1. "Spiritual powers" (jinzû): A loose translation for the standard term in East Asian Buddhist usage for Sanskrit abhijñâ, or "higher knowledges" (also sometimes Sanskrit riddhi, or "powers," etc.); may refer to a variety of paranormal powers held to be accessible to advanced spiritual adepts, several of which appear in the text below. The term jinzû has the connotation of "knowledge of" or "mastery over" matters of the "spirit" (or the "spirits"). For more on this term, see Supplemental Note 1.

"Such spiritual powers" (kaku no gotoku naru jinzû): The use of the adjective kaku no gotoku naru ("such") in the opening line here is odd, given that there is of course no antecedent. Presumably, Dôgen is indicating the sort of powers of which he will be speaking below, but Sôtô commentators have also given the phrase a more metaphysical reading: "the spiritual powers that are such" (i.e., are just as they are), or "the spiritual powers of suchness" (nyoze no jinzû). (See, for example, Monge, SBGZ CKZS 3:607; Keiteki 2:464.)

"Tea and rice in the house of buddha" (bukke no sahan): I.e., the "everyday fare" in the "family" of the buddhas. For this phrase, see Supplemental Note 2.

2. "Six spiritual powers" (roku jinzû): A standard list of paranormal powers found throughout Buddhist literature: physical transformations, paranormal hearing, mental telepathy, recollection of past lives, paranormal vision, and knowledge of one's elimination of spiritual afflictions. For more detail, see Supplemental Note 3.

"The one spiritual power" (ichi jinzû): Dôgen may here have in mind "that one power" (na ittsû) discussed in the story of the Buddha and the seer that he will cite below.

"No spiritual power" (mu jinzû): No doubt a reference to the saying of Baizhang quoted below.

"The supreme spiritual power" (saijô jinzû): Though the reference is uncertain, Dôgen may have in mind the "'one surpassing' spiritual power" (ichijô no jinzû) mentioned in the story of Daguei and Yangshan quoted in the text below and described there by Dôgen as "unsurpassed" (mujô).

3. "Morning blows, three thousand; evening blows, eight hundred" (chôda sanzen . . . bada happyaku): A common Zen expression for strict training. The translation follows the Zen tradition of taking the term da in its primary sense, "to hit." In ordinary Chinese usage, da would more likely function here simply as an auxiliary verb; hence, "In the morning, three thousand; in the evening, eight hundred" (as, e.g., in the Daoist tale of the goblin that ate people, "in the morning, three thousand; in the evening, eight hundred").

"Born together with the buddha . . . extinguished together with the buddha" (yô butsu dôshô, yô butsu dômetsu): Usually interpreted to mean that the buddha and his powers are indistinguishable.

"Ascending to the heavens (jôten). . . descending from the heavens (geten) . . . cultivating the practice and getting the verification" (shugyô shushô): Dôgen seems here to be tracing the buddha's career, from his penultimate birth as a bodhisattva in Tushita heaven and his subsequent descent into this Sahâ world, to his six years of ascetic practice and his enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

"They do so together" (dôjô): I.e., the buddhas and the powers "do so together." The translation follows the adverbial use of dôjô often encountered in Zen expressions like, "born together, die together" (dôjô shô dôjô shi). See, for example, the Biyan lu passage, "Born together, die together. Morning blows, three thousand; evening blows, eight hundred." (Case 66, Zenke goroku 2:290.)

"They are the same as the Snowy Mountains, like trees and rocks" (dô sessan nari nyo bokuseki nari): See Supplemental Note 4.

4. "The buddhas of the past are the disciples of the Buddha Shâkyamuni" (kako no shobutsu wa shakamuni butsu no deshi nari): Likely reflecting a tradition found in the Zongmen tongyao ji.

Once, when the Bhagavat was traveling with Ânanda, they saw an old Buddhist stûpa. The Bhagavat bowed to it. Ânanda said, "Whose stûpa is this?"
The Bhagavat said, "This is a stûpa of the buddhas of the past."
Ânanda, said, "Whose disciples were the buddhas of the past?"
The Buddha said, "They were my disciples."

(Zengaku tenseki sôkan, 1:10c7-10.) Dôgen quotes a version this exchange in his Shôbôgenzô shisho (DZZ.1:425). It also occurs at case number 245 in the Eishôin text of Dôgen's shinji Shôbôgenzô.

"They present him with a kashaya; they present him with a stûpa" (kesa wo sasakete kitari tô wo sasakete kitaru): It is not clear whether the gifts are singular or plural. Commentators have so far been unable to establish a likely source for this claim. The adverbial phrase immediately following, "at this time" (kono toki), suggests that the presentations took place on the occasion when the Buddha spoke the words subsequently quoted. Unfortunately, the quotation (see below) seems to be from the chapter on spiritual powers in the Lotus Sutra, which, while it describes many gifts presented to Shâkyamuni, does not include among them robes or stûpas.

