Zen Philosophy of Mindfulness: Nen 念 according to Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to holistically comprehend the concept of nen 念 in the Zen philosophy of Dōgen (道元 1200–1253), which is one of the origins of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, in relation to his principal concepts. This article specifically investigates its usages in his masterpiece, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵), according to each step of the threefold wisdom (san-e 三慧); for mindfulness is a common thread among them and he presents the concept of “monshishū-shō 聞思修證”, of which shō 證 stands for “awakening”. It is revealed that Dōgen considers “study” (mon 聞) and “reflection” (shi 思) to be essential on the Buddhist path, as well as “practice” (shū 修), and that nen 念 in Dōgen’s philosophy is the self beyond the sense of body-mind or time, which can be attained after long cultivation. Also, the connections among nen 念 and his critical concepts such as “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), and “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等) are elucidated.

1. Introduction

The concept of “mindfulness” (Pāli: sati, Sanskrit: smṛti, Chinese: nian 念, Japanese: nen 念) has been gathering more and more attention in diverse fields year by year. Along with this trend of the mindfulness movement, many studies have addressed and explained its origin and history so far. It should be noted in this context that Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has played a significant role in initiating and accelerating this movement by establishing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), often states that one of the sources of his method derives from the Sōtō School (sōtō shū 曹洞宗) of Zen founded by Dōgen (道元 1200–1253) (Kabat-Zinn 2011, p. 289)1.

On the other hand, Fujita Isshō (藤田一照 1954-), the former Head Director of the Sōtō Zen Buddhism International Center, states his concern over this mindfulness movement and points out the potential of the tradition of Japanese Zen philosophy as below (Fujita 2014, p. 1). Please note that the author translated all the Japanese texts in this paper, including Dōgen’s original texts, into English.

アメリカのマインドフルネスはもともとは仏教のコンセプトであるサティ（パーリ語）由来するものだが，「現在の瞬間に対する，判断を入れない注意のスキル」としてあまりにも仏教の文脈から切り離され，世俗化・メソッド化されてしまったために，サティが本来持っていた広がりと深さが失われているように思われる．たとえばそれは「思い出す」という重要な働きや，戒や他の修行法との密接な関連性であり，主客二元を超えた無我行への深まりの方向性である．日本が今後マインドフルネス・ムーヴメントに貢献できるとすれば，あらためてマインドフルネスを仏教の中にもどしてとらえなおし，より広がりと深さを備えた新しいマインドフルネスとして更新していくことではないだろうか．

Mindfulness in the U.S. is derived originally from the Buddhist concept sati (Pāli). It seems that the width and the depth of sati have been lost because it got separated far away from the context of Buddhism when it was secularized and defined as “skill of paying attention to the very present moment non-judgmentally”. For example, that is the significant function of “recalling”, its close connections with precepts or other forms of training, or the attitude towards the depth of the state of no-self beyond the dichotomy of subject and object. If there is a way for Japan to contribute to the mindfulness movement from now on, it might be to put mindfulness back into Buddhism and then grasp it again and to update it as new mindfulness with further width and depth.

Indeed, few studies have focused on the original usages of nen 念 in Dōgen. To be more precise, there certainly exist studies that dig into nian/nen 念, or mindfulness, from the perspectives of: (1) the emergence of Chan in the medieval period and its meditation techniques (Sharf 2014); (2) the difference in the interpretations of nian 念 between the Northern and Southern Schools of Chan Buddhism (Rošker 2016); (3) the history of the spread of so-called secular mindfulness-based interventions, not the origin of the concept itself, in modern Japan (Fujii 2017); (4) a very brief and general overview of the usage of the Chinese character of nen 念 in the Zen tradition without specific references to the works of Zen masters (Koga 1973). While Chihara Tadashi (茅原 正 1949-) refers to several passages of Dōgen with nen 念 to argue that zazen in Dōgen should be regarded as “mindlessness” rather than “mindfulness” (Chihara 2018, 2019), the focus of these studies is put not on the concept of nen 念 itself but on the comparison between zazen according to Dōgen and the method of meditation in mindfulness-based interventions, which, according to him, puts a higher priority on awareness. There is still much room for directly and holistically addressing and revealing the width and depth of this concept itself and its position in Dōgen’s philosophy, with further reference to Dōgen’s original texts.

Therefore, based on these points, this paper sheds light specifically on the significances of nen 念 in Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵, hereafter SBGZ), the masterpiece of Dōgen, who has been considered as “the first writer to use the Japanese language in a truly philosophical way” (Kasulis 1978, p. 357), to reveal how he ponders and uses the concept of nen 念 and its compounds. In other words, this paper aims to present new insights into the traditional interpretations of Dōgen’s philosophy from the perspective of nen 念, or mindfulness, and related concepts, believing that this approach can offer us an opportunity to comprehend the width and the depth of Dōgen’s philosophy further, which is very often interpreted within the category of paradox (Garfield and Priest 2021, p. 122)2.

This paper first briefly reviews, in Section 2, the history of the journey of the concept of “mindfulness”, from sati in Pāli and smṛti in Sanskrit, to nen 念 in Japanese, by way of nian 念 in Chinese, and then gives an overview of the various significances of nen 念 in the tradition of Japanese Buddhism with reference to The Great Dictionary of Buddhist Terms (Bukkyōgo-daijiten 佛教語大辞典) (Nakamura 1975) compiled by Nakamura Hajime (中村 元 1912–1999) to digest the width of nen 念.

Then, Section 3 specifically investigates several compounds of nen 念 in SBGZ and classifies them according to each step of the “threefold wisdom” (san-e 三慧), the components of which are “study” (mon 聞), “reflection” (shi 思), and “practice” (shū 修); for “mindfulness plays a critical role at each of these three levels, and may actually be considered as the common thread linking them” (Deroche 2021, p. 20).

