OK. Last class, I described the five positions or five ranks of toes on using Charles Lux diagram. And as I said, the five ranks are the heart of the Hokyo Zamae. So it's important for us to understand first the five ranks and as much as possible and before we start looking at the rest of the Hokyo Zamae. So actually most of the classes will be taken up looking at the five ranks because Hokyo Zamae is a kind of commentary on the five ranks and the five ranks informs the

[01:07]

Hokyo Zamae. So what I want to do, if you'll bring out your Xerox copy of the Go E. Cohen's, which is Huck wins. I handed them out to you last week and I said last week, I said, please bring everything that I've given you because I'm not going to give you anything this time. If you weren't here, then I'll give you something. Anybody that wasn't here, but who was only the people that are in the class, in the practice period. So I'm tired, so we. Steve, you weren't here last time?

[02:15]

Huck win, who was a famous Zen master in the 16th century, the reviver of the Rinzai school in Japan after it had some difficult time. At that time, I think both the Rinzai and the Soto schools were having difficulty and there was a kind of lack of understanding among a lot of the students and not so many good teachers around. And both the Rinzai and Soto schools were in a state of decay at that time. This happens in both Buddhism and Zen.

[03:51]

From time to time, they reach a very high peak and then they degenerate and then they get to a very low peak. And then someone comes along and picks it up and revivifies the practice and Huck win was one of those people. And he picked up the Rinzai school and perfected or organized the koan system in which the Rinzai school presently practices. So Huck win is more or less responsible for the reorganization of the Rinzai school in the 16th century and putting it back on its feet using their koan system and organizing and creating a systematic koan system. Yes?

[04:52]

I was wondering if I read the footnotes, 114 and 182. Oh yeah, this is from Zen Dust. If you want to read the footnotes, the footnotes are in Zen Dust. I don't think the footnotes, I don't know if the footnotes are in, there are two Zen Dusts. Zen Dust was a publication by Ruth Fuller Sasaki many years ago and it's a great book of Zen lore. But the first part of the book has Huck win's, it's about koan study. And it includes this Huck win's commentary on the five ranks. And it was printed, that part was printed separately. The rest of the book, most of the book is footnotes. So it's been out of print for a long time but there is a copy, should be a copy in the library.

[05:55]

And whether or not those footnotes appear for this, they might, probably they appear in the in the smaller edition. But I'm not sure. I can't hear you. The second different name for the version. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Actually, one that you copied this from called Zen Dust. Right. Yeah, it's quite, it has all the footnotes. I don't know whether the Zen Koan has all the footnotes or not. Yeah. But I'll explain the footnotes as much as I can as I go along. What I want to do is just go through Huck win's commentary, which you may or may not have read, and make my own comments on it and help you to understand what he's saying.

[07:06]

So, as I said, both the Rinzai and Soto schools were both in decline at the time. And Hakuin takes a lot of swipes at the Soto school because he's a Rinzai monk. And you'll find that happening here a little bit. And I'll let you know when that happens. He is very critical of the degeneracy of the Soto school as well as the Rinzai school. So, on the first page, of the Goei Koans, where it says, there's a heading that says, The Five Ranks of the Apparent and the Real, down at the bottom of the page. See that?

[08:17]

Page 63. Okay. So, this is entitled, The Five Ranks of the Apparent and the Real, The Orally Transmitted Secret Teachings of the Monk Who Lived on Mount To, that's To-Zan. Mount To is To-Zan. That's what they called the person, Ryokai, after the mountain that he lived on, which is common in Chinese Zen. So, most of the Zen masters' names that you hear all the time are really the names of the mountains, rather, plus their own name. Zan means mountain, To-Zan, Mount To, Monk Who Lived on Mount To. We do not know by whom the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, that's the Hokyo Zamae, was composed. From Sekito Osho, Yakusan Osho, and Ungan Osho, these are the first three

[09:27]

ancestors before To-Zan in the lineage that we chant. It was transmitted from master to master and handed down within the secret room. Never have its teachings been willingly disclosed until now, the 16th century. In other words, it was kept as a kind of in-house document or in-house teaching of the Soto school. After it had been transmitted to To-Zan Osho, he made clear the gradations of the five ranks within it and composed a verse for each rank in order to bring out the main principle of Buddhism. Surely, the five ranks is a torch on the midnight road, a ferryboat at the riverside when one has lost one's way. Hakuin is very expressive in his language, and so I'll try to be expressive like Hakuin. But alas, the Zen gardens of recent times are desolate and barren. This is like the degenerate

