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Pure conduct of the actions of the mind is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it eliminates the three poisons. 意行淨行是法明門、斷三毒故. This is the third gate related to the places we create karma. When we looked at actions of the mouth we saw that speech can lead to action, so it’s important to be careful about what we say. Likewise, thought can lead to speech that can lead to action, so the origin of this whole chain of events starts with the mind. If our thoughts are wholesome, we have magnanimous mind, nurturing mind and joyful mind, the three minds or sanshin 三心. In the Tenzo Kyokun, Dogen Zenji recommended that a person working to benefit all beings should maintain three mental attitudes: magnanimous mind (daishin 大心), nurturing mind (roushin 老心 ), and joyful mind (kishin 喜心). Magnanimous mind is like an ocean or a mountain: calm and steady, yet accepting and nourishing countless beings and situations without differentiation. The ocean is serene because it accepts the many rivers without resisting. Nurturing mind, literally “old mind,” is akin to the attitude of a kindly grandmother or parent who delights in caring for others. It is the spirit of the bodhisattva, the fully mature person. Joyful mind is the joy that comes from deep in our hearts even in the midst of difficulty. It arises from the insight of zazen, that we live together with all beings and are not separate. If our thoughts are unwholesome we have greed, anger and ignorance, the three poisons or sandoku 三毒, the opposite of sanshin. Greed, desire or craving (貪欲) is more than simply wanting what we want. It includes coveteousness, getting what we want at the expense of others, and continuing to be dissatisfied even after we have what we think we want. Hatred, anger or aversion (瞋恚) is about being angry at whatever we find disagreeable and ranges from minor irritation to outright hostility and malice. It’s considered to be one of the most powerful and fundamental afflictions that disturbs the human mind and brings about unwholesome states. Finally, ignorance (愚癡) is our condition when we lack the wisdom to see reality as it is and we make mistakes based on our delusion and preconceptions. These three poisons are a central element in Buddhist teaching; they lead to the craving that is the basis of suffering. In the Buddhist Wheel of Life, they’re right at the very center. The hub of the wheel shows a pig (ignorance), a bird (greed), and a snake (anger) each biting the tail of the one before. These three are not separate and can give rise to each other. Ignorance in particular is seen as the root of greed and anger. Right at the center of the human experience is the strong tendency of the three poisons to arise in our minds. This is the very root of our suffering and our being trapped in samsara. Okumura Roshi has written that zazen is like an acupuncture needle to heal the sickness caused by the three poisonous minds. In zazen, we stop creating karma with the three forms of behavior. We take the posture with the body and don’t take action based on our delusion or craving or aversion We don’t do any talking, so we can’t get into trouble there. We let go of thought and don’t get into a relationship with it that creates a subject (me) and object (my thought). We can see that zazen is way to purify body, speech and thought and although our karma is playing out while we sit, our intention is not to create any more. Okumura Roshi also warns us about creating another kind of poison with our zazen. If our motivation to practise is influenced by the three poisons, that is, if we practice for the sake of making this person more important, more powerful, more enlightened or for anything else, then it is motivated by greed: “I want to get this or that.” It may not be for wealth or power that we practice, but for something spiritual. If we practice in order to get something desirable, however, our zazen is generated by greed. It’s really hard to avoid this, isn’t it? We all came to practice because we wanted something for ourselves—and this stubborn clinging doesn’t mean we shouldn’t practice! Also, if we practise in order to escape from our present condition, then the practice is motivated by anger/hatred toward this condition. . . . We often call this “way-seeking mind”. But our way-seeking mind can be very deeply influenced by the three poisonous states. This is a strange contradiction. In order to practice to be free from the three poisonous states of mind, we need the three poisonous states of mind. (1) This is why we sometimes say that suffering is our friend, or suffering is necessary to practice. Of the six realms of samsara (gods, giants, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hells), it’s said that the human realm is the only one in which we can practice, so we’re fortunate to be born in this form. If we were in a heavenly realm and believed that we were perfectly happy all the time, we would have no motivation to practice and see clearly. We have to use the three poisons to transcend the three poisons. This is enough of a challenge when it comes to ourselves as individuals. What about the potential for institutionalizing the three poisons in ways we don’t even realize? We can think of societies and institutions as our collective selves. If we are deluded and take action based on that delusion, we create causes and conditions for the perpetuation of that delusion. This is how karma keeps unfolding. David Loy has written a lot about this and he always points to three areas. He says the economic system is institutionalized greed. the military is institutionalized ill will, and mainstream media are institutionalized ignorance because their purpose is to profit from advertising rather than to educate and inform. (3) The whole question is really complicated and we can’t just decide to do away with these things and