Person Zen Practice
The Zen I personally practice and teach is in many ways "devotional." This means I do a lot of silent sitting, chanting, mala practice, and daily recite what I call the "Zen Office." The following is what I chant daily. You may find it a useful way to begin your day, as I do.
There are other devotional practices I can give to you, such as a "Daily Bodhisattva Practice," "Daily Zen Service," and "Fusatzu," which is a monthly practice of reconciliation. Those interested may inquire.
Daily Zen Office
Namo tassa bhagavato
Arahato
Sammasambuddhasa
The Earliest Pratimoksha
Enduring patience is the highest austerity,
Nirvana is the highest say the Buddhas;
For whoever injures others is not a monk,
Whoever violates others is not a shramana.
Not to do evil,
To attain good,
To purify one's own mind;
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
Not speaking against others,
Not harming others,
And restraint according to the Pratimoksha.
Moderation in eating,
Secluded dwelling,
And the practice of mindfulness.
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
The Identity of Relative and Absolute
by
Shitou Xiqian
The mind of the great Sage of India
Is intimately conveyed west and east.
Among human beings are wise ones and fools;
In the Way, there is no Ancestor of North and South.
The subtle source is clear and bright,
The branching streams flow in the dark.
To be attached to things is primordial illusion,
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.
All spheres, every sense and field,
Intermingle even as they shine alone,
Interacting even as they merge
Yet keeping their places in expressions of their own.
Forms differ primarily in shape and character,
And sounds in harsh or soothing tones.
The dark makes all words one;
The brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.
The four elements return to their true nature as a child to its mother.
Fire is hot, water is wet;
Wind moves and the earth is dense.
Eye and form, ear and sound,
Nose and smell, tongue and tasteÑthe sweet and sour.
Each independent of the other
Like leaves that come from the same root;
And though leaves and root must go back to the Source,
Both root and leaves have their own uses.
Light is also darkness,
But do not move with it as darkness.
Darkness is light:
Do not see it as light.
Light and darkness are not one, not two,
Like the foot before and the foot behind in walking.
Each thing has its own being,
Which is not different from its place and function.
The relative fits the absolute as a box and its lid.
The absolute meets the relative
Like two arrow points that touch high in the air.
Hearing this, simply perceive the Source!
Make no criterion!
If you do not see the Way,
You do not see It even as you walk on It.
When you walk the Way,
You draw no nearer, progress no farther.
Who fails to see This is mountains and rivers away.
Listen, those who would pierce this Subtle Matter,
Do not waste your time by night or day!
Song of the Jewel Mirror Awareness
by
Dongshan Liangjie
The teaching of thusness
Is intimately communicated by Buddhas and Ancestors.
Now you have it,
So keep it well.
Filling a silver bowl with snow,
Hiding a heron in the moonlight:
They are similar, though not the same.
Side by side you can see the differences.
The meaning is not in the words,
Yet one pivotal instant can reveal it.
Move and you are trapped;
Miss and you fall into confusion and doubt.
Turning away and touching are both wrong,
For it is like a mass of fire.
Just to depict it in literary form
Is to defile it.
It is bright just at midnight,
It does not appear at dawn
It acts as a guide for beings.
Its use removes all suffering.
Although it is not created,
It is not beyond words.
It is like facing a jewel mirror;
Form and image behold each other.
You are not it;
It surely is you.
Like a newborn child,
In five aspects complete,
It does not go or come nor rise nor stand.
A baby babbles,
Is there anything said or not?
Ultimately this has no meaning
For the words are not yet clear.
It is like the six lines of the double split hexagram;
The relative and absolute integrate.
Piled up they make three,
The complete transformation makes five.
It is like the taste of the five-flavored herb,
Like the diamond thunderbolt.
Subtly included within the true,
Inquiry and response come up together.
Communing with the source and communing with the process,
It includes integration and includes the road.
Merging is auspicious;
Do not violate it.
Naturally real, yet inconceivable,
It is neither delusion nor enlightenment.
At this moment, causes and conditions
Shine completely in the silence.
So fine, it enters nowhere,
So vast it exceeds all bounds.
A hairsbreadth deviation
And you are out of harmony.
Through the teachings of sudden and gradual,
Different methods have arisen.
Whether teachings or approaches are mastered or not,
True eternity still flows.
