By Peter Hata
The Maida Center of Buddhism, located in Berkeley, California, held its annual Summer Retreat over the weekend of July 30-August 1, 1999. Scheduled speakers were its founder and director, Dr. Nobuo Haneda, as well as Rev. Gyoko Saito of the Los Angeles Higashi Honganji and Rev. Patti Nakai of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. On Friday evening, Dr. Haneda warmly welcomed the 27 people in attendance, some from as far away as Chicago and Seattle. He opened the retreat with the statement, "The Sangha is the most important thing in Buddhism; our Sangha's name is the 'Maida Center.'" Dr. Haneda explained that the Center is named for Shuichi Maida, a student of Haya Akegarasu, himself a student of Rev. Manshi Kiyozawa. "At the Maida Center, we study the spirit that ran through them, and Kiyozawa was the 'fountainhead' of this line." He added that Otani University in Kyoto, Japan, where speakers Rev. Saito and Rev. Nakai both studied Buddhism, was founded by Kiyozawa.
Friday Evening Lecture:
Rev. Kiyozawa's Life, by Dr. Nobuo Haneda
From the introduction to the book December Fan, his own translation of Kiyozawa's essays, Dr. Haneda read "Kiyozawa was the father of modern Shin Buddhism." He also stated, "Kiyozawa brings to mind Kierkegaard and Nietzsche; they all had extremely difficult lives, but developed tremendously deep thought. Also, they were not afraid to challenge the obsolete...More than anything, Kiyozawa was a seeker." Kiyozawa's two disciples were Rev. Akegarasu and Professor Soga. Both focused on the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism of Dharmakara Bodhisattva, the perpetual seeker described in the Larger Sutra that eventually becomes Amida Buddha. Due to Kiyozawa's influence on them, they saw the image of Dharmakara in Kiyozawa himself. Kiyozawa essentially emulated the life of Dharmakara. When Kiyozawa died at 40, Akegarasu was only 25. But despite his young age, he was deeply moved by his teacher.
"When discussing Kiyozawa, the historical background is so important, said Dr. Haneda. "To know Kiyozawa, we must know his life. His ideas came from his experience." The time was around the 1860's, the end of the samurai era in Japan and the beginning of the Meiji Era. Kiyozawa was one of the first Japanese to receive a Western education, which included a heavy dose of Western philosophy. His father was a Zen Buddhist and his mother was a Shinshu Buddhist. Though they all lived in poverty, this was a deeply religious family environment. As a young man, Kiyozawa himself was described as "unusually quick and intelligent." Eventually, Kiyozawa, who had been born Tokunaga, was adopted into the Kiyozawa family, which was lacking any male heirs, and changed his name to Kiyozawa (standard practice in Japan). He had a great life at this time; he became principal of a school.
But then his life changed radically. He became austere and led an ascetic lifestyle, and read the Tannisho. Historically, he singlehandedly was responsible for propagating the Tannisho, which had been almost unknown up to that point. Why the strange turnaround?
First, his mother's influence was great. She was a very serious Shin student and wanted her son to clarify the Shinshu teaching for her. This "request' from his mom "intensified his search." Second, there was the "experimental nature of Kiyozawa himself...He had a scientific kind of mind," said Dr. Haneda; "He had to prove that Jodo Shinshu really is the 'easy way.'" Third, he wanted to "go back to Shakyamuni...Buddhism means re-experiencing the life of Shakyamuni." Fourth, there was a critical historical crisis occurring in Japan at the time. The Meiji Government, which was Shinto, destroyed the influence and power of the samurai, who were largely Buddhist. Regarding Kiyozawa's quest to reaffirm the life of Shakyamuni, Dr. Haneda said, "The key here is that Shakyamuni was an ordinary person who represents us. He is someone we can emulate. It's not so important that he was a genius, a great teacher, etc. What's important is for us to re-experience Shakyamuni's life."
Thus at age 27, Kiyozawa began an ascetic lifestyle. Partially due to extreme practices such as eating pine needles, he became weak and contracted tuberculosis at 31. He did eventually recover, but this proved to be another turning point. "His ascetic practices-self-power efforts-came to an end." Next, Kiyozawa got involved in reforming the Otani headquaters. He criticized the Otani-ha (Higashi Honganji). His famous essay was, Buddhists, Why Do You Lack Self-Esteem? However, the movement was short-lived and ended when Kiyozawa was 34 or 35.
At age 35, Kiyozawa found himself facing financial and other difficulties. He called himself a "December Fan"; i.e., a good-for-nothing person. What led him to this self-proclamation were three things. One, he read the Agama Sutras, which are the earliest Buddhist scriptures and constitute the "basics of Buddhism." They are in the Pali language, which is the language of southern Asia and the Hinayana sects. On the other hand, Sanskrit was the language of northern India and Asia, and of the Mahayana sects. Secondly, he was deeply moved from reading the works of Epictetus. Epictetus was a lowly slave in ancient Greece, but one who also wrote profound and moving texts on the subject of personal freedom. Third, Kiyozawa found great meaning in the Tannisho of Shinran Shonin. Dr. Haneda clarified that "December Fan is not about shallow humility. It is true selflessness. Experientially, Kiyozawa and Shakyamuni reached the same level of selflessness, self-uselessness or humility."
