Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

IN AN INFORMAL talk to open the summer practice period, Rujing, my late master, Old Buddha Tiantong, presented this poem:

To grab hold of this spirit, to train constantly for thirty years, eating meals, sleeping, and stretching your legs—this requires unstinting support. The structure of the ninety-day summer practice period provides such support. It is the head and face of buddhas and ancestors. It has been intimately transmitted as their skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. You turn the buddha ancestors’ eyes and heads into the days and months of the ninety-day summer practice period. Regard the whole of each practice period as the whole of the buddhas and ancestors.

From top to bottom, the summer practice period is buddha ancestors. It covers everything without an inch of land or a speck of earth left out. The summer practice period is an anchoring peg that is neither new nor old, that has never arrived and will never leave. It’s the size of your fist and takes the form of grabbing you by the nose. When the practice period is opened, the empty sky cracks apart and all of space is dissolved. When the practice period is closed, the earth explodes, leaving no place undisturbed.

When the koan of opening the summer practice period is taken up, it looks as if something has arrived. When the fishing nets and birds’ nests of the summer practice period are all thrown away, it looks as if something has left. However, those who participated intimately in the practice period have been covered with opening and closing all along. An inch of grass has not appeared for ten thousand miles, so you might say, “Give me back the meal money for these ninety days.”

Priest Sixin of Mount Huanglong said, “My pilgrimage of more than thirty years amounts to one ninety-day summer practice period, not a day more, not a day less.”

Thus, after a pilgrimage of more than thirty years you develop an eye that sees summer itself as a ninety-day practice period. Even if you try to stretch it or contract it, the ninety days will always bounce back and be just ninety days. You yourself cannot leap over the boundary of ninety days, but if you use the ninety days as your hands and feet, you can make the leap. Although the ninety-day summer practice period serves as a support for us, the buddha ancestors did not create it on our behalf. They only handed it down to us from the past, heir to heir, authentically.

This being so, to experience a summer practice period is to experience all buddhas and all ancestors. To experience a summer practice period is to see buddhas and ancestors directly. Buddhas and ancestors have been produced by the summer practice period for a long, long time. Although the ninety-day summer practice period is only as long as your forehead, it is beyond time. One kalpa, ten kalpas, one hundred, one thousand, or innumerable kalpas cannot contain it. Although ordinary events can be contained within one thousand or innumerable kalpas, the ninety days contain one hundred, one thousand, or innumerable kalpas. Even if the innumerable kalpas experience the ninety days and see the buddhas, the ninety days are still free of innumerable kalpas.

To become fully immersed in the liveliness of the summer practice period is to be free of the liveliness of the summer practice period. Although it has origination and cause, it has not come from another place or another time, nor has it arisen here and now. When you grasp for the origination of the ninety-day period, it immediately appears. When you search for the cause of the ninety-day period, it’s immediately right here. Although ordinary people and sages use the ninety-day period as their abode and sustenance, it is beyond the boundary of ordinary and sacred. It is also beyond the reach of discernment and nondiscernment, and even beyond beyond the reach of discernment and nondiscernment.

During a dharma talk that the World-Honored One gave in the country of Magadha, he announced his intention to go into a summer retreat. He said to Ananda, “My advanced disciples, the four types of human and celestial practitioners, are not truly paying attention to my dharma talk, so I have decided to enter Indra’s cave and spend the ninety days of summer in sitting practice. If people should come to ask about the dharma, please give them your explanation on my behalf. All things are beyond birth, beyond death.”

Then he closed the entrance to his meditation chamber and sat. It has been two thousand one hundred ninety-four years since then. Today is in the third year of the Kangen Era [1245].

Those who haven’t entered the inner chamber regard the World-Honored One’s retreat in the country of Magadha as proof of expounding the dharma without words. These confused people think, “The Buddha’s closing off his chamber and spending the summer in solitary sitting shows that words and speech are merely skillful means and cannot indicate the truth. Cutting off words and eliminating mental activity is therefore the ultimate truth. Wordlessness and mindlessness is real; words and thoughts are unreal. The Buddha sat in the closed chamber for ninety days in order to cut off all human traces.”

Those who say such things are greatly mistaken about the World-Honored One’s true intention.

If you really understand the meaning of cutting off words, speech, and mental activity, you will see that all social and economic endeavors are essentially already beyond words, speech, and mental activity. Going beyond words and speech is itself all words and speech, and going beyond mental activity is nothing but all mental activity. So it is a misunderstanding of this story to see it as advocating the overthrow of words, speech, and mental activity. Reality is to go into the mud, enter the weeds, and expound dharma for the benefit of others; turning the dharma and helping all beings is not something optional. If people who call themselves descendants of the Buddha [leaders in the monastery] say that the Buddha’s ninety days of solitary summer sitting means that words and speech are cut off, you should demand a refund for those ninety days of summer sitting.

Also, do not misunderstand the Buddha’s further words to Ananda, Please give them your explanation on my behalf. All things are beyond birth, beyond death. Since the Buddha’s closing the room and sitting through the summer is not merely an activity without words and speech, ask the World-Honored One, in Ananda’s place, “What is the meaning of all things are beyond birth, beyond death and how do we practice it?” In light of your question, examine the World-Honored One’s teaching.

This story about the Buddha contains the primary truth and the primary beyond-truth of his expounding and turning the dharma. It is a mistake to use it as proof that the Buddha taught abandonment of words and speech. If you see it that way, it is like taking a three-foot dragon-fountain sword and hanging it up on the wall of a potter’s shop [to be used as a shaping knife].

Thus, sitting for ninety days of summer is an ancient method used by authentic buddha ancestors for turning the dharma wheel. The important part of this story is just the Buddha announcing his intention to go into a summer retreat. This makes it quite clear that sitting the ninety-day summer practice period is something to be done without fail. Not to practice in this way is to be outside the way.

When the World-Honored One was alive he held the summer practice period in Tushita Heaven, or he held it with five hundred monks in a hall on Vulture Peak. It didn’t matter to him which of the five parts of India he was in; he always held a summer practice period when the time came. Buddha ancestors for generations up to the present have been practicing it as the essential matter; it is the unsurpassable way of practice and enlightenment. In the Indra’s Net Sutra the winter practice period is mentioned, but that tradition has not been passed on; only the ninety-day summer practice period has come down to us, authentically transmitted for fifty-one generations up to the present.

The Guidelines for Zen Monasteries says: “When a seeker comes to a monastery wanting to join in a practice period, the person should arrive half a month in advance so that the welcoming tea and other entering rituals can be performed without haste.”

Half a month in advance means the last part of the third month. Thus, seekers should arrive sometime in the third month. The season for traveling to enroll in a monastery ends before the first day of the fourth month. After that, the guest office and the visitors’ room close. By then, according to tradition, all monks wishing to reside in a monastery should have their traveling bags hanging either in the monks’ quarters, or in the nearby quarters for laypeople. This is the style of the buddha ancestors, and it should be respected and practiced. By then the fists and nostrils [teachers and elders] should also have their bags in place.

Nevertheless, a group of demons say that what is essential is the development of the Mahayana view, and that the summer practice period is a Hinayana training and should not be followed. Those who say such things have never seen or heard the buddha dharma. A ninety-day summer practice period of sitting is itself unsurpassable, complete enlightenment. Both Mahayana and Hinayana have fine teachings and practices; these are all branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the ninety-day practice period.

After the morning meal on the third day of the fourth month, the official preparation begins. Preceding this, from the first day of the fourth month, the practice coordinator prepares a preliminary list of the names of the participants according to their dharma ordination seniority. On the third day of the fourth month, after the morning meal, the preliminary list is posted on the lattice window to the right of the entrance to the study hall. The list is posted every day after the morning meal and taken down after the bell that signals the end of the practice for the day. It is displayed this way from the third day until the fifth day of the fourth month.

Care must be taken with the order in which the names are arranged on the preliminary list. They are not listed according to the monastic offices held, but according to seniority in ordination date. However, the titles of those who have served as officers in other monasteries should be written on the list, especially if they have served as head monk or administrator. If they have served in several positions, the title pertaining to the highest position they reached should appear on the list. Those who have been abbots should have the title “former abbot” added to their names. Sometimes people who have served as abbots in small temples unknown to most monks prefer out of modesty not to be acknowledged as former abbots.