Outwardly still, while inwardly moving,
Like a tethered colt, a trapped rat,
The Ancestors pitied them,
And bestowed upon them the teaching.
According to their delusions,
They called black as white.
When delusions disappear,
The natural mind reveals itself.
If you want to follow the ancient way,
Please observe the Ancients of former times.
Some try to attain the Buddha Way
By gazing at a tree for ten eons.
They are like a tiger with tattered ears
Or a horse with shanks gone gray.
Because there is the ordinary
There are jewel pedestals and fine clothing.
Because there is the startlingly different,
There are housecat and cow.
Yi, with his archer's skill,
Could hit a target at a hundred paces.
But when arrowpoints meet head on,
How could it be a matter of skill?
When the wooden man begins to sing,
The stone woman gets up to dance.
This does not come by knowing,
Nor does it involve ideas.
A minister serves the lord;
A son obeys the father.
Not obeying is not filial,
And not serving is not help.
Practice secretly, working within,
As though a fool, like an idiot!
If you can achieve continuity,
This is called the host within the host.
The Great Compassionate Dharani
Praise to the Three Treasures!
Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha!
Praise to Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva,
The Bodhisattva of Compassion!
Praise to the one who removes all fear and suffering!
Having adored Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
May we now recite this glorious dharani
Which purifies all beings,
Which fulfills the wishes of all beings.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva
Who embodies the Trikaya,
Who has the transcendental wisdom.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva
Who continues to save all beings
Without defilement in his mind.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva
Who sustains the highest,
The most complete wisdom
And who is free from all impediments.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva
Whose deeds reveal
The fundamental purity of all beings.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva,
Who wipes away the three evil delusionsÑ
Greed, anger, and delusion.
Quick, quick! Come, come! Here, here!
A joy springs up in us.
Help us to enter into the realm of great realization.
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
Bodhisattva of Compassion,
Guide us to spiritual contentment.
Victory! Victory!
Having testified to the freedom and compassion
Of the mind of Avalokiteshvara;
Having purified our own body and mind;
Having become as brave as a lion;
Having become manifest into all beings;
Having attained to the Wheel of Dharma and the Lotus Flower,
We can now save all beings without hindrance.
May the understanding of the mysterious nature of
Avalokiteshvara prevail forever, ever, and ever.
Praise to the Three TreasuresÑ
Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha!
Praise to Avalokiteshvara,
The Bodhisattva Mahasattva,
The Bodhisattva of Compassion!
May this dharani be effective.
Praise!
Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani
(Three times)
NO MO SAN MAN DA MOTO NON
OHA RA CHI KOTO SHA SONO NAN
TO JI TO EN GYA GYA GYA
KI GYA KI UN NUN
SHIU RA SHIU RA
HARA SHIU RA HARA SHIU RA
CHISHU SA CHISHU SA
SHISHU RI SHISHU RI
SOWA JA SOWA JA
SEN CHI GYA
SHIRI EI
SO MO KO
Dedication
In reciting the Identity of Relative and Absolute,
The Jeweled Mirror of Awareness,
The Great Compassionate Dharani,
And the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani,
I dedicate its merits to
The Past Seven Buddhas
Shakyamuni Buddha
Honored Mahakashyapa
Honored Bodhidharma
Honored Huineng
Honored Eihei Dogen
All Successive Honored Ones
Honored Busshin Taizan
And Honored Baisen Tetsugen
In order to ornament the Enlightened Sphere,
I pray for inspiration and encouragement
To fulfill my responsibility
And vow to accomplish the Way.
All Buddhas throughout Space and Time
All Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas,
Maha Praj–a, Paramita.
