Fujiwara Seika on Universal Brother/Sisterhood - Japanese Neo-Confucianism

Fujiwara Seika (藤原 惺窩; February 8, 1561 – October 19, 1619) was a Japanese Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer during the Edo period. His most well-known student was Hayashi Razan (1583–1657).  

'The first interview between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Fujiwara Seika (1561-1619) took place as early as 1593 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi was still the Tycoon of Japan and Ieyasu one of his lieutenants. The meeting was a momentous one, for it led eventually to wholesale renovation of the cultural and educational policy of the new shogunatc.

A scion of the Fujiwara aristocracy, Seika was a twelfth-generation descendant of Fujiwara no Tcika, the foremost poet and arbiter elegantium of the thirteenth century, and Seika himself was a poet of great skill. Much reduced by circumstances, he made his way to Kyoto to study Chinese poetry and prose at one of the Five Zen Monasteries, hoping to prepare himself for the post of emissary to China. Scika’s deep interest in Chinese studies can be seen in his Bunsho Talto\u Koryo, the most extensive and systematic study of Chinese poetry and prose until then attempted from the creative point of view. He also took every opportunity to acquaint himself personally with Korean captives and Chinese envoys arriving in Japan at irregular intervals. He even attempted to visit China in 1596, but a shipwreck upset his plans.

One thing he became aware of in the course of his preparatory studies was the complete change that had taken place in China and adjacent countries, through the establishment of Neo-Confucianism or Chu Hsi philosophy as the official basis of all instruction. The decline of Buddhism was already well-advanced in China. Zen teaching, especially, was held to be purely negative in regard to secular affairs; more particularly, as far as Seika was concerned, it failed to offer an ethical code such as was needed to govern the peaceful pursuit of international trade. Chu Hsi philosophy, however, being thoroughly secular and rational in character, and also by now officially accepted in all the countries of East Asia, could serve as a moral basis for international dealings.

It may be noted in this connection that Seika's adherence to Chu Hsi philosophy was qualified, being less exclusive than was later the case with his follower Hayashi Razan. For the latter, it was Chu Hsi alone that mattered; but for Seika, any system of philosophy (including the unorthodox Wang Yang-ming school) would suffice providing that it offered a secular and rational standard of conduct for the peaceful transaction of business, and was acceptable to all countries.

Seika’s awareness of the need for such a code or standard in international dealings must have impressed Ieyasu; for the latter was much interested in overseas commercial ventures, as he later proved when shogun. Indeed, he wished to enlist Seika’s services for this purpose, but the latter declined, and recommended in his stead one of his young and rising disciples, Hayashi Razan. It was through the efforts of Razan and his descendants that Neo-Confucianism became the official philosophy and code of the shogunate, in both external and internal affairs' (pp. 346-47).

Ship’s Oath

This oath was drawn up by Fujiwara Seika in connection with the same trading mission referred to above. It represented a policy declaration on the part of the owners and captain of the ship, whose crew members were to conform to ts provisions. Note the characteristic Confucian subordination of the profit motive to equity and mutual benefit.

1. Commerce is the business of selling and buying in order to bring profit to both parties. It is not to gain profit at the expense of others. When profit is shared the gain may be large but the benefits arc small. “Profit is the happy outcome of righteousness." So while the greedy merchant bids for five, the decent one bids for three. Keep that in mind.

2. Foreign lands may differ from our own in manners and speech, but as to the nature bestowed upon men by heaven there cannot be any difference. Do not forget the common identity and exploit differences. Beware even of minor lies and cheating, of arrogance and cursing. The foreigner may not be aware of them but you certainly will be. "Good faith reaches to the pig and fish, and trickery is seen by the seagulls." Heaven docs not tolerate deception. Be mindful, therefore, not to bring disgrace upon our country's tradition. In case you meet men of benevolence and education, respect them as you would your own father or teacher. In quire into the restrictions and taboos of the country, and act in accordance with its customs and religion.

