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The Dignified Behaviour of Acting Buddha
Master Dogen’s GYOBUTSU-YUIGI in 100 Words
GYO means to act, BUTSU means Buddha, YUI means dignified, and GI means behaviour. Therefore GYOBUTSU-YUIGI means the ‘dignified behaviour of acting Buddha’ – or, in more straightforward terms, appropriate Buddhist behaviour. Nishijima Roshi often described Buddhism as a realistic religion that values action over idealism or materialism (that it is what we do that truly matters). We can discuss behaviour in abstract terms (as ethics) or in objective terms (as examples of ‘desirable’ conduct) but to act in accordance with circumstances as we find them is the true expression of ‘appropriate Buddhist behaviour’.
Act right here, act right now.
Photo by Our Life in Pixels on Unsplash
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The Buddha Nature
Master Dogen’s BUSSHO in 100 Words
BUTSU means ‘Buddha’ and SHO means ‘nature’ so BUSSHO means ‘Buddha-nature’. In turn the word ‘Buddha’ means ‘awake’ and the word ‘nature’ means ‘born’ (from the Latin ‘natus’) so ‘Buddha-nature’ literally means ‘awakeness born’ or ‘awareness arises’. Therefore to think of ‘Buddha-nature’ as something that we ‘have’, ‘have the potential to have’, or ‘will have’ is a misunderstanding. ‘Buddha-nature’ is not something to ‘have’ or to ‘do’ – it is an instantaneous state of ‘being’. So at its heart Zazen practice is simply letting go of ‘having’ and ‘doing’ and returning to a natural state of [human] ‘being’.
Photo by Patrick Connor Klopf on Unsplash
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Reading Sutras
Master Dogen’s KANKIN in 100 words
In KANKIN Master Dogen talks about reading sutras. The word sutra literally means ‘thread’ but is more commonly used as a name for a Buddhist text. In the manufacture of cloth there are threads that go vertically down the weave (the warp) and threads that go across (the weft). We can view a sutra as a thread of the teachings that, like the warp, has come down the generations and should thus be revered. But there is also a thread of the teachings (the weft) that is being woven in the present. A correct understanding of Buddhism will acknowledge both.
Photo by Jonney Reyes on Unsplash
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The Eternal Mirror
Master Dogen’s KOKYO in 100 Words
In KOKYO (the eternal mirror) Master Dogen uses the metaphor of reflection to explore the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity. When we (subject) look in the mirror we see another version of ourselves (object) behind the glass (although of course we know this apparent duplication of self to be an illusion). To imagine that ‘mind’ ultimately exists apart from ‘body’, that ‘I’ exist apart from ‘others’, or that ‘attainment’ (of the Buddhist state) exists apart from ‘practice’ (of the Buddhist state) is also an illusion. So KOKYO is a caution against seeking experiences that exist outside our daily practice.
Photo by Dominik Dombrowski on Unsplash
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Midwinter Break
Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Wednesday this year so we will be taking a short midwinter break. Our meetings will restart at 1830 GMT on Wednesday 7th January 2026. Offering thanks to everyone for their sincere efforts during 2025 and looking forward to seeing you all again in the new year. Best wishes, Keith 🙏
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Mind Cannot Be Grasped
Master Dogen’s SHIN-FUKATOKU in 100 Words
SHIN-FUKATOKU is a quotation from the Diamond Sutra and in the Nishijima & Cross translation of Shobogenzo is translated as “mind cannot be grasped”. In Buddhism mind is often considered the sixth sense so to seek to grasp the mind (or thinking) is as futile as seeking to grasp hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling or touching. Each of these phenomena is an aggregation of form, sensations, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness and as such is devoid of independent existence in and of itself. And if something is devoid of independent existence in and of itself how could it possibly be grasped?
Photo by Uday Mittal on Unsplash
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The Flower of Dharma Turns the Flower of Dharma
Master Dogen’s HOKKE-TEN-HOKKE in 100 Words
In FUKANZAZENGI (Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen) Master Dogen says that sitting in Zazen is “the practice and experience which perfectly realises the Buddhist state”. In Buddhism the Lotus flower represents realisation so when Master Dogen talks about the “flowering of the dharma” he is talking about realisation of the Buddhist state through the practice and experience of Zazen. In HOKKE-TEN-HOKKE Master Dogen says that “The Flower of Dharma Turns the Flower of Dharma” and in doing so suggests that practice of the Buddhist state (the flower of the dharma) is one and the same as experience of the Buddhist state (the flower of the dharma).
Photo by Jay Castor on Unsplash
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The Certificate of Succession
Master Dogen’s SHISHO in 100 Words
SHISHO means ‘the certificate of succession’. When a Buddhist teacher recognises that their student understands the Buddhist teachings the student is presented with a certificate of succession. Such recognition is not based on an intellectual understanding of Buddhism but is a recognition that the student has realised the Buddhist teachings in their daily lives – by embracing Zazen practice as the essence of Buddhist life. In the Dogen Sangha tradition the presentation of a certificate of succession is an acknowledgement that the student is ready to continue the face to face transmission of the teachings to a new generation of students.
Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash
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The Buddhist Ancestors
Master Dogen’s BUSSO in 100 Words
In BUSSO (Buddhist Ancestors) Master Dogen presents a list of the Buddhist Ancestors stretching from those prior to the historical Buddha down to his own teacher. In doing so he affirms that the true Buddhist teachings (the practice and experience of Zazen rather than intellectual study) are transmitted ‘face to face’ from teacher to student; and that the teachings have been transmitted in this way through an unbroken lineage without deviation. Master Dogen says that we should therefore revere all those who have travelled the path before us because without them there would be no such path to follow.
Photo by Juanma Clemente-Alloza on Unsplash
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The Sutra of Mountains and Water
Master Dogen’s SANSUIGYO in 100 Words
SAN means mountains, SUI means water and GYO means (Buddhist) teachings so in SANSUIGYO Master Dogen is once again exploring how the natural world (mountains and water) is a reflection of the teachings. This metaphor was explored in Master Dogen’s KEISEI-SANSHIKI (The Voices of the River-Valley and the Form of the Mountains) but it is used subtly differently in this chapter as Master Dogen suggests that ‘mountains’ and ‘water’ are metaphors for the stability of Zazen practice and dynamic reality respectively – that steady immovable sitting in Zazen is what allows us to embrace the natural flow of our lives.
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Zen Beyond Borders 