Champsecret, summer 2005 

A Free Interpration (in verse)

Zen Master Dogen’s instructions for sitting-meditation

a free interpretation by Mike Cross, Autumn 2005

Let Dogen tell the truth he found:

Enlightenment is all around.

So don’t go trying, when you sit,

To grasp or hold or polish it.

There again, don’t be too proud

And hold your head up in a cloud.

Don’t think you’ve grasped the truth of action

While still a slave to blind reaction.

Ancient sages sat and sat;

We should also be like that.

To be too verbal is a sin;

Let us turn our light within:

A journey home with empty hands,

In backward steps through pleasant lands,

Where form and essence fall away:

We pray for That. Now let us play.

*

A quiet room is good for Zen;

For food and drink, take five from ten.

Thoughts abound of right and wrong;

The will to stop them must be strong.

Did Buddha try to Buddha be?

He did not, and nor should we.

The normal mind may be just It,

But common folk do not thus sit.

*

Where we sit we lay a mat

And place a cushion over that.

When we sit the legs are crossed:

This ancient form must not be lost.

With right on left, left on right,

Love the truth with all thy might.

Most of all, love true uprightness.

That doesn’t mean to do (uptightness).

An ideal posture is not bent;

Still, do not do. Have clear intent.

But not intent with furrowed brow;

What we wish is to allow.

Allow antagonistic flows;

Ears and shoulders; navel - nose.

A sitting posture that I know

Does not express the will to grow.

Allow the breath; the breath is real.

To breathe is not to think or feel.

Don’t hold the breath, or turn the wheel.

Just let it flow. Intend to heal.

Intent is not a thing to banish;

When all is healed, negations vanish.

Far beyond intent and feeling,

Just to sit is natural healing

*

This sitting is to meditate;

It’s peace and ease; a Dharma Gate.

This meditation is to sit:

Let’s hope to be enslaved by it.

A sport for body, heart, and soul:

Trying, failing, to be whole.

Trying, failing, to allow:

When it happens, God knows how.

* * * * *

The Importance of Fukan Zazengi

During the 13 years I spent in Japan, endeavoring to learn how to practice Zazen, I was taught that the most important text of Japanese Zen Buddhism is Fukan-zazengi by Master Dogen. Zazen-gi means “rules for Zazen (sitting-meditation).” Fukan means “universally recommended,” i.e. recommended for everyone.

There are two extant versions of it, one that Master Dogen wrote straight after coming back from China, and a later, revised edition. The former is known as Shinpitsu-bon, lit. "True Brush Edition," the latter as Rufu-bon, "Popular Edition."

Anyone who has visited us at our house in Aylesbury will have seen hung on the wall a long facsimile of Shinpitsu-bon, thought to be in Master Dogen's own hand. It was given to me by an old Zazen practitioner called Mochizuki-san just before I left Japan in 1994. I went to visit him at his home in Ohito in Izu prefecture. He showed it to me, noticed my interest in it, and rolled it up and presented it to me as just a spontaneous gesture.

The fact that Master Dogen went back and re-wrote this text probably reflects how important he felt it was; it was an exhortation to practice not just for monks, scholars, or other members of the elite, but for the whole population.

Gudo Nishijima and I have also revised our translations of these texts several times, most recently in 2001 for Shinpitsu-bon and 2003 for Rufu-bon. Our translation work has always been guided by the principle of going as far as possible for literal English translation.

Going to the other extreme (the hallmark of the unenlightened being), in recent weeks I have endeavored to render what I understand to be the spirit of Fukan-zazengi into English in a way that might make it more readily accessible and memorable. Please don't laugh, but I have attempted to render it into verse.

Translation: Popular Edition (Rufu-bon)

Fukan-zazengi
The Standard of Sitting-Zen
Recommended for Everyone

Rufu-bon

The Popular Edition

Now, when we research it, the truth originally is all around: why rely upon practice and experience? The vehicle for the fundamental exists naturally: where is the need to expend effort? Furthermore, the whole body far transcends dust and dirt: who could believe in the means of sweeping and polishing? In general, we never depart from the place where we should be: of what use, then, are the tiptoes of training?

However, if there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, heaven and earth are far apart, and if a trace of disagreement arises, we lose the mind in confusion. Even if, proud of our understanding and richly endowed with realizations, we obtain special states of insight, attain the truth, clarify the mind, manifest a zeal that pierces the sky, and ramble through those remote spheres that are entered with the head; we have almost completely lost the vigorous path of getting the body out.

