Omori Quotes

Dupa ce iti omori demonii, daca ai curajul sa o faci, e musai sa te intorci pe acelasi drum.

Every morning, the Omori POWs were assembled and ordered to call out their number in Japanese. After November 1, 1944, the man assigned number twenty-nine would sing out “Niju ku!” at the top of his lungs.

The eternity of "anytime" shines in this moment "now" while the unlimitedness of "anyplace" is manifested in the limits of "here." When the universality of "anyone" dances out in the individual "I," for the first time you have the world of Zen.

Pe urmă, tot ce ai de făcut este să dai la o parte uşa, să o loveşti de perete, să ieşi în lume cu zâmbetul pe buze, să calci cu bocancii zimţaţi peste capete goale şi inimi pustii. Peste mormanele de carne putredă şi inutilă. Şi să-i omori pe toţi care se chinuie să existe, fiindcă nu pot să trăiască.

…Doctorul mă avertizase că odată ce îmi voi folosi puterile dobândite împotriva oamenilor, nu mai există cale de întoarcere. Ori îi cucereşti, ori îi omori, pentru că umanitatea nu tolerează lucrurile pe care nu le înţelege. Şi atunci devin distrugători şi răi

Omori

Sometimes when we hide things from ourselves, we create different truths and eventually forget our way. Have you found yours yet, or are you still lost?

Our society of scholars,' Haga stands up, 'debates natural philosophy--' '- and not matters of state,' agrees an Edo metallurgist, 'so--' 'Nothing is outside philosophy,' claims Omori, 'unless fear says it is.

The act of correctly seeing this world from this state of concentration (jyo) and the world of samadhi is called “wisdom.” In other words, wisdom is the act of perceiving things of this world as they truly are.

I had taken the Bird’s daily beatings at Omori, and then at Naoetsu. I had to. I never complained. I just got knocked down, bled, got up, got knocked down, bled, got up. I expected it. I wouldn’t let it get me down. Sometimes it took me two days to recover, but I always had a positive attitude. Steely, but positive. No way would he break me.

Unele au auzit spunandu-se ca este un lagar de munca si ca nu are nimic de-a face cu Auschwitz sau cu Mauthausen, unde singura industrie este aceea de a omori oameni. Deci, nu sunt duse la un abator. Par vesti linistitoare, dar cele mai multe tac, pentru ca speranta a devenitla fel de subtire ca o lama de ras. Si de fiecare data cand pui mana pe ea, te tai. - Eu vin de la Auschwitz, afirma una. Deja nimic nu poate sa fie mai rau.

Nu înţelegeţi ce vreau să spun? Trebuie să vă mărturisesc că mă simt obosit. Pierd şirul vorbei şi nu mai am acea minte limpede atât de mult lăudată de prietenii mei. Spun prietenii mei, din principiu. Căci nu mai am prieteni, ci numai complici. În schimb, aceştia sunt mai numeroşi şi reprezintă întreaga omenire. Şi, printre ei, primul sunteţi dumneavoastră. Cel de lângă tine e totdeauna primul. Cum ştiu că n-am prieteni? E cât se poate de simplu: am descoperit că n-am prieteni în ziua în care m-am gândit să mă omor, spre a le juca o farsă zdravănă, spre a-i pedepsi, într-un anume sens. Dar m-am pomenit că n-aveam pe cine pedepsi. Câţiva ar fi fost surprinşi; dar nimeni nu s-ar fi simţit pedepsit. De altminteri, chiar dacă aş fi vrut, tot nu mi-ar fi folosit la nimic. Dacă aş fi putut să mă sinucid şi apoi să-i văd ce mutră fac, atunci, da, ar fi meritat. Dar pământul e negru, iubite prieten, lemnul e gros, giulgiul des. I-aş fi văzut cu ochii sufletului, e adevărat, dar numai dacă există un suflet şi dacă acest suflet are ochi. De asta însă nu suntem siguri, nu suntem niciodată siguri de nimic! Altminteri, ar exista o ieşire, am izbuti să fim luaţi în serios. Numai propria-ţi moarte îi convinge pe oameni de temeinicia motivelor tale, de sinceritatea ta, de adâncimea suferinţei tale. Atâta vreme cât trăieşti, cazul tău e îndoielnic, n-ai dreptul decât la scepticismul lor. De aceea, dacă ar exista fie şi numai o şansă de a te bucura de spectacol, ar merita să le dovedeşti ceea ce nu vor să creadă, uimindu-i. Dar aşa, te omori şi ce însemnătate mai poate avea dacă ei cred sau nu, de vreme ce tu nu mai eşti de faţă spre a te desfăta cu mirarea sau cu căinţa lor, de altminteri atât de scurtă, spre a asista, aşa cum îşi visează fiecare om, la propria-ţi înmormântare. Ca să nu mai fii îndoielnic, trebuie să nu mai fii, pur şi simplu. Şi oare nu-i mai bine aşa? Nepăsarea lor ne-ar face să suferim mai mult. "O să mi-o plăteşti!" îi spunea o fată tatălui ei, care n-o lăsase să se mărite cu un adorator, prea fercheş după gustul lui. După care s-a omorât. Dar tatăl n-a plătit nimic. Îi plăcea la nebunie pescuitul. După trei duminici, s-a întors la râu, ca să uite, zicea el. Şi nu se înşela: a uitat. La drept vorbind, de mirare ar fi fost dacă s-ar fi întâmplat altminteri. Crezi că mori spre a-ţi pedepsi nevasta şi de fapt îi redai libertatea. De aceea e mai bine să nu vezi. Ca să nu mai vorbim ce rişti să-i auzi vorbind despre ceea ce socotesc ei a fi fost pricina sinuciderii tale. Parcă-i aud: "S-a omorât fiindcă n-a mai putut îndura să..." Ah! dragă prietene, ce puţină imaginaţie au oamenii! Ei cred întotdeauna că te sinucizi pentru un motiv oarecare. Dar poţi să te sinucizi foarte bine pentru două motive. Lor nu le dă însă prin cap una ca asta. Şi atunci, la ce bun să mori de bună voie, să te sacrifici pentru ideea pe care vrei să şi-o facă despre tine? Căci, o dată mort, vor profita de asta spre a explica gestul tău prin tot felul de motive idioate sau vulgare. Martirii, dragă prietene, trebuie să aleagă între a fi uitaţi, batjocoriţi sau folosiţi. Căci înţeleşi nu vor fi niciodată.

I don't believe in Sadhu,Santh and all..but I believe in our Granth(Bhagwat Geeta).They all bloody Sadhu and Santh utilize this in a wrong way for the money purpose.I believe only this "OM OR I".

A spune „îmi pare rău” după ce ai făcut un rău este frumos, dar inutil. După ce omori un om, a-ți părea rău este doar o rezolvare a conștiinței tale, nu schimbă situația. Mortul rămâne mort. La fel și cu bucățile din suflet pe care le ucidem trăind altfel decât avem nevoie. Bucățile veștejite sunt moarte definitiv. Trăirea împotriva sufletului ucide. La început insesizabil, firicele mici, după care se crapă și se sfărâmă. Nu are de ce să te mire ceea ce singur ai permis să se întâmple. Este problema ta de ce nu ai fost conștient că o greșeală mică poate atrage după sine o catastrofă. E sănătos să-ți pară rău, dar e degeaba. Lipsa de atenție duce la dezastre, la moarte. Iar moartea e un fapt definitiv, irevocabil.

