--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truth is not far away. It is nearer than…" description: "\"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" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg" --- # Truth is not far away. It is nearer than near. There is no… ![“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.” quote by Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg) > “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](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. Truth is always present, close to us; we need not chase it because every step we take stays near it. **In simple terms:** Truth is always near. Key Takeaway Stay present and observe. Themes mindfulness spirituality philosophy presence Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation practice - daily walking - decision making - stress reduction Key Concepts Zen Buddhism non‑duality impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How can you notice truth in everyday actions? - What habits keep you connected to reality? A Different Perspective One may misinterpret “near” as complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Nearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-nearer-495035/) [Far away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-away/) [Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/near/) [Nearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearer/) [Nearer Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearer-near-2182758/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-far-782348/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) ## Related quotes > [A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/a-friend-who-is-far-away-is-sometimes-much-nearer-than-one-who-is-at-2/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-who-is-far-away-is-sometimes-much-nearer-than-one-who-is-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You have to know who to keep near you and those you should be far away from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-have-to-know-who-to-keep-near-you-and-those-you-should-be-far/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [When I came there I found all my family gone, for the Indians had killed five people in the winter near that place, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-gist/when-i-came-there-i-found-all-my-family-gone-for-the-indians-had/) [Christopher Gist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-gist/) > [The truth is far harder, but much more valid and worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/the-truth-is-far-harder-but-much-more-valid-and-worthwhile/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [The truth, as always, will be far stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-truth-as-always-will-be-far-stranger/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There's truth as far as you knows it; and there's truth as far as you're asked for it. But they don't represent the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/there-s-truth-as-far-as-you-knows-it-and-there-s-truth-as-far-as-you/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Pushing any truth out very far, you are met by a counter-truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/pushing-any-truth-out-very-far-you-are-met-by-a-counter-truth/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I'll challenge senators and kings for the right to know the truth, but far be it from me to challenge a woman in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/i-ll-challenge-senators-and-kings-for-the-right-to-know-the-truth-but/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [But please remember: this is only a work of fiction. The truth, as always, will be far stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/but-please-remember-this-is-only-a-work-of-fiction-the-truth-as/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Within the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is room and place for every truth thus far learned by man or yet to be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-talmage/within-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-there-is-room-and-place-for-every/) [James E. Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-talmage/) > [The truth is far beyond what we can see. Therefore my art is an invitation to comprehend this fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ala-bashir/the-truth-is-far-beyond-what-we-can-see-therefore-my-art-is-an/) [Ala Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ala-bashir/) > [Freedom just around the corner for you, but with the truth so far off, what good will it do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/freedom-just-around-the-corner-for-you-but-with-the-truth-so-far-off/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“They were the truth, so far as I can see." "But you cannot see very far, and what you do see you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-mcdermott/they-were-the-truth-so-far-as-i-can-see-but-you-cannot-see-very-far/) [Shannon McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-mcdermott/) > [The truth is far from you, so you know you got to lie. Then you're all the time defending what you can never justify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-truth-is-far-from-you-so-you-know-you-got-to-lie-then-you-re-all/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## 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 Far away quotes > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [If I had a dollar for every time you've fucked me over, I'd move far, far away from you, and never see you again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-reitz/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-you-ve-fucked-me-over-i-d-move-far/) [Jesse Reitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-reitz/) > [On 9-11, we discovered that we cannot escape from the world. To me personally, this was a life-changing experience, and I realized, as did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/on-9-11-we-discovered-that-we-cannot-escape-from-the-world-to-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) > [A ship's engine far away on the water expands the summer-night horizon. Both joy and sorrow swell in the dew's magnifying glass. Without really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-transtromer/a-ship-s-engine-far-away-on-the-water-expands-the-summer-night/) [Tomas Transtromer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-transtromer/) > [“God seems to far away. Does He? Have you noted the splendid display of wildflowers? Have you listened to a child's laughter or watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diann-mills/god-seems-to-far-away-does-he-have-you-noted-the-splendid-display-of/) [DiAnn Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diann-mills/) > [In other countries, it's a common thing to have outcast children running around the streets in packs, and I don't think we're so far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-spheeris/in-other-countries-it-s-a-common-thing-to-have-outcast-children/) [Penelope Spheeris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-spheeris/) > [So here is my story, may it bring Some smiles and a tear or so, It happened once upon a time, Far away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/so-here-is-my-story-may-it-bring-some-smiles-and-a-tear-or-so-it/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [ Nineteen thousand children \[are\] dying every day. Does it really matter that we're not walking past them in the street? Does it really matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/nineteen-thousand-children-are-dying-every-day-does-it-really-matter/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Being an only child, I didn't have any other family but my mom and dad really, since the rest of my family lived quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/being-an-only-child-i-didn-t-have-any-other-family-but-my-mom-and-dad/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [I rented an island for Kanye West birthday. A far, far away place where no one can find us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-rented-an-island-for-kanye-west-birthday-a-far-far-away-place-where/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [The uniqueness of the United States in human history is the United States is the first global power in human history which emerged far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-davutoglu/the-uniqueness-of-the-united-states-in-human-history-is-the-united/) [Ahmet Davutoglu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-davutoglu/) > [And the voices in the waves are always whispering to Florence, in their ceaseless murmuring, of love - of love, eternal and illimitable, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-the-voices-in-the-waves-are-always-whispering-to-florence-in/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Browse all 1,111 Far away quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-away/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dogen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than-near-there-is-no-need-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Far away" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than-near-there-is-no-need-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/dogen-2979_far-away_truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than_1009432.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Truth is not far away. It is nearer than near. There is no need to attain it, since not one of your steps…” — Dogen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dogen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Truth is not far away. It...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than-near-there-is-no-need-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/truth-is-not-far-away-it-is-nearer-than-near-there-is-no-need-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```