Also See: Samādhi of the Treasury of Luminosity

Chinese Version of this Article:《光明藏三昧》的修行者反思 

Last Updated 18/06/2025

A Practitioner's Reflection on the Kōmyōzō Zanmai (Version 0.4)

Introduction: The Four-Fold Path of Light

The Kōmyōzō Zanmai is one of the most luminous and direct transmissions in the Zen tradition. Authored by Koun Ejō, the direct Dharma successor of Eihei Dōgen, this text is not a mere philosophical argument. It is a direct pointing to the nature of reality. In this reflection, we will explore the meticulous path to which Ejō points. While the unfolding of insight is a dynamic process and not a rigid, linear sequence, this reflection will articulate the journey through a framework of four major phases that are commonly experienced:

1. The Foundational Realization of Pure Presence ("I AM"): The initial breakthrough of dis-identifying from the contents of mind and recognizing the timeless, formless, ever-present awareness that is the ground of all experience. While a crucial step, this can also lead to the subtle reification of this 'ground' as an ultimate, changeless Self.
2. The Initial Non-Dual Insight (Substantialist Nonduality / "One Mind"): The realization that all phenomena are the luminous, radiant display of a single Mind. The subject-object divide collapses and is often subsumed into an ultimate Subject or 'One Mind'. While this experience of 'All as Self' is a profound initial insight into 'No-Self', it subtly reifies a metaphysical essence, as understanding is still oriented from a view based on a paradigm of inherent existence and a subtle subject-object dichotomy. This is a deviation from the ultimate Buddhist path.
3. The Insight into Anātman (Emptiness of Self): A crucial and liberating realization that penetrates the empty, selfless nature of Mind and the agent (pudgala-nairātmya). Here, even the single, radiant Mind is seen to be empty of any inherent, independent self-nature (svabhāva). It is not a substance; rather, the knowingness is the self-knowing, dynamic, selfless, and agentless process itself, which unfolds and knows itself by itself without a knower.
4. The Maturation of Wisdom (Twofold Emptiness): The deepening of insight to perceive the empty, dream-like, and insubstantial nature of all phenomena (dharma-nairātmya). This is the realization that not only is the self empty, but all dharmas (sights, sounds, thoughts) are also without any inherent existence, arising like illusions or mirages. This is the path of purifying the subtle "obstruction of knowledge" (jñeya-āvaraṇa) and seeing reality as it truly is—vividly apparent, yet utterly empty.

In this reflection, we will explore not only Ejō's pointing but also practical methods of self-enquiry. While we do not know the exact pedagogical tools Ejō used with his students, the methods discussed here, drawn from the broader Dharma tradition, can serve as potent tools to directly realize the profound truths to which he points.

The Prefaces: A Lineage of Reverence

The historical prefaces by Mitsuun and Menpō frame the text not as a mere book, but as a sacred relic—a direct conduit to the mind of the enlightened ancestors. Their palpable joy at its rediscovery underscores its importance. For them, these words were not just teachings about the light; they were the living transmission of the light. They establish an unbroken lineage from the ancient Buddhas to Ejō, asserting that what follows is the authentic, undiluted heart of the Dharma.

Part 1: Defining the Treasury of Light - The Luminous, Sentient Heart of Reality

Ejō begins by defining his central metaphor: the Treasury of Light (光明藏, kōmyōzō). Critically, this is not a cold, empty void. This is a universe that "has a Heart." (See: The Transient Universe has a Heart https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2019/02/the-transient-universe-has-heart.html) Ejō’s light is not the lifeless photon of physics; it is a vibrant, intelligent, and numinous luminosity (靈光, líng guāng). This "radiance" is the very texture of reality itself, synonymous with what other traditions might call pristine consciousness or pure knowingness. It is the intrinsic clarity and wakefulness of Mind. When Zen masters speak of numinous awareness (靈知, líng zhī), they are pointing to this very same principle—an intelligent light that is not seen with the eyes, but is the very aware, noetic capacity behind seeing, hearing, and knowing. It is the sentient, aware quality that makes experience possible.

Realizing the Source: The 'I AM' Before All Things:

Ejō establishes that this Light is the "source of all Buddhas, the inherent nature of all beings, the total body of all things." This is a direct pointing towards the first crucial breakthrough on the path: the realization of the formless Source or Ground of Being. This is the insight into the "I AM" that was present before Abraham, the "Original Face before your parents were born." It is the direct, non-conceptual realization of the Mind that is prior to all sensory and conceptual experience—prior to seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking.

The purpose of self-enquiry, as taught in Zen and other direct paths, is to guide the mind back to this very Source. Questions like, "Without thoughts, tell me what is your very mind right now?" are not seeking a conceptual answer like "void" or "hollow." Such answers are products of the thinking mind. The question is a tool to exhaust the intellect and create an opening for direct recognition. As Ramana Maharshi explained, the enquiry "Who am I?" is like the stick used to stir a funeral pyre—it destroys all other thoughts and is finally destroyed itself, revealing the doubtless Self that remains.

This realization is not necessarily achieved by entering deep meditative states where the senses shut down, though such states can intensify the absorption. As many masters have pointed out, it is a matter of realizing what is already, undeniably present. You exist, and you are aware that you exist. This is not just a vague or mental noticing of “Oh, I exist” but a unshakeable, doubtless realization of the Truth of Being. This dawning of a direct certainty of your own Beingness, this objectless Presence-Awareness, is the foundational realization. It is the simple, direct taste of your own essence before it is clothed in the five senses or labeled by the thinking mind.

The "All is Mind-Only" Insight (As a Subsequent, Pedagogic Tool):

After the foundational realization of the formless Source, the path often leads to a distinct, further insight that directly corresponds to the Yogācāra (Cittamātra) teaching that "the three realms are mind-only" (三界唯心). This is the realization that all external objects are nothing but luminous manifestations of one's own mind, collapsing the naive dualism of an inner self and an outer world into a single, unified field of Mind.

However, it is absolutely essential to understand the true intent of this teaching. As explained by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, the great Mādhyamika masters refute the Cittamātra system only when it is misunderstood. The error lies in reifying the mind as a truly existing substance. As Mipham says:

"self-styled proponents of the Cittamātra tenets, when speaking of mind-only, say that there are no external objects but that the mind exists substantially—like a rope that is devoid of snakeness, but not devoid of ropeness... they believe the nondual consciousness to be truly existent on the ultimate level. It is this tenet that the Mādhyamikas repudiate."

Cittamātra, correctly understood, is not a metaphysical assertion of a transcendental, ultimate Mind (like Brahman). Rather, it is an expedient pedagogic tool designed to break our attachment to the reality of external objects. The progressive path, as outlined by Asaṅga and echoed by Brunnhölzl, is as follows:

1. One first understands that all phenomena are simply the mind.
2. Subsequently, one has the experience that there is no object to be apprehended in the mind.
3. Then, one realizes that because there is no object, neither is there a subject (a mind cognizing them).
4. Immediately after, one attains the direct realization of Suchness, devoid of the duality of subject and object.

Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche clarifies this subtle point perfectly. He explains that while Mādhyamika masters refute a substantially existing mind, they do not refute the valid, conventional realization of a non-dual "self-illuminating gnosis." Mipham states:

"If, on the other hand, that consciousness is understood to be unborn from the very beginning (i.e. empty), to be directly experienced by reflexive awareness, and to be self-illuminating gnosis without subject or object, it is something to be established."

This "self-illuminating gnosis" is the profound ground of non-dual radiance—a direct, valid experience on the path. The critical point Mipham makes is that this gnosis is established conventionally as a valid realization while being understood as ultimately empty and unborn from the very beginning. The substantialist error, which Dōgen and all Buddhist masters refute, is to mistake this valid realization for a final truth by granting it its own independent essence, separate from the vivid, selfless self-knowing/self-luminous appearances cognized. The deeper insight into anātman deconstructs even this luminous ground, revealing that it has no inherent existence apart from its own manifestations.

The Realization of No-Attainment and Non-Arising (Mushotoku & Fushō):

Ejō’s emphasis on "no-attainment" (无所得, mushotoku) is the key that unlocks the entire path. This principle is supported by classic Zen dialectics, such as his reference to the Way being unobtainable by either 'a mind of existence' or a 'mind of non-existence' (mushin, 无心), pointing directly to the ungraspable, unfindable, and empty nature of Mind itself. The anātman insight reveals that there is no static, background consciousness or "Source" to be attained, only the dynamic, radiant foreground of appearances. As John Tan explains, this "background" is an illusion fabricated by a dualistic mind seeking something to hold on to. (Do read John Tan's article: Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment. You can visit John Tan's website at https://atr-passerby.com/) The realization of mushotoku is the direct seeing-through of this illusion. It is not just that Mind is already here; it is that there is no "Mind" as a separate, attainable entity apart from the transient phenomena themselves. Ejō deepens this by linking it to the lack of self-nature and the fundamental principle of non-arising (不生, fushō). He quotes, "The master of mind, at ease, awakens to the fundamental non-arising of one's own mind." Because Mind is without self-nature, it was never truly "born" or "created" in the first place. Realization, therefore, is not an act of acquisition but the cessation of all seeking, which dawns when the fundamentally unobtainable and non-arisen nature of reality is directly and irrefutably seen.

