Certification/Transmission of Enlightenment

Me talk about the "E" word? say it ain't so!
Yeah folks I guess it is about time. All of Ted’s talk about transmission has dragged it out of me. I am going to quote an ole dead (maybe not really so dead) guy too.

So why am I doing this? To express a certain point of view, and because people are unreliable. The history of transmission in the “Zen” tradition has been corrupt since it began. And while there are good teachers out there, even most of them are bound by customs, curtseys, policies, and procedures which have little or nothing to do with much of anything accept self aggrandizement and self perpetuation and doctrine.

So how do we, unable to find a reliable person, get certification of our own enlightenment? (Leave out a few concepts here, we’re already enlightened, I know the whole universe is enlightenment itself, yep, got that)

So where do we turn? Well, I know a monk who initially sounded pretty pretentious.
He said “I have overcome all foes; I am all-wise; I am free from stains in all things; I have left everything and have obtained emancipation of craving. Having myself gained knowledge, whom should I call my master? I have no teacher; no one is equal to me; in the world of men and of gods no being is like me. I am the Holy One in this world, I am the highest teacher, I alone am the perfectly ever Enlightened One; I have gained coolness and have obtained Nirvana. To set in motion the wheel of the Dharma, I go to the city of the Benares; I will beat the drum of the Immortal in the darkness of this world."

Wow! I think we would consider it pretty rude to talk like that nowadays.
So we should put this to the test! What is the criteria for all of that big stuff you say you are?

And he said:
"There are two extremes, which he who has given up the world ought to avoid.
Those extremes are, a life given to pleasures, devoted to pleasures and lusts—this is degrading, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and profitless.
And a life given to mortifications—this is painful, ignoble, and profitless.”

Ok so we should avoid extremes that seems like it ought to be common sense, but as I look around, I am sad to see it not so common after all. Besides, people like to party! What is to be gained by avoiding these to extremes?

And he said: “By avoiding these two extremes, I have gained the knowledge of the Middle Way which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to Supreme Enlightenment, to Nirvana."

Whoa, there you go talking that smack again like your all that. So how the heck did you get that way if it is so?

He said: “It is the Noble Eightfold Way, namely: right views, right intent, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavor, right mindfulness, right meditation.

This,is the Middle Way the knowledge of which I have gained, which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to perfect enlightenment to Nirvana.

This is the Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha): birth is suffering; aging is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering; presence of objects we hate is suffering; separation from objects we love is suffering; not to obtain what we desire is suffering. In short, the Five Components of Existence are suffering.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Origin of Suffering: verily, it originates in that craving which causes rebirth, which produced delight and passion, and seeks pleasure now here, now there; that is to say, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for continued life, craving for nonexistence.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Cessation of Suffering: truly, it is the complete cessation of craving so that no passion remains; the laying aside of, the giving up, the being free from, the harboring no longer of, this craving.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Way which leads to the Cessation of Suffering: verily, it is this Noble Eightfold Way, that is to say, right views, right intent, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavor, right mindfulness, and right meditation.

This is the Noble Truth concerning Suffering. Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition.

This Noble Truth concerning Suffering must be understood. Thus, monks, in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and intuition. This Noble Truth concerning Suffering I have understood. Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and intuition.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Origin of Suffering. Thus in things which had formerly not been heard of I have obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition. This Noble Truth concerning the Cause of Suffering must be abandoned . . . has been abandoned by me. Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and intuition.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Cessation of Suffering Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition. This Noble Truth concerning the Cessation of Suffering must be seen face to face . . . has been seen by me face to face. Thus, monks, in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition.

This is the Noble Truth concerning the Way which leads to the Cessation of Suffering. Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition. This Noble Truth concerning the Way which leads to the Cessation of Suffering must be realized . . . has been realized by me. Thus in things which formerly had not been heard of have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition.”

Ok, so that was from Gotama Buddha’s first “Dharma” talk at Dear Park. In the last chapters of the Nishijima and Cross translation of the Shobognzo you will find something quite similar. This paticular version was adapted from Henry Clarke Warren, Buddhism in Translation, and E. H. Brewster, Life of Gotama the Buddha.

