Fukanzazengi, "Universal Principles Of Zen Meditation" - 6

Welcome to the sixth talk on Dogen's Fukanzazenji.

He continues his narrative by writing,

You should therefore cease from practice based on intellectual understanding,

Pursuing words and following after speech,

And learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate yourself.

Body and mind of themselves will drop away and your original face will manifest.

If you want to attain suchness,

You should practice suchness without delay.

There's quite a bit to unpack here.

First of all,

It's important to understand that this first sentence,

You should therefore cease from practice based on intellectual understanding,

Pursuing words and following after speech,

Is not a form of anti-intellectualism,

Which continues to be quite prevalent in contemporary Zen practice.

Rather,

Dogen is encouraging us to activate our natural wisdom,

Or prajna,

Which is an intuitive wisdom,

A quick experiential knowing.

The first time that I met with a Zen master for Dokusan,

A one-to-one interview,

I had been deeply immersed in reading books from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

I understood,

At least intellectually at the time,

That Zen emphasizes experiential learning,

So I asked the teacher whether or not my choice of reading material would interfere with my Zen study and practice.

He smiled and said,

Read whatever you want,

It doesn't matter,

But just keep practicing no matter what.

That's just what I did.

As many of you know,

That terse and direct teaching has become my mantra.

Dogen is not asking us not to study or read.

On the contrary,

He was quite the well-read scholar himself.

He is,

However,

Advising us to prioritize practice,

And he's going to share detailed instructions on just how to practice Zazen at the conclusion of this introduction.

We rely on prajna,

Or intuitive knowing,

Through the direct experience of Shikantaza,

Or just sitting,

But knowledge is also important because it supports our practice.

If we are traveling anywhere,

We have to know where the path is to start walking on it.

In this regard,

Intellectual understanding and pursuing words,

Listening to the talks of others who have traveled the path before,

Is useful,

But once we start walking,

We just keep on walking.

Occasionally,

We look at street names or house addresses to stay on the right path,

But we just keep walking.

In terms of Zazen practice,

We harmonize body,

Breath,

And mind,

And we just keep sitting,

No matter what.

We need to engage directly in our practice and not get caught or trapped in excessive intellectualizing or trying to figure things out by logic.

Let the intellect be a tool,

But not an obstacle.

The backward step that Dogen mentions is a pause of the tendency to achieve,

To complete,

Or to reach a positive or imagined goal.

Remember,

As I mentioned in a previous talk,

We are already on the top of the mountain.

We are the result.

All of the causes and conditions of our lives have brought us right to this point,

To this here and now.

Taking the backward step goes against the grain of how we often unconsciously and typically do things.

Here,

In practice,

We're swimming against the usual current.

Go with the flow,

You'll drown in the river,

The river of our habit formations.

It's time to cut through our habitual mode of being,

And this is where the attitude of Mushotoku,

No gaining mind,

Is extremely important.

When we take the backward step and refrain from pushing forward,

We have the opportunity to,

As Dogen says,

Study the self.

Sitting still,

Guided by Mushotoku,

Magnifies experience,

And we get a first-hand look at reality as it is.

Next,

Dogen mentions original face,

Which is simply the realization of our true nature.

Buddha nature,

Or the ground of being,

The reality of non-duality,

Which is the fundamental realization of Zen practice.

Next,

Dogen writes that the way to do this is to take the backward step that turns your light inwardly,

To illuminate yourself.

In this regard,

Practice is about you,

Not anybody else.

Of course,

How we relate to others is important,

But how we relate to others depends on how well we know ourselves.

By taking the backward step and turning our lights inwardly,

He's not advocating isolating yourself or becoming a hermit.

Rather,

He means exercising reflexivity,

Which means to use self-scrutiny in order to examine your thoughts,

Feelings,

Reactions,

Motives,

And how they influence our responses and reactions to the present situation,

Whatever that situation may be.

What are our samskaras,

Or our habit formations?

What are our unconscious preconceptions that we bring to color the reality of any situation?

Next,

Dogen talks about suchness.

Emo,

Or suchness,

Basically means whatever is happening right now.

It is often described as being as it is,

Being here and now,

That which is,

The matter that is it,

Or simply,

It.

He devotes a chapter of the Shobogenzo,

The True Dharma I,

To explain it.

We could simply say that suchness is exactly whatever it is that is happening.

Here is a paraphrasing from his writing.

Keep in mind that because you are such a person,

This is so.

How do we know that we're such a person?

Just by wishing to know that we are such a person.

You already are such a person,

So don't worry.

Oh,

You're worried?

Well,

That's suchness,

Too.

And don't be surprised.

If you are,

Know that that is suchness,

Too.

I see you're laughing now.

Well,

That's suchness,

Too.

So,

The true nature or the suchness of sound,

Color,

And form is also suchness.

The true nature of body and mind is suchness.

So is the true nature of Buddhas.

One way to understand this in relation to practice would be to understand that whatever is happening is suchness in the moment that it is happening.

When you are engaged in zazen,

That's suchness,

Too.

If you're having a pleasant thought,

That's suchness.

And if you're struggling with something,

That's also suchness.

Understanding this supports Mushotoku.

I think that this is a good example of taking a doctrinal or intellectual understanding of the teachings and applying it directly to the practice experience.

I'd like to end with this passage from the Chinese Zen teacher Hong Chi,

Who exerted a strong influence on Dogen.

This is from his practice instructions for mokusho,

Or silent illumination,

The precursor to Dogen's Shikantaza.

And he writes,

In daytime the sun,

At night the moon,

Each in turn does not blind the other.

This is how a patch-robed monk steadily practices naturally,

Without edges or seams.

To gain such steadiness,

You must completely withdraw from the invisible pounding and weaving of your ingrained ideas.

If you want to be rid of this invisible turmoil,

You must just sit through it and let go of everything.

Attain fulfillment and illuminate thoroughly.

Light and shadow are altogether be forgotten.

Thank you.