Attachment and aversion ~ Dogen Zenji
Flowers fall with our attachment, and weeds spring up with our aversion. Dogen Zenji
Quote Archives: Dogen Zenji
Think non-thinking ~ Dogen Zenji
Before you begin meditation take several slow, deep breaths. Hold your body erect, allowing your breathing to become normal again. Many thoughts will crowd into your mind; ignore them, letting them go. If they persist be aware of them with the awareness which does not think. In other words, think non-thinking. Dogen Zenji
Ignoring causation ~ Dogen Zenji
Ignoring causation invites disaster. Dogen Zenji
Countless blossoms ~ Dogen Zenji
When the old plum tree suddenly blooms, the world of blossoming flowers arises. At the moment when the world of blossoming flowers arises, spring arrives. There is a single blossom that opens five petals. At this moment of a single blossom, there are three, four, and five blossoms, hundreds, thousands, myriads, billions of blossoms – […]
Allow the practice itself to be liberation ~ Dogen Zenji
In your meditation you yourself are the mirror reflecting the solution of your problems. The human mind has absolute freedom within its true nature. You can attain your freedom intuitively. Do not work for freedom, rather allow the practice itself to be liberation. Dogen Zenji
Do not desire realization ~ Dogen Zenji
To actualize the blessedness of meditation you should practice with pure intention and firm determination. Your meditation room should be clean and quiet. Do not dwell in thoughts of good or bad. Just relax and forget that you are meditating. Do not desire realization since that thought will keep you confused. Dogen Zenji
Zen is simply the expression of truth ~ Dogen Zenji
Your search among books, word upon word, may lead you to the depths of knowledge, but it is not the way to receive the reflection of your true self. When you have thrown off your ideas as to mind and body, the original truth will fully appear. Zen is simply the expression of truth; therefore […]
Since this word is already expounded ~ Dogen Zenji
Even if you do not understand it, do not ignore it but be determined to understand it. Since this word is already expounded, listen to it. Listen until you understand. Dogen Zenji
Meditation is enlightenment itself ~ Dogen Zenji
The Buddha meditated for six years, Bodhidharma for nine. The practice of meditation is not a method for the attainment of realization – it is enlightenment itself. Dogen Zenji
The truth is the reality of mind ~ Dogen Zenji
What is truth? The truth is the reality of mind which is formless and pervades the ten directions. It is being used presently right before your eyes, yet people do not trust it sufficiently, so they accept terms and expressions, seeking to assess Buddhism conceptually in the written word. They are as far away as […]
Meditation posture ~ Dogen Zenji
Sit on a cushion in a manner as comfortable as possible, wearing loose clothing. Hold your body straight without leaning to the left or the right, forward or backward. Your ears should be in a line with your shoulders, and nose in a straight line with your navel. Keep the tongue at the roof of […]
Open your mind ~ Dogen Zenji
Life is short and no one knows what the next moment will bring. Open your mind while you have the opportunity, thereby gaining the treasures of wisdom, which in turn you can share abundantly with others, bringing them happiness. Dogen Zenji
Beneficial action is an act of oneness ~ Dogen Zenji
Foolish people think that if they help others first, their own benefit will be lost, but this is not so. Beneficial action is an act of oneness, benefiting self and others together. Dogen Zenji
Truth is ever present ~ Dogen Zenji
Truth is perfect and complete in itself. It is not something newly discovered; it has always existed. Truth is not far away; it is ever present. It is not something to be attained since not one of your steps leads away from it. Dogen Zenji
Undivided activity ~ Dogen Zenji
Birth is just like riding in a boat. You raise the sails and you steer. Although you maneuver the sail and the pole, the boat gives you a ride, and without the boat you couldn’t ride. But you ride in the boat, and your riding makes the boat what it is. Investigate a moment such […]
What is sitting ~ Dogen Zenji
At the very moment of sitting, what is sitting? Is it an acrobat’s graceful somersault or the rapid darting of a fish? Is it thinking or not thinking? Is it doing or not doing? Is it sitting within sitting? Is it sitting within body-mind? Is it sitting letting go of sitting within sitting, or letting […]
There is no gap ~ Dogen Zenji
All-inclusive study is just single-minded sitting, dropping away body and mind. At the moment of going there, you go there; at the moment of coming here, you come here. There is no gap. Dogen Zenji
No heaven, no earth ~ Dogen Zenji
The whole universe Shatters into a hundred pieces. In the great death There is no heaven, no earth. Once body and mind have turned over, There is only this to say: Past mind cannot be grasped, Present mind cannot be grasped, Future mind cannot be grasped. Dogen Zenji
Everyday actions and dharma ~ Dogen Zenji
Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to dharma see no dharma in everyday actions. They have not yet discovered that there are no everyday actions outside of dharma. Dogen Zenji
Like a dew-drop on the morning grass ~ Dogen Zenji
Your body is like a dew-drop on the morning grass, your life is as brief as a flash of lightning. Momentary and vain, it is lost in a moment. Dogen Zenji