Welcome to our sixth talk on A.
H.
Dogen's Ryujin,
The Dragon Song.
Dogen continues with a series of encounter dialogues that serve as examples of unique expressions of the teachings by realized masters.
I'll share a few to give a flavor of his non-dualistic,
All-inclusive orientation.
He writes,
Tenryu was a leading disciple of Master Hojo,
And Gutai was the master's Dharma grandson.
During his lifetime,
A tiger and an elephant served him,
And they did it without quarreling between themselves.
In Buddhism,
Elephants symbolize mental strength on the path towards realization.
They're tranquil and obedient,
Steadfast and unstoppable once set on a path.
Tigers symbolize strength and determination,
A representation of the journey to overcome internal obstacles and attain realization.
These could be metaphors for Tenryu's inner qualities,
Not unlike the stillness and the steadfastness of the dragon singing in the withered tree.
Dogen then continues with a musical metaphor.
He writes,
Although the dragon singing does not conform with Do-Re-Mi-So-Fa-So,
Why not?
Because this is no ordinary singing.
In this way,
The monk's words,
Is there a dragon singing in a withered tree,
Emerge both as a question and as a statement,
As Dogen notes,
Quote,
For immeasurable eons.
This comment speaks to both the relative and the absolute.
It is both a question,
Relatively speaking,
And a declaration of suchness in the absolute sense.
We could say that infinite expressions emerge from the dragon's singing in a withered tree.
Again,
This serves as yet another expression of Dogen's all-inclusive,
Non-dualistic,
And choiceless awareness,
And it raises an important practice question.
What is distraction?
If everything is included,
We might ask what is there to be distracted from?
Maybe some kind of self-preoccupation?
Maybe some old memory or future concern?
Some imagined goal?
Maybe there is something that you think you should be focused on,
But there isn't.
Just an all-inclusive awareness of the rising and passing of all experience.
So tell me,
Where and what are distractions?
Perhaps a better question would be,
What are we being attracted to?
A daydream?
A fantasy?
A story one is telling oneself?
A creative burst?
An imagined goal?
A concern?
It's really the same question.
What object caught us either internally or externally?
In either case,
Our attention shifted away from all-inclusive awareness.
Do you remember our smiling and frowning friends that we met in a previous session?
I wonder what object caused a smile or a frown?
Something in the environment that caught their attention?
The sound of crows cawing at dawn?
A truck accelerating up a hill?
A memory,
A fantasy,
A concern?
Oh,
Did I remember to turn the stove off before I came to sit?
What were they either attracted to or distracted from?
In this regard,
Is a frown just a frown?
Is a smile just a smile?
Are they the dragon singing inside of a withered tree?
Dogen then shares a series of responses regarding the dragon song.
My brief comments are interspersed in between.
Great Master Zidane was once asked by a monk,
What is the way?
He said,
A dragon is singing in a withered tree.
In other words,
Just sitting.
The monk said,
I don't understand.
The master responded,
An eyeball in the skull,
Which often represents awakening,
True seeing,
The essence.
Remember,
Skull here also refers to just sitting in stillness.
Later,
A monk asked Xi Shuang,
What is a dragon singing in a withered tree?
Xi Shuang said,
It still holds joy.
You may recall Fukanza Zenji,
The basic principles of Zen meditation that I mentioned in a previous session,
Where Dogen asserts this practice is not meditation.
It is simply the Dharmagate of ease and joy.
And he said this to distinguish his practice,
You might recall,
From quietest practices,
Which he was critical of.
A monk asked,
What is the eyeball in the skull?
Xi Shuang said,
It still holds consciousness.
We are awake,
Alive,
Not asleep.
We still think.
There is still water in the drying ocean.
We may take a dip in it,
But just don't drown in it.
Later,
A monk asked,
Xi Shuang,
What is a dragon singing in a withered tree?
Xi Shuang said,
The blood vein does not get cut off.
He's talking here about the lineage of ancestors that continues,
Transmitted from one generation to the next.
Mind to mind transmission happens beyond words and letters,
And true Dharma prevails.
The monk asked,
What is the eyeball in the skull?
Xi Shuang said,
It does not dry up.
We're always thinking,
But what is our relationship to thinking?
Do we get attached?
Non-attached?
Are we conscious or unconscious?
The monk said,
I wonder if anyone has heard it?
And Xi Shuang said,
In the entire world,
There was no one who has not heard it.
Realization is beginningless.
Practice is endless.
We are realization,
Constantly evolving.
We are all right now,
Together,
Here,
The result of all of the causes and conditions of our entire lives,
Right up to this moment,
And then the next moment,
And then the next.
How do we respond to each moment?
Hopefully through wisdom and compassion.
That's what practice is about,
So just keep sitting,
No matter what.
Thank you.