Also, there are monks who have served as senior teachers in monks’ halls, and as such have sat in the “former abbot” seat in the hall, without actually having served as abbots. The listing of such monks should not include the title “former abbot.” In such cases the term “senior monk” can be used. If such senior monks volunteer to serve as humble caretakers of the abbot’s robes and bowls, or as the abbot’s incense attendants, as they often do, this can be an excellent example. The senior monks can be appointed to other positions by the teacher. Some monks who have previously trained in small monasteries, including those who have been abbots of small temples, might be invited to serve as the head monk, secretary, treasurer, or administrator in large monasteries. Since it is not unusual for people to make fun of positions in minor monasteries or temples, such monks may prefer their past positions not to be acknowledged.

In such-and-such monastery on such-and-such mountain in such-and-such province of such-and-such country, the names in the ocean assembly forming the summer practice period are [for example] as follows:

Venerable Ajnatakaundinya [the first disciple of the Buddha], Chief Monk, Priest ____, Abbot

Ordained in the first year of the Kempo Era

____, Senior monk

____, Librarian

____, Senior monk

Ordained in the second year of the Kempo Era

____, Former abbot

____, Ino

____, Head monk

____, Senior monk

____, Bathhouse keeper

Ordained in the first year of the Kenreki Era

____, Work leader

____, Attendant monk

____, Head monk

____, Guest coordinator

____, Lay contact monk

____, Senior monk

____, Tenzo

____, Infirmary manager

Ordained in the third year of the Kenreki Era

____, Secretary

____, Senior monk

____, Former abbot

____, Head monk

____, Senior monk

I respectfully present this preliminary list. Please notify me if there is a mistake.

Sincerely yours, monk [so-and-so], Ino

The third day, the fourth month, the year ____.

This is calligraphed in formal script on a white sheet of paper. Cursive or decorative script is not used. This list is fastened to a paperboard with a flax string, about the thickness of two grains of rice, and hangs like a screen. It is removed at the end of the break from zazen on the fifth day of the fourth month.

On the eighth day of the fourth month, the Buddha’s Birthday is celebrated.

On the thirteenth day, after the midday meal, the study hall monks are served tea and treats and do melodic sutra chanting in the study hall. The study hall director is in charge of this event, boiling the water and offering the incense. The study hall director sits at the end of the hall, in the middle [the place of highest honor], while the study hall head monk is positioned to the left of the enshrined image. It is the study hall director who rises to offer incense. The head monk and officers of the monastery do not join in this sutra chanting. Only the study hall monks participate in this ceremony.

The practice coordinator hangs the revised list of participants on the east wall in front of the monks’ hall after the morning meal on the fifteenth. It hangs above the front platform on the south side near the center [where the monastery officers sit]. The Guidelines for Zen Monasteries says, “The practice coordinator prepares the list of participants beforehand and offers incense and flowers, and hangs the list in front of the monks’ hall.”

On the fourteenth day of the fourth month after the midday meal, a sign announcing the chanting ceremony is hung in front of the monks’ hall as well as other halls. By the evening, officers have set up incense and flowers in front of the sign outside the shrine of the local earth deity, and the monks assemble.

This is the procedure for the ceremony: After the monks assemble, the abbot offers incense, then the officers and the heads of departments offer incense in a way similar to the style of offering made during the ceremony of bathing the Buddha. Then the practice coordinator comes forward, makes a standing bow to the abbot, faces north, bows to the local earth deities, and chants as follows:

As we reflect quietly, fragrant winds waft over the fields, and the god of summer holds dominion in all directions. At this time, the Dharma King ordains that the monks remain secluded in the monastery, and on this day the children of Shakyamuni invoke the life-protecting deities. We assembled here respectfully worship the shrine of spirits, and chant the great names of myriad virtues, dedicating offerings to the deities enshrined here. We pray for protection and for the complete accomplishment of the practice period.

Now we invoke the venerable ones (after each of the following names a small bell is struck): Pure Dharmakaya Vairochana Buddha, Complete Sambhogakaya Vairochana Buddha, Uncountable Nirmanakaya Shakyamuni Buddhas, Future Maitreya Buddha, All Buddhas throughout space and time, Great Sacred Manjushri Bodhisattva, Great Sacred Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Great Compassion Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, All Venerable Bodhisattva Mahasattvas, Maha Prajna Paramita.

