later labeled as absorption style meditation or dhyana (one of many types of meditation that exist, but the one and only that left Shakyamuni Awakened). This is called Absorption Meditation because one is completely absorbed into Reality and the Reality has completely absorbed the individual; Reality exists as it is and it is lived clearly each absorbed in the other... no separation exists, and all distinctions have fallen away to leave us Awakened.

Shakyamuni's followers added many thoughts and ideas, Gods and Goddesses as skillful means to aid some in their awakening. Many forms were created, many ways, and many paths; most drawing on the Hindu practices that existed in their culture already.

This Zen, then, that Dogen brought back was this Natural Absorption Meditation from Shakyamuni, revived by Bodai Daruma as 'Wall Gazing', and brought to Japan as 'Shikantaza' or 'just precisely sitting'. Dogen's follower's, then, when they added Japanese Culture to the mix created Zen. Zen then is a combination of Hindu, Buddhism, Taoism, and Shinto (a term now used to denote indigenous Japanese religions from those that came from the mainland; though Shinto (the way of those who came before, or ancestors, or spirits, or even gods) was also influenced by the incoming mainland practices too.

Zen has taken all these influences mixed and or merged them, then periodically boiled them down to a bare essence. Shakyamuni Butsu did it, Bodai Daruma did it, and Dogen did it. This process of expansion and essence produced Japanese Zen. Shikantaza, plus myriad skillful means to lead us all to awaken in this life time, in this very body, right here and now. This is Japanese Zen.

Today in the U.S. a new American Zen is being born. Boiled down again to just living in Reality as it is. But with some of the Japanese Skillful means added when necessary, but only when necessary. We have yet to see exactly what shape American Zen will ultimately take; but we do know one thing... Zen will always be changing, adapting to the new circumstance, fitting exactly in this Reality as it really is, because this is Zen.

Life's Koan Practice

Life has presented a new Koan to me recently.

Kosaka Sensei gives these wonderful lectures. He often ends them with, 'In Japan it is very impolite to ask questions [of your teacher], but does anyone have any questions?

Because of this ending I rarely ask any of my Japanese Teachers questions, but rely on what 'slips out during conversations' or listen in to their answers to others. But mostly I learn from their behavior.

However in recent private talks with Osho-san he said that as a teacher I should not lecture others, but that we should emulate the Buddha by just answering questions. This is why Osho-san's 'Dharma Talks' are really Question Answer sessions.

So how do I do that on a blog?

Hmmmm?

Well, we'll see. Maybe I'll share the questions people ask me and my answers?

Certainly this fits well with one of the 84,200 rules that says 'only teach those who ask'. I always added in my mind 'to be taught;' but as usual I now see that this teaching is multilayered (as they all are).

Trying to teach people who aren't listening is always an interesting exercise, isn't it? Best to wait till we are asked.