SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

76 Sōtō Zenhis enlightenment, the Buddha is said to have declared, ÒI was,am and will be enlightened instantaneously with the universe.Ó[Zen is Eternal Life, 1999, p. 224.] All sentient beings throughoutthe universe are enlightened by and with the enlightenmentof the Buddha.Although the Buddha was raised in luxury and later triedpracticing asceticism, he discovered that true practice was themiddle way. There is absolutely no need for us to practiceasceticism, attempting to imitate the Buddha. D‡gen said in hisÒGakudo Y‡jinsh‰Ó: ÒOne who would train in Buddhism mustfirst believe completely therein and, in order to do so, one mustbelieve that one has already found the Way, never having beenlost, deluded, upside down, increasing, decreasing or mistakenin the first place.Ó [Zen is Eternal Life, 1999, pp. 177Ð178.] Inessence this is to believe what the Buddha said at the time of hisenlightenment: ÒI was, am and will be enlightened instantaneouslywith the universe.Ó We are already on the path toenlightenment and are filled with the wisdom of the Buddha.Great Master Bodhidharma, the First Ancestor of Chinese Zen,said, ÒWe deeply believe in accordance with the teachings ofour Master that all mankind is endowed with an identicalBuddha Nature.Ó Our True Nature can be revealed only whenwe have thoroughly understood the doctrine of non-existenceof the ego. ManÕs sacred nature is what we call the BuddhaMind or Buddha Nature. Great Master Bodhidharma taught us