“When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly”.
This dropping away is integral to the practice of zazen and the Soto Zen tradition, it is immediate realization of our true form and the true form of others.
When the self is actualized by myriad things it appears as like the shimmering colours of a mother of pearl shell – illusive, location indefinable, yet vividly alive and present. When actualized like this a sensitive, stable and moral wisdom is also active in a human form. It is clear too, at this time of dropping away, that the self of others is also unrestricted at all times, no matter their behaviour in that moment. This way an appropriate response is always possible.
As the light changes, so does the appearance of the colours of the shell, the seamless and endless dynamics of causes and conditions. Harmonious, beautiful, ugly, dissonant, all is in constant movement and cannot be pinned down. With self obsession, body and mind become restricted and actions follow accordingly. As the pearlescent self is not being enabled, others are seen as fixed and trapped and treated as so. In losing our true form, we create a world of suffering out of radiance. In all instances though, actualizing radiant nature or not, we cannot be anything other than swirling pearlescence, it’s just wasted on us. Although it is unfortunate not to realize our birthright, there are many teachings here too, this world cannot be divided into the enlightened and the unenlightened.
Whether the iridescent colours permeate the whole shell, or only lie the surface – if there is no form, there can be no swirling mother of pearl – iredescence is form. Similarly, the self of a human being is inextricable from the entire momentary functioning of a life. In the dropping off of entanglement with body and mind, we lose sight of ourselves and become transparent and so do others. Experiences of the senses can enter and leave unhindered.
Mother of pearl does not need to check that it is mother of pearl or whether its beauty is being appreciated, it just shares itself without doubt and this generosity is its own reward. This is the practice of zazen and how it manifests through a human being. Without practice, this generosity cannot be realized.
“To study the way of enlightenment is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by myriad things.”
The above is of great significance throughout a spiritually rich life. The way is the self, we are the dharma of all existence. If we miss a million times, we can point ourselves back a million and one. No effort, however small, is wasted.
Willard Lee
edited 14/09/2025
Both quotations are from Zen Master Dogen’s ‘Genjokoan’ (Actualizing the Fundamental Point). The translation used is from the Shambala edition of Shobo Genzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye), edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi.