This week Roshi wrapped up our discussion of Dogen’s Zuimonki.  To reiterate, the Zuimonki is a collection of casual discussions Dogen had with his students collected by one of his students, Ejo.  This week we studied two passages in Book 6.  The first was passage # 6 …

One day Dogen instructed,

An ancient person said, “Listen, see, attain.”

Further, “If you haven’t attained, see. If you haven’t yet seen, listen.”

He meant that seeing is superior to listening, attaining is superior to seeing. If you haven’t attained, you should see. If you haven’t seen, you should listen.

Roshi started by noting that the senses are a gateway to understanding.  The first thing we should do is deeply listen.  Of course, we listen every day, but we are constantly judging and as such, what we hear is affected by our conditioning.  We are constantly accepting or rejecting what we are hearing.  In our normal life when we listen to someone else, our mind is rushing ahead to formulate a response.  Are we really listening to understand the other person?  Here Dogen is asking if we can listen deeply without the ego filtering everything.  We need to listen, then listen again, and again and again.  Roshi likened this to marinating in what we are listening to.

Dogen is exhorting us to listen deeply.  Once we do this then the ‘seeing’ opens us and we perceive reality for what it really is.  Roshi went back to the example of daily conversations.  Once we learn how to deeply listen to someone, we really see them for who they are.  Only now is real deep communication happening.  So, first listen, then see, and then attain!

Roshi moved onto the related passage #7…

Dogen also said,

The essential point to be careful about in practicing the Way is casting aside your tendency (from the past) to cling to certain things. If you first change your physical behavior, your mind will be reformed as well. Firstly, carry out what is prescribed to do and avoid what is prohibited in the precepts; then your mind will reform of itself.

In China, there is a custom among lay people of gathering at their ancestral shrine and pretending to cry, to demonstrate their filial piety toward their fathers and mothers. Eventually, they actually begin to cry. Students of the Way! Even if you don’t have bodhi-mind in the beginning, if you force yourself to practice the Buddha-Way, eventually you will arouse true bodhi-mind. Especially beginners in the Way should just practice [the Way] following the other members of the sangha. Do not be in a hurry to study and understand the essential points and ancient examples.

Here Dogen is reminding us not to overthink Zen.  In his example, if the relatives cry for their dead relations through a repeated ritual, they will eventually start to feel real emotions.  Roshi noted that when he began temple practice, he was thrown into all kinds of ceremonies, liturgies, and rules.  He would pose many questions, but his teacher refused to explain any of it to him.  In fact, his teacher would discourage reading books about Buddhism.  The tradition is about doing and experiencing.  You cannot read your way to enlightenment!  Roshi’s teacher looked at thinking as a distraction from the real work of Zen.  It was very much a “Just do it” approach to practice.

Roshi also noted this is very similar to how the Japanese teach performance art (No, Kabuki, etc)  The master shows the student the exact steps to mimic.  The student does not question or think – they memorize all the myriad movements until they are perfect.  Only then can the performer truly express themselves through their art.  It is said that people in the West do not think this way, but this may not be entirely true.  One cannot learn golf by reading a book – one must learn the mechanics of the stroke perfectly and then get out on a course and do it.

Roshi wrapped up by noting that our goal is to become the Bodhi mind.  We can only do this by quieting the mind.  We then listen and watch the forms carefully and perform them perfectly.   Slowly we transform and attain the way.  It is quite fitting that Dogen had this as his capstone message in Zuimonki.