SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

82 Sōtō Zensight of their old master doing physical work, hid the broom.Hyakuj‡ responded by saying, ÒIf I do not work one day, I shallnot eat that day,Ó and declined all food.At the end of the Shush‡gi by D‡gen, it is written: ÒThelife of this one day, to-day, is absolutely vital life; your body isdeeply significant. Both your life and your body deserve loveand respect for it is by their agency that Truth is practised andthe BuddhaÕs power exhibited: the seed of all Buddhist activity,and of all Buddhahood, is the true practice of PreceptualTruth.Ó [Zen is Eternal Life, 1999, p. 103.] Our attitude towardlife must radiate true Buddhism nourished at the very core ofour being. Ultimately this will bear fruit for the benefit of bothourselves and others. This is what the peaceful mind of originalenlightenment leads to. Ò[O]ur daily life should be spent constantlyin selfless activity with no waste of time whatsoever.Ó[Zen is Eternal Life, 1999, p. 103.]In brief, the S‡t‡ School takes refuge in the historicalBuddha existing before the division of his nature into three partsby later generations. His meditation is a pure act which, so longas it rests on a realization of original enlightenment, does notactively seek enlightenment externally. His everyday life ispermeated by an uninterrupted expression of gratitude. Thesethree points are the content of correct faith. Thus every actbecomes Truth itself, every day a good day. The essential ideasof the S‡t‡ School may be summed up as follows: Shakyamuni