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The Living Word. Lineage Zen or patriarchal Zen is a special transmission of
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and Chinese Zen Patriarchs Face to face, a thousand miles away. Korean and
Japanese Zen Masters When chickens are cold, they go up into the trees;
when ducks are cold, they go down into the water.SHIDOBUNAN ZENJI 71
(Rinzai "> 

Shid Bunan [or Munan] (16031676)

 
Works
 Sokushinki
(On the mind, 1670) 
<blockquote>
The Eastern
Buddhist, New Series. 1970, NS03-2, Shid Munan, Sokushin-ki, Trans. by
Kobori Shaku & Norman A. Waddell, pp. 89-118. 
The Eastern Buddhist, New Series. 1971, NS04-1, Shid Munan, Sokushin-ki
 (2), Trans. by Kobori Shaku & Norman A. Waddell, pp. 116-123. 
The Eastern Buddhist, New Series. 1971, NS04-2, Shid Munan, Sokushin-ki
 (concluded), Trans. by Kobori Shaku & Norman A. Waddell, pp.
119-127.
Pgina 1
bunan.txt
</blockquote>

Jishki (On self-nature, 1672)

<blockquote>
The Eastern
Buddhist, New Series. 1975, NS03-1, Shid Munan, Jish-ki, Trans. by
Kusumita Priscella Pedersen, pp. 96-132. 
</blockquote>

Bunan zenji dka sh (1844) 
<blockquote>
 

</blockquote>
 
 <a name="a" id="a"></a><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/angol.gif"
width="36" height="25" border="0">
PDF:
<a href="ShidoMunan.pdf" target="_blank">The Biography of Shid Munan
Zenji</a> 
(Kaisan
Shid Munan Anju Zenji anroku) 
Compiled by
Fufu-anju Enji (Trei Enji, 1721-1792) 
With an Introduction by Kobori Shaku 
Trans. by Kobori Shaku & Norman A. Waddell 
The Eastern Buddhist, New Series. 1970, NS03-1, pp. 122-138.

 
SHIDO
MUNAN 
Richard Bryan McDaniel: Zen Masters of Japan. The
Second Step East. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing,
2013.
<blockquote>
One of the
temples for which Gudo had responsibility was located at Sekigahara, where the
battle had taken place that established the primacy of the Tokugawa Clan. When
Gudo was in the region, he stayed at a local inn and there he took an interest
in the innkeepers son. The boy was being trained in the family business but
showed intellectual promise above his station. Locally, he was known as the
Kana-writing boy because of his skill in the cursive form of the Japanese
syllabic script.
When he was
fourteen years old, the boy accompanied his father to the old capital, Kyoto.
Along the way, they passed through regions that had been devastated during the
recent civil conflicts. These sights left a lasting impression on the boy, and,
Pgina 2
bunan.txt
when he was in Kyoto, he made contact with Master Gudo and took up a lay
practice of Zen.
In the Rinzai
system, students were first taught susokkan, counting the breaths. When they
achieved some degree of concentration, they were instructed to focus on the
breath without counting. And, finally, when the student was deemed ready, the
teacher would assign him a koan. The koan Gudo gave to the innkeepers son was
taken from the poem written by the Chinese Sixth Patriarch, Huineng: from the
beginning not a thing exists. [cf. Zen Masters of China, Chapter
Three]
Before he could
complete his Zen training, the young man had to return to Sekigahara to take up
his duties at the family inn. Whenever Gudo was in the area he would check on
the boys progress. A number of decades passed in this manner. The boy grew to
adulthood, married, and became his fathers successor as inn-keeper. Over time,
he fell away from his practice of Zen and acquired a taste for sake and
gambling.
Around the year
1656, Gudo was once more in the region and stopped at the inn to see how his
former student was doing. When he arrived, he was greeted by the innkeepers
wife who told the Zen master that her husband was out. She invited him to come
in to wait for him, and, as the two sat together, they fell into easy
conversation, during the course of which the wife confided that her husband had
taken to drinking in recent years.
When he
drinks, she said, he can become abusive. He also gambles when he has too much
to drink, and he always loses. Really, there are times when I think my children
and I would be better off without him. But hes my husbandwhat can I
do?
Let me see
what I can do, Gudo suggested. Its late. You retire, and Ill wait for your
husband. But before you leave, would you please bring me a bottle of your best
sake and two cups.
The woman did
as Gudo asked. Then she gathered her children together, and they retired to the
sleeping quarters. Gudo remained in the main room of the inn, seated in
meditation. Around midnight, the innkeeper returned home in a drunken-state and
was embarrassed to find his teacher there. Gudo did not reprimand him for his
behavior and, in fact, indicated the bottle of sake set out on a table. Gudo
invited the innkeeper to share a cup with him, to which the man readily agreed.
The two had several cups of wine, chatting idly, and eventually the innkeeper
fell asleep on the floor.
When he woke
the next morning, he found Gudo still seated in meditation before the family
shrine.
You are
awake, Gudo noted. And it is time for me to return to the capital.
The man was a
little hung-over and humiliated that his teacher had seen him in such a
disreputable condition. He mumbled a reply.
As Gudo tied
his sandals, he remarked, You know, human life is brief and all things pass
Pgina 3
bunan.txt
away. When you spend your time drinking and gambling, you have no time for other
things that may be much more important. Besides which, you bring sorrow to your
family and those who depend upon you.
The innkeeper
broke into tears and admitted that he had known for some time he needed to
change his behavior. He swore an oath to do so, starting that very day, and, as
a sign of gratitude, he asked Gudo to allow him to carry his bags on the first
stage of his journey. Gudo agreed and the two set off. When they had gone a fair
distance, Gudo told the man he should return home. But the man asked to be
allowed to accompany the Zen master a little further. Eventually they arrived at
the next village, and, once again Gudo offered to take up his own bags. The man
said he was willing to accompany Gudo a bit further.
The next time
Gudo offered to take up his bags, the man shook his head, Ill go with you all
the way to Edo.
Once they came
to the city, the man had his head shaved and entered monastic life at the age of
52. Gudo gave him the name Shido Munan, a phrase found in Xinxin Ming of the
third Chinese Patriarch, Jianzhi Sengcan. [cf. Zen Masters of China, Chapter
Two] The first line of the poem, in Japanese, reads The Perfect Way (shido) has
no difficulties (munan).
 
