Dogen: Four Points
January 10, 1987 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi
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Summary
Katagiri Roshi explains Zen Master Dogen’s teaching in terms of four points: realization of impermanence, shikantaza, liberation in action, and the whole works. This talk focuses on realization of impermanence and the meaning of shikantaza, or zazen as practice.
Transcript
Part 1
Dogen Zenji’s teaching may be explained in terms of four points.
The first one is […] realization of impermanence.
The second point is shikantaza: zazen as practice.
The third, [can I] say liberation, or body and mind dropping off. [Dogen] uses a particular term, “body and mind casting off” or “dropping off,” which means liberation or freedom in action. So liberation in action, that is the third point.
Fourth, that is, how can I say, the whole works.
So it’s four points. First one, the realization of impermanence. The second, shikantaza, or zazen with wholeheartedness as practice – extending to any kind of practice in everyday life. Third, liberation in action. Fourth, the whole works.
The whole works, simply speaking, means that the everyday life beyond your speculation must be alive, vividly – beyond your doubt, your speculation, your theories, whatever you think. Any explanation, any doubt, any idea doesn’t hit the mark. So, the whole works means that your life day-to-day must be vividly working. [We call this] the whole works.
[…] There is a short fascicle of the whole works (“Zenki”) written by Dogen. It is a very interesting fascicle, related with life and death.
So let me first explain [the points] one by one.
04:11
First one, the realization of impermanence.
[Dogen] often mentions how important the realization of impermanence is. If you really want to practice the buddha way, or if you really want to know what human life is, you have to see fully or deeply into how transient the world is and how fragile life and death is.
In general Buddhism, we say no substantiality. The idea of no substantiality and impermanence is one of the teachings of life and death in terms of physics or modern sciences. I think not only Buddhism, [but] physicists, all scientists realize already how transient the world is, how fragile human life is. It’s not only Buddhist teaching.
The teaching of no substantiality means that everything is produced by many conditioned factors. Or, everything is aggregated organically by myriad, myriad conditioned factors. It means, in other words, that there is no particular idea called the “I,” or “you,” or “table.” No particular idea. Because everything is, everything comes into, everything is allowed to exist only by the power of organic aggregates. That’s it.
So even though I say “Katagiri,” “I”, this is my idea, so-called Katagiri. If I call myself Katagiri, this is a kind of fixed idea. So it’s a very narrow understanding. If I attach to Katagiri, immediately this is the being separate from others. But Katagiri can exist only by virtue of organic aggregates. In other words, only in the relation with all of you, the “I” named Katagiri can come into existence. Without you, without the table, without the floor, without Minneapolis, Katagiri called the “I” never comes into existence. So that is the meaning of no substantiality.
If you look at your life, I think everyone has ideas, evaluated by the usual sense of value, morality, [et cetera]. So always you judge yourself, and then put yourself down sometimes. Sometimes you are very proud of yourself. But whichever [way] you go – proud of yourself, or putting yourself down, whichever [way] you go – it doesn’t hit the mark, in order to understand who you are, who I am, how I should live in this human society. It doesn’t hit the mark. Always there is some question.
That question is, every day, every moment, how I should live with people. If you figure out a way to live only for you, it seems to be easy, but it doesn’t last for long. Temporarily it lasts, but it doesn’t last for long, and also you are separated from people and society.
So very naturally, you have to think [of] yourself in the universal perspective, we always say. Even though you have your own ideas, you have to put aside your ideas.
And then, practically speaking, there seems to be no way to have your own ideas, or to have ideas how to live. Practically, [we] seem to have no ideas how to live in peace and harmony. Because every day, we create a lot of trouble. Even though we are always emphasizing peace and harmony, always somebody, somewhere is always creating something dangerous, weapons, and somebody is always fighting and killing each other. So if you look around the human world and [at] human beings, there seems to [be] no idea of how to live in peace and harmony. And then people say, “No way to live.”
If you say “no way to live in peace,” it is your idea. But broadly speaking, in terms of the truth, the true state of existence, there is no substantiality, [which] means everything is aggregated organically by conditioned factors. So, no particular ideas.
So all you have to do is, within a certain state of existence [in] which there seems to [be] no idea to live in peace and harmony, we try to find a way to live in peace and harmony. This is our effort.
Whatever kind of idea you have – “there is a way to live,” “I found a way to live in peace and harmony” – yes, it is fine, but if you attach to it, it doesn’t last long. Sooner or later, it will be a cause of trouble. So whatever kind of idea you have, that’s fine, but a point is, every day, you have to find a way how to live in peace and harmony, day to day, with the people. It’s not ideas!