In that first sermon Gotama Buddha set forth the criteria for enlightenment.
It takes something special though, it takes self discipline, courage, poise, self confidence, the willingness to meet a challenge, the ability to be honest with yourself. Basically heroic guts. But you can do it. And if you are even moderately successful, when you have met this criterion, this is the transmission of the truth from Buddha to Buddha. This is what the unscrupulous covet but will never have. This needs no silk or paper document because when it is there you will radiate it. You will know, and others will figure it, and you will not need any certification at all because you are the certification.


In Gassho,
Jordan
(stepping down from the high seat)

What does Dogen mean? No monks were ever enlightened?

What was Dogen teaching us when he spoke about transmission?
Check this out:

"The veteran monk Shugetsu, while he was assigned to the post of head monk on Tendo, showed to Dogen a certificate of succession of Unmon’s lineage… Mahakasyapa, Ananda, and so on, were aligned as if [they belonged to] separate lineages... Dogen asked... "Master, nowadays there are slight differences among the five sects in their alignment [of names]. What is the reason? If the succession from the Western Heavens has passed from rightful successor to rightful successor, how could there be differences?" Shugetsu said, "Even if the difference were great, we should just study that the buddhas of Unmon-zan mountain are like this. Why is Old Master Sakyamuni honored by others? He is an honored one because he realized the truth. Why is Great Master Unmon honored by others? He is an honored one because he realized the truth." Dogen, hearing these words, had a little [clearer] understanding."(Shobogenzo, Shisho, Nishijima & Cross)

In the same essay, Dogen tells us about an encounter with his own teacher:

"My late Master, the eternal Buddha, the great Master and Abbot of Tendo, preached the following: "The buddhas, without exception, have experienced the succession of the Dharma. That is to say, Sakyamuni Buddha received the Dharma from Kasyapa Buddha, Kasyapa Buddha received theDharma from Kanakamuni Buddha, and Kanakamuni Buddha received the Dharma from Krakucchanda Buddha. We should believe that the succession has passed like this from buddha to buddha until the present. This is the way of learning Buddhism." Then Dogen said, "It was after Kasyapa Buddha had entered nirvana (Died--i.e. he was a dead guy) that Sakyamuni Buddha first appeared in the world and realized the truth. Furthermore, how could the buddhas of the Kalpa of Wisdom receive the Dharma from the buddhas of the Kalpa of Resplendence (i.e. since they were dead, how could the transmission come from them)? What [do you think] of this principle?" My late Master said, "What you have just expressed is understanding [based on] listening to theories. It is the way of [bodhisattvas at] the ten sacred stages or the three clever stages. It is not the way [transmitted by] the Buddhist patriarchs from rightful successor to rightful successor. Our way, transmitted from buddha to buddha, is not like that. We have learned that Sakyamuni Buddha definitely received the Dharma from Kasyapa Buddha. We learn in practice that Kasyapa Buddha entered nirvana after Sakyamuni Buddha succeeded to the Dharma. If Sakyamuni Buddha did not receive the Dharma from Kasyapa Buddha, he might be the same as a naturalistic non-Buddhist. Who then could believe in Sakyamuni Buddha? Because the succession has passed like this from buddha to buddha, and has arrived at the present, the individual buddhas are all authentic successors, and they are neither arranged in a line nor gathered in a group. We just learn that the succession passes from buddha to buddha like this. It need not be related to the measurements of kalpas and the measurements of lifetimes mentioned in the teaching of the Agamas... We learn that Sakyamuni Buddha succeeded to the Dharma of Kasyapa Buddha, and we learn that Kasyapa Buddha succeeded to the Dharma of Sakyamuni Buddha. When we learn it like this, it is truly the succession of the Dharma of the buddhas and the patriarchs." Then Dogen not only accepted, for the first time, the existence of Buddhist patriarchs’ succession of the Dharma, but also got rid of an old nest."(Shobogenzo, Shisho, Nishijima & Cross)

What does Dogen mean about getting "rid of an old nest." Is he saying we maybe grant too much significance to the theory of transmission? Does he want us to realize there is something deeper, more significant to transmission?