It is also remarkable that Dōgen directly uses the term “monshishū 聞思修” two times in SBGZ, and both appear in one passage; the former one appears in the form of “monshishū-shō 聞思修證”, of which the last Chinese character, shō 證, stands for “awakening”. Dōgen, when explaining one of the eight means towards awakening,uses this term as follows, as follows (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 7, p. 273):

七者修智惠。起聞思修證爲智惠。3

The seventh means to awakening is attaining wisdom. Wisdom is the realization of “study” (mon 聞), “reflection” (shi 思), “practice” (shū 修), and “awakening” (shō 證).

On the other hand, Dōgen also directly quotes a passage from The Sūtra of Buddha’s Last Instruction, which includes the term monshishū-e 聞思修慧 (Ibid.); in Japanese, e 慧 means “wisdom”, and thus the term itself refers to wisdom obtained in each step of monshishū 聞思修. Therefore, it is naturally assumed that Dōgen knows the primary form of this concept, which is “study-reflection-practice” (monshishū 聞思修), monshishū-shō 聞思修證” on purpose.

Based on this perspective, Section 4 introduces and addresses three critical concepts in Dogen’s philosophy, interpreting the concept of nen 念 in relation to them: “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等), “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), and “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落). In this way, by comprehending the concept of nen 念 within the context of Dōgen’s exposition of the entire path, this part eventually aims, in Fujita’s terms quoted above, to “update it as new mindfulness with further width and depth.”

2. Nen 念 in the Traditions of Japanese Buddhism after Smṛti and Nian 念

2.1. Nian 念 and Mindfulness

It is generally admitted that Rhys Davids (1843–1922) was the first person who translated the Buddhist term sati into the English term “mindfulness” in the late 19th century (Brown et al. 2015, p. 9)4. More than 100 years later, mainly in the early 21st century, Japan gradually imported the English term and MBSR from the United States (Fujii 2017, pp. 69–71)5.

Originally, mindfulness, when turning to its early definitions as a mental faculty, is related to “the ability to remember what has been done or said long ago”, while there is another definition that “outlines its actual application” (Anālayo 2019, p. 12)6. Also, the etymology of the word sati derives from the Old Indic word smṛti: “remembrance”, and “memory” (Levman 2017, p. 122)7. We can, in fact, find the usages of sati that are related to “memory” in the early Buddhist scriptures (Anālayo 2010, p. 46)8.

As is well known, in China, the word smṛti had been mainly translated by the Chinese character 念. We can find the original meaning of nian 念, which is similar to the ones mentioned above, in Shuō Wén Jiě Zì (Chinese: 说文解字), the oldest Chinese dictionary, edited in 100 CE as follows (Rošker 2016, p. 44):

念: 常思也. 從心今聲.

Nian: Have in mind, constantly think of someone or something. Compiled from the heart-mind and the present.

Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese mainly from the middle of the second century to the early ninth century and from the end of the tenth century to the early eleventh century (Funayama 2013, p. 48). During the period, Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什 344–413) and Xuanzang (玄奘 602–664), who are both “the representative translators of Buddhist scriptures” (Ibid., p. 21), and other Buddhist monks contributed to the spread of Buddhism in China. It is naturally assumed that within this process the Sanskrit term smṛti came to be translated into the Chinese term nian 念, the original significances of which were explained earlier.

Also, there has historically been another main significance of nian 念 in Guang yun (Chinese: 廣韻), the Chinese retheme dictionary compiled in the early eleventh century as below (Rošker 2016, p. 44):

念: 思也. 又姓西魏太傅念賢.

Nian: Think of, think. Also the pronunciation of the surname Xian.

Namely, just as Rošker articulates, it is certain that “the word nian was obviously understood (and used) in the sense ‘to have (something or someone)’ or ‘to remember’”. (Ibid., p. 45).

2.2. Nen 念 in the Traditions of Japanese Buddhism

It is said that Buddhism became rooted in Japan from India by way of China and the Korean Peninsula in the sixth century. Since then, Buddhist monks and government officials who studied in China played significant roles in its diffusion. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), several Japanese original Buddhist schools were established, and in the meantime, Japanese Zen schools were formed based on Chinese Chan schools9.

According to The Great Dictionary of Buddhist Terms, nen 念 in the Japanese Buddhism tradition has had 16 significances as general usages (Nakamura 1975, pp. 1078–79). Herein, I would like to briefly explain them in English as follows:

• Remembering. Memorizing. The function of memory. Functions of memorizing and keeping an object in mind. The mental function of memorizing and keeping something in mind. Recollection. Recalling and thinking back to the past.
  [P] sati, [S] smṛti, [S] smṛti, [S] ālambana-asaṃpramoṣa, [S] smaraṇa, [S] saṃ-√smṛ
• Focusing on something. One of the virtues.
  [P] sati
• Saying something into oneself (often without speaking out).
  [S] manasi-kāra, [P] samanāhāro hoti
• Conceiving.
  [P] so evaṃ pajānāti, [P] cetaso parivitakka, [S] atarkika, [P] dhammavicaya (one of satta bojjhaṅgā)
• Wisdom that is observing.
• Correcting one’s thoughts in mind.
• Function of memory as one of mahā-bhūmika dharma.
  [S] smṛti
• In Vijñānavāda, memory as one of five mental factors of vibhāvanā. Not losing or forgetting something acquired.
  [S] smṛti, [T] dran(pa)
• The function of intention.
  [P] cetanā
• Mind.
  [P] manas
• Feelings. Mind longing for something.
  [S] citta
• Delusion
• An ultimately short moment.
  [S] kṣaṇa
• Nenbutsu 念仏
  [S] buddhānusmṛti.
• Enduring.
• Secondary scriptures in Brahmanism, compared to [S] Śruti, the revealed texts.