Oamenii iau decizii greu, de cele mai multe ori la timpul nepotrivit, când a trecut momentul. Decizia corectă se ia în momentul în care îți amintești că ești unic, când te gândești la tine și pentru tine, nu când gândești pentru altă persoană. Aveți voi o vorbă că „drumul spre iad e pavat cu bune intenții”. Eu aș spune că drumul spre iad este pavat cu cele mai profunde compromisuri. Alegerea bună o faci când nu te mai gândești la ceilalți. Fiecare om reacționează din instinct și va vrea să-i fie bine lui. Nimeni nu se va gândi la celălalt, ci la sine. Rupe-te de toți și fii doar tu cu tine ca să iei decizia pe care să n-o regreți. Momentul alegerii este vital, căci este momentul sufletului, îi dai șansa să trăiască sau îl omori. Sufletul nu trăiește în minciună. Mintea trăiește în orice. Sufletul se sufocă în neadevăr. În lumea noastră nu există bine sau rău, există alegere. Orice alegere faci este o experiență. Viața este o călătorie, nu o parcare. Momentul alegerii trebuie să se producă departe de toate vibrațiile celor din jur. Răsăritul soarelui ca vibrație este important pentru alegere, căci este momentul nașterii. Și răspunsul corect vine sub forma unei afirmații, este neinterpretabil, nenegociabil și nu există dubii la alegerea răspunsului corect. Cu o singură condiție: să ți-l amintești, căci este ca flacăra unei lumânări în vânt. Durează câteva clipe și se stinge imediat, la influența celor din jur. Răspunsul se află în tine. Lasă-l să iasă. Răspunsurile proaste sunt răspunsurile care nu sunt urmate de acțiune. Eu nu pot experimenta emoția. Când este o decizie profundă, organică, nimeni nu-ți poate sta în cale. Nu ai cum să evoluezi dacă nu treci prin minciună, adulter, mlaștină. Frica pe care o exorcizezi, fiecare pas te fac mai puternică în alegerea ta. Fiecare moment de consecvență este un pas spre evoluție. Efortul e util când ești consecvent. Oamenii îți aduc în față proiecția propriilor frici. Vinovăția, mila, frica, îndoiala atrag energii negative și te provoacă să experimentezi asta. Dacă vrei să găsești adevărul, fii adevăr, nu mocirlă. Dacă vrei să găsești lumina, fii lumină. Așteptarea te ține pe loc. Orice alegere iei va fi alegerea corectă.

When we are confronted with something white, we become completely white; when we see something red, we become completely united as if red is self and self is red. This is when we are said to be in samadhi. To become completely the other means for us to be one with them. It is to give life to them by means of dedicating all of ourselves to them. Therefore, it is as if two mirrors reflect each other without any specific images reflected between them. In such a state there is no sign of perceiving and being perceived. Hence, it is called “no receiving.” If we come to think of it this way, if we differentiate between Zen and samadhi, samadhi is what we attain when we train in Zen. Combining the two gives us Zen concentration (zenjyo in Japanese).

Just as in the phrase jyo-e enmyo (full and clear perception in the wisdom of concentration), jyo (concentration) necessarily gives birth to e (wisdom) and e (wisdom) must be based on jyo (concentration).

Otherwise, no matter how clear our perception, it is nothing but worldly knowledge and discriminating knowledge and can never be called wisdom.

Seeing one’s true self-nature in itself is samadhi, and samadhi in itself is seeing one’s true self-nature.

Ashikaga Takauji41 had an evil reputation as a traitor, but it is said that he sat zazen for some time every night and never failed to engage in this daily practice even when he became intoxicated. I think this should be a lesson to students of Zen.

Master Hakuin emphasizes kufu in movement or practical training in Zen. He says, “To practice Zen in movement is superior to doing so in the stillness of meditation.

In disciplining ourselves to practice Zen in movement, we never cease to become mu with all our might or count the frequency of our respiration at all times and in all places just as we do when we are in meditation. Therefore, it is our ideal to train ourselves to attain immovability in movement. As I have been saying, however, even professional Zen monks cannot always practice Zen in movement except those endowed with the greatest capacities.

Kawajiri Hogin writes in his Zazen no Shokei, “When you are engaged in some work or other, you become one with it. In the intervals of your work, you immediately resume your contemplation on the koan. For instance, when you are smoking by the fireside or doing something like that, you are considered to be in the intervals of your work. At such a time you are absorbed in the contemplation on the koan free from dualistic thoughts and imaginations. This is one example of kufu in movement.

By emptying ourselves we become one with objects, deeply absorbed in our work. To be thus thoroughly one with everything with which we are confronted is the true essence of mu. It is the state of both physical and spiritual liberation, to which kufu in movement should point.

In Tendai’s Shoshikan,38 the way to get out of samadhi is discussed in detail. According to it, we must harmonize mind, breath and body in getting out of samadhi, just as we do in getting into it. When we start sitting, we should move the upper body back and forth and from side to side to balance it, and then put breath and mind in order. When we are going to get out of the state of samadhi, on the other hand, we should carefully relax the mind, and then exhale, and last of all move the body. Before we stand up after sitting for a certain duration of time, we should move the body in the above manner.

