(Soku-shin-ze-butsu, Part 1)
In this chapter, Dogen distinguishes the Buddhist teachings from ancient Indian philosophy, which was advocated at the time of Gautama Buddha by the Brahman, Srenika.
In this chapter, Dogen distinguishes the Buddhist teachings from ancient Indian philosophy, which was advocated at the time of Gautama Buddha by the Brahman, Srenika.
Several disputes between Gautama Buddha
and Srenika took place, which define the essential core values of the new
Buddhist teachings and distinguish
them from the teachings of Brahmanism.
Brahman, Srenika believed that an eternal and unalterable soul existed and
transmigrated from one body to
another, independent of the particular physical body, through various incarnations.
He thought this to be the great
principle, easy to recognize and understand.
Moreover, he believed that the
teachings of the immortal soul would liberate one immediately and effortlessly,
without imposing the burden of
practicing.
According to Srenika, this
spirit-substance distinguishes between suffering and pleasure, warmth and
coldness, pain and irritation.
It (the spirit substance of the Srenikan
view ) is supposed to be completely independent of the physical body and fully
self-dependent. Above all, it cannot be limited or restricted by any physical
thing or accompanying condition.
Such an eternal spirit permeates the souls of normal and saintly humans. Srenika
states that once you have attained
this spiritual intelligence, illusions of body and mind will fade away and disappear.
He believed that one would be immediately and effortlessly freed and would not have
to suffer any longer. Also, it would be a chance to discern one’s innate
spiritual consciousness clearly. According to Srenika, this spiritual
intelligence is eternal and permeates through worlds and eons.
In contrast, manifestations of this world
and universe are transient, they arise and perish, they have no persistence.
With regard to Srenika, you could call
this spiritual intelligence the spiritual consciousness or the true self.
Following his teachings, those who acquired this great wisdom could leave the
miserable cycles of reincarnation and were able to return to eternity.
The agonizing cycle of life and death has
finally come to an end once the spirit enters eternity. Then the
spirit-substance is absorbed by the everlasting
ocean of the essence.
These are the main propositions of the Srenikan view.
How does Master Dogen react to this, and how does he outline the teachings of the Buddha
Dharma?
Wouldn’t it be nice if Srenika and his
teachings were correct? A simple realization of the “spirit”, understood in this way, would liberate us and we could escape
suffering and other dreadful experiences in life.
By the eighth century AD Buddhism in
China had reached its peak, which was due to the time of Master Daikan Eno, who
was Boddhidharma’s sixth successor in China.
In northern China, cultural life had
reached remarkably high standards and thus differed from the under-developed
South, which, at that time, included
parts of Cambodia and Vietnam.
Dogen reports that Buddhism wasn’t
practiced as accurately in the South
as in the North of China, given the fact that the teachings of the so-called
masters in the South came very close to Srenika’s teachings. Their teachings
equated the spirit or the spiritual-essence with Buddha.
Dogen vigorously rejects these teachings
and explains this on the basis of the famous statement,
“Mind here and now is Buddha”.
