Morning Words on the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo

Ed Mushin Russell

During the Sunday service, we recite the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo. You will remember it begins, KAN ZE ON NA MU BUTSU YO, etc. It's on the website along with a translation. The title translates as Life-Extending Ten-Line Kannon Sutra. It's a nice title although life extending might be a bit presumptuous. For the next few days, I'd like to say a few words about this sutra. I don't recall Genmyo talking about it, but he probably did at one time or another. We will go through it line by line. So, until tomorrow...



The first line in Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo is simply Kanzeon. It refers to Kanzeon Bosatsu or "The Bodhisattva who Observes the Mundane Voices". This is the Japanese name translated from the Chinese, Guanyin or "The One Who Perceives the Sounds of the World" which was translated from the Indian Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva which is "The Bodhisattva Who Looks On". See the common theme? Kanzeon isn't just a mythical character in Buddhist text. This is you and everyone you meet. It is the senescence of our practice, to experiencing this life, as it is. Only then can we respond with skillfulness and compassion. Another tradition would say, "Those who have ears, let them hear".


The second line in Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo is Na Mu Butsu. Butsu is Buddha and Na Mu can be translated as "hail to" or "I venerate" or the one we use, "being one with". So, being one with Buddha. To say you are one with Buddha is to say that you and Buddha are not two. But, of course, you are you and Buddha was Buddha. What we are saying here is that the essence that made Buddha who and what he was, is the essence that makes you who and what you are. This is the not two. This is the one true nature that Buddha realized and tells us that we can realize too. It isn't hidden or secret. It's right here, always in plain sight. Those who have eyes, let them see.


The next two lines in Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo are YO BUTSU U IN and YO BUTSU U EN or directly Buddha and indirectly Buddha. Directly Buddha is right here now. It's what is experiencing your life, moment by moment. Indirectly is everything else which is another way of saying that Buddha Nature pervades the whole universe. We don't need to search for this Buddha Nature. That which searches and that which is sought are, in fact, the same. Directly or indirectly, Buddha.


Now we come to the line in Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo that is BUP PO SO EN. We can translate this as Indirectly Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. This takes the previous line and adds dharma and sangha and it is to remind us of the unity of all being, the diversity of it's manifestation and the harmony we embody through our practice together. It's up to us to realize this, but it's true whether we realize it or not.


The next line of Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo is JO RAKU GA JO; Eternal, Joyous, Selfless, Pure. This line encapsulates the previous lines and speaks for itself. I'll just say that eternal is simply this moment of constant change, joyous and selfless are synonymous and pure includes what we perceive as impure. Nothing special, just our life as it is.


The next two lines in Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo are CHO NEN KAN ZE ON and BO NEN KAN ZE ON. We can translate them as Morning Thought Moment Kanzeon and Evening Thought Moment Kanzeon. What could this be refering to? Simply put, it's saying that all day, this moment experiencing is the life of Buddha. Even though we tend to color the moment with our opinions, desires and aversions, this doesn't altar that fact. Try as we might, we can't be other than who we are, the intimate expression of the one true nature.


NEN NEN JU SHIN KI, NEN NEN FU RI SHIN. Thought Moment, Thought Moment From Mind. Thought Moment, Thought Moment Not Separate from Mind. The Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo ends by telling us that we and our thoughts and feelings are not two. This is another way of saying that what we call self is exactly this experiencing moment. There is no separate, fixed self that feels and thinks. This realization began the Buddha's 40 year teaching career and is the foundation of our practice. After all, to study the Buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To be this moment experiencing is to be awakened. Right here, right now, Kanzeon.