3. Between heaven above and earth beneath all peoples are brothers and things are the common property of all, everyone being equal in the light of Humanity. It must be the more so with one's fellow countrymen and still more so with men on the same ship. In trouble and tribulation, in sickness and hunger, relief should go to everyone equally. Never should anyone think only of his own escape.

4. Raging waters and angry waves, dangerous as they are, are not so dangerous as human passions. Human passions arc numerous, but none arc so dangerous as the passion for liquor and women that drowns men. Those who go around together, wherever it may be, should act as a team for restraining and correcting each other. The old adage says that the dangerous road lies in a soft bed, in eating and in drinking. Be on guard. [From Fujiwara Seika shu, I, 126-27]

Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 1 1958 William Theodore De Bary, Ryusaku Tsunoda, Donald Keene UNESCO Collection of representative works, Japanese series, pp. 348-49.

Kaibara Ekken on the Love of Nature and of Humanity - Japanese Neo-Confucianism

'Among Japanese Neo-Confucianisis there is perhaps none who combines more strikingly than Kaibara Ekken (1630-1714) both the moralistic and rationalistic tendencies of this movement. More than anyone else he brought Confucian ethics into the homes of ordinary Japanese in language they could understand. 

Virtually all Chinese and Japanese Confucianists had been content to confine their "investigation of things" to the classics, but Kaibara carried his inquiry further into the field of nature. His Catalogue of Vegetables, Catalogue of Flora, and Medicinal Herbs of Japan, together with his last work, How To Live Well, arc samples of his extensive studies in the biological realm. 

But his interests in this sphere were not pursued to the exclusion of humanistic studies. To Kaibara, man and nature arc allied and inseparable; an understanding of nature is indispensable to the understanding of man. In this respect it may be said that Kaibara still reflects the essential humanistic and ethical concerns of Confucianism, which distinguish him from the more independent "scientific" thinkers and "Dutch" schoolmen of the eighteenth century in Japan.  

His interpretation of the virtue of humanity (jin) as love for all things. In an orthodox follower of Chu Hsi like Kaibara, however, this is not too surprising a development of the Sung philosopher’s own view of jin as representing a cosmic love identified with the creativity of nature. And it was rather in his special emphasis on creativity and the life-force that Kaibara eventually qualified his acceptance of Chu Hsi by taking issue, in a book entitled Grave Doubts ( Taigi-rol(u ), with the latter’s dualism of principle (ri) and material force (qi) in favor of a monism of understood as the life-force.

 This opening passage to his Precepts for Children (Shogalu-kun) sets forth with great simplicity Kaibara’s view of the interrelation of man and nature through the supreme Confucian virtue of humanity or benevolence (Ch. Jen. Jap. Jin). To make clear that this virtue is understood by him as not only involving but transcending “humanity," we render the term here as ‘‘benevolence." The reader should not fail to observe, however, that it is precisely that which makes man truly man which unites him with nature.

In the first paragraph the compound standing for "nature" is rendered literally as “heaven and earth" so that the correspondence to "father and mother" may be brought out.'

All men may be said to owe their birth to their parents, but a further inquiry into their origins reveals that men come into being because of nature’s law of life. Thus all men in the world arc children born of heaven and earth, and heaven and earth arc the great parents of us all. The Book of History says, "Heaven and earth arc the father and mother of all things" (T’ai-shih 1). Our own parents are truly our parents; but heaven and earth arc the parents of everyone in the world. Moreover, though we are brought up after birth through the care of our own parents and arc sustained on the gracious bounty of the ruler, still if we go to the root of the matter, we find that we sustain ourselves using the things produced by nature for food, dress, housing, and implements. Thus, not only do all men at the outset come into being because of nature’s law of life, but from birth till the end of life they are kept in existence by the support of heaven and earth. Man surpasses all other created things in his indebtedness to the limitless bounty of nature. It will be seen therefore that man's duty is not only to do his best to serve his parents, which is a matter of course, but also to serve nature throughout his life in order to repay his immense debt. That is one thing all men should keep in mind constantly.

