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Pure Mind is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] there is no defilement. 淨心是法明門、無濁穢故。 In the last gate we considered the role of faith in our practice. In fact, faith is one of the elements that purifies the mind. Okumura Roshi explains that in the Abhidharmakośa, one word for faith is 心澄淨, shin chojo, the heart/mind that is pure or clear. “According to that text, shin [heart/mind] is like a jewel. It’s said that in India when monks travelled and had to drink water from rivers or ponds— I don’t know if this is true or not— there were certain jewels which when put in the muddy water, settled the mud down and then the surface of the water became pure. This mud is our doubt or delusions. If there is faith, our delusions or our doubts go down and our life becomes clear and pure, and we can drink. Faith is not a belief in some kind of a system of belief or a doctrine we have to accept, like in many religions. Faith is something which makes our minds pure and clear.” (1) This gate introduces two very important words in the Buddhist tradition: pure and mind. 淨 is clean or pure, with a connotation of being untainted or undefiled. 心 is mind, but not the usual intellectual mind that functions in the brain. Both of these words have several important layers of meaning. First we need to understand what purity is, and we need to understand it from the perspective of both the concrete world of our human practice and the world of emptiness. In general, defilement is what happens when we don’t see the universe clearly and we take action based on greed, anger and ignorance that creates suffering for ourselves and others. On the other hand, we cultivate purity when we’re guided by wisdom and let go of our delusions and attachments. Our tradition includes things like the Three Pure Precepts and the Pure Standards for the Zen Community. These are guidelines for behavior that move us toward being in the world in a way that’s based on letting go of clinging, treating others with benevolence, and seeing clearly that the universe is characterized by interconnectedness, impermanence, and the lack of a fixed and independent self-nature. We can see that purity can be found in the everyday things and situations we encounter. We don’t need to go somewhere else and leave the dusty world behind in search of a paradise. Simply letting go of the three poisons here and now is itself purity. Some practitioners have the idea that money, for instance, is tainted and if the dharma center is concerned with it then somehow the practice is defiled. Money itself is neither pure nor defiled, but our response to and relationship with money can certainly be a problem if we greet and treat it with craving or aversion. The same is true, of course, for anything: alcohol, sex, technology, power, or other items that bring up strong feelings. These encounters give us important opportunities to observe our habituated thinking and do some discernment about how the three poisons arise, lead to delusion and defilement, and perpetuate suffering. Purity from the perspective of emptiness, on the other hand, is not about individual objects or circumstances. In the world of the absolute, there is only this one unified reality, and nothing can step outside of it and be separate. If everything is interconnected, then there’s no way to separate things that are pure from things that are defiled. This is going beyond purity and defilement, or wholesomeness or unwholesomeness, or good and bad. Much as we may not want this or that element in our lives, as beings who live in this one unified reality, there’s no escaping from things we don’t like. If we see with the eyes of Buddha, there’s no way to cut ourselves off from anything or, indeed, to make any distinction between good and bad or like and dislike. It can be easy to decide that this is where we really want to live: in a place where everything is always OK and we don’t need to do anything because there’s no defilement—but that doesn’t mean that there’s no suffering. The first noble truth says that life is characteized by suffering. That means that as bodhisattvas, we can’t ignore the dusty world and our vow to liberate beings, and live only for ourselves in paradise. Falling into either the world of form or the world of emptiness is seeing only part of the story of reality. You may know about the well-known image of the pure lotus that blooms in muddy water. Although the lovely flower lifts itself up to bloom at the surface of the pond, its roots are deep in the mud. It’s an image of the Buddha, who overcame the delusions of the world but continued to exist in the world without being defiled himself. It’s an example