As shown above, even only in the traditions of Japanese Buddhism, the significances of nen 念 are highly diverse. Apparently, the scope of the concept of nen 念 seems to include the following four categories: smṛti/sati-related ones, citta/manas-related ones, kṣaṇa-related ones, and others. It is true that some seem to be original Japanese ones, some seem to be overlapped with each other, and some cannot necessarily be explained in accordance with a specific Sanskrit or Pāḷi term. We must not simply assume that the concept of nen 念 in the traditions of Japanese Buddhism corresponds equally to terms or concepts such as sati, smṛti, mindfulness, or others. This is why we must take a closer look at the actual contexts in which nen 念 is used and at the worldview or philosophy of the author, which is Dōgen in this paper.

3. Nen 念 in SBGZ, according to Each Step of the Threefold Wisdom

This chapter specifically reviews the various usages of nen 念 in SBGZ in accordance with each step of the “threefold wisdom” (san-e 三慧): “study” (mon 聞), “reflection” (shi 思), and “practice” (shū 修); for, as mentioned in the introduction, not only is mindfulness deeply connected with all these steps of the threefold wisdom, but Dōgen’s original concept of monshishū-shō 聞思修證, of which “shō 證” means “awakening”, can also play a significant role when we try to comprehend his philosophy and worldview holistically along with one of his main teachings, “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等), as is argued in detail in the next chapter.

Before addressing SBGZ, I would like to share its overview briefly. Originally, as a general term, Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵 means “the correct way of observing the world or the truth in awakening” (Nakamura 1975, p. 704). Dōgen spent over 20 years until the year of his death, writing this masterpiece. He aimed to diffuse the correct teachings of Buddha not only among Buddhist monks but also among lay people. This is why he wrote SBGZ not only with Chinese characters, which had been the standard among Buddhist monks until that time, but also in combination with Japanese kana characters. While there have been arguments about the range of SBGZ as separate versions with different numbers of fascicles, this study addresses Bendōwa 辨道話, the older 75-fascicle, and the later 12-fascicle version, as Mizuno Yaoko (水野 弥穂子 1921–2010) edited it (Dōgen 1990–1993, vol. 4, p. 509). In these fascicles of SBGZ, there appear 42 usages of nen 念 in the forms of compounds with other Chinese characters.

From now on, I would like to take a closer look at the actual usages of nen 念 in accordance with the threefold-wisdom framework. Upon selecting them, I referred to the existing framework that succeeded in organizing each step of the threefold wisdom in relation to the epistemic sources and cognitive faculties (Deroche 2021, p. 29): (1) “study”, tradition, and memory; (2) “reflection”, reason, and judgment; (3) “cultivation”, intuition, and attention.

The interpretation offered in this paper is weaved mainly based on the semantic context in which the term is used, according to the modern Japanese translations with commentaries by Masutani Fumio (増谷 文雄 1902–1987) (Dōgen 2004–2005), as well as on The Great Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and the commentaries written by Mizuno (Dōgen 1990–1993). The original Japanese texts of Dōgen are also cited from this series of Masutani, and they have been translated into English by the author with reference to the existing English translations (Dōgen 1975–1983, 2021), the modern Japanese translation and commentary by Masutani, and the commentary by Mizuno.

3.1. “Study” and Nen 念 in SBGZ: The Teachings and Traditions Buddhist Monks Should Keep in Mind

This group includes not only the teachings or traditional rules that a Buddhist monk should always keep in mind but also the first thought of starting life as a renouncer and bodhisattva, as well as the attitude to be observed in life as such; for a person becomes a Buddhist monk, being affected by the memory or recollection of the Buddhist tradition, or teachings that the one has listened to before.

A good example of the latter is shoichi nen 初一念, which directly means “the first thought” of renouncing a secular life and becoming a Buddhist monk. Sho 初 represents “first”, and ichi 一 refers to “one”, and thus, shoichi nen 初一念 means the thought at the start of life as a Buddhist monk. Dōgen explains, in the following passage (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 3, p. 237), the essence of Buddhism lies in shoichi nen 初一念 as well as in the ultimate state of awakening (kukyō-i 究竟位), while he also argues, in his typical paradoxical way (Garfield and Priest 2021), awakening or the truth does exist but, at the same time, does not; therefore, the essence of Buddhism, awakening, or the truth cannot be attained or grasped:

しるべし、佛法は初一念にも大意あり、究竟位にも大意あり。その大意は不得なり。發心修行取證はなきにあらず、不得なり。その大意は不知なり。修證は無にあらず、修證は有にあらず、不知なり、不得なり。またその大意は、不得不知なり。聖諦修證なきにあらず、不得不知なり。聖諦修證あるにあらず、不得不知なり

You should understand that the essence of Buddhism lies in the first thought of starting life as a Buddhist monk as well as the ultimate state of awakening. You cannot attain the essence. Although there exists (the steps of) this determination, practice, and awakening, you cannot attain the essence. The essence cannot be grasped. Practice-awakening is not nothingness; it is not existence, it cannot be grasped, and it cannot be attained. The essence cannot be grasped or attained. Although there exist Noble truths and practice-awakening, they cannot be grasped or attained. There do not exist Noble truths and practice-awakening, and they cannot be grasped or attained.