[10:37]

age that I was talking about. Directly pointing to the ultimate Zen is regarded as nothing but benightedness and foolishness. And that supreme treasure of the Mahayana, the jewel mirror of Samadhi's five ranks of the apparent and the real, is considered to be only the old and broken vessel of an antiquated house. That's the Soto school, the antiquated house, Cao Dong school in China. No one pays any attention to it. Today's students are like blind men who have thrown away their staffs, calling them useless baggage. Of themselves, they stumble and fall into the mud of heterodox views and cannot get out until death overtakes them. They never know that the five ranks is the ship that carries them across the poisonous sea surrounding the rank of the real. The precious wheel that demolishes the impregnable prison house are the two voids. The two voids is like voidness of personality and voidness of dharmas.

[11:43]

These are the two emptinesses. Emptiness of skandhas and emptiness of dharmas. And what he's actually talking about is attachment to these two emptinesses. I don't want to get into this because it's just that he's just expressing himself. The precious wheel, they never know that the five ranks is the ship that carries them across the poisonous sea surrounding the rank of the real. The precious wheel that demolishes the impregnable prison house are the two voids. They do not know the important road of progressive practice. They are not versed in the secret meaning within this teaching. Therefore, they sink into the stagnant water of Srivaka hood or Pracheka buddhahood. They fall into the black pit of withered sprouts and decayed seeds. Even the hand of Buddha would find it difficult to save them. So here he is ranting and raving about the condition of the

[12:48]

students of his time. Withered sprouts, decayed seeds, they never quite get into it. They act like Srivakas are like listeners, Buddha's followers who just listen to the teaching. And Pracheka buddhas are self-enlightened people who are not interested in helping others, simply put. So then Hakuin makes his presentation. He says, that into which I was initiated 40 years ago in the room of Shoju, I now dispense as the alms-giving of Dharma. Shoju Rojun was his teacher and he puts great faith in his teacher's understanding. He feels that whatever his teacher understands, that's the true understanding. So he had a lot of faith in his teacher's

[13:50]

understanding. And his teacher turned him on to the five ranks. He says, that into which I was initiated 40 years ago in the room of Shoju, my teacher, I shall now dispense as the alms-giving of Dharma. Now I'll give this to you. When I find a superior person who is studying the true and profound teaching and has experienced the great death, I shall give this secret transmission to him, since it was not designed for men of medium and lesser ability, take heed and do not treat it lightly. Great death is, every Zen student should at some time experience the great death, which means death of ego and then bringing back to life. And there's a case 41 of the Blue Cliff Record, deals with the man of great death, it's called.

[14:59]

Does the man who experiences the great death return to life again? Then he says, how vast is the expanse of the sea of the doctrine? How many-fold are the gates of the teaching? Among these, to be sure, are a number of doctrines and orally transmitted secret teachings. Yet never have I seen anything to equal the perversion of the five ranks. What he means is the way the five ranks have been perverted. The carping criticism, the tortuous explanations, the adding of branch to branch, the piling up of entanglement upon entanglement. Remember, I was telling you last time that the Soto school stopped using the five ranks as a teaching tool because of the various perversions and entanglements that

[16:04]

were generated by its use. It's hard to know exactly what those things were, but apparently it became too intellectual and over-intellectualized and people kind of got lost in it. So he says, the truth is that the teachers who are guilty of this do not know for what principle the five ranks was instituted. They don't know why Tozan used them. Hence they confused and bewildered their students to the point that even a Shariputra or an Ananda would find it difficult to judge correctly. Or could it be that our patriarchs delivered themselves to these absurdities in order to harass their posterity unnecessarily? For a long time I wondered about this. But when I came to enter the room of Shouju, the rhinoceros of my previous doubt suddenly fell down

[17:10]

dead. Do not look with suspicion upon the five ranks saying that it is not the directly transmitted oral teaching of the Tozan line. You should know that it was only after he had completed his investigation of Tozan's verses that Shouju, my teacher, gave his acknowledgement to the five ranks. He's saying, since my teacher gave the acknowledgement to the five ranks, they must be okay. After I had entered Shouju's room and received the transmission from him, I was quite satisfied. But though I was satisfied, I still regretted that all teachers had not yet clearly explained the meaning of the reciprocal interpenetration of the apparent and the real. They seemed to have discarded the words reciprocal interpenetration and to pay no attention whatsoever to them. Thereupon the rhinoceros of doubt once more raised its head. He seems to be saying that even though