Contrary to what we do when we are going to enter into samadhi, we start moving the upper body from side to side a little at first and then gradually increase the degree of movement, which becomes larger and larger with the hips as the pivot. Next move the shoulders to ease stiffness, and then massage the face, the head, and the neck with both hands. Last of all, we should unlock the crossed legs to alleviate numbness and any other discomfort. When we sit alone, it is effective to do some exercises. What is important is to “stand up calmly.

It is especially desirable to let the concentrated state of mind, samadhi, operate in our everyday activities.

Zazen-gi cautions us to come out of samadhi calmly and to move the body naturally. It further teaches us how to get to our feet with dignity and what to do after doing so. It writes, “Even after getting out of samadhi, you should always be on the alert to act responsively and protect your power of concentration as you protect a baby. Then, it will be easy for you to cultivate your power of concentration until it comes to maturity.

At first the power of concentration nurtured during sitting for thirty minutes may be lost in an instant as soon as we stop sitting. But later we will be able to retain it for five or ten minutes by means of hoben and kufu.

If we negate ourselves and completely plunge into the objective world around us, all oppositions cease. The phrase goes, “The holy man has no self; and, therefore, everything becomes the holy man.” By making ourselves empty and plunging deep into the surrounding world to be integrated with things, the surrounding world will in turn become ourselves. We and the world thus will be one, and we will be masters everywhere.

This operating power of our minds is called joriki. It is, in short, the operation of no-self. Master Sogaku writes about it as follows, “The right mind operates at each time and in each place to make you take the right attitude and act properly without deviating from the Way.

It is said that there are as many as one thousand seven hundred koan. They are classified according to the specific styles of the different schools in which they have been employed. In our School of Tekisui, koan problems are generally classified into hosshin (The body of Dharma), kikan (dynamism), gonsen (verbal expression), nanto (difficulty in passing through), kojo (stage of refinement), and matsugo no rokan (the final gate).

Master Daie (Ta-hui) says this about kufu: In training ourselves to solve koan, we should neither make guesses or comments nor try to understand them. It is unnecessary to know the meanings of the words or justify our attitudes toward the koan presented to us. On the contrary, we should neither be empty and tranquil nor expect to be enlightened. It is still worse to be absent-minded. Whether we walk, dwell, sit, or lie down, we should always be one with the koan and try to keep in touch with them all the time.17 In the Mumonkan, Master Mumon Ekai (Wu-men Hui-k’ai) states, Arouse your entire body with its three hundred and sixty bones and joints and its eighty-four thousand pores of the skin. Summon up a spirit of great doubt and concentrate on this word “mu.” In order to do so, hold to the problem from morning to night without letting it go even for one second, and become one with the word “mu” (void) with all your strength.

kufu means, as I have already explained, being without any suki (opening or flaw in terms of swordsmanship) or yudan (carelessness) and to become the thing itself.

Zazen should never become a means of making yourself feel good nor should it be a tranquilizer to settle excitement and wild thoughts. What is of primary importance is what the ancients called “no gaining and no merit.” Indeed, zazen consists in awakening us to our own essence so as to secure and express our true selves in our everyday conduct.

The second chapter in Master Harada Sogaku’s Sanzen no Hiketsu mentions that direct knowledge of the practice of zazen corresponds to those topics I have already covered.

Master Harada Sogaku writes, “For beginners it is adequate to sit for about thirty minutes at a time.

Kinhin means walking in the Zen hall after sitting in Zen meditation for some time. We walk meditatively with our hands held against our chests. The closed right hand held lightly against the chest is covered with the left hand, and both of the arms are held up horizontally.

On one hand, kinhin is a kind of exercise to ease our fatigue after sitting, and on the other, it is training to bring about the oneness of movement and calmness.

We are apt to instantaneously come out of samadhi as soon as we are on our feet for a few moments. This is because we are lacking in the full power of Zen concentration. By getting to our feet and walking in kinhin while we are one with susoku or koan, we discipline ourselves to realize the oneness of tranquility and movement so that we may not be controlled and upset by our environment in our everyday life.

If possible, we should sit as often as we can every day. In case it is impossible for us to sit many times a day, we must find ways to sit in the intervals of our work or while riding buses and trains on our way to and from work in addition to sitting once a day before going to bed.

