Without Any Idea of Attainment

Summary

This lecture presents a Zen Buddhist explanation of reality through the principle of independence within interdependence. The speaker begins by clarifying that each being appears separate and independent, yet is also inseparable from the whole world because each being includes all others in a larger web of mutual existence. This paradox is used to explain why comparisons between schools, doctrines, or individuals are ultimately limited. The lecture repeatedly returns to the idea that apparent opposites—big and small, black and white, subject and object, self and other—are not fixed dualities but expressions of one reality. A major portion of the talk interprets Sekito Zenji’s poem, especially the line about the independence of all things. The speaker explains that Sekito was not arguing for the superiority of one Buddhist school over another, such as the Southern School and Northern School, or later the Linzai and Soto schools. Instead, Sekito was pointing to the true nature of reality and the Buddha’s teaching in its deepest sense. Each school, like each being, expresses the whole of Buddhism in its own way, so there is no basis for rivalry when understood from the standpoint of nonduality. The lecture then turns to the sensory world: eyes and forms, ears and sounds, nose and smells, tongue and tastes. At first glance, these seem to describe ordinary dualistic experience, where a subject perceives an object. But the speaker insists that this is only one way of understanding experience. In the deepest sense, seeing is not separate from what is seen, hearing is not separate from sound, and the subject-object split is a mental construction. The speaker emphasizes that eyes include forms and forms include eyes; similarly, ears and sounds, nose and smells, and tongue and tastes are mutually defining. This is presented as the Buddhist way of seeing the world. From this perspective, the lecture discusses the precepts, especially the precept against killing. The speaker argues that one may think one is killing an insect or animal, but from the absolute standpoint there is no isolated being that can be truly killed, because all beings are part of the same whole. This does not become an excuse for violence. Instead, the speaker stresses that one should not kill without reason, and more importantly, one should not justify killing through clever rationalizations. The proper Buddhist response is to recognize the complexity of action, feel remorse when harm occurs, and continue practice with sincerity. Feeling sorry is not a failure of practice; it is part of practice. The lecture also defines Buddhist compassion as jihī, meaning encouragement and relief of suffering. True love is not merely giving or receiving, nor is it a matter of rigid rule-following or personal attainment. Rather, it is the willingness to accompany others, share their suffering, and help them continue. This compassionate attitude is linked to zazen, which the speaker describes as simply sitting without any idea of gaining something. Zazen is not a technique for achievement but a direct expression of reality and a way of keeping the precepts. Another important theme is the relationship between root and branch, or source and expression. The speaker explains that all dharmas arise from buddha nature, the absolute source, and each being is like a leaf or branch emerging from that root. Words such as good and bad, respectful and mean, or teacher and disciple are all relative expressions, but they should lead back to the source rather than become fixed categories. The speaker also cites the Bonmokyo, saying that to see is not to see and not to see is to see, and similarly for eating meat and observing precepts. These paradoxical statements are used to show that literalism misses the living meaning of Buddhist practice. The lecture concludes with a discussion of teaching and transmission. The speaker acknowledges that words are necessary, but they are only fingers pointing at the moon. Real understanding must come through direct experience, not verbal explanation alone. The teacher and disciple relationship is described as one of mutual practice: because there is difference, practice is possible; because there is sameness at the root, practice is also possible. The speaker rejects a simplistic idea of surpassing the teacher as a competitive goal, while still affirming that students should continue to improve and deepen their understanding. The overall message is that Buddhist practice is an ongoing, living process grounded in nonduality, compassion, and direct realization of reality.