for us as we carry out our daily activities with wisdom and compassion. No task or object is itself unclean if we can do that task or handle that object with a skillful attitude. Now we have to take a look at Mind. There’s no one word in English that serves as a good translation for 心 shin (Ch. xin), so it’s often called the heart-mind. When the Chinese began translating sutras from Sanskrit, they used xin for Sanskrit terms like citta, manas, and vijnana. All of these refer to various consciousnesses in the Yogacara tradition, from which Zen can be said to descend, and in that way xin/shin takes on a psychological association. However, xin/shin was also used for the Sanskrit hrdaya, which can mean heart, center, or essence. Xin/shin as citta is in the realm of subject and object and making distinctions, while xin/shin as hrdaya means all dharmas in this one unified reality. No wonder we have some confusion over what exactly our ancestors are talking about. Mind is not a “thing” that can be grasped or completely and accurately described because as soon as one conceives of it, one is dealing with a copy of Mind itself. Mind is the action of experiencing this moment in the most simple, direct, pure and authentic way, completely without the covering of the individual perspective and before the personal thinking apparatus begins to color and shape that experience. Mind has no starting point or frame of reference—it’s living in the highest degree of non-attachment. As Dogen described it in Shobogenzo Bukkyo, it’s the characters of the sutra without the paper on which they’re written. Uchiyama Roshi explained that “mind” in the context of the dharma should be understood as “the mind that has been directly transmitted from buddha to buddha [and which] extends throughout all phenomena, and [thus] all phenomena are inseparable from that mind. My personal life experience is at the same time the world of reality. Conversely, the world of reality constitutes my mind. Hence, the use of the word ‘mind’ in this case goes far beyond having only a mental or psychological meaning. In our age, perhaps ‘pure life’ would be a clearer expression than mind. In the daily course of things I encounter a world of phenomena, and it is through those encounters and my experience of them that I live out my life.” (2) We can see how mind in this context encompasses the functioning of the entire universe in this moment. We use the psychological mind to make sense of what’s coming in through the six sense gates, but we don’t get tangled up in the idea that there are separate elements “out there” living a life unconnected to our own. The reality of life experience is just one thing and can’t be divided, even though it contains myriad objects. Uchiyama Roshi’s “pure life” and our gate statement’s “pure Mind” are two ways of expressing the same thing. The universe functions as it functions, without hindrance, and we see it clearly, both from the point of view of individual elements with characteristics and the point of view of emptiness and going beyond distinction. When Dogen wrote about the mind in Shobogenzo Sokushinzebutsu (The Mind Itself is Buddha), he wrote about shin as hrdaya. “The mind that has been correctly transmitted is the one mind… and all dharmas are one mind. The mind is mountains, rivers, and the great earth; the sun, the moon, and stars.” Clearly, this is not about the small, personal, psychological mind. It’s about the essential interconnectedness of all dharmas, with nothing left out and nothing arising and existing on its own. If there is nothing outside of this one unified reality, and the nature of dharmas is to be interpenetrated, then our usual ideas about purity and defilement don’t hold water. One thing cannot be separated into good and bad, tainted and stainless, pure and defiled. There can be neither a pure mind nor an impure mind. Yet, since the earliest days of Buddhist practice, teachers have been urging us to remove mental defilements and instructing us in how to do it. What’s going on? In the Simile of the Cloth, the Buddha explained that a human mind tainted with defilements was unable to fully assimilate his teachings and realize the larger pure Mind. He used the illustration of someone dying cloth, asking his monks what would happen if the cloth was stained and dirty as opposed to clean and bright. Of course, the dirty cloth would take the dye badly and be impure in color, while the clean cloth would take the dye well and be pure in color. (3) Engaging in our concrete practices of zazen, work and study helps us to unwind ourselves from the three poisons and the delusion and unwholesomeness that follow. We’re ready to settle down to hear and assimilate dharma teachings and deeply understand the nature of the pure Mind of emptiness. Questions for reflection and discussion