Apart from nembutsu, we can cure our fatigue by sitting truly well in meditation, even if we shorten the time of our sleep. This has been proved by many who have experienced zazen. Ten minutes of zazen before reading and the momentary immersion in samadhi before work—how well they help us enjoy our work and reading, and to what a great extent they enhance our efficiency!

mosquito pupils.” I do not know the exact meaning of the term, but it seems to mean those people who practice their arts only during the season when mosquitoes are plentiful.

As soon as she opened her mouth, however, the illusion crumbled.

To sit in order to cure neurosis or to develop hara42 so as not to be frightened by things is really up to each person and probably is not bad. Whether such people will be guided from there to training according to the true way of Zen discipline depends on the ability of the instructor. But, if we recall the original aim of zazen, it is correct to say that zazen has no purpose other than zazen.

Zen Master Dogen said that to transmit Dharma means to transmit zazen.

Zen Master Dogen said that to transmit Dharma means to transmit zazen. Explaining that Dharma is identical to zazen, he writes, “Ever since days of old, only a few people have known that the purpose of zazen is zazen.”43 He means that zazen is not the means of attaining any goal other than zazen and also that zazen is not the way of learning Zen. He goes on to say, “Zazen is something which makes us want to sit in zazen.” It is hard for beginners to understand this, but it is an important point to remember. Ceramic vase (height 120 cm.), hand-built in the ceramics studio at Daihonzan Chozen-ji by Myoshin Teruya Roshi. In this photograph, the piece has just completed its bisque firing; firing was later finished in a four-chamber wood-burning kiln on the grounds. Teruya

When we refer to the classic text Zazen-gi regarding the method of sitting, we find the following written about the essential technique of zazen, “Once the posture has been stabilized and the breath regulated, push forth the lower abdomen; one thinks not of good or evil.

I would like to explain the three aspects of sitting in the following order: (1) seating the body; (2) regulating the breath; (3) stabilizing the mind. Before I begin, however, I would like to briefly discuss the preliminary precautions to take in order to settle the mind and body for sitting. In Zazen-gi, it states, First awaken your compassionate mind with a deep longing to save all sentient beings. You must practice samadhi meditation with great care, and promise to ferry these sentient beings over to the other shore, refusing to practice zazen only for your own emancipation.2 In other words, our sitting must be based on the compassionate desire to save all sentient beings by means of calming the mind.

Some people contend that this means the complete integration of subject and object whenever they meet. This interpretation is interesting in content, but it is not necessarily substantiated by anything in the literature of Zen.

shikan means that the sitter must be totally integrated with sitting itself and sit in a commanding manner.

Teachers of old went to these extremes in revering the transmission of Dharma through the right masters. This means nothing other than valuing the Dharma more than anything else. In this sense, the question to be settled first of all for anyone is to select the right teacher who has clearly inherited Dharma through authentic masters.

However authentic the master may be, it will not be to the advantage of the student to remain with him for a long time if they are incompatible in personality and temperament like water and fire. It is, therefore, desirable for the student to love his master so much that he would dedicate his whole life to his teacher.

An ancient saying goes, “Spend three years without learning before you choose your teacher.” We should select our teacher carefully enough before we become his disciple. Once we choose our teacher, we should follow him faithfully until we attain enlightenment.

Thinking that a koan is something to be thought about and solved objectively is out of keeping with Zen teachings.

My teacher Bokuo Roshi, Abbot of Tenryu-ji at present, once said in reminiscence of his painful discipline in his bygone years, “The way to be liberated from suffering is to be quickly absorbed into it.

Some of you may practice zazen all alone at home with this book of mine as a guide. If you do, you must be well prepared for suffering. If there is no suffering, your sitting will be futile and you will find it difficult to continue zazen.

The word “doubt” may be interpreted as “becoming the object of doubt itself.

Why do they practice such quietistic and futile Zen just as you do? It is, after all, because they failed to meet any qualified teachers in the beginning and came to indulge themselves in the practice of various inauthentic kinds of Zen. They know nothing about kufu to achieve immovability in movement. They should indeed be called self-indulgent, unenlightened, stubborn, and dense stink bags and pseudo-Zen men.

Talking, laughing, quarreling, and moving the limbs should all be integrated into the one and the same samadhi.

our everyday life, filled with noise and lively activities of people, must be the most convenient dojo for kufu to practice Zen in movement.

Makyo is, in short, our attachment to favorable conditions that we ourselves approve of. It is possible to subdue them by ignoring them and eliminating them, as testified by the words of ancients.

