The Awakening of Faith – Talk 34
March 14, 1986 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi
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Katagiri Roshi: Page 54:
- The Characteristics of Beings in Samsara
In analyzing the characteristics of beings in samsara, two categories may be distinguished. The one is “crude,” for [those who belong to this category are] united with the [crude activities of the defiled] mind; the other is “subtle,” for [those who belong to this category are] disunited from the [subtle activities of the defiled] mind. [Again, each category may in turn be subdivided into the cruder and the subtler.] The cruder of the crude belongs to the range of mental activity of ordinary people; the subtler of the crude and the cruder of the subtle belong to that of bodhisattvas; and the subtler of the subtle belongs to that of Buddhas.
(From The Awakening of Faith, translated by Yoshito S. Hakeda, 1967.)
“Characteristics of being[s] in samsara” means various aspects of one’s life, fabricated by course nature of the mind and fine nature of the mind. So, here I think by… various aspects of human world created by the functioning of human recognition. When you recognize, when you cognize tape recorder, and others, trees, birds, in other words, when you cognize objects, then you create various aspects of human life. That is here, this section tries to explain what kind of world you can create by the functioning of cognition.
Okay, look at this one a little bit. In this sentence I read, look at this paper. “Characteristics of being in samsara” is created by two kinds of consciousness, mind: course nature of the mind, fine nature of the mind. So, here it says, “the one is ‘crude’, for those who belong to this category are united with the crude activities of the defiled mind.” So, look at the course nature of the mind, I think it is subdivided into two, course and fine. So … the course nature of the mind of the course … belongs to defilement united with attachment. So, … the course mind of the course is belonging to ordinary people, belonging to defilement united with attachment.
Okay, so, this defilement united with attachment is based on self-consciousness. Always selfishness there. When you see something, always there is self-attachment first, and then you think and judge, evaluate your objects. This is defilement united with attachment. So, always there is a very strong self-attachment there, self-consciousness.
So, very naturally, we see the object which exists separately from the self. So, before we see the tape recorder, we believe the tape recorder exists before I see the tape recorder. Okay? So, that is a little bit perverted, because in terms of deep understanding of the human world, the whole world is created by the mind. So, tape recorder is nothing but … projection from human mind. That is self-consciousness, self-consciousness doesn’t know that. That is self-attachment, self-consciousness, always self-attached. There is a self [which] comes first. Okay? That is called attachment. So, attachment to the self. This defilement is very strongly rooted in the course of the course nature of consciousness.
So, in order to be free from this course of the course nature of mind, we have to practice, we have to have faith. Which is the first ten stages of the fifty-two bodhisattva practices. Do you have this chart? [There is some rearrangement so that people can share copies of the chart.]
So, the first one, it says “fifty-two stages of the Bodhisattva practice.”Alright? So, this Bodhisattva practice consists of the first one, “the ten stages of faith,” “ten stages of the security,” and number three, “the ten stages of the necessary activities,” and then number four, “the ten stages of transference of merits to others,” and then number five, “the ten stages of developing Buddha wisdom.” And on the next page, number six, […] the stage of approaching Buddhahood, and number seven, the stage of Buddhahood. So, this is all of the fifty-two stages.
So, the first stage is the ten stages of faith. So, in order to be free from the course of the course nature of mind, I think we have to have practice of the ten stages of faith. And then you can have very strong faith. So, by the experience of the faith, you can go farther to other stages of the Bodhisattva practice, so-called the ten stages of security, and ten stages of necessary activities, ten stages of the transference of merits to others. Those three stages of practice anyway can go farther. In other words, you can progress your practice. Without faith you cannot progress your practice, you cannot go ahead to the rest of the practices. So, you need very strong faith. That’s why the ten stages of faith come first among the fifty-two stages of Bodhisattva practice.
And then, here it says in this book, … excuse me, the one more is the fine of the course nature of mind. This includes the functioning of cognition with instinct, and unconsciousness. This functioning of cognition, the cause, the fine of the course nature of consciousness includes the functioning of cognition with instinct, and unconsciousness, too. So, when you see object, according to your instinct you cannot ignore your object, so you have to accept, very naturally, automatically. Because this is characteristic of consciousness. So consciousness very naturally accepts your objects. So that is with your instinct and unconsciousness, very naturally, automatically you do it. So, that is a very fine nature of consciousness. Consciousness is working very subtly.
