Fukan-Zazengi, or The Universal Way of Zazen

by Eihei Dogen Zenji

Originally, The Way is complete and universal. How can we distinguish practice
from enlightenment? The Vehicle of Reality is in the Self. Why should we waste our
efforts trying to attain it? Still more, the Whole Body is free from dust. Why should
we believe in a means to sweep it away? The Way is never separated from where we
are now. Why should we wander here and there to practice?

Yet, if there is the slightest deviation, you will be as far from the Way as heaven is
from earth. If adverse or favorable conditions arise to even a small degree, you will
lose your mind in confusion. Even if you are proud of your understanding, are
enlightened in abundance, and obtain the power of wisdom to glimpse the ground of
buddhahood; even if you gain the Way, clarify the mind, resolve to pierce heaven,
that is only strolling on the border of the Buddha Way.

You are still, almost always, lacking the vivid way of emancipation. Moreover,
consider Shakyamuni Buddha who was enlightened from birth; to this day you can
see the traces of his sitting in the straight posture for six years. And Bodhidharma
who transmitted the mind seal; even now you can hear of the fame of his facing the
wall for nine years. These ancient sages practiced in this way. How can people of
today refrain from practice?

Therefore, cease studying words and following letters. Learn to step back, turning
the light inwards, illuminating the Self. Doing so, your body and mind will drop off
naturally, and Original Self will manifest. If you wish to attain suchness, practice
suchness immediately.

Now, for zazen a quiet room is best. Eat and drink moderately. Let go of all
associations, and put all affairs aside. Do not think of either good or evil. Do not be
concerned with either right or wrong. Put aside the operation of your intellect,
volition, and consciousness.

Stop considering things with memory, imagination and contemplation. Do not seek to
become Buddha. To be Buddha has nothing to do with the forms of sitting or lying down.

Usually a thick zabutan is put on the floor where you sit, and a zafu placed on it. You
may sit full lotus or half lotus. Your clothing should be loose but neat. Then put your
right palm up on your left foot and your left palm up on your right palm. The tips of
your thumbs should be lightly touching. Sit upright, leaning neither to the left nor
right, neither forward nor backward. Your ears should be in line with your
shoulders; your nose should be in line with your navel. Place your tongue against
the roof of your mouth. Close your lips and jaw. Always keep your eyes open.
Breathe quietly through your nose. After having regulated your posture, exhale
completely and take a breath. Sway your body from left to right a few times. Sit
stably in samadhi. Think of not-thinking.

How do you think of not-thinking? Beyond thinking. This is the essential way of
zazen. The zazen which I am talking about is not step-by-step meditation. It is
simply the dharma gate of peace and comfort. It is the practice-enlightenment of the
ultimate Way. In doing zazen, the Koan manifests itself; it cannot be ensnared. When
you grasp this, you are like a dragon with water, or a tiger in the mountains. You
must know that true dharma manifests itself in zazen, and that dullness and
distraction drop away.

When you rise from sitting, move your body slowly and stand up calmly. Do not
move abruptly. You should see that to transcend both ordinary people and sages
and to die sitting or standing, depends upon the power of zazen. Moreover, your
discriminating mind cannot understand how buddhas and patriarchs taught their
students with a finger, a pole, a needle, or a mallet, or how they transmitted the Way
with a hossu, a fist, a staff, or by shouting. Needless to say, these actions cannot be
understood by practicing to attain superhuman powers. These actions come from
the practice which is prior to discriminating mind.

Therefore, do not consider whether you are clever or stupid, and do not think of
whether you are superior or inferior. When you practice wholeheartedly, it is truly
the practice of the Way. Practice–enlightenment cannot be defiled. Making the effort
to obtain the Way, is itself, the manifestation of the Way in your daily life. The
Buddhas and sages, both in this world and other worlds, in India and China,
preserved the buddha-seal in the same way and expressed the Way freely. They just
practiced sitting and were protected by zazen. Although their characters were
diverse, each of them practiced the Way of zazen wholeheartedly.

There is no reason to leave your own seat at home and take a meaningless trip to
the dusty places of other countries. If you make a false step, then you will miss the
way, even though it is before your eyes. You have already been given a human body
which is vital, so do not spend your time wastefully. Since you are endowed with the
essential functioning of the Buddha Way, why pursue worthless pleasures that are
like sparks from a flint?

Furthermore, your body is like a drop of dew on a blade of grass, your life is like a
flash of lightning. Your body will disappear soon, your life will be lost in an instant.
You, honored practitioner, after learning in a partial way like the blind people who
touched various parts of the elephant, please do not be scared by the real dragon.
Devote yourself to the Way which indicates Reality directly. Respect those who
realize their Self and no longer seek anything outside. Be in accord with the
buddhas’ bodhi. Succeed to the sages’ samadhi. If you practice suchness
continuously, you will be suchness.

The treasure house will open of itself, and you will be able to use it at will.
_______________________

ZCLA version, translators unknown
​