Oozing Relief And The Final Purpose Of Buddhism

Here’s a tiny excerpt from another Katagiri Roshi teisho, transcribed by Gary Shodo. While in graduate school at Komazawa University most of Roshi’s peers wrote their master’s thesis on something wonderful like ālāyavijñāna (storehouse consciousness), but Roshi wrote his master’s thesis on “manas” (ego or obstruction) consciousness. He was kinda funny in that way.

Roshi often spoke about the eight consciousnesses (

click here for more on that) as a way of explaining Buddhist practice and enlightenment. It seems fitting to look at this in the context of our recent work on Genjokoan and the illusion that the shore is moving (click here for more on that).

Katagiri Roshi is sometimes lumped together with the enlightenment-denying faction of Soto Zen. This little excerpt shows his true colors.

The important point in Buddhism is that we have to feel deeply and directly who we are, tasting and realizing manas (ego consciousness). Psychologically speaking, at that time the realization of manas guides us to touch universal life coming from past life. This is ālāyavijñāna (storehouse consciousness).

I think it is not good enough to taste who we are deeply or directly. By meditation we have to reach ālāyavijñāna. But at that time there is still a problem – we are stuck in the concept of universal life.

Alāyavijñāna is something going in perpetual series from the past, to present, to future. Nothing to grasp, nothing to let us be stuck there, always going.

Finally we really feel what universal life is. Finally there is no concept of our own universal life. Finally what we are is just flow of energy, that’s it.

This is called Tathagathagarba (womb of thus come, thus gone –

click here for more on that). It is just a perpetual flow of energy. There is nothing to put a name on but it’s really a fact, something real. It supports our life and also all sentient beings. At that time we really appreciate it. And then from this ascertainment and relaxation or relief oozes from the bottom of our heart.

The main purpose of Buddhist practice is to taste the ego conscience deeply – who you are – through the meditation, but it’s not good enough.

The farther practice is to taste ālāyavijñāna, universal life, not only conceptually, but directly you should participate in ālāyavijñāna.

What is direct participation in ālāyavijñāna? Just movement. Flow movement. Perpetual flow of energy to live, to be present not only for you but with all sentient beings.

That is the final purpose of Buddhism.

Some people believe that if we don’t attain enlightenment, we are not Buddhist but a lower class of human beings. I don’t think it is true. Even though you are deluded person or you are enlightened person all sentient beings are aware.

Oozing Relief and the Final Purpose of Buddhism