We dedicate the merit of our chanting and offerings to the dragon deities of the earth who protect the true dharma. May the wondrous light illuminate and activate this merit so that pure enjoyment and selfless happiness will arise. We again invoke All Buddhas throughout space and time, All Venerable Bodhisattva Mahasattvas, and Maha Prajna Paramita.

The drum is hit and the monks go for ceremonial tea in the monks’ hall. Serving the tea is the responsibility of the monastery administrator. The monks enter the hall with a formal circumambulation and sit in their positions facing the center of the hall; the officer in charge opens the ceremony with an incense offering. The Guidelines for Zen Monasteries says, “This ceremony is usually conducted by the monastery administrator but the practice coordinator may substitute.”

Prior to the chanting ceremony the officer in charge writes an announcement of invitation to the tea ceremony and presents it to the head monk in the following manner: The officer, wearing the kashaya and carrying the folded bowing cloth, faces the head monk, spreads the bowing cloth twice [on the floor, spreading it in two folds, standing up, folding it up, and spreading it again] and makes three formal bows, then presents the announcement to the head monk. The head monk responds by bowing in the same way. The invitation is placed on a fine silk cloth spread over [the lid of] a box. This box is carried ceremonially by an assistant. The officer bringing the invitation is escorted into, and later, out of the hall, by the head monk. The invitation reads:

This evening I will serve tea in the monks’ hall for the head monk and everyone in the assembly to initiate the practice period. Please kindly attend.

Respectfully yours,

Monk so-and-so,

Monastery Administrator

The fourteenth day of the fourth month, the third year of the Kangen Era

This is signed with the first ideograph of the administrator’s name. After presenting the invitation to the head monk, the administrator has his assistant post it in front of the monks’ hall. There is a varnished bulletin board to the south of the front entrance, to which envelopes for announcements are fastened with bamboo pegs. The envelope for tea invitations is posted next to them. There is a traditional format for writing such an invitation. The size of ideographs should not exceed five bu [approximately half an inch]. On the front of the envelope, write: “Attention: Head Monk and Assembly. From Monastery Administrator.” This announcement is removed after tea is served.

Before the morning meal of the fifteenth day of the fourth month, the monastery officers, heads of work crews, junior monks, and dharma associates assemble at the abbot’s quarters to greet the abbot. However, the abbot may exempt the monks from this procedure by placing, on the previous day, a poetic statement of dharma words on the eastern side of the entrance to his room, the abbots quarters, or in front of the monks’ hall.

After the dharma talk is delivered from the high seat in the dharma hall, the abbot descends the steps, stands on the northern end of the bowing mat placed in the center, and faces south. The monastery officers approach the abbot and make a ceremonial greeting by spreading their bowing cloths twice [on the floor] and making three bows in the following manner: First they spread their bowing cloths on the floor and say, “In this practice period of seclusion we have the opportunity to serve you intimately. With the beneficence of your dharma guidance we are confident that no disturbance will occur.” Then they [fold up their bowing cloths, stand up, and] spread the bowing cloths again, offer a seasonal greeting, and make three semiformal bows [with their heads touching their cross-folded bowing cloths placed on the floor].

Offering this seasonal greeting is done in the following manner: They spread their bowing cloths and make three formal bows. They then fold up their bowing cloths, place them on their arms under their sleeves, and approach closer to the abbot, where they say, “Now it is the beginning of the summer, and the days are gradually getting warmer. This is the time of year when the Dharma King first established a practice period. We are all grateful that you now enjoy good health in motion and stillness. This is very auspicious.” Then they make three semiformal bows and remain silent. The abbot returns the bows each time.

The abbot replies, “We are extremely fortunate to be able to have this practice period together. I hope that Head Monk so-and-so, Monastery Administrator so-and-so, and other leaders will support one another so as to prevent any disturbance from arising.”

The head monk and the assembly of monks then come forward and repeat the same process of greeting with the abbot. At this time the head monk, officers, and other monks all face north and bow. The abbot alone faces south and stands in front of the dharma seat steps. The abbot’s bowing cloth is spread on the main bowing mat.

