Sesshin Lecture, Lecture B
Thursday, July 29, 1965, 1 PM
Sokoji, San Francisco
Are there any1 questions so far?
Student A: Why do we put our hands like this? And then—is that the best—is that—why?
[Laughter.]
SR: This is called “cosmic mudra.”
Student A: Called what?
SR: Cosmic mudra. One of the Buddha's mudras. There are many, many mudras. This
is a good question, I think. Have you some other question? I will talk about
it.
Student B: Once you know buddha-nature—do you always know it, or do you, like, forget
you have it and have to remember it—that you have buddha-nature?
SR: You do not understand what I said exactly. Yeah, I will explain it just now—then
[?]. Some other question?
Maybe better to explain your question, and then some more people will have some
other questions, I think. I think you are trying to figure out what is
buddha-nature. Is that so? Because I did not explain what it is. I just pointed
it out: “This is buddha-nature.” But I didn't say what it is: that is
buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is—it is impossible to understand in a psychological
way or philosophical way or scientific way. You cannot understand it in this
way.
So that is why we should know what is science, what is philosophy, what is some
culture science. We should know all our mental functions or else you will say
this is our religious mental function. You will say in this way. You will point
out some of the mental functions and say this is Buddha. This is a fundamental
function of our mind. This is a mistake. Do you understand?
Soon after philosophers tried to establish the authority of human beings
[laughs], human nature, they tried to figure out what are our mental functions.
And all culture should be established by ourselves, by our human nature. So
they studied what is human nature and what is the function of our mind. Pursuit
for truth, pursuit for morality, pursuit for beauty: those three are our mental
functions. There are no other mental functions beside those three. It is true.
Student C: Can you say those again?
SR: Hmm?
Student C: Can you say the mental functions again?
SR: When they tried to establish our own culture, our human culture, humanism—so-called
humanism was to establish our authority. Before, our civilization was in a Dark
Age, and your civilization was under the influence of Christianity—authority of
Christianity. So scientific truth was not absolute truth for you. But after the
Dark Age you tried—philosophers at least tried to establish human culture. To
establish human culture, they had to figure out what are the functions of human
beings' minds. Now you know they counted three, and there are no other functions
of our mind.
Pursuit of truth: that is science, pure science. Pursuit of good: that is
ethics. Pursuit of beauty: that is aesthetics. Those three—there is no other
culture in human beings. But they could not deny their Christian religious
tradition. Then what is a religious tradition? What is the religious function
of our mind? The combination of the three is supposed to be the religious mind
function. When those three functions get together and work on something, that
is the religious function of our mind. If one particular function of mind
works, that is science or ethics or aesthetics. If the three functions work
together that is the holy function of our mind. That is your interpretation of
human culture, and there is no other function of our mind.
But for Buddhism that is not [laughs] enough. And Western philosophers too
realized that that is not enough. So nowadays you do not apply these three ways
of classification of our minds because, actually, to classify our functions of
mind makes everything clear, but it doesn't work so well. If you study ethics
only, you will not be helped by ethics. That is a kind of study. You can write [laughs]
something interesting, but actually it is just to read, not to help you
yourself actually. You will be interested in it, that's all. And after you know
that—that's all. You may ask, “And what?” [Laughs.] If a philosopher says
something you may say: “And what?” [Laughs.] “And what is it for? I understand
what you said, but what is it for? And what?” This kind of civilization is not
so good. It will not help you. Sometimes you will be bound by the civilization,
and more and more you will be mechanized. And you form some pattern of life,
some special pattern of life. That is, I think, Western civilization.
So that is why for Buddhists your study helps a lot. Because how your
civilization helps Buddhism is—what we want to say is: “All the so-called mental
functions, whatever they are, is not the true religious function. That is a
function of small mind. That is not a function of big mind.”