After he
achieved awakening, Munan underwent a radical change of life-style. He did not,
however, become active in the Rinzai hierarchy. Like his master, Gudo, he
recognized that the tradition was stagnating. The career and political
aspirations of monks made up a large part of the problem. Even monks who had
achieved awakening were subject to ambitions. The koan training system had been
compromised; correct answers could be purchased from older monks; some monks
discovered they had a knack for coming up with appropriate answers without
necessarily having insight. In addition, temple schools often drew students more
interested in developing skills in literature or the arts than in Zen
training.
Traditionally,
the emphasis in Rinzai training had been on the attainment of awakening, but
Munan recognized that while awakening was important, it was not an end in
itself. Rather he saw it as an aid that helped the monk reform his character.
Awakening, he asserted, was relatively easy to attain. Practicing the way of the
Buddha, on the other hand, was difficult, especially for one who had not seen
into his true nature.
Even though a
man leaves his home and lives simply with his three robes and a bowl on a rock
under a tree, he still cannot be called a true Buddhist priest. . . . Yet if he
does wish earnestly to become a true priest, he will realize that he has many
desires and is possessed of a body which is endowed with eighty-four thousand
evils, of which the cardinal five are sexual desire, cupidity, birth-and-death,
jealousy, and desire for fame. These evils are the way of the world. They are by
no means easy to overcome. Day and night, by means of enlightenment [awakening],
you should set yourself to eliminating them one after another, thus purifying
yourself. 
Munan provided
an example to others of the change in life he expected Zen practitioners to
Pgina 4
bunan.txt
attain. He was a close friend of and mentor to Suzuki Shosan, who shared his
opinions on many topics. Munan lived frugally in a hermitage with few physical
comforts and gathered a small group of disciples around him who were able to
emulate his ascetic lifestyle. Of these, only one would be designated his
heirDokyo Etan.
 
</blockquote>
 
Munan
Zenji 
<a href="http://zennist.typepad.com/zenfiles/2008/09/munan-zenji.html"
target="_blank">http://zennist.typepad.com/zenfiles/2008/09/munan-zenji.html</a>

<blockquote>
Japanese Zen
master Shido Munan was born in 1603 and died in 1676. Munan was highly venerated
by Zen master Hakuin Zenji (16851768) who was the teacher of Hakuin's teacher,
Shoju Etan. Of all the Japanese Zen masters, Munan had an extraordinary grasp of
Mind. It stands to reason because he spent a long time on the path not being
merely content following form, or words and letters, but understanding that
seeing Mind and cultivating it is of the greatest importance. Like all of the
best Zennists, Munan fully understood the importance of Mind in Buddhism (not to
be confused with mind which is in a constant state of disturbance owing to the
perturbations of carnal existence).


For Munan, in a
nutshell, Mind is Buddha in which one fully awakens (bodhi) to their fundamental
or original Mind (the primordial undisturbed Mind) which verifies itself as only
it can. Thus, one goes from a state of corporeal sleep to awakening to Mind upon
which all things are based. 
Munan
understood that real practice meant getting rid of the obstructions that prevent
us from knowing the original Mind in its own natural state, undisturbed. He also
realized that even after we have attained an initial glimpse of Mind (satori),
we still have to practice, continually, removing as much of the remaining
obstructions as possible. Accordingly, Munan said: 
<blockquote>
If you can
really get to see your original Mind, you must regard it as if you were raising
an infant. In whatever you do such as walking, standing, sitting, lying down, be
aware of Mind so that everything is illuminated by it, so that nothing of the
seven consciousnesses (vijnana) soils it. If you can keep him [the new born
Mind] clear and distinct, it is like an infant growing up becoming equal with
the father. 
</blockquote>
Raising this
special infant means paying attention to it more and morenot the desires of the
body. Munan regarded the body as the cause of delusion, and satori as seeing the
Mind as being fundamentally free of the body. We may draw from this that the
Pgina 5
bunan.txt
more we practice, correctly, the more the original Mind should become outshining
so that the body becomes less and less of a burden for us. In this way, we see
the truth of birth and death which only affect the bodynever the original Mind.
Indeed, the original Mind is empty, unborn, and bodiless. 
</blockquote>
Shid Bunan 
Waka poems 

Translated by Lucien Stryk & Takashi Ikemoto, 
In: ZEN: Poems, Prayers, Sermons, Anecdotes, Interviews, 
Anchor Books, Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1963, p.
15.
<blockquote>
The
moons the same old moon, 
The flowers exactly as they were, 
Yet Ive become the thingness 
Of all the things I see!
<blockquote>
*
</blockquote>
When
youre both alive and dead, 
Thoroughly dead to yourself, 
How superb 
The smallest pleasure!
</blockquote>
 