Then the head monk and the entire assembly spread their bowing cloths twice, making three formal bows to the abbot. As they do this, those who are not fully participating in the practice period, including the junior monks, the attendant monks, the senior dharma associates, as well as the novices, stand to the side along the east wall of the dharma hall. However, if there are strips of paper with donors’ names on the east wall, they should stand near the big drum [in the northeast corner] or along the west wall.

After these bows, the officers go to the kitchen and stand in the ceremonial location. The head monk leads the assembly there and greets the officers with three semiformal bows. During this time the junior monks, the attendant monks, and the senior dharma family members all pay their respects to the abbot in the dharma hall in the following manner: Senior dharma family members spread their bowing cloths twice and make three formal bows. The abbot returns their bows. The junior monks and attendant monks make nine formal bows. The abbot does not return their bows. Novices may make nine or twelve bows. The abbot responds to these bows by merely putting his palms together.

After the ceremony in the kitchen, the head monk and the assembly proceed to the monks’ hall. The head monk stands outside on the north side near the entrance, facing south toward the monks who are gathered outside. The monks make three semiformal bows to the head monk.

Then the head monk enters the monks’ hall followed by the assembly in the order of ordination seniority, and they circumambulate the hall. After this, the monks stand in their respective positions. The officers enter the hall, spread their bowing cloths fully open on the floor [without folding them], and make three most formal bows to the enshrined image. They get up and make three semiformal bows in front of the head monk [to the assembly]. The assembly returns their bows. The officers circumambulate the hall once, go to their positions, and stand with their hands folded.

The abbot then enters the hall, offers incense to the enshrined image, fully spreads the bowing cloth, makes three most formal bows, and stands. During this time, the junior monks [who have entered the hall after the assembly] are standing behind the enshrined image, while the senior dharma family members are standing behind the assembly. The abbot goes to the head monk and makes three semiformal bows, then goes to the abbot’s seat, stands facing west, and makes three semiformal bows. These bows are returned by the head monk and the assembly.

The abbot circumambulates the hall and then exits. The head monk stands at the south side of the doorway of the hall in order to bow to the abbot as he leaves. Then the head monk and the assembly face each other, make three bows, and say, “We now have the good fortune to participate in this practice period. May unwholesome karma of body, speech, and thought not arise, and may we practice with compassion for one another.” These bows are done after spreading the bowing cloths.

The head monk, secretary, head of the storehouse, and other officers go back to their offices. The monks who live in the monks’ residence hall make three semiformal bows to the hall director and the head monk of the hall, and make the same statement that was made in the monks’ hall.

The abbot then makes the rounds of the monastery buildings starting with the kitchen and ending with the abbot’s quarters. This procedure is conducted as follows: First the abbot greets the officers in the kitchen and leaves the kitchen in procession followed by the officers. Following them are those who have been standing along the eastern hallway. The abbot goes down the eastern hallway past the main monastery gate without entering the infirmary. When he passes the gate, those stationed in the buildings near the gate now join the procession. The abbot goes up the western hallway toward the north, visiting the monks’ living quarters along the way. Here the elderly practitioners, retired officers, officers on leave, aged teachers, other monks living in private quarters, and cleaning monks join the procession. The practice coordinator and head monk also join here, followed by the monks in the study hall. Thus, various monks join the procession in turn each at the place associated with their duties. This is called “the procession of amassing the assembly.”

The abbot then proceeds to his quarters, ascends the stairs to the west, and stands in front of the main building, facing south in formal shashu posture. The assembly and the officers all face north, toward the abbot, and make a standing bow to him. This standing bow should be particularly formal and deep. The abbot returns their bow, and the assembly retires. Rujing, my late master, did not bring the assembly to the abbot’s quarters; instead he brought the assembly into the dharma hall and stood in shashu in front of the steps of the dharma seat, facing south. The assembly made a standing bow to him and then retired. This is also an authentic tradition.

