Our buddha-ancestors become real when we pick up and honour our buddha-ancestors -- an act which is not only of the past, present, and future but which may ascend even beyond buddha ascending beyond. Truly, in going over those who have kept up, and let be, their buddha-ancestor faces and eyes, we bow down before them and we see each other. By making real the good Work of our buddha-ancestors and picking it up ourselves, we have already been inhabiting them; we have already been saluting them, and experiencing them.
The Great Master Vipasyin Buddha -- "Widely Preaching"
The Great Master Sikhin Buddha -- "Fire"
The Great Master Visvabhu Buddha -- "All-Pitying"
The Great Master Krakucchanda Buddha -- "Gold Wizard"
The Great Master Kanakamuni Buddha -- "Golden Wizard"
The Great Master Kasyapa Buddha -- "Drinker of Light"
The Great Master Sakyamuni Buddha -- "Humanity and Serenity"
The Great Master Mahakasyapa
The Great Master Ananda
The Great Master Sanavasa
The Great Master Upagupta
The Great Master Dhitaka
The Great Master Micchaka
The Great Master Vasumitra
The Great Master Buddhanandi
The Great Master Baddhamitra
The Great Master Parsva
The Great Master Punyayasas
The Great Master Asvaghosa
The Great Master Kapimala
The Great Master Nagarjuna -- "Dragon-Tree" or "Super-Dragon" or "Mighty Dragon"
The Great Master Kanadeva
The Great Master Rahulabhadra
The Great Master Samghanandi
The Great Master Geyasata
The Great Master Kumaralabdha
The Great Master Gayata
The Great Master Vasubandhu
The Great Master Manura
The Great Master Hakulenayasas
The Great Master Simha
The Great Master Vasasuta
The Great Master Punyamitra
The Great Master Prajnatara
The Great Master Bodhidharma
The Great Master Eka
The Great Master Sosan
The Great Master Doshin
The Great Master Konin
The Great Master Eno
The Great Master Gyoshi
The Great Master Kisen
The Great Master Igen
The Great Master Donjo
The Great Master Ryokai
The Great Master Doyo
The Great Master Dofu
The Great Master Kanshi
The Great Master Enkan
The Great Master Keigen
The Great Master Gisei
The Great Master Dokai
The Great Master Shijun
The Great Master Seiryo
The Great Master Sogyoku
The Great Master Chikan
The Great Master Nyojo
Dogen, during the summer retreat of the 1st year of the Hogyo era of the great Kingdom of Sung, met and served my late master, the olden buddha of Tendo, the Great Master. I perfectly realized the act of prostrating to, and humbly receiving upon my head, this buddha-ancestor -- buddhas alone, together with buddhas.
Treasury of the Eye of True Sitting:
The Buddha-Ancestors
Written at Kannon-dori-kosho-horin-ji temple in the Uji district of Yoshu, Japan, and delivered to the assembly there on the 3rd day of the 1st lunar month in the 2nd year of Ninji [1241].
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This translation copyright Mike Cross, 2008.
If you wish to use it, please ask. If you would like clarification of anything, please ask. If you object to anything, speak up. If you notice any typos or other mistakes, please let me know.
3 comments:
I have seen the lineage list written a couple of other ways.
One where it is the ancestors name and then “DaiButsu.”
My understanding is that “DaiButsu” is Great Buddha, or Big Buddha.
I am curious as to the original Japanese you are working with, is it written “Great Master” or otherwise.
Thank you for your efforts.
Jordan
Sorry, I have also seen it written “Hotoke”
Your clarification is appreciated,
Jordan
Hi Jordan,
Yes, DAIBUTSU means great buddha -- not necessarily big in stature or big in the world.
My source text is Nishijima's GENDAI-GO-YAKU-SHOBOGENZO, in which the original three characters are DAI (great) and OSHO (an honorofic form of address for a master).
But if you are worried about getting this kind of piddling detail scrupulously right, I am afraid you might be missing the point of my present effort.
The translation I did from 1986-1997 was the outcome of my effort to do a careful, literal, authentic translation. It was just the fruit of me trying to be right, and by now it has begun to smell a bit ripe to my nose.
So I am starting afresh, in a spirit of carelessness, wishing to suggest what it might be truly to sit, to speak, to listen, with joints, heart, and ears open.
If a buddha-ancestor has never reached that level of sitting/speaking/listening, even if he is a big guy in the world, he is not my buddha-ancestor, and he is not great.
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