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...
self mind realization
To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.
practice water realization
Those who practice know whether realization is attained or not, just as those who drink water know whether it is hot or cold
practice enlightenment realization
Since it is the practice of enlightenment, that practice has no beginning and since it is enlightenment within the practice, that realization has no end.
stars moon rivers
Clearly I know, the mind is mountains, rivers, and the great earth; sun, moon, and stars.
firsts oneself
When one first seeks the truth, one separates oneself from it.
ocean opportunity roots
Do not miss the opportunity of offering even a single drop into the ocean of merit or a grain atop the mountain of the roots of beneficial activity.
tree plums world
When the old plum tree blooms, the entire world blooms.
men buddha-nature every-man
Every man possesses the Buddha-nature. Do not demean yourselves.
practice understanding intellectual
Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech.
universe
Nothing in the entire universe is hidden.
path
Coming, going, the waterbirds don't leave a trace, don't follow a path.
mistake life-is masters
A zen master's life is one continuous mistake.
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.
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?