Then, the monks greet one another in various ways, according to their relationships. “Greet” here means that they bow to one another. For example, groups from the same home region greet one another with a feeling of celebration, appreciating the opportunity to share the same practice period together. Tens of monks make these greetings in the Hall of Light [study hall]; others greet one another along the hallways. The monks may use the greeting phrases used in the monks’ hall ceremony, or they may say something spontaneous. When disciples meet their root teachers, they greet them with nine formal bows. The dharma family members of the abbot greet him by spreading their bowing cloths twice and making three formal bows, or by spreading their bowing cloths fully and making three most formal bows. Monks accompanying the dharma family members make their greeting in the same way. Among others who should be greeted formally are dharma uncles, those who sit nearby on the meditation platform, and those who have practiced together in the past. Those monks who live in the private quarters, the head monk, the secretary, the librarian, the guest coordinator, and the bath master as well as the treasurer, monastery administrator, practice coordinator, tenzo, work leader, former abbots of other monasteries, senior nuns, and Daoist practitioners should visit one another’s quarters and offer greeting bows.

If the entrances to the common quarters become crowded with monks so that it is difficult to enter, a note is left attached to the doorway. The note, on a small piece of white paper about one sun [about 1 inch] wide and two suns tall, should read, “Monk so-and-so of such and such quarters offers greetings,” or the note may be from several monks: “Monks Soun, Esho (and others if there are any), offer greetings.” Other options for the note are “Salutations from Monk so-and-so,” “Respectful greetings from Monk so-and-so,” “With greetings from Monk so-and-so,” or “With bows from Monk so-and-so.” These are several examples, but there are many other ways this card can be written. It is not unusual for there to be many cards attached to the doorways, always on the right-hand side, never on the left [considered the higher side], to be respectful. The director of each of the quarters removes the cards after the mid-day meal. On this day all the living quarters, large and small, have their entrance screens rolled up.

Traditionally, at this point the abbot, monastery administrator, and the head monk in turn serve tea; however, in remote monasteries, on distant islands, or in the deep mountains, this custom may be omitted. Retired elders and those who have been head monks serve tea for officers and heads of crews in their own quarters.

After opening the practice period with this thorough ceremony, monks now make endeavors in the way. Those who have not participated in a summer practice period, regardless of other ways they may have practiced, are not descendents of buddha ancestors, nor can they themselves be buddha ancestors. The practice of the Jeta Grove and Vulture Peak are all actualized by the way of practice period. Practice period is the field of enlightenment, the mind seal of buddha ancestors, where buddha ancestors dwell.

The summer practice period draws to a close with the following events.

On the thirteenth day of the seventh month, sutras are chanted in the study hall, followed by formal serving of tea and refreshments. The monk who is serving as head of the study hall for that month officiates at these ceremonies.

On the fourteenth day of the seventh month there is a chanting ceremony in the evening.

On the fifteenth day of that month the abbot ascends the dharma seat to give a formal talk. The procedure of individual greetings, formal visits to the living quarters, and tea ceremony are similar to those at the opening of practice period. However, the words for the announcement of the tea ceremony should be written as follows:

The administrator will serve refreshments in the monks’ hall this evening to honor the head monk and the assembly in celebration of our completion of the practice period. The attendance of all is requested.

Yours respectfully,

Monk so-and-so, Administrator

Also, the chant at the shrine for the earth-guarding deities is presented as follows:

The golden wind blows over the fields and the god of autumn begins to govern the four quarters. Now it is time to release the practice period of the King of Enlightenment; on this day the dharma year is complete. The ninety days have passed without obstruction and the assembly is at ease. We chant the high names of all buddhas and make offerings to the enshrined spirits. The assembly of monks chants these words with deep respect.

The invocation of buddhas’ names that follows is the same as at the beginning of practice period.

After the abbot’s talk is over, the officers say in gratitude, “We respectfully rejoice that the dharma year has been completed without obstruction. This is due to the guidance of the master. We are extremely grateful.”

The abbot responds by saying, “Now the dharma year is complete. I would like to express my gratitude to Head Monk so-and-so, to Monastery Administrator so-and-so, and to all others whose dharma efforts mutually supported the practice period. I am extremely grateful.”

The head monk and the assembly of the monks’ hall, the head of the dormitory, and others all say in gratitude: “During the ninety-day summer period our unwholesome acts of body, speech, and thought may have disturbed the assembly. If so, we beg forgiveness and ask for your compassion.”

