Zen Light: Unconventional Commentaries on the Denkoroku

• There aren’t specific answers to specific koans
• Zen is in the ordinary details of life
• To be enlightened is to be aware, awake, present
  • We find all sorts of ways to escape from dealing with the present
• Zazen is the non-separation of subject and object
• To talk about The Way is to miss it
• Not-knowing is the state of openness, leaving space, being open to possibilities
  • Not judging, just seeing things as they are
  • By eliminating the words “good” and “bad,” we directly deal with reality
  • Our preconceptions are obstacles
• Practice itself is the goal
  • There is nothing to attain. We already have it
  • The goal is not perfection. It’s acceptance of ourselves as imperfect humans
• Realising the impermanency of it all, nonattachment is the pragmatic way to go

Yüeh-shan was meditating.
Shih-t’ou asked him, “What are you doing?”
Yüeh-shan: “I’m not doing anything.”
Shih-t’ou: “If you’re not doing anything, what a waste of time it is.”
Yüeh-shan: “If I were wasting my time, I’d be doing something.”

Gathered notes

• I do not hold with the view that there is a specific answer for each of the various koans.
• The truth of Zen is in the most insignificant and ordinary details of life.
• To be enlightened is to be aware, awake, present, not absent.
• The Buddha Way is a way of unity. The Way is a way that transforms from many to one.
• Hui-neng defines zazen as the non-separation of subject and object.
• We think we can “understand” the Way. We think we know what we are talking about when we talk about Zen. But to talk about it is to miss it.
• Not-knowing is the state of openness. When we don’t know, there’s space for anything to happen.
• “knowing” leaves no space. “Knowing” is a position that says that only what can fit in this little box of “knowing” is the way it is and nothing else will do.
• We do not practice to become Buddha. We do not practice to achieve. We practice because we are Buddha. We do not practice to achieve wisdom. We practice because we are wise. Practice itself is wisdom. We do not practice with goals in mind. Practice itself is the goal.
• One of the mistakes we make is to think the goal of practice is to get to a perfected state of being.
• We need to accept ourselves as imperfect human beings. Enlightenment lives in our imperfections.
• Such theological explication, interesting though it may be, takes us away from dealing with what is before us. We find all sorts of ways to escape from dealing with the present.
• Zen practice is taking care of right now.
• “Not-knowing” does not mean being ignorant. It does not mean not knowing. It means not-knowing. Not having any particular point of view. Being open to whatever happens. Being open to whatever may happen. Not evaluating things and making moral judgments on them. Just seeing things as they are without adding anything.
• Realizing the impermanency of it all, nonattachment is the pragmatic way to go.
• We are in flux, constantly changing, constantly developing, constantly progressing. Our preconceptions are obstacles to relationships.
• In the days of Shakyamuni, the usual reason given for differences was karma. The idea of karma is that one’s actions will produce equal and appropriate results. If one commits evil acts, one will reap evil results. However, since it didn’t seem to be that way—since people who were evil were achieving good results—then karma must be carried over to future lives. A very complicated system of karmic results was devised.
• having objectives is not the Way. By having an objective we miss the Way. The reason we miss it is that there is nothing to attain. We already have it.
• We practice because we have the Way. Not to seek it. Not to find it. Not to gain tranquillity of mind. Not to gain peace of mind.
• everything in the universe is in the sky—and at the same time the sky itself is empty. I think this approaches an understanding of what Mind is and what the emptiness of Mind is about. Empty yet full, complete. Everything is within that emptiness.
• whatever we do we do in the realm of duality. The realm of duality does not contain the Way. Stop doing, and be. Stop thinking about it. Stop planning. Stop creating. Just be.
• By eliminating the words “good” and “bad,” we directly deal with reality.
• Is it possible that there is no way to contain thoughts because there is no such thing as “thought”?
• Ordinariness is one of the hallmarks of the Zen which Hui-neng taught and practiced.
• yüeh-shan was meditating. Shih-t’ou asked him, “What are you doing?” yüeh-shan: “I’m not doing anything.” Shih-t’ou: “If you’re not doing anything, what a waste of time it is.” yüeh-shan: “If I were wasting my time, I’d be doing something.”
• Emptiness does not mean not having. Emptiness means being poised for action. Being ready. Being ripe. Being open.