The teaching of no substantiality or teaching of impermanence is [that] everything exists exactly as a unity, as one. So if I say Katagiri, there is no reason I should attach to Katagiri so much. But all I can do is… [as] I mentioned, there seems to [be] no way to take care of Katagiri as an individual, so, let it go. Nevertheless, I’ve tried to figure out a way to take care of Katagiri in the universal perspective.
That’s why people are always emphasizing peace work. There seems to be […] no peace. If there is no peace and you attach to the idea of no peace, everyone cannot have any hope; everyone cannot have any way to live, so everyone should give up. But you cannot simply give up. No. You cannot simply die.
So there is a contradictory situation, okay? Broadly speaking, in terms of your understanding, in terms of your experience, remember this point. First point: there seems to [be] no way to live in peace and harmony. This is always [the] question. That’s why it makes me question, how should I live?
No way to live in peace [is] not pessimistic, okay? Not pessimistic. It means everything [lives] in the same and one way. That’s it. There is nothing to touch by you, by your ideas, by another’s ideas. No. So everything is oneness, we say.
So the teaching of no substantiality means, in other words, unity of existence, unity of all things. Everything is one. That’s why in Buddhism we say, “One is all, all is one.”
First of all, we should remember this. Remember, and we should be mindful of this. Okay?
We use the [the words] samatha and vipassana in Sanskrit. [Vipassana means] “observation” or “insight.” I think not only the experience of insight, but realization, realization of impermanence, or realization of no substantiality. Which means impermanence, or no substantiality, or everything is one – those teachings must be [true] to nature in your life. That is realization. In other words, you have to taste it. You have to taste it deeply, with your body and mind. That is called realization. That is called true to nature.
Not only the experience of insight, so-called vipassana. Vipassana is fine. This is one of the practices in Tendai Buddhism. But that is another term. What I want to tell you is, generally speaking, whoever you are, Buddhist or Christian, whoever you are, that’s fine – if you are a human being, there must be a certain way, universally, to live in this world. So for this, I think not only the experience of insight, but the experience of realization. Tasting those teachings very deeply with body and mind, totally and wholeheartedly.
That is the first point of Dogen Zenji’s teachings.
In terms of general Buddhism, Buddha Shakyamuni mentions the Eightfold Path. The first one is Right View. Right View is that you have to understand the human world, human beings, very deeply, based on impermanence and no-substantiality. This is the right understanding.
Dogen Zenji’s comment on Right [View] says, “Right View is that your life must be absorbed by Buddha’s eye.” That means universal eye; the universe. Eye means function of the universe, cosmos. Something more than cosmos, in the physics point of view. Anyway, let me say the universe. So, your life must be encompassed or included or embraced by the universe, already. That is called ganzei ri zō shin in Japanese. Ganze ri means within the Buddha’s eye. Zō shin means the body is stored. So your body means that the life and death is already stored in the big storage called the universe. (Transcriber’s Note: This is referring to Shobogenzo “Sanjūshichi-bon-bodai-bunpō”, “The Thirty-Seven Factors of Bodhi.”)
So, that is [that you should] think of it, you should be mindful of this Right View.
So you should be deeply mindful of this every day: oneness of the universe. Oneness of existence. Oneness of all things. Anyway you should [be mindful of it], and taste it very deeply with your body and mind.
And then, how? [How should you] taste it?
22:06
Then next, the second point is practice.
Practice is, you have to act on your object, or a thing or idea, with wholeheartedness. This is the practice.
Always in the United States now, and human beings [in general], [you] always want to know first, systematically or intellectually first, as your background, the background of your life. You want to understand it.
Sure, it is important. But life cannot be taken care of in that way always. Because, life is really vast. There are lots of things you don’t understand. So sometimes – okay? Sometimes you have to practice first.
And then in order to practice first, I think, to the minimum, you have to have a certain information how to behave, how to act. Of course [you do]. For instance, if you want to come here and listen to Buddha’s teaching. I think you don’t have any idea of Buddhism, but if you want to come here, I think there is a [simple] procedure how to reach here. So to the minimum, you should have information how to come here.
And also to the minimum, you have a certain idea of Buddhism, you already know something – from your friends, from the books, from the teachers, somebody else, anyway. [Or] from your heart, maybe. But your understanding is not perfect. [So] you want to come, you want to know.
