The Hymn of Zazen

Recently I stumbled upon a neat bit of Buddhist liturgy in the Rinzai Zen tradition called the Hakuin Zenji Zazen Go-Wasan (白隠禅師坐禅御和讃), or more simply the Zazen Wasan (坐禅和讃). This means “The Hymn of Zazen [of Zen Master Hakuin]”. In English it is sometimes called the “Song of Zazen”.¹

Rinzai Zen is a somewhat unusual sect in Japanese Buddhism because although it was founded in the 12th century by Eisai (栄西, 1141 – 1215, alternatively called “Yosai”), and flourished for centuries alongside other Buddhist sects, the Rinzai Zen we know today is due in large part to the 18th century Zen master Hakuin (白隠, 1686 – 1769). We might think of Hakuin as a kind of reformer, or second founder.

The Hymn of Zazen is an exposition of Hakuin’s beliefs, the virtues of zazen meditation practice (especially compared to other Buddhist practices), and the nature of one’s own mind. It is regularly recited as part of Rinzai Buddhist liturgy as shown below:

Since I have a copy in Japanese, I decided to post here as a reference for others. I’ve posted the text in the original Japanese with Romanized (e.g. romaji) text. I am using the excellent translation by Robert Aitken Roshi as well, originally found here, and some proof-reading of the Japanese text using this site.

Japanese	Romanization	Translation
衆生本来仏なり水と氷のごとくにて	Shujō honrai hotoké nari mizu to kōri no gotoku ni te	All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water;
水を離れて氷なく衆生の外に仏なし	Mizu wo hanarete kōri naku shujō no hoka ni hotoké nashi	Apart from water there is no ice, apart from beings no Buddha.
衆生近きを不知らずして遠く求むるはかなさよ	Shujō chikaki wo shirazu shite tōku motomu hakanasayo	How sad that people ignore the near and search for truth afar,
譬ば水の中に居て渇を叫ぶがごとくなり	Tatoeba mizu no naka ni ite katsu wo sakebu gotoku nari	Like someone in the midst of water crying out in thirst,
長者の家の子となりて貧里に迷うに異ならず	Chōja no ié no ko to narite hinri ni mayō ni kotonarazu	Like a child of a wealthy home wandering among the poor.
六趣輪廻の因縁は己が愚痴の闇路なり	Rokushū rinne no innen wa onore ga guchi no yamiji nari	Lost on dark paths of ignorance we wander through the six worlds,
闇路に闇路を踏そへていつか生死をはなるべき	Yamiji ni yamiji wo fumisoete itsuka shōji wo hanarubeki	From dark path to dark path we wander, when shall we be freed from birth and death?
夫れ摩訶衍の禅定は称歎するに余りあり	Sore maka-en no zenjō wa shōtan suru ni amari ari	For this the zazen of the Mahayana deserves the highest praise.
布施や持戒の諸波羅蜜念仏懺悔修行等	Fuse ya jikai no sho haramitsu nenbutsu sange shugyō tō	Offerings, precepts, paramitas, Nembutsu, atonement, practice—
其の品多き諸善行皆この中に帰するなり	Sono shinaōki sho zengyō mina kono naka ni kisuru nari	the many other virtues—all rise within zazen.
一座の功をなす人も積し無量の罪ほろぶ	Ichiza no kō wo nasu hito mo tsumishi muryō no tsumi horobu	Those who try zazen even once wipe away immeasurable crimes—
悪趣何処にありぬべき浄土即ち遠からず	Akushu izuku ni arinu beki Jōdo sunawachi tōkarazu	where are all the dark paths then? The Pure Land itself is near.
辱なくも此の法を一たび耳にふるる時	Katajikenaku mo kono nori wo hitotabi mimi ni fururu toki	Those who hear this truth even once and listen with a grateful heart,
讃歎随喜する人は福を得る事限りなし	Santan zuiki suru hito wa fuku wo uru koto kagiri nashi	treasuring it, revering it, gain blessings without end.
いはんや自ら回向して直に自性を証すれば	Iwanya mizukara ekō shite jiki ni jijō wo shō sureba	Much more, if you turn yourself about and confirm your own self-nature—
自性即ち無性にてすでに戯論を離れたり	Jijō sunawachi mushō ni te sude ni keron wo hanaretari	that self-nature is no nature—you are far beyond mere argument.
因果一如の門ひらけ無二無三の道直し	Inga ichinyo no mon hiraké muni musan no michi naoshi	The oneness of cause and effect is clear, not two, not three, the path is put right;
無相の相を相として行くも帰るも余所ならず	Musō no sō wo sō toshite yuku mo kaeru mo yoso narazu	with form that is no form going and coming never astray,
無念の念を念として 謡うも舞ふも法の声	Munen no nen wo nen toshite utau mo mau mo nori no koé	With thought that is no thought singing and dancing are the voice of the Law.
三昧無碍の空ひろく 四智円明の月さえん	Zanmai muge no sora hiroku shichi enmyō no tsuki saen	Boundless and free is the sky of samadhi! Bright the full moon of wisdom!
此時何をか求むべ寂滅現前するゆえに	Kono toki nani wo ka motomu beki jakumetsu genzen suru yue ni	Truly is anything missing now? Nirvana is here, before your eyes,
当所即ち蓮華国此身即ち仏なり	Tōsho sunawachi rengekoku kono mi sunawachi hotoke nari	this very place is the Lotus Land, this very body the Buddha.

As Zen is not my forté, I admit I don’t fully understand the meaning of this hymn, and it’s interesting that Hakuin praises zazen in such a way that other Buddhist practices arise from it. This reminds me of Shinran’s teachings in Jodo Shinshu whereby the nembutsu encompasses all the virtues of other acts. To some degree, every Buddhist sects inevitably makes this assertion.

That said, I think it’s a very nice exposition of Rinzai Zen thought, and along with my experiences at Ryoanji Temple (a Rinzai temple) in Kyoto last year,² it certainly inspires me to keep exploring Rinzai teachings further.

Namu Shakamuni Butsu

P.S. Featured photo is Hakuin Ekaku (self-portrait), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

¹ I am quibbling here, but wasan (和讃) is better translated as a hymn in my opinion, not a song (uta 歌), even though a “hymn” means something different in Buddhism than it would in Christianity. You can find examples of wasan in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, composed by its founder Shinran, as well.

² Technically, the Golden Pavilion, which we also visited, is also a Rinzai Temple too. I will probably write about the Five Mountains system of the Ashikaga Period soon, but I am brushing up on some old books first for research. It’s not a small topic.