Both Dogen and his teacher seem to be going out of their way to show us that transmission has nothing to do with being "arranged in a line nor gathered in a group." It seems he may be warning us not to get caught up in systems of thought. He admits that he did not believe in transmission himself until his teacher finally was able to get the point across. Only then did "Dogen accept for the first time the existence" of transmission. He seems to be telling us to forget all the external BS, and penetrate into the living heart, that is the experiential reality of authentic transmission.

In Dogen’s voluminous teachings on transmission, he clearly seems to think that it has very little to do with lineage charts or certificates. Dogen usually describes transmission as "Buddha to Buddha," or as "oneself to oneself."

Of course, in Zen those phrases mean the same thing.

Dogen speaks of transmission as transmission of wisdom (prajna) by wisdom, to wisdom.

Remember Dogen’s explanation of transmission in the story of Hui-neng?

First, Dogen reminds us that Hui-neng, was never exposed to the "teachings" yet he was "suddenly enlightened" when he heard someone reciting the Diamond Sutra.

Dogen then says:"This is just the truth of those who have wisdom, if they hear [the Dharma], they are able to believe and understand at once. This wisdom is neither learned from other people nor established by oneself: wisdom is able to transmit wisdom, and wisdom directly searches out wisdom ... It is beyond coming and beyond entering: it is like the spirit of spring meeting springtime, for example. Wisdom is beyond intention and wisdom is beyond no intention. Wisdom is beyond consciousness and wisdom is beyond unconsciousness. How much less could it be related to the great and the small? How much less could it be discussed in terms of delusion and realization? The point is that although [the Sixth Patriarch] does not even know what the Buddha Dharma is, never having heard it before and so neither longing for it nor aspiring to it, when he hears the Dharma, he makes light of his debt of gratitude and forgets his own body and; such things happen because the body-and-mind of those who have wisdom is already not their own.This is the state called able to believe and understand at once... [people] are like a stone enveloping a jewel, the jewel not knowing that it is enveloped by a stone, and the stone not knowing that it is enveloping a jewel. [When] a human being recognizes this [jewel], a human being seizes it. This is neither something that the jewel is expecting nor something that the stone is awaiting: it does not require knowledge from the stone and it is beyond thinking by the jewel. In other words, a human being and wisdom do not know each other, but it seems that the truth is unfailingly discerned by wisdom."(Shobogenzo, Inmo, Nishijima & Cross)

What else could Dogen mean by, "wisdom is able to transmit wisdom, and wisdom directly searches out wisdom."?

This is one of Dogen's best descriptions of transmission. He breaks it down, showing that wisdom (prajna) is Buddha-Dharma (Buddhist truth). Hence, wisdom transmits wisdom and is received by wisdom. Transmission implies, a "transmitter" and a "receiver." So, Buddha to Buddha (or oneself to oneself) means that Buddha is both transmitter and receiver. Just as Hui-neng "received" the wisdom "transmitted" by wisdom (the Diamond Sutra).

That is the "ever-present nature of air" and "the action of fanning." That is Zen practice and enlightenment.

When the Zen practitioner opens him or herself to the wisdom transmitted by the wisdom (of Buddhas (yes, even dead ones), Zen masters, texts, koans, birdsong, raindrops, walls, stones, etc.), that practitioners own innate wisdom is actualized.

Like Dogen’s "jewel inside the rock." The jewel (wisdom) has been in the rock (human beings) from the start. As soon as the "rock" realizes this, the "jewel" is already transmitted. In his own words, "[When] a human being recognizes this [jewel], a human being seizes it." That is to say, transmission is the actualization of (inherent) wisdom.

We are drawn along the path of Zen by that wisdom within us, which is seeking actualization through practice and enlightenment. When we become intimate with the message of a sutra, or Zen sermon, wisdom is realized, that is, transmission occurs.

It is not that something "comes out" of a scripture or sermon and "goes into" people. The scripture or sermon activate what is already inherent. We can’t "learn" it or "understand" it, as Dogen said, "a human being and wisdom do not know each other, but it seems that the truth is unfailingly discerned by wisdom."

Isn’t this the meaning of Dogen’s teaching about "Buddhas alone, together with Buddhas?"