Another compound of nen 念 is used to refer to the attitude and mindset as a Buddhist monk after starting a new life as a renouncer: dōnen 道念, which means “the mind to pursue the path to awakening”. Dō 道 generally represents “a path”, and it often specifically means “the path to awakening” in the tradition of Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen clearly mentions that he is writing Bendōwa (辨道話), one of the most famous fascicles for a person with this dōnen 道念 (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 8, p. 266):

(…) しばらく雲遊萍寄して、まさに先哲の風をきこえむとす。ただし、おのずから名利にかかはらず、道念をさきとせん眞實の參學あらむか。いたづらに邪師にまどはされて、みだりに正解をおほひ、むなしく自狂にゑうて、ひさしく迷鄕にしづまん。(…)これをあはれむゆゑに、まのあたり大宋國にして禪林の風規を見聞し、知識の玄旨を稟持せしを、しるしあつめて、參學閑道の人にのこして、佛家の正法をしらしめんとす。これ眞訣ならむかも。

(…) I was aiming to leave myself free from everything like a drifting cloud and just listen to the winds of the legacy of ancient wisdom. However, even a person who, regardless of fame or profit, aspires after a genuine study based on the mind to pursue the path to awakening is to be taught incorrectly by a wrong mentor, to lose correct interpretations of Buddhism teachings, to be self-satisfied in vain, and to be lost for a long time. (…) As I feel pity for this, I gather and articulate the atmosphere and rules of the Zen tradition that I saw and listened to in the Song dynasty and the essence of knowledge that I was given and have maintained, in order to leave these for the people studying Buddhism as renouncers and let them grasp the true Dharma of Buddhism. I believe these must be the genuine essence of Buddhism.

We can clearly see in the passage above that Dōgen believes “study”, the first step of the threefold wisdom, is also very important as well as “practice”, the importance of which is emphasized very often in Dōgen’s philosophy, and that this is why he writes SBGZ for people with dōnen 道念: to enable them to study Buddhism correctly.

Meanwhile, other compounds of nen 念 are also used more directly in the context related to what I mentioned at the beginning of this subsection: to explain and emphasize the importance of studying and memorizing the traditional teachings or rules of Buddhism. A typical example is okunen 憶念, which means “remembering or keeping something in mind all the time”. Oku 憶 represents “memory”, “remembrance”, or “recalling something”. Dōgen mentions that Śākyamuni Buddha told Samantabhadra the importance of keeping sūtra correctly in mind as below (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 6, p. 88):

釈迦牟尼佛、告普賢菩薩言、若有受持読誦正憶念修習書写是法華経者、当知是人則見釈迦牟尼仏如従仏口聞此経典10。

Śākyamuni Buddha told Samantabhadra “If one receives and maintains this Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, reads it aloud, remembers it in mind all the time correctly, practices it, and transcripts it, you should just know that this person then sees Buddha just as if listening to this Sūtra from the mouth of Buddha”.

It is also intriguing that, in this passage in which Dōgen directly cites the words of Śākyamuni Buddha from the sūtra, which explains the importance of “remembering”, the fruit of various efforts as a Buddhist monk is described with the term “listening” (mon 聞), the very first step of the threefold wisdom (monshishū 聞思修).

While it is widely known that Dōgen emphasizes the importance of practice (of zazen) with the term “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), Dōgen, as we have seen so far in this subsection with several examples, also recognizes and actually teaches the importance of “study”: remembering the traditional teachings correctly and referring to them accordingly. Additionally, as the following subsection argues, “reflection” is also regarded as an important quality.

3.2. “Reflection” and Nen 念 in SBGZ: Mental Traps to Be Avoided

A typical usage of this group is something related to self-reflection; for example, jinen 自念 means “reflecting on oneself” or “self-reflection”, of which 自 represents “oneself” or “by oneself”. This term appears in an anecdote of a Buddhist monk. The monk, who had been born into a royal family but then aimed to renounce it, was reflecting on himself (jinen 自念), and on how he would be able to live a genuine life as a Buddhist monk, regardless of his origin. Dōgen admires this monk in that he lastly managed to renounce his royal pedigree after long and profound 自念 as follows (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 7, p. 371):

父母固止之。遂終日不食。乃許其在家出家、號僧伽難提、復命沙門禪利多、爲之師。積十九載、未甞退倦。尊者毎自念言、身居王宮、胡爲出家。11

His parents held back this (his becoming a Buddhist monk) firmly. Then, he did not eat anything all day long. Therefore, they permitted him to become a Buddhist monk at their home. They named him Samghanandi, and ordered the Śramaṇa Dhyanalita to become his mentor. Nineteen years after, he did not get fed up. He always reflected on himself and said to himself, “I am living in a royal palace. How can I regard this as a renouncer’s life?”

While the term jinen 自念 above is used in the specific anecdote, Dōgen also uses other compounds of nen 念 when explaining the general attitude as a Buddhist monk. A good example of this is shiryō nentaku 思量念度: “thinking and assuming various things at the mercy of mental functions”. Shi 思 represents “thinking”, ryō 量 refers to “assuming” or “imagining”, taku 度 means “passing through” or “wandering”, which means the same as the Chinese character 渡, and thus nentaku 念度 stands for “mind-wandering”. In the passage below, Dōgen teaches that spending time for only shiryō nentaku 思量念度 will not lead a Buddhist monk to awakening (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 8, p. 282):

又、讀經念佛等のつとめにうるところの功德を、なんぢしるやいなや。ただしたをうごかし、こゑをあぐるを、佛事功德とおもへる、いとはかなし。佛法に擬するにうたたとほく、いよいよはるかなり。又、經書をひらくことは、ほとけ頓漸修行の儀則ををしへおけるを、あきらめしり、敎のごとく修行すれば、かならず證をとらしめむとなり。いたづらに思量念度をつひやして、菩提をうる功德に擬せんとにはあらぬなり。

Also, do you know or not what the virtue you can attain is through devoting yourself to reading sūtra aloud and remembering Buddha. It is very superficial to regard just moving your tongue and reading sūtra aloud as Buddhis practice and to believe you can attain virtue through this. These are very far from the essence of Buddhism. Also, studying sūtra is clarifying and grasping the teachings of Buddha about rules towards both sudden awakening and gradual awakening, and if you practice just based on the teachings you will surely attain awakening. It is not a correct way to regard thinking and assuming various things at the mercy of your mental functions in vain as the virtue leading to attaining bodhi.