As men mindful of their obligation constantly to serve nature in repayment of this great debt, they should not forget that, just as they manifest filial piety in the service of their own parents, so they should manifest to the full their benevolence toward nature. Benevolence means having a sense of sympathy within, and bringing blessings to man and things. For those who have been brought up on the blessings of nature, it is the way to serve nature. It is the basic aim of human life, which should be observed as long as one lives. There should be no letting up on it, no forgetting of it. Benevolence in the service of nature and filial piety are one in principle: it is a principle which must be known and observed by anyone insofar as he is a man. There is none greater than this, none more important. All men living in their parents’ home should expend themselves in filial service to their father and mother; and serving their lord should manifest single-minded loyalty to him. Just so, living as we do in the wrap of nature, we must serve nature and manifest to the full our benevolence. For a man to be unaware of this important duty, to let the days and years pass idly by and let one’s life go for naught, is to make oneself unworthy of being a man. Indeed, how can anyone who would be a man ignore this fact? It is in this that the way of man lies. Any way apart from this cannot be the true way.

To persist in the service of heaven means that everyone who is a man should be mindful of the fact that morning and evening he is in the presence of heaven, and not far removed from it; that he should fear and reverence the way of heaven and not be unmindful of it. He should not, even in ignorance, oppose the way of heaven or commit any outrage against it. Rather, following the way of heaven, he should be humble and not arrogant toward others, control his desires and not be indulgent of his passions, cherish a profound love for all mankind born of nature’s great love, and not abuse or mistreat them. Nor should he waste, just to gratify his personal desires, the five grains and other bounties which nature has provided for the sake of the people. 

Secondly, no living creatures such as birds, beasts, insects, and fish should be killed wantonly. Not even grass and trees should be cut down out of season. All of these are objects of nature's love, having been brought forth by her and nurtured by her. To cherish them and keep them is therefore the way to serve nature in accordance with the great heart of nature. Among human obligations there is first the duty to love our relatives, then to show sympathy for all other human beings, and then not to mistreat birds and beasts or any other living things. That is the proper order for the practice of benevolence in accordance with the great heart of nature. Loving other people to the neglect of parents, or loving birds and beasts to the neglect of human beings, is not benevolence.

Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 1 1958 William Theodore De Bary, Ryusaku Tsunoda, Donald Keene UNESCO Collection of representative works, Japanese series

D. T. Suzuki on Looking Within, Spiritual Potential, Freedom and the Sense of Zen

The opening page of an anthology of essays by D. T. Suzuki is quite striking in its simple eloquence and has become one his more frequently quoted texts, but we feel that is worth re-quoting...

 

A recent publication of note: 

 

Spreading Indra's Net: The Columbia Lectures of D. T. Suzuki

Richard M. Jaffe, Shigematsu Sōiku, Tokiwa Gishin , Elizabeth Mary Thomas, editors

Spreading Indra’s Net presents Suzuki’s 1952–1953 lectures in full, giving a vivid look at how one of the most important global Buddhist figures of the twentieth century interpreted Zen for an American audience.

THE SENSE OF ZEN

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. By making us drink right from the fountain of life, it liberates us from all the yokes under which we finite beings are usually suffering in this world. 

 

We can say that Zen liberates all the energies properly and naturally stored in each of us, which are in ordinary circumstances cramped and distorted so that they find no adequate channel for activity.

This body of ours is something like an electric battery in which a mysterious power latently lies. When this power is not properly brought into operation, it either grows mouldy and withers away or is warped and expresses itself abnormally. It is the object of Zen, therefore, to save us from going crazy or being crippled. 

 

This is what I mean by freedom, giving free play to all the creative and benevolent impulses inherently lying in our hearts. Generally, we are blind to this fact, that we are in possession of all the necessary faculties that will make us happy and loving towards one another. All the struggles that we see around us come from this ignorance. 