His writings are full of references about "only Buddhas realize Buddha." For example:

"The Buddha-Dharma cannot be known by people. For this reason, since ancient times, no common man has realized the Buddha-Dharma and no-one in the two vehicles (hinayana, and mahayana -to which Zen belongs) has mastered the Buddha-Dharma. Because it is realized only by buddhas, we say that buddhas alone, together with buddhas, are directly able perfectly to realize it."(Shobogenzo, Yui-Butsu-Yo-Butsu, Nishijima & Cross)

Pretty powerful statement. If no-one in the two-vehicles (which includes Zen monastics) has received the Buddha-Dharma... Well, it seems pretty clear that the "exoteric" theory concerning transmission from teacher to disciple is not what Dogen sees as the essence of transmission.

Correct me if you see another explanation here, but the way I understand Dogen's teaching on transmission is: the Buddha-Dharma (wisdom) is transmitted by Buddha (wisdom) and can only be realized by inherent Buddha-nature (wisdom).

If so, when Dogen says, "not a single lay person has ever realized enlightenment," we can understand that neither lay people nor monastics have realized enlightenment, for "it is realized only by Buddhas."

Of course it is easy to say that I don't know what I am talking about. Or tell me that I am way off the track-- and I expect that. But, what I would really like to say is, rather than telling me how wrong I am, please, share your own view and how you came to it.

Thank you all. Comments are most welcome!

Ted Biringer

Teaching Certificates - Dharma, or Priestcraft?

Mike’s (joke?) about getting a certificate, brings up one of the major difficulties faced by beginning students. This difficulty revolves around propagated distortions concerning the Zen tradition of mind to mind "transmission."

Nor is confusion regarding Zen "transmission" relegated to beginners or non-scholars alone; many scholars as well as those within the Zen orthodoxy openly acknowledge their own muddled understandings about some of the issues surrounding transmission. One of the reasons for this confusion arises from the fact that the term "transmission" has been appropriated by various Zen Schools, in various times, to validate, clarify, and establish a variety of unrelated doctrines, traditions, and rituals. At the risk of oversimplification we could say, "transmission" has meant different things, to different schools, in different times.

The major roles that authentic Zen Schools have appropriated the term "transmission" for include, the transmission of particular teaching "styles," e.g. Rinzai’s dharma, Tozan’s dharma, etc. The secret, or "esoteric" transmission rituals from teacher to disciple (which scholarship has shown to be apocryphal creations designed primarily to legitimize claims of superiority among competing Schools). The tradition of "mind to mind" transmission. Mind to mind transmission is briefly, the transmission of wisdom (prajna) from Buddha to Buddha (that is from the Buddha mind of Buddhas and Zen masters, to the Buddha mind of students and practitioners).

Although there are others, these three include the most common and influential roles that transmission has been called on to fulfill according to the classic teachings of Zen. The distortions of these doctrines that students should be wary of appropriate and combine some or the more superficial aspects from all three authentic roles, while failing to incorporate any of the essential spiritual aspects of them. While the various groups and individuals propagating the distorted teachings on transmission may differ regarding their particular "formulations," these distorted doctrines share enough characteristics to allow them to be described in the same general terms.
The distorted teachings propagate "transmission" as the conveyance of the "Dharma" (essential truth, law, teaching of Buddhism) from one individual human being, to another individual human being, who is thus "certified" as a "Dharma-heir." The human being in the role of transmitter, himself (or, in some Schools herself—at least theoretically) was the recipient of the "Dharma" from another individual human being, and so on all the way back to the "historical" Buddha. The newly propagated "Dharma-heir" is thusly "qualified" to "teach with full authority" and in addition, "empowered" to propagate "Dharma-heirs" of their own.

A few interesting side notes on this "amazing" spiritual tradition include the fact that there does not seem to be any limit regarding the quantity of Dharma-heirs that any single Dharma-heir can propagate. Some Dharma-heirs propagate very few or even no Dharma-heirs of their own. Other Dharma-heirs, especially in the modern West, are quite fruitful, propagating Dharma-heirs left and right, and propagating things other than Dharma-heirs as well. In addition, the charts used by the "orthodox" Zen Church’s to trace the purity of lineages (back to Buddha), which are similar to those the AKC (American Kennel Club) uses to keep track of canine purebreds, fail to acknowledge any women in the entirety of their 2500+ year histories. This in spite of the fact that official dogma of many orthodox Churches acknowledges women as "equally" qualified to be "Dharma-heirs." If it is true that women are equally qualified, one can only marvel at the nearly impossible mathematical odds that have been realized by the astonishing fact that not a single one has yet been recognized.

