The Dharma Goes Westward

　　(Seattle, 1979: a conversation with an ex-monk)

　　Q: A friend of mind went to practice with a Zen teacher. He asked him, “When the Buddha was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, what was he doing

　　” The Zen master answered, “He was practicing zazen!” My friend said, “I don”t believe it.” The Zen master asked him, “What do you mean, you don”t believe it

　　” My friend said, “I asked Goenke the same question, and he said, “When the Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree, he was practicing vipassana!” So everybody says the Buddha was doing whatever they do.”

　　AC: When the Buddha sat out in the open, he was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. Isn”t that so

　　 When he sat under some other kind of tree, he was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. There”s nothing wrong with those explanations. “Bodhi” means the Buddha himself, the one who knows. It”s OK to talk about sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, but lots of birds sit beneath the Bodhi tree. Lots of people sit beneath the Bodhi tree. But they are far from such knowledge, from such truth. Yes, we can say “beneath the Bodhi tree.” Monkeys play in the bodhi tree. People sit there beneath the Bodhi tree. But this doesn”t mean they have any profound understanding. Those who have deeper understanding realize that the true meaning of “the Bodhi tree” is the absolute Dharma.

　　So in this way, it”s certainly good for us to try to sit beneath the Bodhi tree. Then we can be Buddha. But we don”t need to argue with others over this question. When one person says the Buddha was doing one kind of practice beneath the Bodhi tree and another person disputes that, we needn”t get involved. We should be looking at it from the viewpoint of the ultimate, meaning realizing the truth. There is also the conventional idea of “Bodhi tree,” which is what most people talk about, but when there are two kinds of Bodhi tree, people can end up arguing and having the most contentious disputes—and then there is no Bodhi tree at all.

　　It”s talking about paramathadhamma, the level of ultimate truth. So in that case, we can also try to get underneath the Bodhi tree. That”s pretty good--then we”ll be Buddha. It”s not something to be arguing over. When someone says the Buddha was practicing a certain kind of meditation beneath the Bodhi tree, and someone else says, No, that”s not right, we needn”t get involved. We”re aiming at paramathadhamma, meaning dwelling in full awareness. This ultimate truth pervades everything. Whether the Buddha was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree or performing other activities in other postures, never mind. That”s just the intellectual analysis people have developed. One person has one view of the matter, another person has another idea; we don”t have to get involved in disputes over it.

　　Where did the Buddha enter Nirvana

　　 Nirvana means extinguished without remainder. Finished. Being finished comes from knowledge, knowledge of the way things really are. That”s how things get finished, and that is the paramathadhamma. There are explanations according to the levels of convention and liberation. They are both true, but their truths are different. For example, we say that you are a person. But the Buddha will say, “That”s not so. There”s no such thing as a person.” So we have to summarize the various ways of speaking and explanation into convention and liberation.

　　We can explain it like this: previously you were a child. Now you are grown. Are you a new person or the same person as before

　　 If you are the same as the old person, how did you become an adult

　　 If you are a new person, where did you come from

　　 But talking about an old person and a new person doesn”t really get to the point. This question illustrates the limitations of conventional language and understanding. If there is something …

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