Notes
(1) "The Pure Water of Faith," article by Shohaku Okumura for the Dogen Institute, 2020 (2) How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, Kosho Uchiyama, Shambala, 2005. p. 27-28 (3) Vatthupama Sutta: The Simile of the Cloth translated from the Pali by Nyanaponika Thera. 1998 Further reading:
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About the text The Ippyakuhachi Homyomon, or 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination, appears as the 11th fascicle of the 12 fascicle version of Dogen Zenji’s Shobogenzo. Dogen didn't compile the list himself; it's mostly a long quote from another text called the Sutra of Collected Past Deeds of the Buddha. Dogen wrote a final paragraph recommending that we investigate these gates thoroughly. Hoko has been talking about the gates one by one since 2016. She provides material here that can be used by weekly dharma discussion groups as well as for individual study. The 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination
[1] Right belief [2] Pure mind [3] Delight [4] Love and cheerfulness The three forms of behavior [5] Right conduct of the actions of the body [6] Pure conduct of the actions of the mouth [7] Pure conduct of the actions of the mind The six kinds of mindfulness [8] Mindfulness of Buddha [9] Mindfulness of Dharma [10] Mindfulness of Sangha [11] Mindfulness of generosity [12] Mindfulness of precepts [13] Mindfulness of the heavens The four Brahmaviharas [14] Benevolence [15] Compassion [16] Joy [17] Abandonment The four dharma seals [18] Reflection on inconstancy [19] Reflection on suffering [20] Reflection on there being no self [21] Reflection on stillness [22] Repentance [23] Humility [24] Veracity [25] Truth [26] Dharma conduct [27] The Three Devotions [28] Recognition of kindness [29] Repayment of kindness [30] No self-deception [31] To work for living beings [32] To work for the Dharma [33] Awareness of time [34] Inhibition of self-conceit [35] The nonarising of ill-will [36] Being without hindrances [37] Belief and understanding [38] Reflection on impurity [39] Not to quarrel [40] Not being foolish [41] Enjoyment of the meaning of the Dharma [42] Love of Dharma illumination [43] Pursuit of abundant knowledge [44] Right means [45] Knowledge of names and forms [46] The view to expiate causes [47] The mind without enmity and intimacy [48] Hidden expedient means [49] Equality of all elements [50] The sense organs [51] Realization of nonappearance The elements of bodhi: The four abodes of mindfulness [52] The body as an abode of mindfulness [53] Feeling as an abode of mindfulness [54] Mind as an abode of mindfulness [55] The Dharma as an abode of mindfulness [56] The four right exertions [57] The four bases of mystical power The five faculties [58] The faculty of belief [59] The faculty of effort [60] The faculty of mindfulness [61] The faculty of balance [62] The faculty of wisdom The five powers [63] The power of belief [64] The power of effort [65] The power of mindfulness [66] The power of balance [67] The power of wisdom [68] Mindfulness, as a part of the state of truth [69] Examination of Dharma, as a part of the state of truth [70] Effort, as a part of the state of truth [71] Enjoyment, as a part of the state of truth [72] Entrustment as a part of the state of truth [73] The balanced state, as a part of the state of truth [74] Abandonment, as a part of the state of truth The Eightfold Path [75] Right view [76] Right discrimination [77] Right speech [78] Right action [79] Right livelihood [80] Right practice [81] Right mindfulness [82] Right balanced state [83] The bodhi-mind [84] Reliance [85] Right belief [86] Development The six paramitas [87] The dāna pāramitā [88] The precepts pāramitā [89] The forbearance pāramitā. [90] The diligence pāramitā [91] The dhyāna pāramitā [92] The wisdom pāramitā [93] Expedient means [94] The four elements of sociability [95] To teach and guide living beings [96] Acceptance of the right Dharma [97] Accretion of happiness [98] The practice of the balanced state of dhyāna [99] Stillness [100] The wisdom view [101] Entry into the state of unrestricted speech [102] Entry into all conduct [103] Accomplishment of the state of dhāraṇī [104] Attainment of the state of unrestricted speech [105] Endurance of obedient following [106] Attainment of realization of the Dharma of nonappearance [107] The state beyond regressing and straying [108] The wisdom that leads us from one state to another state and, somehow, one more: [109] The state in which water is sprinkled on the head Archives
September 2024
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