The Other Shore Arriving

While preparing for the studying dharma workshop for the Ann Arbor Buddhist Temple this weekend, I found this passage of “really, really good Dogen.” Oiu! I’m reminded of the big guy blowing the saxophone during the Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl Halftime.

The old boy is at least that clear. What follows occurs in “Bukkyo” or “Buddha’s Sutras” as translated by Yasuda Dainen and Anzan Hoshin (who must use Canadian capitalization) from the White Wind Zen Community in Ontario. Here we catch Dogen defining “Bodhisattva” (my advice is to stick with it through the end ’cause that’s were he really let’s loose!):

This is the path of those who attain the Way through the Teaching, practice, and Awakening of the six paramitas and it is the actualization of complete and perfect Awakening.

That actualization is not intentional nor unintentional, not originally existent, not newly or previously attained, not original action or non-action. It is just the actualization of complete and utter Awakening. The paramitas are: generosity, discipline, flexibility, exertion, practice, and perfect knowing.

These are all complete and utter Awakening and not concepts like unborn or uncreated. Dana or generosity isn’t necessarily first and perfect knowing isn’t necessarily last.

The sutras say, “One who is opening to Openness, who is intelligent, understands that perfect knowing is first and generosity last but one whose opening is dull thinks that generosity comes first and wisdom last.”

In any case, exertion or practice could each be placed foremost. The six paramitas could be seen as thirty-six permutations of each other; with each device, a device being realized. Paramita means going to the other shore. The other shore is beyond any mark or trace of coming and going and is actualized in arriving. The universe is this arriving.

Do not think practice leads to the other shore. Practice exists as the other shore arriving as our practice because this practice is always this arriving of the universe.