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[This version: 24 January 1994]
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This material is republished from the November 1993 issue of GASSHO, a
Buddhist electronic newsletter, published by DharmaNet International,
P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley, CA 94704-4951, a not-for-profit organization.
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{8} PRACTICE: "Notes on Gassho and Bowing",
Taizan Maezumi Roshi with John Daishin Buksbazen
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Visitors to the Zen Center [of Los Angeles] often ask about the gassho
and about bowing. What, they inquire, is the meaning of these gestures?
Why are they done? And why is it necessary to do them so precisely and
uniformly? These questions deserve careful consideration.

Although we are Zen Buddhists, it should be noted that the gassho and
the bow are common to all sects of Buddhism, both Mahayana and
Theravada. These two gestures date from the earliest days of Buddhism,
or even earlier than that, and they have moved from India throughout the
Orient, finally arriving recently in the Western world.

When Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment occurred, he went to see five of
his former comrades with whom he had practiced various austerities and
spiritual disciplines prior to his enlightenment. These five men, who
were very devout monks, felt that their companion had gone astray when
he abandoned their customary practices. "Come," they said to each other,
"Let's not pay any attention to poor Gautama, he no longer is one of
us." They were dismayed to find that he had seemingly stopped his
spiritual practices, going so far as to even drink milk and take a bath
(two forbidden acts according to their tradition). They could not
understand why he seemed only to sit quietly, doing nothing of any
value.

But when the Buddha approached them, it is reported that these five
monks were so struck by the transformation of their former friend, by
his serenity and the radiance of his personality, that they
spontaneously placed their palms together and greeted him with deep
bows. Perhaps it is a little misleading to say that they greeted /him/.
More accurately, it should be said that they were bowing not to their
old friend Gautama, but rather to the Buddha -- the Enlightened One.

What the Buddha had experienced was the Supreme Great Enlightenment (in
Sanskrit, /anuttara samyak sambodhi/): the direct and conscious
realization of the oneness of the whole universe, and of his own unity
with all things. This is what enlightenment means. This very realization
is actually in itself the act of being the Buddha. And it was to this
enlightened state that the five monks bowed.

When the Buddha was enlightened, the first thing he said was: "Wonder of
wonders! All sentient beings have the same (enlightened) nature!" What
this implies is that in bowing to the Buddha, the monks were actually
bowing to themselves, and to all beings. These monks were recognizing
the great unity which their former companion had directly and profoundly
experienced.

Let us examine the gassho and the bow more closely.

GASSHO:

The word /gassho/ literally means "To place the two palms together". Of
all the mudras (symbolic hand-gestures or positions) we use, it is
perhaps the most fundamental, for it arises directly from the depths of
enlightenment. Its uses are many, but most commonly it is employed to
express respect, to prevent scattering of the mind, to unify all
polarities (such as left and right, passive and dominant, etc.) and to
express the One Mind -- the total unity of Being.

Although there are many types of gassho, in the Soto sect we are
primarily concerned with these four:

1. THE FIRM GASSHO. The most formal of the gasshos, this is the one
most commonly used in our daily practice. It is the gassho we use upon
entering the zendo, and upon taking our seats. We also use it at least
sixteen times in the course of a formal meal, and during all services.
It is made by placing the hands together, palm to palm in front of the
face. The fingers are placed together, and are straight rather than
bent, while the palms are slightly pressed together so that they meet.
The elbows are held somewhat out from the body, although the forearms
are not quite parallel with the floor. There is about one fist's
distance between the tip of the nose and the hands. Fingertips are at
about the same height from the floor as the top of the nose. This gassho
has the effect of helping to establish an alert and reverential state of
mind.

2. THE GASSHO OF NO-MIND. This is the next most commonly used
gassho. It is basically used in greeting one another or our teachers. In
this position, the hands are held a little more loosely together, with a
slight space between the palms, although the fingers still touch. The
elevation of the elbows from the floor is not so great as in the Firm
Gassho; forearms should be at approximately a 45-degree angle to the
floor. This gassho has the effect of deepening one's state of samadhi.

3. THE LOTUS GASSHO. This gassho is used primarily by officiating
priests on special ceremonial occasions. It is made like the /gassho of
no-mind/, except that the tips of the middle fingers are held one inch
apart. Its name derives from the resemblance of this hand position to
the shape of a just-opening lotus bud.

4. THE DIAMOND GASSHO. This gassho is also known as the /gassho of
being one with life/. Like the /lotus gassho/, it is used by officiants
in services. Although the hands and arms are in basically the same
position as in the /gassho of no-mind/, the /diamond gassho/ is made
with the fingers of each hand extended and interlocking, and with the
right thumb on top of the left.

In each of these gasshos, we keep the eyes focused upon the tips of our
middle fingers. But regardless of the style or variety of the gassho,
and in whatever setting it is being used, the fundamental point of the
gassho is to be one with the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma, and
Sangha.

