SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

The True Spirit of the Two Ancestors 59in controversy? It is a waste of time to discuss the idea ofvictory or defeat.Ó In order to find true Buddhism there must bean urgent desire to find the Truth. In the Sh‡b‡genz‡ ZuimonkiGreat Master D‡gen says: ÒIf one has a real desire to enterBuddhism, then one must not hesitate to go to a master for trainingeven if it means such difficulties as crossing the seas andclimbing mountains. However, even if we should go and urgethose who have no desire to enter Buddhism, it cannot be certainwhether or not they will accept it.Ó D‡gen, who was freefrom egotism and vain desires for fame and gain, rejected theBuddhism of his period as something imperfect. It goes withoutsaying that in selecting which of the teachings of Buddhism areto be spread throughout the land, the time, the place and the personsto receive the teachings must be taken into consideration.The division of the teachings of Buddhism into threeperiods (the period of the True Law, the period of the imitationof the True Law and the period of decline of the True Law) isnothing but a skillful means (Skt. upya, J. h‡ben) to explainthe changes in Buddhist teachings to those who have not yetdirectly experienced the Truth. Precisely because we are now inthe period of decline, we must make unrelenting efforts to livein the spirit of the Buddha and to grasp the essence of Buddhismdirectly. Therefore D‡gen said: ÒIf you do not enter Buddhismin this life on the pretext that we are in a period of declineand unable to know Truth, then in which life will you realize