Tag Archives: Sōtō Zen

Dōgenism—the Bane of the Buddhadharma

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Vajragoni

Perhaps there is no finer rival of Dōgenism (sitting Zen—zazen) than The Zennist. He has relentlessly contended that it is vastly overrated and comes at the cost of eclipsing the fact that “Zen is about the fundamentally awakened True Mind or the same, Buddha-nature—not about sitting.” Too much emphasis is placed upon “posture”, as if sitting on one’s rump can somehow jump-start the process of becoming enlightened. The Zennist warns that those who just practice zazen in a meditation center will eventually become disillusioned with Zen, or for that matter, Buddhism in general. The Zennist relates how he initially enjoyed zazen in a small zendo, but eventually a deep realization from within convinced him that Zen Buddhism was far and beyond the quaint notion that somehow just the act of sitting would procure “an awakened mind.” He argues how Dōgen’s zen is quite radical and far from the authentic Buddhadharma: read more

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The Samādhi of One-pointedness of Mind

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Vajragoni

(Yampolsky)

“The samādhi of oneness is straightforward mind at all times, walking, staying, sitting, and lying. The Ching-ming ching says: ‘Straightforward mind is the place of practice; straightforward mind is the Pure Land.’ Do not with a dishonest mind speak of the straightforwardness of the Dharma. If while speaking of the samādhi of oneness, you fail to practice straightforward mind, you will not be disciples of the Buddha. Only practicing straightforward mind, and in all things having no attachments whatsoever, is called the samādhi of oneness.The deluded man clings to the characteristics of things, adheresto the samādhi of oneness, [thinks] that straightforward mind is sitting without moving and casting aside delusions without letting things arise in the mind. This he considers to be the samādhi of oneness. This kind of practice is the same as in insentiency the cause of an obstruction to the Tao. Tao must be something that circulates freely; why should he impede it? If the mind does not abide in things the Tao circulates freely; if the mind abides in things, it becomes entangled . If sitting in meditation without moving is good, why did Vimalakirti scold Śāriputra sitting in meditation in the forest? “Good friends, some people teach men to sit viewing the mind and viewing purity, not moving and not activating the mind, and to this they devote their efforts. Deluded people do not realize that this is wrong, cling to this doctrine, and become confused. There are many such people. Those who instruct in this way are, from the outset, greatly mistaken.” read more

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