Kiyozawa proceeded to establish the Kokodo Dormitory, which was an important place where people like Akegarasu could come to discuss Buddhism with Kiyozawa. At this time, Kiyozawa wrote the essay, Spiritual Awareness in the Seishinkai Journal. At this time in his life, he was expelled from Otani-ha organization. Interestingly, other great Shin teachers like Kaneko and Soga were also expelled from Otani-ha. "This is because they were serious students and conflicted with conservatives...the Japanese way is not essentially democratic, but hierarchical," Dr. Haneda said. So, Kiyozawa resigned the Otani University position. However, more difficulties beset him. His oldest son and wife both died from illness. At this point in his life, he called himself hamakaze (ghost wind). Just before Kiyozawa's death at age 40, he wrote My Religious Conviction, perhaps his most famous and oft-quoted work.
At the close of the first session, Dr. Haneda became visibly animated when summarizing his talk. He drew on the chalkboard his "famous" boat diagram, consisting of a small upward pointing boat and then several wavy arrows pointing down at the boat, which represent the flow of the current of a river. The boat, which is attempting to travel upsteam, represents us, or more precisely, our self-power. Dr. Haneda explained that "traveling upstream" is analogous to our reliance on our self-power and our tendency to become attached to all sorts of things like our youth, loved ones and wealth, all the while thinking that our ego has "substance" of some sort. The powerful current of the river represents the Dharma of impermanence, which challenges our self-power.
Dr. Haneda continued, "From the age of 27 to 31, Kiyozawa was involved in self-power activities. Then, upon suffering through tuberculosis and coming near to death, he had written, "Since what I, Tokunaga (his pre-marriage name), have been is dead, this corpse of mine is at your disposal." "This expresses his realization of the limitations of self-power," Dr. Haneda explained. "It illustrates Shakyamuni's teaching, the essence of which is to become one with impermanence itself." The crucial point, emphasized Dr. Haneda, is that "Kiyozawa understood what is real and what is only imagined reality and self-importance."
Dr. Haneda then drew a revised version of his boat diagram, illustrating this change. From age 27 to 31, the "boat," representing Kiyozawa, is headed upstream. From age 31 at the peak of its journey, to age 35 it is turning to the side, which represents Kiyozawa "giving up self-power." At age 35, the boat is turned sideways, which is Kiyozawa's December Fan stage. Following that, until his death, the boat is turned down. At this time in his life, Kiyozawa was very dynamic. He started the Otani University and Kokodo Dormitory, wrote many essays, edited the Seishinkai Journal, etc. Dr. Haneda explained that what we see in Kiyozawa's life is actually one person's process of gaining a deep and internal awareness of self-understanding and self-realization. "This deep internal self-awareness is Shinjin," said Dr. Haneda. "And, if self-realization is authentic like Kiyozawa's, it cannot help but manifest as Nembutsu; Nembutsu is the natural expression of Shinjin. This is demonstrated by Kiyozawa's life."
Saturday Morning Lecture:
The Turning Point in Kiyozawa's Life, by Rev. Saito
Dr. Haneda began on Saturday morning by introducing Rev. Gyoko Saito. Rev. Saito was born in 1926 and attended a school known as the "Japanese West Point," and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. However, after a change of plans, he studied Buddhism at Otani University. Later, he translated into English the work of his teacher, Rev. Haya Akegarasu, and wrote the book Shout of Buddha. When Dr. Haneda came to the U.S. some 25 years ago, he met Rev. Saito, then minister at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Rev. Saito suggested Dr. Haneda study Buddhism at the University of Wisconsin.
Rev. Saito began his lecture by saying "My farewell to Chicago 27 years ago was as if my own life was like a 'December Fan.'" Rev. Saito shed light on this statement by telling the story of a certain Mr. Fujii, an acquaintance of his that had been a Christian Communist while living in Japan. Fujii had then come to the U.S. and had studied at Oberlin College. He believed that Communism was a good solution, though he later changed his mind against Communism. Fujii's life was hard, though his ideals were high. He helped the Japanese-Americans who were interned in the U.S. during WWII. Suddenly, his life took a turn for the worse when he had a stroke. He thought he was being punished for his mother's death, for which he felt responsible.