And then, this, the finde of the course nature of consciousness, belongs to the defilement united with continuing mind, and also defilement united with analytical mind. Defilement united with the continuing mind, [that] defilement comes from, what would you say, kind of retribution of past human [activity], the human activity in the past. Maintaining human consciousness is, in a sense, characterized by maintaining, retribution of human actions, human activities, which you did in the past.
So, defilement united with the continuing mind is … the human delusion, such as maintaining the activity accumulated in one’s past life, making the retribution of suffering and not suffering mature, carrying one’s memories on. This is the defilement united with the continuing mind. So, very naturally your consciousness is working very subtly, but it’s coarse, the function is coarse, but among the coarse nature of the consciousness, still mind is moving in a minute way. So, that is kind of maintenance of your past activities, maintenance of your past life. And also this fine vibration of consciousness, always … making the retribution of your past life mature. So, in other words, in the bottom of your mind, there is a power of the mind carrying your whole life from day to day, completely beyond your judgment, evaluation, et cetera. So, this is very subtle, very subtle.
So, that is defilement united with continuing mind.
[…] In order to be free from this defilement, I think you have to achieve the first abode of the bodhisattva practice, that is so called abode of the pure mind. The ten abodes of bodhisattva practice mentioned by Avatamsaka Sutra. So, ten stages there, ten abodes there. So, in order to be free from this defilement united with the continuing mind, you have to achieve the first abode of the bodhisattva practice.
After developing the [list] of the three stages of the Bodhisattva practice I mentioned here, the ten stages of security, the ten stages of necessary activity, ten stages of transference of the merits to others, and then you can reach the first stage, first abode. According to this chart, you can see number four, the ten stages of developing Buddha wisdom, this is ten abodes of developing Buddha wisdom. So first one says “joy at benefiting oneself and others,” this is the first abode. Here says “abode of pure mind,” the same things. This expression, abode of the pure mind, is the expression by this book, The Awakening of Faith, but according to Avatamsaka Sutra it is expressed in a different way, so-called “joy at benefiting oneself and others.” so you can reach the first abode of developing Buddha wisdom.
So after practicing the ten stages of security, the ten stages of necessary activities, the ten stages of transference of merits to others, then you can reach the first abode of developing Buddha wisdom.
And the other defilement is delusion united with analytical mind. This is kind of automatic understanding. If you see the tape recorder, immediately you can, the kind of the like or dislike coming up. If you smell something bad, immediately you can think, you can judge, evaluate, “it is not good,” so automatically you can do. This is defilement united with analytical mind.
So in order to be free from, this is, … the fine … the nature of the mind of the course nature of the mind, is a kind of attachment to the dharma, object. Attachment to the object. In other words, you automatically think, you automatically accept. You automatically accept your past life, memories. And automatically you think, like or dislike.
For instance, if you like a cigar, even though I say stop thinking, you like a cigar, you cannot stop it, because automatically you can think, “I like cigar.” So that’s kind of thing, automatically, it’s habitually, it’s going, so very naturally this is called dharma attachment. You can attach to your object, automatically. So that is very subtle, very subtle.
So the course of the course is attachment to the self, subject. But the fine of the course is attachment to the object; object means dharma. Dharma means not only the object you can see, but there are many objects beyond what you can see or you cannot see, because the retribution of your past life is something invisible. But it is going, constantly. And also you attach to this retribution of your past life, anyway. So very naturally, even though I say you shouldn’t think you like cigar, immediately you like it. So it’s very difficult. Habitually it’s going, you attach to the object. This mind is constantly working in a very subtle way.