Moreover, remembering the natural sage of Jetavana park, we can [still] see the traces of his six years of upright sitting. We can still hear rumours of the transmitter of the mind-seal at Shaolin, spending nine years facing the wall. The ancient saints were like that already: how could people today fail to practice wholeheartedly?

So cease the intellectual work of studying sayings and chasing words. Learn the backward step of turning light around and reflecting it. Body and mind naturally drop off, and the original face appears. If we want to attain the matter of the ineffable, we should urgently practice the matter of the ineffable.

In general, a quiet room is good for experiencing Zen balance, and food and drink are taken in moderation. Abandon all involvements. Give the myriad things a rest. Do not think of good and bad. Do not care about right and wrong. Stop the driving movement of mind, will, consciousness. Cease intellectual consideration through images, thoughts, and reflections. Do not aim to become a buddha. How could it be connected with sitting or lying down?

Usually on the place where we sit we spread a thick mat, on top of which we use a round cushion. Either sit in the full lotus posture or sit in the half lotus posture. To sit in the full lotus posture, first put the right foot on the left thigh, then put the left foot on the right thigh. To sit in the half lotus posture, just press the left foot onto the right thigh. Let clothing hang loosely and make it neat. Then place the right hand over the left foot, and place the left hand on the right palm. The thumbs meet and support each other.

Just sit upright, not leaning to the left, inclining to the right, slouching forward, or arching backward. It is vital that the ears vis-à-vis the shoulders, and the nose vis-à-vis the navel, are directed away from each other. Let the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth. Let the lips and teeth come together. The eyes should be kept open. Let the breath pass imperceptibly through the nose.

Having readied the posture, make one complete exhalation, and sway left and right. Sitting in balance in the mountain-still state, "Think the concrete state of not thinking." "How can the state of not thinking be thought?" "It is different from thinking." This is the secret of sitting-Zen.

What is called sitting-Zen is not learning Zen meditation. It is just a peaceful and effortless gate to reality. It is practice-and-experience which perfectly realizes the Buddha's enlightenment. The Universe is realized, untouched by restrictions or hindrances. To grasp this meaning is to be like a dragon that has found water, or like a tiger before a mountain stronghold. Remember, true reality is naturally manifesting itself before us, and gloom and distraction vanish at a stroke.

If we rise from sitting, we should move the body slowly. Rise with calm confidence. We should not be hurried or violent.

We see in the past that those who transcended the ordinary and transcended the sacred, and those who died while sitting or died while standing, relied totally on this power. Moreover, changing of the moment through the action of a finger, a pole, a needle, or a wooden clapper; and exact experience of the state through the manifestation of a whisk, a fist, a staff, or a shout, can never be understood by thinking and discrimination. How could they be known through mystical powers or practice and experience? They may be dignified behaviour beyond sound and form. How could they be anything other than a criterion that precedes knowing and seeing?

Therefore, we do not discuss intelligence as superior and stupidity as inferior. Let us not choose between clever persons and dimwits. If we make effort devotedly, that is just wholehearted pursuit of the truth. Practice-and-experience is naturally untainted. The direction of effort becomes more balanced and constant.

Broadly then, in this world and in other worlds, in India and in China, all similarly maintain the Buddha-posture, and solely indulge in the fundamental custom: we simply devote ourselves to sitting, and are caught by the still state.

Although there are myriad distinctions and thousands of differences, we should just pursue the truth through Zen balance. Why should we abandon our own sitting platform, to come and go without purpose through the dusty borders of foreign lands?

If we misplace one step we pass over the moment of the present. We have already received the essential pivot which is the human body: let us not pass time in vain. We are maintaining and relying upon the pivotal essence which is the Buddha's truth: who could wish idly to enjoy sparks [that fly] from flint? What is more, the body is like a dewdrop on a blade of grass. Life passes like a flash of lightning. Suddenly it is gone. In an instant it is lost.

I beseech you, noble friends in learning through experience, do not grow used to images and doubt the real dragon. Apply yourself to the path which is directly indicated and straightforward. Revere people who are beyond study and free of the intention to achieve. Accord with the enlightened state of the buddhas. Be a rightful heir to the balanced state of the ancestors. If you practice the ineffable for a long time, you will be ineffable. The treasure-house will open naturally, and you will receive and use it as you like.