Rev. Saito became very emotional at this point and could hardly continue, saying, "When I gave my farewell talk in Chicago, Fujii was directly in front of me in a wheelchair. He asked me, 'Are you abandoning me?'" Rev. Saito then quietly added, "It was so difficult." Fujii felt guilty about his mother's death because, against her wishes, he had become not only Christian, but also a Communist. These views had prevented him from returning to Japan to help his mother. She eventually died of starvation. This is why Rev. Saito had said, "My life is like a December Fan." In leaving Chicago, he felt utterly useless to his friend, Fujii.
Regarding Kiyozawa's turning point, Rev. Saito mentioned a Dr. Matsubara, another Kiyozawa scholar who had attended Otani University. Dr. Matsubara had pointed out the great influence Kiyozawa's mother had on him. It was her deepest wish that her son clarify the Shinshu teachings for her. Furthermore, Rev. Saito added that it was Dr. Matsubara who had said, "It was Kiyozawa's mother's Sangha that ultimately created Kiyozawa himself. This is the only way we can understand the true spirit of Rev. Kiyozawa."
Quoting from Kiyozawa's December Fan Diary, Rev. Saito read "Our true self is nothing but this: Committing our total existence to the wondrous working of the infinite, then settling down just as we are in our present situation." Rev. Saito added that, "This was Kiyozawa's understanding of Nembutsu." However, Rev. Saito added that he personally finds reciting Nembutsu to be difficult, commenting, "The act of 'just reciting Nembutsu' became a hindrance to memy doubts were never wiped out. Yet I know Akegarasu did recite Nembutsu and so did some of his followers."
Similarly, Kiyozawa's mother had doubts even after reciting Nembutsu. She wanted her son to clarify her doubts for her. The December Fan Diary passage quoted above was written when Kiyozawa was 34, after his initial recovery from Tuberculosis and when he started to publish the Journal and was active in the reformation movement. As was pointed out before in Kiyozawa's biography, this was a difficult time in his life. He was expelled from the Otani-ha organization and lost his priesthood position. When he tried to return back to his father's temple, the members there didn't really want him there and felt no need for him.
Besides his mother's influence, there other major reasons for Kiyozawa's turnaround. One reason were the Agama Sutras. Kiyozawa read these sutras in January of 1898 to 'touch Buddha's mind,' and they had a deep effect on his thinking. Another influence was that Kiyozawa read Epictetus' book in September of 1898. Of course, Shinran's Tannisho was also always in his mind. But Epictetus' book catalyzed a major turning point for Kiyozawa. As Rev. Saito pointed out, "To understand Buddhism, we have to know 'Who am I?' This is the most important thing." He then referred to the story of Epictetus, who was a Greek slave. The emperor Nero chained Epictetus. His famous statement is "Know thyself," which deeply influenced Kiyozawa. "However, said Rev. Saito, "despite being chained as a prisoner, Nero could still not take away Epictetus' will, his true self."
"In the Kyogyoshinsho, Shinran said 'Saying the Name (Namu Amida Butsu) allows all beings to break through ignorance and brings enlightenment to all beings. But, as long as we are unclear, as long as there exists a dark mind, reciting Nembutsu doesn't matter." Rev. Saito said, "Kiyozawa was so moved by Epictetus' life. It made him ask, 'What is this True Self that cannot be chained, beheaded, taken away?"
"And what is this 'true self?," asked Rev. Saito. "It is just this: Committing our total existence to the wondrous working of the infinite (Amida)." According to Kiyozawa, said Rev. Saito, "Reciting Nembutsu is declaring our true self."
To illustrate the process by which the "true self" is discovered, Rev. Saito drew a circle on the blackboard, which he labeled as "I" or "me." Next to the circle was a vertical line, which he labeled "absolute nothingness." The "I" is transformed in Buddhism when, upon coming up against absolute nothingness (or impermanence), which it cannot pass or penetrate, it is turned back upon itself. Rev. Saito added an arrow from the circle to the line and an arrow returning from the line to the circle, which he labeled "insight." "After touching nothingness, 'I' can become the center of the infinite, of the Tathagata fundamental reality or truth." Rev. Saito clarified that, in our Higashi tradition, a human example of this transformation is that the "I" could be seen as being the student Rev. Akegarasu and the "absolute nothingness" as his teacher, Rev. Kiyozawa, who "crushed Akegarasu's ego, or his self-importance. This bouncing back and forth was their interaction," said Rev. Saito.