"The spiritual powers of the buddhas are inconceivable" (shobutsu jinzû fukashigi): Probably after a passage in Chapter 21 of the Lotus Sutra, "The Spiritual Powers of the Tathâgata" (Julai shenli), in which the Buddhas Shâkyamuni and Prabhûtaratna, and their entourage, demonstrate their spiritual powers; and Shâkyamuni then declares, "The spiritual powers of the buddhas are thus measureless, boundless, inconceivable" (zhufo shenli ru shi wuliang wubian bukesiyi). (T.8:52a14-15.)

"Thus" (nyoze): Generally interpreted to mean that the powers of present and future buddhas are also inconceivable. The Chinese version of the term "such" (kaku no gotoku) with which Dôgen began this text (see Note 1, above).

5. "Chan master Daguei" (Daii zenji): Gueishan Lingyu (771-853). His biographical notice in the Jingde chuandeng lu occurs at T.51:264b.

"Baizhang Dazhi" (Hyakujô Daichi): Baizhang Huaihai (749-814), disciple of Mazu Daoyi. Biographical notice at Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:249b.

"The ten directions" (jippô): I.e., everywhere (throughout China). The term "ten directions" designates the cardinal and ordinal compass points, plus the zenith and the nadir; but it is regularly used in a less cosmic sense to mean something like "the entire realm" - as, for example, in the expression, "monastery of the ten directions" (jippô setsu; i.e., monastery the abbacy of which is open to everyone).

"Not the distant progeny of Daguei" (daii no enson [or onson] ni arazaru): Presumably, this means those who are not themselves in Daguei's lineage. Some versions of the text read here arazaru nashi, which would yield something like, "Among the present buddhas and ancestors who have arisen throughout the ten directions, there are none who are not the distant progeny of Daguei; they are the distant progeny of Daguei."

6. Dôgen's Japanese rendering of a story versions of which appear in Zongmen tongyao ji (ZGTSSK.1:86a), Jingde chuandeng lu (T.51:265c), Liandeng huiyao (ZZ.136:272b), etc. It is case number 61 in the shinji Shôbôgenzô (DZZ.5:158).

"Xiangyan" (Kôgen): Xiangyan Zhixian (d. 898). Biographical notice at JDCDL, T.51:283c.

"Just did 'one surpassing' spiritual power" (ichijô no jinzû wo nasu): The term ichijô (literally, "one up," or "one higher") is likely simply an idiom in the Chinese for "one time" or "once" (like the colloquial yixia); but Dôgen will play with the literal sense in his commentary below; hence, the somewhat forced "one surpassing" here.

"It wasn't like the little stuff" (fudô shôshô): The expression shôshô (literally, "small small") here probably just indicates something trivial; but Dôgen will associate it below with the "small vehicle" and make a sharp distinction between "great" and "small" powers.

"Zhixian was below; I know all about it" (Chikan gemen ni arite ryôryô ni tokuchi su): Xiangyen is of course referring to himself as "Zhixian" here. Most commentators define gemen, translated here rather literally as "below," as "in the next room." It is not clear whether we are supposed to understand that Zhixian simply overheard the conversation or he used spiritual powers to know about it.

"Shâriputra and Maudgalyâyana" (Shûshi Mokuren): Two disciples of the Buddha, known respectively for their wisdom and spiritual powers.

7. "To engage in its study is called Buddhist study; not to study it is not called Buddhist study" (sa ze gaku sha myô i butsugaku fu ze gaku sha fu myô butsugaku): Or "One who engages in this study is called a student of Buddhism; one who does not study it is not called a student of Buddhism." For some reason, Dôgen here shifts to Chinese, as if this were a quotation. No one seems yet to have found precedent for it in the literature.

"It is the spiritual power and wisdom transmitted from heir to heir" (chakuchaku sôden seru jinzû chie nari): The grammatical subject here is unstated; presumably, "Daguei's saying."

"Treatise masters" (ronshi): I.e., those who specialize in the Buddhist scholastic literature of the shâstras. A common target of Zen masters' criticism.

"The outsiders and the two vehicles" (gedô nijô): I.e., those who follow non-Buddhist religions (Sanskrit tîrthika) and the two "lesser" Buddhist vehicles of the shrâvaka- and pratyekabuddha-yâna (as opposed to the Mahayana).

"The land of the Western Heavens of Sindh" (saitenjiku koku): A somewhat forced attempt to capture the literary sense of this term for India. The term saitenjiku combines two names regularly used in East Asian texts to designate the Buddhist homeland: saiten (literally, "Western Heavens") and tenjiku (thought to be a transliteration of sindhu).

8. "Though they may be unsurpassed, we have [here] 'one surpassing' perception [of them]" (mujô nari to iedomo ichijô no kenmon ari): The translation tries to convey something of Dôgen's play here with the terms mujô ("unsurpassed") and ichijô (meaning simply "one" but literally "one higher,"), taken from Daguei's line, "Master Ji and I just did 'one surpassing' (ichijô no) spiritual power." (See Note 6, above.) Nishiari (Keiteki 2:478) takes the phrase, ichijô no kenmon ari (literally, "there is [or, "we have] one seeing and hearing"), to mean, "there is something more we should study."

