Shodo Harada Roshi
When the Monaco would become the National Teacher Fukushi, entered the monastery of descent Hogen, Hogen Buneki Zenji ( 885-958), was already Sozan been with Master for many years. Because he thought he had already achieved enlightenment, Fukushi was confined to live in the monastery without going to sanzen ("meet the teacher" ndt). One day a
monaco Hogen asked the master: "What is a drop of water Sogen?" The Monaco was in fact asking the great Dharma, truth, transmitted by the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, what is actually everything? He was asking the essence of the Dharma teaching that came from the temple Sogen the Sixth Patriarch. "The drop of water Sogen" was it the way for him to refer to this Great Truth.
When asked, "What is the drop of water Sogen," Hogen said immediately: "This is a drop of water Sogen. So he answered,
saying: "Just who asks is that drop of water Sogen." But that Monaco had started the exchange of koan not understand the meaning of the answer he had received and, after bowing, he departed. When
Fukushi, who was standing behind the Monaco, he heard this exchange of words was at once deeply enlightened. And though you think you have already achieved enlightenment while staying at the monastery of Sosan Roshi, he knew that there was still more to achieve, and that had not yet fully understood, but since now his mental state was much more mature, in that single phrase Hogen was fully and completely realized.
The phrase "a drop of water Sogen" riflerisce is the flow of a drop - the essence of the dharma-the mountain where he lived Saokeisan Patriarca.Questo the sixth is the end point of Zen where neither words nor sentences can arrive. It 's the true place of Zen, the pulse of the truth of the sixth patriarch. For
Okayama was a teacher called Gisan Zenrai Zenji who made an excellent use of these words and through them a monaco who studied with him was deeply illuminated so that later became known as Tekisui Zenji, or "a drop of water" Zenji (Zen priest, ndt). The following incident happened to Sogenji, in the year 1837.
When his master died Taigen Shigen Zenji, Gisan Zenrai Zenji became the abbot of Sogenji and began teaching there. At that time they met more than a hundred monks to do zazen and among them some Giboku Zenji. One day Giboku was commissioned to prepare the bath for the master Gisan, was nineteen years old and was old enough to believe that they have figured out how to make good cose.Giboku was formed initially in a monastery in Kyoto where he could not find a good master and had come in Okayama after hearing that there, Sogenji, was an excellent teacher. At that time a poor Monaco had no money to spend, but Giboku, having made a great vow came at Okayama walking with broken sandals and increasingly poor. He did so with the Sanzen Gisan Roshi but not being in condition to offer incense as a gift, made with a handle of a brush that someone had given him.
Giboku then was in Sogenji only recently when his turn came to prepare the bath. The bath water was too hot so took buckets of water from the well to cool it. As the temperature DeVenne just put the last bucket in which they remained a few drops of water unused and before going to take more water on the floor thinking he threw the no longer needed. Gisan then saw him and said, "What are you doing? "" I threw the remaining water, "he said candidly Giboku. "If you practice with a mind so made, no matter how much practice you do not wake up. If you throw away the remaining water, how can it be used? If the door off and then I give you give life to plants and water will receive the same life. If the cucumbers from the garden they will receive help and also the water will be met. "
The task of those who received the monastic order is indeed to create to everything but can not be done with such a great manaca attention. In this way Giboku was reprimanded. Nineteen years since he thought he had already figured out, but after the rebuke he realized how little he actually knew, and that such a simple thing like a drop of water, one drop of made him understand that should start to engage in practice and in doing so became a great Zen master.
course, today the water is generally available even though there are times and places where it is scarce. Often, for lack of care or attention, we use the water even when there is no need. The drops of rain fall, one after the other from the sky, there's on the leaves of trees, trunks, stone walls and only comes together when you gather a small stream. These streams can meet with others and form a river. When the waters of many rivers meet the sea also becomes possible. The origin of the sea is the raindrop that falls from the sky. A drop of water. Every drop has to be a useful, a small amount of water has its function as a large quantity. be able to use the potential of any amount, be it large or small, this is our profound wisdom. Being able to make the best use possible of the amount of water we have is human wisdom. Zen is
cultivating the clear vision and deep that allows us to know and act appropriately in any situation that happens.
is not a matter of a wisdom that has to do with petty and small pieces of information but rather a wisdom that allows you to see all the way to the essence of things. Allows us to make use of every thing whatever it is and give it life. The depth of the same mind is Zen. In this way Gisan Zenrai Zenji constantly lit his disciples. Tekisui Giboku Zenji used that wisdom, gave him another life and before his death said
"The drop of water Sogen,
for seventy-four years was used,
never run out, through Heaven and Earth "
So saying he died. For seventy-four years Use 'the wonderful teaching that had received Sogenji importance of water. I use 'to fund and gave him life but it was impossible to exhaust this teaching. When we use the money, you consume. If we use things for a long time, wasting, but is used when teaching becomes more brilliant. Throughout his life Tekisui gave this teaching can extend through the earth and the sky. Utillizzando water as a metaphor for teaching what is the nature of Buddha. This truth, this revival of the true eye was what was being taught.
From the descendants of Gisan Zenrai Zenji was also the chief abbot of Kamakura Engakuji: Imakita Kosen. The lineage of teaching was continued by Shaku Soen that, at the World Congress of Religions
hundred years ago, gave the first Buddhist teaching in America.
One of the disciples of Shaku Soen was Daisetzu Teitaro Suzuki considered one of the leading translators of Buddhism in English.
That drop, a drop of course, that dharma now receiving life throughout the world. Myoshinji (the main monastery of the Rinzai tradition, ndt) was founded in Tokyo by EKKE Shuken, a student of Gisan Zenrai, but the monastery was founded by Tenryuji Tekisui Zenji and Osaka, was in Sakae Nanshuji founded. Among the other students were also Gisan Zenrai Zenji Daisetsu Joen and Ogino Dokuen Shokokuji of the monastery.
When we look closely at this we see that this current, which is a major Zen, comes mostly from the overflowing stream of wisdom that comes from the drop Sogenji and that Japan has reached around the world.
The teaching of the Sixth Patriarch, with water as a metaphor for the Buddha Nature, he received great respect from Gisan Zenji which makes it present teaching. Since then, that teaching has received great life.