 

Zen, therefore, wants us to open a "third eye," as Buddhists call it, to the hitherto undreamed-of region shut away from us through our own ignorance. When the cloud of ignorance disappears, the infinity of the heavens is manifested, where we see for the first time into the nature of our own being. 

 

We now know the signification of life, we know that it is not blind striving, nor is it a mere display of brutal forces, but that while we know not definitely what the ultimate purport of life is, there is something in it that makes us feel infinitely blessed in the living of it and remain quite contented with it in all its evolution, without raising questions or entertaining pessimistic doubts.

 

Zen Buddhism - Selected Writings of D. T. Suzuki, 1956, Anchor Books

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/175544/zen-buddhism-by-selected-writings-of-dt-suzuki-edited-by-william-barrett/9780385483490/excerpt 

Delaying Nirvana in the Lankavatara Sutra

In The Voice of the Silence, the Nirmanakaya doctrine of renouncing Nirvana is presented, similar to the Bodhisattva vow to not attain nirvana until all living being are liberated, such as with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.  Below is a presentation of the doctrine from the Lankavatara Sutra, which discusses the ten stages of the Bodhisattva, from Chapter 11, in the Buddhist Bible, Dwight Goddard and D.T. Suzuki, 148-149 

THEN SAID MAHAMATI to the Blessed One: Will you tell us now about the disciples who are Bodhisattvas?

The Blessed One replied: The Bodhisattvas are those earnest disciples who are enlightened by reason of their efforts to attain self-realisation of Noble Wisdom and who have taken upon themselves the task to enlighten others. They have gained a clear understanding of the truth that all things are empty, un-born, and of a maya-like nature; they have ceased from viewing things discriminatively and from considering them in their relations; they thoroughly understand the truth of twofold egolessness and have adjusted themselves to it with patient acceptance; they have attained a definite realisation of imagelessness; and they are abiding in the perfect-knowledge that they have gained by self-realisation of Noble Wisdom.

Well stamped by the seal of "Suchness" they entered upon the first of the Bodhisattva stages. The first stage is called the Stage of joy (Pramudita). Entering this stage is like passing out of the glare and shadows into a realm of "no-shadows"; it is like passing out of the noise and tumult of the crowded city into the quietness of solitude. The Bodhisattva feels within himself the awakening of a great heart of compassion and he utters his ten original vows: To honor and serve all Buddhas; to spread the knowledge and practice of the Dharma; to welcome all coming Buddhas; to practice the six Paramitas; to persuade all beings to embrace the Dharma; to attain a perfect understanding of the universe; to attain a perfect understanding of the mutuality of all beings; to attain perfect self-realisation of the oneness of all the Buddhas and Tathagatas n self-nature, purpose and resources; to become acquainted with all skillful means for the carrying out of these vows for the emancipation of all beings; to realise supreme enlightenment through the perfect self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, ascending the stages and entering Tathagatahood.

In the spirit of these vows the Bodhisattva gradually ascends the stages to the sixth. All earnest disciples, masters and Arhats have ascended thus far, but being enchanted by the bliss of the Samadhis and not being supported by the powers of the Buddhas, they pass to their Nirvana. The same fate would befall the Bodhisattvas except for the sustaining power of the Buddhas, by that they are enabled to refuse to enter Nirvana until all beings can enter Nirvana with them. The Tathagatas point out to them the virtues of Buddahood which are beyond the conception of the intellectual-mind, and they encourage and strengthen the Bodhisattvas not to give in to the enchantment of the bliss of the Samadhis, but to press on to further advancement along the stages. If the Bodhisattvas had entered Nirvana at this stage, and they would have done so without the sustaining power of the Buddhas, there would have been the cessation of all things and the family of the Tathagatas would have become extinct.