Part 2: The Foundational Realization - Discovering the Ground of "I AM"

This initial breakthrough is the shift from identifying with the contents of experience to identifying with the context in which they appear—the silent, ever-present space of awareness itself. This is the numinous awareness (靈知, líng zhī). In the Kōmyōzō Zanmai, Ejō raises several points from classic Zen masters to trigger this insight by turning attention away from the object of perception and back towards the perceiver itself.

• Linji's Pointing: "Now tell me, what is it that knows how to preach the Dharma and listen to the Dharma?"
• The Enjoyer of Life: "Now tell me: when you piss and shit right now... whose enjoyment is this, ultimately?"

It is crucial here to distinguish between a mere glimpse or recognition of this "I AM" Presence, and its full, abiding realization. Many practitioners may experience fleeting moments of recognizing the formless witness. This is a vital first step. However, Self-Realization proper is the direct, unshakeable certainty of this Beingness, a Eureka! realization beyond all doubt of what one’s Essence or Ground of Being is. The purpose of sustained self-enquiry is to deepen these initial recognitions until they mature into an abiding, unshakable Reality.

Expanded Practical Enquiry:

Finding the Listener ("I AM")

These are not questions for the intellect, but tools for direct investigation designed to transform glimpses into certainty.

Method 1: Koan and Direct Pointing (The Zen Method)

1. Settle and Ask: Sit quietly in a comfortable posture. Allow your body and mind to settle. Become aware of the ambient sounds in the room.
2. Turn the Question Inward: Now, with genuine curiosity, turn your attention inward and ask Linji's question: "What is it that is hearing these sounds right now?"
3. Investigate Directly and Relentlessly: Your conceptual mind will immediately try to answer with labels. Discard them. The instruction is to find out who is the listener, or what is listening to the sound.
4. The Realization of Objectless Presence: As you search with sustained, non-conceptual diligence, a profound recognition will dawn: you cannot find the listener as an object, however, It is undeniably present—clearly, something is aware of that sound, that awareness and presence is undeniable—but it is formless, boundless, and objectless. It has no center and no edge—it is an all-pervading pure Presence. This is not a realization of nothingness, but a direct certainty of Beingness that is simply without object. This direct, non-conceptual recognition of the formless, ever-present knower is the initial insight. Rest in this open, knowing space of Being.

Method 2: Self-Inquiry and Neti-Neti (The Vedantic Method)

1. Systematic Negation: Ask, "Am I this body?" Feel the sensations of the body. You are the awareness of them. Conclude firmly: "Not this." Observe a thought. Ask, "Am I this thought?" You are the witness of it. "Not this."
2. What Remains? After you have negated everything perceivable, what is left is the irreducible, undeniable, subjective sense of presence, of knowing, of being—the "I AM." Also see: Self Enquiry, Neti Neti and the Process of Elimination https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2024/05/self-enquiry-neti-neti-and-process-of.html

A Note on Other Methods for Awakening Presence

The Song of Vajra and Sacred Sound

The principle of using sound to quiet the discursive mind and reveal presence is found in many traditions. Beyond general mantra recitation, there are more profound practices. The Song of Vajra is not merely a mantra but is revered in the Dzogchen tradition as a supreme semdzin (mind instruction).

As Chögyal Namkhai Norbu explained:

"The Song of the Vajra is like a key for all of the methods we can learn in the Dzogchen teachings... We can learn the Song of the Vajra in three different ways: through sound, where each sound represents the different functions of our chakras; through the meaning of the words, which are not easy to understand because each word is like a symbol; and through our real condition. This threefold nature of the Song of the Vajra is related to the three aspects of our existence (body, speech, and mind)."

Each syllable relates to specific energy points and functions, working on a deep level to bring the practitioner directly into the state of knowledge (rigpa). (See: https://melong.com/song-vajra-webcast-talk-adriano-clemente/) Given its profundity, this practice requires direct transmission and initiation from a qualified Dzogchen teacher. For those interested, such instructions and transmissions can be sought from teachers like Acarya Malcolm Smith (See: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2024/01/finding-awakened-spiritual-teacher-and.html).

There are accounts of practitioners who, after receiving the transmission, awakened to Instant Presence simply through the dedicated practice of the Song of Vajra combined with a light, non-conceptual inquiry.

Recommendations from a Dharma Friend

The following sections are based on the advice of Sim Pern Chong, a Dharma friend who has traversed similar phases of realization (from "I AM" to nonduality, anātman, and the insight into emptiness), and is offered here as a practical supplement to the self-enquiry methods. You can visit Sim Pern Chong's website at https://innerjourneylog.weebly.com/

Mindful Meditation Practice

Sim Pern Chong offers the following guidance for formal meditation, such as focusing on the breath at the tip of the nose:

• Let go of the 'Meditator': Do not hold the thought that "I am meditating." Release the sense of a person performing an action.
• Effortless Awareness: Simply be aware of the breath as it is. Do not control or deliberately alter its natural rhythm.
• Posture is Key: Maintain a straight spine  (preferably unsupported by wall) and neck. Using a cushion to elevate the buttocks slightly higher than the crossed legs can facilitate this posture, which is conducive to mental clarity.
• Abiding in the Present: The goal of these techniques is to align the mind with the immediate present moment. The 'I AM' is experienced when the mind is not grasping at thoughts of the past or future, but is abiding fully in the now. Any method that cuts off this grasping can reveal the underlying presence.
• Eyes-Open Practice: This presence can also be experienced outside of formal meditation with eyes open. Simply look straight ahead into an open space and relax the focus. An expansive view, such as an open field, is often more conducive.

Audio-Entrainment and Brainwave Technology

A modern pedagogical approach involves using technology to induce a meditative state conducive to insight. Sim Pern Chong recommends technologies similar to Hemi-Sync, which use binaural beats.

• How it Works: By feeding slightly different sound frequencies to each ear, the brain generates a third 'difference-tone' that can entrain its electrical activity into specific brainwave patterns (e.g., low-alpha or theta).
• As you listen, especially during periods of silence, gently turn your focus inward. Ask the simple question, “who am I?” or "what is aware?" Don't search for an answer in words or concepts. The answer is the immediate, non-verbal knowing of awareness itself. Rest in that simple, open feeling of Being.
• Neuro-physiological Effects: Studies suggest this can lead to 'hemispheric synchronization,' quieting the brain's Default Mode Network (DMN), which is responsible for self-referential thought and the "me-story." When this inner narrative subsides, the raw, wordless sense of 'I AM' can become more apparent.
• A Catalyst, Not a Guarantee: It is important to view this technology as a powerful catalyst that can create a favorable physiological state for awakening, but not a guarantee. Personal intention and practice remain essential. Eckhart Tolle, for example, awakened spontaneously but later partnered with the Monroe Institute to use Hemi-Sync as an aid for his students.

Part 3: The Profound Insight into Anātman: From Non-Dual Radiance to Selfless Radiance-As-Transience

The realization of "I AM" is a profound and stable ground, but it is not the end of the Buddhist path. It can become a subtle trap—a reified "True Self" or Universal Consciousness, a view Dōgen directly refuted as the Senika heresy. The Buddhist insight into anātman goes deeper. It involves turning the light of enquiry onto Awareness and phenomena themselves, revealing them as empty of any permanent, independent, or substantial self-nature. This progression from a substantialist to an insubstantialist non-dual view is absolutely critical.

(A Pre-Anātman stage) Stage 3a: The Initial Non-Dual Insight

This first non-dual breakthrough is pointed to by "Class 2 Kōans" like Changsha's:

"Zen Master Changsha said to the assembly, 'The entire ten-direction world is the eye of a monk... the entire ten-direction world is one's own light.'"

This kōan directs the practitioner to the realization that the entire world is a seamless, luminous display of Mind. It is the insight that all appearances ARE the radiance of consciousness (心相一如). This is a profound experience of non-duality. However, as John Tan clarifies, this initial insight is often characterized by a "hyperreal" vividness. The world appears with a magical, stark clarity, but it may not yet be seen as "unreal" or empty. One can realize that "all is Mind's radiance" and still subtly cling to "Mind" or "Radiance" as a real, underlying substance—a substantialist view.

Stage 3b: The Anātman Insight - Realizing Insubstantiality of Mind and Agentlessness

The full insight into anātman requires a further step: penetrating the empty, selfless, and transient nature of Mind and the agent, even if the emptiness of all phenomena has not yet been fully realized. The Bahiya Sutta provides the ultimate instruction for this, and the two stanzas of contemplation are a direct, practical application of its wisdom. A critical warning is needed here. While this stage dismantles the illusion of an agent or a substantial Mind, if the insight into emptiness is not extended to all phenomena (the five aggregates), a subtle trap remains.