So, if you say, “I attained enlightenment. I know what Buddhism is,” then we
will see your culture, we will open your books: “Oh, this is [laughs] your
enlightenment.” Psychologists say so-and-so, and, “This is exactly what you
meant. Do you agree with it?” [Laughs, laughter.] If you say, “This is it,”
then I will say that is not good [laughs]—even though I don't know what is
written in the book. I can just ask you, “Is it—is this what you meant?” And if
you say, “This is it,” I will say, “No!” [Laughs, laughter.] It is quite
simple. This way helps us very much. Then, you know, if I say, “That is not
[?],” then I can tell what it is—what we mean by religious function.
I don't say religious function of my mind [laughs]. What is religious function?
So religious activity is the right word. Religious function of mind is not the right
word. What is religious activity? Religious activity is self-use of big
activity. Big activity—self-use of big mind is the religious function. Self-use
not in my mind or not even mind. Self-use of big—one activity. Everything works
as one—all activity including the sun and the moon and ourselves, mind and body
and everything. That is what we mean by the religious function. If so, you
cannot figure it out by your small mind.
So if science and philosophers work together in a big scale, that is true. That
is true study. If they work together, with mutual understanding—when they want
to work together, there should be some mutual understanding under some system.
At least, each scientist and philosopher should know the limits of their work:
“This is your study and this is my study.” This kind of preparation is
necessary, and Dogen was very, very strict with this idea.
Student D: You once said that to climb the mountain you have to come back down,
and if you become enlightened you won't need enlightenment. Would you say more
about that?
SR: If you—oh I see. What was your question? No—no, your question [Student A].
Student A: My question was about the—
SR: Oh, cosmic mudra. The cosmic mudra and your question are related. The cosmic
mudra is—to sit is to participate. This is not the right word, but to participate—self-use
of big existence—one whole existence including everything. So this is one sole
existence, the symbol of one big existence including everything. So it is a
symbol of our practice.
When we practice our practice beyond our understanding, when we just
participate in big activity—this is big activity—we are participating in big
activity. And you come up all the way to the summit by studying many things.
Scientific study and various studies you will do. You are not a scientist or
philosopher, but all of your life will be classified or will be interpreted in
three ways. And you are making an effort to know what is science, not “what is
science,” but you are trying to improve yourself in various ways, mostly maybe
emotional ways. But anyway you are trying to improve yourself in various ways.
And more and more you will be—not “tired out,” but you will know that you
cannot—
[Possible break in recording of unknown duration.]
—what you are actually working for. Or what is your basic intention to do, to
live, or to do something. Then, sooner or later, you will reach the same point,
which is your inmost request or enlightenment or whatever you say is
buddha-nature. Then you will find out all you do has been based on your inmost
request. Before you didn't know that. You were just wandering about. But after
that, you will know the oneness of wandering about and enlightened life. Before
you realize your inmost nature, for you, that is wandering about. But for
Buddha it is not so. But for you it is wandering about. Once you know what it
was for, you will find out the meaning of what you have been doing. This is to
go up and to come down. This is a big scale of understanding [laughs]—understanding
of big, big scale. It does not mean to be a philosopher or to be a Zen master.
It is possible for everyone.
Student E: Is it possible for everyone [2-4 words] previous lecture [4-8 words]
too late?
SR: Hmm? Too late?
Student E: Yes, for some people it's too late in this life.
SR: [Laughs.] I mean when you are too old—not too late, but you will regret,
“Why didn't I realize this before?” It is not too late, but when you lose your present
moment, I should say, “If you don't work hard, it will be too late.” You must
not always be too late [laughs, laughter] or too fast. Truth is here, right
here. You should not be too late or too fast. Right here. It is written on your
back [laughing, laughter]. All the scriptures are written on your back and
front. [Gap in audio.]
If you do not realize it, you should write. Do you know
Lafcadio Hearn?2
Student: Mm-hmm.
SR: Lafcadio Hearn—the—I don't know what nationality he—
Several students: Lafcadio Hearn. [A few inaudible comments.]
Student: Was he an American writer?
SR: Hmm? Is he an American?
Student: No, I don't believe so.