 
PDF: <a href="A%20history%20of%20Zen%20Buddhism.pdf" target="_blank">A
History of Zen Buddhism</a> Heinrich
Dumoulin, S.J. (1905-1995) 
Pantheon Books, 1963, p. 232. 
<blockquote>
Bunan
(1603-1676), a disciple of the Abbot <a href="../hakuin/hakuin20.html#a"
target="_blank">Gud</a> (d. 1661) 
of Myshinji, from whose line of descent Hakuin was to come 
two generations later, spent his declining years at the hermitage 
of Shidoan.'? He loved the people and warned them against a 
practice which, concerned only with personal enlightenment, 
seeks out the solitude of mountain fastnesses and looks down 
Pgina 6
bunan.txt
on people in the world. Such bonzes are "the greatest evil in 
heaven and on earth. They pass through the world without do- 
ing any useful work and are thus great thieves." He summa- 
rized his understanding of Zen in the following terms: 
<blockquote>
Man
builds a house and lives in it, while the Buddha dwells in 
his body. The householder resides constantly in the house, and 
the Buddha resides in the heart of man. If through compassion 
things and deeds become easy, the heart becomes clear, and 
when the heart is clear thc Buddha appears. If you wish to clarify 
your heart, sit in meditation and approach to the Perfected One. 
In meditation turn over the evil saps of your body to the Per- 
fected One. If you do this, you will surely become a Buddha. 
. . . The enlightened one follows nature whether in walking or 
standing, in sitting or reclining. 
</blockquote>
Bunan wrote in
the fluent Japanese kana style and composed 
well-known koan in the thirty-one syllables of Japanese poetics. 
A collection of "dharma-words" from his pen has been pre-
 
served. 
<blockquote>
There
are names, 
Such as Buddha, God, or Heavenly Way: 
But they all point to the mind 
Which is nothingness.
sans-serif">... 
 
Live always 
With the mind of total nothingness, 
And the evils that come to you 
Will dissipate completely.
...
Not
doing zazen, 
Is no other than zazen itself; 
When you truly know this, 
You are not separate 
From the way of Buddha. 

</blockquote>
</blockquote>
 
 
sans-serif">Sayings of Zen Master Bunan 
Translated by Thomas F. Cleary 
Pgina 7
bunan.txt
In: The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai
Zen, Grove Press, 1978. pp. 99-108.
<blockquote>
sans-serif">People see others in terms of themselves. The vision of 
fools is dreadful. If there is ambition in oneself, one will 
see others on the basis of that frame of mind. He who 
lusts looks with lust. Unless one is a sage, seeing is 
dangerous. Even though there are people on the great 
way, people who can see and know are rare. What a 
waste. A wise man discerns the potential of others, 
though they may not be equal to him, and makes use of 
their level of understanding.
...
sans-serif">To acquiesce to the teaching of enlightenment, as it 
is, directly abandon all things, merge with the body of 
thusness and experience peerless peace and bliss, is no 
more than a matter of whether or not you think of the 
body. Although there are people who think this teach- 
ing is true, it's hard to find someone who strives to 
make it his own. 
sans-serif">It is easy to keep things at a distance; it is hard to be 
naturally beyond them. 
sans-serif">There are no mountains to enter outside of mind, 
making the unknown your hiding place.
sans-serif">While deluded, one is used by this body; when 
enlightened, one uses this body. 
sans-serif">... 


Asked of the supreme vehicle, Bunan said, 
<blockquote>
To
let the body be free and not to cling to anything. 
For this reason it is a great matter; thus it is a rare thing 
in this age. 
sans-serif">Whether man or woman, you should first make 
them see reality, and have them sit in meditation for 
that; when their seeing of reality is complete, then you 
Pgina 8
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should teach them to respond to any event. 
virtually enlightened, have them preserve 
that, so that bad thoughts do not arise; if they nurture 
this for a long time, they will become people of the way.
virtually enlightened, if you teach them that 
all things are it, most people will turn bad. Those who 
only preserve enlightenment mostly are trapped in 
sitting meditation and become devotees of discipline. 
Whether it's good or bad to expound the great way 
immediately depends on who you're talking to. You 
must teach with understanding, not misunderstanding. 
You
should always act with kindness and compas- 
sion. People think that kindness and compassion mean 
doing things, but actually giving people things is the 
foremost kindness and compassion. Never to do or say 
what is painful to others is kindness and compassion. 
you do things which are unpleasant and 
painful to others, even if you have a mountain of 
treasure it will eventually be ruined. There is no doubt 
about this. Thus, working diligently, there comes to be 
no Buddha, no teaching; though living you are not here, 
neither do you die, you don't remain in this world or go 
to the next world-having become like empty space, you 
don't even think of empty space. There is no body, 
nothing at allthere is no thought of nothingness or of 
being. 
<blockquote>
O
my body, 
Used to being used at will, 
Since there is no using body or me. 
</blockquote>
Fire
is something that burns; water is something that 
wets; a buddha is someone who practices compassion. 
Teaching people to be kind and compassionate to 
others means imitating the Buddha. If you just practice 
compassion, you will certainly become good . The basis 
of compassion is purity of the mind. Purity of the mind 
is "not a single thing." "Not a single thing" means
 
