Right means are a gate of Dharma illumination; for they are accompanied by right conduct. 衆生を導く正しい方便は法明門である。それによって衆生は正しい行いを具えるからである。 A more complete translation of this would be something like “Guiding all beings by using proper skillful means results in all beings being equipped or prepared to engage in right conduct or right behavior.” First let’s look at skillful means and then at how that results in right conduct. You may know skillful means as upaya in Sanskrit or hoben 方便 in Japanese. The basic idea is that we can use our own specific methods or techniques that fit the situation in order to move ourselves and others toward awakening. Sometimes teachers need to get our attention or attract us to practice and the dharma, so they may use particular terms or techniques with beginners that they discard later when people are more experienced. For instance, when I talk with the general public I don’t say zazen—no one knows what that means. I say sitting practice or, if I have to, meditation (even though zazen is not meditation). Once people come in the door of the temple and start to practice, they don’t hear about meditation; it’s all zazen. Skillful means can get tricky, because it’s certainly possible to wander away from what Buddha actually taught and convince ourselves that whatever we want to do or say is skillful means. Even though a particular view or teaching is not ultimately “true,” it may still be expedient or helpful—as long as we’re aware that what we’re doing or saying is provisional. The Buddha or teachers and ancestors can teach and lead in this way because they’re deep practitioners with some wisdom and insight. They know how to make use of everything at their disposal in a skillful way in order to reach the audience that’s actually in front of them. They also know how to present complex teachings in simple language, even though what they’re describing frequently can’t really be captured in words. However, this gate is not relevant only to dharma teachers. We as students and practitioners can use the daily things we encounter in this samsaric world to support our own practice, even as we make effort not to cling to or perpetuate them. Nobody likes suffering, but it gets us onto the cushion and gives us some motivation to practice. Maybe we pay attention to dharma books and dharma talks as guides that point us toward awakening even though we know we need to do that work for ourselves; we can’t just read or listen and somehow get it. The practice question for us is: how can we use our delusion to overcome our delusion? Historically, we encounter the idea of upaya or hoben in a couple of related ways. Sometimes it’s been used to critique teachings and schools other than one’s own by saying that those teachings are not the utimate truth, but merely expedient means aimed at an audience that wasn’t able to really comprehend the actual dharma. In addition, the Chinese used upaya as a way to organize and classify the Buddha’s teachings. Each teaching was seen as an expedient way to deal with the shortcomings of the teaching before it, and it also pointed to the more complete teaching that comes after it. Thus there was a progression of teachings from the most basic and simple to the most complex and profound. In any event, skillful means are critical for bodhisattvas. They need the wisdom and compassion to see how to gear a particular teaching to the needs, experience and ability of a particular group of practitioners. The point is to use any expedient means in order to liberate beings from suffering and introduce them to the dharma, whether overtly or more subtly. They’re working with the potential of various different people by speaking and acting according to their specific karmic conditions. In chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha describes how the Avalokitesvara changes his form to meet each person’s needs. He might become a monk, a divine figure or an animal. That’s one kind of bodhisattva skillful means. Sometimes skillful means is used to explain the behavior of “crazy monks” or dharma leaders that do unexpected or puzzling things. Their answers to questions don’t seem to make sense, or they hand you a candle to help you get home in the dark and then blow it out, or maybe they seem to break a lot of precepts even though they’re supposed to be monks. If these things really are being done skillfully, they’re being done to break us out of our habituated thinking and help us see things in a different way. Suddenly having the rug pulled out from under us can open our eyes to the nature of self or the nature of suffering. Of course, the challenge is to know whether behavior that seems eccentric is really upaya or simply a human mistake based on delusion. There two famous metaphors for upaya in the Buddhist tradition. One is the burning house, and the other is the empty fist. The burning house comes from the Lotus Sutra. Buddha describes a father who lives with many sons in a large house that’s crumbling and falling down. It catches fire and the father is doing everything he can to get the sons out, but they’re busy playing and not paying attention. He knows what kinds of toys each of the sons likes, and he tells them that their favorite toys and carts are outside, and they should come and get them while they can. Because these are all the things the sons especially wanted, they all come piling out of the house. Buddha asks Shariputra whether the father was guilty of falsehood, and Shariputra says no—if the lives of the sons were preserved, then they already had a plaything. The father was simply using expedient means to save their lives. It’s an illustration of the Buddha using various kinds of teachings to get people to see