Ekō Lecture 2

Summary

This talk explains the layout, ritual use, and doctrinal meaning of a Zen monastery, with particular emphasis on Soto practice and the role of chanting for arahats. The speaker begins by describing seven important buildings found in monasteries in China and Japan. The main gate is the sanmon, followed by the Buddha hall, or butsuden, which is presented as the most formal and ceremonial building. Behind it is the hatto, the hall of Dharma, where lectures, memorial services, and sutra recitation take place. The speaker also identifies the kuri, or kitchen, often attached to guest rooms, the sodo or zendo as the meditation hall, the tosu as the restaurant, and the separate bathroom or bathing facilities. The discussion emphasizes that in the zendo, silence is required in the bathroom and restroom areas as part of disciplined monastic practice. The talk then turns to liturgical practice. The first and most formal chanting is held in the Buddha hall, especially for national ceremonies or services connected with the country, such as prayers for presidents, emperors, or official observances. Other chanting and lectures are usually held in the hatto. The speaker notes that, although many sutras are now recited in the hatto, the Buddha hall remains the proper place for highly formal services. Nun services are also mentioned as being held in the Buddha hall. A major theme is the recitation of sutras for arahats, the direct disciples of Buddha. The speaker addresses the apparent tension between Mahayana and Hinayana terminology, explaining that while Mahayana historically criticized Theravada or Hinayana as self-centered, such discrimination should not be maintained by Buddhists. In Soto, and likely in Rinzai as well, sutras are still recited for arahats because they were Buddha’s direct disciples and represent sincere, realized practice. The speaker highlights the example of a forgetful disciple who was assigned the simple task of sweeping the garden. Through wholehearted practice, he attained arahatship, illustrating the Zen emphasis on actual realization rather than intellectual learning alone. The lecture then outlines the four stages of meditation associated with Zen and broader Buddhist traditions. In the first stage, the practitioner still has desires and ignorance, but not drowsiness or anger, and the mind becomes clearer. In the second stage, emotional trouble remains but discursive thinking ceases. In the third stage, emotional disturbance disappears and a calm joy arises. In the fourth stage, even the joy of calmness is gone, leaving no attachment to attainment or study. This final stage is described as the highest and as the point at which arahatship is realized. The speaker then expands into the eight dhyānas, adding four formless stages beyond the four form-world stages. These include experience of outward nothingness, inward nothingness, the absence of both inner and outer distinctions, and finally the absence of any idea of either somethingness or nothingness. A key doctrinal distinction is made between Buddhist meditation and non-Buddhist meditation. In ordinary Indian systems, the stages of meditation lead to rebirth in corresponding heavens, but in Buddhism even heavenly attainment remains within karma and impermanence. Anything that appears must disappear. Therefore, Buddhist practice must go beyond karmic results. This leads to the central Zen teaching of shikantaza, or “just sitting,” which is described as practice that does not seek a result, begins in nothing, and ends in nothing. The speaker presents this as the true Buddhist way, beyond karmic striving. The talk also explains a liturgical phrase from a sutra, interpreting it as a respectful invocation of Buddha’s protection and the response of Buddha nature when one kneels with a pure mind. The speaker then discusses the Prajnaparamita Sutra, explaining phrases about the three treasures present in the ten directions and the limitless sea of sages and arahats. The relationship between seed and fruit is described as simultaneous in practice, meaning that practice and realization are not separate in time. The speaker also references the sixteen great arahats and the five hundred arahats associated with the first council after Buddha’s passing, where the teachings were recited and confirmed for transmission. In closing, the speaker stresses that Zen, especially in Soto, does not reject Hinayana or Theravada practice. Instead, it honors the effort and realization of arahats and includes sutra recitation for them every morning. A brief question-and-answer exchange follows, in which the speaker clarifies that the final stage is not intellectual liberation but the complete absence of desire, anger, and attachment. The overall message is that Zen practice, ritual, and doctrine are deeply integrated, and that sincere, non-attached practice is the path to realization.