[18:10]

various teachers expounded on the Hokyo Zamae, they never, they didn't say anything about the five ranks. They never got into it. They didn't expound on the five ranks. They didn't really bring that, the heart of the Hokyo Zamae out. In the summer of the first year of the Kan'in era, 1748 to 1751, I guess I got the dates of Hakuen wrong, 18th century. In the midst of my meditation, suddenly the mystery of the reciprocal interpenetration of the apparent and the real became perfectly clear. It was just like looking at the palm of my own hand. The rhinoceros of doubt instantly fell down dead and I could scarcely bear the joy of it. Though I wished to hand it on to others, I still, I was ashamed to squeeze out my old woman's stinking milk and soiled the monk's mouth with it.

[19:13]

Teacher, you know, is like a, supposed to be like a grandmother, like somebody's grandmother is very expressive here. All of you who wish to plumb this deep source must make the investigation in secret with your entire body. My own toil has extended over these 30 years. Do not take this to be an easy task. I think that's a really, really good admonition. He says, I've been doing this for 30 years. You guys come up for six months and you expect something. If you don't get it, you run away. Even if you should happen to break up the family and scatter the household, do not consider this enough. You must vow to pass through seven or eight or even nine thickets of brambles. And when you have passed through the thickets of brambles, still do not consider this to be enough. Vow to investigate the secret teachings of the five ranks to the end. He's very convinced. For the past eight or nine years or more, I have been

[20:23]

trying to incite all of you who boil your daily gruel over the same fire with me, to study this great matter thoroughly. But more often than not, you have taken it to be the doctrine of another house, the Soto sect, right? This is just the teaching of the Soto sect. And you remain indifferent to it. Only a few among you have attained understanding of it. How deeply this grieves me. Have you never heard the gates of the Dharma are manifold? I vowed to enter them all. That's the third vow, right? Third Bodhisattva vow. How much the more should this be true for the main principle of Buddhism and the essential road of Sam Zen? Now here's his first teaching. Soju Rojin, that's his teacher, in order to provide a means whereby students might directly experience the four wisdoms, the patriarchs in their compassion and with their skill and

[21:28]

devising expedience, first instituted the five ranks. So he's saying the reason for the five ranks is in order to explain the four wisdoms. So he's giving us a reason. In order to provide a means whereby students might directly experience the four wisdoms, the patriarchs in their compassion and with their skill and devising expedience, first instituted the five ranks. So what are the so-called four wisdoms? They are the great perfect mirror wisdom, the universal nature wisdom, the marvelous observing wisdom, and the perfecting of action wisdom. I've talked about the four wisdoms, and in connection with the eight consciousnesses which will be brought out also.

[22:29]

You might say wisdom here means prajna, four prajnas actually, four aspects of prajna, the great round mirror wisdom. Um, he calls, um, um, the universal nature wisdom is usually called great equality wisdom, actually. Universal nature is just another way of saying, it's just a translation,

[23:39]

translated differently, uh, equality wisdom. And, um, um, marvelous observing wisdom, and perfecting of action wisdom. Those are the four wisdoms, four prajnas. So,

[24:41]

and in the five ranks, let's see, this is the relative hidden within the absolute, but mostly it's, this is the first, and this is the absolute hidden within the relative, coming from within the real, and integration, and going beyond integration.

[25:44]

Um, so, both of these are like one. This is the great mirror, round mirror wisdom, and mirror wisdom is, um, like the alaya consciousness. I haven't talked about the consciousnesses yet, so before I explain too much, I will present the eight consciousnesses first. But I'll just suffice it to say that the four wisdoms correspond to the five ranks, and we'll read on a little bit more about what Hakuin says. He says, followers of the way, on page 66, even though you may have pursued your studies in the

[26:52]

threefold learning, that's discipline, meditation, and study. Threefold learning is discipline, which includes, um, uh, precepts. Meditation and study. Even though you may have pursued your studies in the threefold learning continuously through many kalpas, if you have not directly experienced the four wisdoms, you are not permitted to call yourselves true sons and daughters of Buddhism, of Buddha. Followers of the way, if your investigation has been correct and complete, at the moment you smash open the dark cave of the eighth or alaya consciousness, the precious light of the great perfect mirror wisdom instantly shines forth. But strange to say the light of the great perfect mirror wisdom is black like lacquer. This is what is called the rank of the apparent within the real.