So in order to be free from defilement united with analytical mind, I think we have to practice the abode of the precepts, and the abode of the formless excellent methods. In other words, you have to reach the second abode of the development of the Buddha wisdom, and also seventh abode of the development of the Buddha’s wisdom. The abode of precepts, according to Mahayana Buddhism, corresponds to the three collective pure precepts. Simply speaking, the three collective pure precepts are, you vow to do something good, something wholesome; the second, you vow to abstain from something unwholesome; the third, you vow to help all sentient beings. This is the three collective pure precepts. So, when you practice this, you can reach the second abode, abode of the development of Buddha wisdom. And then, abode of the formless excellent method, that you have to practice continually the formlessness, formlessness of subject and object. In other words, according to Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. You have to practice. That is the seventh abode.
But between the second abode and the seventh abode, I think there is a long span of time you have to continually practice the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth abodes of practice. When you practice zazen, your mind becomes working … very calmly, very calmly, being free from these defilements. Okay? But when you go out of the zazen and join human society and taking care of everyday life, very naturally, unconsciously, you attach to the dharma, your object. Dharma means your life is exactly carried away by the retribution of your past life, and the memories – very habitually and automatically. So that’s why it’s very difficult to be free from these defilements in your everyday life. So very strongly, continually you have to practice every day, taking a long, long time. That’s why, between the second and the seventh abode, it doesn’t say anything. Okay? But it takes long time, in order to be free from defilement, united with analytical mind and united with the continuing mind.
So let’s go back to the book: so “the one is crude, for those who belong to this category are united with the crude activities of the defiled mind,” Okay, we have finished this one.
“the other is subtle, for those who belong to this category are disunited from the subtle activities of the defiled mind. Again each category may in turn be subdivided into the cruder and the subtler. The cruder of the crude belongs to the range of mental activities of ordinary men.”
Okay, that we have finished explaining.
“The subtler of the crude and the cruder of the subtle belongs to that of the bodhisattva.”
So look at this chart, on your right side it says bodhisattva, the top it says ordinary people. So from the first abode to the ninth abode, this is bodhisattva world. So in other words, the subtler of the crude belongs to the bodhisattva, and also the cruder of the subtle also belongs to bodhisattva, according to this chart.
So bodhisattva practice, anyway, I can go on and on, for a long time.
So […] “the cruder of the subtle belongs to that of the bodhisattva, and the subtle of the subtle belongs to that of the Buddha, tatagatha. The bottom says Buddha. So only the subtler of the subtle belongs to only Buddha’s world.
So let’s see the cruder of the crude. Here it says coarse, the coarser the fine, fine nature of the consciousness. It it belongs to defilement disunited from the represented world of objects, and also defilement disunited from evolving mind. I think this defilement is very subtle, but the courser of the subtle.
In other words, this is ignorance. When the mind is vibrated, at the first stage of this vibration, that mind is called, the activating mind. Completely beyond your consciousness, anyway, in the depth of the human life, always mind is moving. So the first stage of the mind moving, that is called activating mind. This is called karmic mind.
So that is completely beyond […] your consciousness, judgment, evaluations. So defilement disunited from the represented world of objects. So very naturally, when your mind is vibrated, very naturally there is a subject, subject of your mind vibrating. And very naturally, if there is a subject, very naturally objects there. Automatically. The world is created like this. So that is defilement disunited from the represented world of object, defilement disunited from the evolving mind. Evolving mind is subjectivity of your mind. When it is vibrated.
So this is very subtle, but the courser of the fine. So in order to be free from this, you have to reach the eighth abode of the development of Buddha’s wisdom. So if you reach this abode, you can reach abode of freedom from the world of objects. Because you can see very clearly how subtly the mind is moving. You can realize the minute vibration of your mind. Very minute.
For instance, you always sit zazen, and then during zazen you can see your breathing, very calmly. But while you see calmness of your breathing, it is nothing but vibration of your mind, very subtly. So realizing, recognition of the breathing in calm is very … the courser of the subtle.
[Tape change.]
… in the stage of the bodhisattva, bodhisattva cannot be free from vibration of the mind. So there is always very subtle vibration there. That is bodhisattva.
In the next, that is bodhisattva can reach the ninth abode. So the bodhisattva can be free from objects, because bodhisattva can see, his own the recognition, what kind of recognition bodhisattva can experience. So recognition of the calmness is not perfect calm. It is not-calm. So bodhisattva knows, so very naturally bodhisattva can be free from the world of objects.