Regarding the often-asked question, "Which comes first, Nembutsu or Shinjin?," Rev. Saito pointed out that in Kiyozawa's essay My Religious Conviction, he talks about the "mind that trusts in Tathagata." Quoting Kiyozawa, "No matter what circumstance I am in, I don't feel distance and suffering as long as this trust is present in my mind. I trust in Tathagata because my intellect is limited. The meaning of life is inscrutable. That conclusion has led me to trust in Tathagata. I am now aware of the utter uselessness of my self-efforts." (logic and scholarly inquiry)
Futhermore, Rev. Saito pointed out that when things get complicated in our lives, "Common sense no longer works." He again quoted Kiyozawa, who put it this way: "In this world that demands decisions, I cannot make up my mind to move either left or right, forward or backward. Such a person can live calmly and peacefully in this world by the fundamental source of power, which I call Tathagata in which I trust." Rev. Saito explained that "tatha" means infinite compassion, infinite wisdom, infinite power; thus "Tathagata" simply means the basic reality underlying our existence. To understand Nembutsu, "We have to first reach this point...then Nembutsu comes," he said. "The uniqueness of Kiyozawa was his freshness," Rev. Saito added. "He never simply just used common Buddhist terms to get his point across. He only used ideas that had actually sunk into his guts and had come from his personal experience. And he would use these elements in his own way. This dynamic teaching style was handed down to Akegarasu and later to Shuichi Maida."
Next, the retreat participants read passages from the essay Rev. Akegarasu and Rev. Kiyozawa, in Shuichi Maida's Heard By Me. These passages describe the intense interaction and criticism directed to Maida from Akegarasu. Rev. Saito placed the emphasis on the "crushing" of the student by his teacher. He pointed out that this amounts to "strong negation and thorough crushing." But this is not like the Zen master who "certifies" his student's enlightenment by giving him the symbolic begging bowls. "One who certifies the student's enlightenment is not a true teacher," said Rev. Saito. Quoting Shuichi Maida again, "Between my teacher and me there was only nothingness. There was no importance in me and none in himself...The sun has no intention of illuminating me; the sun simply goes on its own way, shining in the middle of the sky. This is how Shinran saw Honen. This is how Rev. Akegarasu saw Rev. Kiyozawa, and how I (Shuichi Maida) see my teacher." Said Rev. Saito, "Thus, both student and teacher are completely one, as foolish, ordinary persons." Ultimately, the goal is "no arising," said Rev. Saito. "This means the absence of any permanent existence, of oneness with impermanence itself."
Finally, Rev. Saito quoted Shuichi Maida who said, "The Zen master Lin Chi said, 'Everything is ordinary and nothing is special.' When we truly understand this, there is only the world of Nembutsu, a world in which there is nothing that can be relied upon, dwelled upon, or possessed by us." "In my mind," said Rev. Saito, "Kiyozawa, Akegarasu, Maida are all indistinguishable from each other."
Saturday Afternoon Lecture:
Kiyozawa's Significance for Buddhism in America, by Rev. Patti Nakai
Dr. Haneda introduced Chicago native Rev. Patti Nakai, who we learned attended high school in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1975. She was a member of and a Dharma school teacher at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. It was at the BTC 17 years ago that Dr. Haneda first met Rev. Nakai. Then she traveled to Japan to study Buddhism and graduated from Otani University. In 1987, she wrote her graduate thesis on Rev. Kiyozawa. Until recently moving back to Chicago, she had lived in Los Angeles for 8 years while serving as a minister at the main Higashi Honganji temple there.
Rev. Nakai said that the significance of Kiyozawa, especially to Americans, is addressed in Akegarasu's book, Shout of Buddha. In it, it says, "Kiyozawa (and his student Akegarasu) abandoned the 1000 year-old Buddhist terminology and used ordinary words to manifest Buddhism. In order to do that, they had to translate the teaching with their own flesh and blood...Akegarasu manifested the life of his own flesh and blood in words that are a never ending great shout." Rev. Nakai commented that "I feel there is a significance in his life and struggle that's very close to what we go through in America. We, like Kiyozawa, have a western or scientific way of thinking...which doesn't always work."
Another significance of Kiyozawa to Americans is that he, like many American Buddhists today, lamented the many layers of "baggage" he found in the way Buddhism was being taught, and wanted to "get back" to Shakyamuni. In fact, there are definite parallels between the Buddhism that existed in Kiyozawa's Meiji-era and the Shin Buddhism that exists in our American temples today. In a sense, Rev. Nakai pointed out, Kiyozawa was actually following in the footsteps of Yuienbo, the disciple of Shinran, who "lamented" the misinterpretation of Shinran's thought following his teacher's death and wrote the Tannisho in order to "set the record straight." Similarly, Kiyozawa wanted also to set the record straight and get back to the crucial essence of Buddhism.
Rev. Nakai clarified the history of Shin Buddhism leading up to Kiyozawa's time. When Shinran established the Jodo-Shinshu tradition, he did so in the 13th century or Kamakura Period of Japan, a time considered to be the "Golden Age of Japanese Buddhism." During this time, other Buddhist traditions were established as well, by notable Japanese Buddhist thinkers such as Nichiren (Nichiren-shu) and Dogen (Zen). By Rennyo's time however, which was the Tokugawa Period of 15th-16th century Japan, the military shogunate wanted to control everything, including the Buddhist temples. It was an oppressive period for the people. There was general confusion about the Buddhist teaching, including the concept of "afterlife." The historical legacy of this period in Japan still exists today; Rev. Nakai pointed out that "The Japanese Buddhism here in America today is mostly Tokugawa-era." Then, following the Tokugawa, was the Meiji period, the time of Kiyozawa. This era saw the rise and emphasis of Shintoism. The emperor of Japan of course, was thought to be a descendent of the sun god.