nothing at all; it is beyond the reach of speech, beyond 
affirmation and negation. If there is any affirmation or 
negation in your heart, it will be obstructed by that 
affirmation and negation; if there is no affirmation or 
negation, then heaven and earth are one. If there is 
something, it separates you from heaven-this you 
Pgina 9
bunan.txt
should well understand. 
<blockquote>
The
mind which knows nothing 
Is a Buddha 
By a different name. 
</blockquote>
Since
you will surely eventually die, you should set 
your mind diligently on the way of enlightenment. 
There is no enlightened Buddha outside your own 
heart; always keep a pure and clean mind and heart. 
When thoughts of your own body come up, as long as 
such bad thoughts are always there, this life is but a 
little while and you will fall into a hell and suffer 
forever and ever; but even leaving that aside, in this life 
you will suffer in many ways. 
the heart is pure and compassionate, there is 
no Buddha outside of this. 
Once
you have been greatly enlightened, there is no 
great enlightenment; when praying, there is no prayer; 
when rejoicing, there is no one to rejoice. Living, there 
is nothing living; dying, there is nothing that dies; there 
is nothing existent or nonexistent. Though you have 
physical form, you have no form; beyond being and 
nonbeing, you let existence and nonexistence be, be- 
yond affirmation and negation, you let right and wrong 
be 
<blockquote>
sans-serif">While deluded, 
It is things that are things; 
When enlightened, 
You leave things to their thingness. 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
sans-serif">Things People Are Always Wrong About: 
<blockquote>
sans-serif">Hating to be fooled by others while liking to be fooled 
by oneself. 
sans-serif">Knowing others die but not realizing one's own death.
sans-serif">Discriminating others' right and wrong while not acting 
properly oneself. 
Pgina 10
bunan.txt
sans-serif">Suffering from want and not knowing how to avoid it.
sans-serif">Thinking that original nothingness is nothing. 
sans-serif">Setting up something in the way of enlightenment.
sans-serif">Unless you enter the way of enlightenment, you cannot 
preserve your body. 
are those who perform memorial services without 
respecting the Buddha in their own bodies. 
sans-serif">Considering enlightenment to be the teaching of the 
Buddha-those who are enlightened are rare. 
Not
knowing how to overturn bad impulses. 
 
</blockquote>

Bunan's Regulations for Disciples 
<blockquote>
A
monk is the greatest evil on earth; he goes through 
the world without labor-he is a great thief. 
the fruits of discipline and practice are 
fulfilled and one may he a teacher of others, he is a 
precious jewel in the world. There are innumerable 
teachers of the ways of the world, but teachers of the 
Great Way are rare. 
Do
not use unwisely even a piece of paper or half a 
penny. 
Be
constantly austere with the body, and do not do 
things for the sake of the body. The enemy of Dharma 
and Buddha is the body. 
Look
upon accepting things from others as like 
poison. When you have completely realized the great 
way, then you should accept those things which people 
hold dear; this is because it helps those people. 
sans-serif">During the period of practice and effort, should you 
be beaten and trampled by others, you should rejoice 
that the effects of the deeds you yourself produced in 
the past are being exhausted. 
master Joshu was asked if a dog has en- 
lightened nature or not, he said No. If you can really 
Pgina 11
bunan.txt
understand this No, you will surely be free from doubts 
about anything in or out of this world. For example, 
when you first enter, you shatter being and nothingness. 
Having shattered being and nothingness, if you nurture 
it energetically, you break through the body. Having 
broken through the body, if you work hard, you break 
through the mind. Having broken through body and 
mind, the original mind appears. When you reach that, 
then there is no doubt about what the world-honored 
Buddha taught: there are hells; there are heavens; there 
are enlightened ones and devils, hungry ghosts and 
animals; there is retribution. You will have no doubts at 
all about the scriptures. 
As
for fundamental nothingness, when for example 
they sit and meditate people think that control of body 
and mind is the basis of "not a single thing," but they 
are all wrong. "Originally not a single thing exists" 
refers to the absolute nonexistence of "body" and 
"mind." When you reach here, paradises and hells 
spoken of by the Buddha are certain; hungry ghosts and 
animals certainly exist. Those who don't reach here talk 
in various ways to become well' known, but since it 
doesn't come from truth, their words and actions are 
not in accord. 
 