White Plum Asangha Lineage
01. Honored Vipashyin Buddha
02. Honored Shikhin Buddha
03. Honored Vishvabhu Buddha
04. Honored Krakucchanda Buddha
05. Honored Kanakamuni Buddha
06. Honored Kashyapa Buddha
07. Honored Shakyamuni Buddha
08. Honored Mahakashyapa
09. Honored Ananda
10. Honored Shanavasa
11. Honored Upagupta
12. Honored Dhritaka
13. Honored Mishaka
14. Honored Vasumitra
15. Honored Buddhanandi
16. Honored Buddhamitra
17. Honored Parshva
18. Honored Punyayashas
19. Honored Ashvaghosha
20. Honored Kapimala
21. Honored Nagarjuna
22. Honored Kanadeva
23. Honored Rahulabhadra
24. Honored Samghanandi
25. Honored Samghayathata
26. Honored Kumaralata
27. Honored Shayata
28. Honored Vasubandhu
29. Honored Manorata
30. Honored Haklenayashas
31. Honored Simbhabodhi
32. Honored Bashashita
33. Honored Punyamitra
34. Honored Praj–adhara
35. Honored Bodhidharma
36. Honored Dazu Huike
37. Honored Jianzhi Sengcan
38. Honored Dayi Daoxin
39. Honored Daman Hongren
40. Honored Dajian Huineng
41. Honored Qingyuan Xings
42. Honored Shitou Xiqian
43. Honored Yaoshan Weiyan
44. Honored Yunyan Tansheng
45. Honored Dongshan Liangjie
46. Honored Yunju Daoying
47. Honored Tongan Daopi
48. Honored Tongan Guanzhi
49. Honored Liangshan Yuanguan
50. Honored Dayang Jingxuan
51. Honored Touzi Yiqing
52. Honored Furong Daoka
53. Honored Danxia Zichun
54. Honored Changlu Qingliao
55. Honored Tiantong Zongjue
56. Honored Xuedoe Zhijian
57. Honored Tiantong Rujing
58. Honored Eihei Dogen
59. Honored Koun Ejo
60. Honored Tettsu Gikai
61. Honored Keisan Jokin
62. Honored Gasan Joseki
63. Honored Taigen Soshin
64. Honored Baizan Monpon
65. Honored Nyochu Tengin
66. Honored Kisan Shosan
67. Honored Morin Shihan
68. Honored Taishi Sotai
69. Honored Kenchu Hantetsu
70. Honored Daiju Soko
71. Honored Kinpo Jusen
72. Honored Kajin Sochin
73. Honored Tetsuei Seiton
74. Honored Shukoku Choton
75. Honored Ketsuzan Tetsuei
76. Honored Hoshi Soon
77. Honored Goho Kainon
78. Honored Tenkei Denson
79. Honored Zozan Monko
80. Honored Niken Sekiryo
81. Honored Reitan Roryu
82. Honored Kakujo Tosai
83. Honored Kakuan Ryogu
84. Honored Ryoka Daibai
85. Honored Ungan Guhaku
86. Honored Baisan Hakujun
87. Honored Busshin Taizan
88. Honored Baisen Tetsugen
Instructions given on the Shila
(Kyojukaimon)
by
Dogen Zenji
The great Precepts of the Buddhas are
Maintained carefully by the Buddhas.
Buddhas give them to Buddhas,
Ancestors transmit them from Ancestors.
Receiving the Precepts
Goes beyond the three times;
Realization continues unceasingly
From ancient time to the present.
Our great master Shakyamuni Buddha
Transmitted the Precepts to Mahakashapa,
And Mahakashapa transmitted them to Ananda.
Thus they have been transmitted
Generation after generation
Down to me in the eighty-ninth generation.
The Three Treasures
Have three merits and virtues,
Called the One Body Three Treasures,
The Realized Three Treasures,
And the Maintained Three Treasures.
The A––uttara Samyak Sambodhi
Is called the Buddha Treasure.
Being pure and genuine,
Apart from the dust is the Dharma Treasure.
The virtue and merits of harmony
Is the Sangha Treasure.
These are the One Body Three Treasures.
To realize and actualize the Bodhi
Is called the Buddha Treasure
Of the Realized Three Treasures.
The realization of the Buddha
Is the Dharma Treasure.
To penetrate into the Buddha-Dharma
Is the Sangha Treasure.
These are the Realized Three Treasures.
Guiding the heavens
And guiding the people;
Sometimes appearing in the vast emptiness
And sometimes appearing in the dust
Is the Buddha Treasure.
Sometimes revolving in the leaves
And sometimes revolving in the oceanic storage;
Guiding inanimate things
And guiding animate beings
Is the Dharma Treasure.
Freed from all sufferings
And liberated from the house of the three worlds
Is the Sangha Treasure.
These are the Maintained Three Treasures.
When one takes refuge
In the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
The great Precepts of all Buddhas is obtained.
Make the Buddha your master
And do not let any other ways be your master.
These are the Three Pure Precepts.
Ceasing from Evil.
This is the abiding place
Of all laws and rules of all Buddhas.
This is the very source
Of laws and rules of all Buddhas.
