If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
DOGENIf you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
DOGENSomething you want badly enough can always be gained. No matter how fierce the enemy, how remote the beautiful lady, or how carefully guarded the treasure, there is always a means to the goal for the earnest seeker. The unseen help of the guardian gods of heaven and earth assure fulfillment.
DOGENIn the mundane, nothing is sacred. In sacredness, nothing is mundane.
DOGENThere are thousands upon thousands of students who have practiced meditation and obtained its fruits. Do not doubt its possibilities because of the simplicity of the method. If you can not find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
DOGENThe 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.
DOGENBe moderate in eating and drinking. Mindful of the passing of time, engage yourself in zazen as though saving your head from fire.
DOGENTo study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
DOGENMeditation is not a way to enlightenment, Nor is it a method of achieving anything at all. It is peace itself. It is the actualization of wisdom, The ultimate truth of the oneness of all things.
DOGENDo not be amazed by the true dragon.
DOGENRealization 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.
DOGENThe recognition of the coming and going of things is a first step in training and practice.
DOGENTo study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.
DOGENAlthough 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.
DOGENPeople who truly follow the Way would do well to conceal the fact that they are Buddhists.
DOGENWhat is reality? An icicle forming in fire.
DOGENWhen you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots – just paint Spring.
DOGEN