9. "The ten holy and three wise" (jisshô sanken): The ten ârya stages and three bhadra levels on the bodhisattva path. Notice that here Dôgen has extended Daguei's reference to "the little stuff" from the "small vehicle" to the bodhisattvas of the "great vehicle." Thus, the distinction Dôgen draws here between the "great" and "small" spiritual powers is not between Mahâyâna and Hînayâna but between both of these and the "buddhas and ancestors." For details on the stages of the bodhisattva path, see Supplemental Note 5.

"Spiritual powers of the buddha" (butsu jinzû); "spiritual powers beyond the buddha" (butsu kôjô jinzû): The first expression picks up the Lotus Sutra passage on the Buddha's powers quoted above (see Note 4) and also points ahead to the saying of Linji quoted below. The second expression is likely an allusion to the saying of Baizhang that Dôgen will also quote below.

"Mâra or the outsiders" (mage): Taken as an abbreviation for tenma (deva-mâra) and gedô (tîrthika).

10. "A hair follicle swallowing the vast ocean, a mustard seed containing Sumeru" (mô don kyokai ke nô sumi); "emitting water from the upper body, emitting fire from the lower body" (shinjô shussui shinge shukka): Well known examples of miraculous transformations encountered in the Buddhist literature. For sources, see Supplemental Note 6. Dôgen follows other Zen texts here in using simply "hair" (mô) and "mustard" (ke); the translation treats them as abbreviations respectively for the terms môku (or môkô; "hair follicle," "pore") and keshi (or kaishi; "mustard seed") found in the sutra literature from which they are drawn. Sumeru (shumi) is the central mountain in the Buddhist cosmology of Shâkyamuni's Sahâ world system.

11. "The five powers or six powers are all the small spiritual powers (gotsû rokutsû mina shôjinzû nari): The five powers are the first five of the six powers. For the distinction between the two lists, see Supplemental Note 7.

"These types" (korera no yakara): A derogatory expression, the referent of which here is not entirely clear; from the context, presumably, those who cultivate the five or six spiritual powers.

"Have never experienced . . . even in their dreams" (mu ya mi kenmon zai): A standard Zen dismissal, much favored by Dôgen.

12. "They are defiled by practice and verification" (shushô ni senna serare): Likely reflecting the words of Nanyue Huairang (677-744) on "undefiled practice and verification" that Dôgen often quotes. See Supplemental Note 8 for the story.

"They are cut off in time and place" (saidan wo jisho ni uru): A rough translation of an odd locution, generally interpreted to mean "they are temporally and spatially limited." Dôgen seems to have coined the binome saidan (literally, something like "juncture cut off" or "temporal severance") from the juxtaposition of its two elements in common Zen expressions like, "before and after cut off" (qianhou ji duan) or "the two sides and three junctures [of past, present, and future] cut off" (erbian sanji duan).

"Though they may appear in this land, they do not appear in other lands" (shido ni gen zu to iedomo tado ni gen zezu): The exact nature of this claim is unclear. If, as is commonly done, we take Dôgen's point here to be that expressions of spiritual powers in our Sahâ world system (shido) do not extend to other systems (tado), it would seem to fly in the face of the many Mahâyâna sutra accounts of miraculous acts that reach across countless world systems.

"Though they may appear when we do not show them, they fail to appear when it is time to show them" (fugen ni gen zu to iedomo genji ni gen zuru koto wo ezu): A very tentative translation of a highly obscure sentence. For other interpetations, see Supplemental Note 9.

13. "The manner of converting [beings]" (kegi): I.e., teaching methods; especially in Tendai, used in contrast to kehô, "the dharma for converting [beings] (i.e., the doctrines taught)."

"The buddha of the spiritual powers" (jinzû butsu): Dôgen has here reversed the syntax of Linji's "spiritual powers of the buddha" (butsu jinzû), no doubt to reinforce his identification of the two terms.

It appears before he has a body (ushin yori saki ni genzu): Or "it appears before there is a body." Dôgen may be alluding here to the line in Fu Dashi's poem he will quote below: "Having a body is not the substance of his enlightenment."

"The three junctures" (sansai): I.e., "the three worlds" (sansei), or time periods, of past, present, and future.

"Production of the thought" (hosshin): Sanskrit bodhi-cittotpâda, the generation of the aspiration to achieve unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, which marks the start of the bodhisattva's career.

14. "There must be no more dharma realm (sara ni jinhokkai aru bekarazu): I.e., we should not think that the dharma realm disappears into the hair follicle.

"A mustard seed vomiting Sumeru and a mustard seed expressing the dharma realm are also 'the ocean of the inexhaustible treasury'" (ke to sumi oyobi ke gen hokkai mujinzô kai nite mo aru nari): The "inexhaustible treasury" (mujinzô) is a common metaphor for the dharma realm, seen as the source of all things. The translation here takes nite mo aru as a copula ("are also"); it might also be read as a locative ("are also in"). Some interpreters take the term mujinzô kai ("ocean of the inexhaustible treasury") in apposition to hokkai ("dharma realm"); hence, they would read the sentence, "A mustard seed also vomits Sumeru, and a mustard seed also expresses the dharma realm, the ocean of the inexhaustible treasury."

