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    Kensho
    Kensho
    Kensho
    Ebook176 pages2 hours

    Kensho

    By Thomas Cleary

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    Kensho is the transformative glimpse of the true nature of all things. It is an experience so crucial in Zen practice that it is sometimes compared to finding an inexhaustible treasure because it reveals the potential that exists in each moment for pure awareness free from the projections of the ego. Among the traditional Zen works are a number of important texts focusing on the profound subtleties of this essential Zen awakening and the methods used in its realization. The selections here are taken from:

    · Straightforward Explanation of the True Mind, by Korean Zen teacher Chinul (1158-1210), which provides the contextual balance needed to understand kensho by relating it to the broader teachings of the Buddhist scriptures and treatises.
    · Several works by Japanese Zen master Hakuin (1786-1769), whose teachings emphasize the techniques used in the cultivation and application of kensho and the importance of going beyond the experience itself to apply Zen insight to the full range of human endeavors.
    · The Book of Ease, a Chinese koan collection from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with commentary showing the practical dimension of classical koan practice.

    The translator provides extensive introductory notes and detailed commentary on each of the selections to help the reader understand the inner meaning of this essential experience of Zen.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShambhala
    Release dateJan 21, 1997
    ISBN9780834828735
    Kensho

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    Kensho - Thomas Cleary

    PART ONE

    THE TRUE MIND

    Chinul’s

    Straightforward Explanation

    of the True Mind

    Faith

    In Buddhism, faith is understood as a faculty (Sanskrit, indriya) that can be developed into a power (bala). This faculty, this power, enables seekers to reach toward what they have not yet experienced or personally realized.

    Insofar as Buddhist faith, as a faculty and a power, is not an absolute commitment to dogma or ritual, different dispositions of faith can be employed within Buddhism. In Chinul’s explanations of the true mind, the power of the faculty of faith is focused on the intrinsic identity of the essence of mind itself with the essence of Buddhahood.

    Chinul insists on the need for faith as the first step of the journey to awakening. He adds that the first step must be correct if the journey is to lead to the goal. Thus faith has to be combined with understanding. Yet even with intellectual understanding, the power of faith is still indispensible, because the mind still does not know itself—it is still charmed by its own thoughts.

    Only when understanding becomes realization does the faculty of faith have the power to conduct consciousness all the way to experiential truth. Yet the power of faith inwardly supports the capacity to experience and realize truth, so the quality and direction of faith must first be examined. Here is Chinul’s explanation of the place of faith in Zen.

    Right Faith in the True Mind

    The Flower Ornament Scripture says, Faith is the source of the path, the mother of virtues, nurturing all roots of goodness. Also, the Treatise on Only Representation says, Faith is like a water-clarifying crystal, able to clear murky waters. So we know that faith guides the development of all goodness. This is why Buddhist scriptures begin with the words, Thus have I heard.

    Some people ask about a difference between faith as it is in the context of Zen and faith as it is in the context of pan-Buddhism. There are many different kinds of faith. Buddhism tells people who believe in causality and who like happiness to have faith in ten virtues as sublime causes, and to have faith in humanity and higher states as pleasant results. For those who enjoy empty quietude, belief in the conditions of birth and death is the right cause, while the way to extinction of causes of misery is the holy result. For those who like complete Buddhahood, faith in the six perfections over three aeons is the great cause; enlightenment and nirvana are the great results.

    In Zen, however, right faith is not the same as any of these. One does not have faith in any contrived causes or effects; it is only necessary to have faith that the intrinsic self is originally Buddha. The natural true intrinsic essence is complete in all people; the subtle substance of nirvana is perfect in every individual. It is not to be sought from another; it has been there all along.

    The third patriarch of Zen said, It is complete as space, with no lack or excess; it is just because of grasping and rejecting that you are not thus. Master Chih said, It is the formless body in the body of form, the road of the uncreated on the road of ignorance. Yung-chia said, The true essence of ignorance is none other than the essence of enlightenment; the ephemeral body is none other than the spiritual body. So we know that people are originally Buddhas.

    Once you have developed right faith, it is necessary to understand it. Yung-ming said, Faith without understanding increases ignorance; understanding without faith increases subjective opinions. So we know that we can gain access to the path rapidly when faith and understanding are combined.

