Zui-o said:  “Now I might tell you, but be cautious to keep yourself pure another week so as to qualify yourself to learn the secret.”  When that week was over the old man said:  “Now I might tell you, but will you be so careful as to keep yourself pure three days more in order to qualify yourself to receive the secret?” The man did as he was ordered, and requested the instruction.  Thereupon Zui-o took the man to his private room and softly whispered, with his mouth close to the ear of the man:  “Keep the secret I tell you now, even at the cost of your life.  It is this-don’t be passionate.  That is all."[FN#268]

[FN#267] This famous old man died in A.D. 1730.

[FN#268] Se-ji-hyaku-dan.

12.  ‘The Five Ranks of Merit.’

Thus far we have stated how to train our body and mind according to the general rules and customs established by Zenists.  And here we shall describe the different stages of mental uplifting through which the student of Zen has to go.  They are technically called ’The Five Ranks of Merit.’[FN#269] The first stage is called the Rank of Turning,[FN#270] in which the student ‘turns’ his mind from the external objects of sense towards the inner Enlightened Consciousness.  He gives up all mean desires and aspires to spiritual elevation.  He becomes aware that he is not doomed to be the slave of material things, and strives to conquer over them.  Enlightened Consciousness is likened to the King, and it is called the Mind-King, while the student who now turns towards the King is likened to common people.  Therefore in this first stage the student is in the rank of common people.

[FN#269] Ko-kun-go-i.  For further details, see So-to-ni-shi-roku.

[FN#268] Ko in Japanese.

The second stage is called the Rank of Service,[FN#271] in which the student distinguishes himself by his loyalty to the Mind-King, and becomes a courtier to ‘serve’ him.  He is in constant ‘service’ to the King, attending him with obedience and love, and always fearing to offend him.  Thus the student in this stage is ever careful not to neglect rules and precepts laid down by the sages, and endeavours to uplift himself in spirituality by his fidelity.  The third stage is called the Rank of Merit,[FN#272] in which the student distinguishes himself by his ‘meritorious’ acts of conquering over the rebel army of passion which rises against the Mind-King.  Now, his rank is not the rank of a courtier, but the rank of a general.  In other words, his duty is not only to keep rules and instructions of the sages, but to subjugate his own passion and establish moral order in the mental kingdom.

[FN#271] Bu in Japanese.

[FN#272] Ko in Japanese.

The fourth stage is called the Rank of Co-operative Merit,[FN#273] in which the student ‘co-operates’ with other persons in order to complete his merit.  Now, he is not compared with a general who conquers his foe, but with the prime-minister who co-operates with other officials to the benefit of the people.  Thus the student in this stage is not satisfied with his own conquest of passion, but seeks after spiritual uplifting by means of extending his kindness and sympathy to his fellow-men.