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If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Dogen

I asked, “What are words?” The tenzo said, “One, two, three, four, five.” I asked again, “What is practice?” “Nothing in the entire universe is hidden.”
DOGEN

Ask Cooking Entire Hidden Nothing Practice Said Two Universe Word
A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself.
DOGEN

Fool Himself Men Other Wise
One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world.
DOGEN

Aware Deeply Impermanence World
Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech.
DOGEN

Cease Follow Intellectual Practice Speech Understanding Word
To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things.
DOGEN

Earth Enlight Religion Self Sell Study Thing
Why abandon a seat in your own home to wander in vain through dusty regions of another land? If you make one false step, you miss what is right before your eyes.
DOGEN

Abandon Another Eye Home Land Region Seat Wander
Be moderate in eating and drinking. Mindful of the passing of time, engage yourself in zazen as though saving your head from fire.
DOGEN

Eat Engage Fire Head Moderate Pass People Save Saving
Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.
DOGEN

Among Defeated Excel Fool Prefer Wise
There are those who, attracted by grass, flowers, mountains, and waters, flow into the Buddha Way.
DOGEN

Attach Buddha Flower Mountain Water Way
Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments to the Self.
DOGEN

Attachment Gain Make Practice Reward Self Thinking Yourself
Those who seek the easy way do not seek the true way.
DOGEN

Easy Seek True Way
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.
DOGEN

Destroy Drop Individual Moon Realization Reflection Sky Water
The coming and going of birth and death is a painting. Unsurpassed enlightenment is a painting. The entire phenomenal universe and the empty sky are nothing but a painting.
DOGEN

Birth Come Enlightenment Go Painting Sky Unsurpassed
When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots – just paint Spring.
DOGEN

Just Paint Peache Plum Spring
Do not be amazed by the true dragon.
DOGEN

Amazed Dragon Reality True
People who truly follow the Way would do well to conceal the fact that they are Buddhists.
DOGEN

Buddhist Conceal Follow People Way

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

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If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

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