15. "The buddhas disport themselves only in these spiritual powers" (shobutsu wa kono jinzû nomi ni yuge suru nari): Dôgen is here recalling the common expression yuge jinzû (or jinzû yuge), meaning "to play in, or enjoy, the spiritual powers;" also to "wander freely in, or by means of, the spiritual powers."
For a paraphrase of the argument here, see Supplemental Note 10.

16. "The layman Pang Yun" (Ho koji On kô): Famous Tang-dynasty lay Buddhist (d. 808), usually treated as a disciple of Mazu Daoyi; his biography appears at Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:263b.

"Extraordinary person" (ijin): The term carries the connotations of both personal and social stature and power.

"Ancestral seat" (soseki): I.e., the Zen school, seen as the tradition of the Zen ancestors. The "two seats" (ryôseki) in the next sentence invokes the traditions descended from the Sixth Ancestor through his two major disciples Nanyue and Qingyuan.

"Jiangxi and Shitou" (Kôsei Sekitô): The two leading eighth-century masters of the Nanyue and Qingyuan traditions: Mazu Daoyi (709-788), disciple of Nanyue Huairang, and Shitou Xichen (700-790), disciple of Qingyuan Xingsi.

"Masters of the school possessed of the way" (udô no shûshi): I.e., accomplished Zen masters. The term udô ("having the way") is usually understood as dedication to Buddhist training. The term shûshi, translated here as "masters of the school," has the connotation, "master of the essential meaning" or "master of the essential gate (shûmon; i.e., the Zen school), sometimes used in contrast to the terms ronshi ("treatise master") or kyôshi ("sûtra master") dismissed by Dôgen above.

"The spiritual powers and the wondrous functions: bearing water and carrying firewood" (jinzû hei myôyû unsui gyû hansai): Famous lines from the poem addressed by Pang to Shitou; occurs at Jingde chuandeng lu, T.263b12. The term myôyû ("wondrous functions") is a common designation for supernormal abilities or activities, especially of a buddha.

"Rationale" (dôri): A very common term difficult to render consistently in English. Often translated by terms like "principle" or "truth," it can mean simply the "logic" of something; the "reason" for, or behind, something; the "thread" of an argument or story.

17. "[The term] unsui means to transport water" (iwayuru unsui to wa mizu wo unsai shikitaru nari). Dôgen is here merely defining the Chinese binome yunshui for his Japanese reader.

"Doing it oneself by oneself, another doing it by another, water is transported" (jisa jii ari tasa kyôta arite mizu wo unsai seshimu): A somewhat loose translation of a somewhat odd and ambiguous sentence. It is generally taken to mean that one carries water of one's own accord or at the initiative of another. The identity of the agent of these actions is unclear: it could be anyone; it could be the "buddha of spiritual powers" in the next line; it could conceivably be the "water" itself.

"Although our knowledge of them may be at a certain time, the spiritual powers are the spiritual powers" (shiru koto wa uji nari to iedomo jinzû wa kore jinzû nari): I.e., the powers remain what they are whether we happen to experience (or recognize) them or not.

"The dharma is the dharma as it is" (hô wa honi nari): The expression hôni, translated here as "the dharma as it is," is a common Buddhist term for "the dharma itself," "the natural state of, or nature of, the dharma," etc. The claim here could be taken as a general one about the dharma (i.e., the Buddhist truth), a general one about dharmas (i.e., what is happening), or a specific one about the dharma (i.e., nature) of the spiritual powers.

"Irreversible" (futai): I.e., is permanently established; a term regularly used for the "irreversible (avaivartika) bodhisattva" of the seventh "ground," who can no longer fall back from the Mahâyâna.

18. "[The term] hansai means to carry firewood, as the Sixth Ancestor once did" (hansai to wa takigi wo hakobu nari tatoeba rokuso no mukashi no gotoshi): Again, Dôgen is defining the Chinese term banchai. The reference to the Sixth Ancestor invokes the story that as a youth he sold firewood to support his mother. The story appears already in the Dunhuang manuscript of the Platform Sutra (T.48:337a16) and is repeated throughout the later literature (see, e.g., Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:235b13).

"Accomplished through these spiritual powers" (kono jinzûriki ni jôjû seru): Or "through the strength of these spiritual powers." The term jinzûriki is a common alternative for jinzû. The logic here is, of course, technically invalid; for a possible paraphrase of Dôgen's argument, see Supplemental Note 11.

19. Dôgen's Japanese translation of an encounter recorded at Dongshan lu, T.47:508b2-4.

"Great master Dongshan Wuben" (Tôzan gohon daishi): Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), founder of the Caodong tradition of Zen, disciple of Yunyan Tansheng; his biography appears at Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:321b.

"Yunyan" (Ungan): Yunyan Tansheng (780?-841), disciple of Yueshan Weiyan; his biography appears at Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:314c.

"Joined his hands" (shashû): I.e., the traditional polite Chinese gesture of placing one hand over the other at the breast.

"Paid his respects" (chinchô; also read shinjû): A loose translation of the common Chinese polite farewell; akin to English, "Take good care of yourself."

