Dogen's Private Notes from the Hokyo Era: The Just-Sit Koan

In this, the eighth in our Hokyo-ki series, we turn to addressing the most well-known phrases from Rujing and Dogen's interactions–just sit (Japanese, shikan taza) and body-mind dropped off (Japanese, shinjin datsuraku).

In our view, the common discourse in Soto Zen today misrepresents just sit and body-mind dropped off. Indeed, if you were to drop into almost any dharma talk or website, what you're likely to find is the proposition that all zazen, any zazen, is the awakened zazen of just sit and body-mind dropped off. In addition, you would likely encounter the further assertion that all other practices are unnecessary or merely supports for zazen.

That the proponents of this perspective attribute their views to Rujing and Dogen is an example of "hiding in the shade of big trees." The notion that all zazen is awakened zazen is simply not what Rujing or Dogen practiced or taught. Indeed, a review of the evidence will push any reasonably clear-eyed person, or even just a reasonable one, to a different conclusion. That Rujing's Just Sit is a koan, as we argue here, may be surprising or even disorienting.

That said, in this post, we will explore just sit and body-mind dropped off with the support of two ground-breaking essays by Buddhist scholar, T. Griffith Foulk. If you are a serious Zen practitioner, and we are aware that many of our readers are just that, then we strongly encourage you to read the full essays cited below.

As for this post, we will conclude with the true-kensho story of the third generation master in the Soto lineage in Japan, Tetsu Gikai, because it is all about just sit dropping body-mind.

We begin again with a freshly translated passage from Hokyo-ki with annotations, and then explore the implications of what Rujing actually taught Dogen. We'll comment on the Hokyo-ki passage in two parts. First, the meaning of "... do not to use incense offerings," etc, and then deal with the meaning of just sit and body-mind dropped off.