</blockquote>
sans-serif">
Bunan used to say to his group, 
<blockquote>
is no special principle in the study of the way; 
it's only necessary to see and hear directly. Directly 
seeing, there is no seeing; directly hearing, there is no 
hearing. You must fuse inside and outside into one solid 
thoroughly peaceful state before you can do this. 
sans-serif">Although you people are buddhas right now, yet you 
don't realize it. If you know you go against the buddhas 
and patriarchs, if you don't know you revolve in the 
routine of birth and death. At this point, if you don't 
have the transcendental eye, how can you attain reali- 
zation? 
<blockquote>
sans-serif">Knowing the fundamental, 
Detached from myriad things; 
Who knows that which is outside words, 
Which the Buddhas and Patriarchs didn't transmit?
</blockquote>
Pgina 12
bunan.txt
sans-serif">Although our school considers enlightenment [sa- 
tori] in particular to be fundamental, that doesn't 
necessarily mean that once you're enlightened you stop 
there. It is necessary only to practice according to reality 
and complete the way. According to reality means 
knowing the fundamental mind as it really is; practice 
means getting rid of obstructions caused by habitual 
actions by means of true insight and knowledge. 
Awakening to the way is comparatively easy; accom- 
plishment of practical application is what is considered 
most difficult. That is why the great teacher 
Bodhidharma said that those who know the way are 
many, whereas those who carry out the way are few. 
You simply must wield the jewel sword of the adaman- 
tine sovereignty of wisdom and kill this self. When this 
self is destroyed, you cannot fail to reach the realm of 
great liberation and great freedom naturally.
sans-serif">If you can really get to see your fundamental mind, 
you must treat it as though you were raising an infant. 
Walking, standing, sitting, lying down, illuminate 
everything everywhere with awareness, not letting him 
be dirtied by the seven consciousnesses. If you can keep 
him dear and distinct, it is like the baby's gradually 
growing up until he's equal to his father-calmness and 
wisdom dear and penetrating, your function will be 
equal to that of the buddhas and patriarchs. How can 
such a great matter be considered idle? Now the reason 
that we consider human life best is for no other reason 
than being means to realize true liberation in this 
lifetime. However, if you seek profit and support, 
considering these the ultimate truth, in every moment 
of thought used by delusive ideas, vainly ending your 
life, at the time of death nothing you can do will be any 
use. The Buddha came into the world to guide those on 
the paths of illusion, directly pointed to the fundamen- 
tal mind, letting them leave behind birth, death, and 
myriad things. While this body clearly exists, clearly 
realizing this body doesn't exist, while there are clearly 
seeing, hearing, discernment and knowledge, clearly 
realizing there are no seeing hearing discernment or 
knowledge-this is called the effect of true investigation; 
how could it be easy? 
you go near fire, you are warm; when you go 
near water, you are cool; and when you go near people 
imbued with the way, they naturally make your mind 
die and conceptions dissolve, causing all wrong 
thoughts to cease. This is called the spiritual effect of 
complete virtue. You all call yourselves people of the 
way as soon as you enter the gate. Really, you should be 
ashamed.
Pgina 13
bunan.txt
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
sans-serif"> Shid Bunan (16031676) 
in Japanese Philosophy: a sourcebook 
edited by James W. Heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, John C. Maraldo 
University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2011. pp. 190-194. 
<blockquote>
A Zen master in
the Myshin-ji lineage of the Rinzai School, Shid 
Bunan (or Munan) is best known for his teaching that the best approach to
Zen 
would be to die while you are alive and then try to remain that way for
the rest of 
your life. One of Bunans disciples became the master of Hakuin, and thus
the germ 
of Hakuins notion of the great death of the self originated with Bunan.
Grow- 
ing up in present-day Gifu prefecture, when a Zen monk named <a
href="../hakuin/hakuin20.html#a" target="_blank">Gud Tshoku</a> briefly 
stayed with his family, he was so impressed that in walking with the monk to
see 
him off, the boy ended up following him all the way to the big city of Edo,
where he 
was ordained and given the name Bunan, meaning no problem. Bunan
attained 
enlightenment at age forty-seven, according to one record, and built a small
temple 
for himself in the Azabu district of Edo, now one of the wealthiest
neighborhoods in 
Tokyo. Afterwards his reputation grew and he became spiritual advisor to a
number 
of daimy. Bunan appears in a number of stories from that time, for example,
one 
of refusing a lords invitation by sending a note back that consisted of
nothing more 
than a splotch of ink made with a rice cake.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
[Mark L. Blum]
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
This
Very Mind is Buddha 
Shid Bunan 1670, 5, 91027, (89, 93112)
The
reason death is abhorred is that it is not known. People them- 
selves are the buddha, yet they do not know it. If they know it, they are far
from 
the buddha-mind; if they do not know it, they are deluded. I have composed 
the following verses:
<blockquote>
you penetrate the fundamental origin 
You go beyond all phenomena. 
Who knows the realm beyond all words 
Which the buddhas and patriarchs could not transmit?
</blockquote>
If
people know birth-and-death, it will be the seed of a false mind. Even 
though I may be censured for having done so, I leave these trifling words
scat- 
tered here, in the hope they may be of help to the young and
uninitiated.
sans-serif">
nenbutsu is a sharp sword, good for cutting off ones karma. But
you 
should never think of yourself as becoming buddha, for not becoming
buddha 
is buddha.
<blockquote>
ones karma is exhausted, 
There is nothing at all. 
To this, for expediency, 
We give the name buddha.
Pgina 15
bunan.txt
</blockquote>
teachings of Buddhism are greatly in error. How much more in error it 
is to learn them. See directly. Hear directly. In direct seeing there is no
seer. In 
direct hearing there is no hearer.
To a
certain person I said, As for the buddha-dharma, people today are 
perplexed, and seek buddha outside of themselves. For example, in the
term 
wondrous existence, wondrous is original nothingness and existence is
where 
nothingness moves or operates. Nothingness can never be manifested
without 
being, which is why they are combined. One is known according to the right
or 
wrong of the dharma by which one lives. When one has insight into ones
own 
nature in all ones behavior in everyday life, and uses ones body in
accordance 
with this nature, then we may speak of the
buddha-dharma.
People
say that enlightenment is difficult. It is neither difficult nor easy; 
nothing whatsoever can attach to it. It stands apart from the right and