Without seeing the insubstantiality of forms, sounds, and thoughts themselves, these phenomena can appear 'hyperreal'. The initial emptying of self/Self does not necessarily lead to an illusion-like experience of reality. It does, however, allow experience to become vivid, luminous, direct, and non-dual. This first emptying may also lead a practitioner to become attached to an 'objective' world or to perceive it as physical, before the maturity of insight extends anātman into twofold emptiness (the emptiness of both self and phenomena). Even though phenomena are no longer seen as expressions of a substantial Mind (Mind is realised to be empty of an inherently existing substance), they can still be perceived as having their own inherent, momentary existence—as being truly arisen, real, or even physically solid. This is a subtle clinging to the reality of dharmas, which is only fully deconstructed as wisdom matures further (as discussed in Part 7).

Expanded Practical Enquiry: A Unified Practice for Anātman based on the Bahiya Sutta

• The Synergy: The Bahiya Sutta's core instruction—"In the seeing, just the seen"—encapsulates both stanzas.
• Stanza 1: There is thinking, no thinker

There is hearing, no hearer

There is seeing, no seer

• Stanza 2: In thinking, just thoughts

In hearing, just sounds

As John Tan emphasized, these two aspects must be realized together for it to be a genuine insight into Anātman.

• The Practice:
1. Begin with a Single Perception: Settle your mind and focus on one continuous sensory experience. For example, look at a cup on a table.
2. Apply the Bahiya Sutta's Instruction to Deconstruct the Experience:
• Strip Away the Label: Look at the cup. The word "cup" is a learned concept. Before that label, what is your direct, empirical experience? It is a collection of colors, shapes, shadows, and reflections. That is all. Return to this raw, pre-conceptual data.
• Contemplate the First Stanza (Agentlessness): Now, bring in the first stanza: "There is seeing, no seer." As you look at these colors and shapes, search for the independent "seer" who is doing the looking. Can you find it? You will only find the impersonal process of seeing itself. There is no agent.
• Contemplate the Second Stanza (Non-Dual Radiance): Now, bring in the second stanza, framed by the Bahiya Sutta's radical directness: "In the seeing, just the seen." The word "just" is the key. It means there is nothing else there. The practice is to see through the illusion that there are two separate parts to vision: 1) the seer, and the act of seeing and 2) the object seen.
• Investigate deeply: See that the “seeing” and "awareness" do not exist as something inherent or with its own essence apart from the colors; the knowing radiance IS the colors, the colors ARE the knowing radiance, and that all phenomena are not inert objects but are the self-luminous, self-knowing radiance of Mind itself. Likewise, the "seen" (the raw colors and shapes) is not a separate object "out there" being perceived by a "seeing" "in here." The visual objects ARE the colors and shapes, and these colors and shapes ARE the seeing. You never experience an "unseen color"; they are one single, indivisible process. The entire visual field is not an object to your mind; it IS the active, knowing radiance of Mind itself.

Kyle Dixon writes: "For the Buddhas, the phenomenal field does not show up as an external given, but as their very own display. This essentially means that knowing and known are not different. The known is the activity of knowing itself." Rongzom: "The buddhas and bodhisattvas are the subject, and the unmistaken authentic reality is the object. Thus, it is said in the sūtras that the subject and object are not two." Kūkai: "Though mind and color are different, their essence is the same. Color is mind; mind is color. They blend with one another without obstruction. Therefore, the knower is the known, and the known is the knower. The knower is reality, and reality is the knower."

• The Liberating Insight of "Not Being 'With That'": The Bahiya Sutta's instruction culminates in liberation: "Then, Bahiya, as you are not thereby, you will not be therein. As you are not therein, it will be clear to you that there is no here or there or in between. This, just this, is the end of suffering." This points to the final fruit of the Hinayana path, Arhatship. The crucial, irreversible step on this path is the direct insight into anātman. When it is directly realized that seer and seeing are not anything in and of themselves apart from vision and colors, and the colors ARE the seeing, and that there is no seer, the entire foundation for a self-view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) collapses. This direct seeing-through of the illusion of a self/Self marks the attainment of Stream-entry (Sotāpanna: See articles Meaning of Stream-Entry and Reddit post: [insight] [buddhism] A reconsideration of the meaning of "Stream-Entry" considering the data points of both pragmatic Dharma and traditional Buddhism), after which the final cessation of suffering described by the Buddha is certain when the practice of sila, samadhi, prajna is perfected and comes to complete fruition.
• The Ultimate Collapse: It is crucial to realize in Anatman, "In hearing, no hearer" (dismantling the illusion of an agent). But as Thusness/John Tan pointed out, the final deconstruction goes even further than merely “hearing without hearer”. "In hearing, only sound. No hearing." Ultimately, even the verb "hearing" or "seeing" is a subtle conceptual overlay. The final insight collapses the entire structure. There is not even "seeing happening." as "seeing" too is without any inherent existence of its own. There is simply (self-seen/self-aware/self-knowing) radiant color. There is simply sound. The raw phenomenal datum arises agentlessly as the luminosity of Mind that is No-Mind.
• The Realization of Anātman as Dharma Seal: When this practice matures, the insights from the two stanzas merge. This is not the achievement of some new, extraordinary peak state, but the direct realization of the Pellucid No-Self, which is simply seeing in accordance with the Dharma Seal—the way things have always already been. This realization has two key facets:
1. Agentless Unfolding: Through contemplating "no seer," "no hearer," you directly realize that experience unfolds without a central coordinating agent or "doer." Actions happen, thoughts think, and senses sense, but no one is authoring them. This is the selfless nature of reality, always already so.
2. Non-Dual Radiance: Through contemplating "in seeing just the seen," "in hearing just the heard," you realize that there is no "awareness", "seeing", or "hearing" apart from the colors; the colors ARE the knowing radiance, and that all phenomena are not inert objects but are the self-luminous, self-knowing radiance of Mind itself. This is the non-dual nature of reality, always already so.
• When unified, this insight reveals reality as a seamless, agentless, and dynamic process. It is a world of verbs, not nouns. There is no "Seer" seeing a "scene," only seeing-happening, which ultimately resolves into just scenery. Everything is at zero distance, gaplessly intimate, self-seen and self-heard without duality, as the radiant knowingness of Mind that is No-Mind. This insight is profound, yet it is not the final attainment of ultimate Buddhahood but a crucial, irreversible seeing of the true nature of things. An elaboration of how life is experienced after the realization can be found in https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2021/04/why-awakening-is-so-worth-it.html
• The Nature of This Realization (Dōgen's View): This agentless, selfless process is not a cold, mechanical, or dead unfolding. It is the very Buddha-Nature itself in dynamic expression. This view is central to the Sōtō lineage to which Ejō was the direct successor. As Dōgen, his master, taught:

Dōgen: "Therefore, the very impermanency of grass and tree, thicket and forest is the Buddha nature... Supreme and complete enlightenment, because it is impermanent, is the Buddha nature."

The "light" of the Kōmyōzō Zanmai is not the light of a permanent, unchanging ground. It is the brilliant, radiant light of moment-to-moment arising and ceasing. The final view is not a static abiding in an unperturbed changeless Awareness; it is the dynamic, effortless, and compassionate living as this transient, radiant reality.

“Buddha-nature

For Dōgen, buddha-nature or busshō (佛性) is all of reality, "all things" (悉有).[41] In the Shōbōgenzō, Dōgen writes that "whole-being is the Buddha-nature" and that even inanimate objects (rocks, sand, water) are an expression of Buddha-nature. He rejected any view that saw buddha-nature as a permanent, substantial inner self or ground. Dōgen describes buddha-nature as "vast emptiness", "the world of becoming" and writes that "impermanence is in itself Buddha-nature".[42] According to Dōgen:

Therefore, the very impermanency of grass and tree, thicket and forest is the Buddha nature. The very impermanency of men and things, body and mind, is the Buddha nature. Nature and lands, mountains and rivers, are impermanent because they are the Buddha nature. Supreme and complete enlightenment, because it is impermanent, is the Buddha nature.[43]

Takashi James Kodera writes that the main source of Dōgen's understanding of buddha-nature is a passage from the Nirvana sutra which was widely understood as stating that all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.[41] However, Dōgen interpreted the passage differently, rendering it as follows: All are (一 切) sentient beings, (衆生) all things are (悉有) the Buddha-nature (佛性); the Tathagata (如来) abides constantly (常住), is non-existent (無) yet existent (有), and is change (變易).[41]

Kodera explains that "whereas in the conventional reading the Buddha-nature is understood as a permanent essence inherent in all sentient beings, Dōgen contends that all things are the Buddha-nature. In the former reading, the Buddha-nature is a change less potential, but in the latter, it is the eternally arising and perishing actuality of all things in the world."[41] Thus for Dōgen buddha-nature includes everything, the totality of "all things", including inanimate objects like grass, trees and land (which are also "mind" for Dōgen).[41] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dōgen#Buddha-nature “

Part 4: Shattering the Obstacles on the Path

With this three-phase model of realization in mind, Ejō’s warnings about the pitfalls of practice become even clearer. They are precisely the errors that prevent this progression.