[27:56]

So even though this is black, he's talking about this one, talking about the first rank. This is the basis of everything is nothing. Everything is hidden within nothing. And the nothing is dominant. So what is our true nature? Nothing that you can point at. No special thing. True nature is no special thing. It's utter darkness. And all the light is subsumed into the darkness. Hidden within the darkness is the light. And darkness covers everything. Even in the Bible it says so. Darkness covered the face of the deep, right? And then there was light. Same thing.

[29:00]

The second rank is the rank of the light. Everything is visible. All things are manifest. But their basis is darkness or nothing special. Dharmakaya, whatever you want to call it. Big mind, Buddha nature. The unformed gives rise to the formed. So the mirror wisdom is actually black like lacquer. Not bright like we usually think of a mirror. So everything is seen in the mirror of utter darkness. He says this nicely actually. If your investigation has been correct

[30:05]

and complete, at the moment you smash open the dark cave of the eighth or alaya consciousness, the precious light of the great perfect mirror wisdom instantly shines forth. It's strange to say the light of the great perfect mirror wisdom is black like lacquer. This is what is called the rank of the apparent within the real. And this mirror wisdom is the basis of zazen. When we sit in zazen, we return to great mirror wisdom. It's mysterious, but it's not something way out there. It's something right here that he's talking about. He's not talking about some mysterious thing somewhere. He's talking about what's right in front of us. So mirror wisdom is wisdom of non-discrimination. Yes.

[31:16]

It sounds to me though like he's talking about a very particular experience. Yeah, he's talking about a very particular experience. That's right. And we don't think that what we do is an experience. We think that what we do is just something that we do, but we don't see it as an experience. So you sit there having an experience and wondering, when am I going to have an experience? This is called sailing water by the river. When am I going to have an experience? As long as you keep thinking, when am I going to have an experience? You'll never have an experience. You just have to stop thinking. Anyway, great mirror wisdom is your own mind.

[32:23]

The great mirror is your own mind when it reflects everything exactly as it is. Without saying this is good or bad, without saying I like this or don't like this, without saying I want this or don't want this, just saying everything as it is. But we interfere by saying, oh, I like this or I don't like this, or it hurts or it doesn't hurt. It's all there in zazen. So mirror wisdom is the wisdom which is non-discriminating. It's not making judgments or seeing things partially, or it's consciousness before reaction sits in. Before reaction sits in, a thing is just what it is. But when we start thinking about it, then it becomes an object of thought

[33:27]

rather than what it is. As soon as we start to think, then the mind discriminates. Discriminate means to cut in two. So a non-discriminating mind is the mind that is not cutting everything in two or in three or whatever, but is the mind that continues to see everything as one piece. Just as it is. And even though there are many pieces in the one piece, it doesn't discriminate them as according to a judgment. But you see, all the four wisdoms are different aspects of the same wisdom.

[34:28]

And the basic wisdom is the mirror wisdom, which, first of all, sees everything just as it is, without emotion or feeling or preference. Okay? The second wisdom, he says, this is what is called the rank of the apparent within the real, the first rank. Having attained a great perfect mirror wisdom, you now enter the rank of the real within the apparent. That's two. That's the real within the... In other words, everything that's apparent is also the real. But you see the apparent side rather than the real side. It's like a mirror that has... or like a coin with two sides. One side is the real, the apparent,

[35:32]

and the other side is the real. Right? There's the real and there's the apparent, but it's the same hand. And you can't have the back without having the front. The back of the hand doesn't work without the front, and the front doesn't work without the back. Yes? A parent? You are a parent. You are an apparition. Right? You are an apparition of the real. You are a manifestation of the real. That's a little more concrete. So manifestation is another word for apparent. The reason the word apparent is used is because a thing seems to be real, but its reality is not necessarily what you see, even though what you see is real. But it's not the reality of the thing, of the object. The reality of the object is its basic

[36:36]

true nature, which is not a different thing, but it's like what we see is the face of something. We don't see its background. I see the face of you, but I don't see your background until I do zazen. And when I do zazen, I see the background of everything. Phenomena, of course, sure. I gave you all those synonyms last time. I gave you a whole list of things last time to tell you the difference between the two. Remember? So dark is a word for, when you turn out the lights, individuality ceases to exist. When you turn on the lights, everything springs out, and you can see all the faces, all the individuality of everything. Okay? That's the difference between the dark and the light.