Raw notes

• The Unborn, the major metaphor of Bankei,
• I believe koan study is a very personal thing, and I do not hold with the view that there is a specific answer for each of the various koans.
• You may strive and strive for hours, days, years, until at a particular fraction of a moment—a fraction so small it is beyond measure— when for no apparent reason—bang! “That’s it! I’ve got it!
• The truth of Zen is in the most insignificant and ordinary details of life.
• To be enlightened is to be aware, awake, present, not absent. Being present where one is. Being completely present. Whatever we do—doing it with both hands. Walking with both feet.
• The holy places, the great teachers, the great mountains—all are within us. Zazen is a raft that takes us there.
• We need to find our own words.
• The Buddha Way is a way of unity. The Way is a way that transforms from many to one.
• The sixth ancestor, Hui-neng, defines zazen as the non-separation of subject and object. To understand this definition, consider what happens when one learns to play a musical instrument.
• We think we can “understand” the Way. We think we know what we are talking about when we talk about Zen. But to talk about it is to miss it.
• “The meaning is not in the words,” says the “Jewel Mirror.” Words are in the words.
• Not-knowing then becomes a pragmatic position to take on any issue. That’s why the best way to know is not to know. Not-knowing is the state of openness. When we don’t know, there’s space for anything to happen.
• “knowing” leaves no space. “Knowing” is a position that says that only what can fit in this little box of “knowing” is the way it is and nothing else will do.
• Wisdom seems to be elusive. Sometimes you have it; sometimes you don’t. The greatest and wisest man can make the stupidest and silliest mistake.
• We do not practice to become Buddha. We do not practice to achieve. We practice because we are Buddha. We do not practice to achieve wisdom. We practice because we are wise. Practice itself is wisdom. We do not practice with goals in mind. Practice itself is the goal.
• One of the mistakes we make is to think the goal of practice is to get to a perfected state of being.
• Nirvana is not the pure moon where everything is perfect. The hazy moon is Nirvana. Nirvana is right here, right now, imperfect though it may
• We need to accept ourselves as imperfect human beings. Enlightenment lives in our imperfections.
• Such theological explication, interesting though it may be, takes us away from dealing with what is before us. We find all sorts of ways to escape from dealing with the present.
• Zen is a practice that unites rather than separates.
• Zen practice is taking care of right now.
• Make the sutra your own. Make the words of the Buddha yours, as Ananda was able to do. Until the words are yours there is only the turning.
• “Not-knowing” does not mean being ignorant. It does not mean not knowing. It means not-knowing. Not having any particular point of view. Being open to whatever happens. Being open to whatever may happen. Not evaluating things and making moral judgments on them. Just seeing things as they are without adding anything.
• Realizing the impermanency of it all, nonattachment is the pragmatic way to go. We need to learn to live as if it could all be gone tomorrow. And it’s OK.
• The Buddha teaches, “No, there is nothing that holds still.”
• We are in flux, constantly changing, constantly developing, constantly progressing. Our preconceptions are obstacles to relationships.
• Keizan makes it clear that knowledge of past lives does not mean knowledge of past lives. It means all lives are present in the Light.
• In the days of Shakyamuni, the usual reason given for differences was karma. The idea of karma is that one’s actions will produce equal and appropriate results. If one commits evil acts, one will reap evil results. However, since it didn’t seem to be that way—since people who were evil were achieving good results—then karma must be carried over to future lives. A very complicated system of karmic results was devised.
• Drop whatever we need. Whatever we think we need is a delusion. Drop whatever we think we don’t need. Whatever we think we don’t need is a delusion. Deep is the teaching that our needs are delusions. Deeper still is the teaching that our delusions are the enlightened state itself!
• This koan tells us that having objectives is not the Way. By having an objective we miss the Way. The reason we miss it is that there is nothing to attain. We already have it.
• Back to Dogen. We practice because we have the Way. Not to seek it. Not to find it. Not to gain tranquillity of mind. Not to gain peace of mind.
• By recognizing and realizing we have this place within us, the wild thoughts will of themselves stop. We need not concern ourselves with them. For our concern gives them power. Not bothering with them depletes their power. One can say, a by-product of zazen is tranquillity and peace of mind. But that is not why we sit. We sit because to sit is the Way. We sit because we are enlightened.
• everything in the universe is in the sky—and at the same time the sky itself is empty. I think this approaches an understanding of what Mind is and what the emptiness of Mind is about. Empty yet full, complete. Everything is within that emptiness.
• We are constantly in the way of the Way.
• We feel we must do something to make it happen. Yet whatever we do misses the point. Whatever we do creates an obstacle, because whatever we do we do in the realm of duality. The realm of duality does not contain the Way. Stop doing, and be. Stop thinking about it. Stop planning. Stop creating. Just be.
• Do we begin each session of zazen with the knowledge that before we rise we may be dead? If we did, how powerful would our zazen be?
• There’s nothing good or bad about sleeping or crying. Crying is crying. Sleeping is sleeping.
• By eliminating the words “good” and “bad,” we directly deal with reality.
• We cannot find wrongdoing. There is doing. Not wrongdoing or gooddoing. There is just doing.
• Is it possible that there is no way to contain thoughts because there is no such thing as “thought”?
• Hui-neng, the sixth ancestor, is the person most responsible for Zen as we know it today, who transformed the practice that was Indian in custom and nature and adapted it to his own traditions— the customs and sensitivities and feelings of China.
• One of the major teachings of Hui-neng was his electrifying definition of zazen as being the “non- separation between subject and object.”
• Ordinariness is one of the hallmarks of the Zen which Hui-neng taught and practiced.
• the clear blue lake that one can approach from any place on its shoreline.
• Once we dive deep into the lake, there is no water. So it is with the Way.
• yüeh-shan was meditating. Shih-t’ou asked him, “What are you doing?” yüeh-shan: “I’m not doing anything.” Shih-t’ou: “If you’re not doing anything, what a waste of time it is.” yüeh-shan: “If I were wasting my time, I’d be doing something.”
• Zazen is the nonact of not doing anything. There is no seeking in zazen.
• Emptiness does not mean not having. Emptiness means being poised for action. Being ready. Being ripe. Being open.
• In the place of openness—in the place of notknowing—we find true love, true freedom.
• The very practices of Zen are hindrances. The practices themselves are not the Way. The challenge is to express the Absolute by means of the Relative.
• Earlier, I said practice is not the Way. But now I say, with Dogen, that practice itself is the way. The practice of zazen, the counting of the breaths, forgetting and drifting into thought, catching the drift, returning to one, is the Way.
• But as soon as we say it, we miss it.

Added 2024-12-21, last updated 2025-01-06.