    Some ask whether there is any benefit when one has just awakened faith but cannot yet enter the path. The Treatise on Awakening of Faith says, If people do not become cowardly on hearing this teaching, they will certainly succeed to the Buddhas, and will certainly be given direction by the Buddhas. Even if someone can induce all beings in the universe to behave well, that is not as good as someone correctly contemplating this teaching for one moment of thought. Also, a Scripture on Transcendent Wisdom says, Any who conceive pure faith for even a moment are known to Buddha and seen by Buddha, one and all. So people gain infinite blessings like this. Obviously, if you are going to make a journey of a thousand miles, the first step has to be right; if the first step is mistaken, the whole thousand miles is mistaken. To enter the land where there is no artificiality, first faith has to be right; if the initial belief is mistaken, then all virtues fade away. This is why a Zen patriarch said, The slightest miss is as the distance between sky and earth.

    Terminology

    Even though the setup of Zen faith may differ in structure from those of other Buddhist schools based on scriptures and classical treatises, nevertheless the true mind, or Buddha-mind, which is the object of Zen faith, is also represented in those very scriptures and treatises that form the bases of the doctrinal schools.

    Chinul makes this abundantly clear with a list of numerous terms from numerous texts, all pointing to the true mind. He goes on to add another long list of special Zen names. Each name, furthermore, is accompanied by a reason for the name, which is generally a representation of a function, the function a pattern of practice. As in his essay on faith, in his essay on terminology Chinul combines understanding with absorption to elicit the Zen effect.

    Different Names for the True Mind

    It may be asked, now that we have conceived right faith, what is the true mind? To this it may be replied that detachment from falsehood is called truth, while awareness is called mind. This mind is elucidated in the Lankavatara Scripture. It may be asked, is it only called the true mind, or are there different terms?

    The answer to this is that Buddhism and Zen give it different names. The bodhisattva precepts of Buddhism call it the mind ground, because it produces all virtues. Transcendent Wisdom scriptures call it awakening, because awareness is its essence. The Flower Ornament Scripture defines it as the universe of realities, because it pervades and contains all. The Diamond Scripture calls it that which realizes suchness, because it comes from nowhere. Transcendent Wisdom scriptures call it nirvana, because it is the resort of all sages. The Golden Light Scripture calls it being-as-is, because it is eternally unchanging. The Pure Name Scripture calls it the spiritual body, because experience and manifestation depend on it. The Treatise on Awakening of Faith calls it true suchness, because it is unborn and unperishing. The Nirvana Scripture calls it Buddha-nature, because it is the substance of the three bodies of Buddha. The Scripture of Complete Enlightenment calls it total command, because it emanates virtuous qualities. The Scripture of the Lion’s Roar of Queen Shrimala calls it the matrix of realization of suchness, because it conceals and contains. The Scripture of Perfect Doctrine calls it complete awareness, because it breaks through darkness, shining alone. So Zen master Yung-ming’s Secret of Mind Alone says, One reality has a thousand names, designated according to conditions; they are all in the scriptures and treatises, too numerous to cite them all.

    Now that we know about Buddhism, it may be asked, what about Zen? To this it may be replied that Zen stops all naming and verbalizing. If even one name is not established, how could there be many names? And yet, when responding to feelings and adapting to potentials, there are indeed many names. Sometimes it is called the self, because it is the basic essence of a living being. Sometimes it is called the true eye, because it mirrors all appearances. Sometimes it is called the wondrous mind, because its open awareness shines serenely. Sometimes it is called the host or master, because it has been carrying the burden all along. Sometimes it is called the bottomless bowl, because of living life wherever one may be. Sometimes it is called the stringless harp, because its melody is beyond the present. Sometimes it is called the inexhaustible lamp, because its illumination breaks through deluded feelings. Sometimes it is called the rootless tree, because the root and stem are firm and strong. Sometimes it is called a razor-sharp sword, because it cuts through senses and objects. Sometimes it is called the land of effortlessness, because the ocean is peaceful and the rivers clear. Sometimes it is called the pearl of the sage, because it rescues the poor and the destitute. Sometimes it is called the keyless lock, because it locks up the six senses. It is also called the clay ox, the wood horse, the mind source, the mind seal, the mind mirror, the mind moon, the mind pearl. There are too many different names to note them all. If you arrive at the true mind, all names are clear; if you are ignorant of this true mind, all names hang you up. Therefore you had best be very careful about the true

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