So if bodhisattva sees the tape recorder, automatically the bodhisattva can accept this tape recorder, but he knows how subtly the mind is working. That means accepting bodhisattva automatically or habitually, with calm mind, this is not perfect calm mind, it is already disturbed by vibration of the mind. So very naturally bodhisattva can see the tape recorder, but as soon as possible bodhisattva leaves it alone. So, pass by.
So that is freedom from the world of objects. And also subject too. So bodhisattva doesn’t attach to the object and also subject. He knows very clearly who he is, he knows very clearly his own recognition. That’s why if he reaches the ninth abode of developing the Buddha wisdom, very naturally he can be free from the mind abode of bodhisattvas. In other words subject. He can be free from the mind, in other words subjectivity of the mind. So that is very subtle.
So no matter how long you try to understand the calmness, even though you think “I am very calm in zazen,” it is not perfect calm, it is vibration of the mind.
And then, next, this is Buddha’s word. The final of the fine nature of the mind, this is the final goal. This is the Buddha stage, Buddha’s abode, Buddha’s word. That belongs to the defilement disunited from the basic activating mind. Activating mind is karmic mind. Constantly there is going, activating mind is constantly moving. And this is very, very subtle.
In other words, I mentioned before, bodhisattva can realize the truth that recognition of the calmness is not perfect calm. This is a vibration, very subtle vibration of the mind. But how can you be free from this fine vibration, minute vibration of the mind? Which bodhisattva recognizes that his calmness is not perfect calmness. In other words, because perfect calmness is not something you can see objectively. Even slightly, there is some space between you and calmness, this is already dualistic. The perfect calmness is you must be exactly one with calmness. At that time, there is no opportunity to see or to know objectively. So it’s very difficult to know. No chance, no opportunity to recognize perfect calmness when you are in calmness. No.
So, how can you be free from the very minute vibration of the mind? No chance. No opportunity. By dualistic sense, no, no way to be free from.
So there is no way to be free – no technical, no dualistic way to be free from this minute vibration of the mind. No. So finally, what you can find, the unique way of being free from this very minute vibration of the mind is, you just stop vibrating. That’s it. It means you put yourself right there. That’s it. So very naturally, finally, any kind [of] Buddhism always says, “don’t do it.” When you suffer from delusion during zazen, how can I be free from thoughts and et cetera? Stop it. That’s it. Instead of the expression of stopping the thought, thinking, a Zen teacher says, let the thinking do zazen with you.
In other words, stop the thinking of being free from thinking or not thinking. Completely stop it. So all you can do is just do zazen.
That’s it. No technical way, how can I be free from delusions.
For instance, you don’t have money, but you have a very strong desire to run a business. So you suffer a lot from this situation. “How can I run a business?” So you ask a teacher, how can I do? I have a strong desire to run a business, otherwise I don’t want to live in this world.” And then the teacher says, “Do you have money?” You say, “No, I don’t have money.” “If you don’t have money, how can you run a business?” But you say, “That’s why I want to have a business! Even though I don’t have money, but I want to have, a very strong desire to run a business!” And then the teacher says, “Stop it.” Then you say, “I cannot stop thinking, I cannot stop having this desire to run a business.” How can I be free from this strong desire to run a business? No way. Teacher cannot help, nobody can help. So finally, teacher says, “That’s your business. It’s not my business. If you don’t stop, if you don’t give up, how can I help?” So all you can do is, you don’t have money, and you have a strong desire to run a business, but stop it, that’s it. Who can stop? You can stop. So I cannot help at all, if you don’t. If you continually try to find a certain intellectual or reasonable way to run the business, or to stop, to be free from this desire – no way, no way to be free from this desire. So finally, what you can do is, a very simple practice, stop. That’s it.
So precepts: we can have the triple treasure, and three collective pure precepts, ten prohibitory precepts; this is… If you discuss about these precepts, always arguing, lots of arguing. “I like” or “I don’t like,” and this is moral sense or not moral sense. I don’t want to follow the formality, et cetera. I want to be free from those formalities, precepts, disciplines, et cetera. But how can you be free from? No way. But triple treasure, three collective pure precepts are something you just follow. That’s all. I cannot push you to follow. I cannot give you any particular reason or particular way, intellectual or reasonable or moral way, to follow, in order to make you [satisfied]. No. All you can do is, finally keep your mouth shut, just follow. That’s it. This is the final goal.
