--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mountains and rivers at this very moment…" description: "\"Mountains and rivers at this very moment are the actualization of the world of the ancient Buddhas. Each, abiding in its phenomenal expression, realiz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/dogen-2979_abiding_mountains-and-rivers-at-this-very-moment_1423474.jpg" --- # Mountains and rivers at this very moment are the… ![“Mountains and rivers at this very moment are the actualization of the world of the ancient Buddhas. Each, abiding in its phenomenal expression, realizes completeness.” quote by Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/dogen-2979_abiding_mountains-and-rivers-at-this-very-moment_1423474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/dogen-2979_abiding_mountains-and-rivers-at-this-very-moment_1423474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/dogen-2979_abiding_mountains-and-rivers-at-this-very-moment_1423474.jpg) > “Mountains and rivers at this very moment are the actualization of the world of the ancient Buddhas. Each, abiding in its phenomenal expression, realizes completeness.” [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The natural world embodies the enlightened state, each element expressing full completeness as taught by ancient Buddhas. **In simple terms:** Nature reflects enlightenment and completeness. Key Takeaway Recognize the sacred in everyday surroundings. Themes spirituality mindfulness nature Mood reverent contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - environmental appreciation - daily walking - mindful observation Key Concepts Zen interconnectedness emptiness Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing nature as enlightened affect your daily actions? - What does completeness mean in your life? A Different Perspective May overlook personal inner practice while focusing on external phenomena. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actualization/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Phenomenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenal/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Unless you see your nature, all this talk about cause & effect is nonsense. Buddhas don't practice nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/unless-you-see-your-nature-all-this-talk-about-cause-effect-is/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [You are all Buddhas. There is nothing you need to achieve. Just open your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/you-are-all-buddhas-there-is-nothing-you-need-to-achieve-just-open/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The world is full of Buddhas but they're sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/the-world-is-full-of-buddhas-but-they-re-sleeping/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) > [When you have great joy, you will become Buddhas!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/when-you-have-great-joy-you-will-become-buddhas/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [ Many people \[still\] believe that at the time of your death, 1,000 Buddhas show up and welcome you into the paradise state. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/many-people-still-believe-that-at-the-time-of-your-death-1-000/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [Wonder of wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because men's minds have become inverted through delusive thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/wonder-of-wonders-intrinsically-all-living-beings-are-buddhas-endowed/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [All of you knowing now, Tthat the Buddhas, the Teachers of the Ages, In accord with what is peculiarly appropriate, have recourse to expedient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/all-of-you-knowing-now-tthat-the-buddhas-the-teachers-of-the-ages-in/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Where there are humans, You'll find flies, And Buddhas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/where-there-are-humans-you-ll-find-flies-and-buddhas/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Mortals liberate Buddhas and Buddhas liberate mortals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/mortals-liberate-buddhas-and-buddhas-liberate-mortals/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the Buddhas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/to-cease-from-evil-to-do-good-and-to-purify-the-mind-yourself-this-is/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [We're all buddhas. We just don't recognize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/we-re-all-buddhas-we-just-don-t-recognize-it/) [Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/) > [Buddhas don't practice nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/buddhas-don-t-practice-nonsense/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [We are all incarnate Buddhas. We just have not realized it deeply. We have not moved the mind - what our friend Don Juan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-are-all-incarnate-buddhas-we-just-have-not-realized-it-deeply-we/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Respect the gods and buddhas, but never rely on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miyamoto-musashi/respect-the-gods-and-buddhas-but-never-rely-on-them/) [Miyamoto Musashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miyamoto-musashi/) > [newborns reminded her of tiny buddhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/newborns-reminded-her-of-tiny-buddhas/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More by Dogen > [The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/the-whole-moon-and-the-entire-sky-are-reflected-in-one-dewdrop-on-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [When a buddha is painted, not only a clay altar or lump of earth is used, but the thirty-two marks, a blade of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay-altar-or-lump-of-earth-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/just-as-parents-care-for-their-children-you-should-bear-in-mind-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Yet you must not cling to the words of the old sages either; they, too, may not be right. Even if you believe them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/yet-you-must-not-cling-to-the-words-of-the-old-sages-either-they-too/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/set-aside-all-involvements-and-let-the-myriad-things-rest-zazen-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Though it has no thought of keeping watch, it's not for naught that the scarecrow stands in the grain field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/though-it-has-no-thought-of-keeping-watch-it-s-not-for-naught-that/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/continuous-practice-day-after-day-is-the-most-appropriate-way-of/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Whenever learners or those beyond learning awaken the mind, for the first time they plant one buddha-nature. Working with the four elements and five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/whenever-learners-or-those-beyond-learning-awaken-the-mind-for-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/if-you-are-unable-to-find-the-truth-right-where-you-are-where-else-do/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/realization-doesn-t-destroy-the-individual-any-more-than-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“If you attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment, all sentient beings also attain it. The reason is that all sentient beings are aspects of enlightenment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/if-you-attain-unsurpassable-complete-enlightenment-all-sentient/) [Dōgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-way-is-to-study-the-self-to-study-the-self-is-to-forget/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“Every man possesses the Buddha-nature. Do not demean yourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/every-man-possesses-the-buddha-nature-do-not-demean-yourselves/) [Dōgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Because mountains are high and broad, the way of riding the clouds is always reached in the mountains; the inconceivable power of soaring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/because-mountains-are-high-and-broad-the-way-of-riding-the-clouds-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/working-with-plants-trees-fences-and-walls-if-they-practice-sincerely/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) [Explore all 143 Dogen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) ## More Abiding quotes > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I think that there is just a deep and abiding sexism that's part of your life from the moment that you're conscious as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-w-garcia/i-think-that-there-is-just-a-deep-and-abiding-sexism-that-s-part-of/) [Liz W. Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-w-garcia/) > [Faith is the capacity of the soul to perceive the abiding, the invisible in the visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baeck/faith-is-the-capacity-of-the-soul-to-perceive-the-abiding-the/) [Leo Baeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-baeck/) > [I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-have-two-conflicting-traditions-in-this-country-i-think-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [When the penalty for a policeman's mistake is to put a criminal back out on the street, then we are hurting America; we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/when-the-penalty-for-a-policeman-s-mistake-is-to-put-a-criminal-back/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [The value of a dollar is to buy just things; a dollar goes on increasing in value with all the genius and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-value-of-a-dollar-is-to-buy-just-things-a-dollar-goes-on/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-aims-of-these-three-groups-are-entirely-irreconcilable-the-aim-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) Alan Gottlieb > [When you defile the pleasant streams, And the wild bird's abiding place, You massacre a million dreams, And cast your spittle in God's face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/when-you-defile-the-pleasant-streams-and-the-wild-bird-s-abiding/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [How can we hope to retain our freedom through the generations if we fail to teach our young that our liberty springs from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-falwell/how-can-we-hope-to-retain-our-freedom-through-the-generations-if-we/) [Jonathan Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-falwell/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I sometimes forget that life is fragile. 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