Katagiri Roshi On Transforming Through Play

Here’s the excerpt from a talk by Katagiri Roshi that inspired the name for our little practice place, “Transforming Through Play Temple:”

In “Points to Watch in Buddhist Training,” Dogen-zenji says, “To listen to dharma is to cause your consciousness to disport itself freely.”

In Japanese to “disport” is “yu-ge.” “Yu” is to play. “Ge” means to transform. “Yuge”means that we can transform our self in the process of playing freely.

“Transform” does not mean to change. It means without changing your body and mind, ability, your habits, heredity or karma. Without changing your body and mind something is transformed in the process of playing freely.

This playing has no purpose. No reason why. Play is the end itself. At that time you can have full commitment to play.

If you just play with wholeheartedness, then there is some power to transform your life, to produce creative new life. Just like the art of diving from the top of the cliff in Acapulco. You can see on TV how beautiful diving is, diving from the top of the cliff. Diver doesn’t know how much he has produced creative life in the process of diving but he is right in the middle of creating life in the process of diving, in playing with diving. Day by day, divers always practice same thing. How long? I don’t know. In his whole life, he has to do it. He is beginner, he is advanced, he is adept. It doesn’t matter. From beginning to end he has to practice. And then he can produce a creative new life.

“To listen to the dharma is to cause your consciousness to disport itself.” Consciousness is very tricky, very difficult. Consciousness causes your life to stop, not going freely.

That’s why we have to listen to the dharma, the truth, phenomenal world, and teaching from the person. Then you can really get into the depth of human existence.

Naturally, you can play freely with practice. In the process of doing zazen, you can play freely with zazen and produce a new creative life. Real creative life simply cannot be perceived by your consciousness.

How long will it take you to produce that new creative life? In order to cause your consciousness to disport itself, your mind must be big hearted. Your body and heart must produce a new creative life day to day. This creative life must be transmittable. You cannot hold it by yourself. Naturally it must be conveyed to someone else.