According to the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung, there is an unconscious life that is out of the reach of consciousness and that lies in the depth of the visible and tangible life of consciousness. It is there that all the records of life stemming from time immemorial are kept. This unconscious life is responsible for the formation of our personalities. For instance, if we compare the life of consciousness to the waves moving on the surface of water, the life of unconsciousness is comparable to the current below the surface. Jung calls the central point of our consciousness the ego. But far below it there is the stratum called individual unconsciousness which is the element indispensable to the formation of our personalities. Even further below this stratum, there is the limitless and boundless stratum of unconsciousness called collective unconsciousness, in which the traces of the whole development of human beings, ranging from the very beginning of human life in general to the present circumstances, are registered.

The eighth consciousness is called Alaya-vijnana, which is translated into Japanese as “zo-shiki.” It alludes to the storehouse of life, where all of our past experiences are imprinted and where the possible motivations of all of our conduct are also said to be stored. Thus, we may safely regard Alaya-vijnana as equivalent to what Jung calls “collective unconsciousness.

The original cause of all our actions is stored in the eighth consciousness which is called Alaya-vijnana, but the seed of that original cause is by nature neither good nor bad. It is indeed deemed to be the operation of the seventh consciousness called Mana-vijnana that tinges the originally pure Alaya-vijnana with evil by involving it in the life of egocentric desires and passions.

Now, when we go into samadhi through meditation, our thoughts become pacified. This means that the first five kinds of consciousnesses and the sixth consciousness have stopped their operations. When the operation of the conscious mind stops, that of the seventh consciousness called Mana-vijnana prevails to create makyo. Therefore, makyo may be regarded as something resulting from the power of concentration.

Excuse my lengthy exposition, but in short what I mean to say is that we should regard everything that appears to us during our meditation as makyo. Even if Buddha appears, even if glorious light shines, even if the ash of the incense stick is heard as it falls six feet away, and even if the absolute nothingness reveals itself, they all belong to makyo regardless of whether they are good or bad, as long as they occur to us during our meditation. When we come face to face with makyo, we should brace up mind and body and become courageous so that we may smash them all into pieces paying no attention to them. We find the following passage in Kaian Kokugo,37 “If you want to maintain your life, cut the thoughts of protecting your life. It is only when you cut everything that you will be secure for the first time.” HOW TO GET TO YOUR FEET AFTER SITTING When we sit for the duration of one incense stick, that is for thirty or forty minutes at a time, it is not necessary to pay any attention to the problem of getting to our feet after meditation. However,

Excuse my lengthy exposition, but in short what I mean to say is that we should regard everything that appears to us during our meditation as makyo. Even if Buddha appears, even if glorious light shines, even if the ash of the incense stick is heard as it falls six feet away, and even if the absolute nothingness reveals itself, they all belong to makyo regardless of whether they are good or bad, as long as they occur to us during our meditation. When we come face to face with makyo, we should brace up mind and body and become courageous so that we may smash them all into pieces paying no attention to them. We find the following passage in Kaian Kokugo,37 “If you want to maintain your life, cut the thoughts of protecting your life. It is only when you cut everything that you will be secure for the first time.

As we become advanced in meditation, sometimes phenomena appear during our meditation. Some of them are favorable while others are not. As a whole, they have always been called makyo (disturbing conditions). For

However, as we sit in meditation, to be authentically aware of our selflessness and realize our true selves at the same time we should not let ourselves be agitated by the operation of Mana-vijnana. Hence, it is said, “If you meet the Buddha, kill him; if you meet your ancestor, kill him.” We must stir up our courage to be free from all the phenomena which arise to disturb our meditation. Makyo will then unconditionally surrender and perish and we will be admitted to the state of mind comparable to that layer of ice 25 million miles thick as described by Hakuin.

The state of tranquility and nothingness, which at first sight seems to be the right awareness of the selfless self, is nothing other than the depth of unconsciousness called Alaya-vijnana, which has come to prevail over Mana-vijnana. This is suggested by the following Zen verse composed by the famous Master Chosha Keijin (Ch’ang-sha Ching-ts’en):36 Students of the Way do not comprehend the Truth Because they only recognize the existing Eighth Consciousness. Fools identify with the original man, The boundless origin of birth and death.