Again, Rev. Nakai returned to her theme by stating that the significance of Kiyozawa to Americans is that Kiyozawa broke out of the distorted view of Buddhism that resulted from the Tokugawa-era. Buddhism from this period had a distinct Christian or dualistic quality to it. For instance, Buddhists thought that "Amida was somewhere 'out there,' i.e., external to us and thus like a god or supernatural power of some sort. But Kiyozawa got back to the original Buddhism of Shakyamuni, which was non-dualistic. Throughout his life, he struggled, trying to make Buddhism meaningful. "He was so sharp," said Rev. Nakai, "and a fantastic expounder of Buddhism mainly because he had actually lived it." This understanding of "essential" Buddhism was then passed from Kiyozawa to Akegarasu to Kubose, who was the minister who initiated the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. It was later the BTC which attracted Rev. Saito and Dr. Haneda.
Rev. Nakai emphatically clarified that "Buddhism is not just feel-good, new-agey, mystical...what we're talking about here is true religious conviction." She quoted Kiyozawa, who said "Do not depend on anything but religion itself...which is an expression of disenchantment with the mere world of men." He also said, "One must detach oneself from dependence and reliance on self-efforts...one must abandon everything, including the self." And, "The true seeker should not be distracted by the concerns of the world" (i.e., distinguish between the religious world and the secular, materialistic everyday world). A person who has attained religious conviction is a free person, for whom nothing is an obstacle." Rev. Nakai also quoted the contemporary Shin scholar Shunsho Terakawa, who said, "We modern age people, aren't even aware of our attachment to self-power. We have a deluded view of self-importance." Rev. Nakai commented, "Everything we do is out of selfish motives, but Shinran did not say 'Don't do it.' Rather, the key is to get rid of our attachment to self-power."
Returning briefly to the lectern to clarify a participant's question about self-power, Dr. Haneda said, "The only issue in Buddhism is the meaning of my self." He used the terms "right" and "wrong" to illustrate what self-power is: "Right action in Buddhism means Dharma-based. Dharma is impermanence, so 'right' in Buddhism is impermanence-based. Thus, from a Buddhist point of view, 'right vs. wrong' becomes 'other-power based rightness' vs. 'self-power based rightness.' Ultimately," he said, "Buddhism is simply saying, 'See things as they are.'"
Dr. Haneda further clarified that what Kiyozawa was really expressing was the reality of the "limited embraced by the limitless." However, Kiyozawa was not contrasting "limited" and "limitless." "That you are limited, is why you can appreciate the limitless," said Dr. Haneda. "The limitless allows you to be who you are, with all your shortcomings. Therefore, discover the 'limited self,' but remember the limited self is always embraced by the limitless, by Amida Buddha." After a brief pause, he added, "And you don't have to worry."
Rev. Nakai then returned to the lectern and concluded her lecture by saying, "Kiyozawa is significant to us because he helps us understand Shinjin and Nembutsu through common terms and from his own experience. Also, Kiyozawa's interpretation of jiriki (self-power) and tariki (other-power or Amida's power) is significant, because it differed from that of the Tokugawa-era. It's getting down to the nuts and bolts of how to live our lives...and the focus is on self-examination." In concluding her lecture, she acknowledged the importance of Kiyozawa's legacy to her personally by saying, "Buddhism wouldn't have made sense to me if it were not for Kiyozawa...and Akergarasu, Saito and Haneda."
Saturday Evening Lecture:
Spiritual Awareness, by Dr. Haneda
Dr. Haneda began the Saturday evening lecture by stating, "There are all kinds of Buddhist traditions- Tibetan, Theravada, Shinshu, Zen, etc. But Kiyozawa had only one question: 'What is Buddhism?' The answer, he said was, 'Know thyself.'" Dr. Haneda then focused on Kiyozawa's landmark article, Spiritual Awareness. "This article is Buddhism," he emphasized. First, Dr. Haneda referred to Rev. Saito's previous diagram of the circles and the line, where the outer circle is the ego self, the inner circle is the "true self or truly living self" and the line is the absolute infinite, or impermanence-Dharma. There were also arrows from the circles to the line and back. "As Rev. Saito said, the ego-self cannot penetrate the absolute and so goes back to discover the true self," Dr. Haneda said. Hence the arrows to and from the "line." Then, displaying a wry sense of humor, Dr. Haneda confessed "I like Rev. Saito's diagram but I myself am a 'boat person,' so I feel I must 'boaterize' his diagram." The participants, most of whom had seen these diagrams at previous Haneda lectures, knowingly laughed. Dr. Haneda proceeded to draw a diagram showing an outer circle--the ego or dualistic self--inside of which is a downward pointing triangular boat representing the true self, the self of oneness. Above the outer circle were Dr. Haneda's familiar downward-pointing arrows, representing impermanence. "This is the process of self-examination; this is the process of Buddhism," Dr. Haneda said.