Master Dogen's Fukan-zazengi--rufu-bon

Trans. Gudo Nishijima & Chodo Cross; New Year 2003

Lacking the Vigorous Road of Getting the Body Out

In his instructions for sitting-meditation Master Dogen describes a situation that, despite all this wonderful mental understanding that I have got about the Buddha's teaching, my physical body fails to open up. I "lack the vigorous road of getting the body out."

My body seems to have its own inherent tendency to hold onto itself, as if it is afraid of losing itself. It is not only you, Michael, who is suffering in this way. You are aware of it and are honest about it. Most people are not.

So, in the limited time available to us, how are we going at least to begin to reverse this tendency? The holding on tendency seems to do itself without any problem at all. Establishing the opposite tendency seems to me to be like a trickle of water trying to drill through a rock, or one small man endeavoring to cut a path through a very dense and enormous forest. It is not going to happen in a flash, however brilliant the flash may be. It is going to take constant application.

If I were more clear in regard to this, probably I would guard time more sparingly. I might watch less TV. I might spend less time at this computer. Instead, I waste my time, like the bloody fool I am.

But there is one vital thing I have understood about the body-opening-up-like-a-lotus-flower response. Unless I establish a clear intention to allow it happen, it is never going to begin to happen. Unless I establish a clear intention for the opposite to happen, the only thing that will happen is my body's familiar habit of holding onto itself for dear life.

Idealistic thoughts do not establish this opposite tendency. Materliastic thoughts do not establish this opposite tendency. Nor do existentialist, humanist, pragmatic or even realist thoughts establish this opposite tendency.

But one moment of intention to allow might be like one drop in the trickle of water that is going to drill through rock. Or one step through the forest. And then another step. And then another step.

Am I preaching to the converted?

Translation: Original Manuscript (Shinpitsu-bon)

Fukan-zazengi

The Standard of Sitting-Dhyana Recommended for Everyone
-- Original Manuscript--

Written by a sramana who went into Sung China and received the Dharma, Dogen

Now, when we research it, the truth originally is all around: why rely upon practice and experience? The fundamental vehicle exists naturally: where is the need to expend effort? Furthermore, the whole body far transcends dust and dirt: who could believe in the means of sweeping and polishing? In general, we never depart from this, the place we should be: of what use, then, are the tip-toes of training?

However, if there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation is as great as that between heaven and earth; and if a trace of disagreement arises, we lose the mind in confusion. Remember, successive kalpas of turning of the wheel stem from one intellectual worry. Deluded ways of the secular world, again, derive from the restlessness of the intellect. If you want to go beyond the ultimate state of ascendance, just resolve the direct experience of reality here and now.

We may be proud of our understanding and richly endowed with realizations; we may have obtained special states of insight, attained the truth, and clarified the mind; we may manifest spirits high enough to pierce the sky, and yet, even with the ability to put the head in, still lack the path of getting the body out.

Moreover, traces remain of the innate sage, Old Lord Sakyamuni, having practiced upright sitting for six years. Again, vestiges remain of the transmitter of the mind-seal, Great Master Bodhidharma, facing the wall for nine years. The ancient saints were like that already: how could people today fail to practice whole-heartedly?

So retreat from the intellectual work of studying sayings and chasing words. Take the backward step of turning light and reflecting. Body and mind drop off naturally, and the original face appears. If we want to get the state like this, we should urgently practice sitting-dhyana.

In general, a quiet room is good for practicing dhyana, and food and drink are taken in moderation. Just abandon all involvements. Give the myriad things a rest. Don't think of good and bad. Do not care about right and wrong. Stop the driving movement of mind, will, consciousness. Cease intellectual consideration through images, thoughts, and reflections.

When we practice upright sitting, we spread a thick mat, on top of which we use a round cushion. After that, we sit in the full lotus posture or sit in the half lotus posture. To sit in the full lotus posture, first put the right foot on the left thigh, then put the left foot on the right thigh. To sit in the half lotus posture, just press the left foot onto the right thigh.

Let clothing hang loosely and make it neat. Then place the right hand over the left foot, and place the left hand over the right palm. The two thumbs meet and support each other.