that they’re in the burning house of samsara and move them toward liberation. He’s teaching them in the ways that they like best so they can take in what he’s saying. In the sutra the Buddha also explains the three vehicles of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism as three kinds of expedient means. First, the Buddha preaches the three vehicles to attract and guide living beings, but later he employs just the Great Vehicle to save them. Why? The Tathagata possesses measureless wisdom, power, freedom from fear, the storehouse of the Dharma. He is capable of giving to all living beings the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, but not all of them are capable of receiving it. Shariputra, for this reason you should understand that the Buddhas employ the power of expedient means, and because they do so, they make distinctions in the one Buddha vehicle and preach it as three. In the empty fist metaphor, in order to get the attention of his crying children a father holds up his empty fist, saying there is something inside it. Sometimes he’s holding golden leaves in his fist to give the impression there’s something gold inside. It’s a popular metaphor because emptiness is one of the things we so often have to approach by skillful means, and frequently hear that all teachings are expedient means and are themselves empty of any fixed self-nature. In the beginning we may be afraid of emptiness or decide we’re not interested, so teachers have to get our attention. They have to get us to move from focusing on the thoughts and distractions that arise in our minds to focusing on the ground of those thoughts and distractions. What’s underneath them? How do they arise? How are we grabbing and interacting with them in order to create a self? Thinking there are golden teachings inside the empty fist can attract and motivate us to practice and stop crying like the children, and at some point we understand emptiness and can let go of our delusions and suffering as well as the teachings. We can see beyond gold leaves to the emptiness of the fist itself. While we acknowledge the existence of skillful means, we also have to be careful not to get stuck there. It’s the old finger pointing at the moon and the warning not to mistake the finger for the moon. To go back to the three branches of Buddhism in the Lotus Sutra, Okumura Roshi says: "In Buddhism, skillful means are important. Those different paths are considered to be skillful means to encourage people not to stop practice. Teachers and teachings show a kind of a goal that encourages practice, and when a student reaches that stage, the teacher shows the next goal. That’s the way a student practices with encouragement. That’s the meaning of stages in Buddhist practice, but Dogen Zenji says our practice [of shikantaza] is very unique. He doesn’t use this kind of skillful means." This means practice and awakening are not two, to which we’ll come back in a moment. There are no stages in zazen, with one thing leading to the next. We just sit down and open the hand of thought. The gate statement says that if we use skillful means, then people are prepared to engage in right conduct. What is right conduct, and how do the two elements of this statement work together? Back at Gate 26 we considered dharma conduct—conduct that arises from prajna or wisdom, as opposed to unwholesome conduct driven by the three poisons. Skillful means and right conduct are connected because each one reinforces the other. When we see the universe and ourselves clearly, we act skillfully for the benefit of all beings. That skillful action or right conduct moves us ourselves toward insight into reality and away from suffering. One of Dogen’s most important teachings is that practice and awakening are not two. Without action, awakening is not realized; without wisdom and compassion, our actions are not skillful. Paying attention to what we do and the way we conduct ourselves is necessary in addition to whatever dharma study or other kinds of practice we may be doing. At Gate 26 we saw that right conduct is what happens in the reality of this moment, not an abstract theoretical idea. Our idea about what right conduct is will never match the reality of the circumstances right now that change moment after moment, so our concept of right conduct is not the same as right conduct. Also, we can’t act in the past or in the future, so this moment is the only opportunity for right conduct. When it comes to skillful guidance about ethics and morality, we really need to understand that guidance is helpful, but it’s an idea. Certainly we can discuss good and bad and precepts and guidelines and all of those things, but when the moment comes to act, that's the reality. How do we use skillful means to equip bodhisattvas for right conduct? Those skillful means need to provide guidance on two things: interconnectedness and cause and effect. It’s important to understand interconnectedness from the point of view that what we do affects others, and from the point of view that our suffering or unhappiness is not something “out there” that randomly arrives on our doorstep. It might seem to us that what we do and what others do is disconnected, or that what we do is our own business and no one else should care, or that our actions and the results of our actions are separate. However, it’s difficult to live ethically if we don’t understand that what we do has a bigger footprint than just the consequences for us. If I think that I live and act in isolation, then it doesn’t matter what I do and I don’t worry about any effect on others. Once I see that everything is connected, then naturally I can feel some responsibility to live in a wholesome way and