Kaitlyn Lobsitz

Paper #2

Being-Time of Entire-Being

Dogen uses his concepts on self, time and Buddha-nature as a reoccurring theme in

his book. Being-time represents relation between time and being that exists together.

Everything in the world exists together in every various temporal moment. Being-time is

use throughout his text to show an infinite relationship between the self and everything

else that exists which is in turn explained as being Buddha-nature.

The essential point is: every entire -being in the entire world is each time an

[independent] time, even while it makes a continuous series. Inasmuch as they are

being-time, they are my being-time.

To better understand this passage, it is essential to understand being-time, as being that

is inseparable of time. Every entire being in the entire world is time. This is because

being is an appearance of time. We cannot separate ourselves from time. The whole

world, everything is so connected together that there is no way to separate yourself from

anything in it. You must realize yourself as a self, but also as the whole with the world.

Because we are so interconnected, we cannot see anything that is without ourselves. We

must be able to see ourselves as individuals while simultaneously connected to

everything around us. It is important while taking this view not to think Dogens view as

one of isolated subjectivity. I think he is coming from the standpoint that everything is in

a collective existence. It is impossible that anything stand apart alone. Nothing exists

alone because everything exists in this moment.

 Each time being an independent time, should not be taken as things being separate

from one another. But because time should be thought of single temporal moments, each

different slice of time exists separate of the others. In every slice of time however, it is all

one. Moments should not be thought of as existing in time but rather on time. We need to

reject the notion of time as being something in which we exist in and begin to think of it

existing with us. We can have no control of time, as time is absolute. Dogen seems to be

saying that if we merely think as time as passing, it separates time from us. We should not

think of time as something that merely passes by. You fail to experience the passage of

being-time and hear the utterance of its truth, because you learn only that time is

something that goes past. By seeing time as something that passes us, we fail to really

see everything that is within time. We fail to see the utterance of its truth could mean we

become oblivious to everything that is in time. We simply disregard time of being of any

importance. All time would be is something that continues on. This view of time is a

misconception because it rejects the notion that we are connected. There is nothing to

unify us with time if it continues on without us. I dont think we should reject time all

together, but rather reject the notion of a time that moves on past us.

Dogen better connects being-time and the traditional notion of time passing with the

concept of seriatim passage. It is almost impossible for us to consider the notion of time

not moving. It is evident from what we see in the world that time does not stand still.

Things evolve and progress but not in the notion we typically conceive it as. With

seriatim passage; time does not move into new moments, it does not shift either. Rather,

there is a constant, independent new moments always happening. With this idea it

becomes clear time does not move or shift, but rather, I think time creates new moments
that are independent of previous and future moments. Every bit of time is independent,

which would mean every bit of existence is independent. Temporal notions help us

understand time as not different stages of life progressing, but independent entities that

happen in no specific order. Temporal moments should only be thought of as two separate

entities. There is no before and after of them, physical things remain independent

moments.

Although we have this conception of temporal moments, we can never really

understand the true notion of time. This is because time possesses the nature of thatness

and there is no way for us to assign particularities to them. When you have arrived

within the field of suchness, it is a single grass, a single form. The forms are understand

and not understood, the grasses are grasped and not grasped All moments in time are

separate and differ in nature. We can have a conception of time through the idea of being

time, but we can never really know the real idea of time. All temporal moments are

independent entities that posses thatnessess, so they are all different in nature.

Buddha-nature is nothing other than the understanding that all things in temporal

moments exist together without exception. Entire being is used as a concept that all

things exist as one. Entire-beings all exist in being-time. I think all that Buddha-nature

really comes to means is a grasp on the understanding that all things exist instantaneously

together as entire being. We need to let go of this notion of seeking out Buddha-nature

and realize that to seek it only leads to confusion of what is the essence of Buddha-

nature.

The only way to obtain Dharma is to completely let go of the thought of it. If you try

and seek Dharma, you will not receive it. You have to let go of the conception that
Buddha-nature is not something to be sought out and obtained. The only way to truly

understand it is from understanding being-time apart from isolated subjectivity. To learn

the Buddha Way is to learn the ones self. To learn ones self is to forget ones self. To

forget ones self is to be confirmed by all dharmas. To be confirmed by all dharmas is to

cast off ones body and mind and the bodies and minds of others as well. To truly reach

Dharma, you have to free your mind from seeking out to obtain it. You must focus on

rejecting the self as independent from temporal time. To cast off the body and mind and

to cast off the body and mind of others could be interpreted as a rejoining of the idea of

us all existing together.

I think the overall idea of being-time can be better understood with reference to ideas

of Watsujis take on individuals and groups. Where groups in this sense can be thought of

as time. Individuals are the negations of the totality that they must essentially be nothing

else but that totality. If we think of being-time as a double negation of itself it becomes

more evident of dependency they rest on one another. The negation of negation is the

self-returning, realizing movement of the absolute whole, and it is truly human

relationship. When we look at Watsujis ideas on human relationships it makes a clear

parallel with our ideas of entire-beings reaching Buddha-nature. Once we realize that we

are not alone but part of a bigger whole, that is everything that exists, we can truly be in

enlightenment.

I think with the understanding of rejecting isolated subjectivity and accepting the

oneness with everything in time helps understand the Buddha Way, or Buddha Nature.

Buddha-nature can also be thought of entire-beings in being-time. Everything is us and

we are everything. We are nothing but a connectedness through different temporal

moments. Everything is within this particular moment.