Thursday, January 29, 2015

Boats and Rafts


Suzuki is reading from Gakudo-yojin-shu, Section 3, in Reiho Masunaga (Ed. And Trans.), Zen for Daily Living, Tokyo, Shunjusha Publishing, 1964, pp. 56–72.(Dogen's Guidelines for Studying the Way)
Understand that when you train within the delusive world, full enlightenment is already there. When you realize that boat and rafts are like yesterday's dream, you forever abandon the old view that bound you to the sutras.


And then he comments:

If you practice it, Buddhism is there, and enlightenment is there. So what was written in scriptures is like an old boat by which you came across. But people just believe in what was written in scripture and ignore the practice. And even in practicing it, expecting something after practice. Then that practice is a daydream or old boat by which they came across. [Laughs.] You should forget all about the old boat. “Old boat” means sutras. You forever abandon the old view that bound you to the sutras when you realize that boats and rafts are like yesterday's dream -- because you have enlightenment there.

 Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 66-12-17-A as found on shunryusuzuki.com -  - Excerpt edited by DC