20. "This episode" (kono innen): The term innen (in philosophical parlance, "causes and conditions") is regularly used in Zen to refer to a story of past masters, especially one treated as a kôan for study (and hence as a potential "cause and condition" for understanding).

"Receiving the words, understanding their sense" (shô gon e shû); "things exist, box and lid matching" (ji son kangai gô): After lines from the famous poem Cantong qi, by Shitou Xichen:

Things exist, box and lid matching;
Principle responds, arrow heads meeting.
Receiving the words, understand their sense;
Don't set up standards of your own.

(Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:459b18-19.) (Dôgen has dropped the imperative xu from the third line of the Chinese.) Some commentators (e.g., Goshô, 627) take "box and lid" to refer to Yunyan and Dongshan.

"Children and grandchildren" (jison); "eminent ancestors" (kôsô): I.e., the powers and functions have a family lineage, a posterity with its founding figure. Commentators (e.g., Goshô, 627; Keiteki, 491) take these two terms to refer to the disciple Dongshan and the master Yunyan, respectively.

"Those who do not revert" (futai naru mono); "those who do not advance" (fushin naru mono): Dôgen is here continuing his play with the term futai ("not revert") that he introduced in his discussion of Layman Pang's saying. The exact sense of the predicates here is uncertain, but they suggest that both the "children and grandchildren" and the "eminent ancestors" are advanced adepts: the former are "irreversible" in their practice, the latter need no further "progress" in their practice. Some commentators take this passage to mean that, in the lineage of the "spiritual powers and wondrous functions," the disciple (Dongshan) is not inferior and master (Yunyan) superior; master and disciple are on the same perfected plane. (See, e.g., Monge 626; Keiteki 491.)

21. "Spiritual transformations and spiritual powers of the upper body and the lower body" (shinjô shinge no jinhen jinzû): These terms come, of course, from the "small powers" of emitting water and fire from the body discussed above. Presumably, Dôgen is here associating Dongshan's physical acts in the story with the tradition of these Buddhist paranormal physical transformations, which he will now go on to explore.

"The one true body of the shramana" (shamon isseki no shinjitsu tai): Here, Dôgen is likely playing with a saying attributed to the Tang-dynasty monk Changsha Jingcen (dates unknown): "The entire world of the ten directions is the one eye of the Shramana; the entire world of the ten directions is the whole body of the Shramana." (jin shifang shijie shi shamen yizhi yan jin shifang shijie shi shamen quanshen). (See, e.g., Liandeng huiyao, ZZ.136:268c7.)

"The nine mountains and eight oceans" (kusen [or kyûsen, kyûzan] hakkai): A reference to the topography surrounding Sumeru in Buddhist cosmology. The central mountain is ringed by a series of eight mountains separated by seas.

"Down to the ocean of the nature" (naishi shôkai): The term naishi ("down to") here suggests that Dôgen is abbreviating a list of items ending in "the ocean of the nature," though it is not clear what such a list would be. "The ocean of the nature" (shôkai) is a common term in East Asian Buddhist texts, perhaps especially popular in Huayan literature, for the ultimate realm of suchness. The element "nature" (shô) may be understood in reference to the dharma nature (hosshô; dharmatâ, etc.) or, as Dôgen seems to prefer, to the "buddha nature" (as in his frequent use of busshôkai). The term appears regularly in Zen texts, especially in passages like, "thought after thought is immediately cut off and flows into the ocean of the nature" (xinxin wujian duan liurong yu xinghai). (See, e.g., the saying of Nanyuan, at ZZ.119:875b3.)

The ocean of sarvajña" (sabanya kai): Sabanya transliterates the Sanskrit sarvajña, "all knowing," or "omniscience." Though not a common image in Zen texts, the "ocean of all knowing" occurs regularly in the Chinese Buddhist literature with a sense close to that of the "ocean of the nature" above - as is seen in passages, for example, like, "thought after thought is quiescent and flows naturally into the ocean of sarvajña" (xinxin jimie ziran liujong saporuo hai). (Fahua xuanyi, T.33:734b-3.)

"The non-upper body, the non-lower body, the non-mid body" (hishinjô hishinge hishinchû): It is also possible to read these playful expressions as "the upper non-body," etc.

"Down to the fire emitted" (naishi shukka [also read suika]): Again, the list implied by the term naishi ("down to") is unclear; perhaps Dôgen is signalling that the "fire emitted" from the body is also "like this" (kaku no gotoshi) in the sense that it can also be treated in all the ways he has just treated "water."

22. "Water, fire, wind, and so on" (sui ka fû tô): Dôgen is here introducing the Buddhist list of physical "elements" he will discuss below.

"Buddhas emitted from the upper body" (shinjô shutsu butsu): The term "buddha" (butsu) could be read in the singular, but its pairing with "ancestor" (so) in the next phrase suggests Dôgen's common expression "buddhas and ancestors."

"Immeasurable asamkhyeya-kalpas" (muryô asôgikô): A kalpa is an (almost) infinitely long period of time; asamkhyeya-kalpas are kalpas of "countless" number. Some texts define asamkhyeya as the specific number 10 to the 59th power.