Strengthened by the new strength that comes to them from the Buddhas and with the more perfect insight that is theirs by reason of their advance in self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, they re-examine the nature of the mind-system, the egolessness of personality, and the part that grasping and attachment and habit-energy play in the unfolding drama of life; they re-examine the illusions of the fourfold logical analysis, and the various elements that enter into enlightenment and self-realisation, and, in the thrill of their new powers of self-mastery, the Bodhisattvas enter upon the seventh stage of Far-going (Duramgama).

Supported by the sustaining power of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas at this stage enter into the bliss of the Samadhi of perfect tranquillisation. Owing to their original vows they are transported by emotions of love and compassion as they become aware of the part they are to perform in the carrying out of their vows for the emancipation of all beings. Thus they do not enter into Nirvana, but, in truth, they too are already in Nirvana because in their emotions of love and compassion there is no rising of discrimination; henceforth, with them, discrimination no more takes place. Because of Transcendental Intelligence only one conception is present-the promotion of the realisation of Noble Wisdom. Their insight issues from the Womb of Tathagatahood and they enter into their task with spontaneity and radiancy because it is of the self-nature of Noble Wisdom. This is called the Bodhisattva's Nirvana-the losing oneself in the bliss of perfect self-yielding. This is the seventh stage, the stage of Far-going.

A Shingon Monk on Good Government (Mongaku, Azuma Kagami)

Letter of the Shingon Buddhist Monk Mongaku to Shogun Yoriie A. D. 1200, Part 2

Written in a very turbulent period, at the beginning of Japan's Shogun era, this letter from a Monk, who had just suffered a reverse of fortune and was sent into exile, nonetheless responds to a difficult political situation with a letter of sound knowledge, practical ethics, spiritual insight, and compassionate wisdom, and well versed in Confucian and Taoist traditions. (See Religion in the Formation of the Kamakura Bakufu : As Seen through the Azuma kagami ... en COLLCUTT, Martin.)

 

This letter was written to the Shogun Yoriie by the Shingon monk, Mongaku, who had been a close adviser of Yoriie’s father, Minamoto Yoritomo. In refusing to offer prayers for the shogun, Mongaku does not hesitate to scold him for his failings as a ruler. The forthrightness and independence of mind displayed by even this priest of the formalist Shingon sect show that these were not qualms characteristic of Zen alone but of Kamakura Buddhism in general. Nothing could better illustrate than this letter both the abuse of esoteric practices by those with little understanding of them, and the reaffirmation of true men of religion like Mongaku that the performance of these rituals must go hand in hand with genuine piety and exemplary moral conduct [From Kokusi Taikei, XXXII Azuma Kagami, 579-84, Sources Of Japanese Tradition, 165-171]

Just as water runs together into the ocean because the land lies lower there, so good fortune and happiness will accumulate for him whose heart is undefiled. When Hachiman said that he would extend his hand to the pure in heart, he meant that the Emperor, the ministers and the shogun, if their hearts were pure, would have no thought for their own pleasures, but would have extreme solicitude that the labor of the people be not wasted, that unreasonable taxes be not exacted, that the land be kept in peace and prosperity, with winter and summer following each.

Guardian powers who protect the Three Treasures other, with all in good order, and with post-horses and river-ferries going regularly without war or disturbance — in short, with peace reigning supreme throughout the land. Your Highness should endeavor to live up to each and every one of these requirements. Your Highness should refrain fiom destroying men who are not traitors, or who do not treat Your Highness as an enemy, or who do not wickedly harass others and seek means to ruin them A good shogun, also, is one who does not devote himself to hunting and fishing, who does not destroy life for pleasure but preserves life. If Your Highness does not conduct yourself well, all men throughout the land will come to believe that you are not a good man. Then mountain bandits, sea marauders, highwaymen, and thieves will abound and in the end will bring rum to your regime. You may issue prohibitory edicts one after the other but your orders will more and more be treated lightly. Put one man to death and ten other criminals will come back at you. The situation will go from bad to worse. Then Your Highness, not realizing that all this is your own fault, but believing it to be the work of criminals, will merely go on arresting men, punishing them, imprisoning them and cutting off their heads or their limbs to the detriment of the country. It is necessary to think of the retribution waiting in the life to come.

