TOMEN: The Moment of the Present
MOSHI IPPO O AYAMAREBA TOMEN NI SAKA SU.
MOSHI if
ICHI one
HO step
IPPO (=ICHI+HO) one step
O [object particle]
AYAMAREBA if we make a mistake
TO the present, the thing in question, this one, the here and now
MEN scene, face, aspect
TOMEN the moment of the present
SAKA SU pass over, pass through in vain, lose, waste
MOSHI IPPO O AYAMAREBA TOMEN NI SAKA SU.
“If we misplace one step we waste the moment of the present.”
I think the order of construction of this sentence shows what Master Dogen thought was important.
Precepts teachers and the like worry that if we are not mindful in the moment of the present we might make a mistake and break a precept.
But Master Dogen’s thinking process here is completely the other way round. He isn’t worried about making mistakes. He is worried about wasting time.
Why? Because sitting in the full lotus posture, for Master Dogen, is supremely valuable. And sitting in the full lotus posture is a happening in spacetime. Without moments of spacetime there is no sitting in the full lotus posture.
The reverence in which Master Dogen held the practice of sitting in the full lotus posture, with body, with mind, and dropping off body and mind, is not difficult to understand. It is very difficult to understand. It is almost incredible.
What Master Dogen revered most was not mind here and now as buddha. What Master Dogen revered most was not balance of the autonomic nervous system. What Master Dogen revered most was not pure conduct and observance of the precepts. What Master Dogen revered most was one moment of sitting in the full lotus posture.
Even though I have written it, I can’t really understand it or fully believe it. It remains beyond me. Even after 25 years pondering it, there is still something mysterious in the fact that Zen Master Dogen -- this philosophical genius, this wise, heroic man, this guiding teacher of millions -- revered as the most valuable thing in the world the simple act of sitting in the full lotus posture. And so he exhorted others to devote their precious time just to this.
MOSHI if
ICHI one
HO step
IPPO (=ICHI+HO) one step
O [object particle]
AYAMAREBA if we make a mistake
TO the present, the thing in question, this one, the here and now
MEN scene, face, aspect
TOMEN the moment of the present
SAKA SU pass over, pass through in vain, lose, waste
MOSHI IPPO O AYAMAREBA TOMEN NI SAKA SU.
“If we misplace one step we waste the moment of the present.”
I think the order of construction of this sentence shows what Master Dogen thought was important.
Precepts teachers and the like worry that if we are not mindful in the moment of the present we might make a mistake and break a precept.
But Master Dogen’s thinking process here is completely the other way round. He isn’t worried about making mistakes. He is worried about wasting time.
Why? Because sitting in the full lotus posture, for Master Dogen, is supremely valuable. And sitting in the full lotus posture is a happening in spacetime. Without moments of spacetime there is no sitting in the full lotus posture.
The reverence in which Master Dogen held the practice of sitting in the full lotus posture, with body, with mind, and dropping off body and mind, is not difficult to understand. It is very difficult to understand. It is almost incredible.
What Master Dogen revered most was not mind here and now as buddha. What Master Dogen revered most was not balance of the autonomic nervous system. What Master Dogen revered most was not pure conduct and observance of the precepts. What Master Dogen revered most was one moment of sitting in the full lotus posture.
Even though I have written it, I can’t really understand it or fully believe it. It remains beyond me. Even after 25 years pondering it, there is still something mysterious in the fact that Zen Master Dogen -- this philosophical genius, this wise, heroic man, this guiding teacher of millions -- revered as the most valuable thing in the world the simple act of sitting in the full lotus posture. And so he exhorted others to devote their precious time just to this.
posted by Mike Cross at 7:13 PM
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