Dōgen here again mentions, as we reviewed in the last subsection, the importance of studying the correct teachings of Buddha and the traditional rules when a Buddhist monk practices in order to attain awakening, and he then warns that a Buddhist monk should avoid just thinking and assuming various things at the mercy of one’s mental functions. Actually, Dōgen often uses compounds of nen 念 to explain the mental state to be avoided in this way. We can see this clearly from the following passage that contains the compound tannen 但念, which means “thinking about just one thing”. Tan 但 represents “only”. Dōgen criticizes Buddhist monks who do not study and contemplate the teachings of Buddha by implying that they are just like animals, only thinking about waterweeds to eat (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 3, pp. 34–35):

しばらく功夫すべし、この四生衆類のなかに、生はありて死なきものあるべしや。又、死のみ單傳にして、生を單傳せざるありや。單生單死の類の有無、かならず參學すべし。わづかに無生の言句をききてあきらむることなく、身心の功夫をさしおくがごとくするものあり。これ愚鈍のはなはだしきなり。(…)いたづらに水草の但念なるがゆゑなり。

You should contemplate for a while whether there is even just one that has birth but not death among these four types of living things (all types of living things), or, whether there is one that you hear only about its death but do not about its birth. You have to study whether this is the case or not, for sure. Some people do not clarify the significance of teachings about no-birth or pause digging into this question through exerting their body and mind. This is such a stupid case. (…). This is because they are just thinking about their waterweeds in vain.

It is clear that Dōgen here uses the term tannen 但念 in a negative context as he uses shiryō nentaku 思量念度 in this passage: to criticize those who just think about their daily lives or routines including food, without contemplating by themselves essential questions that can be naturally derived from Buddhism teachings, which is a matter of life and death here.

It is also worth exploring Dōgen’s use of the terms janen 邪念 and inen 異念. Janen 邪念 means “a disturbing thought or image”, of which ja 邪 usually represents “wicked”, but can also mean “wrong”. Dōgen teaches that it is a wrong thought for Buddhist monks to want to be praised for their efforts and that a Buddhist monk should try not to be known for one’s own efforts but instead practice to avoid delusion (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 1, p. 201).

いまの人は、實をもとむることまれなるによりて、身に行なく、こころにさとりなくとも、他人のほむることありて、行解相應せりといはん人をもとむるがごとし。迷中又迷、すなはちこれなり。この邪念、すみやかに抛捨すべし。

Since it is rare for people today to seek for the truth, it is as if they want to be praised as a person whose practice and understandings correspond entirely, even if they do not practice physically or attain awakening in their mind. That is, they are lost within delusion. You should throw away this disturbing thought.

Also, inen 異念, “a disturbed mind”, refers to a similar thing. I 異 represents “strange” or “different from the standard or the correct thing”. Thus, inen 異念 means “a wrong thought far away from the correct state”. This term appears in the anecdote of a man who found himself having inen 異念 when rebuked by others, even after having thought he had become arhat. Dōgen teaches the importance of reflecting on oneself as the man did (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 8, p. 143).

曾聞、有人自謂成佛。待天不曉、謂爲魔障。曉已不見梵王請說、自知非佛。自謂是阿羅漢。又被他人罵之、心生異念、自知非是阿羅漢。乃謂是第三果也。又見女人起欲想、知非聖人。此亦良由知敎相故、乃如是也。それ佛法をしれるは、かくのごとくみづからが非を覺知し、はやくそのあやまりをなげすつ。しらざるともがらは、一生むなしく愚蒙のなかにあり。生より生を受くるも、またかくのごとくなるべ し。

I have heard one story. A person thought he had become Buddha. But the sun did not rise, although he waited for a long time. Then he knew this was due to a devil. Brahma did not appear to pray for preaching at dawn, and he thought he had not become Buddha but Arhat. Then his mind produced a wrong thought when he was rebuked, and he knew he had not become Arhat. Then he thought his state was the third one. However, when he was aroused by seeing a woman, he knew he was not a saint. He realized it by himself as he knew the teachings of Buddha. That is, attaining Dharma is perceiving one’s own drawbacks by oneself like this and throw them away promptly. Those who do not know (the teachings of Buddha) would be in ignorance for a lifetime in vain. Even after receiving birth after birth, life would be just like this again.

So, as we have seen in this subsection so far, Dōgen indeed teaches the importance of, as well as that of “study” reviewed in the last subsection, “reflection”, which is the attitude to reflect on oneself without becoming trapped by a wrong thought, or by mental functions that lead one to dispersed awareness in vain.

3.3. “Practice” and Nen 念 in SBGZ: Towards Awakening through Zazen

This group includes the terms that explain the attitudes on cultivating oneself as a Buddhist monk after studying the traditional teachings and rules and contemplating and digesting them at the deepest level. A good example is nenbutsu 念仏, which refers to buddhānusmṛti in Sanskrit. In Dōgen, this term very often appears in the form of dokkyō nenbutsu 読経念仏, which means “reading sūtra aloud and recollecting the Buddha”. Dok(u) 読 represents “reading (aloud, in many cases)”, and kyō 経 refers to “sūtra”. As shown in the explanation of shiryō nentaku 思量念度 in the last subsection, Dōgen emphasizes that one can attain the virtue if one practices dokkyō nenbutsu 読経念仏 correctly based on studying and clarifying sūtra.

On the other hand, Dōgen also directly teaches the importance of “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), as follows (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 8, p. 271):

宗門の正傳にいはく、この單傳正直の佛法は、最上のなかに最上なり、參見知識のはじめより、さらに燒香禮拜念佛修懺看經をもちゐず、ただし打坐して身心脫落することをえよ。

The correct tradition of our school says: “This Dharma, succeeded directly and correctly since Buddha, is the best among the best. Immediately after grasping the true knowledge, do not practice thurification (burning incense), praying, remembering Buddha, confessing, or reading sūtra. Just do zazen and reach the state of dropping off body-mind”.

