Dogen Quotes

83 quotes in 1037 categories

• To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
• Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to Dharma see no Dharma in everyday actions. They have not yet discovered that there are no…
• Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Take heed,…
• In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light.
• If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
• When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves.
• Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.
• To start from the self and try to understand all things is delusion. To let the self be awakened by all things is enlightenment.
• 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…
• If he cannot stop the mind that seeks after fame and profit, he will spend his life without finding peace.
• 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…
• Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.
• In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees; this…
• The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.
• When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely…
• When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots, but just paint Spring. To paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots is to…
• To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to…
• A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself.
• In a snowfall that covers the winter grass a white heron uses his own whiteness to disappear.
• No matter how bad a state of mind you may get into, if you keep strong and hold out, eventually the floating clouds must vanish…

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