"Ocean of the dharma realm (hokkai kai): The realm of all dharmas (dharma-dhâtu) seen as an ocean; very similar in connotation to the "ocean of the nature" and the "ocean of sarvajña" seen above.

"Lands of this world" (sekai kokudo): Without an obvious technical Buddhist usage, this expression suggests merely the various countries of the world. It may be that Dôgen introduces it here to emphasize that the spiritual powers govern the activity not only of a sacred buddhist realm but of the ordinary world.

23. "The four elements, the five elements, the six elements" (shidai godai rokudai): The nested lists of Buddhist "elements" (mahâbhûta) comprising the natural world. The four are earth, water, fire, and wind; the five add space; the six add consciousness.

"The present great earth and empty space, in every direction" (ima no daichi kokû no menmen naru): Taking menmen here as referring to hômen ("direction"); some would be take it as "in every instance" or "in every aspect."

"Their strength is their being turned by the mustard seed; their strength is their being connected to the hair follicle" (ke ni ten zeraruru wo rikiryô to seri mô ni kakareru wo rikiryô to seri): The subject here and in the following sentence is unexpressed; presumably, we are to understand the "great earth and empty space" of the preceding sentence.

"Born together where knowledge does not reach" (shikichi no oyobazaru yori dôshô shite): The term dôshô ("born together") recalls the discussion above of the powers "born together" with the buddha; here, however, it seems to suggest only that "the great earth and empty space" are "born together."

"How could we merely consider them in terms of [their] measurement?" (hitoe ni shikiryô wo kô shite gi suru nomi naran ya): Although Dôgen often uses the term shikiryô ("measurement") in a somewhat loose sense of intellectual "calculation," its association here with "short and long" suggests he wants to retain its stricter sense of "to fathom," "to survey." Presumably his point here is that, when taken as "the spiritual powers of the buddha," there is more to "the great earth and empty space" than spatial extension.

24. A Japanese version of a story appearing in the Mingjue chanshi yulu (T.47:671a); Liandeng huiyao (ZZ.136:221); Zongmen tongyao ji (ZGTSSK 1:9c). Dôgen also cites this story in his Eihei kôroku 5, jôdô 394 (DZZ 3:264).

"Seer with the five powers" (gotsû sennin): The term sennin, translated here as "seer," has the connotations in Chinese texts of a mysterious, transcendent being, of a solitary hermit with miraculous powers, etc. In Buddhist texts, the term is often used to render Sanskrit terms like risi (often translated "seer") or muni (often rendered "sage" or "ascetic").

"That one power" (na ittsû): On the traditional technical distinction between the five and six powers, see above, Supplemental Note 7.

"That one power, ask me about it" (na ittsû ni mon ga): The sense is uncertain and the commentaries varied here. Most follow some version of Dôgen's view, expressed below, that the seer has not understood the meaning of "that one power." Some would see the exchange itself as demonstrations of "that one power" (in which case, it might be possible [though a bit of a stretch] to read the last clause not as an imperative but as a declarative: "that one power [is] your asking me").

25. "How much less . . . could [he] even dream of them?" (iwanya . . . ikade ka yume ni mo min): Taking the unexpressed subject to be "the seer of the five powers"; the passage might also be read, "how much less could one even dream of them?"

26. "The old master Shâkya" (Shaka rôshi): Dôgen is here using a common Zen term of endearment for the Buddha, treating him as just one of the venerable teachers of the community.

"Seen the buddha" (kenbutsu): The exact distinction between "old master Shâkya" and "the buddha" here is not clear but suggests a difference between the buddha as historical figure and the buddha of more cosmic proportions that Dôgen is describing - in scholastic terms, between the buddha's "transformation body" (ôjin; nirmâna-kâya) and "dharma body" (hosshin; dharma-kâya).

"[One] should study "using entanglements"; [one] should study "entanglements cut off" (yû kattô wo gaku subeshi kattô dan wo gakusubeshi): The subject here is unexpressed; it could be interpreted either as "we" or as "he" (i.e., the "seer" in the story). The term kattô, translated "entanglements," literally means "arrowroot and wisteria"; from the image of the intertwined tangle of these vines, comes the sense, "complications," "entanglements." The term is regularly used in Zen to indicate the entanglements of language, including sometimes the language of the Zen masters; the Zen masters' language is also sometimes described as "tangle cutting phrases" (kattô dan ku) for its power to overcome such entanglements. Dôgen's own language here is rather tangled and subject to somewhat varied interpretation.

"Counting the neighbor's valuables" (rinchin wo sansû suru): I.e., the "seer's" concern with the six powers of the buddha is less productive than calculating another's property.

27. "Even if he explains the penetration or obstruction of "that one power" (na ittsû no tsûsoku wa tatoi toku tomo): The unexpressed subject here is probably "the old master Shâkyamuni." "Penetration and obstruction" here translates tsûsoku ("open or blocked"), a term that has the idiomatic sense of "things going well or not" (what we might call "the ups and downs" of life); but Dôgen is here beginning an extended play with the word tsû, the first element of tsûsoku and the second element of the term jinzû. As mentioned above, in Note 1 (and Supplemental Note 1), the translation of jinzû by "spiritual powers" misses the connotation of "penetration" (also "thorough understanding," "mastery") in its second element. Hence, some of Dôgen's play in this passage with the connotation is masked by the translation. For a version that more closely reflects the language of the passage and a possible paraphrase of the argument, see Supplemental Note 12.

