(BENDOWA XXXIV)

Buddhists may disagree on various interpretations of the fine points of Buddhist philosophy …

… But when just sitting, in the perfect action of embodying enlightenment, there is nothing upon which to disagree … nor anyone to disagree.

In a moment of Zazen, sitting as the Buddha sat, letting go of thoughts of this and that, we go beyond ideas of “delusion” vs. “realization”, “common” vs. “sacred” …

… Beyond words, all is set free.

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Question Four:

we should remember that from the beginning we have never lacked the supremestate of Bodhi [meaning “enlightenment”], and we will receive it and use it forever. At the same time,because we cannot perceive it directly we are prone to beget intellectualideas, and because we chase after these as if they were real things, we vainlypass by the great state of truth. From these intellectual ideas emerge allsorts of flowers in space [meaning “phantom ideas”]; we think about the twelvefold cycle and thetwenty-five spheres of existence; and ideas of the three vehicles and the fivevehicles[meaning various details of Buddhist philosophy] or of having and not having are endless. We should not think that the leaningof these intellectual ideas is the right path of practice. When we solely sitin Zazen, on the other hand, relying now on exactly the same posture as theBuddha, and letting go of the myriad things, then we go beyond the areas ofdelusion, realization, emotion, and consideration, and we are not concernedwith the ways of the common and the sacred. At once we are roaming outside the[intellectual] frame, receiving and using the great state of bodhi.  How could those caught in the trap of wordscompare [with this]?

From: Bendowa – A Talk about Pursuing the Truth  – Nishijima-Cross [with some amendments according to Uchiyama]


(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)

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