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Inhibition of self-conceit is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] wisdom is fulfilled. 我慢を治めることは法明門である。 We’ve talked frequently here about the relationship between individual self and universal self. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered a gate that seems to be about managing our arrogance and pride. However, “inhibition of self-conceit” seems like an unusual phrase. Two important feelings come out from the kanji; one is patience and tolerance, and the other is governing or managing. In other words, this gate is less about having a high opinion of ourselves and more about having self-control, self-discipline, or self-restraint—we might say personal maturity. “Wisdom is fulfilled” also seems like an unusual phrase. This wisdom is prajna, and there’s a feeling of satisfaction or sufficiency. “Fulfilling” in this case is to realize or make real. We might say “wisdom is fulfilled” is to completely manifest prajna without any gaps. Now this gate makes a bit more sense. If we exercise some self-control, we completely manifest the prajna that’s already here. We get out of the way. That doesn’t mean we suppress the small self, or make it less real or less important than the larger self. Both are equally real and equally important. Uchiyama Roshi says that desires and cravings are a manifestation of the life force, so we don’t need to hate them or get rid of them. We just need to not be caught up in them. It seems important not to stumble over the English words. For one thing, if these is no self, then how can there be self-conceit or self-control? Then what about words like like “inhibit” and “control?” The root of “inhibit” is to hold something. Control is about restricting activity. There’s a feeling of rigidity, or blocking something by force. However. practice isn’t about forcing anything. Self-control isn’t about forcing ourselves to be inauthentic or act in an unnatural way. Instead, we let go of being pulled around by the three poisons, and then we manifest prajna. In particular, self-control is about not being at the mercy of our emotions and desires and being able to manage how we express them in our behavior, especially in difficult situations. Not being at the mercy of our delusion is the same as prajna, seeing clearly the nature of self and the nature of reality. When we see clearly, we don’t go to pieces when strong emotions or cravings come up. We can keep our patience and equanimity and still recognize what’s arising for us. Sawaki Roshi said, “Illusion means being unstable. Illusion means being controlled by the situation.” When we don’t really know what’s going on, we really feel the need to try to control things. That’s when we have angry outbursts, say unkind things or take some desperate unskillful action. In trying to control the situation, we lose control of ourselves and become unstable. When we see clearly, we’re able to let go of some of that fear of the unknown. When we let go of our illusions, we’re no longer at the mercy of the situation. We remember that everything is impermanent, and that the universe doesn’t do things just because they're what we want, so we can manage our expectations. The self doesn’t really need all the defending that we’re inclined to do. Ironically, we could say that self-control comes from the small self not needing to be in control, at least when it comes to satisfying all of our cravings and aversions. It isn’t that the emotions and desires don’t arise—they do, because we’re human. This gate isn’t saying we should ignore or suppress those emotions and desires, because that’s not healthy. It’s encouraging us to consider how we express those emotions and desires, what we do with them in the outside world. Are our cravings and aversions leading us into unskillful behavior? That could be everything from addictive behaviors, eating disorders or impulsivity to simply getting annoyed with a friend. Usually we think about self-control as our rational functions prevailing over our feelings and emotions, the rational self keeping the unruly passions under control. Current thinking in brain science says that that can’t actually work, because they don’t operate separately. Rational functions are heavily influenced by feelings. When I worked for the government, I used to make this point with people I was coaching as they prepared to make presentations. These presenters needed to get something approved, or at least gain acceptance for an idea or an approach, but government data can be dry and dull, and they make for a boring presentation. I used to suggest presenters tell stories about humans affected by this information, because decisionmakers weren’t actually making decisions based on impersonal data, but on how they felt about them. If you’re talking about affordable housing, tell about moving-in day for the single mother with four kids who finally has a safe place to live. I had to give these presenters permission to include feelings and values in the presentations, and acknowledge the entirely of the audience’s experience and the human condition, because somehow in the government you’re not supposed to recognize that people have and use emotions. It wasn’t that those feelings