• Seeking an External Light: One of the most common pitfalls, which Ejō warns against repeatedly, is to conceptualize "light" as a sensory object or a phenomenon with specific characteristics. He states that this luminosity "is not blue, yellow, red, white, or black." He then describes how "foolish people," upon hearing the word "light," immediately begin to search for something akin to "the glow of a firefly, like lamplight, like the luminosity of the sun, moon, gold, or jade." This act of objectifying the light is a fundamental error. It keeps the practitioner trapped as a "seeker" looking for a "sought" object, reinforcing the very subject-object duality they are trying to transcend. By looking for a radiance "out there" to be perceived, one misses the crucial point: the true light is the formless, ever-present knower itself. Therefore, seeing through this trap is the essential first step, requiring one to abandon the search for any special appearance and instead turn the faculty of awareness back upon itself to realize the "I AM" presence directly.
• The Trap of Stillness (The "State" vs. "Principle" Error): Mistaking a quiet mental state for realization is a common pitfall. This is often confusing a dull, non-conceptual state for the vibrant, clear light of pristine awareness. The "I AM" is not a dull blankness; it is bright, luminous knowingness and pure Presence.
• The Reification of Consciousness: This is a subtle trap that inevitably arises, beginning with the foundational "I AM" realization up to the initial non-dual insight (pre-anatta, substantialist nondual phase of realisation). The practitioner may feel they have found the "True Mind" or Universal Consciousness and reify it into a new, subtle identity. This is why the deeper anātman enquiry is necessary—to deconstruct this final, subtle "Self," not the egoic self but the Great Self with a capital ‘S’.

Part 5: The Flame Sermon - Reality as Non-Dual, Total Radiance

The metaphor of the "great mass of fire" (大火聚, daikaju), which Ejō invokes, is a powerful and direct pointer to the nature of non-dual radiance as appearance.

• A Total, Immersive Field: A great fire is an all-encompassing reality. It is not an object that one can stand apart from and observe. To approach it is to be enveloped by its heat and light. This illustrates that there is no standpoint from which one can observe reality. The deeper truth of anātman is that there is no "one" to be apart, nor an "it" to be apart from.
• The Radiance and Directness of Appearance: This provides the perfect context for Yunmen's famous answer. When asked, "What is this luminosity of yours?", he doesn't point to a mystical source or offer a philosophical concept. He points directly at the "great mass of fire" that is the raw, vivid, phenomenal world right in front of everyone: "The monks' hall, the Buddha hall. The kitchen, the storehouse, the temple gate." The kitchen is the fire. The temple gate is the fire. The luminosity is not hidden behind these appearances; the appearances themselves, in their direct and undeniable presence, ARE the luminosity. The "great mass of fire" is not a symbol for anything else; it is a direct pointer to the totality and immediacy of the radiant phenomenal field itself. It is the inescapable, all-encompassing Treasury of Light.

Part 6: The Life of Realization - "The Person of Old"

The "person of old" (旧时人, kyūjinin) is the one who lives from this integrated, anātman understanding. The distinction between a substantial Mind and the world has vanished.

• Effortless Functioning (无为, wúwéi): This person is "like a great dead man" because the separate, striving ego-agent is dead. Yet they are fully alive and responsive. Their actions are not decided upon; they flow spontaneously from the totality of the situation. This is the effortless action that arises when there is no "one" standing apart to calculate or contrive.
• The World as Selfless, Radiant Process: For this person, the world is no longer an external object being perceived by an internal subject. The colors on the mountains, the changing of seasons, the feeling of the breath—all are direct, immediate, and selfless expressions of the one, dynamic, radiant reality. There is no longer a "me" seeing a "flower." There is only the sentient, selfless verb of flowering-seeing.

Part 7: The Path After Anātman - Practice-Enlightenment and the Two Wings

The profound insight into anātman is not a final endpoint, but a crucial gateway. It marks the end of the seeker and the path of deliberate "how-to" practice in one sense, but it is the beginning of a different, deeper mode of practice in another. It is a grave error to conclude that because there is no-self, there is nothing to do. The correct understanding is the opposite: because there is no fixed self, there is only the ongoing flow of ignorance and afflicted activities that need to be addressed. The insight into anātman becomes the very motivation for continued, correctly-oriented practice.

Practice-Enlightenment (修証一如, shushō-ittō): This is where Dōgen's core teaching becomes the living reality of the practitioner. The insight into anātman reveals that there was never a separation between practice and enlightenment to begin with. Practice is not a means to an end (a future enlightenment). Rather, every moment of rightly-oriented practice, such as shikantaza (just sitting), IS the direct expression and actualization of awakening and Buddha-nature. This is what Dōgen's teacher Rujing meant by "dropping off body and mind"—it is not a goal to be achieved, but the very act of zazen itself, free from the coverings of desire and delusion. (As per Wikipedia): To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.

The Two Wings of Wisdom (Prajñā) and Compassion (Karuṇā): The post-anātman path is often described as the cultivation of the two wings of a bird, which must be in balance for flight.

• The Maturation of Wisdom: The focus of practice after the initial anātman insight shifts from acquiring a realization to the natural functioning and maturation of wisdom (prajñā). This is not a passive process but an ongoing, dynamic authentication of the truth in every moment. This maturation involves deepening the understanding of twofold emptiness—the emptiness of both person (pudgala-nairātmya) and all phenomena (dharma-nairātmya). This can be understood through the complementary dimensions of "-a" and "+a" emptiness.
  
  Also see https://atr-passerby.com/ and https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2023/08/compilation-of-post-anatta-advise.html for pointers to trigger such insights experientially.

1. -a: The Deconstructive Insight into the Emptiness of Phenomena

This is the direct seeing into the insubstantial and illusory nature of all reality. It is the profound wisdom that deconstructs the nature of whatever dependently originates. This "Freedom from Elaborations" (niṣprapañca) is achieved by seeing that whatever dependently originates has such a nature: a lack of self-nature (svabhāva); a non-arisen nature (anutpāda); an illusoriness (māyā); and freedom from the eight conceptual extremes (Arising/Ceasing, Permanent/Annihilation, Coming/Going, One/Many). When it is directly seen that all phenomena are empty in this profound way, the mind's tendency to proliferate conceptual fabrications (prapañca) collapses. Buddhahood does not block conceptuality; as Ācārya Malcolm Smith notes, Dzogchen root texts state that a Buddha still employs conceptual designations yet never mistakes them for intrinsically or independently existent things. This accords with Nāgārjuna’s famous verse (MMK 24.18) that ‘whatever is dependently arisen is emptiness—that, being a dependent designation, is itself the Middle Way.’ Contemporary teacher John Tan echoes the same point in his commentaries, emphasising that conceptuality continues to function but are recognised as dependent designations and non-arisen (empty and free from extremes). Contemporary Zen masters I’ve met have reiterated similar points.

Ejō illustrates this "-a" insight perfectly by drawing on Mahayana sutras, pointing to the empty, signless, and illusory nature of all things:

"Secret Master, all dharmas are signless, meaning they are of the characteristic of empty space... the Mahāyāna practitioner gives rise to the mind of the unconditioned vehicle; dharmas are without self-nature. Why is that? Just as those practitioners of old, observing the skandhas and ālaya[-vijñāna], knew their self-nature to be like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection, a spinning wheel of fire, a gandharva's city."

2. +a: The Functional Insight of Dependent Arising in Action

While the "-a" insight deconstructs reality to reveal its empty nature, the "+a" insight sees how that very emptiness functions as the living, expressive, and radiant unfolding of the world. This is "Total Exertion": the realization that in each moment, the entire web of interdependent existence is fully present and exerting itself as that single appearance.

Critically, as John Tan and the provided texts caution, this must not be mistaken for the reification of a "Whole" as a substantial entity. The very paradigm of 'parts and wholes' is a conceptual trap that total exertion transcends. It does not mean a part (a flower) is contained within a larger, static Whole. Rather, the flower is the entire web of interdependent conditions functionally expressing itself in that moment. There is no 'Whole' as a noun or truly existing entity; there is only the selfless, dynamic functioning of the all, without any underlying substance or container.

Dōgen's passage from the Genjōkōan masterfully illustrates this "+a" functional insight. He begins by using the boat analogy to explain the mistaken perception of a fixed self, then expands it to show how the empty rower, boat, and world function as one undivided activity of total exertion:

"If one riding in a boat watches the coast, one mistakenly perceives the coast as moving. If one watches the boat [in relation to the surface of the water], then one notices that the boat is moving. Similarly, when we perceive the body and mind in a confused way and grasp all things with a discriminating mind, we mistakenly think that the self-nature of the mind is permanent. When we intimately practice and return right here, it is clear that all things have no [fixed] self.

Life is just like riding in a boat. You raise the sails and you row with the oar. Although you row, the boat gives you a ride and without the boat no one could ride. But you ride in the boat and your riding makes the boat what it is.