He pointed out that the importance of this process in our lives is addressed in Kiyozawa's Spritual Awareness article. This article was published in 1901, two years before Kiyozawa died, in his Seishinkai Journal. The Journal itself was devoted to "spirit-ism" or spritual awareness, Dr. Haneda said. From Kiyozawa's article, retreat participants read that spiritual awareness is "The process of finding contentment wholly within the realm of spirit." This process is also discussed in the Vimalakirti Sutra, which aptly states, "As one's mind grows purer, the Buddha-land grows purer." The point Dr. Haneda was making was that it is only through the practice of self-examination that we can truly "establish our lives on firm spiritual ground."
Participants again read from Kiyozawa's article, "Because we emphasize seeking contentment solely within the realm of Spiritual Awareness, critics may suspect that we are indifferent to others. Yet Spiritual Awareness simply recognizes we must first establish it for ourselves." Continuing, Dr. Haneda said, "We are like a lighthouse; we can see far away, but right at our feet, there is great darkness...Isn't this what Shakyamuni taught us in the first two Noble Truths? He said that life is difficult and full of suffering, but that this is because of our ignorance. Therefore, discovering our ignorance--the darkness deeply rooted in our self--is Buddhism, is the most important thing. It was Dogen who said, "Turn the light backward onto yourself," or "illuminate the self." But what is this ignorance in more specific terms?
"Let's imagine a Mr. A and Mr. B, both looking at the same object," said Dr. Haneda. "Mr. A sees a snake and is scared; Mr. B sees a rope. But B also sees that the real problem is in his way of seeing. For Mr. A, who is deluded, the difficulty is the snake, but Mr. B, who is Buddha-like and realizes the problem is in his vision, correctly has seen things as they are, has seen his own ignorance. A believes problems are caused by external objects; B sees that problems are caused by the self. The difference exists in the manner in which they are seeing. This is why self-examination is important; Buddhism doesn't talk about 'changing others' or 'changing society.' The biggest problem is our ego-self. This is expressed in the Vimalakirti Sutra quoted earlier."
Next, Dr. Haneda made a crucial point about the process of self-examination: It results not only in insight into our self, but simultaneously in insight into the true nature of the world, which is oneness. He drew a vertical line on the board. On the left he wrote "Pure Land, Other Shore, Awakened" and on the right he wrote "Impure Land, This Shore and Deluded." He said that the items on the left equal "oneness" and those on the right equal our dualistic, subject-object, judgmental way of seeing the world. "However," he clarified, "both sides here are actually equal and are one; there is only one world. There is no subject-object dualism. We tend to not have pure objectivity; we tend to see ourselves and our experiences in objects. Buddhism however, is a religion of insight. This core of Buddhism is the most important thing." Dr Haneda pointed out that when Kiyozawa emphasized Spiritual Awareness, he was emphasizing this same idea, "There aren't two realities; only one reality...There are many traditions in Buddhism, but the basic essence of Buddhism is this process of self-examination," he said.
"The world is nothing but a shadow of our mind," Dr. Haneda reflected. "We all tend to see in it what is already in our own mind." He used the analogy of different people standing in front of the same mirror, but each seeing a different image, essentially seeing only what they expected or wanted to see. Likewise, he said, "There is only one world, one mirror, but that doesn't mean we all see the same thing. We all basically just see ourselves, or see the world through our own karmas or past experiences. We all have unique karmas; we see things uniquely though that karma."
Next, Dr. Haneda presented his thought-provoking "I-Glass" example. First, he drew three "eyes" on the board, A, B, and C, each looking through their own "eyeglass" or lens, at the same object, in this case, a person. A's lens is red and A therefore sees the person as red. B's is blue and B sees the person as blue. C's is yellow and C sees the person as yellow. "Now suppose," he said, "that A's red lens--his unique karma--is that he is a short-tempered person. Now he will see the person as short-tempered...and he will tend to see short-tempered people all over the place. Or, suppose B's blue lens represents his own stinginess. Now B sees stinginess everywhere. And, suppose C is kind and gentle. Now C will see kindness and gentleness everywhere. C, of course, is the self which has awakened to the world of oneness." The important point Dr. Haneda was making here was that, "If our lens--our 'I-glass'--is changed, the entire world changes with it."