So why do you come here? Do you have a background […] of the Buddhism you have understood? You don’t have [one]. But you want to know. So first, you try to come here practically instead of understanding intellectually what Buddhism is. So you come here and sit down and listen to [me]. That is pretty practical.
And then… well, you listen to the Buddha’s teaching, but you don’t understand all [of it]. So let’s imagine, one word is left. Not exactly, totally, but it’s at the little corner of your heart. [He chuckles.] Not the whole state of your heart – just at the little corner of your heart, one word, one statement is left. In other words, you are impressed by a little word: one word, or two words, one sentence. You don’t understand exactly, but you are very moved by it. And then later, someday… you really understand it. If you read a book, if you listen to somebody else’s teaching, you understand it.
So in the Buddha’s teaching, I think if you have a right view based on the teaching of no substantiality and impermanence, which means everything is existent as one, [then] through and through you have to be mindful of this teaching with your whole body and mind day by day, regardless of whether you understand it or not. Anyway, next, practice. That is simultaneously practice. Because, you cannot always see the impermanence objectively, you have to participate. Practice is [that] you have to participate.
In other words, practice is organic participation. Or, simultaneous participation in the flow of time.
When you are in the airplane, you can see the time objectively. At that time, you and the airplane and time processes are separated. That creates lots of fear, you know? I often travel on an airplane, but in my heart [there is] always some fear there, because my consciousness [is] separated, my consciousness sees the time process and the airplane separate from me. So [I] always thinking something. But this is the right view: where [am I]? In the airplane. I’m not in heaven, okay? I am in the airplane. I am in the flow of time. Anyway, I am not on the ground. But the airplane and I and the air and clouds and the whole universe are one. So my death, my life, all are one.
So I think I should be mindful constantly of a total situation of my life, including airplanes, and life and death, everything. As one. In that time, I can be quiet, a little bit. [He chuckles.] Next moment my consciousness is still grumbling, but even for a while if I see the whole situation as one, I think it makes me quiet.
So calm down, sit down there. Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut. Just sit down there.
What do I mean? Next, practice. What do I mean, “Keep your mouth shut?” “Keep your mouth shut” means taste impermanence, no substantiality, very deeply with your body and mind. Next, how can we taste [it]? That is the practice. So you have to participate. You have to participate organically in the flow of time, flow of activity, action. That means, wholeheartedly. You have to do it. That [is the meaning of], “Be quiet, right now.”
[“Shall I?”] Next moment: No. “I was quiet?” No. “I am quiet.” It’s not exactly perfect. “I am eye-ing.” [Some laughter.] At that time, I become quiet. Because “I am eye-ing” is completely total situation of all things, as one – including airplanes, and families, and zen centers, all the students, and everywhere.
This is called zazen. Shikantaza, we say. Shikan means “wholeheartedness.”
So shikantaza is very basic practice for us. A very simple form, and being rooted on the floor. Not in the airplane, okay? No fear. So sit down on the floor, on the earth, and be simple. Manifest your life in simplicity.
When you drive a car on a freeway, I think first of all you experience seeing you objectively, seeing the car objectively. And seeing you and your car and the time process, and you can see objectively. But you should taste [the] car and you must be one. But while you try to taste unity of you and the car, at that time car and you are still separated a little bit. You cannot escape from this separation. But you should taste it. But you should taste the unity of the car and you with the whole body, not idealistically. You should taste means next, how do you taste it? Then, actual practice comes into existence. That means you should have simultaneous participation in the function of the car. That’s it. At that time, no ideas how to see you separately from the car. All you have to do is be there, and drive.
Manifesting your life in simplicity. That is [what we call] practice.
So practice is human action, but that human action is very refined. That’s why in Japanese we call it [shigyo]. [Shigyo] means refined action. (Transcriber’s Note: I don’t seem to have the correct word in Japanese. It sounds like “shi - go”.)
Dogen Zenji [says it] like this: “The buddha way is to make myriad dharmas exist in the realization.” “In the realization” means in the realization of the oneness, unity. “The buddha way” means the true reality of your life. Relating with all other beings: that is the buddha way. You cannot think your life separate from all other beings. If you want to think of your life, you have to think your life with other beings. That is called buddha way, we say. Universal life.
The buddha way is to make myriad dharmas exist in the realization of the unity. That means everything is one. That means you should taste the teaching of impermanence, or no substantiality. Which means everything is one.
