{"id":422,"date":"2009-01-05T18:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-05T18:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness\/"},"modified":"2009-01-05T18:53:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-05T18:53:00","slug":"eight-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html","title":{"rendered":"Eight Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SeeJanuary 6<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0is the day in 1253 that Dogen Zenji wrote his last fascicle of the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Shobogenzo<\/span><\/span><\/i>, \u201cHachidainingaku\u201d (\u201cThe Eight Truths of Great People\u201d). Shakyamuni Buddha first spoke of these eight truths in his final hours. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here is Hashimoto Eko, one of Katagiri Roshi\u2019s teachers, on the context in which Dogen wrote \u201cEight Truths of a Great Person\u201d:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dogen-zenji had wanted to leave behind 100 fascicles [of Shobogenzo]. However, the year before he died, even while sick, he incessantly continued to write and the final fascicle of the\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Twelve Fascicle Shobogenzo\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>was \u201cThe Eight Truths of a Great Person.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He finished writing this on the 6<\/span><\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0of January of the year he died (1253). After that, no matter how hard he tried he couldn\u2019t write. Soon after succumbed to his sickness (literally, \u201che went to his tatami\u201d).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Even though we say the 6<\/span><\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0day of the New Year, that time was the old lunar calendar, and so it was the coldest time. Because it was Eiheiji, it was too cold to write. In the mountain it was so cold that even the Indian ink froze.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Even though if you are not able to write the dharma<\/a> you can\u2019t be said to be \u201cunder the eaves\u201d (maybe meaning \u201ccloistered\u201d), in this coldness it became difficult to open his sick body and it was not easy for Dogen to write.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So when remembering these sorts of things, we realize how incredibly difficult it was to write and leave behind the \u201cThe Eight Truths of a Great Person.\u201dAfter that, the time that he was stuck to the tatami ended and he died (literally, his sick bed became imaginary).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 translated by Ken Port<\/span><\/p>\n

Click here for the translation of this fascicle by Maezumi Roshi and Francis Cook.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Click here for Mike Cross\u2019 translation.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Eight Truths (without much commentary):<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Having few desires: Not seeking too much among the objects of the five desires is called \u201chaving few desires.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Knowing how to be satisfied: Knowing how much to take is called \u201cknowing how to be satisfied.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Enjoying serenity and tranquility: Being apart from all disturbances and dwelling alone in a quiet place is called \u201cenjoying serenity and tranquility.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Exerting meticulous effort: Exerting oneself meticulously and unceasingly in various beneficial practices is called \u201cmeticulous effort.\u201d Be precise, not careless; go forward, do not regress.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Not forgetting right thought: This is also called \u201cmaintaining right thought.\u201d \u201cProtecting the Dharma and not losing it\u201d means \u201cright thought,\u201d or \u201cnot forgetting right thought.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Practicing Samadhi: Dwelling in the Dharma undisturbed is what is called \u201cSamadhi.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Cultivating wisdom: Wisdom is aroused by hearing, reflecting, practicing, and realizing.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Avoiding idle talk: Having realization and being free from discrimination is what is called \u201cavoiding idle talk.\u201d To totally know the true form of all things is the same as being without idle talk.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    January 6th\u00a0is the day in 1253 that Dogen Zenji wrote his last fascicle of the\u00a0Shobogenzo, \u201cHachidainingaku\u201d (\u201cThe Eight Truths of Great People\u201d). Shakyamuni Buddha first spoke of these eight truths in his final hours. \u00a0 Here is Hashimoto Eko, one of Katagiri Roshi\u2019s teachers, on the context in which Dogen wrote \u201cEight Truths of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nEight Awareness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 6th\u00a0is the day in 1253 that Dogen Zenji wrote his last fascicle of the\u00a0Shobogenzo, \u201cHachidainingaku\u201d (\u201cThe Eight Truths of Great People\u201d).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eight Awareness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 6th\u00a0is the day in 1253 that Dogen Zenji wrote his last fascicle of the\u00a0Shobogenzo, \u201cHachidainingaku\u201d (\u201cThe Eight Truths of Great People\u201d).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Fox Zen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-01-05T18:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/tbn0.google.com\/images?q=tbn:0IEwi3YUC16cQM:http:\/\/www.zhaxizhuoma.net\/IMAGES\/JAPAN\/Eiheiji_gate700.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html\",\"name\":\"Eight Awareness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-01-05T18:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-01-05T18:53:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\"},\"description\":\"January 6th\u00a0is the day in 1253 that Dogen Zenji wrote his last fascicle of the\u00a0Shobogenzo, \u201cHachidainingaku\u201d (\u201cThe Eight Truths of Great People\u201d).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/01\/eight-awareness.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Eight Awareness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/\",\"name\":\"Wild Fox Zen\",\"description\":\"Living the Dream\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\",\"name\":\"Dosho Port\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dosho Port\"},\"description\":\"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. 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