Why? In order to develop, in order to reach tathāgata, Buddha’s world. Peace, harmony. Nothing else.
So, peaceful harmonious life is very simple. Very simple. That is what this mentions here: the finer of the fine nature of the consciousness. It’s very subtle, perfect practice. That’s simple practice always.
This is abode of tathāgata, Buddha’s world. Okay?
In other words, the tathāgata… Never mind, forget it.
[…]
Okay, do you have a questions?
56:30
Question: Could you explain defilement? I don’t understand it.
Katagiri Roshi: Defilement? The delusions. Thoughts, many thoughts, many ideas. And defilement means delusions, we can say. Hindrances.
Hindrances are not only the something wrong, but also good. Something good and something wrong, all are anyway hindrances. That is the defilement. Which is something created by movement of the mind.
It is a very wide sense. In a wide sense, defilement is not only wrong things, [but] including good, because already there is self-attachment there. Self-attachment, dharma-attachment there.
So defilement is always created by self-consciousness, self-attachment, and dharma-attachment. Habitually, very habitually. But human beings don’t realize that point. Well, that is called ignorance.
Do you have a question? We can go a little more.
58:30
Question: Hojo-san? Can you say what the intention … [inaudible].
Katagiri Roshi: Intention? What is it?
Oh, intention. You mean will?
Someone: What the intention of this paragraph is about.
Katagiri Roshi: Oh, what is the intention of this paragraph? The section?
Questioner: (inaudible) What is the intention of this teaching?
Katagiri Roshi: Oh. That means the characteristic of beings in samsara, creating the human world. We creating human world, excuse me, the various aspects of human life, fabricated by functioning of your cognition. What kind of various aspects of human life you can create by cognition.
When you see something, tape recorder, object, there is a relationship between you and the object. This is a cognition. Okay? And then you can create a different world, various world. So what kind of world you can create? This is the intention of this chapter. Is that clear?
Anybody can say?
1:00:35
Question: In Mahayana Buddhism, we say Buddha isn’t outside of samsara. Right? Or inside and outside… (inaudible)
Katagiri Roshi: Mm-hmm.
Questioner: But the Theravada, they might say outside. Does this chart take that into account, by the characteristic of Buddha being in samsara? So … the subtle of the subtle, it’s still outside of samsara.
Katagiri Roshi: [No.]
Questioner: But still, even though it’s inside of samsara, it’s quite different.
Katagiri Roshi: Well, you cannot say inside and outside. [He laughs.] This is Buddha’s world.
Questioner: Right. Okay.
Katagiri Roshi: But if you try to explain, maybe you can say like this, you know, according to this chart. And then, very naturally we say, where is the Buddha’s world? Inside of the world or outside of the world? You can discriminate. But actually, Buddha’s world is not inside, not outside of the world.
Well, if I explain the next, the ignorance, I think you can know, a little bit clearer understanding.
[…]
Cognition is, there is basic subjectivity, which is your mind. Okay? In order to make the cognition exist. So your mind is here. Okay? And then you can have relation with your object. So your object and your mind are both called the world of the mind. World of the mind. That’s a little bit complicated.
But how your mind is working, that is course, mind is divided into two, the course in the courser, and also fine. Still within the courser, that course nature of the mind, it is still divided into two. Okay? Courser of the cause, the finer of the course. That is functioning of your mind. It’s functioning constantly like this. And also, courser of the fine, and the finer of the fine. This kind of mind. So you can realize how, you know, minutely your consciousness is always vibrating.
So that’s why finally, we don’t know how to make your mind perfectly calm. Particularly in zazen, you can see [this]. Because you don’t know. Because you don’t know when you become one with the breathing, or when you become one with the zazen. You don’t know. Because constantly mind is poking, you poke your mind into it, so you can always see the calmness, or oneness, etc. But it’s not perfect. So finally what is the perfect calmness, et cetera?
