[Buddha-l] a question to Shobogenzo

[Curt Steinmetz]

This reminds me of a funny story (I think it might even be true). Zen 
Master Seung Sahn used to refer to koans as "mind mirrors" when talking 
with his English speaking students. But everyone always thought he was 
saying "mind meal" whenever he said "mind mirror" (because of his 
pronunciation). People even invented their own explanations for this 
very profound Zen teaching: working on a koan is like eating your 
thinking mind - until it is all gone. Or something like that.

Seung Sahn was completely unaware of this misunderstanding until one day 
he saw it in print. He asked someone to explain to him what "mind meal" 
was supposed to mean - and the student, without thinking, just said 
something like "but that's what you always say: 'mind meal'." Once Seung 
Sahn realized the misunderstanding, he decided that he liked the phrase 
"mind meal" even better than "mind mirror".

But "Ocean Meal Samadhi" sounds like some sort of organic breakfast 
cereal, if you ask me.

Curt Steinmetz

Dan Lusthaus wrote:
> Bernhard asks about 海印三昧 and Dogen:
>
> sāgara-mudrā-samādhi is an attested Skt term (even appears in
> Monier-Williams Skt-Eng Dictionary). It's used in the Prajnaparamita Sutras
> and elsewhere.
>
> For Dogen's sources and his usage, see
> http://scbs.stanford.edu/sztp3/translations/shobogenzo/translations/kaiin_zanmai/title.html
>
> including the intro, notes and supplemental notes.
>
> Note that Kaiin zanmai is the 13th, not 11th Shobogenzo text.
>
> There are texts that discuss "ocean mirror samadhi" and texts that discuss
> "ocean seal samadhi," as well as 寶鏡三昧 Baojing sanmei, "jewel mirror
> samadhi" -- East Asian sources sometimes conflate them. Each is interpreted
> in a variety of ways. For Dogen's understanding, it's best to read Dogen
> himself.
>
> Dan
>
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