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Entries in Shohaku Okamura (1)

Tuesday
Mar122013

Buddha/Thief Nature

Am taking a Dōgen Study class which is looking at Chapter 22 of Shōbōgenzō on Busshō, or Buddha Nature (thx, Dennis). Am also about halfway through reading Shohaku Okamura's Realizing Genjōkōan: The Key to Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō for the second time. Thought the video was a perfect expression of the moment. Shows Shohaku Okamura talking at the Austin Zen Center about "Bu" (Butsu), or Budhha and "sshō" (shō), or nature. About how his teacher's teacher, Kodo Sawaki, said that we all also have "thief" nature:

"Buddha nature and thief nature are both a hundred percent; [we are not partly buddha and partly thief]. Depending on our activity as a practice, we manifest Buddha nature or manifest thief nature. "Thief nature" means we always want to get something and make it my own possession. That is thief nature".

We decide which one to manifest in any given moment.