wrong 
of things, while at the same time corresponding to them. It lives in desires
and 
it is apart from them; it dies and does not die; it lives and does not live;
it sees 
and does not see; it hears and does not hear; it moves and does not move;
it 
seeks things and does not seek them; it sins and does not sin. It is under
the 
domination of causality, and it is not. Ordinary people cannot reach it, and
even 
bodhisattvas cannot actualize it. Therefore, it is called
buddha.
While
one is deluded, one is used by ones body. When one gains awakening, 
one uses ones body.
teaching of Buddha is, after all nothing, yet how foolish the human 
mind of man is (to interpret it in various ways). There is nobody in the
world 
who is not deluded by fame. It is understandable that people get lost in
sexual 
desire or the acquisition of wealth, but if they become aware that even
Pgina 16
bunan.txt
those 
things are in vain, what then is fame? If you single-mindedly follow the
path of 
the Buddha, other things will be settled one way or another. It is worthless
to 
cling to fame.
<blockquote>
persons delusion by fame 
Is the greatest folly in the world. 
People should be as those 
Who know not even their own name.
</blockquote>
One
usually sees others in the light of ones own standards. The way a foolish 
person sees is very dangerous; because of ones greediness one sees others
as 
greedy. A sensual person sees others as sensuous. It is dangerous for anyone
but 
a sage to judge others. Even if there were a person who followed the great
Way 
of the Buddha, few would recognize such a one correctly. As a consequence
of 
this, the great Way is degenerating.
A wise
person handles others using keen insight into their natures, and 
makes what they have in their minds operate usefully, even though their
natures 
are quite different. Then they will come to work properly. One who leads
others 
should keep these things in mind.
It is
easy to live consciously apart from worldly affairs. To live without con- 
sciousness apart from worldly affairs is difficult to
achieve.
For
instance, fire burns things, and water makes them wet. But fire is not con- 
scious of burning things, nor is water conscious of wetting them. A buddha
has 
compassion for all beings and is not conscious of that
compassion.
person who tries to enter the great Way without having seen a true mas- 
ter will suffer from sexual desire and cupidity. Such a one will be greatly
in error. 
One who wishes to live in the great Way should consider that the
defilement 
that permeates all existence is produced wholly by ones own body. One has
to 
have a keen insight into what is common, not only to heaven and earth, but
Pgina 17
bunan.txt
to 
the past, present, and future as well. Having seen this, if one keeps the
oneness 
of this within, there is no doubt that such a one will be freed naturally
from the 
karma of the body and will become pure.
certain person asked me, What is the way of Mahayana, the Great 
Vehicle? I said, In the Great Vehicle, you are upright, and there is
nothing to 
observe.
Then,
it was asked, what is the way of the ultimate vehicle? I said, In the 
ultimate vehicle, you do as you will, and there is nothing to observe. It is
a won- 
derful thing, and it is very rare in this world.
I said
to my disciples: When you labor over kan, why do you indulge in 
so many difficult things? All things you do are your seeing directly,
hearing 
directly.
Master
Rinzai said, There is a follower of the Way who listens to the dharma 
and depends upon nothing. If you have awakened to this non-dependence, 
there is no buddha to be obtained. Huineng, the sixth patriarch,
attained 
satori upon hearing the words of the Diamond Sutra which say,
Awaken the 
mind without fixing it anywhere.
sans-serif">Everything has a time for ripeness. For instance, as a child, one
learns the 
alphabet. Then, as an adult in the busy world, there is nothing one is
unable to 
write about, even about things of China. This is the ripening of the
alphabet. 
People who practice Buddhism will suffer pain while they are washing the 
defilements from their bodies; but after they have cleansed themselves
and 
become buddha, they no longer feel any suffering.
So it
is with compassion. While one is acting compassionately, one is aware of 
his compassion. When compassion has ripened, one is not aware of his
compas- 
sion. When one is compassionate and unaware of it, one is
buddha.
<blockquote>
Since
all compassion 
Is the work of bodhisattvas, 
Pgina 18
bunan.txt
How can misfortune 
Befall a bodhisattva?
</blockquote>
is nothing more ignorant than a human being. While walking, sitting, or 
lying, people suffer pain and sadness, mourn the past, fear the uncertain
future, 
envy others, and consider things from their own point of view alone. Thus
they 
are bound in sadness by the affairs of the world. Their life in this world
is spent 
in worthless pursuits. Yet in the worlds to come, no matter how they may
suffer 
from pain in their successive lives, they will be unable to rid themselves
of them. 
Indeed, the human being is possessed of deep delusions.
priest is said to be one who possesses a solid appearance (having long prac- 
ticed zazen). His external aspect and his inner being have become
completely 
one. He is, after all, like a dead man revived. A dead man wants nothing;
he 
needs neither to flatter nor hate any person. Having attained the great Way,
he 
naturally sees the right and wrong in others, and is able to lead them to
the Way 
of Buddha. This is a priest.
To one
who asked me how to practice the great Way in everyday life, I
said:
<blockquote>
sans-serif">Ordinary people are themselves buddhas. Buddhas and ordinary people
are 
originally one. Therefore, one who knows is an ordinary man, and one
who 
knows not is a buddha.
</blockquote>
To
someone who practices nenbutsu:
<blockquote>
sans-serif">Unless you recite the name, 
There is neither you nor buddha. 
Pgina 19
bunan.txt
That is it 
Namu-Amida-Butsu.
</blockquote>
priest who preaches the dharma:
<blockquote>
it has totally perished, 
You are nothing but nothingness itself 
Then you may teach others.
</blockquote>
On the
Buddhist lifes abhorrence of knowledge:
<blockquote>
should remember, 
Knowledge stems 
From the various evils of others, 
And your own evils as well.
</blockquote>
On
Rinzai:
<blockquote>
became a monk 
A commandment-breaker monk 
Because you killed the buddhas 
And the patriarchs.
</blockquote>
Grass,
trees, land, and state, all are to become buddhas.
<blockquote>
are no grasses or trees; 
There is no land, no state; 
Still more, 
There is no buddha.
</blockquote>
person suffering from lifes troubles:
<blockquote>
sans-serif">Consider everything you do 
As the practice of the Way of the buddha, 
And your sufferings will disappear.
</blockquote>
Pgina 20
bunan.txt
On
teaching the Way:
<blockquote>
Do
not be deluded 
By the word Way; 
Know it is but the acts 
You perform day and night.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
[Kobori
Shaku, Norman Waddell]
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
 