Investigate a moment such as this. At just such a moment, there is nothing but the world of the boat. The sky, the water, and the shore all are the boat's moment, which is not the same as a moment that is not the boat's. When you ride in a boat, your body and mind and the environs together are the undivided activity of the boat. The entire earth and the entire sky are the undivided activity of the boat."

Synthesizing Wisdom: Seeing the Dream-Like Nature of Vivid Reality

The ultimate maturation of wisdom involves holding these two insights—the empty, illusory nature of things (-a) and their vivid, functional appearance (+a)—as an inseparable unity. This is precisely what Dōgen pointed to when describing the dream-like relativity of all things. In his Mountains and Waters Sutra, he illustrates that there is no absolute, independently existing reality:

Dōgen: "Not all beings see mountains and waters in the same way... Hungry ghosts see water as raging fire... Dragons and fish see water as a palace... Human beings see water as water... There is no original water."

There is no objectively "real" water, only the contextual, dependently arisen experience of "water-seeing." This vivid yet empty presence is like a dream. As Dōgen further clarifies, this dream is not a dull or sleepy state: “The entire world, crystal-clear everywhere, is a dream; and a dream is all grasses [things] clear and bright... Never mistake this, however, for a dreamy state.”

As John Tan clarifies, the maturation of wisdom requires integrating these two intertwined insights:

"Tasting the 'realness' of what appears and what appears is nothing real are two different insights... It is not only realizing mere appearances are just one's radiance clarity but that empty clarity is like a rainbow. Beautiful and clearly appears, but nothing 'there' at all. These two aspects are very important: 1. Very 'vivid', pellucid, and 2. Nothing real. Tasting either one will not trigger the 'aha' realization."

This entire process of maturation corresponds to the Mahayana path of purifying the "obstruction of knowledge" (jñeya-āvaraṇa). Ejō concludes this point by warning that mistaking any view for a final reality is a trap: “Clearly know that within the Treasury of Luminosity of the unconditioned vehicle, there is no self-nature and no views. Self and views are different names for demonic apparitions.”

John Tan wrote over a decade ago,

”Hi David, I see that you are expressing what I called the +A and –A of emptying.

(+A)

When you cook, there is no self that cooks, only the activity of cooking. The hands moves, the utensils act, the water boils, the potatoes peels… here there is no room for simplicity or complications, the “kitchen” went beyond it’s own imputation and dissolved into the activity of cooking and the universe is fully engaged in this cooking.

(-A)

30 years of practice and 23 years of kitchen life is like a passing thought.
How heavy is this thought?
The whereabouts of this thought?
Taste the nature of this thought.
It never truly arises.”

• The Arising of Great Compassion: This deepening of wisdom is what gives rise to true, great compassion (mahākaruṇā). As Rujing clarified to Dōgen, the zazen of a Buddha is different from that of an arhat because it is grounded in great compassion and the vow to save all beings. This compassion is not a moralistic choice or a sentimental feeling, but the spontaneous, unobstructed, and natural expression of wisdom in action. When the boundary between self and other is truly seen as illusory, the well-being of another is no longer separate from one's own. This active compassion is the antidote to the pitfall of a dry, sterile "emptiness sickness," allowing one to live out the implications of non-separation in the world.

This continued path is the inseparable union of these two wings, a dynamic unfolding where practice becomes the effortless expression of enlightenment itself.

Conclusion: The Living Light of Practice-Enlightenment

Koun Ejō's Kōmyōzō Zanmai provides more than a map to a destination; it charts the entire territory of liberation. The path guides the practitioner through a profound sequence of deconstruction: from discovering the foundational ground of Presence, to seeing the world as Mind's radiant display, and finally, to the crucial insight into anātman which dissolves even that ground into a selfless, agentless, and radiantly impermanent process.

Yet, as Ejō and his master Dōgen make clear, this ultimate insight is not a sterile endpoint but a vital gateway. It is the end of the seeker, but the true beginning of practice-enlightenment (shushō-ittō), where every action becomes the living expression of awakening. The "Treasury of Light" is fully realized not in a static abiding, but in the dynamic flight of the two wings of wisdom and compassion. Wisdom matures to see the dream-like emptiness within the vivid, pellucid display of reality, while great compassion arises as the spontaneous, functional expression of non-separation. Thus, the light is not merely realized; it is lived. To engage with this text is to be invited not just to find the light, but to become its ceaseless, compassionate, and wise unfolding in the world.

(See Original Chinese text below)

Also see: A Compilation of Yuan Yin Lao Ren's Teachings

Text by Yuan Yin Lao Ren (元音老人）

Object and Self are Not-Two

A monk asked Chan Master Dasui, a dharma heir of Chan Master Guishan Lingyou: "When the great chiliocosm is destroyed, is the dharmakāya destroyed or not?" Sui replied: "The dharmakāya is also destroyed." This statement puzzled everyone under heaven. But when Chan Master Touzi Qing heard of it, he immediately offered incense and prostrated, proclaiming Dasui to be an ancient Buddha appearing in the world.

The wondrous essence of the dharmakāya tathatā is an unborn and unceasing, non-coming and non-going, unmoving and unshakable, unchanging and immutable, eternally abiding wondrous essence. How could it be destroyed along with the great chiliocosm? This statement is widely divergent from what the Buddha taught. Could it be a mistaken utterance, confusing the people of the world, deserving of the vajra hell? But if it were truly mistaken, Touzi Qing was a great Chan master of virtue; why would he offer incense and prostrate, praising him as an ancient Buddha reborn?

The truth is that all so-called worldly phenomena, no matter what they are, are transformations manifested by the Buddha-nature—the dharmakāya—of all sentient beings. Apart from the dharmakāya, there is nothing at all. The Lotus Sūtra says: "This dharma abides in the dharma position, and the appearances of the world are ever-abiding." This means that not a single thing in the world is established apart from being a manifestation of the dharmakāya. "This dharma" means any and all things, and "dharma position" is the one true dharmadhātu. In other words, worldly appearances are the dharmakāya, and the dharmakāya is worldly appearances.

We know that principle is revealed through phenomena, and phenomena are established by principle; principle and phenomena are inseparable. Since principle and phenomena cannot be separated, a sūtra says: "Nature and appearance are not-two; mind and objects are one body." Since the mind—the dharmakāya—is ever-abiding and indestructible, worldly appearances are also naturally ever-abiding.

Viewed from the surface of worldly appearances, it seems that seas turn into mulberry fields, changing in an instant and not lasting long. But the fundamental essence of things is never truly destroyed; it is merely that when something is destroyed here, it arises there—it has only changed its venue. Mr. Su Dongpo said in his "First Ode on the Red Cliff": "Do you, my guest, also know of the water and the moon? The former flows on like this, yet has never departed; the latter waxes and wanes like that, yet in the end has neither diminished nor grown. For if we look at them from the perspective of their changes, then heaven and earth cannot last for even a single instant. But if we look at them from the perspective of their unchanging aspect, then things and I are both endless." Using water and the moon, he explained that the illusory appearances of the myriad things are in flux, but their real substance has never changed. At the same time, he further explained that people whose minds are not open and who grasp at illusory appearances see the world as seas turning into mulberry fields, changing in an instant. But those who are open-minded and wise, who recognize the true essence that is identical in both things and sentient beings, know that everything between heaven and earth is ever-abiding and unchanging.

Dharma Master Zhao, in his "Treatise on the Immutability of Things," also gives several examples to discuss in detail the truth that things do not change at all. I will not list them one by one; I invite you, benevolent readers, to examine it for yourselves.

The reason things do not change or perish, in the final analysis, is that the root which manifests and establishes these things—the dharmakāya—is fundamentally and originally so, unborn and unceasing, eternally abiding since ancient times.

Now the monk asked: "When the great chiliocosm is destroyed, is the dharmakāya also destroyed?" If the great chiliocosm were truly destroyed, wouldn't the dharmakāya also be destroyed? The questioning monk asked this because he did not understand the principle of object and self not being two. Dasui, being a master of great caliber, did not engage in lengthy discussions of Buddhist principles. He simply followed the line of the question to give a response that would make the monk feel the sting, so that at the point where mental activity ceases, he might suddenly turn his head and glimpse his fundamental nature. Thus, he replied in kind: "The dharmakāya is also destroyed." This answer carried the weight of a thousand thunderbolts. For everyone knows that the dharmakāya is unborn and unceasing, unchanging and immutable, so how could he say the dharmakāya is also destroyed? Was he speaking nonsense like a drunkard? But Dasui was a great master of virtue of his time; how could he speak thus? This sudden clap of thunder shattered all the student's ordinary conceptual understanding and deluded thoughts. In that instant, quick as a flash of lightning, where not a single thought arises, if this monk had any real life in him, he would have gotten the message then and there and returned home to sit in stability.

