p. 390 Who is Arguing about the Cat? Moral Action and Enlightenment according to Dōgen Philosophy East and West, Vol. 47, No. 3 (July 1997)

ultimate nonduality of body-mind in both Kūkai's and Dōgen's thought thus renders sokushin zebutsu and sokushin jōbutsu as functional equivalents. But what Dōgen means specifically by the former phrase proceeds from his particular conception of enlightenment.

　　 According to Dōgen, it is "this very mind" of without-thinking that is the bodhi-mind. That is to say, the mind of the Shakyamuni Buddha in his enlightenment is this very mind of without-thinking. Indeed, since the word "Buddha" is not literally a proper name, but literally translates as "the awakened one," this very mind is the Buddha. Being the Buddha is none other than awakening/realizing/actualizing this "without-thinking" mind.

　　 Having clarified how this cutting of the cat is an expression of full function, Dōgen then elaborates on how the phrase functions as a pivot word: "Immediately upon hearing this pivot word, see the cat itself as the Buddha-body. Upon hearing this word, students should suddenly gain enlightenment." A full explanation of this passage would require an exposition of Dōgen's theory of the Buddha-body (Buddha-kāya), [16] but we can adequately understand this passage if we hold in mind what Dōgen meant by "this very mind is Buddha." What made Buddha the Buddha, we recall, is his enlightenment, this actualizing/realizing of the Bodhi-mind. Thus the "Buddha-body," in Dōgen's view, is in one sense a term coextensive with the "Buddha-mind." So the passage in this context can be read as "see the cat itself as the Buddha-mind."

　　 Dōgen is therefore explaining that when one hears this "cutting of the cat in one with one sword" pivot word, it should bring forth the realization/actualization of without-thinking from the listener. In that moment, the mind is fully taken up, and, indeed, is none other than this prereflective experiencing of "the cat itself," that is, "the cat as it really is [in this moment]" -- no more and no less. So when one hears the pivot word, students should realize/actualize without-thinking and thus see the cat as it really is.

　　 Up until this point, Dōgen has altered and appropriated the Nan-ch'üan story for the purpose of articulating the character of without-thinking. He now proceeds to address the character of the act Nan-ch'üan actually performed before the assembly -- namely, the killing of the cat: "Cutting the cat is an action of a Buddha." Dōgen affirms that Nan-ch'üan's act is an action of the Buddha, that it is indeed an action proceeding from the realization/actualization of the Bodhi-mind, the without-thinking mind. In the exchange to follow, Ejō and Dōgen explore the nature of Nan-ch'üan's action in terms of both (1) its moral contexts and (2) its efficacy as a means of bringing the assembly to enlightenment:

Ejō asked: "What should we call this action?"
Dōgen said: "Call it cutting the cat."

p. 391 Who is Arguing about the Cat? Moral Action and Enlightenment according to Dōgen Philosophy East and West, Vol. 47, No. 3 (July 1997)

Ejō asked: "Would this act be a crime?"
Dōgen said: "It would."
Ejō asked: "Then how can we escape this crime?"
Dōgen said: "The action of the Buddha and the crime are separate, but they occur at once in one action."

　　 To understand fully the nature of this exchange, we must recognize that Dōgen employs the Nan-ch'üan story in a fashion that is parallel to his unique appropriation of the famous "Shoakumakusa" passage, which is traditionally rendered as follows:

Do no evil (shoakumakusa)
Do good
Purify the mind
This is the teaching of the Buddha. [17]

Dōgen affirms the precepts of the "Shoakumakusa" as the teaching of the Buddha. But when learning a phrase like shoakumakusa,

[o]rdinary people at first construe this as "do no evil," but it is not what they make it out to be. One hears it thus when one is taught about enlightenment as suited for exposition. So heard, it is an expression in which unexcelled enlightenment is verbal. Since it is already the word of enlightenment, it is the stating of enlightenment. In hearing the unexcelled enlightenment be expounded, things are turned around: the resolve to do no evil continues as the act of not producing evil. When it comes to be that evils are no longer produced, the efficacy of one's cultivation is immediately presencing [genjōsu]. [18]

In other words, from the perspective of one receiving initial instruction, "do no evil" is prescriptive: it serves as a precept that the practitioner is to follow. But from the perspective of enlightenment, "do no evil" is descriptive: it describes the moral conduct of someone realizing/ actualizing the Buddha nature. When one no longer produces evil, it is because one's actions are a function of without-thinking, or "seeing things as they really are" (genjōkōan).