and values weren’t there in the audience members—they just weren’t being acknowledged. The data are connected to our values, and that’s how we make decisions about our behavior. Frequently, there are two values in conflict, and that’s where we suffer related to self-control. On the one hand, we know that lovely big bar of chocolate is going to taste good, and we’re hardwired as mammals to want sugar and fat. On the other hand, we also want to be healthy and fit and live a long, full life, or have certain kinds of attractive bodies. If we make the healthy choice, it’s because the desire for health is focusing our reasoning on the wellness consequences of the chocolate binge, not because reason alone made us take the skillful action. In this moment, one value system came out stronger than the other. In a previous gate essay, I mentioned that taking an unskillful action once makes it easier to take the same action again (provided you were successful in getting whatever you wanted). If two sets of values are clashing and one wins out, our habit is to not repeat that argument. Well, last time it was good (or at least OK) to take this action, so probably it’s good or OK to do it again this time. This is habituated thinking. Interestingly, what’s hardwired into us as humans for prehistoric survival is sometimes at odds with modern values, as we saw with the chocolate example. I see a direct link here to Uchiyama Roshi’s conundrum about peace and progress. Again, his big question was about how we maintain some contentment and peace of mind while still engaging in the development and progress that we need in the modern world. Humans, like other animals, have always been engaged in competition for territory, food, mates and other things. Today, people are also competing for fame, profit and self-image, yet they also want to be happy, contented and comfortable. These two value systems can be in conflict. One kind of self-control can be to put off taking time off at home and resting in order to work hard for a promotion. Another can be to let go of the need for fame and gain in order to live simply and peacefully. Neither of those things is bad; both could be skillful action, and both could be examples of self-control. How can we find a balance? Self-control or self-discipline can be related to habituated thinking, and if so then we can begin to see how to practice with it. Our habituated thinking says that there is a fixed and permanent self that needs things or needs to avoid things. It says that I’m separate from others and from the universe, and I’m not responsible for the effect my actions have in the world. Out of these delusions, we’ve developed some habits of body, speech and mind. Breaking any habit is a matter of paying attention. Here’s that craving, aversion, impulse or thought again. What’s really going on here? Recognize what’s happening, don’t look away, and accept that this habit or feeling is there. Why does this seem important? What values are arguing with each other here? What’s going on in the body? Investigate this thought or feeling. Looking carefully and seeing clearly allows some space for our natural prajna. We can stop identifying with the feeling and have some nonattachment. Nonattachment is not separation; we can completely enter into what’s happening for us while not being attached to what’s happening. This is the realm of governing or managing ourselves with patience and tolerance. We need to briefly consider here the relationship between zazen and self-control, and it takes us right back to “zazen is good for nothing,” Okumura Roshi’s famous translation of a Kodo Sawaki phrase. Actually, this teaching shows up much earlier in Dogen’s Fukanzazengi as “Zazen is not shuzen (習禪)” or “Zazen is not meditation practice.” Shuzen literally means “learning Zen,” which is to try to control the body and mind with your intellect. It also means you’re sitting zazen with the objective of seeking some spiritual peace and tranquility. “Learning Zen” or shuzen is when zazen is used as a means to get something. However, the next line in the Fukanzazengi says, “It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.” When we just sit and open the hand of thought, then the mind settles down and we find ourselves right in the midst of the dharma. Zazen is not a practice of self-power or self-control. It’s not about forcing ourselves to sit still in a certain way when we’d rather get up and do something else, and not a matter of trying to put things in order with our own energy or intellect. When we let go of the self, we’re already in order. If zazen is not a technique for cultivating self-control, what can we actively do to begin noticing when we’re falling down and try to work on it? One thing is to pay attention to our temptations and distractions. Once we’re aware of what triggers our impulsive behavior, we can minimize those distractions. Something is winning out over our good intentions—it’s a clash of values. What are we running away from by giving in to our cravings and aversions and losing our self-control? What’s our motivation for managing ourselves well, and what’s our motivation for giving in to unskillful impulse? Do we need to avoid the potato chip aisle or the beer and wine section of