Dogen Quotes

To start from the self and try to understand all things is delusion. To let the self be awakened by all things is enlightenment.

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.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfections.

There is no beginning to practice nor end to enlightenment; There is no beginning to enlightenment nor end to practice.

Students today should live fully every moment of time. This dew-like life fades away; time speeds swiftly. In this short life of ours, avoid involvement in superfluous things and just study the Way.

In the mundane, nothing is sacred. In sacredness, nothing is mundane.

There are those who, attracted by grass, flowers, mountains, and waters, flow into the Buddha Way.

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.

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.

Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.