In doing zazen it is desirable to have a quiet room. You should be temperate in eating and drinking, forsaking all delusive relationships. Setting everything aside, think of neither good nor evil, right nor wrong. Thus having stopped the various functions of your mind, five up even the idea of becoming a Buddha.
DOGENJust 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.
More Dogen Quotes
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Truth is not far away. It is nearer than near. There is no need to attain it, since not one of your steps leads away from it.
DOGEN -
Practice and enlightenment are not two.
DOGEN -
But do not ask me where I am going, As I travel in this limitless world, Where every step I take is my home.
DOGEN -
To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.
DOGEN -
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.
DOGEN -
If you want to do a certain thing, you first have to be a certain person. Once you become that certain person, you will not care anymore about doing that certain thing.
DOGEN -
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.
DOGEN -
To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
DOGEN -
Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.
DOGEN -
Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things.
DOGEN -
There are those who, attracted by grass, flowers, mountains, and waters, flow into the Buddha Way.
DOGEN -
What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to enlightened by everything in the world.
DOGEN -
Those who seek the easy way do not seek the true way.
DOGEN -
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.
DOGEN -
The recognition of the coming and going of things is a first step in training and practice.
DOGEN