[37:38]

And especially in the symbols, you have to remember that, that in the symbols, the dark means not manifested, and the light means manifested. The light is the manifested part of the dark, is the manifestation of the dark. The way emptiness expresses itself is as form. Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form. That which is form is emptiness. That which is emptiness, form. Form is form, and emptiness is emptiness. So, but they're not two different things. They're just two sides of the hand. So he says, having attained the great perfect mirror wisdom, you now enter the rank of the real within the apparent. That's the second rank. When you have accomplished your long practice of the dual mirror samadhi, you directly realize the universal nature wisdom,

[38:42]

and for the first time enter the state of the unobstructed inner penetration of noumenon and phenomena. So, this is the great equality wisdom, what he calls the third rank, coming from within the real. After that, anyway, the equality wisdom is the third rank. This is the third rank, where you see everything equally. In other words,

[39:44]

equality doesn't mean that everything suddenly becomes the same. It means you see everything's different, but their buddha nature is the same. So, this is the realm of non-comparison. A long bamboo is long, a short bamboo is short. This is a very famous saying. Long bamboo is long, short bamboo is short. This is the great equality wisdom, where long bamboo is equal to itself, and a short bamboo is equal to itself. It's not comparing anything to anything else, but in its buddha nature, they're both equal. A mouse is the equal of an elephant in reality, not in comparison. If you're a mouse, you feel that, and you're completely a mouse, the whole world is mouse

[40:53]

world. And if you're an elephant, the whole world is elephant world, until they meet. But equality, to be able to see everything is equal, even though everything is different, this is the great equality wisdom. This way you don't discriminate between, this is unconditioned seeing, unconditioned observation, which is necessary, because it eliminates partiality. And then he talks about, after that, by depending upon the rank of the arrival of mutual integration, he will completely prove the marvelous observing wisdom and the perfecting of action wisdom, at last reaching the rank of unity attained,

[41:55]

and after all comes back to sit among the coals and ashes. The arrival of mutual integration, that's the... This is right. This goes for both of these. Equality and marvelous observing means that you see everything, it's different. The marvelous, this is, equality wisdom is like this, everything is on the same level. Right? That, this is equality. Right? In equality, everything is horizontal. All existence is horizontal.

[43:02]

You don't discriminate between one thing and another. You just meet everything as it is. But in observing, marvelous observing wisdom, you see everything on a different level, because everything exists on a different level. No two fingerprints are the same. Although I think that someone, they did find two fingerprints that were the same recently. But this is the exception that proves the rule. No two people are the same. No two animals are the same. No two anything is the same. Everything is completely different and unique. So this is the wisdom that allows you to see the uniqueness of everything and treat everything as a complete unique being. And so, where equality and observing, the equality wisdom and observing wisdom meet

[44:11]

is where you see both the distinctive characteristics and the equality at the same time. So you can treat everyone as Buddha, and at the same time, each one is different, each Buddha is different. You actually see everyone as Buddha, and you also see everyone as Joe and Mary, and Tom and Harry, and Hegizan. Yes. I'm a little confused. I thought before you said that that was the third rank. Right. Right. But now I changed it. That's right. That's right. Because this is this coming from within the real

[45:20]

is still in the realm of potential, whereas the perfecting of action, the fourth one is actually putting all this, the first three into action. And the fourth one is actually putting that into action. So the last two are the activity of the person. Whereas the first three are more or less potential. It can be argued various ways. And Hakuin's is a little bit confusing. If you look at it carefully, it's a little bit confusing, the way it's translated anyway. Because he says, having attained the great mirror, perfect mirror wisdom, this is in the second paragraph, you now enter the rank of the real within the apparent.

[46:23]

When you have accomplished your long practice of the jewel mirror samadhi, you directly realize the universal nature wisdom, and for the first time, enter the state of the unobstructed inner penetration of noumenon and phenomena. But the disciple must not be satisfied here. He himself must enter into intimate acquaintance with the rank of the coming from within the real. So that's the third rank. No, the coming from within the real is the third rank. After that, by depending upon the rank of the arrival at mutual integration, that's the fourth rank, he will completely prove the marvelous observing wisdom and the perfecting of action wisdom. I think the translation is a little weird here. I had the same problem with Tadzohara. At last he reaches the rank of unity attained, and after all, comes back to sit among the coal and ashes. So, is the fifth rank.