"They are not the five powers in 'the buddha has six powers'" (butsu u rokutsû no naka no gotsû ni arazu): Or, "they are not the five powers among the six powers that the buddha has."

"Get utterly penetrated in what the powers of the buddha penetrate" (buttsû no shotsû ni tsûha to naru): An odd locution, presumably meaning simply "are fully penetrated by the powers of the buddha." The element ha ("to break") in the term tsûha should probably be taken as an emphatic; hence, "utterly."

28. "Deportment of the buddha" (butsugi): The element gi usually connotates formal or ritual action; here, it can probably be understand simply as the buddha's "manner," or "way of behaving." The point here would seem to be that, while in their behavior, the buddha and the seer may sometimes act alike in displaying powers, such displays are not the real powers of the buddha.

29. "He should be asking about even one power. He [should be] asking about 'that one power'; he should be asking about 'that one power'" (ittsû wo mo toubeshi to nari na ittsû wo toi na itttsû wo tou beshi): A confusing passage, generally interpreted to mean that, instead of asking about "that one power" distinctive of the buddha, he should be asking again and again about any one of the powers. On this reading, Dôgen is using "that one power" here to refer simply to whatever power the seer may ask about.

"While the term 'spiritual powers' may be the same, the term 'spiritual powers' is very different" (jinzû no myôji onaji to iedomo jinzû no myôji haruka ni shui nari): Presumably to be understood, "though the term may be the same, its meaning in each case is very different."

30. What follows here is a quotation in Chinese of a passage from the Record of Linji (Linji lu , T.47:49c:29-50a14).

31. From a verse appreciation of the Diamond Sutra, traditionally attributed to Fu Dashi (497-569). See Supplemental Note 13.

"Bodily marks" (shinsô): I.e., the extraordinary physical "marks" (lakshana) held to adorn the body of a buddha (and a cakravartin, or "wheel-turning" monarch).

"Nihilistic views" (danken): The term danken is used to translate the Sanskrit uccheda-drishti, the false view that denies the reality of karma and rebirth.

"The thirty-two and the eighty" (sanjûni hachi jû): I.e., the traditional lists of thirty-two "marks" (xiang; lakshana;) and eighty "exellences" (hao; anuvyañjana) that scripture attributes to the buddha's body.

"Having a body" (ushin); "having no marks" (musô): Or, perhaps, "his existing (i.e., physical) body"; "his nonexisting marks."

32. "All the heavenly beings, transcendent seers, asuras, and powerful demons" (issai shoten shinsen ashura dairikiki): "Heavenly beings" (ten): i.e, the devas, often translated as "gods," of the various buddhist "heavens." "Transcendent seers" (shinsen): i.e., spiritual adepts like the "seer" who interviewed the Buddha in the story above; in Chinese context, often translated as "immortals." "Asura" (ashura): sometimes translated "titans"; powerful beings of Indian mythology, sometimes pictured as warring with the devas. "Powerful spirits" (dairikiki): could refer to a variety of demonic beings; sometimes interpreted as powerful demons in the realm of the "hungry spirits" (gaki; preta).

The asuras battle with the Heavenly King Indra (asura yo Tentai shaku sen): "Heavenly King Indra" (tentai shaku) refers to the powerful Vedic god, sometimes said to be the king of the devas. The example of the asura king hiding his troops in the lotus root can be seen at Huayan jing, T.10:220a25.

33. What this mountain monk has mentioned" (nyo sansô shokyo): I.e., "the powers I have just discussed."

"Karmic powers or dependent powers" (gôtsû etsû): "Karmic powers" (gôtsû) likely correspond to what the Baozang lun and Zongjing lu call "recompensive powers" (baotong) - i.e., powers derived the karma of one's birth as a dragon, demon, etc. "Dependent powers (etsû) are defined by these two texts as supernormal events in the environment, such as "miraculous" cures, etc. See above, Supplemental Note 1.

"He enters the realm of form without being deluded by form" (nyû shikikai fuhi shiki waku): Linji is giving the venerable list of the six "entrances" (nyû; âyatana, "sense field"). The "realm of dharma" here refers to the objects of the sixth sensory organ, the mind (i; manas). Though the association of the sense fields with the six spiritual powers became common in Zen texts, there does not seem to have been any serious attempt actually to match the members of the two lists. "Deluded" (waku) translates a term regularly used as a synonym for the "afflictions" (bonnô; klesha).

34. "Empty marks" (kûsô): Or, "marked by emptiness"; in ordinary parlance, "an empty form."

"The defiled quality of the five aggregates" (goun ro shitsu): I.e., the ordinary state of a human being. The "five aggregates" (goun; pañca-skandha) are the standard list of dharmas held to constitute the individual: form (shiki; rûpa), sensation (jû; vedanâ), representation (sô; samjñâ), formation (gyô; samskâra), and consciousness (shiki; vijñâna). The five aggregates of the ordinary person are subject to the "effluents" (ro; âsrava), or "afflictions" (bonnô; klesha), that are to be eliminated on the Buddhist path.