When Your Highness once realizes that these crimes are not always the offenses of others but are due to your own recklessness, and when you are sincerely convinced of it, if you ask any learned man how best to govern, the answer will be simple — as simple as shooting at a target, as the saying goes. As long as Your Highness knows how to rule yourself, there is no need for regulations about this or that, no need for prohibitions, orders or proclamations, because the people will be submissive and obedient. Then the land will naturally be at peace and well ordered.

Even under such a good administration, however, evil-minded men will not disappear, as history shows. But if Your Highness would first exercise self-control and safeguard the people, proceeding then to get rid of evil men, your acts would be like the special acts of a bodhisattva. The people would remain tranquil, your proclamations would carry weight, and Your Highness would not have to fear retribution. I am here repeating [what I wrote you before].

The late shogun always thought Mongaku to be a man of tough fiber and straightforward speech. I have never been in the personal service of Your Highness; it must have been offensive to Your Highness for me to write to you in the way I did. For this I beg your forgiveness. However, It has seemed to me that Your Highness is too much addicted to pleasures and has no regard for the complaints or the sufferings of the people. I thought this so deplorable that I told the late shogun confidentially that you should be sent away somewhere into exile — that such a course would be a real act of love toward you.

It is whispered in the capital that Your Highness is addicted to hunting and that you pay no attention to grievances. As you only go from bad to worse, people do not speak out but say only that you are a great shogun. Your Highness is unaware of what they are whispering in denunciation of you. Under these circumstances, how can you be a worthy successor to your father — watching over the Sovereign on the one hand, and on the other safeguarding the country? Until Your Highness changes your ways, pray as one may, there will be no answer at all As for myself, I cannot offer prayers for you.

Because I am frank and outspoken, I am certain that Your Highness hates me. That I do not mind I have written you thus only because I desire you to be good, and more than that, to grow in virtue. A learned scholar quotes a text to the effect that a good word spoken for the sake of the ruler and the people is more valuable than hundreds and thousands of gold offerings. To this the ancient Sage Kings bore testimony. To one like Your Highness, gold is of no account. The important thing is to keep the land at peace and to have food produced in abundance and the people prosperous. That is the greatest act of loyalty. Therefore do not fail to listen to those who tell you your shortcomings. If Your Highness tries to keep the nation in order without being mindful of your own faults, you will be like a man who expects to get rid of illness without taking medicine.

There are men of loyalty and faithfulness from whom you can learn your shortcomings, who do not change their colors in the service of Her Highness your mother. Let them speak to you in secret, not in public. Listen to them directly, do not heed the lip-service of monks. If they speak ill of you, you will be apt to become angry, but you must practice patience. Cure by fire is painful but it is only through endurance that illness can be cured.

There are none more despicable than those who change their colors. There are none more loyal than those who tell you your faults. I pray Your Highness to remember this Even if a man is agreeable and likable, beware of him if he is a cheat. But if there be one whom you dislike and do not wish to see, give him his due if he be of sterling character. The art of government, it seems to me, lies in nothing more nor less than in this awareness of true character.

I cannot thank Your Highness enough for the two letters with which you have honored me. This is my answer, written with all reverence and respect.

A Shingon Monk on Prayer (Mongaku, Azuma Kagami)

Letter of the Shingon Buddhist Monk Mongaku to Shogun Yoriie A. D. 1200 

Written in a very turbulent period, at the beginning of Japan's Shogun era, this letter from a Monk, who had just suffered a reverse of fortune and was sent into exile, nonetheless responds to a difficult political situation with a letter of sound knowledge, practical ethics, spiritual insight, and compassionate wisdom, and well versed in Confucian and Taoist traditions. (See Religion in the Formation of the Kamakura Bakufu : As Seen through the Azuma kagami ... en COLLCUTT, Martin.)

