June 11th, 1967
Sunday, June 11th, 1967
Shunryū Suzuki-rōshi
Sesshin Lecture: THREE TREASURES
Sunday, June 11, 1967
[Rōshi seems to be commenting on Shi Sho Ku (?) of Dōgen.
When this is evident, Dōgen’s words are in quotation marks.]
Today I will explain Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Originally, Buddha is, of course, the one who attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and became a teacher of all the teachers. Dharma is the teaching which was told by Buddha, and Sangha is the group who studied under Buddha. This way of understanding Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is called the “manifested three treasures,” or as we say in Japanese, Genzen sanbō. Genzen is “to appear.” Of course, whether Buddha appeared or not, there is truth. But if there is no one who realizes the truth, the truth means nothing to us. So in this sense we say the manifestation of truth: the manifestation of truth is Sangha.