『Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind』 Shunryu Suzuki（鈴木俊隆）

●６月２１日（日）午前９時半から：　p44-⑲からやります。

◎第８章　BOWING
After zazen we bow to the floor nine times. By bowing we p43-①
are giving up ourselves. To give up ourselves means to give 　　　②
up our dualistic ideas. So there is no difference between　　　　　③

zazen practice and bowing. /// Usually to bow means to pay our ①
respects to something which is more worthy of respect than p44-②
ourselves. But when you bow to Buddha you should have no ③
idea of Buddha, you just become one with Buddha, you are 　　　 ④
already Buddha himself. When you become one with 　　　 p44-⑤
Buddha, one with everything that exists, you find the true 　　⑥
meaning of being. When you forget all your dualistic ideas, 　⑦
everything becomes your teacher, and everything can be the 　⑧
object of worship.　///　　　　　　　　　　　　　　p44-⑨

When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic 　⑩
relationships drop away. There is no distinction between 　　　⑪
heaven and earth, man and woman, teacher and disciple. 　　　⑫
Sometimes a man bows to a woman; sometimes a woman 　　　⑬
bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows to the master; 　⑭
sometimes the master bows to the disciple. A master who 　　⑮
cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha. 　　　　　 p44-⑯
Sometimes the master and disciple bow together to Buddha. ⑰
Sometimes we may bow to cats and dogs.　/// 　　　　　　　　 　⑱

（●５月31日ここまで。６月21日は次から。）

In your big mind, everything has the same value. Everything ⑲
is Buddha himself. You see something or hear a sound, 　 　p44-⑳
and there you have everything just as it is. In your practice 　　㉑
you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing 　　　　㉒
the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there is Buddhahood. ㉓Then Buddha bows to Buddha, and you bow to yourself. 　　　　　 ㉔
This is the true bow.　///　　　　　　　　　　　 　p44-㉕

If you do not have this firm conviction of big mind in your 　　㉖
practice, your bow will be dualistic. When you are just yourself, ㉗
you bow to yourself in its true sense, and you are one 　　　　 p44-㉘
with everything. Only when you are you yourself can you 　　　㉙
bow to everything in its true sense. Bowing is a very serious 　㉚
practice. You should be prepared to bow even in your last 　　　㉛
moment; when you cannot do anything except bow, you 　　　p44-㉜
should do it. This kind of conviction is necessary. /// Bow with ㉝
this spirit and all the precepts, all the teachings are yours, 　　　㉞
and you will possess everything within your big mind. ///　　　p44-㉟
　
Sen no Rikyu, the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony, 　　㊱
committed hara-kiri (ritual suicide by disembowelment) in 　　 ㊲

1591 at the order of his lord, Hideyoshi. Just before Rikyu　 p45-①
took his own life he said, “When I have this sword there is 　　　　②
no Buddha and no Patriarchs.” He meant that when we have 　　③
the sword of big mind, there is no dualistic world. The only 　　④
thing which exists is this spirit. /// This kind of imperturbable　⑤
spirit was always present in Rikyu's tea ceremony. He never 　⑥
did anything in just a dualistic way; he was ready to die in 　　　⑦
each moment. In ceremony after ceremony he died, and he 　　⑧
renewed himself. This is the spirit of the tea ceremony. This 　⑨
is how we bow.　///　　　　　　　　　　　p45-⑩

My teacher had a callus on his forehead from bowing. He 　　 ⑪
knew he was an obstinate, stubborn fellow, and so he bowed 　 ⑫
and bowed and bowed. The reason he bowed was that inside 　⑬
himself he always heard his master's scolding voice. He had 　　⑭
joined the Soto order when he was thirty, which for a 　　　 p45-⑮
Japanese priest is rather late. When we are young we are less　⑯
stubborn, and it is easier to get rid of our selfishness. So his 　　⑰
master always called my teacher “You-lately-joined-fellow," 　 　　⑱
and scolded him for joining so late. Actually his master 　　 p45-⑲
loved him for his stubborn character. When my teacher was 　　⑳
seventy, he said, “When I was young I was like a tiger, but 　　　　㉑
now I am like a cat!” He was very pleased to be like a cat. ///　p45-㉒

Bowing helps to eliminate our self-centered ideas. This is 　　 ㉓
not so easy. It is difficult to get rid of these ideas, and bowing 　 ㉔
is a very valuable practice. The result is not the point; it 　　p45-㉕
is the effort to improve ourselves that is valuable. There is 　　　㉖
no end to this practice. ///　　　　　　　　　　　　p45-㉗

Each bow expresses one of the four Buddhist vows. These 　㉘
vows are: “Although sentient beings are innumerable, we 　　p45-㉙
vow to save them. Although our evil desires are limitless, 　　　㉚
we vow to be rid of them. Although the teaching is limitless, 　㉛
we vow to learn it all. Although Buddhism is unattainable, 　　㉜
we vow to attain it.” If it is unattainable, how can we 　　　　　　㉝
attain it? But we should! That is Buddhism. ///　　　　　　　p45-㉞

To think, “Because it is possible we will do it,” is not Buddhism.㉟
Even though it is impossible, we have to do it because 　p45-㊱
our true nature wants us to. But actually, whether or not it 　　㊲

is possible is not the point. If it is our inmost desire to get 　p46-①
rid of our self-centered ideas, we have to do it. When we ②
make this effort, our inmost desire is appeased and Nirvana　　　　③
is there. /// Before you determine to do it, you have difficulty,　　④
but once you start to do it, you have none. Your effort 　　　　p46-⑤
appeases your inmost desire. There is no other way to attain 　　⑥
calmness. Calmness of mind does not mean you should stop 　　⑦
your activity. Real calmness should be found in activity 　　p46-⑧
itself. We say, “It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is 　　⑨
hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is 　　⑩
true calmness.” ///　　　　　　　　　　　　　　p46-⑪

After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that 　　　⑫
it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. 　　　p46-⑬
Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is 　　　　　⑭
always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in 　⑮
which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not 　　p46-⑯
know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get 　　　⑰
wet little by little. /// If your mind has ideas of progress, you 　⑱
may say, “Oh, this pace is terrible!” But actually it is not. 　　　⑲
When you get wet in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. 　　⑳
So there is no need to worry about progress. It is like 　　　p46-㉑
studying a foreign language; you cannot do it all of a sudden, 　　㉒
but by repeating it over and over you will master it. 　　　　　　p46-㉓
This is the Soto way of practice. /// We can say either that we ㉔
make progress little by little, or that we do not even expect 　　　㉕
to make progress. Just to be sincere and make our full 　　　p46-㉖
effort in each moment is enough. There is no Nirvana 　　　　　　　㉗
outside our practice. ///　　　　　　　　　　　　　　p46-㉘