Just sit upright, not leaning to the left, inclining to the right,slouching forward or arching backward. It is vital to align the ears in opposition with the shoulders, and to align the nose in opposition with the navel. Let the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth. Let the lips and teeth each come together. The eyes should be kept open. Once the bodily posture is balanced, let the breath also be regulated.

When something arises in the mind, just wake up. Wake up and it will vanish. Forgetting involvements indefinitely, naturally become one piece. This is the secret of sitting-dhyana.

What has been called "sitting-dhyana" [Zazen] is just the great peaceful and effortless gate of Dharma. If we have grasped this meaning, the four elements are naturally light and at ease, the spirit is quick, true consciousness is distinct and clear, the taste of Dharma soothes the soul, quietness is pure joy, and daily use is natural and true. Those who have truly realized this can be said to be like a dragon that has found water, or like a tiger before a mountain stronghold. Remember, when true consciousness is manifest, how can darkness and distraction intervene?

If we rise from sitting, we should move the body slowly. Rise with calm confidence. We should not be hurried or violent. At all times guard and maintain the power of the balanced state.

In investigating this state, we have cleared the top of the barrier: there is originally nothing upon which to rely. In experiencing this state and throwing it away, we are restricted by the self: so there is no standing still. Just now, it is the truth's total realization. Truly, the balanced state of dhyana is the single highest and most excellent gate. First attempts, relying on understanding that was a hundred per cent, and the subsequent move into experience, which is a concrete one or a half, exist only within this principle.

In cases of twirling a flower and a face breaking into a smile, or of performing prostrations and getting the marrow, the benevolent influence of the aforementioned state was always received and great freedom was thereby acquired. How could bodhisattvas who are learning prajna fail to acquiesce?

We see in the past that those who transcended the ordinary and transcended the sacred invariably relied on quiet circumstances; and those who died while sitting or died while standing had entrusted themselves thoroughly to the power of the balanced state. Moreover, changing the moment with a finger, a pole, a needle or a wooden clapper, and exact experience of the state in a whisk, a fist, a staff or a shout, could never be understood by thinking and discrimination. How could they be known through mystical powers or practice and experience? They may have been dignified behaviour beyond sound and form. How could they have been anything other than criteria that preceded knowing and seeing?

Therefore, we do not discuss intelligence as superior and stupidity as inferior. Do not choose between being a clever person and a dull one. Abandoning the six sense organs, see and activate the whole of the truth. Without having a single idea, sit away the ten directions.

In general, whether in this world or in other directions, the Buddha's teaching is originally without any other teaching. In the Western Heavens [of India] and the Eastern Lands [of China], though the lineage of the Ancestor [Bodhidharma] ultimately sprouted into five lineages, all similarly maintained the Buddha's posture, and everyone indulged freely in the fundamental custom. They devoted themselves solely to that which is transmitted one-to-one and indicated directly; they made the matter of performing a somersault, of turning the head, into their sole task.

Although there are a thousand differences and myriad distinctions, we should simply enjoy the process of coming back, the happy experience. Why should we neglect our own sitting platform to come and go without purpose through the dusty borders of foreign lands? If we misplace one step we pass over the moment of the present. Having already received the intelligence which is a human body, do not pass time in vain. Being ever mindful of conduct here and now in the Buddha's truth, who could wish idly to enjoy sparks [that fly] from flint? What is more, the body is like a dew-drop on a blade of grass. Life passes like a flash of lightning. Suddenly it is gone. In an instant it is lost.

I beseech you, noble friends in learning through experience, do not become so accustomed to images that you are dismayed by the real dragon. Guide yourself quickly onto the true path which is directly indicated and straightforward. Swiftly become a true human being, one who is beyond study and free of the intention to achieve. Obey the rules of Hyakujo exactly, and familiarize yourself with the situation of Shaolin pervasively. Do not labour in winds that sweep the ears! Why be disconcerted by the reverberations of a tongue? Just open well the treasure-house of the self, and receive and use [its contents] as you like.

Fukan-zazengi

Written on Chugen [July 15th] in the first year of the Tenpuku Era [1227] at Kannon-dori-in temple.

[Master Dogen's written emblem]

____________________________________________________________
Translated by Gudo Nishijima and Chodo Cross; October 2001

Creating a Blog for Fukan-zazengi

I would like to create a page devoted to questions and answer for Fukan-zazengi, the rules for sitting-meditation which Zen Master Dogen wrote for you, whoever or whatever you are, and me.

Are there any questions?