--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is the way of the Buddha? It is to…" description: "\"What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to enlightened by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/dogen-2979_buddha_what-is-the-way-of-the-buddha-it-is-to-s_767766.jpg" --- # What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self… ![“What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to enlightened by everything in the world.” quote by Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/dogen-2979_buddha_what-is-the-way-of-the-buddha-it-is-to-s_767766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/dogen-2979_buddha_what-is-the-way-of-the-buddha-it-is-to-s_767766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/dogen-2979_buddha_what-is-the-way-of-the-buddha-it-is-to-s_767766.jpg) > “What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to enlightened by everything in the world.” [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. Buddhist teaching: enlightenment arises from self‑study, which involves letting go of ego and merging with all existence. **In simple terms:** Self‑study leads to enlightenment. Key Takeaway Practice self‑lessness to connect with everything. Themes enlightenment self‑study ego dissolution Mood tranquil reflective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - spiritual practice - teaching - daily mindfulness Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy mindfulness interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance self‑care with self‑lessness? - What practices help dissolve ego? A Different Perspective Letting go of self can be psychologically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself. Studying oneself is forgetting oneself. Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things. Being enlightened by all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/studying-the-buddha-way-is-studying-oneself-studying-oneself-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“To learn the way of the Buddha is to learn about oneself. To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-learn-the-way-of-the-buddha-is-to-learn-about-oneself-to-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-self-is-to-forget-the-self-to-forget-the-self-is-to-be/) [Dogen](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/) > [“To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-buddha-way-is-to-study-the-self-to-study-the-self-is-to-2/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-way-is-to-study-the-self-to-study-the-self-is-to-forget-2/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/to-study-the-buddha-way-is-to-study-the-self-to-study-the-self-is-to/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [In Varenka, she realized that one has but to forget oneself and love others, and one will be calm, happy, and noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/in-varenka-she-realized-that-one-has-but-to-forget-oneself-and-love/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In every part and corner of our life, to lose oneself is to be a gainer; to forget oneself is to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-every-part-and-corner-of-our-life-to-lose-oneself-is-to-be-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [I want to work beyond external aggressions, forget that one has something to do for others if it's not for oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/i-want-to-work-beyond-external-aggressions-forget-that-one-has/) [Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/) > [Perhaps the basic thing which contributes to charm is the ability to forget oneself and be engrossed in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/perhaps-the-basic-thing-which-contributes-to-charm-is-the-ability-to/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [I realized that to become a saint one must suffer a great deal, always seek what is best, and forget oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-realized-that-to-become-a-saint-one-must-suffer-a-great-deal-always/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [To forget oneself is to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-forget-oneself-is-to-be-happy/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“There was no solution, but that universal solution which life gives to all questions, even the most complex and insoluble. That answer is: one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-was-no-solution-but-that-universal-solution-which-life-gives-to/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [One can forget everything, everything, only not oneself, one's own being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/one-can-forget-everything-everything-only-not-oneself-one-s-own-being/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## 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 Buddha quotes > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The birds fly in the sky but they don't leave any footmarks. That's what Buddha says, that the man who is awakened lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-birds-fly-in-the-sky-but-they-don-t-leave-any-footmarks-that-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Buddha gave his first talks, and three or four ascetics became his first disciples. They recognized his enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-buddha-gave-his-first-talks-and-three-or-four-ascetics-became-his/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I went on a Buddha jag. I read 'Confession of a Buddhist Atheist' by Stephen Batchelor and Karen Armstrong's biography of Buddha, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/i-went-on-a-buddha-jag-i-read-confession-of-a-buddhist-atheist-by/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Why don't the names of Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius offend people? The reason is that these others didn't claim to be God, but Jesus did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/why-don-t-the-names-of-buddha-mohammed-confucius-offend-people-the/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [When people suffer, their relationships usually suffer as well. Period. And we all suffer because, as the Buddha says, that's the nature of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/when-people-suffer-their-relationships-usually-suffer-as-well-period/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-real-power-of-the-buddha-was-that-he-had-so-much-love-he-saw/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“Then Maitreya Bodhisattva thought: “Now the World-Honored One has displayed a marvelous sign. But what is the cause or reason for this auspicious sign?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-reeves/then-maitreya-bodhisattva-thought-now-the-world-honored-one-has/) Gene Reeves > [It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/it-is-possible-that-the-next-buddha-will-not-take-the-form-of-an/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“The foundational Vajrakilaya is the sun shining in the sky behind the clouds. The path Vajrakilaya is the removal of the clouds from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyatrul-rinpoche/the-foundational-vajrakilaya-is-the-sun-shining-in-the-sky-behind-the/) Gyatrul Rinpoche > [Inside we are all Golden Buddha's, but we grew to believe we were made of clay. Our ego's false perceptions led us to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/inside-we-are-all-golden-buddha-s-but-we-grew-to-believe-we-were-made/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [The mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/the-mind-is-the-buddha-and-the-buddha-is-the-mind/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [“In the eyes of Buddha, there are no evil people, only people who don't yet have light in their hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lijia-zhang/in-the-eyes-of-buddha-there-are-no-evil-people-only-people-who-don-t/) Lijia Zhang > [I hold that all the Teachers of the world have attained that Life which is the fulfilment of life. Hence, whenever anyone enters that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/i-hold-that-all-the-teachers-of-the-world-have-attained-that-life/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) [Browse all 411 Buddha quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. 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