Students: [Mostly inaudible comments. Last one repeats the name of Lafcadio
Hearn.]
SR: He is very familiar to Japanese people. He lived in my home town—Yaizu3 and Matsue4—he thought Matsue or Yaizu was his native town. He wrote
many books about Japan and many interesting books. Dr. Kato [?] was studying
about him. And one of the stories he wrote was “Miminashi Hoichi.”5
There was a biwa player,6 something like a guitar. And once he
played at Dan no Ura.7 Dan no Ura is where the Heike family8 was killed by the Genji family.9 There was a big fight between [laughs]
the Genji family and Heike family. Japan was divided in two. And the Heike
family husband supported the emperor. And after the battle, the Heike family
lost. All the princes and court ladies and a young prince were drowned to death
in Dan no Ura. It is near Shikoku. Do you know the famous Inland Sea in Japan?10 At the end of the Inland Sea there is Dan no Ura. There they fought a big
fight. And at the last the Heike family and his men were drowned to death.
And there are big crabs because [laughs] all the Heike family changed into crabs
at the bottom of the sea. People say that is why those crabs have a shell like
a demon, like a devil. Its shell has a kind of grimace face [laughs, laughter],
an angry face.11
The biwa player12 played at the temple near the cemetery of the
Heike family. And he was so good that all the spirits of the defeated soldiers
and princes and court girls came out from the cemetery [laughs]. They tried to
take him to the cemetery or to the cemetery yard or into the ground even. He
was so scared every night that he asked for the help of the resident priest. So
the priest wrote the Prajnaparamita Sutra on his body. And he said, “This is
all right, you will be safe.” [Laughs.] So he was sleeping, and all the demons
came. But the demons could not see him, could not find out where he was, even
though they came. But someone said, “Here he is!”—drawing his sword, and he cut
off his ears [laughs]. The next morning the resident priest found him, his ears
cut off from his body. And he asked what happened. “What has happened to you?”
And he said, “They cut my ears off.” The resident priest found both his ears.
On them there was nothing written. So that is why he was found [laughs,
laughter].
You know, the Buddha's actual teaching is nowhere. You cannot find it. Because
you cannot find it, it is everywhere. If you say this is Buddha's teaching,
that is wrong. It should [laughs]—not be found. That is right. If you think,
“This is Buddha's teaching, it's his whole body, a part of his body,” it is
wrong understanding. You should write Buddha's teaching on your ears too
[laughs]. It should be everywhere. If it is the teaching for some part of your
body or life, that is not Buddha's teaching. It covers everything. It should be
so. Because it covers everything, you cannot find out what it is, because it is
one with everything. If it is one with everything, how can you find it?
So we religious people deny the existence of the teaching. There is no Buddhism
actually, I say. And those who believe in Buddhism will say there is no
Buddhism. And it is true for us. But, if a scientist says there is no Buddhism,
that is a big mistake [laughs, laughter]. We can say there is no Buddhism. If
some philosopher says: “Philosophy includes everything. We can establish the authority
of human beings by ourselves without any god or religion,” that is a big, big
[laughs] mistake. Only those who believe in our teaching can say there is no
Buddhism. When there is no Buddhism, you attained enlightenment. But, if
someone talking about Buddhism all night, drinking beer [laughs], smoking
cigarettes [laughs, laughter], says, “Oh, this is Buddhism. There is actually no
such tradition as Buddhism. This is Buddhism.” That's not, Buddhism. Those who practice—those
who participate in cosmic self, self-use of cosmic existence, can deny
Buddhism. For them—for us—there is no Buddhism, no particular Buddhism. But for
them there are Buddhists [laughs] because they have their own field of study,
and Buddhism is something different from their understanding of their study or
way of study. Did you understand?
That is to go up and to go down. That is a cosmic [laughs] symbol. Here we have
a cosmic symbol. There is no Buddhism in this realm. So we say, “Just sit.
There is no Buddha, and no good or bad.”