the grocery store? There’s a reason we don’t bring our tablets and phones into the zendo, why the things in that room are simple, and why we do sesshin without toys. Another thing we can do is to consider the role of faith in our practice. We’re willing to delay gratification, if you will, when we believe in what we’re doing. Because zazen is good for nothing, it’s not about thinking that there’s a bigger reward coming for sticking it out and finishing the period than for getting up and getting a snack. If we believe that our being bodhisattvas is wholesome and necessary in the world, that value can win out over the cookies. Our forms and precepts are also helpful in reminding us about our vows and the teachings, and helping us manage ourselves compassionately. Having some structure can help us work with our impulses and remind us about the interdependence between self and others, and between the individual and universal selves. Forms and structures are handrails we can hold onto until we can manage ourselves in the way we want to on our own. Speaking of compassion and tolerance for ourselves, we need to make sure we rest. When we’re under stress and under siege, we’re much more likely to lose our self-control and act out in unskillful ways. After sesshin at Sanshin, we take the next morning off from the usual two or three hours of practice that start before dawn. Being committed to the dharma center is good, but burnout is not. Going straight from one task to another to another is a recipe for fatigue and instability. Everyone needs balance, a life outside of the dharma center and activities that are not directly related to zazen, work and study. Exercising self-control doesn’t mean we don’t take care of ourselves or that we become cogs in the practice machine. There’s no question that our practice asks us to consider self-control. It’s important to know that what we do affects others as well as ourselves. When we lose control and do stuff we regret later, we reinforce unskillful habits for ourselves and maybe we cause suffering for others. Thus to practice with self-control so that our prajna shines through, we need to deeply understand the nature of self. We need to see how our delusions about self cause us to put a lot of energy into gratifying cravings and aversions. It’s not that we negate the self or become martyrs, because then that small self becomes a toddler having a tantrum. What more common image is there of losing self control? If we can patiently and tolerantly become familiar with our values and motivations, we can see what’s really happening when we lose our self-control. There are some important questions we can ask ourselves about this and there’s some discernment we can do. One of the five elements of spiritual health is clear understanding of one’s inner truths and on what these are based. (1) If we’re encountering situations in our lives and not always making the choices we want to be making, what’s going on? What value is struggling with what other value? Are there things you can understand about that argument that help shift the balance of power? Are there ways you can remind yourself of the benefits of seeing with eyes of prajna rather than with eyes of toddler? If self-control is about being skillful in expressing our emotions and desires, then we don’t have to deny our strong feeling when they come up. If it’s time to cry, it’s time to cry. If it’s time to get someone’s attention with some strong words, so be it. We can do those things fully and authentically without being destructive. That happens because we’re not at the mercy of these strong feelings. We can completely integrate them into our moment by moment experience and see them fully for what they are, and maybe we’re a little less likely to be blindsided by them and knocked off our feet. We can keep our attention where we want it, wherever that may be, without being distracted. Trying to maintain control by willpower, or force of intellect, is only going to get us so far. Prajna doesn’t show up until we open the hand of thought. Being authoritarian with ourselves just creates more ideas and more thinking and more disturbance. We’re already wise. We don’t need to coerce ourselves into being something we’re not. There are consequences of taking this human form, but this form is also the ground of our practice. Befriending our impulses means we become more intimate with ourselves, and because we’re not separate from the universe we become more intimate with that too. Studying the self might mean taking a psychological approach, but from a practice perspective that’s not the whole story because it doesn’t necessarily take into account the universal self and the three marks of existence: impermanence, interconnection and no-self. In order to fulfill wisdom, or completely manifest pranja without any gaps, we need to patiently steer ourselves toward our aspiration and our vows, because then self-control, self-discipline and self-restraint arise naturally. Notes (1) There are five generally accepted elements of spiritual health:
Questions for reflection and discussion
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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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