Doing Good
This is the Dharma of Sam Yak Sam Bodhi;
This is the Way of all beings.
Doing Good for Others
This is to transcend the profane
And to be beyond the Holy;
This is to liberate oneself and others.
These are the Ten Grave Precepts
First,
Non Killing
Life is non killing.
The seed of Buddha grows continuously.
Maintain the wisdom-life of Buddha
And do not kill life.
Second,
Non Stealing
The mind and the externals are just as thus.
The gate of liberation has opened.
Third,
Not Being Greedy
The Three Wheels
(Body, Mouth, ConsciousnessÑ
Greed, Anger, Ignorance)
Are pure and clean.
Nothing is desired for.
Go the same way with the Buddhas.
Fourth,
Not Telling Lies
The Dharma Wheel unceasingly turns
And there is neither excess nor lack.
Sweet dews permeate.
Gain the essence and gain the truth.
Fifth,
Not Being Ignorant
It has never been;
Don't be defiled.
It is indeed the great clarity.
Sixth,
Not Talking About Other's Errors and Faults
In the midst of the Buddha-Dharma,
We are the same Way,
The same Dharma,
The same realization,
And the same practice.
Do not let them talk
About others' errors and faults.
Do not destroy the Way.
Seventh,
Not Elevating Oneself and Blaming Others
Buddhas and Ancestors
Realized the absolute emptiness
And realized the great earth.
When the great body is manifested,
There is neither outside nor inside
In the emptiness.
When the Dharma Body is manifested,
There is not even a single square inch of soil on the earth.
Eighth,
Not Being Stingy
One phrase,
One verse,
Ten thousand forms,
One hundred grasses;
One Dharma,
One realization,
All Buddhas,
All Ancestors.
Since the beginning
There has never been being stingy.
Ninth,
Not Being Angry
It is not regress,
It is not advance;
It is not real,
It is not unreal.
There is illumined cloud-ocean;
There is ornamented cloud-ocean.
Tenth,
Not Speaking Ill of the Three Treasures
Expounding the Dharma with the body
Is a harbor and a fishpool
(The most important thing).
The virtues return to the ocean of reality.
You should not comment on them.
Just hold them and serve them.
These sixteen Buddhas' precepts are as thus.
Obey the teachings and follow those given.
Bow to them and be obedient to them.
Now they have been expounded.
Daily Bodhisattva Vows
Four Inconceivable Vows
Creations are numberlessÑI vow to free them.
Delusions are inexhaustibleÑI vow to put an end to them.
Reality is boundlessÑI vow to perceive it.
The enlightened way is unsurpassableÑI vow to embody it.
The Three Treasures
I vow to abandon myself
To the Three Treasures:
The Buddha,
The Dharma,
And the Sangha.
I vow to become less and less,
Smaller and smaller,
Until there is no me,
And all is the Three Treasures.
Buddha
I vow to ask the Buddhas be present
And to remain in this world.
I vow to honor,
Praise,
Serve,
And love
All the Buddhas.
I vow to give
To all the Buddhas.
Dharma
I vow to follow
And be obedient
To the Dharma
Every day of my life.
I vow to study the Dharma
Every day of my life.
I vow to give the Dharma,
To whoever wishes to receive it,
And in a way appropriate to their condition.
I vow to maintain the purity of the Dharma
And not to betray
Or dilute it
For any person,
Place,
Or thing.
I vow to honor the dharma of the universeÑ
To make the skies,
The waters,
The mountains,
And the earthÑ
Immaculate as a Buddha-land.
Sangha
I vow to atone for my sins
And for the sins of all beings.
To this end I chant
The Gatha of Atonement
daily.
(Three times.)
All evil karma
Ever committed by me
Since of old
Because of my beginningless
Greed, anger, and ignorance
Born of my body, mouth, and consciousness
Now I atone for it all.
I vow to see all beingsÑ
Birds in the sky,
People of all worlds,
Fish and all creatures of the sea,
Land animals,
Insects, and creatures
Above and beneath the earthÑ
As one body.
I vow to open my heart to all beings.
I vow to rejoice in the virtue,
Achievement,
Good fortune,
And merit of all beings.
If I gain any merit today
I vow to give it away.
I vow to serve others and
Let myself be used by others
Whoever and wherever they are.
For as long as space endures
And for as long as the world lasts,
May I live dispelling the miseries of the world.