Of course, we can look at the Three Treasures from many perspectives,
and with varying degrees of depth and clarity. At perhaps the most
superficial level, the Three Treasures are seen as external objects of
supreme reverence for all Buddhists. Unfortunately, in this view, the
Three Treasures tend to be perceived as something other than oneself.
But as our vision opens up, we experience that each of us is, in fact,
the Buddha. We see clearly that everything we encounter in the world is
none other than the Dharma -- the functioning of underlying
enlightenment. And, realizing the oneness of all beings, we come to
realize that the Sangha -- the all-embracing brotherhood of practice --
is simply all composite things, including each of us. Having this
awareness we become -- or rather, we /are/ -- one with the Three
Treasures.

So, joining our hands palm to palm, we simultaneously create and express
the absolute, the oneness which goes beyond all dichotomies. It is from
this perspective that we make the gassho, and that we bow.

It is no ordinary person who bows; it is the Three Treasures recognizing
itself in all things. If anyone thinks of himself as "just ordinary", he
is, in effect, defaming the Three Treasures. And as we place our palms
together we unite wisdom and samadhi, knowledge and truth, enlightenment
and delusion.

BOWING:

Dogen Zenji once said: "As long as there is true bowing, the Buddha Way
will not deteriorate." In bowing, we totally pay respect to the all-
pervading virtue of wisdom, which is the Buddha.

In making the bow, we should move neither hastily nor sluggishly but
simply maintain a reverent mind and humble attitude. When we bow too
fast, the bow is then too casual a thing; perhaps we are even hurrying
to get it over and done with. This is frequently the result of a lack of
reverence.

On the other hand, if our bow is too slow, then it becomes a rather
pompous display; we may have gotten too attached to the feeling of
bowing, or our own (real or imagined) gracefulness of movement. This is
to have lost the humble attitude which a true bow requires.

When we bow, it is always accompanied by gassho, although the gassho
itself may not always be accompanied by bowing. As with the gassho,
there are numerous varieties and styles of bowing, but here we will deal
only with the two main kinds of bow which we use in our daily practice.

1. THE STANDING BOW. This bow is used upon entering the zendo, and
in greeting one another and our teachers. The body is erect, with the
weight distributed evenly and the feet parallel to each other. The
appropriate gassho is made (see above). As the bow is made, he body
bends at the waist, so that the torso forms an angle with the legs of
approximately 45 degrees. The hands (in gassho) do not move relative to
the face, but remain in position and move only with the whole body.

2. THE DEEP BOW (FULL PROSTRATION). This bow is most often used at
the beginning and end of services, and upon entering and leaving
dokusan. It is somewhat more formal than the standing bow, and requires
a continuous concentration during its execution so that it is not
sloppily done.
The bow itself begins in the same way as the /standing bow/, but
once the body is bent slightly from the waist, the knees bend and one
assumes a kneeling position. From the kneeling position, the movement of
the torso continues, with the hands separating and moving, palms upward,
into a position parallel with the forehead. As the bowing movement
progresses, the backs of the hands come to rest just above the floor and
the forehead is lowered until it rests upon the floor between the hands.
At this point, the body is touching the floor at knees, elbows, hands,
and forehead. The hands are then slowly raised, palms upward, to a point
just above the ears. Then the hands slowly return to the floor. This
action is a symbolic placing of the Buddha's feet above one's head as an
act of reverence and humility. There should be no sharp, abrupt
movements of the hands or arms, no bending of the wrists or curling of
the fingers when executing this gesture. When the hands have been raised
and lowered, the body then straightens as the person bowing gets to his
feet once again and ends in gassho, just as he began. In kneeling,
actually the knees do not touch the ground simultaneously, but in
sequence; first, the right and then the left knee touches the ground.
The same is true for the right and left hands and right and left elbows,
in that sequence. In practice, however, the interval between right and
left sides touching the ground may be so minute as to be unnoticeable.
In bowing, movement should not be jerky or disjointed, but should flow
smoothly and continuously without either disruption or arrested motion.

Master Obaku, the teacher of Master Rinzai, was famous for his frequent
admonition to his students. "Don't expect anything from the Three
Treasures." Time after time he was heard to say this. One day, however,
Master Obaku was observed in the act of bowing, and was challenged about
his practice.

"You always tell your students not to expect anything from the Three
Treasures," said the questioner, "and yet you have been making deep
bows." In fact, he had been bowing so frequently and for so long that a
large callus had formed on his forehead at the point where it touched
the hard floor. When asked how he explained this, Master Obaku replied,
"I don't expect. I just bow."

This is the state of being one with the Three Treasures. Let us just
make gassho. Let us just bow.



[HAKUYU TAIZAN MAEZUMI - Ordained as a Soto monk at the age of 11,
Maezumi Roshi is Dharma successor to three major lines of Zen teaching,
representing both Soto and Rinzai traditions: Kakujun Kuroda Roshi,
Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, and Koryu Osaka Roshi. He is the Founder,
Director and resident Zen master of the Zen Center of Los Angeles.

JOHN DAISHIN BUKSBAZEN was a former Vice President of the Zen Center of
Los Angeles, and a student of Maezumi Roshi.

This article originally appeared in ON ZEN PRACTICE II, ed., Hakuyu
Taizan Maezumi and Bernard Tetsugen Glassman. Zen Writing Series. 1976.
Zen Center of Los Angeles, 927 South Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
90006.]
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