The officers and heads of crews say, “Fellow practitioners in the assembly, if any of you are going traveling, please do so at your convenience after the concluding tea.” Some may leave earlier if necessary.

Since the time of the King of the Empty Eon there has been no practice higher than this practice. Buddha ancestors have valued it exclusively, and it is the only thing that has remained free of the confusion caused by demons and deluded people outside the way. In India, China, and Japan all descendents of buddha ancestors have participated in the practice period, but deluded people outside the way have never engaged in it. Because it is the original heart of the single great matter of buddha ancestors, this teaching of practice period is the content of what is expounded from the morning of the Buddha’s attaining the way until the evening of pari-nirvana. There are Five Schools of home leavers in India, but they equally maintain a ninety-day summer practice period and without fail practice it and realize the way; and in China none of the monks in the Nine Schools have ever ignored the summer practice period. Those who have never participated in the summer practice period in their lifetimes cannot be called buddha disciples or monks. Practice period is not only a causal factor; it is itself practice-realization, it is itself the fruit of practice. The World-Honored One, the Great Enlightened One, practiced and realized without missing one summer practice period in his whole lifetime. Know that summer practice period is buddha realization within the fruit of enlightenment.

This being so, those who call themselves descendents of buddha ancestors without engaging in the practice realization of a ninety-day summer practice period should be ridiculed. In fact, ridicule would be more than they deserve! Simply pay no attention whatsoever to them: do not speak with them, do not sit with them, and do not walk in the same paths with them. In buddha dharma the ancient way to cure those with such mistaken views is simply to shut them out with silence.

Understand and maintain a ninety-day summer practice as the buddha ancestors themselves. The authentic transmission of the practice period tradition was handed down from the Seven Original Buddhas to Mahakashyapa, and through him it was authentically transmitted heir to heir to Bodhidharma, the Twenty-eighth Indian Ancestor. He in turn went to China and authentically transmitted it to Huike, the Second Ancestor, Great Master Zhengzong Pujiao, who authentically transmitted it heir to heir down to the present day. Thus, the tradition of practice period entered China and has been authentically transmitted in the assemblies of buddha ancestors, and accordingly it has been authentically transmitted to Japan.

By sitting zazen in the ninety-day summer practice period within this assembly of authentic transmission, you authentically receive the dharma of summer. Living with a true teacher and fully participating in the practice period makes the practice period a true practice period. Because the tradition of practice period has been transmitted face to face, heir to heir, directly from the practice periods practiced during the Buddha’s own lifetime, it is the authentic and personal transmission of buddha face, ancestor face, the complete merging with the realization of buddha ancestors’ body and mind intimately and immediately.

Therefore, to see a practice period is to see buddha; to realize a practice period is to realize buddha; to practice a practice period is to practice buddha; to hear a practice period is to hear buddha; and to study a practice period is to study buddha. Now, a ninety-day practice period is the inviolable dharma of all buddha ancestors. This being so, even kings of the human world, the Indra world, or the Brahma world should make an effort to participate in a practice period as monks even for one summer; to do so is to actually see buddha. Humans, devas, or dragons should participate in a ninety-day practice period as monks or nuns even if it is only once in a lifetime: to practice this practice period is to actually see buddha, and all those who have joined the assembly of buddha ancestors to practice a ninety-day practice period have seen buddhas.

If we are fortunate enough to practice a summer practice period before our dew-like life drops down, whether in the realm of humans or devas, we will surely replace our skin, flesh, bones, and marrow with the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of buddha ancestors. During every practice period it is the buddha ancestors who come to practice with everyone, and everyone who participates in the practice period practices as a buddha ancestor. Because of this, those who engage in a practice period are called “one thousand buddhas and ten thousand ancestors.” The reason for this is that a practice period is the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow as well as the mind, consciousness, and body of buddha ancestors. Practice period is the top of the head, the eye, the fist, the nostrils, and the buddha-nature circle drawn in the air, as well as the whisk, the wooden staff, the bamboo stick, and the sitting mat of buddha ancestors. Practice period is neither creating something new nor reusing something old.

