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Examination of Dharma, as a part of the state of truth is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it illuminates all dharmas. 法覺分是法明門、照明一切法故。 Today’s gate, like the previous one, is connected with mindfulness and namarupa. The early teachings said that when there was mindfulness, examination of dharma was the natural result. When we’re paying attention to what’s happenning in this body and mind, the natural next step is to investigate what comes up. If we’re don’t forget to practice and to see with the eyes of Buddha, then we don’t forget that our opinions and perceptions might not be reliable. We remember that these five skandhas aren’t the whole story, and we keep looking deeper into them rather than just taking it easy and assuming we know. The kernel of “examination of dharma” as it comes to us from the Sanskrit, or what we’re aspiring to, is being able to distinguish between what represents truth and what doesn’t. We’re trying to discern error from truth. If we’re faced with namarupa that’s really our own creation, we know that and interact with it accordingly. The Kalama Sutta is well known for being a text in which Buddha advises us not to believe things just because he’s telling us, but to see for ourselves whether these things represent truth. This text is frequently quoted when people want to make the point that they don’t need to listen to teachers or practice with a sangha; the only valid yardstick is their own viewpoint and their own experience, because Buddhism is scientific and logical and not a revealed religion. Therefore they can do whatever they want. That’s not at all what the Buddha is teaching in this sutra. He says we shouldn’t follow a tradition just because it’s a tradition. We shouldn’t swallow historical accounts or various reports just because the source seems reliable, and likewise, we shouldn’t follow our own preferences just because they make sense to us or feel comfortable to us. Instead, he advises us, evaluate teachings carefully and skillfully by putting them into practice; then on determining that they represent truth, don’t deviate from the path. Make a commitment and practice wholeheartedly. The sutra says: Don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, “This contemplative is our teacher.” When you know for yourselves that, “These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness” — then you should enter & remain in them. Buddha says that any view or belief we have needs to be tested by what happens when we practice with it, and it has to be checked against the experience of wise people, whether those are teachers, grandparents or smart friends. We have to question and examine everything all the time because everything is changing, including our opinions and worldviews. It takes attention and some degree of skill to test our beliefs appropriately, and it also takes attention and skill to choose good mentors and friends. Elsewhere Buddha says that whenever we take an action with the body, speech or mind -- the three places we create karma - we need to reflect as best we can on outcome for ourselves and others. What we’re distinguishing is:
That takes a huge degree of mindfulness, to be constantly paying attention to namarupa and what’s happening in body and mind. In early teachings, applying right effort to that kind of ongoing discernment was what got you to the first stage of awakening. First you establish mindfulness, then you investigate dharmas, then you apply energy or effort. These three elements together were said to calm the mind and move you through the stages of awakening. Investigation or examination of the dharma is a huge part of the Buddhist tradition. Proper investigation is supposed to lead to a certain kind of knowledge or wisdom. This is what vipassana is all about: coming to insight through investigation of phenomena. Its partner is shamatha, or concentration. These two elements are what make up early meditation practice. One settled down in concentration in order to investigate the dharma and come to some wisdom or insight about the nature of the five skandhas. From there one moved to deeply understanding the three marks of existence (impermanence, interconnection and no-self). One way to think about “examining the dharma” is as verifying the truth of the teachings. Now this is starting to sound more like what we hear from Dogen and other teachers in the Soto Zen school. Sometimes we engage in examination of dharma by paying attention to our actions of body, speech and mind: carrying out forms, working with the sangha and talking to people. Another way is to do shikantaza. We investigate by maintaining a spirit of inquiry, and that happens naturally when we let go of thought. It means letting go of preconceptions and habituated thinking. That’s the only way we can clearly see what’s in front of us. We’re not sitting in front of the wall using our intellects to figure out what dharmas are about, or trying to understand the universe in a philosophical way, or trying to convince ourselves of various points of the teaching because of blind faith. We’re examining dharma by removing obstacles and hindrances, refining our practice and our wisdom and compassion by getting blocks out of the way and letting our vision become clear. If we were doing a legal investigation or a scientific investigation or a research project of some kind, a big part of that would be determining what to pay attention to. Where are the red herrings and blind alleys? Where are the unhelpful assumptions? Which are the reliable sources, and how do we know that? Who are the people in the best position to help with this project? We have to be able to accurately discriminate between phenomena and between those phenomena that can show us something about the truth and those that can’t. We start not by going in search of the biggest and rarest fantastical beast in the kingdom but by looking at what’s going on right here. If we’re not examining these five skandhas, how are we going to know what to do with a fantastical beast? We don’t need to look “out there” for a sexy, exotic subject for our study; we begin with getting our own selves in order and understanding our own processes, the four noble truths truths and other basic teachings. Then we can accurately investigate whatever else comes our way. Dogen says: When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat, you can see that the boat moves. Similarly, if you examine myriad things with a confused body and mind you might suppose that your mind and nature and permanent. When you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that nothing at all has unchanging self. (1) Let’s not project our own confusion onto the dharmas we’re examining. Investigating the nature of things, or examining and illuminating all dharmas, is a major project. It includes all elements of existence, all our mental and physical states, all phenomena, and