[47:26]

Mutual integration is the fourth rank. Unity attained is the fifth rank. And this is where he comes back to sit among the coal and ashes. In other words, he is completely free, and looks like he's not doing anything, but everything he does is doing something. So that's the perfecting of action wisdom, definitely, and so is the fourth one. So, the fourth rank is the rank of unity to try and line it up in these paradigms is a little bit tricky, a little difficult. So,

[48:56]

and then the other, then you have this opposite, so to speak, which is the marvelous observing wisdom. It observes everything in its uniqueness. So, these are just two opposites, right? And it's the balance of the way we see things, because we usually see things one way or the other, but we rarely see them as integral. And this, another word for this is called hierarchy, right? Mostly we see everything through the eyes of hierarchy. Hierarchy means where does a thing stand in relation to everything around it, right? That's true hierarchy. And in science you have hierarchy of plants and hierarchy of

[50:05]

molecules or whatever, right? So, hierarchy exists, hierarchy is, but also within hierarchy is everything is exactly the same. That's the hard part, that's the hard part. It's easy to see that everything exists this way, it's hard to see that everything exists this way. Everything is equal. Men and women are equal, because women are women and men are men. They're not equal because men and women are the same. They're equal because women, when they're really women, are women. Men, when they're really men, are men. This has nothing to do with politics. And when a table is really a table, it's a table, right? And the floor is really the floor when it's the floor, but the floor and the table are equal, as well as being

[51:08]

a table and the floor. And then the last one is the perfecting of action. That means putting it into action, putting your understanding into action, into your daily life. So, the first three can be considered, the first three ranks can be considered as somewhat theoretical. That's understanding. Not theoretical, necessarily, but the basis of understanding. Let's put it that way. I don't want to say theoretical. It's not theoretical. It's the basis, the true basis of understanding is the first three ranks. Non-existence and existence and the integration of existence and non-existence are emptiness and form and the integration of form and emptiness. That's the basis for the action, the two levels of activity.

[52:10]

And the perfecting of action is those two levels of activity. Are the first three in the alaya consciousness, or the last three? Alaya consciousness, well, when I explain alaya consciousness, which will be next, then I'd rather talk about it then, but alaya, because I want to talk about the eight levels of consciousness, and how the eight levels correspond to the five ranks and the four wisdoms. So, I'll do that in that context. Okay. Yeah. Britt. Yeah. Yeah, right.

[53:20]

Right. Right. That's true. That's true. It wasn't thought of as being significant to the West, but even within Buddhism, sometimes they're reversed. It depends on what you're talking about. I mean, you can talk about the forces of dark and the forces of evil. That's usually the way it's talked about in the West. Usually in the West we talk about the forces of darkness and the forces of light, but that's not what this means at all. It's a different concept. Both dark and light are just two aspects of life, and as metaphors, they're used that way. It's not like one is good and the other is evil.

[54:25]

This has nothing to do with good and evil, as far as dark and light goes. It has to do with existence and non-existence, or form and emptiness, rather than good and evil. It's not about good and evil, or good and bad, or right or wrong, or anything. It's about seeing things as it is, but it's about just looking at how it is. And the symbol is, to allow us to see that, it's as simple as turning the lights on and off. Nothing to do with good and evil. Okay, then he says, at 67, he says, I'm going to go until nine o'clock, but I'm not going to go after nine.

[55:37]

I apologize for going over last time. I wasn't attuned to the time. Do you know why? He says, pure gold that has gone through, he's referring to what he said above, that he says, and after all, he comes back to sit among the coal and ashes. After going through this whole 30 years of practice, he just finally comes back. The final end is just coming back to sit among the coal and ashes, or just be an ordinary person. He says, do you know why? He says, pure gold that has gone through a thousand smeltings does not become ore a second time. My only fear is that a little bit of gain will suffice you. How priceless is the merit gained through the step-by-step practice of the five ranks of the apparent and the real. By this practice, you did not only attain the four wisdoms,

