{"id":16319,"date":"2018-01-31T03:08:57","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T03:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antaiji.org\/?p=16319"},"modified":"2018-01-31T03:35:46","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T03:35:46","slug":"20180131-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/20180131-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Muho talks about <i>Hyakujo&#8217;s<\/i> fox and <i>Joshu&#8217;s<\/i> cat, January 31st 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mqeAcHTWcJI\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Short English Q &#038; A at the very end (2:07:00)!<\/p>\n<p>Shobogenzo Zuimonki<br \/>\nBook 1 Chapter 6<br \/>\n(quoted from: <a href=\"http:\/\/global.sotozen-net.or.jp\/common_html\/zuimonki\/01-06.html\" target=\"new\">global.sotozen-net.or.jp\/common_html\/zuimonki\/01-06.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Once Ejo asked,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the meaning of not being blind to cause and effect?\u201d \u2460<br \/>\nDogen replied, \u201cNot moving cause and effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cHow can we be released then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cCause and effect are self-evident.\u201d \u2461<\/p>\n<p>Ejo inquired further, \u201cThen does cause bring about effect or does effect bring about cause?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cIf it is so in every case, what about Nansen\u2019s \u2462 killing the cat? When his students could not say anything, Nansen immediately killed the cat. Later, when Joshu  heard about the incident, he put his straw sandal on his head and went out. This was excellent action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen added, \u201cIf I had been Nansen, I would have said, \u2018If you cannot speak, I will kill it; even if you can speak, I will kill it. Who would fight over a cat? Who can save the cat? On behalf of the students, I would have said, \u2018We are not able to speak, Master. Go ahead and kill the cat!\u2019 Or, I would have said for them, \u2018Master, you only know about cutting it (the cat) into two with one stroke, yet you do not know about cutting it into one with one stroke.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cHow do you cut it into one with one stroke?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cThe cat itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen added, \u201cIf I had been Nansen, when the students could not answer, I would have released the cat saying that the students had already spoken. An ancient master said, \u2018When the great-function manifests itself, no fixed rules exist.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen also said, \u201cThis action of Nansen\u2019s that is, cutting the cat, is a manifestation of the great-function of the buddha-dharma. This is a pivot-word \u2463. If it were not a pivot-word, it could not be said that mountains, rivers, and the great earth are the excellent pure and bright Mind \u2464. Or it could not be said that Mind itself is the Buddha. Upon hearing this pivot-word, see the cat itself as nothing but the Buddha-body. Upon hearing this word, students must immediately enter enlightenment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen also said, \u201cThis action, that is, cutting the cat, is nothing other than Buddha\u2019s action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo said, \u201cWhat shall we call it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cCall it cutting the cat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cIs it a crime or not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cYes, it is a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo inquired, \u201cHow are we able to be released from it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cBuddha\u2019s action and the criminal action are separate, yet they both occur in one action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cIs this what is meant by the Pratimoksa \u2465 Precepts (case by case emancipation)?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen said, \u201cYes, it is. Though it all right, it\u2019s better not to use such a method.\u201d<br \/>\nEjo asked, \u201cDoes the term \u2018violation of the precepts refer to the crimes committed after having received the precepts? Or are the crimes committed before receiving the precepts also called \u2018violation of the precepts\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen replied, \u201cViolation of the precepts applies only to those crimes committed after having received the precepts. Crimes committed before receiving the precepts are just called crimes or evil deeds. They should not be called \u2018violation of the precepts\u2019.\u201d<br \/>\nEjo asked, \u201cAmong the forty-eight minor precepts \u2465, there is one which states that crimes committed prior to receiving the precepts are called violations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen replied, \u201cThat\u2019s not true. What it means is that a person about to receive the precepts should repent \u2466 of evil deeds committed in the past. According to the ten major precepts or the forty-eight minor precepts, such evil deeds are called violations. The crimes committed before are not called \u2018violation of the precepts\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cIn the Precept Sutra, it says that when a person receives the precepts, he should repent of the misdeeds committed until then. The master has to teach the major and minor precepts and have the student recite them. However, in the next section of the sutra, it says that you should not preach about the precepts to people who have not yet received them. How should we resolve this contradiction?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen replied, \u201cReceiving the precepts and reciting the precepts are different. Reciting the Precept Sutra for the sake of repentance is nothing other than reading the sutras. Therefore, a person who has not yet received the precepts also recites the Precept Sutra. It cannot be wrong to explain the Precept Sutra to him. What the latter part of the sutra says is that you should not preach the precepts to people who have not received them for the purpose of gaining profit. You should certainly teach the precepts in order to have people repent of their evil deeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ejo asked, \u201cAlthough it is said that a person who has committed the seven-grave-crimes \u2467 cannot be permitted to receive the precepts, the former part of the sutra says that the seven-grave-crimes should also be repented. What does this mean?\u201d<br \/>\nDogen replied, \u201cThey should certainly be repented. The meaning of the passage, \u2018They are not permitted to receive the precepts\u2019 is for the purpose of inhibiting the commission of the seven-grave-crimes. The former sentence means that even if one violates the precepts, he will be pure when he receives the precepts again. When he repents, he is pure. It is different from a person who has not yet received the precepts.\u201d<br \/>\nEjo asked, \u201cIf one who has committed any of the seven grave crimes is permitted to repent, can he receive the precepts again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dogen replied, \u201cYes. The late Master Eisai himself insisted on this. Once a person who has committed one of the seven grave crimes is allowed to repent, he is also permitted to receive the precepts. The teacher should allow a person who has repented to receive the precepts, even one who has committed the seven-grave-crimes. Even if the teacher himself violates the precepts by doing so, as a bodhisattva, for the sake of saving that person, he has to allow him to receive them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Footnotes:<\/p>\n<p>\u2460\u3000This is a quotation taken from a story about Hyakujo Ekai  and an old man. (The eighth case of the Shoyoroku , the second case of the Mumonkan). Whenever Hyakujo gave lectures, there was an old man who was always in attendance. When the monks left after the lecture, he also left. One day the old man did not leave. Hyakujo asked him, \u201c Who is standing in front of me?\u201d The old man said, \u201cAt the time of Kashapa-buddha in the distant past, I was living on this mountain. Once a student asked me whether a person of the great-practice would fall into causality or not. I replied to him, \u2018No, (such a person) would not fall into causality. \u2018 Because of that answer I became a wild fox for five hundred lives. I beg you to please give me a pivot-word.\u201d Hyakujo replied, \u201c(Such a person) is not blind to causality.\u201d<br \/>\nDogen made his own commentary on this story in Shobogenzo Daishugyo (The Great Practice) and Shobogenzo Jinshin-inga (Having profound Faith in Cause and Effect).<\/p>\n<p>\u2461\u3000In the Choenji-bon version, this passage reads, \u201cCause and effect are self-evident and occur simultaneously,\u201d making the connection between this sentence and the following one more natural.<\/p>\n<p>\u2462\u3000This refers to the story about Nansen Fugan (749\u2013834) and his disciples. (The ninth case of the Shoyoroku, the fourteenth case of the Mumonkan).<br \/>\nOne day the monks of the Eastern and Western Halls in Nansen\u2019s monastery were arguing over a cat. Nansen saw it, took the cat and said, \u201cIf someone can speak, I won\u2019t kill the cat.\u201d None in the assembly spoke. Nansen cut the cat in two. Later, Nansen related the incident to Joshu (778\u2013895) and asked him what he thought about it. Joshu took off his sandal, put it on his head, and left. Nansen said, \u201cIf you had been there, you would have saved the cat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2463\u3000A powerful word or phrase by which the basis of a person hearing it will be turned around.<\/p>\n<p>\u2464\u3000In his Shobogenzo Sokushinzebutsu, Dogen quoted from an old master, \u201cWhat is the excellent pure and bright mind like? Mountains, rivers, and the great earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars.\u201d And Dogen said, \u201cIt should be clearly understood that the Mind is mountains, rivers, and the great earth, the sun, the moon and the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2465\u3000In the Yuikyogyo (The Sutra of the Last Discourse), the Buddha said, \u201cMonks, after my death, respect and follow the pratimoksa. If you do, you will be like a person who has been given a light in the darkness, or like a pauper who has acquired a great treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2466\u3000At the meeting of fusatsu (Skt. uposata) as well as at the time of receiving the precepts at ordination, one repents of all wrong doings in the past. The following verse on repentance is chanted during sutra chanting.<br \/>\n\u201cAll the karma ever created by me<br \/>\nin the past, through greed, anger, or self-delusion<br \/>\nwhich has no beginning, born of my body, speech, and thought<br \/>\nI now make complete and open confession of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2467\u3000The seven-grave-crimes are hurting buddha\u2019s body, killing one\u2019s father, killing one\u2019s mother, killing the teacher from whom one has received ordination, killing the teacher with whom one studies, causing disunity in the sangha, killing a sage (arhat).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Short English Q &#038; A at the very end (2:07:00)! Shobogenzo Zuimonki Book 1 Chapter 6 (quoted from: global.sotozen-net.or.jp\/common_html\/zuimonki\/01-06.html) Once Ejo asked, \u201cWhat is the meaning of not being blind to cause and effect?\u201d \u2460 Dogen replied, \u201cNot moving cause and effect.\u201d Ejo asked, \u201cHow can we be released then?\u201d Dogen said, \u201cCause and effect are self-evident.\u201d \u2461 Ejo inquired further, \u201cThen does cause bring about effect or does effect bring about cause?\u201d Dogen said, \u201cIf it is so in every case, what about Nansen\u2019s \u2462 killing the cat? When his students could not say anything, Nansen immediately killed the cat. Later, when Joshu heard about the incident, he put his straw sandal on his head and went out. This was excellent action.\u201d Dogen added, \u201cIf I had been Nansen, I would have said, \u2018If you cannot speak, I will kill it; even if you can speak, I will kill it. Who would fight over a cat? Who can save the cat? On behalf of the students, I would have said, \u2018We are not able to speak, Master. Go ahead and kill the cat!\u2019 Or, I would have said for them, \u2018Master, you only know about cutting it (the cat) into two with one stroke, yet you do not know about cutting it into one with one stroke.\u2019\u201d Ejo asked, \u201cHow do you cut it into one with one stroke?\u201d Dogen said, \u201cThe cat itself.\u201d Dogen added, \u201cIf I had been Nansen, when the students could not answer, I would have released the cat saying that the students had already spoken. An ancient master said, \u2018When the great-function manifests itself, no fixed rules exist.\u2019\u201d Dogen also said, \u201cThis action of Nansen\u2019s that is, cutting the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16319"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16325,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions\/16325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}