"The spiritual power of walking the earth" (jigyô jinzû): No doubt a play with the sense, "grounded," in the term jigyô ("walking the earth"), as in the "earth walking seer" (jigyô sen), who has not yet mastered the art of flying.

"Fox spirits" (yako zeimi): A common Zen dismissal of supernormal powers as no better than the bewitchments of fox spirit possession; more often in the abbreviated form yako zei.

35. "Singly transmitted" (tanden): A term commonly used in Zen to describe the transmission of the dharma from master to disciple. Though the term suggests (and in some cases is used to indicate) a lineage in which there is only one legitimate representative, or "ancestor," in each generation, it regularly appears in contexts where the element tan is better understand as "unique," "pure," or "simple."

36. A quotation in Chinese of a passage appearing in the Tiansheng guangdong lu, ZZ.135:341a16-b3. A portion of the passage is also quoted in the Shôbôgenzô arakan fascicle, DZZ.1:325.

"The four-phrase verse" (shiku ge): Though this expression could mean simply a verse composed of four lines, in this context of doctrinal formulae, it probably refers to the popular summary of Buddhist spiritual practice: "Do not do evil, perform good, purify the mind: this is the teaching of the buddhas."

"The four fruits" (shika): The four stages on the path of the shrâvaka: "stream entry" (yoru; srotâpanna), "once-returning" (ichirai; sakridâgami), "non-returning" (fugen; anâgami), and "worthy" (arakan; arhat).

"The six entrances" (rokunyû): The six sense spheres (âyatana) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

"A human beyond the buddha" (bukkôjô nin): Or "the person beyond the buddhha"; choosing "human" here in contrast to "heavenly being." The expression became a popular one in the Zen literature.

"[He] is the heavenly being of the self" (ze jiko ten): A tentative translation of an odd locution; it might also be read something like, "this is the heaven of the self." The commentators have generally shied away here. For the problem of this sentence, see Supplemental Note 14.

37. "The understanding not relied on" (chige fu ejû); "the spiritual powers not guarding this" (jinzû fushu shi); "all the dharmas not being obstructed" (issai shohô fuhige): Dôgen is here playing with the syntax of Paizhang's Chinese.

38. "Clarify, "without traces," "the six entrances" (rokunyû wo museki ni akiramu): Again, Dôgen is playing with Baizhang's expression "six entrances without traces."

"The six types of spiritual functions are empty and not empty. The one circle of light, with neither inside nor outside" (roppan shin'yô [or shin'yû] kû fukû ikka enkô hi naige): From the poem Zheng dao ge, by Yungjia Xuanjue (d. 713); Jingde chuandeng lu, T.51:460a28-29.

"The one who moves deserves thirty blows" (dôjaku suru mono sanjû bô bun): Echoing the Zen phrase, "If you move, thirty blows (dongzhuo sanshi bang).

39. "They just mistake vainly chasing about outside for the observances of coming home" (itazura ni kôge no chisô wo kika no anri to ayamareru nomi nari): "chasing about" (chisô) and "coming home" (kika or kike) are terms often used in Zen in a psychological sense, for seeking the goals of Buddhism "outside" and "within" the self, respectively. The term anri ("observances") is a common expression for Buddhist religious activities.

"Those who 'count sand'" (sansha no yakara); "the types who 'stumble off'" (reihei no tagui): "Counting sand" (sansha) is a common perjorative for those who merely study the details of doctrine. "Stumbling off" (reihei [or ryôbyô]) is a tentative translation for an unusual term. Dôgen uses it elsewhere (e.g., Raihai tokuzui, DZZ.1:304) for vain wanderings in "other lands" (takoku), in allusion to the wanderings of the rich man's son in Chapter 4 of the Lotus Sutra. (Perhaps a variant for the binome appearing there at T.9:17b11?)

"The types who 'get a little and consider it enough'" (toku shô i soku no rui): Doubtless an allusion to the parable in Chapter 8 of the Lotus Sutra, in which a man, not realizing that he has a precious jewel sewn in his robe, wanders in poverty satisfied with whatever he can get. So too those on the shrâvaka path, not realizing that they could attain the complete knowledge of a tathâgata, "take small knowledge as enough" (yi xiao jhi wei ju). (T9:29a5.)

40. "The ordinary mind" (heijô shin): A popular Zen expression, seen especially in the common phrase, "The ordinary mind is the way" (bingchang xin shi dao). Dôgen quotes an example of its use by Nanchuan at shinji Shôbôgenzô case number 19 (DZZ.5:134.)

"I always take this seriously" (go jô o shi setsu): Quoting a remark by Dongshan.

A monk once asked Dongshan, "Among the three bodies, which body preaches the dharma?"
Dongshan said, "I always take this seriously."

(From the version at shinji Shôbôgenzô case number 55, DZZ.5:152. A slightly different version appears at Dongshan lu, T.47:510b24-25.) Some interpret the term setsu, translated here as "take seriously," in the sense, "am intimate with."