Apparently, in the passage above, Dōgen denies the meanings of any forms of “practice” aside from doing zazen. However, as we have seen so far in accordance with the threefold-wisdom model, it is evident that Dōgen recognizes and thus actually explains the high importance of studying the traditional teachings and rules correctly and reflecting upon them by oneself before “practice”.

Herein, his original philosophy of “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等) helps us to digest this paradox. According to Dōgen, “practice” itself is awakening, and vice versa: genuine “practice” (of zazen) necessarily leads a Buddhist monk to awakening, that is, what he calls the state of “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), and conversely, zazen that does not lead a monk to awakening is not genuine “practice”. This vital point is the foundation of monshishū-shō 聞思修證, and the connections among these concepts are to be argued in detail in Section 4.

In relation to Dōgen’s concept of awakening described above, the concept of ichinen 一念 is essential. While the compounds of nen 念 shown in this chapter so far should be regarded, of course not wholly, as Chinese terms connected to sati, smṛti, or other related terms, those of ichinen 一念 should be understood as related to kṣaṇa. Ichi 一 generally represents “one” or “only”, and nen 念 here means “an instant”. Then, ichinen 一念 in Dōgen means an ultimately short instant of this present moment. We can directly see Dōgen’s worldview in these compounds: the following usage of ichinen ninen 一念二念, which means “moment by moment”, or simply “every extremely short instant”, as 二 means “second” or “following”, is a good example (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 4, p. 174):

一念二念は一山河大地なり、二山河大地なり。山河大地等、これ有無にあらざれば大小にあらず、得不得にあらず、識不識にあらず、通不通にあらず、悟不悟に變ぜず。

Moment by moment, there exists one mountain-river-earth and two (or all) mountains-rivers-earths. Mountains-rivers-earths-others are not existence or nothingness, big or small, attained or not, grasped or not, or connected or not. This would not change even before and after awakening.

As described in the passage above, in Dōgen’s worldview, everything is in every ultimately short instant. He also explains this truth from another angle with the term ichinen fushō 一念不生. Fu 不 represents “not”, and shō 生 means “emergence”, and thus fushō 不生 stands for “unborn” and thus “deathless”; Buddha nature is not born and will not die. It is what transcends saṃsāra (rin-ne 輪廻), the blind succession of births and deaths. Therefore, ichinen fushō 一念不生 means “the truth that ichinen 一念, an ultimately short instant, which contains eternity or everything, is unborn”. Dōgen explains this as follows (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 4, p. 321):

念念一一なり。これはかならず不生なり、これ全體全現なり。このゆゑに一念不生と道取す。

Every single moment is one thing. Every single moment is necessarily eternal and absolute, and everything appears entirely in every single moment. Therefore, I have grasped the truth that an ultimately short instant is unborn.

While Dōgen’s emphasis on “practice” is broadly known especially with his main teaching of “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), we can certainly grasp his worldview more deeply by shedding light on the concept of ichinen 一念, as we have reviewed in this subsection: through “practice” of genuine zazen after “study” and “reflection”, one can transcend the sense of time and comprehend the truth that everything exists in ichinen 一念.

Also, this worldview around ichinen 一念 is closely connected with Dōgen’s key concepts of “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等) and “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落). The coming chapter digs into these concepts to reveal the connections among them and the position of the concept of nen 念 according to Dōgen.

4. Nen 念, “Oneness of Practice and Awakening”, “Just Sitting”, and “Dropping off Body-Mind”

As we reviewed in the introduction, Dōgen presents the concept of “monshishū-shō 聞思修證”, although he knows its basic form: “monshishū 聞思修”. He actually mentions the basic form as “monshishū-e 聞思修慧”, citing a passage directly from The Sūtra of Buddha’s Last Instruction. Shō 證, the Chinese character added to the basic form, means “awakening”, and thus, it is obvious that this concept is deeply connected with his basic philosophy: “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等).

Also in this context, it seems that his two famous teachings, “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) and “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), have strong ties, respectively, with “practice” (shū 修) or with “awakening” (shō 證), or with both.

Therefore, this chapter aims to investigate these terms closely and reveal the connections among them and the concept of nen 念, and to comprehend its position within the overall worldview and philosophy of Dōgen.

Firstly, when it comes to “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等), of which ichi 一 represents “one(ness)” and tō 等 refers to “equal(ness)” or “same(ness)”, this concept is directly explained by Dōgen as follows (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 8, p. 299):

それ、修證は一つにあらずとおもへる、すなはち外道の見なり。佛法には修證これ一等なり。

That is, if you believe that practice and awakening are not one thing, that is a heretical comprehension. In Buddhism, practice and awakening are one thing.

The passage above shows the reason why Dōōgen uses the term “monshishū-shō 聞思修證”; in his philosophy, “awakening” (shō 證) and the third step of the threefold-wisdom, practice (shū 修), are one thing and are thus not separatable (Davis 2019, p. 20612; Tsunoda 1995, pp. 127–2813). Here we can see the reason why he emphasizes again and again the importance of the practice of zazen: as is broadly known, Dōgen teaches that one should devote all of oneself to the practice of zazen with the term shikan taza 祇管打坐/只管打坐, which is generally translated into “just sitting”. Shi 祇 or只 represents “just” or “only”, kan 管 usually refers to “a tube”, but sometimes “narrowly” as in this term, ta 打 means “striking something”, but here adds the nuance of “doing something firmly”, and za 坐 represents “being seated”.

