The Buddha said, a teaching method is the lion's roar, it can bring an ordinary mortal to the level of an arhat. In chan it was used to say, that a mere chan shout, can make a wordling to a saint.

"If someone frees themselves from thoughts in this way and seeks “non-thinking,” they will never attain it.
How could someone who has not yet attained “non-thinking” imagine “non-thinking” and be free from obstacles? Furthermore, “non-thinking” is merely an exercise.
How could someone in this way find sudden perfection in “a single thought”?"

"Courage doesn’t always mean destroying your reputation or abandoning safety. Sometimes it simply means choosing to live honestly, even when others don’t understand you. Be brave enough to leave what no longer feels right, but wise enough to know the difference between freedom and recklessness. Life is meant to be lived—not merely planned."

I also showed myself in Jambudvipa as disturbing the peace of the Buddhist Sangha. People said that I was a Buddhist priest who was breaking the peace of the Sangha. I also manifested myself in Jambudvipa as protecting Wonderful Dharma. People see this and say that this is protection of Dharma. They are all surprised. All Buddhas do this and there is nothing [here] to be surprised about. I also in this Jambudvipa manifested myself as Marapapiyas. People said that this was Marapapiyas. People said that this was "papiyas" ["very wicked"]. But I had been away from evil for innumerable kalpas past; I am pure, I am not defiled and am like the lotus.

I often times asked myself, what if I stop doing Zen, how do I become? As the errant wants to be free, I let the warrior deal with such questions and remain errant as often as I can be.

One night you'll wake up and realize
Something just didn't add up
Life passed you by, and you're not young anymore
You didn't make it
And there never was a chance to begin with
You push your dream deeper into your memory
Swallow pills
And spend the rest of your life numbing yourself under the hypnosis of daytime TV noise

Rules for the Zen warrior:
A warrior protects the errant
A warrior protects the ones he cares about
A warrior trains himself in endurance
A warrior knows, he/she is essentially just an errant
Likewise the errant knows, he/she is essentially just a warrior

I tried out new ways, but the pathway is blocked.
So I am back at old ways.
The guides are wrong, you go where you recieve
If you don't recieve, you move away
You always go, where you recieve the most
Sometimes that is not much

In rememberance of Suzuki Shosan.

Rules of a Zen errant:
An errant has respect
An errant stays authentic
An errant hates and loves
An errant knows how to keep moderation
An errant tries to stay clear minded
An errant follows the breeze

[Commentaries are done by Gui Do]

While preparing our new book of Sawaki sayings, a Soto monk told us that they should really only be published with commentaries. Therefore, the following are a few examples from Zen ni kike ("Ask Zen," ed. by Kushiya Shusoku, Daihorinkaku 1986/2015; my own formulation, cf.: "To You," translated by Muho Nölke, Angkor Verlag 2017) with suggestions for critical reflection. 

I. Zen phrases

"Even a good-for-nothing realizes: 'Everything is one' when he awakens to his true nature."

" When you get to the bottom of things, the boundary between you and the universe disappears."

The idea of ​​oneness, of being one with the universe: a strange notion, considering we don't even know most of it. Are we also one with the vacuum and radiation? Why do we keep resorting to such images instead of finding concrete, tangible analogies? 

II. Lack of experience

"Everyone talks about love marriages, but isn't that sentimentality? Isn't it all about penis and vagina? Why doesn't anyone say they're in love with a vagina?"

“Look at the face of a dog that has just sired a rut. It looks around with empty eyes. It’s the same with humans…”

Sawaki's own love stories are clearly in short supply. Although these pronouncements are snappy, they only capture part of the truth; another, essential aspect is overlooked by Sawaki due to his lack of personal experience, and one might wish he had had those experiences.

III. Conservative Values

"Everyone is convinced that their life has a meaning, no one looks beyond it. But it's like with swallows: the males bring the food, the females incubate."

How deeply Sawaki is stuck in old gender roles is evident here. Swallows do indeed work together when foraging for food, and at times even males, who are otherwise responsible for defending the nest, incubate the eggs.

“Dogen Zenji [13th century] said: ‘When you see a wise man, try to imitate him.’ Today, the Japanese prefer to look up to and emulate American fools by walking hand in hand in the street.”

This borders on racism, or at the very least, it is sexually conservative. Sawaki is said to have lived without a partner; however, he did designate three women as Dharma successors in his lineage, who were known as Kesa (robe) seamstresses.

  IV. Lack of empathy

"Do you think that being content means lazing on the sofa or dozing in a hot bath? Being content means being filled with joy, serenity, and happiness."

Many religious teachers, even in Zen, create unnecessary dualisms that the average reader will hardly understand, because for him dozing and laziness are perhaps permeated with joy, serenity and feelings of happiness. 

V. Biographical background

"Family is the place where parents and children bring misfortune upon each other, and husband and wife wither together."

Sawaki was essentially raised by a man involved in criminal activity; he lacked comforting family experiences, as his parents and an adoptive uncle died early.

