Christopher Ives

Dōgen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Kōroku (review)

To date, most scholarship on Dōgen (1200–1253) has focused on his Shōbō-genzō (Correct dharma eye treasury), and Dōgen’s translators have directed their efforts at this text and several shorter pieces. With the publication of Dōgen’s Extensive Record, Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura have made available an excellent translation of Dōgen’s other major work, the Eihei Kōroku, and have thereby opened up a rich resource to readers lacking facility with East Asian languages. In his substantial introduction, Leighton outlines Dōgen’s life, the significance of the Record in Dōgen’s corpus, Dōgen’s main disciples, and the use of the text in Zen practice. In an essay on the significance of the Record and its translation, prominent Dōgen scholar Steven Heine compares the Record and the Shōbō-genzō and highlights several doctrinal themes in the Record. The initial section of the book also features a short foreword by Tenshin Reb Anderson of the San Francisco Zen Center, comments by John Daido Loori of Zen Mountain Monastery on Dōgen’s and his own use of koans, and a previously published rendering of a poem by Ryōkan (1758– 1831) on reading the Record. The Extensive Record itself consists of ten sections, including formal talks for students in the Dharma hall, longer informal talks given to smaller groups of students in the abbot’s quarters, ninety koans with Dōgen’s comments in verse, and a collection of Dōgen’s poems. Leighton and Okumura deserve praise for taking on the daunting task of translating this text and for their success in this endeavor. A close look at the original Chinese reveals that they have crafted a faithful translation. Accuracy is not the only virtue of their translation, however, for they have rendered Dōgen’s dense and idiosyncratic language in clear, lively, and engaging English. This is no small accomplishment. Leighton and Okumura’s skill is evident throughout the 570 pages of the Record proper. They have translated the full range of Dōgen’s linguistic repertoire— technical terms, colloquial expressions, dense citations of Buddhist texts, and poetical images—with finesse. As one example, in their rendering of a brief talk about the ninety-day summer training period (p. 152), they provide a useful heading for the talk ‘‘Not Beginning, Not Going Beyond’’; they evoke the dynamism of Dōgen’s teaching style by coaxing out of the Chinese the way Dōgen ‘‘held up his whisk and drew a circle in the air’’ and directed his students to ‘‘kick the beginning . . . [and] stamp out going beyond’’; and they craft their translation to highlight how the term for the ‘‘summer training period,’’ ango, literally means ‘‘abiding peacefully.’’ As a fellow translator of Japanese Buddhist writings, I am especially struck by how adroitly Leighton and Okumura handle difficult passages that demand the kinds

The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory (review)

welcomed them and provided a supportive environment in which they practiced their Christian spirituality. Buddhism itself became a way for these Christians to think about their own faith and live it out in new ways. According to Harris, and also according to Cornille’s strict definition, this is not an example of multiple religious belonging. Pieris and Rodrigo, however, do offer us examples of what I have called “interreligious friendship.” Many examples of interreligious friendships come to mind: Thomas Merton and D. T. Suzuki, Gustave Weigel and Abraham Heschel, Rita Gross and Rosemary Radford Reuther, Masao Abe and Christian theologians such as John B. Cobb and Don Mitchell. Many more names could be added to this list. None of these religious practitioners would claim to belong to more than one religion. All of them would readily admit that their interreligious friendship has been enriching. I would take this one step further. In these friendships, our religious practices are not only enriched, but religious communities enjoy a new kind of solidarity with one another. With John Cobb, I believe that multiple religious belonging will not become widely practiced by Christians. Interreligious friendships— friendships that bring religious traditions into new forms of community with one another—are already a significant development among Buddhists and Christians.

Leaving after the Summer Retreat

When Linji returned in the middle of the summer retreat and found Huangbo reading a sutra, he said, “I always thought of you as a great teacher of the truth that is independent of words and letters and transmitted apart from the scriptural teachings. But now I see you’re just a black-bean nibbler in monk’s attire!” With these words, Linji displayed his extraordinary Zen insight to Huangbo.

No Dividing into Categories

Today I will take up the three categories of inherent capacities Linji discusses at the end of the “Discourses” section of the Record. People have various capacities, and Linji divides them into three groups.

The One True Person without Rank

Today I will discuss the One True Person without Rank. This True Person is spoken of early on the Record of Linji: The Master took the high seat in the hall. He said, “On your lump of red flesh is One True Person without Rank who is always going in and out of the face of every one of you. Those of you who have not yet realized this, look, look!” Then a monk came forward and asked, “What about the One True Person without Rank?” The Master got down from his seat, seized the monk, and cried, “Speak, speak!” The monk faltered. Shoving him away, the Master said, “Your One True Person without Rank — what kind of dried turd is he!” Then he returned to his quarters. (p. 3)

The Four Classifications: A General Outline

Today I will discuss Linji’s “Four Classifications.” The text reads, At the evening gathering the Teacher addressed the assembly, saying, “Sometimes I take away the person and do not take away the surroundings; sometimes I take away the surroundings and do not take away the person; sometimes I take away both the person and the surroundings; sometimes I take away neither the person nor the surroundings.” Then a monk asked, “What about ‘to take away the person and not take away the surroundings’?” The Teacher said, “The spring sun comes forth, covering the earth with brocade; a child’s hair hangs down, white as silken thread.” The monk asked, “What about ‘to take away the surroundings and not take away the person’?” The Teacher said, “Mandates of the Sovereign are spread throughout the world; the General has laid the dust of battle beyond the frontiers.” Again the monk asked, “What about ‘to take away both the person and the surroundings’?” The Teacher said, “No news from Bing and Fen, isolated away from everywhere.”

I Simply Couldn’t Open My Mouth

Today I will begin my talks on the Record of Linji. As you know, this record relates the sayings and actions of the Zen master Linji Yixuan1 as compiled by his disciple Sansheng Huiran.2 It has a long and well-established reputation for being quite impenetrable. We won’t possibly be able to examine all of it during this retreat.

The Four Classifications: First Half

The day before yesterday I offered a general outline of the Four Classifications. Today I will begin talking about each of them in turn.

On the Way and at Home

Taking the high seat in the hall, Linji said: “One person is endlessly on the way, yet has never left home. Another has left home, yet is not on the way. Which one deserves the offerings of people and devas?” Then he stepped down. (p. 5)

The Four Classifications: Second Half

Starting today we will conduct the fifty-second retreat of the FAS Society. I am glad that all of you have come here from far and near to spend a week studying the Way even though you are busy as the end of the year approaches. At first a week seems like a long time, but I want this to be a retreat in which the week ends before we know it, in which each day is complete and fulfilled and you feel regret at its passing. Sometimes people grow impatient, wanting the stick of incense to burn down so they can release their attention and take their legs out of the lotus posture. Some people want the week to end quickly. Given that all of you have devoted precious time to being here at this retreat, I don’t expect you to be like this, but I would like all of you to immerse yourselves in the investigation of the Self and make this a meaningful and fulfilling retreat.