 
From the
Mumonkan, Case 37: http://moosiszenjourneys.or
g/joshus-oak-tree/ </a>
<blockquote>
A monk
asked Joshu in all earnestness. What is the meaning of the patriarch's coming
from the west? 
Joshu said, The oak tree there in the garden. 
</blockquote>
There is a
wonderful story about this koan. Shido Bunan Zenji was travelling along the
Tokaido road from Kyoto to Edo. He was being followed by a robber who put up at
the same inn as Shido, planning to rob him during the night. The thief opened
the door and peeked in. To his astonishment, what he saw there in the room was a
garden with an oak tree in it. Suddenly, he heard a voice exclaim, Who's
there? The tree transformed into Shido sitting in meditation. The thief was so
stunned that he apologized and asked to learn about this amazing technique that
allowed him to change into an oak tree. The teacher taught him to do zazen and
gave him a koan. In time, the man changed and lived an honest life.

 
 
Zengo
90 

Zengo: Shid
bunan yuiken kenjaku 
Pgina 21
bunan.txt
Translation: The Supreme Way knows no difficulties, only avoid picking and
choosing. 
Source: Shinjinmei (Faith-Mind Maxim). 
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
From 
Kusumoto Bun'y (1907-1995) 
Zengo nyumon 
Tokyo: Daihrin-kaku Co. Ltd., 1982 
An Introduction to Zen Words and Phrases 
Translated by Michael D. Ruymar (Michael Sru Ruymar)
</blockquote>
This is an old
and well-known Zengo taken from the first two lines of the 
Shinjinmei composed by Sengcan (d. 606), the Third Patriarch of Zen in
China. The 
Shinjinmei is a poem comprised of 146 lines of four-word verse presented in
a sonorous 
style that well expresses the essence of Zen, while those two lines in
particular provide 
the essence of the Shinjinmei. 
Student-teacher
dialogues with Master Zhaozhou (778-897) that include these two 
lines appear in both The Record of Zhaozhou and The Blue Cliff Record (cases
2, 57, 58 
& 59). Otherwise famous for his Mukan, Zhaozhou was so especially fond of
the phrase 
shid bunan that he adopted the Buddhist name Shidan, and greeted his
callers with it. 
Of those who achieved Great Enlightenment from the shid bunan kan was Zen
Master 
Shid Bunan (1603-1676), the Dharma heir of Zen Master <a
href="../hakuin/hakuin20.html#a" target="_blank">Gud Tshoku</a>, three time
 
resident and chief abbott of the Myshin-ji Temple. Taking the tonsure, he
changed his 
name to Bunan, and late in life followed Zhaozhou by calling his home
Shidan, or, Shid 
Hermitage, where he passed his remaining years. In that way, the phrase
shid bunan 
holds something that draws the mind of Zen practitioners. 
Shid refers to
the Supreme Ultimate Universal Way, the highest Truth, the 
Buddhist Path, the Buddha Mind, the Buddha-nature, Self-nature and
Dharma-nature. 
Bunan means that which is without difficulties. The Way is near, said
Menzi, meaning 
the Supreme Way is not something far away at a great height, but is within
the closest 
reach of our daily lives, and is not difficult to attain. Also, yuiken
kenjaku is to be read 
tada kenjaku o kirau, where kenjaku is to choose, (erabu) or to prefer
Pgina 22
bunan.txt
(yorikonomi), 
that is, to pick and choose, (shushu sentaku). To avoid (kirau) picking
and choosing 
means that it is not good to adopt a dualistic perspective of yes versus
no, good versus 
bad, and like versus dislike. 
The mind of
the Shinjinmei: Faith-Mind Maxim is the alpha and omega of 
existence, also referred to as the Buddha Mind, Buddha-nature, True
Thusness, and Self- 
nature. Originally unborn, undying, formless and unstruck, it is that
spiritually illumined 
Absolute Existence which can neither be known nor seen. It is due to our
dualistic, 
discriminating intellect that picks and prefers (eri-konomi) that we are
unable to awaken 
to the mind that forms the root of this existence, or master the Supreme
Way. If we cut off 
this relativistic consciousness and establish ourselves in Absolute
awareness, it is easy to 
master the Supreme Way (i.e. Buddha Mind or Buddha-nature). In that way, as
in 
expressions like both forgotten and cutting off both heads (Zengo 6),
emptying 
opposites of their opposition is a precondition to awakening to the Mind of
the Buddha, 
ones True Self. 

</blockquote>
 
 

Shid
Bunan has the following poem []:
<blockquote>
Live by
becoming completely and utterly dead; 
then, doing as one pleases is [always] good.
</blockquote>
In Living by
Zen (1950, 1972: p. 124) Suzuki gives the following English translation:

<blockquote>
While
living, be a dead man, thoroughly dead; 
Whatever you do, then, as you will, is always good. 
</blockquote>
 
 
Zen
Master Shid Bunan (d. 1676) 
in <a href="ShibayamaZenkei.html" target="_blank">Shibayama Zenkei</a>
(1894-1974), A Flower Does Not Talk: Zen essays (Tokyo and Vermont: Charles E.
Tuttle Company, 1972) at 46
<blockquote>
Die
while alive, and be completely dead, 
Then do whatever you will, all is good.
</blockquote>
Shibayama
explained that the aim of Zen training is to die while alive, that is, to
actually become the self of no-mind, and no-form, and then to revive as the True
Self of no-mind and no-form. 
 
