XXXIII a In our
practice the most important thing to know is that we have buddhanature.
Real practice happens when realization of the buddhanature takes place.
Intellectually we know that we have buddhanature and that this is what
was taught by Buddha. But even though we have buddhanature, at the same
time, it is rather difficult to accept it. And although we have
buddhanature, at the same time, our nature has an evil side. And
although buddhanature is beyond good and bad, at the same time, our
everyday life is going on in the realm of good and bad. So there is a
twofold reality. One is the duality of good and bad, and the other is
the realm of the absolute, or no good and no bad.
Our everyday life is going on in the realm of good and bad, the realm of duality. Buddhanature is found in the realm of the absolute where there is no good and bad. Our practice is to go beyond the realm of good and bad and to realize one absolute world. Tuco found himself idle, reading If I
say it in this way, it may be rather difficult to understand. Hashimoto
Roshi, the famous Zen master who passed away in 1967, explained this
point. He said it is like the way we prepare food by separating the
various dishes. Rice is here and pickles are over there, and soup is in
the middle bowl. We don't cook gruel all the time, mixing everything up
in one bowl.
To prepare each thing separately in this way is the usual world of seeming. But when you put it in your tummy - the soup, rice, pickles, and everything get all mixed up and you don't know which is which. That is the world of the absolute. As long as rice, pickles, and soup remain separate on your tray, it's not working. That is like your intellectual understanding, or book knowledge. Zazen practice is mixing up the various ways we have of understanding and letting it all work together. How to let it work is our practice. Tuco found himself idle, reading XXXIII b The
other day, by chance, I talked about a kerosene lamp. A lamp will not
work merely because it is filled with kerosene. It also needs air for
combustion. And even though it has air, it needs matches to make it
work. Lighting the flame with matches is our practice, which is
transmitted from Buddha to us. By the aid of matches, air, and
kerosene, the lamp will start to work. This is actually our zazen
practice.
In the same way, even though you say, "I have buddhanature," that alone is not enough to make it work. If you have no Buddha, it doesn't work; if you have no friend or no sangha, it doesn't work. When we practice with the aid of the sangha, helped by the Buddha, we can practice our zazen in its true sense, and we will have bright light here in the Tassajara zendo. Tuco found himself idle, reading What
is our practice, and what is our everyday life? This we should clearly
know. We should know how to extend zazen practice in our everyday life.
When we are practicing zazen in this way, we have practice in its true
sense. The reason it is difficult to extend our practice to city life
is because of the lack of precise understanding of our Zen teaching.
Before you ask questions, you should know how to adjust the flame. To have a so-called enlightened experience is of course important. But what is more important is to know how to adjust the flame, the light, in zazen and in our everyday life. When the flame is in complete combustion, you don't smell the oil. When it is smoky, you will have a kind of smell. You may realize that it is a kerosene lamp. When your life is in complete combustion, you have no complaint, and there is no need to be aware of your practice. We should know that if we talk too much about zazen, it is already a smoky kerosene lamp. Tuco found himself idle, reading Zazen
practice is a very subtle thing. When you are working, something you do
not realize will mentally and physically be realized if you practice
zazen.... Some problem is necessary. It doesn't have to be a big one.
Dagen Zenji says that through the difficulty you have, you can practice
zazen. This is an especially meaningful point in zazen. In our everyday
life, we put great emphasis on this point. So Dogen Zenji says,
"Practice and enlightenment are one."
Practice is something you do consciously, something you do with effort. There! There is enlightenment! Most Zen masters missed the point. They didn't know how important this point is - they were striving to attain perfect zazen. That is Dogen's teaching, and that is how everything actually exists in this world. Things that exist are imperfect. Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in that imperfection is perfect reality....
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RD Savage
¹ all quotes are from The Lamp of Zazen, excerpted in Buddhadharma,
summer, 200605/27/06 © 2006 |