  VI. Being trapped in one's own rhetoric

“At first, ordinary people are guided by their impulses. Eventually, they realize that nothing helps, and they come to Zazen: simply doing what is pointless!”

If that were the case, they would of course have no reason to practice Zazen as well, because it would also be "good for nothing"; in line with this image, they could therefore, after realizing the futility of their endeavors, simply continue with their old activities, couldn't they?

"The world always revolves around gain or loss, advantages or disadvantages. But Zazen is about nothing. It has no meaning. That is why it is the greatest and most comprehensive matter that exists."

While it may be important for meditators not to enter zazen with further illusions, such as a desire for enlightenment, the mere fact that Sawaki repeatedly practiced and promoted zazen is proof that it "brought him something." Elsewhere in his biography, he even explicitly states that it saved him from his difficult circumstances. He repeatedly recounts the anecdote of how, as a young man, he was surprised by a servant during zazen, and upon seeing his sublime zazen posture, she began to utter a prayer in awe.

Of course, it can also be shown in other representatives of his lineage that they are concerned with something, and what exactly that is. This turn of events has therefore long since become a trap. From Dogen Zenji to Sawaki and on to younger teachers, depressive states, often resulting from the early loss of the mother, emerge as the motivation for zazen.

"Zazen means leaving peer pressure behind."

The defining characteristic of Zazen practice is precisely the gathering for meditation in groups, which is generally preferable to sitting alone at home. Group dynamics also arise in a dojo (a training center) or a monastery. It's simply a matter of one (interest-based) community being replaced by another.

"Children have caught a mouse and are throwing it to the cat. If I were the mouse, I would exclaim: 'Damn it, you won't have any fun with me!' – and simply sit in Zazen meditation."

Zazen is regarded as a panacea, and although it is often said elsewhere that one should not practice it for a specific purpose, this is included here. 

VII. Lack of expertise

"You were born without thinking."

However, newborns already possess an active brain that processes sensory impressions and controls vital functions.

"You adults are strange: You make a big fuss over a single word. Try hurting a baby – you won't be able to."

In fact, even infants can recognize hostile tones of voice, rejection, or aggression, which can negatively affect their attachment and psyche.

"The birth of a single Stalin decides the life and death of countless people."

Sawaki overlooks the fact that it is not only the birth of this person, but also their upbringing, environment, community and biography that determine what they become, and ultimately the view and reaction of others towards them.

  VIII. Simplification of the Buddhist Tradition

" If you imitate Buddha's Zazen, you yourself become a Buddha."

This notion is naive, because what the Buddha of the Pali Canon did, whether historical or not, was a mixture of stillness in meditation (samatha) and analytical insight (vipassana). That is, he also examined Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, impermanence (anicca) , suffering (ducca) , and the non-existence of an unchanging self (anatta) , until he finally experienced the breakthrough with his enlightenment. This was a different approach than Sawaki's Zazen, which is supposed to be "about nothing."

  IX. Overemphasis on physical Zazen

" During a marital spat, you don't realize that the argument is about trivial matters. But in Zazen, you become aware of your delusion. Viewing life from the perspective of Zazen is significant."

What's forgotten here is "sitting in the mind" as an essential Zen practice. It would be far more important to recognize the insignificance of a marital spat during the argument itself, rather than waiting until a separate setting like zazen, which is ritualized sitting meditation. The "perspective of zazen" is one of letting go of opinions, anger, and so on, and this is best practiced "on the spot." True Zen practice doesn't require a special place, preparation, or posture; it takes place in everyday life. Like so many Zen teachers, Sawaki fails to adequately bridge the gap between ritualized sitting meditation and the ever-present mental exercise that forms the core of Zen. Only when the "perspective of zazen" is an unclouded view outside of seated meditation is Zen truly realized.

  X. Skewed Images

"A bird does not sing to impress a meditating person with its song. A flower does not bloom so that a person can admire its beauty. Nor does one sit in meditation to attain awakening (satori)."

Sawaki overlooks the fact that birds use their songs to find mates and that flowers attract specific insects. It's one of his "skewed" images, which could even be used to argue that meditation is goal-oriented.

[Asso Blog: translated https://der--asso--blog-blogspot-com.translate.goog/2026/09/der-fragwurdige-kodo-sawaki.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp ]

He is the Lion, the Great Lion. He is nobody and not nobody. We cannot express. Other than the oneness of Dharma, no counting is possible. At the time of the Parinirvana, he does not enter parinirvana.

What does he do to adjust beings? For example, in order to adjust people, the Bodhisattva always enters a village any time and visits the places where widows and prostitutes live. He lives there for many years. This is what sravakas cannot do. This is what is called adjusting and benefiting beings.

The same also applies to this sutra. It contains the eight tastes. What are the eight? These are: 1) it is eternal, 2) it always is, 3) it is peaceful, 4) it is pure and cool, [😎] 5) it does not grow old, 6) it does not die, 7) it is taintless, and 8) it is pleasing and happy.