Tonight we will have discussion, and Bishop Sumi13 will come on Saturday
morning. He will join us from one o'clock. And he will give us a lecture at one
o'clock. So if you have questions, please ask me before he comes.
_______________
1The beginning of the lecture was not recorded on tape. The phrase
in brackets was inserted by the transcribers.
2(Patrick) Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904): essayist, journalist, and
teacher. Son of an Irish father and Greek mother, Hearn settled in Japan in
1890 after living in America for several years. In Japan he taught English and
wrote extensively about the country, its myths, and its history. His essays
became the West's most popular source of information about the recently
“opened” Japan.
3 Yaizu, in Shizuoka Prefecture, is where Suzuki-rōshi's temple
Rinso-in is located. Yaizu is a fishing village facing the Pacific Ocean,
southwest of Mishima on Honshū, the main island of Japan. From 1897 until his
death in 1904, Hearn spent every summer at the seacoast in Yaizu, on the second
floor of a fish shop owned by Yamaguchi Otokichi, whom Hearn regarded as
"the most amiable Japanese he had ever known." As Suzuki-rōshi was
born in 1904, he may have bought fish from the very same Mr. Yamaguchi or passed by
his shop. Hearn's 1899 essay "At Yaidzu," from In Ghostly Japan,
describes a Bon festival in Yaizu.
4 Matsue, in Shimane Prefecture, is a castle city near the Japan
Sea, along the northern coast of Honshū. Hearn lived there briefly while teaching
English at a local school. His impressions of Matsue are recorded in his 1894
essay "In a Japanese Garden," from Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.
5 Hearn's story "Miminashi Hoichi" ("Earless
Hoichi"), from Kwaidan (1904), is an example of a literary work based on
The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari), a famous epic about the rise and fall
of the Heike (Taira) clan and the eventual victory of the Minamoto (Genji)
clan.
6 A biwa is a Japanese stringed instrument resembling a lute.
Suzuki-roshi is probably referring to a biwa-hoshi, one of the blind
storytellers who memorized and recited (in a style similar to a Buddhist chant)
The Tale of the Heike throughout Japan as they played the biwa in
accompaniment.
7 Dan-no-ura (also Dannoura): A beach along the Shimonoseki
Straights, in the extreme southwest tip of Honshu, Japan, near which a critical
naval battle was fought in 1185 when the Genji decisively defeated the Heike.
This battle brought the Gempei war to an end and began the Kamakura Era of
shōguns.
8 The Heike (Taira, Reike, or Reiji) clan held great power during
the 11th and 12th centuries. They engaged in a protracted struggle with the
Genji (Minamoto) clan. The story cited by Suzuki-rōshi refers to the defeat of
the warlord Taira Munemori (1147–1185) by Genji forces in 1185.
9 The Minamoto (Genji) clan, from whom descended the three great
shogun families: Minamoto, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa.
10 Inland Sea: the sea south of the Honshū mainland, between Honshū and
the islands of Shikoku and Kyūshū. Dan-no-ura is at the extreme west end of the
Inland Sea.
11 Some Heike crabs (Heike-gani) have a shell that resembles the
face of a scowling samurai—the vanquished samurai army of the Heike clan. Such
crabs are considered sacred and are returned to the sea if caught by local
fishermen. In that sea are also golden fish called Koheike, which are
regarded as the embodiment of Heike women who drowned at Dan-no-ura.
12 Hoichi is the name of the biwa-hoshi in Hearn's story
"Miminashi Hoichi"
("Earless Hoichi"). He played the lute and "chanted the chant of
the fight on the bitter sea" at Dan-no-ura for the samurai, royal, and
other Taira ghosts of the battle.
13 Bishop Sumi Togen: formerly an instructor of monks at Soji-ji. In
1965 he succeeded Yamada Reirin as head of the Soto Zen School in America.
Source: City Center original tape. Verbatim transcript by Diana Bartle and Bill
Redican (7/22/01). Lightly edited for readability by Wendy Pirsig and Peter
Ford (4/2021).
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