The term “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) is quite often used with the concept of “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落 or datsuraku shinjin 脫落身心) (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 5, p. 20814; vol. 6, pp. 13515, 25916, 34617; vol. 8, p. 27518). This term represents the ultimate state of “awakening” in Dōgen’s philosophy, of which shin 身 means “body”, jin 心 refers to “mind”, datsu 脱/脫 represents “escaping” or “leaving”, and raku 落 stands for “falling out”. Dōgen directly explains this term and “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) in one passage as below (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 6, p. 259):

弄精魂とは、祗管打坐、脫落身心なり。佛祖となり祖となるを精弄魂といふ、著衣喫飯を弄精魂といふなり。

Devoting all of oneself to practice (rōshōkon 弄精魂) is just sitting (shikan taza 祇管打坐), and is dropping off body-mind (datsuraku shinjin 脫落身心). Becoming Buddha is devoting all of oneself to practice (rōshōkon 弄精魂), and wearing clothes and eating food is (also) devoting all of oneself to practice (rōshōkon 弄精魂).

Also in addition to the passage above, Dōgen mentions the concept of “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落) in a paradoxical but thus highly implicative way as follows (Ibid., p. 346):

(…) 心の打坐あり、身の打坐とおなじからず。身の打坐あり、心の打坐とおなじからず。身心脫落の打坐あり、身心脫落の打坐とおなじからず。旣得恁麼ならん、佛祖の行解相應なり。(…)

(…) there is the zazen of mind, which is not the same as the zazen of body. There is the zazen of body, which is not the same as the zazen of mind. There is the zazen of dropping off body-mind, which is not the same as the zazen of dropping off body-mind. But if one has already attained the state like this, the practice and the theory that Buddha teaches would completely correspond to each other. (…)

While there is an argument that “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) merely means “focus on zazen completely while doing it” and does not emphasize the importance of zazen itself (Putney 1996, p. 52719), it is obvious that Dōgen puts a very high priority on the practice of zazen itself judging from the actual contexts above, in which the two terms of “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) and “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落) are used together.

So, from now on, I would like to argue that reviewing the usages of nen 念 in SBGZ in light of the connections among the three concepts reviewed so far in this chapter, “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一 等), “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), and “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), enables us to holistically deepen our comprehensions of Dōgen’s philosophy and worldview.

Dōgen directly describes the nature of nen 念when he explains the five faculties (Pali: pañc’ indriyāni) in the fascicle of “Thirty-seven Factors of Awakening” (Sanjūshichihon bodai bunpō 三十七品菩提分法) as below (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 6, p. 387):

摸索當の自己、これ念なり。有身のときの念あり、無心のときも念あり。有心の念あり、無身の念あり。

The self that one finally finds after long seeking for is mindfulness (nen 念). Mindfulness (nen 念) exists when body exists, and mindfulness (nen 念) also exists in (the state of) no-mind. Mindfulness (nen 念) exists when mind exists, and mindfulness (nen 念) also exists in (the state of) no-body.

According to the passage above, mindfulness (nen 念) is the self that exists beyond the existence/nonexistence of the body/mind. This can be understood as the very state of “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), which is to be pursued through the practice of zazen.

Then, after the passage above, Dōgen explains what the correct mindfulness (shōnen 正念) is in the same fascicle as follows (Ibid., p. 433):

正念道支は、被自瞞の八九成なり。念よりさらに發智すると學するは捨父逃逝なり。念中發智と學するは、纏縛之甚なり。無念はこれ正念といふは外道なり。また地水火風の精靈を念とすべからず、心意識の顛倒を念と稱ぜず。まさに汝得吾皮肉骨髓、すなはち正念道支なり。

The branch of the path to the correct mindfulness is to be eighty/nighty-percent attained while being deceived by oneself. Studying that wisdom emerges from mindfulness (nen 念) again is (a wrong idea just like) abandoning one’s father and running away (from a threat). Studying that wisdom emerges within mindfulness (nen 念) is an extremely prejudiced idea. Regarding the state of no-mind (munen 無念) as correct mindfulness is a heresy. Also, you must not regard spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind as mindfulness (nen 念), and must not call the state of mind and consciousness with the wrong comprehension about the truth (tentō 顛倒) mindfulness (nen 念). (Just as Bodhidharma told his four disciples), when one attains my skin, muscle, bone, and marrow (hiniku kotsuzui 皮肉骨髓), that is the correct mindfulness.

According to Masutani’s interpretation of this passage, nen 念 and wisdom are one thing (Ibid., pp. 434–3520). This is persuasive because Dōgen here denies that “wisdom emerges from mindfulness (nen 念) again”; the Japanese term in the original text (sarani さらに) generally means “further” or “more”, and it should here be interpreted as “again”. That is, “nen 念 is wisdom and wisdom is nen 念” (Ibid.), which can be ensured by the last sentence in the passage above: the words of nyotokugo hiniku kotsuzui 汝得吾皮肉骨髓, which is quoted from the episode of Bodhidharma right before leaving China for India. He told his four main disciples that each of them attained one of his four body parts (skin, muscle, bone, and marrow), which are, of course, the metaphors of the essence of his Zen teaching, after long practice (Dōgen 1990–1993, vol. 1, p. 7321). There is no superiority or inferiority among these four parts (Hareyama 1997, p. 9322), and for Dōgen, the correct mindfulness is the state with all these essences, or, in other words, with wisdom or nen 念.

Importantly, this state can be “eighty or nighty percent attained while being deceived by oneself” according to the passage above. That is, one cannot reach this state dependent on one’s own mental functions or intention; rather, one reaches the state without realizing it and can know this attainment only when one has already done so. Mizuno briefly explains the teaching in the commentary on this first sentence of the passage: “you are the only one who can cultivate yourself” (Dōgen 1990–1993, vol. 3, p. 308). Wisdom or nen 念 is not something to be attained on one’s purpose, and thus, the only thing one can do is devoting all of oneself to cultivation. This coincides with the passage in which Dōgen directly describes nen 念: “The self that one finally finds after long seeking for is mindfulness (nen 念)” (Dōgen 2004–2005, vol. 6, p. 387).