Collective unconsciousness corresponding to Alaya-vijnana is regarded as the “Eighth Consciousness” embracing all possibilities, and yet it is not proper to identify it with the true self.

Wisdom originates in samadhi is what this sutra teaches us.

Vimalakirti elsewhere preached that “enza” meant acting like ordinary men of the world without deviating from the Buddhist Way and Dharma. Thus, “enza” means living neither in mind nor outside it, mastering the thirty-seven teachings without being agitated by various opinions, and entering Nirvana65 without getting rid of desires and agonies.

According to the dictionary, “en” of “enza” is defined “to be peaceful and to rest peacefully.” Thus, “za” means “to rest in peace.” Therefore, “enza” is “to sit peacefully.” It is the same as samadhi.

As long as we make the Truth and the Absolute our primary objects without transcending the duality of subject and object, we are not said to be in zazen, even if we formally sit in strict conformity to its requirements.

As the Sixth Patriarch teaches, “sitting” means to sit with our minds “externally … free from any thought of attachment to the dualities of all good and bad things.” The true meaning of “sitting” then lies in the state of mind in which no thought of contradiction arises even when it comes into direct contact with all things. Conversely, it can be said that “sitting” is the training of the mind in terms of no-self or no-form in the true sense of the word. Further, to “see one’s self-nature without being disturbed internally” is Zen. The Sixth Patriarch meant to say that Zen is seeing one’s own self, realizing that one has originally no fixed form, clearly seeing no-self, and realizing its imperturbability. If we grasp this point firmly, whatever we do becomes zazen whether we are sitting or lying down.

the differences between the Soto and the Rinzai sects seem to be due to differences between two major types of human beings,

The above difference between Eno and Jinshu later came to cause the division of Zen Buddhism into two branches: the Southern School, derived from Hui-neng, and the Northern School, stemming from Shenhsiu. The former advocated direct seeing into one’s original Buddha nature—that is, sudden awakening to one’s self-nature. The latter taught gradual awakening through perpetual endeavor to keep one’s mind clean.

The Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism came to fruition during this extremely violent, war-ridden age, hence, its naturally sharp and vigorous spirit. Its special emphasis on independence from words came from its denial of the empty ideas and words cherished by the intelligentsia. And its insistence on thorough insight into one’s original self-nature alludes to its protest against the intellectuals who spent their time repeating and criticizing second and third-hand theories without possessing any philosophy of their own formulation. At any rate, it may be safely said that the characteristic of the Rinzai Sect lies in its emphasis on the spontaneous operation of the spirit of Zen, arising from the standpoint of the awakened Self. Regarding the Soto sect, it is stated in Ninden Ganmoku:

When viewed in terms of its discipline, Rinzai Zen is distinguished from Soto Zen by its requirement of the realization of the True Self that transcends this five-foot body and fifty-year life span through integration with koan. For instance, there is the koan of mu which derives from Master Joshu’s question about the Buddha nature of a dog.

In the Soto sect, however, the issue of kensho (seeing one’s original self-nature) is seldom discussed for it is already evident in Shakyamuni’s enlightenment attained under the bodhi tree. The content of his enlightenment later developed and was incorporated into Buddhist teachings. In view of this fact, everything should be correctly perceived in samadhi by all Buddhists. Therefore, in the Soto sect, one is expected to sit in zazen, not out of necessity for seeing one’s true self, but for the sake of discipline in enlightenment. All one is expected to do is to forget and abandon both mind and body, throw them into the house of Buddha and act as Buddha in every move of one’s hands and in every step of one’s feet.

Therefore, in the Soto sect, one is expected to sit in zazen, not out of necessity for seeing one’s true self, but for the sake of discipline in enlightenment. All one is expected to do is to forget and abandon both mind and body, throw them into the house of Buddha and act as Buddha in every move of one’s hands and in every step of one’s feet. In this sense, one sits in meditation in such a way that by doing so one is regarded as a Buddha. It is for this reason that, in the Soto sect, neither koan nor kufu for the sake of enlightenment is required. Only in sitting with all one’s might will Dharma be realized. Zazen anticipates nothing. The physical form of one in zazen in itself is the form of the enlightened Buddha.

