Introduction
The Genjokoan is a profound Zen Buddhist text written by the Japanese Zen master Eihei Dogen. Dogen is known as the founder of the Soto Zen tradition in Japan and lived during the 13th century. He wrote the Genjokoan as part of a larger work called the Shobogenzo, which is a collection of his teachings and commentaries on Buddhist philosophy.
When all dharmas are the Buddha-dharma, there are delusion and enlightenment, practice, birth, death, buddhas and sentient beings.
When the myriad dharmas all are without self, there is no delusion, no enlightenment, no buddhas, no sentient beings, no birth and no death.
Since originally the Buddha way goes beyond abundance and scarcity, there are birth and death, delusion and enlightenment, sentient beings and buddhas.
Yet though it is like this, simply, Flowers Fall amid our longing, and weeds spring up, amid our antipathy.
Carrying the self forward to confirm the existence of the myriad dharmas is delusion. The myriad dharmas advancing and confirming the existence of the self is realization.
Those who have great realization about delusion are buddhas. Those who are greatly deluded within realization are sentient beings.
Further, there are people who attain realization upon realization and people who are deluded within delusion.
When Buddhas are truly buddhas they do not need to be aware of being buddhas. However they are actualized buddhas and further actualize buddhahood.
In mustering the whole body and mind and seeing forms, in mustering the whole body and mind and hearing sounds, they are intimately perceived; but it is not like the reflection in a mirror, nor like the moon in the water. When one side is realized the other side is dark.
To study the Buddha way is to study oneself. To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to be enlightened by the
myriad dharmas. To be enlightened by the myriad dharmas is to bring about the dropping away of body and mind of both oneself and others. The traces of enlightenment come to an end, and this traceless enlightment is continued endlessly.
When a person starts to search out the dharma, he separates himself far from the dharma. When the dharma has already been rightly transmitted in oneself, just then one is one’s original self.
If a person, when he is riding along in a boat, looks around and sees the shore, he mistakenly thinks that the bank is moving. But if he looks directly at the boat, he discovers that it is the boat that is moving along. Likewise, with confused thoughts about body and mind, holding to discrimination of the myriad dharmas, one mistakenly thinks his own mind and nature are permanent. If, intimately engaged in daily activities, one returns to right here, the principle that the myriad dharmas have no self is clear.
Firewood becomes ash. It does not turn into firewood again. But we should not hold to the view that the ash is after and the firewood is before. Know that firewood abides in its dharma position as firewood and has its past and future. Though it has its past and future, it cuts off past and future. Ash is in its dharma position as ash and has its past and future. Just as this firewood, after it has become ash, does not turn into firewood again, so a person, after death, does not take rebirth. Therefore, we do not say that life becomes death. This is the established way of the Buddha-dharma. For this reason it is called unborn. Death does not become life. This is the established buddha-turning of the dharma wheel. For this reason it is called undying. Life is its own time. Death is its own time. For example, it is like winter and spring. We don’t think that winter becomes spring. We don’t say that spring becomes summer.
A person getting enlightened is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet, the water is not disturbed. Though it is a great expanse of light, it reflects in a little bit of water, the whole moon and the whole sky reflect even in the dew on the grass; they reflect even in a single drop of water. Enlightenment not disturbing the person is like the moon not piercing the water. A person not obstructing enlightenment is like the dewdrop not obstructing the heavens. The depth is the measure of the height. As for the length or brevity of the time of the reflection, one ought to examine whether the water is large or small and discern whether the sky and moon are wide or narrow.
If the dharma has not yet fully come into one’s body and mind, one thinks it is already sufficient. On the other hand, if the dharma fills one’s body and mind, there is a sense of insufficiency. It is like going out in a boat in the middle of an ocean with no mountains. Looking in the four directions one only sees a circle; no distinguishing forms are seen. Nevertheless, this great ocean is neither a circle nor has directions. The wondrous features of this ocean that remain beyond our vision are inexhaustible. It is like a palace; it is like a jeweled necklace. It is just that, as far as my vision reaches for the time being, it appears to be a circle. The myriad dharmas are also just like that. Though they include all forms within and beyond the dusty world, clear seeing and understanding only reach as far as the power of our penetrating insight.
In order to understand the nature of the myriad dharmas, in addition to seeing the directions and circle, we should know that the mountains and oceans have whole worlds of innumerable wondrous features. We should understand that it is not only our distant surroundings that are like this, but even what is right here, even a single drop of water.
When fish swim in water, no matter how much they swim the water does not come to an end. When birds fly in the sky, no matter how much they fly, the sky does not come to an end. However, though fish and birds have never been apart from the water and the air, when the need is great the function is great; when the need is small the function is small. Likewise, it is not that at every moment they are not acting fully, not that they do not turn and move freely everywhere, but if a bird leaves the air, immediately it dies; if a fish leaves the water, immediately it dies. We should realize that because of water there is life. We should realize that because of air there is life. Because there are birds there is life; because there are fish, there is life. Life is the bird and life is the fish. Besides this we should proceed further. It is just the same with practice and enlightenment and the lives of people.
So, if there were a bird or fish that wanted to go through the sky or the water only after thoroughly investigating its limits, he would not attain his way nor find his place in the water or in the sky. If one attains this place, these daily activities manifest absolute reality. If one attains this Way, these daily activities are manifest absolute reality. This Way, this place, is neither large nor small, neither self nor other, has neither existed previously nor is just now manifesting, and thus it is just as it is.