This letter was written to the Shogun Yoriie by the Shingon monk, Mongaku, who had been a close adviser of Yoriie’s father, Minamoto Yoritomo. In refusing to offer prayers for the shogun, Mongaku does not hesitate to scold him for his failings as a ruler. The forthrightness and independence of mind displayed by even this priest of the formalist Shingon sect show that these were not qualms characteristic of Zen alone but of Kamakura Buddhism in general. Nothing could better illustrate than this letter both the abuse of esoteric practices by those with little understanding of them, and the reaffirmation of true men of religion like Mongaku that the performance of these rituals must go hand in hand with genuine piety and exemplary moral conduct [From Kokusi Taikei, XXXII Azuma Kagami, 579-84, Sources Of Japanese Tradition, 165-171]

I respectfully acknowledge your second letter I sent you an answer before, but since you have written me again, I am replying again in the same tenor While reading your letter, I repeatedly felt that I was listening to a message from the late Generalissimo and I was deeply moved

[You ask me] to offer prayers-and I remember with gratitude beyond expression that the Generalissimo rebuilt the East Temple " and made possible through his generosity the re-establishment of the Takao mon (T6)1 in the original text, but it must refer to the Todaiji in Nara. which Yoriie’s father, Yoritomo, helped to rebuild in 1190 astery*) Through these merits, he will be saved in the life hereafter. It is also due only to his generosity that I, Mongaku, have been able to do something for Buddhism and accomplish something for the good of man. I therefore have remained ever grateful for his generosity and happy beyond words. Even before you asked me to offer prayers, it was always my fervent desire that you should enjoy peace and security.

[May I say], however, that prayer takes effect only for those who practice virtue and who love the good In the dwellings of those who offend, prayer is of no avail. By offenders, I mean those who destroy life without proper cause, and those who live a life of pleasure and indulge themselves with liquor, women, and wealth, ignoring the grief of others and disregarding the well-being of the nation. When men are virtuous and good, on the other hand, it means that they reverence both the law of Buddha and the law of the state and are ever concerned with the welfare of the people. In short, it means that they must have character such as is expected of a parent by all people, even the lowliest man or woman — peasants and those in all walks of life. When a man who has no concern for these things, or who is ruthless and offensive, or who has only selfish motives, orders a monk or other spiritual intermediary to offer prayers, there may be those who will reply with favorable words because the order comes from a lofty source. But if the petitioner is not a good man, he must not only expect that there will be no answer to his prayers, but he must expect that he may be worse off than before.

Therefore, if you must have prayers offered, Your Highness should command only those monks or astrologers who are not dishonest or subservient, but are straightforward. Your Highness should tell them your misdemeanors and try at all times to make amends. This Your Highness should by all means do If your actions are not good and you tell others to pray for you, you are really putting yourself in a precarious situation. 

 

Your Highness is the Generalissimo of Japan. He who is asked to pray for you should be a man of great mind and great integrity. A person of steadfast virtue and lofty disdain of flattery, but yet of compassionate heart, must be selected to be the master of your prayers. When It IS a question of offering prayer as a sovereign as well as an individual, the first object of prayer should be the whole country and the whole people. How one may pray depends upon one’s position in life. He whose influence does not affect the nation may offer prayers for his own benefit. But in these days the rulers as well as the ruled offer up prayers on their own account. Such prayers have no effect, for they are not in accord with the invisible mind of Buddha and are in discord with the transparent light of Heaven. I beg Your Highness, and must repeat It again and again, that you deem it your duty to merit the confidence of all, so that with you as Generalissimo in Kamakura, complaints of injustice will nowhere be heard and unreason will nowhere prevail.

If Your Highness acts in that way, you have no need for prayers for yourself [The Goddess of] the Great Shrine of Ise, the Bodhisattva Hachiman, [the deities of] Kamo and Kasuga will all be pleased, and all Buddhas, sages, gods, and goddesses, without exception, will extend their hands to safeguard you.

