I've said before that it's perilous to try to understand Buddhism just by reading about it on your own. It's like finding your way in the woods without a guide. Here's a great example, from Dosho Port.
Dosho quotes something Dogen said about mindfulness: "The root of mindfulness is the red flesh ball of a decayed tree."
That's the sort of thing that gives people the impression that Zen is some weird Japanese version of Dada. Some days I think the same thing. But Dosho goes on to explain that the "red flesh ball" is a reference to Mater Lin-chi's (who is called Rinzai in Japan) "true person of no rank."
"The true person of no rank is coming in and out through the gates of your senses. Those who have not witnessed proof, look! look!"
I've had some exposure to Lin-chi's "true person of no rank," but I'm not seeing the connection to a "red flesh ball." But then Dosho says "Red flesh ball" is the literal translation of "true person."
Ah. It's a translation thing. I wouldn't have made that connection in a million years. But we are not done. What about the decayed tree? Dosho says this refers to a koan --
"Touzi was asked by a monk, 'Is there a dragon singing in a decayed tree?' Touzi replied, 'I say there is a lion roaring in the skull.'"
"Dragon" in this body of work is not the kind of dragon that kidnaps princesses. Apparently European dragons were into that kind of thing. East Asian dragons not only shed their skin but their bones too and so represent a revolution of the heart.
So there was a dragon lurking in the verbiage all that time, and I didn't see it! And I know I have heard at least one dharma talk on this koan.Yet I didn't recognize it.
Where are we now? When Dogen says "The root of mindfulness is the red flesh ball of a decayed tree," he's saying ... well, what? This is advanced stuff, and I admit I'm a little out of my depth here. Based on what I know of Lin-chi's "true person," I believe the "true person of no rank" may be something like what Tibetans call rigpa, or awakened awareness. Although I could be wrong about that.
And we've got the hidden dragon, now revealed, which represents revolution of the heart. With a little digging I learned that in Chinese literature a singing or moaning or chanting dragon refers to something mystical. This is a song that is not heard with the ears. Dragons also represent enlightenment.
Back to the withered tree. Dogen said, in short, that only the unenlightened think of a decayed (or "withered" in some translations) tree as something sterile or dead. My reading of this (Dogen's "Ryugin"; fascicle 65 of Shobogenzo) is that "decayed tree" is not just a tree that has died but the stillness or inactivity of all trees, returning to the fundamental. But again, this is reaching a bit out of my depth.
But my larger point here is that if you had picked up a book and read "The root of mindfulness is the red flesh ball of a decayed tree," how would you have understood it? Would you have seen the dragon? And notice I am not touching the lion roaring in the skull; I fear it would just bring on a headache.
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