This is our human world. Okay? Various aspects of the human world coming up constantly.
That is a defilement, we say. It’s connected, various defilements here, it mentions. Okay?
1:05:42
Question: Hojo-san? using… bodhisattva, seems almost less bodhisattva, not so much seems like buddha. How does that relate to this, functioning of the mind? Mind is … bodhisattva, as opposed to maybe like Theravada … What’s the difference?
Katagiri Roshi: The difference is […] the point where you are standing: human world, or Buddha’s world. If you emphasize human world, human life, very naturally you have to talk about the [bodhisattva] life, which lasts for long, long period of time. But when you see the human life in terms of Buddha’s world, wherever you may go, always you are present in the realm of the Buddha’s hands. So you never get out from. So, you are Buddha. Whatever you do, wherever you may go, you are Buddha. So all you can do is, not get something, the different world or different stage of the world, or not try to accept or not accept, of the world. All you can do is, you just manifest yourself as a Buddha, every day.
So it’s simple, but on the other hand, there is a bodhisattva practice. That bodhisattva practice behind the Buddha’s practice. Okay? That is bodhisattva practice becomes kind of vow, very deep aspiration, for practicing forever. Not your lifetime; forever. So that is a bodhisattva practice.
Questioner: Buddha does not have vow?
Katagiri Roshi: Buddha, you can see the Buddha, Buddha’s life. And then you can have a bodhisattva vow practice. So Buddha’s and the bodhisattva practice is the same thing, different aspect.
But if you always emphasize human life, you have to go for a long time. So constantly you have to analyze human life, and you have to reach the first stage, second stage, et cetera. Constantly.
So quite different.
Questioner: … If you are always abiding the buddha tatagatha, is there a sense of vow? …
Katagiri Roshi: What is the point you want to ask?
Questioner: Well, we always emphasize the bodhisattva. You know, stop. Be a bodhisattva, and don’t go one to be a buddha. … make it seems like the Buddha doesn’t have a vow to save all sentient being, buddha just is. So that’s what…
Katagiri Roshi: In terms of the buddha, and then you become bodhisattvas. Bodhisattva practice is to manifest the buddha’s life. Not to manifest human life. That’s why we say bodhisattva.
Questioner: So bodhisattva is functioning of buddha.
Katagiri Roshi: Yes, functioning of Buddha. Every day. Beyond whether you accept human life or not. If you just manifest Buddha’s life, Buddha’s world, that is, at that time you are called bodhisattva. So if you use the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva comes closer to the buddha. Not coming close; same thing. Same thing.
So that is one piece of paper with two aspects, if you explain.
In other words, when you manifest your life as a tathāgata, buddha, in your everyday life, then you can say bodhisattva. But when you manifest your life as a bodhisattva, backed by buddha, based on the buddha, buddha is very calm. Just as it is. So bodhisattva should be backed by tathāgata. And then the tathāgata appearas; when the tathāgata appears, your whole personality exists in security, in calmness, there. That calmness, spiritual security comes from the whole total personality. That’s it. It’s calm. It’s very quiet.
But you don’t know how to express. So all you can do is just be there. Just be there, human being, but it’s not human being, it’s something there. That is total personality.
So buddha, tathāgata is total personality if you use a different expression.
And then, we can analyze. After we practice total personality, then we analyze: who he is. That, and then, when you start to ask who he is, he is already bodhisattva. Walking in the human world. So you can say, “Oh, he is such-and-such.”
So very naturally, when he or she becomes a person, you feel very close. But when he or she becomes tathāgata, you cannot touch it. Very stable, calm – so you try to touch but you cannot touch it. But you are exactly absorbed into it. You become one with him or her, very naturally. That is impressions. Not impressions… what you you say. That is edification. Automatically you are edified by this buddha.
So buddha and bodhisattva, same.
[…]
Next on the page, I will explain a little bit the ignorance. This is constantly this book mentions ignorance, but from now on, this book mentions what the ignorance is, how ignorance is connected with the truth. So truth and ignorance are related very closely. That is what this book mentions from now. So next, I will explain this one.