Dogen
Dogen
Dōgen Zenji, also known as Dōgen Kigen, Eihei Dōgen, Koso Joyo Daishi, or Bussho Dento Kokushi, was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. He remained there for five years, finally training under Tiantong Rujing, an...
breathing individual activity
Zazen is an activity that is an extension of the universe. Zazen is not the life of an individual, it's the universe that's breathing.
reality dragons amazed
Do not be amazed by the true dragon.
ocean water mountain
Mountains and oceans have whole worlds of innumerable wondrous features. We should understand that it is not only our distant surroundings that are like this, but even what is right here, even a single drop of water.
practice distraction dharma
Know that the true dharma emerges of itself [during the practice of zazen], clearing away hindrances and distractions.
views mountain scales
Do not view mountains from the scale of human thought.
watches fields scarecrow
Though it has no thought of keeping watch, it's not for naught that the scarecrow stands in the grain field.
self way study
To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.
winter white snowfall
In a snowfall that covers the winter grass a white heron uses his own whiteness to disappear.
practice benefits dharma
Do not practice buddha-dharma with the thought that it is to benefit others.
short-life discipline today
Students today should live fully every moment of time. This dew-like life fades away; time speeds swiftly. In this short life of ours, avoid involvement in superfluous things and just study the Way.
spiritual school buddhism
As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the Buddhas of all ages - undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment - find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?
reflection moon sky
Realization doesn't destroy the individual any more than the reflection of the moon breaks a drop of water. A drop of water can reflect the whole sky.
mistake life-is masters
A zen master's life is one continuous mistake.
path
Coming, going, the waterbirds don't leave a trace, don't follow a path.