seeing the impermanence, interconnectedness and no-self -- in other words, emptiness -- in all of them. We can take anything, sit in front of it and and keep letting go of our thoughts and stories about it and begin to see the reality of it. I’m feeling stress or joy or contraction -- what ideas do I have about that that I can let go of? Chances are we’re deciding whether it’s pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, what it means for our experience of this moment, what part it plays in the larger story of ME, and even deciding what to call this sensation and the namarupa that starts to arise immediately. Not poking our heads in is how we maintain non-separation. That’s illuminating all dharmas. Our original Mind or pure Mind is free from mistakes about what’s true and what isn’t. It’s able to discriminate between wholesome, blameless, superior, good and the opposite. It can see all things equally without being confused by delusion and three poisons and hindrances; it knows where those pitfalls are and how not to get trapped there. Thus in examining stress, joy or contraction, it knows:
We haven’t yet considered intellectual study as a means of examining the dharma. Of course, it can be very helpful to study what Buddhas and ancestors have taught. It can really keep us from going off the rails and convincing ourselves that our own conclusions are the one true way, and it can provide some basis or foundation for our practice. Zazen and dharma study are two sides of one thing, just like practice and awakening are not two. We have to examine dharmas from all sides and it takes more than our lifetime. It’s one of those endless vows we take as bodhisattvas: dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. We might as well say: there’s an infinite number of dharmas in here and out there and I vow to examine and illuminate them all. Nishiari Bokusan was a Dogen scholar in the last half of the 19th century. He says: Practice is not just limited to one form. Sometimes we need to go onto high peaks; sometimes we need to go into the deep ocean. It’s no use to say,” Originally, there is no one thing,” or “not obtainable,” jumping before your feet are settled. On the other hand, it is also foolish to be stuck under the ladder for a lifetime by being bound by cause and effect and not knowing how to get through it. So in practice we need to go to that place, look back at this place, go to the absolute, look back at the relative and continue taking years and years to examine by asking, “What? What?” (2) That’s the basic practice of the Mahayana, seeing one reality from two sides and expressing two sides in one action. Dogen has a famous phrase: shusho ichinyo -- practice and verification are one. To Dogen, verification and awakening are the same thing, so examining and verifying Buddha’s teachings and the nature of reality through practice is the same as awakening. Okumura Roshi says: Practice and verification or enlightenment or realization is not something we may attain at some time in the future, as a reward for this long and hard practice. Of course, our practice may be hard or difficult for many different reasons; still, if we practice wholeheartedly, verification is there. For Dogen, it only depends upon whether we arouse bodhicitta (aspiration) and practice, or not. We examine the dharma, and illumination is already there because we’re seeing with the eyes of Buddha. We can verify what he sees because we see it too. Turning to Dogen’s comment on this gate in his fascicle about these 37 factors of bodhi, “Deciding among teachings as a limb of the truth” is “If there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation is as great as that between heaven and earth.” Thus, to arrive at the truth is neither difficult nor easy: all that is necessary is to decide for oneself. This might sound very familiar, either because you’re familiar with the original source of what Dogen is quoting or because you’re familiar with where else he quotes it.. The original source is the Shinjinmei, or Faith in Mind. It was written by Jiànzhì Sēngcàn (Jp. Kanchi Sosan) in China in the 5th century. Kanchi Sosan is the third Chinese ancestor in our lineage. That poem says in part: To arrive at the truth is not difficult: just avoid preference. Just when there is no hate and love, [all] will be revealed. [But] if there is a thousandth or a hundredth of a gap, the separation will be as great as that between heaven and earth. In other words, we need to be in a position to act in this moment, without being indecisive. In order to do that, we have to avoid being caught up in picking and choosing and chasing after preferences and running away from stuff we don’t like. Working backwards, how do we avoid getting trapped by preferences? We cultivate the ability to distinguish what represents truth from what doesn’t. In other words, we examine the dharma and illuminate all things. When we see things for what they are, we can have preferences without getting trapped by preferences, but if we make even the smallest mistake, if we forget for even an instant to practice what Buddha taught, we open up a huge gap. We’ve lost nonseparation and now we’re in relationship with what we like and dislike. Again we see how the mindfulness of the last gate is still connected to this one. Dogen quotes this poem again in the beginning of the Fukanzazengi, or Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen. You’ll recall that his big question had been: if we all have Buddha nature, why do we have to practice? In the beginning of the Fukanzazengi he asks that question three different ways and then says: And yet, if there is a hairs-breadth deviation, it is like the gap between heaven and earth. If the least like or dislike arises, the mind is lost in confusion. Yes, Buddha nature, enlightenment, illumination and verification are already here, and yet, as soon as we fall into picking and choosing and lose the ability to distinguish error from truth, we create separation and can’t manifest all those things. It’s the same thing we heard from the Buddha in the Kalama Sutta: don’t follow your preferences just because they’re comfortable. To decide for oneself is to avoid succumbing to delusion. Instead of turning over our decisionmaking function to the part of ourselves that’s driven by the three poisons, we examine the dharma and remain focused on knowing what’s real and what isn’t. Instead of getting caught up in fantasizing about the future either anticipation or fear or writing new stories out of our memories. We get clear about our our actual experience of putting the teachings into practice and verifying the dharma. That’s how we arrive at the truth, as Dogen says. Notes: (1) Dogen, E. (2011). Dogen's Genjo Koan: Three Commentaries. United States: Counterpoint Press, p. 24 (2) Three Commentaries, p. 43 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
April 2025
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