 
Shid
Bunan Zenji 
by
<a href="KounYamada.html" target="_blank">Yamada Kun</a>

(1907-1989)
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
And there
is really a person who hates the word Buddha. His name is Shid Bunan Zenji. As
you might know, he was the teacher of Shju Rjin, who was the master of Hakuin
Zenji. I consider Shid Bunan Zenji to be a truly outstanding person. Shid
Bunan Zenji was originally the innkeeper of a watering place along the Tokaido
Road at that time. He became a student of the Zen master Gud Osh. 
 <img width="281" height="640"
src="https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/GudoToshoku1.jpg"> 

<a href="GudoToshoku.html" target="_blank">Gud Tshoku</a> (15771661) 
 
1648 
This Gud
Osh traveled back and forth several times between Kyoto and Edo (present-day
Tokyo) along this highway and evidently stayed at this inn a number of times. As
a result, Shid Bunan began to receive the instruction of Gud Osh and
eventually devoted himself to authentic practice. He decided to become a monk.
Up to then he had devoted himself to carousing, to the extent that the family
became quite disgusted with him. When I ask myself why he was carousing so much,
I can surmise that he wanted everyone to think that he was no longer required at
the inn, so that he would then be free to become a monk. Once when Gud Zenji
was traveling from Kyoto to Tokyo, he stayed overnight at the inn. The two men
Pgina 24
bunan.txt
talked until deep in the night. The next morning Gud Zenji continued on his
way. Shortly after that, the master of the inn left home, never to return again.
He went to Tokyo and practiced in a little hut-like dwelling. This was probably
his continued practice after realizing enlightenment. As time went on, word got
around that a very special person was living in the vicinity. Shju Rjin wanted
to meet a true Zen master and traveled to Tokyo with that intention. I'm not
sure if Shid Bunan already called his hermitage Shidan starting around that
time, but at any rate Shju Rjin visited him in his dwelling. When he paid a
visit, he found Shid Bunan Zenji sitting in a ramshackle dwelling on worn-out
tatami matting. But one look was enough for him to confirm that he had met his
true teacher. This really speaks well for Shju Rjin. 
Shid Bunan
Zenji was definitely not a learned man, but he nevertheless wrote truly
outstanding waka poems. Also outstanding are his dka or songs of the way. You
would all do well to give them a perusal, if you have a chance. I have been
looking over just the ones consisting of four lines. Many of them warn us
against being duped by the concept of Buddha (hotoke-sama). Here is an example:
Even if you fall head first into Avici hell, don't ever think of becoming a
Buddha (sakashima ni abijigoku e otsurutomo hotoke ni naru to sara ni omouna).
The Avici hell is the most gruesome of the traditional eight hells of
Buddhism. This is truly outstanding. Shid Bunan Zenji doesn't mince words. I
believe such penetrating individuals are rare in the Rinzai School. I personally
believe he is a match for Dgen Zenji when it comes to his profound state of
consciousness. Here is another verse of his: No matter what, no different from
an ordinary person, Buddhas and patriarchs are great devils (nanigoto mo bonjin
ni kawaru koto nashi busso to iu mo daima nari keri). He uses the word devils
to indicate concepts. Here is yet another verse: What is Buddha? Fools have
started saying it, and people are deluded by something without a name (hotoke
to wa nani baka na yatsu ga iisomete na mo naki mono ni mayoi koso sure). Who is
it that started saying Buddha? What fools they are! The real thing is nothing at
all. It is because they attach a name like Buddha to it that they are all
deluded. He has clearly realized his true self. Here is yet another verse: When
I hear someone asking what Buddha is, I feel like my ears have been dirtied
(hotoke wa to tazunuru koe wo kiku toki wa mimi no kegagaruru kokochi koso
sure). Here is a Japanese who can compose such poems. 
This is the
time to take a second look at Shid Bunan Zenji. He is of a different sort than
Hakuin Zenji, we might say. He is different in character. Hakuin Zenji was a
genius, especially when it came to literary gifts to compose texts and poems.
Shid Bunan Zenji could be said to have been completely lacking in such breeding
and culture. There are almost no difficult statements in his writings. For
example, with him there is no taint or trace of having read such works as the
Blue Cliff Record, Gateless Gate or Book of Equanimity. When it comes to Shju
Rjin, we can clearly detect the traces of his having read the Blue Cliff
Record. A copy of that work could be found in the hermitage Shjuan where he
resided. As for Hakuin Zenji, there were many literary remains in the form of
his voluminous writings. In that sense he was an inimitable genius.
Nevertheless, I believe he needs to undergo further inspection when it comes to
his enlightened dharma eye. This is not the time or occasion for me to speak in
detail about this matter, and I feel that I that I must delve myself more deeply
into the matter. Let me just say here that I hold Shid Bunan Zenji in great
esteem. His spirit is expressed well in these first words of today's
Pgina 25
bunan.txt
Introduction: Becoming a buddha, becoming a patriarch: This is nothing but
wearing dirty names and is therefore to be abhorred. This is how it is when you
have reached the true fact. It won't do to become attached to ideas or names.
 

</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
 
 

<blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote>
</blockquote>

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Shid Bunan [or Munan] (16031676)</font></p>

Jishki (On self-nature, 1672)</font></p>

<a href="KounYamada.html" target="_blank">Yamada Kun</a>

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