As all things are buddha-dharma,
there is delusion and realization, practice,
and birth and death, and there are buddhas
and sentient beings.
As the myriad things are
without an abiding self, there is no delusion,
no realization, no buddha, no sentient
being, no birth and death.
The buddha way is, basically,
leaping clear of the many of the one; thus
there are birth and death, delusion and
realization, sentient beings and buddhas.
Yet in attachment blossoms
fall, and in aversion weeds spread.
Before reading the commentary, reflect
on the apparent contradictions in Dogen's
verse. There is delusion and realization,
there
is no
delusion and realization, there is delusion
and realization. Is Dogen contradicting
himself?
And yet?
You can look at the
world in many different ways. And the world
is different depending on how you look at it. But
given what your assumptions are, things follow.
Dogen presents three ways you can approach the world:
If
you come with the assumption that
all things are buddha-dharma
then
there
is delusion and realization, practice, and birth
and death, and there are buddhas and sentient beings.
But if you come with the assumption
that
the
myriad things are without an abiding self
then
there
is no delusion, no realization, no buddha, no sentient
being, no birth and death.
There’s nothing — there’s
just what happens.
But then if you look at it another way – the
Buddha way – the Buddha way is basically leaping
clear of the many and the one – of many things
and one thing
thus
there are birth and death, delusion and realization,
sentient beings and buddhas.
Looking in these three
different ways is similar to the old Zen saying:
When
you first study Zen mountains are mountains. Then
mountains are no longer mountains. Finally mountains
are mountains again.
But here
Dogen takes us one step further. Given all this wisdom...
Yet
in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion
weeds spread.
No matter how smart
you are, things happen! You can't control things!
If you try, you may be setting up the conditions by
which something else might happen.
Yet
in attachment blossoms fall
We
get attached to "blossoms."
And the more you get attached to
them, the more they just slip through
your fingers. What are your blossoms?
...and
in aversion weeds spread.
We want to avoid things. What are
your weeds? Have you noticed that
as soon as you start avoiding
things, they
come right at you?
Do you still see Dogen's statements
as contradictions? Or are you challenged
by Dogen's encouragement to look
at realization and delusion, birth
and death, and buddhas and non-Buddhas
from different perspectives? When
you read each paragraph, did you
reject the previous one, thinking "Ah,
so this is how it really is?"
