Thank you for posting, Bill! hong
On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 8:55 PM, Bill! <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > > > Well, here's an attempt at an explanation of that dreaded term > "Enlightenment" by Dogen. It's of course a translation but probably pretty > close since the original was written in a modern language (Japanese) in the > 1200's and translated into English by a team consisting of a native > Japanese-speaker and a native English-speaker. > > It's a little long but well worth a read. > > The Actualization of Enlightenment by Eihei Dogen > > Translated by Kosen Nishiyama and John Stevens, 1975 > > "When all things are the Buddha-dharma, there is enlightenment, illusion, > practice, life, death, Buddhas, and sentient beings. When all things are > seen not to have any substance, there is no illusion or enlightenment, no > Buddhas or sentient beings, no birth, or destruction. Originally the > Buddhist Way transcends itself and any idea of abundance or lack--still > there is birth and destruction, illusion and enlightenment, sentient beings > and Buddhas. Yet people hate to see flowers fall and do not like weeds to > grow. > > It is an illusion to try to carry out our practice and enlightenment > through ourselves, but to have practice and enlightenment through > phenomena, that is enlightenment. To have great enlightenment about > illusion is to be a Buddha. To have great illusion about enlightenment is > to be a sentient being. Further, some are continually enlightened beyond > enlightenment but some add more and more illusion. > > When Buddhas become Buddhas, it is not necessary for them to be aware they > are Buddhas. However, they are still enlightened Buddhas and continually > realize Buddha. Through body and mind we can comprehend the form and sound > of things. They work together as one. However, if it not like the > reflection of shadow in a mirror, or the moon reflected in the water. If > you look at only one side, the other is dark. > > To learn the Buddhist way is to learn about oneself. To learn about > oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to perceive oneself as > all things. To realize this is to cast off the body and mind of self and > others. When you have reached this stage you will be detached even from > enlightenment but will practice it continually without thinking about it. > > When people seek the Dharma [outside themselves] they are immediately far > removed from its true location. When the Dharma has been received through > the right transmission, one's real self immediately appears. > If you are in a boat, and you only look at the riverbank, you will think > that the riverbank is moving; but if you look at the boat, you will > discover that the boat itself is actually moving. Similarly, if you try to > understand the nature of phenomena only through your own confused > perception you will mistakenly think that your nature is eternal. > Furthermore, if you have the right practice and return to your origin then > you will see that all things have no permanent self. > > Once firewood is reduced to ashes, it cannot return to firewood; but we > should not think of ashes as the potential stare of firewood or vice-versa. > Ash is completely ash and firewood is firewood. They have their own past, > future, and independent existence. > > Similarly, when human beings die, they cannot return to life; but in > Buddhist teaching we never say that life changes into death. This is an > established teaching of the Buddhist Dharma. We call it "non-becoming." > Likewise, death cannot change into life. This is another principle of > Buddha's Law. This is called "non-destruction". Life and death have > absolute existence, like the relationship of winter and spring. But do not > think of winter changing into spring or spring to summer. > > When human beings attain enlightenment, it is like the moon reflected in > the water. The moon appears in the water but does not get wet nor is the > water disturbed by the moon. Furthermore the light of the moon covers the > earth and yet it can be contained in small pool of water, a tiny dewdrop, > or even one minuscule drop of water. > Just as the moon does not trouble the water in any way, do not think > enlightenment causes people difficulty. Do not consider enlightenment an > obstacle in your life. The depths of the dewdrop cannot contain the heights > of the moon and the sky. > > When the True Law is not totally attained, both physically and mentally, > there is a tendency to think that we posses the complete Law and our work > is finished. If the Dharma is completely present, there is a realization of > ones insufficiencies. > > For example, if you take a boat to the middle of the ocean, beyond the > sight of any mountains, and look in all four directions, the ocean appear > round. However, the ocean is not round, and its virtue is limitless. It is > like a palace and an adornment of precious jewels. But to us, the ocean > seems to be one large circle of water. So we see this can be said of all > things. Depending on the viewpoint we see things in different ways. Correct > perception depends upon the amount of ones study and practice. In order to > understand various types of viewpoints we must study the numerous aspects > and virtues of mountains and oceans, rather than just circles. We should > know that it is not only so all around us but also within us--even in a > single drop of water. > > Fish in the ocean find the water endless and birds think the sky is > without limits. However, neither fish nor birds have been separated from > their element. When their need is great, their utilization is great, when > their need is small, the utilization is small. They fully utilize every > aspect to its utmost--freely, limitlessly. However, we should know that if > birds are separated from their own element they will die. We should know > hat water is life for fish and the sky is life for birds. In the sky, birds > are life; and in the water, fish are life. Many more conclusions can be > drawn like this. There is practice and enlightenment [like the above > relationships of sky and birds, fish and water]. However, after the > clarification of water and sky, we can see that if there are birds or fish, > that try to enter the sky or water, they cannot find either a way or a > place. If we understand this point, there is actualization of enlightenment > in our daily life. If we attain this this Way, all our actions are the > actualization of enlightenment. This Way, this place, is not great or > small, self or others, neither past or present--it exists just as it is. > > Like this, if we practice and realize the Buddhist way we can master and > penetrate each dharma;and we can confront and master any one practice. > There is a place where we can penetrate the Way and find the extent of > knowable perceptions. This happens because our knowledge co-exists > simultaneously with the ultimate fulfillment of the Buddhist Dharma. > > After this fulfillment becomes the basis of our perception, do not think > that our perception is necessarily understood by the intellect. Although > enlightenment is actualized quickly, it is not always totally manifested > [it is too profound an inexhaustible for our limited intellect]. > > One day, when Zen Master Hotestsu of Mt. Mayoku was fanning himself, a > monk approached and asked, "The nature of wind never changes and blows > everywhere so why are you using a fan." > > The master replied, "Although you know the nature of wind never changes > you do not know the meaning of blowing everywhere". The monk then said, > "Well, what does it mean?" Hotetsu did not speak but only continue to fan > himself. Finally the monk understood and bowed deeply before him. > > The experience, the realization, and the living, right transmission of the > Buddhist Dharma is like this. To say it is not necessary to use a fan > because the ntarue of the wind never changes and there will be wind even > without one means that he does not know the real meaning of "never changes" > or the wind's nature. Just as the wind's nature never changes, the wind of > Buddhism makes the earth golden and cause the rivers to flow with sweet, > fermented milk." > > This was written in mid-autumn, 1233, and given to the lay disciple > Yo-ko-shu of Kyushu. > > >