Even before Buddhism came into existence, there were in India and in China, as well as in Japan, wise kings and sage rulers under whom all the land was prosperous and all the people lived a happy life. The sovereigns, long of life, were like father and mother to the people. The Five Emperors and the Three Sovereigns, among whom were Yao and Shun, were rulers who came before the time of Buddha Your Highness is more fortunate [than they] in that you are acquainted with the Three Treasures of Buddhism, which those others could not know. Your Highness, therefore, should put your mind on the life hereafter. You should endeavor to get away from this “house of fire” of the three existences and, rising above the troubles of repeated transmigration, attain to Buddhahood. Such should be the first prayer of the ruler as well as of the ruled.

Needless to say, Buddhism, like other religions, helps to extirpate evil and to bring good fortune. Throughout its history in three countries, there are records of answers to prayer and of benefits received. If Your Highness will first pay strict attention to your own conduct and then proceed to put your administration in order, then when you offer prayer, an answer will come just as surely as sound follows when a word is spoken. There will be no failure.

In these days, however, all religious works and rituals sponsored by the great are merely for the eye and are only an expense to the country and a burden to the people. Buddha and the deities do not accept them at all. The Three Treasures, The Buddha, the Dharma (Law, or Scriptures containing the Law), and Sangha (Monastic Orders). Those who pray should know that Buddha and the deities accept only virtue and faith, material treasures have no appeal for them. It is with this in mind that Your Highness, at the head of your warriors, should guard the Emperor and become the mainstay of the whole nation If you go astray in any way or have evil in your heart, you will prove to be only an enemy of the country. Its downfall will be the logical result.

It would be possible for me, without going into detailed reasons and unmindful of Buddha and the deities, to reply favorably to Your Highness and offer up prayers. But that would mean wasting the land’s substance without benefiting anyone and only harming Your Highness. I myself would have to pay the penalty also How can I permit Your Highness to carry out a project so injurious to yourself I say again that the Goddess of Ise and Hachiman and the other deities will never consent to be indulgent because of material offerings, they extend their hands only to those whose heart is pure and whose conduct is proper. The Bodhisattva Hachiman said, according to the oracle “Even if I should have to drink molten copper, I would not accept offerings from those whose hearts are tainted”. He said again, according to another oracle “Day and night I stand guard over the land. If the ruler is evil, he will be unpleasing to the Three Treasures and to all the Devas. Such a thing would be most lamentable, most deplorable. Also, according to the oracle of the temple of Jingo in Takao, self-reliance only can be depended upon, in that lies the strength of Buddha. One should rely first upon the efficacy of one’s own power, not upon the gods, who themselves depend upon the Three Treasures to protect the Throne and nurture the people. Your Highness should bear in mind that through your prestige you can make all temples and monasteries prosper.

Taisen Deshimaru on the Middle Way, Madhyamaka Path

 'To him who truly seeks the Middle Way, the Middle Way will open, One step forward is enough.'

Talbot Mundy, Chapter 15 of Om—The Secret Of Ahbor Valley, 1924

 

Taisen Deshimaru, a Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhist teacher, once stated: : 'We must not lean either right or left, and we must not worry about leaning right or left.’ (31) 

 

On the Madhyamaka path he stated: ‘Nor is the middle way cowardice, fear, and inertia; it is not tepid and indecisive. Do not misunderstand it: it embraces opposites, it integrates and goes beyond all contradictions, it is beyond every dualism, even beyond every synthesis. If you want to understand, you must find the middle way. Spiritual is material and material becomes spiritual. 

 

But you must not misunderstand the word "middle": it means, in regard to material and spiritual, that you must embrace both, like the front and back of a sheet of paper. That's what makes Zen hard to understand. The middle way is the way beyond. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis’. (3) 

 

A List of Questions and Answers by Deshimaru Roshi

https://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/C%20-%20Zen/Modern%20Teachers/Deshimaru%20Roshi/Questions%20and%20Answers/Questions%20and%20Answers.pdf