Herein, I would like to recapitulate the overall picture as shown in the figure below, reflecting the perspective of the framework that succeeded in connecting the threefold wisdom, the epistemic sources, and the cognitive faculties (Deroche 2021, p. 29), and what I argued over the usages of nen 念 in accordance with each step of the threefold wisdom in the last chapter. As shown in Figure 1, rereading SBGZ from the perspective of nen 念 has enabled us to comprehend Dōgen’s worldview and philosophy, such as “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), and “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等). In the meantime, the concept of nen 念, or mindfulness, in Dōgen, is positioned in relation to these concepts.

5. Conclusions

This paper attempted to reread Dōgen’s masterpiece SBGZ from the perspective of nen 念, or mindfulness, which is one of the origins of contemporary mindfulness-based interventions, in order to comprehend its significances and position in Dōgen’s philosophy and worldview with further width and depth as Fujita Isshō points out.

While the original meanings of the Sanskrit word smṛti include “remembrance” and “memory” according to The Great Dictionary of Buddhist Terms, the significances of nen 念 in the tradition of Japanese Buddhism are so diverse that we must not assume that the concept can be simply interpreted as or translated into smṛti/sati-related terms, citta/manas-related ones, or others. This is why this study investigated the usages of the compounds of nen 念 in the actual contexts, especially in accordance with each step of threefold wisdom; for mindfulness is the common thread linking them and Dōgen represents the concept of monshishū-shō 聞思修證.

Although it is widely known that Dōgen puts a high priority on “practice”, the third step of threefold wisdom, just as represented by his famous teaching of “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐), it was shown that he also regards the former two steps, “study” and “reflection”, as essential qualities. For instance, he clearly states that he was writing Bendōwa 辨道話 for Buddhist monks with dōnen 道念 to study the Buddhism tradition correctly, admires a Buddhist monk with self-reflection (jinen 自念), and warns not to be trapped by a disturbing thought (janen 邪念). Also, we reviewed Dōgen’s worldview that one in the state of “awakening” can comprehend the truth that an ultimately short instant contains eternity and everything, by shedding light on the usages of the compounds of ichinen 一念, the Sanskrit equivalent of which is not smṛti but kṣaṇa.

In the passages of Shōbōgenzō that we have seen, Dōgen describes the ultimate state, or “awakening” (shō 證), in other direct words as “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落). By addressing his original texts in detail, it was revealed that this state is nothing but nen 念 in Dōgen, which is “the self that one finally finds after long seeking for” that exists beyond the existence/nonexistence of the body/mind. Also, we addressed his worldview that “nen 念 is wisdom and wisdom is nen 念”. In relation to this, we reviewed that, “practice” and “awakening” are one thing and are thus inseparable in his philosophy as represented by his “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等), and this is why he emphasizes the importance of the practice of “just sitting” (shikan taza 祇管打坐) and presents the concept of “monshishū-shō 聞思修證”.

As a whole, it is revealed that the concept of nen 念 in Dōgen’s philosophy is not limited by the original meanings of the Sanskrit word smṛti that are related to “remembrance” and “memory”; remarkably, the concept is often used to teach the importance of “practice” towards the state of “awakening”, or in other words, “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落). In this context, it should be remembered that he explains that nen 念 is the self beyond the sense of body-mind or time, which can be attained after long cultivation. This uniqueness should deserve special attention when we try to contemplate “mindfulness” in today’s society.

Just as Fujita implies, we certainly saw that Dōgen’s philosophy, such as “dropping off body-mind” (shinjin datsuraku 身心脱落), “oneness of practice and awakening” (shūshō ittō 修證一等), and nen 念, represent the very attitude of being beyond dichotomy (Davis 2019, p. 20823). After this study digging into the concept of nen 念 in Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō, there will be further research directly addressing the affinity and similarity between this attitude and the philosophers of the Kyōto school ranging from Nishida Kitarō (西田 幾多郎 1870–1945), the founder of the school who coincided with and expanded Dōgen’s philosophy (Kopf 2012, p. xiii24), to others such as Watsuji Teturō (和辻 哲郎 1889–1960) or Keiji Nishitani (西谷 啓治 1900–1990) (Heisig et al. 2011, p. 14225), which are typically represented by the following passage of Hisamatsu Shinnichi (久松 真一 1889–1980) (Hisamatsu 2003, pp. 225–26), who is also famous as a master of the Japanese tea ceremony (sadō 茶道) with practical experience for over 40 years:

諸藝にしましても、よく藝に成り切れというようなことをいいます。剣道、柔道にしましても、スポーツにしましても、本当に上達するためには成り切らなければならない。お茶の方でもお茶になり切るということがお茶の道に達するということの大事な条件でもあり、お茶のなかに入り込んでいるということの大事な条件でもあるわけです。以上のことから、「主客合一」ということの意味の見当がおつきだろうと思います。

When it comes to any form of Japanese traditional arts (gei 藝), it is often said that one must become an art thoroughly. When it comes to Japanese fencing (kendō 剣道), Judō (柔道), or other sports, one must become an art thoroughly in order to progress genuinely. In Japanese Tea ceremony, it is an important condition to become tea thoroughly, for attaining the ultimate path of Japanese Tea ceremony; integrating (oneself) into tea is an important condition for that (ultimate path). From the above, you may grasp the meaning of “the unification of subject and object phenomena” (shukyaku gōitsu主客合一).

Also, it is known that philosophers outside the school, including Izutsu Toshihiko (井筒 俊彦 1914–1993) and Yuasa Yasuo (湯浅 康雄 1925–2005) in fact paid special attention to this state (Ibid., pp. 91326, 14227). There should still be much room for integrating this etymology of Zen philosophy into today’s mindfulness in order to give “further width and depth” to it; for, just as Izutsu directly argues when addressing Dōgen’s philosophy, “zazen is the only or otherwise the best potential to reach the unification of body-mind” (Izutsu 2014, p. 4228), which should be the very state of awakening (shō 證), or nen 念, in Dōgen’s philosophy.