In Master Shibayama Zenkei’s Rinzai Zen no Seikaku,72 the styles of the Soto sect and the Rinzai sect are respectively described as honkaku (original awakening) and shikaku (primal awakening). He writes, “It may be said that, as similar as they are, they are different. Rinzai Zen principally stresses discipline for enlightenment, whereas Soto Zen is principally concerned with discipline for descent from the height of enlightenment.

Each of these sects has its own merits as well as its own weak points, as we can plainly see. The Rinzai sect regards kensho (seeing one’s original nature) as the indispensable condition in enlightenment. In the Soto sect, which emphasizes the body of the enlightened mind, the minutest care is taken to enhance the effects of discipline and to maintain Dharma for the creation and salvation of human beings. For this reason, it may fall into the danger of turning zazen into something inflexible, inert, weak, or even lifeless. The Rinzai sect, if excessively inclined to seeing one’s original nature and action, may likewise fail to prevent zazen from becoming the mere means of attaining enlightenment.

It is into these two schools that Hakuin’s Zen is divided at present. The teaching of the Takuju School is characterized by the mysterious symbolism of words, whereas that of the Inzan School is reputed for the severity of its dynamic action.

it goes without saying that since time immemorial it has been forbidden to practice Zen as a means of accomplishing some purpose or other, for Zen should be without purposes and without acquisitions.

The Zen idioms, such as the “oneness of discipline and proof ” and “true proof and wondrous discipline,” directly express the above-mentioned point of Zen. The cause—namely discipline itself—contains the effect, the proof. And, in proof is found discipline. It is said that proof is not the destination to be reached by means of discipline.

The aim or purpose of Zen is not to be sought outside the self. If we aim at becoming one with our true inner selves, the proof of enlightenment will be naturally obtained only in the process of sitting in earnest meditation, for the purpose as such, which gradually reveals itself before our eyes, is the same as the means of attaining it. Master Rinzai said, “While we are on our way, we are not away from home.” In the above case, being on our way may be considered to be the means, and being not away from home to be the purpose.

Soku is the most suitable kind of breathing for those of us who sit in meditation. What kind of breathing is it? It is described as the breath coming in and going out without any break, as if existent and yet non-existent. This description of soku is not complete, but I am sure it corresponds to the lower abdominal breathing (tanden-soku) discussed earlier.

In Takeuchi’s opinion, the word “spirit” is derived from the Latin word “spiro” (to breathe).

it is important to take care to adjust our breathing to our koan as we inhale and exhale properly, saying to ourselves, “Mu.” This method is what is called “nentei.

Our body then is no longer a mere physical body but the body of Buddha and the True Body of the individual. It embodies and concretely expresses the spiritual nature and inexhaustible wisdom of various Buddhas. It is as if the body is the whole universe.

As for those of us who breathe with the tanden, the frequency of our breathing ranges from two or three to five or six times per minute.

In his Japanese translation of Hsiao Chih-kuan (Shoshikan),22 Ito Nobujiro describes the “six wondrous entrances” to Nirvana: counting, following, retaining, perceiving, returning, and purifying. As excessive explanations of all six ways to enter into Nirvana may only confuse the reader, I am going to restrict myself to the interpretation of shusu (mastering the way of counting the frequency of breathing). According to the Shoshikan, shusu means that we should regulate our breathing—not allowing it to be too shallow, too rough, or too smooth—by counting the breaths calmly from one to ten. In this way the mind becomes concentrated. Then we should repeat counting all over again starting from one. If we repeat counting in this way a number of times with all of our effort, our disturbed minds will come to be concentrated and unified naturally.

Therefore, kufu alludes to the earnest way each artisan applies himself to the art of his own choice.

The concrete methods of adjusting the mind are called susoku-kan and koan kufu21 in Japanese.

We are white dew drops; If we lay ourselves just as we are On the maple leaves, We are red beads.

of their brain waves quickly changed to an astonishing degree 50 seconds after the start of zazen. Even after the finish, the effect remained. This could not be seen at all when amateurs tried to imitate it.2 Thus, zazen has recently begun to be recognized as something contributing to the mental health of some patients suffering from neuroses.

It has long been said that breathing becomes well regulated, blood circulation becomes normalized, the abdomen becomes filled with energy in a way that creates self-composure, and insomnia can be cured as the result of zazen. The unprecedented research of Professor Kasamatsu has succeeded in demonstrating theses empirical effects scientifically.