Alone in the Vastness of Existence
ORIGINALLY WE ARE completely vastness. In the vastness of the universe, there is no dichotomy, no discrimination; there is perfect peace and harmony. Philosophically speaking, this is called emptiness. Sometimes vastness is personalized, and it’s called buddha. If you experience that emptiness, it is called buddhanature. Plainly speaking, it is universal consciousness. Before you start to think, your life is already present there. So if you want to realize the truth of life, all you have to do, as best as you can, is stand up straight and start to walk.
In Shobogenzo Sansuikyo (“Mountains and Rivers Sutra”), Dogen Zenji said that if you think walking just means walking around on two feet, you do not fully understand walking. Real walking is wholehearted participation in coming and going, origination and cessation, moment after moment. Walking in that way is proceeding through the realm of truth.
TOZAN’S REFLECTION
There is a famous story about the Chinese Zen master Tozan Ryokai (Dongshan Liangjie, 807–869). When Tozan was about to go on pilgrimage, he asked his teacher Ungan Donjo, “After you have passed away, how can I answer someone who asks me what you were like?” Ungan replied, “Say to him: Just this is.” Then he added, “You must now be very careful, as you are carrying this great thing. Consider it again and again.”
Tozan was always thinking about Ungan’s statement “Just this is.” Then one day he was crossing a river and saw himself reflected in the water. When Tozan saw his reflection, he realized it was not his real self, because in order for a reflection to appear, the thing reflected must already exist. Suddenly he understood his teacher’s meaning and composed this gatha:
You shouldn’t search for it outwardly.
If you do, the truth will become more remote from you.
But when alone I proceed through myself,
Wherever I go I meet him.
Now he is not other than myself, yet I am not he.
Only if you understand this will you unite with the Tathagata.
Before your individual thoughts, feelings, or perceptions arise and