start over. To take this on, we have to look deeply into the meaning of well-being. What do we and all beings really need in order to be healthy and whole? Is that different than what we think we need? In a book called Blue Zones of Happiness (4), Dan Buettner outlines where in the world people are happiest and why, using various measures of life satisfaction. For instance, one finding is that more money does equal more happiness up to a point—but once basic needs are covered, plus enough to be comfortable, you’re not more happy with more money. You just have more stuff. There was a report in 1999 that said that the percentage of Americans who considered themselves happy peaked in 1957, even though consumption per person had more than doubled since then. Yet our economy is driven by production and consumption. If I make stuff, then I need to create a demand for it. If my job is to make widgets, then I need people to buy them if I’m going to keep my job and feed my family. This quickly becomes a discussion about right livelihood. Are my widgets contributing to quality of life for others? If they’re not but this is the job I can get, is that OK? When I make widgets, I buy supplies from other vendors, so I’m supporting their employees too. Because of interdepenence, these are tough questions. There are those who say that the legal system is institutionalized ill will because it incarcerates more people of color than whites, or that the military needs to justify its spending, so there always needs to be an enemy out there. It’s not only institutionalized ill will but reinforces the idea of separation—me and you, win and lose—that is at the heart of delusion. Of course, institutions are simply extensions of our own mindstate. If our intentions as individuals are wholesome, we tend to create wholesome institutions. If we are deluded, we can’t help but poison our institutions with our delusion. Again, these issues are not simple, but very complex. Environmental destruction is about both greed and ignorance, and discrimination is about all three. At the root of it all is fear—fear that our small selves are not enough as they are and are going to disappear in the shadow of someone else. So what do we do about all this? At the beginning of these comments, I made the point that the three poisons were part of the human condition, and that if we were somehow to be without the them then we couldn’t take this human form and we couldn’t practice. Rather than eliminating or eradicating the three poisons, our practice is to be free from the three poisons. Uchiyama roshi wrote, Since desires and cravings existing in human life are the cause of suffering, [we may] struggle to extinguish them and attain the bliss of nirvana. But isn’t seeking to get rid of pain and to attain the bliss of nirvana itself a desire or craving? Actually, this too is craving and precisely because of that the practitioner is caught in self-contradiction and can’t escape suffering. Since desires and cravings are actually a manifestation of the life force, there is no reason to hate them and try to extinguish them. And yet, if we become dragged around by them and chase after them, then our life becomes fogged over. It is not a matter of making great effort not to be dragged around by desires. It’s just waking up and returning to the reality of life that is essential. (1) Because of their vow to save all beings, bodhisattvas are not pulled by their karma and they don’t transmigrate through the realms of samsara based on three poisonous minds. As ordinary bodhisattvas, our job is to continue to function right in the middle of three poisons. After all, both samsara and nirvana are right here and there’s nowhere else to go. Three poisons come up because of our beginningless karma, but still we try not to create more. Pure conduct of the actions of the mind is seeing these three poisons come up and letting go of them moment after moment, rather than engaging with and perpetuating them. These three poisons are all self-centered or self-involved. Giving up the opportunity to do something that inflates the ego is one of the biggest bodhisattva activities there is. Job One is to see the urge to self-involvement coming up in the mind: sitting in the breakroom with your coworkers and looking for the chance to engage in name-dropping, humble-bragging, or subtly drawing attention to your expensive new phone. It starts with the thought and then goes on to speech and action. Passing up that opportunity for self-aggrandizement is a gift to other beings. Not doing something is sometimes as important as doing something when we’re working to save all beings. Okumura Roshi says, Letting go of our self-centered views in practice, we are freed from the three poisonous minds, supporting the entire network of interdependent origination as it supports us. If we’re not stuck in the delusion that there is a fixed self that needs defending, then three poisonous minds don’t arise. We can give up our self-involvement, and in that moment we heal the separation. However, this isn’t a linear process. Not giving rise to three poisonous minds means we don’t create separation between subject and object, but also, when we don’t create separation there’s no contact between subject and object that gives rise to the three poisonous minds. Separation and poison arise together because they’re dependent on each other. Questions for reflection and discussion
Further reading
Notes
(1) See Zazenshin: Acupuncture Needle of Zazen, article by Shohaku Okumura (2) See The Great Awakening by David Loy, Wisdom Publications, 1997. (3) Learn more at Blue Zones of Happiness. (4) Opening the Hand of Thought by Kosho Uchiyama. Wisdom Publications (2004) p. 76 Comments are closed.
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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
March 2025
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