{"id":5609,"date":"2017-02-17T09:59:07","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T16:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5609"},"modified":"2017-02-17T09:59:07","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T16:59:07","slug":"hakuin-hakuins-song-of-zazen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/17\/hakuin-hakuins-song-of-zazen\/","title":{"rendered":"Hakuin – Hakuin’s Song of Zazen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hakuin\u2019s Song of Zazen
\nby Hakuin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki<\/font><\/p>\n

All beings are primarily Buddhas.
\nIt is like water and ice:
\nThere is no ice apart from water;
\nThere are no Buddhas apart from beings.<\/p>\n

Not knowing how close the truth is to them,
\nBeings seek for it afar \u2014 what a pity!
\nThey are like those who, being in the midst of water,
\nCry out for water, feeling thirst.<\/p>\n

They are like the son of the rich man,
\nWho, wandering away from his father,
\nGoes astray amongst the poor.
\nIt is all due to their ignorance
\nThat beings transmigrate in the darkness
\nOf the Six Paths of existence.<\/p>\n

When they wander from darkness to darkness,
\nHow can they ever be free from birth-and-death?<\/p>\n

As for the Dhyana practice as taught in the Mahayana,
\nNo amount of praise can exhaust its merits.
\nThe Six Paramitas\u2013beginning with the Giving, Observing the Precepts,
\nAnd other good deeds, variously enumerated,
\nSuch as Nembutsu, Repentance, Moral Training, and so on \u2014
\nAll are finally reducible to the practice of Dhyana.<\/p>\n

The merit of Dhyana practice, even during a single sitting,
\nErases the countless sins accumulated in the past.
\nWhere then are the Evil Paths to misguide us?
\nThe Pure Land cannot be far away.<\/p>\n

Those who, for once, listening to the Dharma
\nIn all humility,
\nPraise it and faithfully follow it,
\nWill be endowed with innumerable merits.<\/p>\n

But how much more so when you turn your eyes within yourselves
\nAnd have a glimpse into your self-nature!
\nYou find that the self-nature is no-nature \u2013
\nThe truth permitting no idle sophistry.
\nFor you, then, open the gate leading to the oneness of cause and effect;
\nBefore you, then, lies a straight road of non-duality and non-trinity.<\/p>\n

When you understand that form is the form of the formless,
\nYour coming-and-going takes place nowhere else but where you are.
\nWhen you understand that thought is the thought of the thought-less.
\nYour singing-and-dancing is no other than the voice of the Dharma.
\nHow boundless is the sky of Samadhi!
\nHow refreshingly bright is the moon of the Fourfold Wisdom!
\nBeing so is there anything you lack?
\nAs the Absolute presents itself before you
\nThe place where you stand is the Land of the Lotus,
\nAnd your person \u2014 the body of the Buddha.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series<\/a>, by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Ed Schipul<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

After Wednesday\u2019s epic rambling Zen-Beat \u201cscripture\u201d-poem by Kerouac, I thought it might fit to follow up today with a more traditional, highly revered poem by the great Zen master Hakuin Zenji.<\/p>\n

You will see that several of the ideas Kerouac was exploring are expressed here, as well, though in a much more contained and elegant manner. The essence of the two poems might be summed up as everything is already That, or, as Hakuin starts us off\u2013<\/p>\n

All beings are primarily Buddhas.<\/i><\/p>\n

It is simply ignorance about one\u2019s own nature that keeps us blind to our inherent enlightenment.<\/p>\n

Not knowing how close the truth is to them,
\nBeings seek for it afar \u2014 what a pity!<\/i><\/p>\n

It is not that we acquire enlightenment. Anything that can be gained, that has a beginning, necessarily has an end and is, therefore, not lasting. It is not that we are unenlightened and, at some point, become enlightened. The point here is that we \u2014 and all beings \u2014 are enlightened all along. What is necessary is not to become enlightened, but to stop clinging to the idea that we are not enlightened.<\/p>\n

They are like those who, being in the midst of water,
\nCry out for water, feeling thirst.<\/i><\/p>\n

We can see this insight as absurd, even offensive to all of our struggles \u2014 or it can be the key that brings us immediately into the awareness of our own enlightened nature, right now.<\/p>\n

A few terms that might help to appreciate this poem more fully:<\/p>\n

Dhyana<\/i> \u2013 Meditation. Read this not simply as the act of sitting still, but as the inner state of deeply collected awareness.<\/p>\n

Dharma<\/i> \u2013 Can be translated as the Way, the Path, the Law, Righteousness. We might think of it as the directional flow of universal consciousness and how we, through our focus and actions, enter into that flow.<\/p>\n

Samadhi<\/i> \u2013 The blissful union of the individual awareness with the Eternal, often considered the mark of enlightenment.<\/p>\n

The Six Paramitas<\/i> \u2013 These are six qualities or \u201cperfections\u201d that naturally appear along the spiritual path: generosity, morality, patience, joyful action, concentration, and wisdom.<\/p>\n

Nembutsu<\/i> \u2013 The practice of chanting the names of the Buddha.<\/p>\n

As the Absolute presents itself before you
\nThe place where you stand is the Land of the Lotus,
\nAnd your person \u2014 the body of the Buddha.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Hakuin<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nEssential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nWild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nSecrets of the Blue Cliff Record: Zen Comments by Hakuin and Tenkei<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Zen Koan<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n
\n\"Hakuin,<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nHakuin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Japan (1686 \u2013 1768) Timeline<\/a>
\nBuddhist<\/a> : Zen \/ Chan<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

The Zen master Hakuin Ekaku, sometimes called Hakuin Zenji, was born Sugiyama Iwajiro in a small Japanese coastal village at the foot of Mt. Fuji.<\/p>\n

When he was seven years old, Hakuin heard the reciting of a Buddhist sutra that described the terrors of hell. This so frightened the boy that he resolved to become a monk, in order to avoid such torments.<\/p>\n

Though his parents opposed his decision, Hakuin took monastic vows at the age of 15.<\/p>\n

He studied the Buddhist scriptures intensely, but was deeply shaken by reading of the painful death of a famous Chinese Chan master. The young Hakuin lost his faith in the Buddhist path for a while, hiding himself in the study of literature.<\/p>\n

But, at the age of 22, he had his first experience of satori or enlightenment when he heard a sentence from a Buddhist scripture being recited.<\/p>\n

After that, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the full realization of Nirvana, unshakable peace.<\/p>\n

At this time, Zen Buddhism had become the court religion and, in its preeminence, lost much its inner spiritual vitality. Hakuin is credited with saving the tradition from its decline virtually single-handedly, returning Zen to its rich spiritual essence. <\/p>\n

He organized koan training (authoring the famous koan, \u201cWhat is the sound of one hand clapping?\u201d) and re-emphasized the zazen practice of sitting meditation.<\/p>\n

Hakuin\u2019s reforms were highly effective, as seen by the profound impact Zen has in the world of spiritual practice today.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Hakuin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hakuin\u2019s Song of Zazen by Hakuin English version by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki All beings are primarily Buddhas. It is like water and ice: There is no ice apart from water; There are no Buddhas apart from beings. Not knowing how close the truth is to them, Beings seek for it afar \u2014 what a pity! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40,2042,2041,1065,2040,1066,118],"class_list":["post-5609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-buddhist-poetry","tag-dharma","tag-dhyana","tag-hakuin","tag-hakuin-ekaku","tag-hakuin-zenji","tag-zen-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5609"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5610,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5609\/revisions\/5610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}