Zen in Ten: "Like Pouring Water into the Ocean"
Dogen's Thoughts on Transmission (Dharma, not COVID)
What I love about writing and podcasting is sharing with you what I find inspiring, mysterious, illuminating, and intriguing about Zen/Buddhism. As I near the start of shiho (Dharma transmission), I thought I’d offer some quotes from Dogen Zenji’s essay titled “Face-to-Face Tranmission” or in Japanese “Menju.”
“Once Shakyamuni Buddha, on Vulture Peak in India, in the midst of a vast assembly of beings, held up an udumbara flower and winked. Venerable Mahakashyapa smiled. Then Shakyamuni Buddha said, ‘I have the treasury of the true dharma eye, the inconceivable mind of nirvana. This I entrust to Mahakashyapa. This is the meaning of transmitting the treasury of the true dharma eye face to face from buddha to buddha, from ancestor to ancestor.’ ”
“Thus venerable Mahakashyapa received the World-Honored One’s transmission directly face to face, mind to mind, body to body, and eye to eye. Mahakashyapa respectfully regarded Shakyamuni Buddha while making offerings and bowing formally. Thousands of times Mahakashyapa had pounded his bones and crushed his body. His face was no longer his own. Thus he received the Tathagata’s face by means of face-to-face transmission.”
“The authentic ancestors of all generations have continued face-to-face transmission, disciple seeing teacher, and teacher seeing disciple. An ancestor, a teacher, or a disciple cannot be a buddha or an ancestor without having face-to-face transmission.”
“It is like pouring water into the ocean and spreading it endlessly, or like transmitting the lamp and allowing it to shine forever. In thousands of millions of transmissions, the trunk and branches are one, breaking an eggshell by pecking from the inside and outside at once.”
“A face-to-face-transmitting buddha transmits to face-to-face transmitting buddha. It is transmitted from vine to vine without being cut. It is transmitted from eye to eye, with the eye open. It is transmitted from face to face, with the face revealed.”
“Face-to-face transmission is given and received in the presence of the buddha face. Mind is taken up, transmitted to mind and received by mind. Body is manifested and transmitted to body. Even in the other regions or in other countries this is regarded as the original ancestor.”
“When the World-honored One, Mahakashyapa, and the other members of the fifty-one buddha ancestors, and the Seven Buddhas, appear, their shadows appear, their light appears, their bodies appear, and their minds appear. An invisible leg appears, or a sharpened nose. Even without knowing one word or understanding half a phrase, the teacher sees the student within herself, and the student lowers the top of her head; this is the correct face-to-face transmission.”
“Shakyamuni Buddha solemnly entrusted and transmitted dharma face to face to venerable Mahakashyapa, saying, ‘I have the treasury of the true dharma eye. This is entrusted to Mahakashyapa. At the assembly of Mt. Song, venerable Bodhidharma said to the Second Ancestor, ‘You have attained my marrow.’ ”
“From this we know that entrusting face to face the treasury of the true dharma eye and ‘You have attained my marrow’ are this very face-to-face transmission. At the exact moment of jumping beyond your ordinary bones and marrow, there is transmission face to face of the buddha ancestors. The face-to-face transmission of great awakening along with the mind seal is extremely rare. Transmission is never exhausted; there is never a lack of awakening.”
“If you do not realize the fruit at this moment, when will you realize it? If you do not cut off delusion at this moment, when will you cut it off? If you do not become a buddha at this moment, when will you? If you do not sit as a buddha at this moment, when will you practice as a buddha? Diligently examine this in detail.”