Continuing with this idea of "changing our lens," Dr. Haneda went on to discuss the concept of the "Buddhist Cure." First he reminded us that implicit in the Buddhist teaching is the emphasis that "The only thing in Buddhism is self-understanding; there is no need to change others...know thyself." It is only through this self-knowledge that our sickness can be relieved. He clarified further that, "The 'Buddhist Cure' comes only out of suffering itself...our cure comes only from the middle of our sickness, from our encounters with aging, illness and death. Thus, I don't think we should ever say, 'Oh, now I understand Shakyamuni and Kiyozawa.' We'd have to have lived their difficult lives and experienced their experiences. We tend to think this cure can be applied from without, like going to a drugstore to get medicine for a cold. However, in a Buddhist context, the cure can only come out of the sickness itself."
In concluding his lecture, Dr. Haneda said that wisdom, or self-knowledge in Buddhism, and compassion, or the world of oneness, are inseparable. "Know Thyself" means know your limitedness, know your ignorance. But simultaneously, knowing your ignorance is also knowing wisdom, knowing the darkness within is knowing brightness, knowing the limitedness of the self is knowing the limitless."
Sunday Morning Lecture:
Kiyozawa's View of Himself, by Dr. Haneda
Dr. Haneda began his last lecture of the retreat by stating, "Kiyozawa's contribution was to 'set the record straight'; There are many kinds of Buddhisms--cultural, philosophical, etc.-but Kiyozawa was not interested in any of them. He wanted to know 'What is Buddhism?' And he answered, 'Know Thyself." Kiyozawa understood that if we don't start right at the beginning, with the question "What is Buddhism?," then we cannot find Buddhism. Dr. Haneda continued, "If you clearly understand your own delusion and darkness, you will even appreciate other deluded peoplethere is no need to try to 'change' them, to ask 'Why don't they understand Buddhism? These are unnecessary questions," he said.
Participants then read from Kiyozawa's essay, The Oneness of All Things, where he wrote, "The truth of the oneness of all things is constantly working in us even when we are not aware of it." Dr. Haneda shed light on this statement by saying, "We are participants of one reality...this reality, this oneness, is expressed in many ways, such as 'mind-onlyness,' interdependence, etc. However, the key is that there is only one organic whole. Kiyozawa himself discussed this from his own unique experiential standpoint in December Fan, which symbolizes Kiyozawa's entire thought." In the introduction to the book, Dr. Haneda discussed the well-known story of the mother who helps her son to carry a tray of food without his knowing it. Dr. Haneda commented that this story illustrates both the negative and positive aspects of being a "December Fan."
In the story, the boy starts out carrying the tray, feeling very proud to be doing it "all by himself." But at a certain point he turns around and realizes his mother is really carrying it for him, and has been all along. Suddenly, he is humbled, negated and feels useless. However, the positive aspect is his experience of tremendous liberation and freedom. The boy, seeing that his mother is really carrying the tray, realizes that even if he releases the tray, it will not fall. "He feels tremendous relief," said Dr. Haneda. "This is the teaching of Shinran," Dr. Haneda continued. "When you realize you are ignorant, you are 'born into the Pure Land.'" Thus the problem, he pointed out, is really our sense of self-importance. "The crucial issue is how we regard ourselves, like the story of the boy carrying the tray," he said.
Next, the participants read Kiyozawa's essay, Self Despising and Self-Respecting. Here, Kiyozawa wrote, "In the teachings of religion, such a matter as the value of the self is not an important issue...By entrusting the self to the Tathagata, a person lives his life in peace. The person who has entered the gate of religion sees zero value in himself. Our anguish and grief exist because of our sense of self-importance. If we've already lost that sense, we do not mind whether others despise or honor uswe can do things calmly."
The philosopher-slave Epictetus was a great influence on Kiyozawa, Dr. Haneda said. As a slave, he had tremendous "un-freedom." "But Epictetus' insight was regarding what was 'controllable' and what was 'uncontrollable' by him...he saw that freedom is in the mind," said Dr. Haneda. "Epictetus showed Kiyozawa about knowing one's limits. You must know what is uncontrollable and what is controllable. What is uncontrollable," Dr. Haneda said, is "aging, illness, death, and 'causation,'" which he defined as things like having been born Japanese, being tall or short, etc. Regarding our illusion of control, he said, "The ego-self does not think it should die, and thinks it can control everything or ignore unpleasant things. We are all like 'backseat drivers'; we all have this illusion of self-power," he said. "We think we're driving the car, but when we actually look at our hands, we don't even have a steering wheel. We should just sit back and relax and just be a rider...be just as we are."
Dr. Haneda pointed out that it was Ryojin Soga who said, "The basic cause of our death is the fact that we were born as human beings." But we hear doctors and others say, "The leading cause of death is heart attack, etc." Dr. Haneda pointed out that this is, of course, only correct from a medical viewpoint. Another aspect of our confusing what is controllable and what is uncontrollable, is that "uncontrollable" does not mean I lack control over everything in this moment of time, because I do have "free will." "Buddhism is not 'fatalistic,'" Dr. Haneda clarified. "In Buddhism, we have tremendous freedom, even though we are influenced by karma. We can choose to stop and smell the flowers, we can stand up or sit down. The concept of karma in Buddhism is not fatalistic or pre-determined in any way. It is actually very creative. For example, a painter might choose red and blue to make purple. These colors blend a certain way due to causation, but the painter has the free will to choose them as he pleases."