The World-Honored One said to Complete Enlightenment Bodhisattva and all those in the assembly, as well as to all beings:

Those who participate in the three-month summer practice period should abide as pure bodhisattvas, their minds free from the world’s chattering, uninvolved with the world’s opinions. On the opening day of the practice period, make a statement like this in front of the buddha image: I—Monk, Nun, Layman, or Laywoman so-and-so—now mount the bodhisattva vehicle in order to activate the practice of tranquillity and together with all beings enter the true mark of purity and abide in it so that we can all make complete enlightenment our temple. The wisdom of equanimity and the freedom of nirvana are without boundary; I pay homage to them. Without being influenced by the opinions of the world, I will engage in the three-month practice period with all the tathagatas and great bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Because I am now embarking on the practice of the great cause of the unsurpassable, wondrous enlightenment of all bodhisattvas, I am free of the bondage of the world. Good people, this is a practice period that manifests bodhisattvas.

Thus, when monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen participate in a three-month practice period, they invariably practice the great cause of unsurpassable, wondrous enlightenment together with tathagatas and great bodhisattvas in the ten directions. Note that it is not only monks and nuns who participate in the practice period; laymen and laywomen also participate.

The place of this practice period is great, complete enlightenment. This being so, Vulture Peak and Jeta Grove are equally tathagatas’ temples of great, complete enlightenment. Hear and understand the World-Honored One’s teaching that tathagatas and great bodhisattvas of the ten directions practice together with you in the three-month practice period.

The World-Honored One held a ninety-day practice period in a monastery. On the last day, when all the monks are to confess their faults and ask for forgiveness, Manjushri suddenly appeared in the assembly.

Mahakashyapa asked Manjushri, “Where have you spent the summer practice period?”

Manjushri replied, “In three places” [a demon’s palace, a wealthy man’s house, and a house of prostitution].

Mahakashyapa immediately assembled the monks to announce that Manjushri would be expelled; he lifted the mallet and was about to strike the sounding block of wood when suddenly he saw countless monasteries appear and in each of them there were a Manjushri and a Mahakashyapa. Just at the moment Mahakashyapa raised the mallet and was about to strike the sounding block signaling the expulsions of the multiple Manjushris that were in the multiple monasteries, the World-Honored One said to Mahakashyapa, “Which of these Manjushris are you going to expel?” Mahakashyapa was dumbfounded.

Keqin, Zen Master Yuanwu, commented on this: “An unstruck bell won’t ring; an unbeaten drum won’t sound. Mahakashyapa made it to the ferry station; Manjushri’s sitting rides the waves through unlimited space. This is an excellent enactment of the buddha scene, but unfortunately Mahakashyapa missed one move. He should have responded to Old Man Shakyamuni’s question by striking the sounding block; then he would have seen how the old one destroys the whole world at once.”

Keqin added a capping verse to this:

A great elephant doesn’t play in a rabbit hutch.

Swallows and sparrows don’t have the heart of an eagle.

Careful precision, yet flowing with the wind,

hitting the mark and biting off the arrowhead.

The entire world is Manjushri.

The entire world is Mahakashyapa.

Solemnly they face each other—

who can be punished by Mahakashyapa?

One good swing—the Golden Ascetic [Mahakashyapa] dropped it.

Thus, although the World-Honored One practiced a practice period in one place while Manjushri practiced in three places, Manjushri was not a nonparticipant in the practice period. Those who are nonparticipants in the practice period are nonbuddhas and nonbodhisattvas. There are no descendents of buddha ancestors who are nonparticipants in practice period. Know that all practice period participants are always descendents of buddha ancestors.

Participation in the practice period is the body and mind, eye, and life energy of buddha ancestors. Those who do not abide peacefully in practice period are neither buddha ancestors nor descendents of buddha ancestors. Buddhas and bodhisattvas made of mud, wood, metal, or the seven precious substances all sit the three-month summer practice period together. Practice period is the buddha’s instruction, an authentic custom that maintains the buddha-dharma-sangha treasure. Those within the house of buddha ancestors should therefore wholeheartedly sit the three-month summer practice period.

Presented to the assembly of the Daibutsu Monastery, Echizen Province, on the thirteenth day, the sixth month, during the summer practice period, in the third year of the Kangen Era [1245].