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Dai-o (1235-I308), Daito (1282-1336), and Kwanzan (1277-1360) are
the
three outstanding luminaries in the history of the Japanese Rinzai
school of Zen. All the masters of this school now in Japan are their
descendants. Dai-o went to China and studied under Kido (Hsu-t'ang) in
southern China, whose high expectations of the foreign disciple were
fully justified as we can testify in the Japanese history of Zen.
Daito is the founder of Daitokuji monastery and Kwanzan that of the
Myoshinji, both Kyoto. Muso (1273-1351) who followed another lineage
of the Zen masters was versatile in artistic accomplishments. There
are many noted gardens designed by him which are still well preserved.
He was the founder of many Zen temples throughout Japan which the most
notable one is Tenryuji at Saga, near Kyoto. Hakuin (1685-1768) is the
father of modern Rinzai Zen. Without him it would be hard to tell the
fate of Zen in Japan. He was no founder of a temple of any
ecclesiastical importance; he lived his unpretentious life in a small
temple in Suruga province, devoting himself to the bringing up of Zen
monks and to the propagation of his teaching among laymen.
I
DAI-O KOKUSHI "ON ZEN"
There is a reality even prior to heaven and earth;
Indeed, it has no form, much less a name;
Eyes fail to see it; It has no voice for ears to detect;
To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature,
For it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air;
It is not Mind, nor Buddha;
Absolutely quiet, and yet illuminating in a mysterious way,
It allows itself to be perceived only by the clear-eyed.
It is Dharma truly beyond form and sound;
It is Tao having nothing to do with words.
Wishing to entice the blind,
The Buddha has playfully let words escape his golden mouth;
Heaven and earth are ever since filled with entangling briars.
O my good worthy friends gathered here,
If you desire to listen to the thunderous voice of the Dharma,
Exhaust your words, empty your thoughts,
For then you may come to recognize this One Essence.
Says Hui the Brother, "The Buddha's Dharma
Is not to be given up to mere human sentiments."
2
DAI-O KOKUSHI'S ADMONITION[1]
Those who enter the gate of Buddhism should first of all cherish a
firm faith in the dignity and respectability of monkhood, for it is
the path leading them away from poverty and humbleness. Its dignity is
that of the sonship of the Dharmaraja of the triple world; no princely
dignity which extends only over a limited area of the earth compares
with it. Its respectability is that of the fatherhood of all sentient
beings; no parental respectability belonging Only to the head of a
little family group equals it. When the monk finds himself in this
position of dignity and respectability, living in the rock-cave of the
Dharma where he enjoys the greatest happiness of a spiritual life,
under the blissful protection of all the guardian gods of the Triple
Treasure, is there any form of happiness that can surpass his?
The shaven head and the dyed garment are the noble symbols of
Bodhisattvahood; the temple-buildings with all their ornamental
fixtures are the honorific emblems of Buddhist virtue. They have
nothing to do with mere decorative effects.
[1. Left to his disciples as his last words when he
was about to pass away.]
That the monk, now taking on himself these forms of dignity and
respectability, is the recipient of all kinds of offerings from his
followers; that he is quietly allowed to pursue his study of the
Truth, not troubling himself with worldly labours and occupations-this
is indeed due to the loving thoughts of Buddhas and Fathers. If the
monk fails in this life to cross the stream of birth-and-death, when
does expect to requite all the kindly feelings bestowed upon him by
his predecessors? We are ever liable as time goes on miss
opportunities; let the monk, therefore, be always on e watch not to
pass his days idly.
The one path leading up to the highest peak is the mysterious
orthodox line of transmission established by Buddhas and Fathers, and
to walk along this road is the essence of appreciating what they have
done for us. When the monk fails to discipline himself along this
road, he thereby departs from the dignity and respectability of
monk-hood, laying himself down in the slums of poverty and misery. As
I grow older I feel this to be my greatest regret, and, O monks, I
have never been tired day and night of giving you strong admonitions
on this point. Now, on the eve of my departure, my heart lingers with
you, and my sincerest prayer is that you are never found lacking in
the virtue of the monkish dignity and respectability, and that you
ever be mindful of what properly belongs to monkhood. Pray, pray, 'be
mindful of this, O monks!
This is the motherly advice of Nampo;[1] old monk-mendicant of
Kencho Monastery.
3
DAITO KOKUSHI'S ADMONITION
O you, monks, who are in this mountain monastery, remember that you
are gathered here for the sake of religion and not for the sake of
clothes and food. As long as you have
[1. This is Dai-o Kokushi's own name, Dai-o being his
posthumous honorary title.]
shoulders [that is, the body], you will have clothes to wear, and
as long as you have a mouth, you will have food to eat. Be ever
mindful, throughout the twelve hours of the day, to apply yourselves
to the study of the Unthinkable. Time passes like an arrow, never let
your minds be disturbed by worldly cares. Ever, ever be on the
look-out. After my departure, some of you may preside over five
temples in prosperous conditions, with towers and halls and holy books
all decorated in gold and silver, and devotees may noisily crowd into
the grounds; some may pass hours in reading the sutras and reciting
the dharanis, and sitting long in contemplation may not give
themselves up to sleep; they may, eating once a day and observing the
fastdays, and, throughout the six periods of the day, practise all the
religious deeds. Even when they are thus devoted to the cause, if
their thoughts are not really dwelling on the mysterious and
untransmissible Way of the Buddhas and Fathers, they may yet come to
ignore the law o moral causation, ending in a complete downfall of the
true religion. All such belong to the family of evil spirits; however
long my departure from the world may be, they are not to be called my
descendants. Let, however, there be just one individual, who may be
living in the wilderness in a hut thatched with one bundle of straw
and passing his days by eating the roots of wild herbs cooked in a pot
with broken legs; but if he single-mindedly applies himself to the
study of his own [spiritual] affairs, he is the very one who has a
daily interview with me and knows how to be grateful for his life. Who
should ever despise such a one? O monks, be diligent, be diligent.[1]
DAITO KOKUSHI'S LAST POEM
Buddhas and Fathers cut to pieces--
The sword is ever kept sharpened!
Where the wheel turns,
The void gnashes its teeth.
[1. In those monasteries which are connected in some way
with the author of this admonition, it is read or rather chanted
before a lecture or Teisho begins.]
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