Dr. Haneda went on to discuss the strong connections between Shakyamuni, Shinran and Kiyozawa. He drew again his famous "boat diagram" on the blackboard. This time, he labeled the boat, traveling upstream against the current of impermanence, as showing the "fixation" of human beings who are attached to their "good qualities," i.e., those who have the delusion of self-importance. The downward pointing arrows represent the current of the river of impermanence, or the teaching and ideas of Shakyamuni himself, which Buddhists call the Dharma. The "good qualities" we think we have are ultimately of course "denied" by impermanence and the boat begins to turn around and go downstream. This turning around represents the "evil person who gains insight into their fixation," Dr Haneda said. It represents Kiyozawa's "December Fan" understanding of his own uselessness. Thus, "Selflessness, equals Impermanence (Shakyamuni) equals evil (Shinran) equals uselessness (Kiyozawa)," he said. Next, Dr. Haneda drew a table which clearly illustrated the similarities of these teachers:
| Teacher: | Unawakened is: | Awakened is: |
| Shakyamuni | Fixation | Impermanence |
| Shinran | Goodness | Evil |
| Kiyozawa | Self-Importance | Self-Uselessness |
Dr. Haneda then discussed the criticisms that some of Kiyozawa's contemporaries had leveled at him; that Kiyozawa's Buddhism was "passive" and "destroyed morality." Regarding the charge of passivity, Dr. Haneda pointed out that, "Kiyozawa, after his transformation, was very dynamic. He created a strong Sangha, out of which came many great teachers. He was tremendously creative and wrote many influential essays." Therefore, Dr. Haneda explained, "Contentment is very dynamic; it is not complacent." He further said that the acceptance of our future or past uncontrollable factors (causation), rather than being passive, actually leads to our contentment in the present and future. "Then every moment is fresh and dynamic," he said. "Contentment and peace of mind--from knowing the self and losing our self-attachment--leads to lively, free action. It leads to the attitude of the seeker of the truth."
He quoted Kiyozawa, who said, "On the one hand, we must be content with the present because it is the result of the past. On the other hand, we must awaken the mind of effort-making and study in the present because it is the course of the future." Dr. Haneda explained therefore that, "There are two things contained in the present: Our freedom and the uncontrollable. If we see a child about to be hit by a car, naturally we make all kinds of effort to save her. But, if she dies, we must accept that and move on."
Then, Dr. Haneda discussed Kiyozawa's controversial statement that "There is no need for me to be concerned about my every action, even if it turns out to be a mistake or crime, because Tathagata takes on the burden of responsibility." This is a statement that caused Kiyozawa to be greatly criticized. Some felt he was advocating lawlessness. However, Soga-sensei, who was there when Kiyozawa was criticized, reported that Kiyozawa had responded: "Thank you for your comments...However, we are not making any assertions. We are just confessing the depth of our karmic evil and bowing our head before the Tathagata...Spiritual Awareness is nothing but an expression of our meaninglessness and emptiness." Soga-sensei commented that this statement of Kiyozawa's "pointed out his great understanding of emptiness; I remember Kiyozawa as a person who did not defend himself...because he had no self to defend." "What really got Kiyozawa in trouble," said Dr. Haneda, "is that he was talking from the world of selflessness, but his listeners were listening to him from the world of the ego-self."
"This idea of absolute freedom was probably the most difficult topic Kiyozawa talked about...Of course, Shinran had similarly said, 'Don't be afraid of your own evil,' in the Tannisho," said Dr Haneda. "Evil is the result of causation, or karma. This is the world we live in, this is reality. On the other hand, freedom comes when we realize the 'one,' the non-dual oneness," he added.
Dr. Haneda concluded his lecture by again quoting Kiyozawa's remarkable statement on the true nature of the self: "Our true self...is committing our total existence to the wondrous working of the Infinite, then settling down just as we are, in our present situation."
Conclusion
I would like to personally thank Dr. Haneda, Rev. Saito and Rev. Nakai for their thought-provoking and memorable talks. In addition, Mrs. Tomoko Haneda, who spoiled us with wonderful food and hospitality, made everyone truly feel at home. Clearly, the tradition of self-examination and deep personal insight in the company of the Sangha, which began 2,500 years ago with Shakyamuni Buddha, is very much alive and well at the Maida Center of Buddhism.
Gassho,
Peter Hata
Contact the Maida Center at:
Maida Center of Buddhism
2609 Regent Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 843-8515