Chan masters, in their responses, employ various methods such as direct explanation, pointing directly, striking from the side, and paradoxical provocation. The aim is none other than to cause the questioner to grasp the pivotal point in the words and awaken at the turn of a phrase. Therefore, they respond to the capacity of the questioner with a suitable indication or a sharp pincer and hammer to cut off the student's attachments, so that he may personally realize the original. This is what is called great capacity and great function in the Chan school.

For example, when the Venerable Yanyang visited Zhaozhou, he asked: "What is it like when one comes with not a single thing?" Zhaozhou said: "Put it down." The Venerable said: "Since I have not brought a single thing, what is there to put down?" Zhaozhou said: "If you cannot put it down, carry it away." At these words, the Venerable had a great awakening.

This phrase "carry it away" often causes debate. Some say it is a method of paradoxical provocation. You do not recognize your error and cannot put it down, so he tells you to carry it, thereby making you reflect. If there is nothing, there is no need to carry it; to carry it means there is still something. This forces you to recognize the thing you cannot put down, and by putting it down, you awaken.

Others say that "carry it away" is a reprimand. You ask what it is like when one comes with not a single thing, but clearly in your mind there is a "not a single thing." This is equivalent to still having an "emptiness" in your mind. To have an emptiness is still to have an attachment; it should be put down. One should not even abide in emptiness. You emphasize, "What is there to put down?", refusing to admit it, so he splashes a basin of dirty water on you and reprimands you: "Carry it away!" This is like when Yunji visited Nanquan; despite receiving instructions many times, he did not awaken, so Nanquan reprimanded him, saying, "Go away! You do not understand my words." This was to make him feel the sting of the words and turn back to see for himself.

Still others say: this is the method of pointing directly. The fundamental nature is empty and numinous, without a thread hanging on it, unstained by a single speck of dust. This "not bringing a single thing" is precisely the moment when the fundamental nature manifests. This state of no-mind-to-mind and nothing-to-put-down is precisely where one finds one's place to settle body and life. Therefore, he tells him to "carry it away," which is to instruct him to accept it as his own responsibility without yielding, to take it up right then and there. This is why the Venerable Yanyang had a great awakening on the spot.

These three explanations each have their own reasoning, none yielding to the others, each with its own merits. It is truly like a single drop of ink creating a dragon in three different places. But in my humble opinion, whether it is paradoxical provocation, a reprimand, or pointing directly, for one who understands, one can handle it horizontally or vertically, and it all becomes a wondrous truth. However, if one fixates on a "not bringing a single thing," holding on to a state of emptiness, then one has missed the mark by a great distance.

Dasui’s answer to the monk's question was intended to make him reflect upon the principles of phenomena that he did not yet understand, based on the common principles he already did. Because every student of Buddhism knows that the Buddha taught the dharmakāya is ever-abiding and indestructible, how could one accept the statement "the dharmakāya is also destroyed," which contradicts the Buddha? This forces one to give rise to doubt. At the moment when he could neither advance nor retreat, a bean suddenly pops in the cold ashes, and he violently awakens to the fact that the entire world of the ten directions is his own whole body, that the entire world of the ten directions is his own light. The great chiliocosm and the dharmakāya are originally one body and have never been separate. If the great chiliocosm were destroyed, would the dharmakāya not also be destroyed? But the dharmakāya is eternally abiding and never decays, so the great chiliocosm is also not destroyed. This allowed the monk to realize the truth from the opposite side. With a single phrase, he caused the person to awaken to the true meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. Dasui was truly a lion's cub; his method of receiving people is so subtle, truly worthy of the utmost admiration and praise.

An ancient master of virtue, in a verse on the ever-abiding nature of the world's appearances in the Lotus Sūtra, said: "The appearances of the world are ever-abiding, a yellow oriole sings in a green tree; truly a lovely thing, yet it flies away at the slightest move!" Our dharmakāya is just this magnificent and free, possessing all things and knowing all things. But this endlessly beautiful scenery cannot be depicted. As the Chan masters say, "Such elegant style cannot be painted!" Now this great Chan master of virtue, by simply using "a yellow oriole sings in a green tree," has sketched out this entire vista of endless, elegant, beautiful spring light. It is truly an act of adding the eyes to the dragon.

When we apply effort in our practice and recognize this infinitely beautiful scenery, after the initial seeing of the fundamental nature, we must be skillful in preserving it. At all times and in all places, we must contemplate, not being pulled by external objects and circumstances, nor stained internally by what is seen, heard, sensed, or known. At all times, be empty, pure, and non-abiding. One must absolutely not become arrogant, thinking one has reached home and the matter is finished. It must be known that the initial seeing of the fundamental nature is just like a newborn infant, unable to stand on its own or function. One must polish it amidst circumstances, diligently remove old habits, and nurture the sacred embryo until it matures and can function. Otherwise, through arrogance and indulgence, it will perish in its swaddling clothes. This is why the verse, after "a yellow oriole sings in a green tree," continues with: "truly a lovely thing, yet it flies away at the slightest move." If you do not protect it properly, but act arrogantly and move recklessly, even though you have had an initial seeing of the fundamental nature, you will fall into delusion after awakening.

Someone asked whether a student of Buddhism, in addition to spiritual practices, needs to practice qigong as a supplement. I once composed a verse, which also touches upon the issue of preservation after awakening. I will record it as follows:

The dharma-gate of the mind-ground gives birth to the king; how could it need qigong to sharpen its edge! To seek an attainment by grasping at dharmas outside the mind is only to toil in vain and fall into nothingness. Where the faculties and sense objects fall away, self-nature appears; preserve it continuously and meticulously, do not lightly forget. Plant your feet firmly without deviation; seeking nothing at all is the true and constant Way.

Chan Master Dasui's answer to this monk's question was to make him turn inward to investigate for himself and awaken to the principle of object and self not being two. If the master had not thoroughly awakened to the oneness of nature and appearance, how could he have followed the line of questioning to give a reply that could so deftly lead this monk to realize his home in those words? This is why Touzi offered incense and prostrated, proclaiming him an ancient Buddha reborn.

If a Chan practitioner's cultivation has not reached the state of object and self not being two, it is inevitable that their speech will become a laughingstock.

Here is an example: In the past, a Chan practitioner named Feng Jichuan saw a painting of a skull on the wall of Bright Moon Cloister and inscribed a verse next to it, saying: "The corpse is here, but where is the person? Now I know the one spirit does not dwell in a leather bag." Looking at his verse, he had only awakened to a conventional principle: that the physical body is not the true self, and the spiritual nature is the true self. The spiritual nature is ever-abiding and unceasing, able to leave the physical body and come and go freely, not bound by the physical body. Thus he said: "Now I know the one spirit does not dwell in a leather bag." He had not yet awakened to the secret of object and self not being two, of the oneness of nature and appearance.

Chan Master Dahui Gao came to the cloister, saw this, and did not approve. He composed another verse, saying: "This very skeleton is that very person; the one spirit is the leather bag, the leather bag is the one spirit." A truly awakened person deeply knows that one is all and all is one, that there is no division between self and other, no separation between object and self. Therefore, it is often said in the Chan school, "pick up a blade of grass and use it as a sixteen-foot golden body." This is the meaning.

In a similar case, under the guidance of an awakened person, the scenery is completely different. In the past, when Prime Minister Pei Xiu was attending Chan Master Huangbo, he saw a portrait of the great master Bodhidharma on the wall and asked the Master: "The portrait is here, but where is the person now?" The Master called out: "Pei Xiu." Xiu responded. The Master said: "Not elsewhere." Pei Xiu had an awakening on the spot. To awaken under the guidance of a clear-eyed master, what a joyous thing! This is why, in Chan practice, the guidance of a renowned master is so valued.

From this, it can be known that to awaken to the Way is to awaken to object and self not being two. If there still remains any intention of chasing outwards, any hope of attaining something, constantly speculating on what the dharmakāya is, or trying to figure out how to obtain the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya, then one is still playing with shadows and has not truly awakened to the original. This cannot be called a person of the Way. Have you not seen what the ancestral master Linji said: The light of your one thought of pure mind is the dharmakāya Buddha in your own house; the light of your one thought of non-discriminating mind is the sambhogakāya Buddha in your own house; the light of your one thought of non-differentiating mind is the nirmāṇakāya Buddha in your own house. In the doctrinal schools, these three bodies are discussed as the ultimate, but from this mountain monk's perspective, it is not so. These three bodies are mere names, and also three kinds of supports for brightness; they are all light and shadows. Great worthy, you should just recognize that the "person" playing with the shadows is the original source of all buddhas. Once you recognize this person, every place is your home to return to. It is clear that the three bodies are inherent in everyone: purity without defilement is the dharmakāya; luminous clarity shining forth is the sambhogakāya; manifesting in response to things without attachment is the nirmāṇakāya. There is no need to grasp at or seek them. Simply recognize what is originally possessed, then cease delusion and eliminate habits, and in thought after thought do not forget this true person—this is to be a buddha and an ancestor.

Master Hanshan said: "The reason prajñā brings results so quickly is that everyone originally possesses this mind-light." Master Guifeng said: "The truth can be realized in a single moment, but the accumulated habits of many lifetimes are difficult to eliminate at once. One must be constantly aware, reducing them again and again, only then can one achieve perfect realization." Thus, it can be seen that awakening to the Way is not difficult; the difficulty lies in not forgetting to preserve it after awakening. People today have a surplus of cleverness but a deficit of earnestness. I have often seen people who have awakened to what they originally possess, but because their habitual tendencies are strong, they are often carried away by circumstances, following deluded thoughts without knowing how to stop. As a result, their practice cannot advance, and they end up half-baked, or fall into delusion after awakening. This is truly lamentable. This goes without saying for those who are not yet awakened, but for those who are awakened, if they do not, in every thought, return to the true and strictly protect it, letting themselves drift and sink, is it not a great pity?

If, after awakening, we can in every thought remember to look after this "true person of no rank," just as it is said in the Amitābha Sūtra to single-mindedly recite the Buddha's name—if for one day, two days, up to seven days, we protect the original truth with continuous, unbroken thoughts without forgetting—then wisdom will arise daily. How much more so after one or two years; it will surely become a unified whole.

To summarize the above, as long as we do not fear difficulty, are not afraid of the long road, correct our views, and practice diligently, when we recognize this numinous awareness that is apart from thought, this is our original face. Then, by strictly protecting it, tirelessly training ourselves amidst worldly affairs, and diligently eliminating deluded habits, we will bring the myriad things back to ourselves and personally realize the perfect, sacred fruit of object and self not being two. This is by no means a difficult matter. A proverb says: "Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it." Since any difficult task can be accomplished by a determined person willing to make the climb, then, "He is a great man, and I too am a great man; if he can succeed, I can succeed too." What is there to fear? Let us all encourage one another in this.


(Comments by Soh: This article reminds me of the following excerpt from Zen Master Dogen:

https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=H6A674nlkVEC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&fbclid=IwY2xjawLJC3ABHY6zzXpaqS31JUK0cTmiI-jaYebf-9tORlgGpFHbxLV0EAwPkBu62vj3Nw

From Bendowa, by Zen Master Dogen

Question Ten:

Some have said: Do not concern yourself about birth-and-death. There is a way to promptly rid yourself of birth-and-death. It is by grasping the reason for the eternal immutability of the 'mind-nature.' The gist of it is this: although once the body is born it proceeds inevitably to death, the mind-nature never perishes. Once you can realize that the mind-nature, which does not transmigrate in birth-and-death, exists in your own body, you make it your fundamental nature. Hence the body, being only a temporary form, dies here and is reborn there without end, yet the mind is immutable, unchanging throughout past, present, and future. To know this is to be free from birth-and-death. By realizing this truth, you put a final end to the transmigratory cycle in which you have been turning. When your body dies, you enter the ocean of the original nature. When you return to your origin in this ocean, you become endowed with the wondrous virtue of the Buddha-patriarchs. But even if you are able to grasp this in your present life, because your present physical existence embodies erroneous karma from prior lives, you are not the same as the sages.

"Those who fail to grasp this truth are destined to turn forever in the cycle of birth-and-death. What is necessary, then, is simply to know without delay the meaning of the mind-nature's immutability. What can you expect to gain from idling your entire life away in purposeless sitting?"

What do you think of this statement? Is it essentially in accord with the Way of the Buddhas and patriarchs?

Answer 10:

You have just expounded the view of the Senika heresy. It is certainly not the Buddha Dharma.

According to this heresy, there is in the body a spiritual intelligence. As occasions arise this intelligence readily discriminates likes and dislikes and pros and cons, feels pain and irritation, and experiences suffering and pleasure - it is all owing to this spiritual intelligence. But when the body perishes, this spiritual intelligence separates from the body and is reborn in another place. While it seems to perish here, it has life elsewhere, and thus is immutable and imperishable. Such is the standpoint of the Senika heresy.

But to learn this view and try to pass it off as the Buddha Dharma is more foolish than clutching a piece of broken roof tile supposing it to be a golden jewel. Nothing could compare with such a foolish, lamentable delusion. Hui-chung of the T'ang dynasty warned strongly against it. Is it not senseless to take this false view - that the mind abides and the form perishes - and equate it to the wondrous Dharma of the Buddhas; to think, while thus creating the fundamental cause of birth-and-death, that you are freed from birth-and-death? How deplorable! Just know it for a false, non-Buddhist view, and do not lend a ear to it.

I am compelled by the nature of the matter, and more by a sense of compassion, to try to deliver you from this false view. You must know that the Buddha Dharma preaches as a matter of course that body and mind are one and the same, that the essence and the form are not two. This is understood both in India and in China, so there can be no doubt about it. Need I add that the Buddhist doctrine of immutability teaches that all things are immutable, without any differentiation between body and mind. The Buddhist teaching of mutability states that all things are mutable, without any differentiation between essence and form. In view of this, how can anyone state that the body perishes and the mind abides? It would be contrary to the true Dharma.

Beyond this, you must also come to fully realize that birth-and-death is in and of itself nirvana. Buddhism never speaks of nirvana apart from birth-and-death. Indeed, when someone thinks that the mind, apart from the body, is immutable, not only does he mistake it for Buddha-wisdom, which is free from birth-and-death, but the very mind that makes such a discrimination is not immutable, is in fact even then turning in birth-and-death. A hopeless situation, is it not?

You should ponder this deeply: since the Buddha Dharma has always maintained the oneness of body and mind, why, if the body is born and perishes, would the mind alone, separated from the body, not be born and die as well? If at one time body and mind were one, and at another time not one, the preaching of the Buddha would be empty and untrue. Moreover, in thinking that birth-and-death is something we should turn from, you make the mistake of rejecting the Buddha Dharma itself. You must guard against such thinking.

Understand that what Buddhists call the Buddhist doctrine of the mind-nature, the great and universal aspect encompassing all phenomena, embraces the entire universe, without differentiating between essence and form, or concerning itself with birth or death. There is nothing - enlightenment and nirvana included - that is not the mind-nature. All dharmas, the "myriad forms dense and close" of the universe - are alike in being this one Mind. All are included without exception. All those dharmas, which serves as "gates" or entrances to the Way, are the same as one Mind. For a Buddhist to preach that there is no disparity between these dharma-gates indicates that he understands the mind-nature.

In this one Dharma [one Mind], how could there be any differentiate between body and mind, any separation of birth-and-death and nirvana? We are all originally children of the Buddha, we should not listen to madmen who spout non-Buddhist views.)

Original Text:

物我不二 作者：元音老人来源：原创时间：2015-12-15 分享： 僧问大随禅师(沩山灵佑禅师法嗣)：“大千坏时，法身坏不坏？”随曰：“法身也坏。”此语疑煞天下人。但投子青禅师闻之，便装香作礼，称大随乃古佛出世。 法身真如妙体，乃不生不灭，不来不去，不动不摇，不变不易，亘古常青之妙体，如何随大千世界坏时而毁灭？此语与佛所说大相径庭，莫非错下名言，淆惑世人，要落金刚地狱么？但如真错了，投子青是大禅德，为什么要装香作礼，赞他是古佛再世呢？ 原来所谓世间者，不论什么事物，都是我们广大众生的佛性——法身——所变化显现，离开法身，什么也没有。《法华经》说：“是法住法位，世间相常住。”就是说世间的一切事物无一不是依法身显现而建立的。以“是法”就是不论什么事物，而“法位”就是一真法界，也就是说世间相就是法身，法身就是世间相。 我们知道，理以事显，事以理成，理和事是分不开的。理事既无可分，故经云：“性相不二、心境一体。”既然心——法身常住不坏，那么世间相也就自然常住了。 从世间相的表面上看，似乎是沧海桑田，瞬息万变不久长的，但事物的本体实无坏灭，不过在这边坏了，到那边又生了，搬了一个场而已。苏东坡先生在《前赤壁赋》中说：“客亦知夫水与月乎？逝者如斯，而未尝往也；盈虚者如彼，而卒莫消长也。盖将自其变者而观之，则天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不变者而观之，则物与我皆无尽也。”他假水和月，说明万物的假相在变化，而实体未尝变易。同时又进一步说明，心情不豁达执假相的人，看世间是沧海桑田，瞬息万变的；而开朗明智之士，识得事物与众生一致的真体，就知道天地间的一切一切，皆是长住不变的了。 肇法师在《物不迁论》中，也举数例详论了事物毫无变迁的真理，就不一一列举，请诸仁自己去检阅吧。 事物之所以不变迁，不消灭，究其实际，就在显现、建立这些事物的根本——法身——是法尔不生不灭，亘古常存的。 今僧问：“大千坏时，法身也坏了吗？”大千若真个坏了，法身岂不也坏了吗？问话之僧，因不明物我不二之理，而有此问。大随乃大手笔宗师，不和你说长道短，大谈佛理，只顺其语脉上下搭，叫你知痛觉痒，于心念不行处，蓦然回首，瞥见本性。乃随声答曰：“法身也坏。”这一答，大有雷霆万钧之重，因尽人皆知，法身是不生不灭、不变不易的，怎么说法身也坏呢？难道是醉汉说胡话吗？但大随是当代大德呀，怎么如是说呢？这一突如其来的雷震，就将学人平时义解、妄想全盘震落。在这急如闪电的一念不生的刹那，这僧如皮下有血，即将于斯得个消息去归家稳坐。 禅师家答话有正说，有直指，有旁敲，有反激等等不同的手法。其目的不外使来问者于言下知机，语端省悟。故皆就来者之机，施以适宜的指示，或恶辣的钳锤，以剿绝学人粘缚，而亲证本来，此即宗下所谓大机大用也。 如严阳尊者参赵州问：“一物不将来时如何？”州曰：“放下着。”尊者曰：“既是一物不将来，放下个什么？”州曰：“放不下，担起去。”尊者言下大悟。 这“担起去”一语，常常使人发生争论。有人说，担起去是反激法，你不知过错，放不下，就让你挑着走，从而使你反省，没东西不用挑，挑着走还是有东西，逼你认识放不下的东西，放下而开悟。 有的说，担起去，是呵斥句。你问一物不将来时如何？你心中明明有一个“一物不将来”在，这等于心中还有个“空”在，有个空，还是有住，应该放下，空也不住才是。你强调“放下个什么？”不认账，就浇你一盆恶水，呵斥你，担起去！这等于云际参南泉，虽累经开示，而不开悟，南泉呵斥曰“去！你不会我话”一样，叫他言下知痛，回头自荐也。 更有人说：这是直指法。本性空灵，一丝不挂，一尘不染，这一物不将来，正是本性显现时。这个心无可心，放无可放的，正是当人安身立命处，故叫他担起去，也就是嘱咐他当仁不让，当下承当也。所以严阳尊者当下大悟。 这三种说法各说各有理，各不相让，各有千秋。真是一点水墨，三处成龙。但依拙见，反激也好，呵斥也好，直指也好，会得的，自可横弄竖拈，皆成妙谛，但如认着个“一物不将来”，有个空境在，则失之远矣。 大随答此僧之问，欲其在已明白的常理上，反省其未明之事理。因学佛者，人人都知道佛说法身常住不坏，今闻“法身也坏”之说与佛相违，何能接受？这就逼令其生疑。在他欲进不能，欲罢不得之际，蓦然冷灰爆豆，猛省尽十方世界是自己全身，尽十方世界，是自己光明。大千原与法身共一体，从不相离，大千若坏，法身岂不也坏！但法身是亘古常存永不败坏的，那么，大千也不坏了，使此僧从反面证得真理。一言之下，使人悟得法华真谛，大随真是狮子儿，接人之手段，微妙如此，真令人景仰赞叹之至。 古德颂法华世间相常住云：“世间相常住，黄莺啼绿树；真个可怜生，动着便飞去！”我们的法身，就是这么瑰丽潇洒，是无物不具，无所不知的。但这无尽的艳丽的风光，是无法将它描绘出来的。正如禅师家所说“好个风流画不成！”今这位大禅德，仅淡淡地用了“黄莺啼绿树”，就将这一派无尽风流的美丽春光，全盘勾勒出来，真不愧是画龙点睛之笔。 我们用功修法，识得这无限美好风光，初见本性后，务须善于保任。时时处处观照，外不为事境所牵，内不被见闻觉知所染，时时空净无住。万万不可轻狂，以为到家了事。须知初见本性，只如初生婴儿，不能自立起用，须在境上磨炼，勤除旧习，保养圣胎，迨其成长方能起用。否则，狂妄放纵，即将夭折于襁褓中。所以此颂于“黄莺啼绿树”后接下来就说：“真个可怜生，动着便飞去。”你不妥善保护，狂妄乱动，虽然已初见本性，也将落个悟后迷。 有人问，学佛者于修法外是否还须习气功以补助之？我曾赋一颂。其中也曾谈到悟后保任的问题，今录之如下： 心地法门诞生王，岂假气功助锋芒！ 心外取法求有得，徒自辛劳落空亡。 根尘脱处自性现，绵密保任莫轻忘； 立定脚跟毋偏颇，一无所求道真常。 大随禅师答此僧问，是令其反躬自究，而悟物我不二之理，大师若不彻悟性相一体，焉能顺其语脉下搭，轻令此僧言下知归？故投子装香作礼，而称其为古佛再世也。 禅师家如功夫未到物我不二之地，出言吐语难免不闹笑话。 兹举一例： 昔禅者冯济川，见明月庵壁间画一髑髅，乃于旁题一颂云：“尸在这里，其人何在？乃知一灵，不居皮袋。”观其颂，彼只悟常理，色身不是真我，性灵乃真我。性灵是常住不灭，可以离开肉体自由来去，不为肉体所拘的。所以说：“乃知一灵，不居皮袋。”尚未悟物我不二，性相一体之秘。 大慧杲禅师来庵，见之不肯，另作一颂云：“即此形骸，即是其人；一灵皮袋，皮袋一灵。”真悟道人，深知一即一切，一切即一，无自他之分，物我之隔。故宗下常言“拈一茎草作丈六金身”，即此意也。 同样一个案例，在悟道人指授下，风光即迥不相同。昔裴休相国，随侍黄檗禅师次，见壁间达摩大师像，问禅师曰：“像在这里，人今何在？”师召裴休曰：“裴休。”休应诺。师曰：“不在别处。”休当下有省。在明眼大师指授下悟来，多少庆快！此参禅所以贵有名师指授也。 从此可知，悟道就是悟物我不二。如果尚存向外驰求之意，希望有得之心，常在揣摩法身如何才是，拟度报身、化身如何获得，那就还在弄影，未曾真悟本来，不名道人。不见临济祖师道：你一念清净心光，是你屋里法身佛；一念无分别心光，是你屋里报身佛；一念无差别心光，是你屋里化身佛。在教家论此三身为极则，在山僧见处则不然，此三种身是名言，亦是三种依明，都是光影。大德，你且认取弄影的“人”是诸佛之本源。识得此人，一切处是你归舍处。可见三身，人人本具，清净无染就是法身；光明朗照就是报身；事物变现无著就是化身。不需拟摸求取，只于识得本有后，息妄除习，念念不忘此真人，便是佛祖。 憨山大师云：“般若所以收功之速者，以人人本具此心光也。”圭峰大师云：“真理可以顿达，惟多生积习难以卒除，长须觉察，损之又损，方能圆证。”可见悟道不难，难在悟后不忘保任耳。今人聪明有余，老实不足。尝见已悟本有之人，以习气重故，往往为境所夺，随妄念流浪而不知止，以致功夫不能上进，落得个半青半黄，或者悟后迷的下场，诚可哀也。其未悟者固无论矣，已悟之人，不知念念归真，严密保护，任其流浪沉沦，不亦冤乎？！ 吾人苟能于悟后，念念不忘照顾此无位真人，如《弥陀经》所说专心致志念佛一样，若一日，若二日，乃至七日，念念相续不忘地保护本真，则智慧日生。何况一年二年，必然打成一片。 综上所述，我们只要不畏艰难，不怕路遥，端正观念，精进修习，识得此离念的灵知，便是我人的本来面目，然后严加保护，在事境上不懈地锻炼，勤除妄习，则会万物归自己，亲证物我不二的圆满圣果，绝非难事。谚云：天下无难事，只怕有心人。既然不论什么难事，只要肯攀登的有心人，皆能成办，那么，彼丈夫，我亦丈夫；彼能成，我亦能成，何畏患之有哉？请与诸仁共勉。

(Soh的评论：这篇文章让我想起了禅师道元（Dogen）的以下摘录：

道元禅师《办道话》-洪文亮老师(日中)翻译 (12/11/2009)

佛法本来说明身心一如、性相不二，印度中国都知道这个道理，哪能违背？何况若要说常住，万法都是常住，不分身与心；要说寂灭，诸法都是寂灭，还要分心与相吗？说身灭心常，不是违背正理吗？不只这样，应该要了解生死就是涅槃，不可以在生死之外说涅槃。再说，以为心离开身体而常住，以这样的了解，妄计为解脱生死的佛智，要知道这个了解知觉之心，还不是在生灭中而不常住吗？这个见解便不攻自破。仔细体会身心一如是佛法的要旨，怎么说此身生灭时，唯独此心离身而不生灭！假如有时一如，有时非一如的话，佛所说的自然都是虚妄不可信。又认为生死必须要厌离，难免就犯了谤佛之罪，可不慎哉？要知道佛法有心性大总相法门，包括一大法界，不分性相，不说生灭，菩提涅槃也都是心性。一切诸法万象森罗都是一心，这些诸法皆平等一心，毫无差别，这是佛家所说的心性。可以在一法上分身心，分生死涅槃吗？既然我们都是佛的学生，不要去听狂人胡言乱语、这些外道之见。)