engage in right conduct. The other important piece is cause and effect, and the message is similar: right conduct leads to liberation from suffering, and unwholesome conduct leads to suffering. If we can see clearly and act skillfully, we can keep ourselves out of the hell realms driven by the three poisons, so we have some control over our circumstances and the level of suffering with which we’re dealing. Suffering isn’t something that arrives randomly from somewhere else. Belief in cause and effect is one of the most important teachings in Soto Zen. Dogen addressed it several times in the Shobogenzo. One of his most important points was that we may not see the result of our conduct right away, and it might not look the way we expect. That’s true of our individual day-to-day actions and also for the actions we take as skillful means of guiding others. We do the best we can to guide others to recognize interconnectedness and that actions have outcomes, but we can’t always predict and control what happens as a result of that guidance. Again, this gate applies to us whether we’re dharma teachers or not. As bodhisattvas, our aspiration is always to model right action or right conduct. When we receive precepts or participate in the monthly ryaku fusatsu, we hear the Kyojukaimon, Dogen’s instructions on the precepts. Among other things, it talks about the three pure precepts: embracing moral codes, embracing beneficial actions and embracing all living beings. In the section on embracing beneficial actions, it says that this is itself awakening and that This is the way in which one should practice by oneself and the way in which one should lead others. We’re all responsible for providing guidance about nonseparation and cause and effect all the time, but not necessarily by being dharma teachers or giving formal instruction. Simply doing actions that help other beings is skillful means, and those beneficial actions equip others to take beneficial action themselves. As bodhisattvas we are always demonstrating how to move through the world with wisdom and compassion, not because we’re better than anyone else but because wisdom and compassion are what happens when we see clearly and we’re not pulled around by delusion. Our challenge is to do this in a way that’s not self-conscious: look at me, what a great and inspiring role model I am! For instance, when I used to deploy with the Red Cross for disaster relief during hurricanes or wildfires, I wore a bright red RC reflective vest even when traveling to the site. Sometimes people in the airport would stop me to say thanks or ask about what I do. Frequently they would say they felt inspired to do something in own their communities too as a result. That was precisely why I wore it—to put a service presence into the world and show that it’s possible to participate in this way. I considered it skillful means. Now, I need to not cling to that and write a story about my great self, taking those thanks personally and getting a big head. I don’t know that anyone actually volunteered for anything or gave to the Red Cross. I could have just be an interesting incident in their day. However, I could have prepared someone to take bodhisattva action herself by showing that a person from Indiana is not separate from what’s happening in South Carolina or Oregon, and that the actions of Red Cross workers on the ground, providing meals and beds and medical care, are making a tangible difference. One of our challenges in these modern times is that skillful means can become spiritual technologies that get divorced from the context of the rest of the eightfold path. Once I gave a talk to a Japanese culture class at Purdue, and one of the students asked “how you guys feel about the commercialization of Zen,” meaning things like Buddhas being used as home decorations, or zazen being turned into corporate mindfulness programs. I thought it was quite a perceptive question, and it’s relevant to our topic here. Can something like mindfulness be skillful means if it’s not accompanied by teachings about sila, or ethics? Are we preparing people to be wise and compassionate, or just to be more efficient workers or more focused on themselves? They can learn “mindfulness” from an app or a YouTube video, and one could legitimately argue that at least they’re being exposed to some kind of contemplative practice, and maybe they would never come into a dharma center and would otherwise never be exposed to any kind of dharma. However, using mindfulness to learn to pay attention can make you a better bodhisattva, but without the ethical context and the teachings about wisdom, it can also make you a better assassin! Mindfulness in the Soto Zen tradition is about not forgetting Buddha’s teachings and not forgetting to practice, not about paying attention to your blood pressure. Thus it’s an open question whether this kind of thing is a skillful means that prepares people for right conduct or not. There are also some interesting questions in this gate about sangha building. What do practitioners need to know and know how to do in order to take their practice into the world? How do we equip novices to be good dharma teachers and to use all of their karmic conditions to share the dharma? As Sanshin’s senior dharma teacher, these are questions I think about all the time, but I think they’re also relevant for board members, practice leaders, and for the sangha as a whole. Soto Zen is relatively new in North America, and we’ll need to develop create and flexible answers to these questions while keeping the spirit of our ancestors’ practice alive. 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
February 2025
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