INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
The Hekiganroku or Hekiganshû1 contains one hundred koans collected by
Master Setchô Jûken. After each "Case" he added the "Verse" [Jp.: ju. Gatha in
Sanskrit, transliterated in Chinese as geda or kada, translated as geju, abbreviated as
ju]. Originally, the "Verse" in Buddhist literature is something that praises the
Buddha's virtues and presents Buddhist doctrines in poetical form. In Zen the verse is
added as a poetical re-presentation of the main point of the main Case.
Master Setchô Jûken was born in 980 during the reign of Emperor Tai of the
Sung Dynasty and died at the age of 72 in 1052 in the era of Emperor Jin of the same
dynasty. Master Setchô is said to have edited the koans and verses of the Hekiganroku
when he was 42 or 43 years old. He belonged to the fourth generation after Master
Unmon. Master Unmon had great literary talent, and so did his descendent Master
Setchô.
It is said that, upon beginning as well as after finishing each Verse, Master
Setchô prostrated himself and burned incense before a Buddha statue. So, his poetical
creation is nothing but a manifestation of his great faith in the way. Indeed, they are
wonderful poems; in fact, I consider the Verses of the Hekiganroku to be among the
greatest literary achievements of human beings. There have been many great poets
and an almost infinite number of excellent poems in history. For example, we are all
familiar with Goethe's Faust or Dante's Divina Commedia. Their works are lengthy,
whereas Setchô's Verses are extremely brief and meager in quantity. Still, I believe
these Verses are second to none in quality, even in comparison with those great works.
Later, Master Engo Kokugon, who was born in 1063 (about ten years after the
death of Master Setchô) and was another outstanding figure in Zen, added the
"Instructions" [suiji] to the one hundred koans written down by Master Setchô. An
"Instruction" is a small paragraph put immediately before the main Case to explain the
very essence of Zen, what Zen is really about, in relation to the following koan. Of
course, this essence cannot actually be expressed in words; however, without words
there would be scarcely any way to help come to an understanding. Therefore, words
are used to explain the living core of Zen. In the main Case this core is expressed
through a fact, using an actual example.
In our dokusan room, however, we take up only the "main Cases" of the
1 In English: Blue Cliff Record. There is no practical difference in meaning between the two names
"Hekiganroku" and "Hekiganshû" ["…-roku" means "record," while "…-shû" means "collection" ]; in
fact, both are used to indicate the same book.
1
Hekiganroku, skipping both "Instructions" and "Verses." As a matter of fact, it is very
important to thoroughly understand the "Instructions" of the Hekiganroku; otherwise,
we might simply glide along the surface of the koans – like sliding on ice – without truly
grasping their depth. So I want you practitioners to bear well in mind that these
"Instructions" are highly important, since they reveal the core of the following main
case.
However, there are 21 cases in the Hekiganroku which have no Instructions.
This imbalance is due to the fact that the original manuscript was once thrown into a
fire: Daie Sôkô, dharma successor of Master Engo, thought that such a book as the
Hekiganroku could invite conceptualization and make one adhere to the words and
thoughts, which is most abominable for true Zen. In fact, if you think there is
something in the written words, it is a grave mistake. So Daie Sôkô collected the
original manuscript papers and burned them. A momentous decision indeed! But
later, people thought that it would truly be a pity to lose such an excellent book and
wanted to re-publish it. So a lay disciple, Chô Mujin, gathered the remaining copies
from various quarters, but the scattered manuscript was never completely recompiled.
This is why the present version of the Hekiganroku contains some cases without any
"Instructions."
In addition to the "Instructions," Master Engo wrote rather extensive
"Commentaries" [hyôshô] which expound on the main case. He furthermore added
sharp and biting "Comments" [jakugo] to each phrase or sentence in the main case. He
did the same for the verses by Master Setchô, giving short comments on each phrase of
the Verse and lengthy commentaries on the whole Verse. Most probably he did this
while delivering teisho on the Cases and Verses. So, all these together form the
Hekiganroku. The "Commentaries" are quite interesting, but they are usually omitted
in the teishô; "Comments" are worthy of consideration, but they are traditionally not
handled as such in the teishô. Therefore, I too will confine my teisho to the Instruction,
main Case and Verse.
Master Engo lived in a temple named Reisen'in on Mt. Kassan (Province of
Kohoku). Most probably it was nothing more than a large form hermitage. It was
also called Hekigan' in. In one of its rooms there was said to be a framed calligraphy
by Master Zenne, the founder of the temple. It is said that the name "Hekiganroku"
came from the word hekigan (blue cliff) in this calligraphy.
