Paragraph 19
Section 8 (Dōgen’s Text)
English Translation (Dōgen’s Original):
“When a fish swims in the water, however far it goes, there is no end to the water. When a bird flies in the sky, however far it goes, there is no end to the sky. Still, since ancient times, fish and birds have never left the water or the sky. When they need to use a great capacity, they use a great capacity; when a small capacity is required, they use a small capacity. Thus, head to tail, there is nowhere they fail to exhaust the limit; in every place, they do not fail to tread their path. Even so, if a bird were to leave the sky, it would die at once; if a fish were to leave the water, it would die at once. We should know that ‘taking water as life’ applies, ‘taking sky as life’ applies. The bird’s life is in being a bird; the fish’s life is in being a fish. Life must become the bird; life must become the fish. Beyond this, there is further progress. Through practice and realization, there is that which is long-living, that which is the very life—thus it stands.
All the same, if there were birds or fish that intended to exhaust the limit of water or sky first and only then move or fly, they would find no way in water or place in sky. By finding this ‘place,’ one’s actions naturally manifest Genjōkōan. By finding this ‘path,’ one’s actions naturally manifest Genjōkōan. This path and place are neither large nor small, neither self nor other, neither preexistent nor newly arising at present; for that reason, things are so.
Likewise, when people practice and realize the Buddha Way, attaining one dharma is thoroughly penetrating one dharma, encountering one practice is thoroughly cultivating one practice. There is ‘a place’ in this, and because the path is comprehensively realized, there is knowledge whose limit cannot be known. That this knowledge arises together with the ultimate exhaustion of Buddha Dharma, and that it practices together with it, is the reason for this. Do not study in such a way that what is attained merely becomes your personal view or is understood by ordinary calculation. Even though realization may manifest swiftly, the inconceivable may not necessarily manifest. As for what is seen or made apparent, that is not necessarily all there is.”
Original Text (Dōgen’s Text):
Modern Translation for Section 8
English Translation:
“When a fish swims in the water, no matter how far it goes, there is no end to the water. When a bird flies through the sky, no matter how far it goes, there is no end to the sky. Nonetheless, since time immemorial, fish have never left the water and birds have never left the sky. Sometimes they manifest a great capacity; other times they manifest a small capacity. In this way, there is no place they fail to traverse fully, and no step that does not perfectly unfold their original function. If a bird should leave the sky, it would cease to be a bird and would die; if a fish should leave the water, it would likewise lose its life as a fish.
Hence, a fish’s genuine life is wholly tied up with water, and a bird’s genuine life is wholly tied up with sky. Because a fish is fish, living in the water is its fundamental reality. Because a bird is bird, living in the sky is its fundamental reality. From another angle, one could say that it is precisely because that fundamental reality exists that a fish can live fully as a fish, and a bird can live fully as a bird.
Human life, too, has many modes of being, such as practice and realization, old and young, men and women, and so on. Because of that, if we humans thoroughly verify the Buddha’s way in our daily living, that amounts to living a life as a Buddha. When you encounter a single dharma and completely unite with it, you become that dharma. When you encounter a single practice and wholly engage in it, you complete that practice. That is what it means to realize awakening directly before your eyes.
The path leading to the truth exists everywhere. There is not just one special gateway. Nevertheless, it often seems difficult to meet the truth simply because only by practicing it can we truly meet it. To practice the truth is, of course, to live as a Buddha.
Even if you come to understand something of the truth by living in accord with it, this does not necessarily become a matter of personal knowledge or intellectual comprehension right away. Though you may embody awakening in your actions, fully articulating it conceptually is not easy—and indeed, it is not required for living as a Buddha.”
Original Text:
Paragraph 20
Section 9 (Dōgen’s Text)
English Translation (Dōgen’s Original):
“Long ago, when Zen Master Hōtetsu of Magaku Mountain was fanning himself, a monk came and asked: ‘Because wind-nature is always present, pervading everywhere without exception, why then, Master, do you still use a fan?’ The Master replied, ‘Even though you know that wind-nature is always present, you do not yet know the principle that there is nowhere it does not reach.’ The monk then asked, ‘What is the principle of “nowhere it does not reach”?’ In response, the Master kept fanning. The monk bowed in gratitude.
Such is the testimony of Buddha Dharma and the living way of its authentic transmission. If one were to say, ‘Because wind is always present, there is no need to use a fan; we can feel the wind even without using it,’ then one neither knows this constancy nor the nature of wind. Because the nature of wind is always present, the ‘wind of the Buddha’s house’ causes the great earth to become golden and the long river to turn to curds.”
Original Text (Dōgen’s Text):
Modern Translation for Section 9
English Translation:
“Once, when Venerable Hōtetsu of Mayoku Mountain was fanning himself, a monk arrived and asked, ‘Since wind is everywhere, leaving no place it does not reach, why in the world does the Master use a fan?’
Hōtetsu answered, ‘Although you know that wind pervades everywhere, you have not yet grasped the principle that truly there is no place it fails to reach.’
The monk further asked, ‘What is that principle of “nowhere it does not reach”?’
At that, Master Hōtetsu merely continued fanning himself. Perceiving this, the monk bowed profoundly.
Such a response precisely captures how the Buddha Dharma is directly realized and authentically transmitted. If a monk were to say, ‘Because wind is everywhere, there is no need for a fan; I can sense the wind without using one,’ that reveals a failure to understand both the constancy and the nature of wind. It is precisely because wind-nature is ever-present that the ‘breeze of the Buddha house’—arising when we live truly as Buddhas—can transform the great earth into gold and turn even the long river into curds. In other words, it is insufficient merely to note that ‘wind is everywhere’; one must truly let it manifest.”
Original Text:
Paragraph 21 (Conclusion)
English Translation:
“Shōbōgenzō, Fascicle One, ‘Genjōkōan,’ End.”
Original Text:
(No footnotes.)
Additional Blog Content
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Below is the link to the Second Fascicle of the Shōbōgenzō, ‘Mahāprajñāpāramitā’:
www.zen-essay.com
Original Text:
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Original Text:
Footnotes / Annotations (if any)
- Dōgen (道元, 1200–1253): Founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan; author of Shōbōgenzō.
- Shōbōgenzō (正法眼蔵): A key text in the Sōtō Zen tradition, consisting of multiple fascicles by Dōgen.
- Genjōkōan (現成公案): Various translations, e.g. “The Issue at Hand as It Is,” “Actualizing the Fundamental Point,” or simply “Manifestation of Reality.”
(No other specific footnotes indicated.)
Brief Explanation of Key Concepts and Terminology
- Buddha Dharma: The teachings of the historical Buddha, both doctrinally and experientially realized.
- Delusion (迷 mei) & Awakening (悟 go): Fundamental pair in Zen signifying confusion vs. realization.
- Without Abiding Self: Renders the phrase “われにあらざる” (ware ni arazu) and related expressions in a manner aligned with classical Buddhist teachings of anātman (no-self).
- “To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things” vs. “That myriad things come forth and experience themselves”: A famous line from Dōgen’s Genjōkōan, representing the difference between self-centered seeking (delusion) and letting reality manifest (awakening).
- Practice and Realization (修証 shushō): In Dōgen’s teaching, practice and realization are inseparable and occur together.
Bibliographic References
- Dōgen, Shōbōgenzō (正法眼蔵), Fascicle One: “Genjōkōan.” Standard Japanese editions include the 95-fascicle, 75-fascicle, and 60-fascicle versions.
End of Revised Translation