Friday, June 03, 2011
The Eternal Mirror
Ko means "ancient" or "eternal" and kyo means "mirror," so kokyo
means "the eternal mirror." And what "the eternal mirror" means is
the question. In this chapter Master Dogen quoted Master Seppo
Gison's words "When a foreigner comes in front of the mirror, the
mirror reflects the foreigner." From these words we can understand
the eternal mirror as a symbol of some human mental faculty. The
eternal mirror suggests the importance of reflection, so we can
suppose that the eternal mirror is a symbol of the intuitional
faculty. In Buddhist philosophy, the intuition is called prajna, or
real wisdom. Real wisdom in Buddhism means our human intuitional
faculty on which all our decisions are based. Buddhism esteems this
real wisdom more than reason or sense-perception. Our real wisdom is the basis for our decisions, and our decisions decide our life, so we
can say that our real wisdom decides the course of our life. For this
reason, it is very natural for Master Dogen to explain the eternal
mirror. At the same time, we must find another meaning of the eternal
mirror, because Master Dogen also quoted other words of Master Seppo Gison, "Every monkey has the eternal mirror on its back." Therefore we can think that the eternal mirror means not only human real wisdom, but also some intuitional faculty of animals. So we must
widen the meaning of the eternal mirror, and understand it as a
symbol of the intuitional faculty which both human beings and animals
have. Furthermore Master Seppo Gison said, "When the world is ten
feet wide, the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. When the world is one
foot wide, the eternal mirror is one foot wide." These words suggest
the eternal mirror is the world itself. So we can say that the
eternal mirror is not only a symbol of an individual faculty but is
also something universal. From ancient times Buddhists have discussed the eternal mirror. In this chapter Master Dogen explains the meaning of the eternal mirror in Buddhism, quoting the words of ancient Buddhist masters.
means "the eternal mirror." And what "the eternal mirror" means is
the question. In this chapter Master Dogen quoted Master Seppo
Gison's words "When a foreigner comes in front of the mirror, the
mirror reflects the foreigner." From these words we can understand
the eternal mirror as a symbol of some human mental faculty. The
eternal mirror suggests the importance of reflection, so we can
suppose that the eternal mirror is a symbol of the intuitional
faculty. In Buddhist philosophy, the intuition is called prajna, or
real wisdom. Real wisdom in Buddhism means our human intuitional
faculty on which all our decisions are based. Buddhism esteems this
real wisdom more than reason or sense-perception. Our real wisdom is the basis for our decisions, and our decisions decide our life, so we
can say that our real wisdom decides the course of our life. For this
reason, it is very natural for Master Dogen to explain the eternal
mirror. At the same time, we must find another meaning of the eternal
mirror, because Master Dogen also quoted other words of Master Seppo Gison, "Every monkey has the eternal mirror on its back." Therefore we can think that the eternal mirror means not only human real wisdom, but also some intuitional faculty of animals. So we must
widen the meaning of the eternal mirror, and understand it as a
symbol of the intuitional faculty which both human beings and animals
have. Furthermore Master Seppo Gison said, "When the world is ten
feet wide, the eternal mirror is ten feet wide. When the world is one
foot wide, the eternal mirror is one foot wide." These words suggest
the eternal mirror is the world itself. So we can say that the
eternal mirror is not only a symbol of an individual faculty but is
also something universal. From ancient times Buddhists have discussed the eternal mirror. In this chapter Master Dogen explains the meaning of the eternal mirror in Buddhism, quoting the words of ancient Buddhist masters.