[56:44]

but you personally prove that the three bodies also are wholly embraced within your whole body, your own body. Have you not read in the Daijo Shogun Gyo Ron, when the eight consciousnesses are inverted, the four wisdoms are produced? When the four wisdoms are bound together, the three bodies are perfected. Therefore, Soke Daishi composed this verse. Soke Daishi is Daikon Eino, the sixth patriarch. In the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, this is what the sixth patriarch says. He says, your own nature is provided with the three bodies. When its brightness is manifested, the four wisdoms are attained. He also said, the pure dharmakaya is your nature. The perfect sambhogakaya is your wisdom. The myriad nirmanakayas are your activities. Now he's talking about

[57:54]

the eight consciousnesses and the three wisdoms. He's adding that to the four wisdoms, the three bodies, to the four wisdoms. So I want to talk about the three bodies and the eight consciousnesses. Three bodies are the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya. At some point in the evolution of Buddhism, the Mahayana developed the concept of the three bodies of Buddha. Dharmakaya, which you probably already know, but I'll go through it anyway. Anybody who doesn't know about the three bodies of Buddha? Okay, I don't either. Dharmakaya, sambhoga, and nirmanakaya,

[59:03]

Buddha. So dharmakaya is like this. Actually, this is dharmakaya Buddha, the first rank. Alaya-vijnana is the consciousness which reaches to, it's like, dharmakaya is like the essence of everything. And the alaya consciousness is aligned, or is the manifestation of dharmakaya as our consciousness, as consciousness. Dharmakaya manifests as alaya-vijnana, or unlimited consciousness.

[60:13]

In a human being. And it's the matrix of all life. Everything that, it's another name for Buddha nature. Everything that exists is a manifestation of dharmakaya, and everything that doesn't exist. Sambhogakaya, well, I'll explain nirmanakaya first. Nirmanakaya is a manifestation of dharmakaya. In other words, not just alaya, not just consciousness, but each oops, each one of these, is each person, each thing, is nirmanakaya. Each person, actually. Each, in other words, when Buddha was walking around, he was called, he's called the manifestation

[61:18]

of Buddha as a person. That's the nirmanakaya Buddha. So Buddha is, basically Buddha is dharmakaya. And when Buddha nature manifests, I think whenever we talk about Buddha, we're always talking about Buddha nature, actually. So Buddha nature manifests as Buddha, as a Buddha. And that's called nirmanakaya Buddha, the manifestation, the personality. And then Sambhogakaya Buddha is more like, well, Sambhogakaya is a little more difficult maybe to understand. It's like sometimes called the reward body of Buddha. But it means, it can mean the Buddha's enlightenment body. But it means, Suzuki Roshi once explained it as

[62:28]

who wrote the Lotus Sutra? Who wrote all of the sutras? Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, the nirmanakaya Buddha, did not write the sutras. The sutras weren't written down until 400 years after Buddha died. So who wrote these sutras? Well, these sutras contain the spirit of Buddha. They're not exactly dharmakaya. They're not exactly nirmanakaya. They're more written as the spirit of Buddha through some person. And the spirit of Buddha as it's passed, as it continues through the world, is like nirmanakaya Buddha. The creative impulse is like nirmanakaya Buddha. The spirit of practice is Sambhogakaya

[63:53]

Buddha. But these three are all just one Buddha. They're not three different Buddhas. They're just three aspects of one Buddha. Just like the five ranks are just all aspects of the first rank. So he says, by this practice you not only attain the four wisdoms, but you personally prove that the three bodies also are wholly embraced within your own body. Have you not read in the Daijo Shon Gong Gyo Ron, when the eight consciousnesses are inverted, the four wisdoms are produced.

[64:54]

When the four wisdoms are bound together, the three bodies are perfected. Therefore Soke Daishi composed this verse. Your own nature is provided with the three bodies. When its brightness is manifested, the four wisdoms are attained. He also said the pure dharmakaya is your nature. The perfect Sambhogakaya is your wisdom. The myriad nirmanakayas are your activities. So this is nature, wisdom, and activities. Okay. The first two, nature, wisdom, and activities. So

[65:57]

wisdom, nature is form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. And the wisdom is the coalescence of that understanding. And then the manifestation is, so this is dharmakaya, and this is sambhogakaya, and this is nirmanakaya. Nirmanakaya is your activity, your own activity. Yeah, form is form, and emptiness is emptiness. You could say that. Okay, that's as much as I want to do now. So next time, we can talk about the eight

[67:09]

levels of consciousness. Okay.

[67:23]

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