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Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech.

Dogen

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
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
Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.
DOGEN

Buddhist Compassion Enlightenment Thing
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
DOGEN

Art Expect Spiritual Truth
If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
DOGEN

Buddhist Go Yourself Zen Proverb
When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots – just paint Spring.
DOGEN

Just Paint Peache Plum Spring
Learn the backward step that turns your light inward to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest.
DOGEN

Backward Inward Light Mind Self Turn
Although its light is wide and great, the Moon is reflected in a puddle one inch wide. The whole Moon and the entire sky is reflected in one dew drop on the grass.
DOGEN

Inch Life Light Moon Puddle Reflect Wide
Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.
DOGEN

Among Defeated Excel Fool Prefer Wise
Let your heart go out and abide in things. Let things return and abide in your heart.
DOGEN

Abide Heart Return Speech Thing
Do not travel to other dusty lands, forsaking your own sitting place; if you cannot find the truth where you are now, you will never find it.
DOGEN

Dusty Land never Place Sitting Travel Truth
An ancient buddha said, “Mountains are mountains; waters are waters.” These words do not mean mountains are mountains; they mean mountains are mountains.
DOGEN

Ancient Buddha Mean Mountain Water Word
IF YOU WOULD BE FREE OF GREED, FIRST YOU HAVE TO LEAVE EGOTISM BEHIND. THE BEST MENTAL EXERCISE FOR RELINQUISHING EGOTISM IS CONTEMPLATING IMPERMANENCE.
DOGEN

Behind Egotism Excercise Exercise First Free Greed Relinquish
To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.
DOGEN

Forget Self Study Way
You should stop searching for phrases and chasing after words. Take the backward step and turn the light inward. Your body-mind of itself will drop off and your original face will appear. If you want to attain just this, immediately practice just this.
DOGEN

Chase Light Mind Phrase Practice Stop Word
To start from the self and try to understand all things is delusion. To let the self be awakened by all things is enlightenment.
DOGEN

Awakened Enlightenment Self Set Spiritual Start Thing Understand

Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech.

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Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech.

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