Returning to the issue at hand, this distorted version of "transmission" is often veiled in mysterious and mystical terms designed to imply that only "enlightened" beings (such as Dharma-heirs) can understand it. Even in Schools that promote milder versions, and clearly deny any supernatural or mystical implications to transmission, the "true" meaning of transmission is discussed in hushed tones and concealed in a hazy cloud of esoteric innuendo.

Objective observers can usually see the motivation behind these distortions of authentic Zen teachings; the age-old lust for power. When we grasp the not so subtle corollary to this subversion of authentic transmission teachings is that it forces a division between the "haves" and the "have-nots" (or in this case, the "enlightened" and the "deluded"). When only "Dharma-heirs" are enlightened, and everyone else is not, they will always be "right"—they can only "appear" wrong to us because we are just too deluded to grasp their profundity(which explains the common "teaching" that "good students" trust the teacher avoid critical questions, and "shut up and sit down"). Also, when only Dharma-heirs are qualified to teach with full authority, students quickly learn that failing to do what the "master" wants them to do will deny them "transmission of the true Dharma" and thus condemn them to eternity as ordinary deluded beings. This is the fundamental art of what William Blake called "Priestcraft."

Since nearly every modern "School," even those that include "authentic" teachers adhere to some version of this distortion of transmission, how should students avoid being exploited? First, by simply being aware of the fact that it exists. Second, by familiarizing themselves with the basic knowledge of the authentic tradition of transmission outlined in the classic Zen texts. Third, apply that knowledge to the evaluation process of discerning the qualifications of particular teachers.

Although very few honest people that know anything about the history of transmission in Zen would seriously claim that certificates prove an "unbroken" lineage going back to Bodhidharma (much less the Buddha), certificates can be useful. Certificates that designate "Dharma-heirs" can be useful for students when it comes to narrowing the field when seeking instruction from a teacher. They can be useful in the same way that a recommendation for a doctor or lawyer can when it comes from a trusted friend. For example, if a student has familiarized themselves with the basic classic records of Zen, and find they harmonize with published teachings of a contemporary Zen teacher, and that teacher has a "Dharma-heir" teaching in the student’s area, that might be a good place to check out.

At the same time, the authentic teachings on Zen transmission continue to be an important part of Zen training. Because of the profoundly subtle implications of the authentic function of transmission, its deeper import cannot be truly appreciated until students have advanced through some of the initial experiences of Zen practice and enlightenment, especially their initial experience of true nature. Nevertheless, an understanding of the fundamental points regarding the function of transmission is easily within the beginner’s ability. While I will present a brief outline here, I urge any serious students to examine the records of Zen for themselves. My summary here is brief and simplified and in no way am I any kind of an "expert." Who knows, I might be trying to lead you astray. Having put my disclaimer in, let us proceed.

The fundamental truth underlying the authentic teachings of transmission concern the conveyance of wisdom (prajna) from the Buddha mind of Buddhas and Zen masters to the Buddha mind of practitioners. This is the function that the term "mind to mind transmission" is used to indicate. Eihei Dogen often uses variations of the term "Buddhas together with Buddhas" when speaking of this function.

Zen transmission is implemented by utilizing meditation (Zazen, shikantaza, no-mind, etc.) to illumine the wisdom of "Buddhas" (as presented by teachers, scripture, treatises, practices, etc.) under the "light" (of Buddha nature) inherent in the practitioner’s own mind. This inherent "light" is the "Buddha nature" that is wakened from dormancy with the practitioners initial experience of "seeing into their true nature" (kensho). When the wisdom of "Buddhas" is illumined by the light of "Buddha nature" that wisdom is realized (made real) in the practitioner. Thus, the "Dharma" (teaching, law, truth, of Buddhism) is transmitted from Buddha (teachers, doctrines, practices) to Buddha (the inherent Buddha nature of all beings).

This summary is of course an oversimplification and as such is no more the whole "truth" than those previously discussed distortions above. Nevertheless, I believe it is closer to the mark than the above distortions, and is much less vulnerable to being used as a tool for exploitation.