And then next, he says, “… and to practice the total reality.” To practice the oneness beyond realization. Beyond realization means if you taste it, something deep, you attach to it. It’s very difficult to leave it, or to let it go. Do you understand?
If you work hard and you have built your life, I think you immediately attach to your own life, because you have built up your life in a hard way. So you are successful in doing something, you are successful in running a business, et cetera, and then you attach to your business so much. So it’s very difficult to let it go.
But I think beyond the realization, if you understand deeply, something deep, I think you should be free from that. To be free from that, something deep which you have tasted, makes you put into practice actually. In other words, it puts you right in the middle of practice, action. Because reality is always going, from moment to moment, without stopping even for a moment. So you cannot stop. Very naturally the action, free from a deep realization, allows you to put into practice, practically. In other words, you have simultaneous participation in impermanence. Not looking at the impermanence objectively; you participate. You can participate organically, directly, or simultaneously in the flow of impermanence, the flow of no substantiality. And then this is called action.
So flow of action comes up. That flow of action is a state of being beyond the experience of realization.
So that’s why he says, “and to practice total reality,” or oneness. You have to practice oneness, beyond realization. So to practice oneness beyond realization is to have direct and simultaneous participation in the flow of impermanence, the flow of no substantiality.
This is our practice, so-called shikan.
Today’s [talk is short], so maybe next time I will continue to [talk about this]. But do you have some questions about this?
Part 2
… Shikan means wholeheartedness, means manifestation of your life in simplicity. That is shikan. One-pointedness, we say.
And ta of the taza means “to hit.”
To hit means not just to the side. You know kendo? I always give the example of kendo. If you practice kendo, with the bamboo sword and having a mask, just like fencing […]. Have you ever seen? And then if you hit the head, you have to hit the head right there, exactly – and then you can get the point. [He chuckles.] But if your sword slips a little bit from the point, you cannot get the point. Even though you say, “I got it!” You know, screaming, “Yah!” like this. [Laughter.] It is just a sound, okay? You cannot get the point.
So if you want to shikan, if you want [do] sitting, you have to hit the right head on the zazen, okay? [Laughter.] Right hit. Not side of the head of zazen. But usually everyone is always hitting the side of that zazen, [he laughs,] and then they feel good! Because daydreaming, and sometimes sleeping, which is mixed up with samadhi, concentration. But that concentration is exactly like sleeping. So everyone always hits the side of the head of zazen, okay? But if you want to do zazen, you have to hit the right head. That is called to hit, okay? Ta-za. Za means zazen.
And then if you hit the right head of zazen, then it is called shikan. That way to do something is called effort, named whole-heartedness, one-pointedness. Okay? This is shikantaza. Beyond your speculation – good or bad, right or wrong. You have to do it. It’s not [an] idea.
Any other questions? Yes?
Question: [Unintelligible.]
Katagiri Roshi: [Well,] if you hit the side of the head, you should realize, you have hit the side of the head. And then, […] always, you must be mindful of where is the right top of the head. Okay? And then aiming at the top of the head, constantly. Alright? That’s your effort.
With your whole body and mind, you should taste it: where is the top of the head of zazen. Right top. Taste it. With your consciousness, with your whole body and mind.
But still you don’t know, you don’t touch the right top of the head. But with your consciousness, with your body, anyway try. Try to aim at. Try to be mindful. That is the practice of mindfulness, alright?
And then, someday, sometimes, you can hit. Organically. Automatically.
So don’t be disappointed. Even though you hit the side of the head, that’s fine. It’s not fine… it’s not fine, okay? It’s not good. So you must be always participating in the teaching of no substantiality, in other words, no idea of your understanding. Even though you understand, “this is good zazen” – no. You must be free from it. Even though you feel the bad zazen, you must be free from it. And then what you have to do is, be mindful of the right top of the head, constantly aiming at that top of the head. Anyway, constantly. Then next, do it. Okay?
Who does it? I don’t know. [He laughs.] Something allows you to hit the right top of the head, if you practice like this, what I mentioned, always. Someday, somewhere, sometime, you can hit it. Completely beyond realization, or completely beyond your speculation, you can hit the right head. And then, it makes you surprised! It’s really a new surprise. Have you ever experienced this one?
You are studying the business, and painting, photography, whatever you do. You are always surprised, you know?
So don’t be disappointed. But don’t be proud of yourself too much. Anyway, be free always – proud, or disappointed, despair, be free from it. And then, constantly you should taste, and you should be mindful of where is the right top of the head.
And then continue to practice it. That’s very important for us.