--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a buddha is painted, not only a clay…" description: "\"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, and the cultivation of wisdom for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/dogen-2979_altars_when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay_25351.jpg" --- # When a buddha is painted, not only a clay altar or lump of… ![“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, and the cultivation of wisdom for incalculable eons are used. As a Buddha has been painted on a single scroll in this way, all buddhas are painted buddhas, and all painted buddhas…” quote by Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/dogen-2979_altars_when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay_25351.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/dogen-2979_altars_when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay_25351.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/dogen-2979_altars_when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay_25351.jpg) > “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, and the cultivation of wisdom for incalculable eons are used. As a Buddha has been painted on a single scroll in this way, all buddhas are painted buddhas, and all painted buddhas are actual buddhas.” [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. Painting a Buddha symbolizes that the divine is not confined to physical form but is expressed through countless subtle qualities and timeless wisdom, making each representation a true embodiment of enlightenment. **In simple terms:** The image of a Buddha is a conduit for its essence, not just a likeness. Key Takeaway Form and essence are inseparable. Themes spiritual symbolism interconnectedness mindfulness impermanence non-duality Mood reverent contemplative Type philosophical didactic When to use this quote - meditative practice - artistic creation - ritual worship - educational illustration Key Concepts symbolic representation sacred geometry wisdom transmission Practical Applications - use in meditation to focus on deeper truths - guide artistic expression of spiritual concepts Questions to Reflect On - How does visual art influence spiritual perception? - What does it mean to embody wisdom in a material medium? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altars/) [Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blades/) [Blades of grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blades-of-grass/) [Buddha Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha-painted-409995/) [Buddhas Actual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhas-actual-409997/) [Buddhas Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhas-painted-409994/) [Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clay/) [Cultivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivation/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Lumps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lumps/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Painted Buddhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted-buddhas-409993/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-buddha-409996/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/it-was-the-most-emphatic-display-of-selflessness-i-have-seen-on-a-2/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [You and I are just like a blade of grass sitting here; we are going to wither and die. "But the word of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/you-and-i-are-just-like-a-blade-of-grass-sitting-here-we-are-going-to/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [Infidelity gives nothing in return for what it takes away. What, then, is it worth? Everything valuable as a compensating power. Not a blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-gives-nothing-in-return-for-what-it-takes-away-what-then/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [I found every breath of air, and every scent, and every flower and leaf and blade of grass and every passing cloud, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-found-every-breath-of-air-and-every-scent-and-every-flower-and-leaf/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Be humble as the blade of grass that is being trodden underneath the feet. The little ant tastes joyously the sweetness of honey and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-humble-as-the-blade-of-grass-that-is-being-trodden-underneath-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One particular aspect of Siddhartha’s revelation of the outside world has always struck me. Quite possibly he lived his first thirty years without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/one-particular-aspect-of-siddhartha-s-revelation-of-the-outside-world/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/until-man-duplicates-a-blade-of-grass-nature-can-laugh-at-his-so/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, always offering respect onto others and never expecting any in return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaitanya-mahaprabhu/be-more-humble-than-a-blade-of-grass-more-tolerant-than-a-tree-always/) [Chaitanya Mahaprabhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaitanya-mahaprabhu/) > [The person who knows a great deal about things but has never learnt to see, tends to be assertive; those who have once lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-vann/the-person-who-knows-a-great-deal-about-things-but-has-never-learnt/) [Gerald Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-vann/) > [If we study Japanese art, we see a man who is undoubtedly wise, philosophic and intelligent, who spends his time doing what? He studies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/if-we-study-japanese-art-we-see-a-man-who-is-undoubtedly-wise/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Long before I learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught me to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/long-before-i-learned-to-do-a-sum-in-arithmetic-or-describe-the-shape/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/it-was-the-most-emphatic-display-of-selflessness-i-have-seen-on-a/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [Everything dies, from the smallest blade of grass to the biggest galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/everything-dies-from-the-smallest-blade-of-grass-to-the-biggest-galaxy/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [What the ordinary person means by a 'miracle' is some gross distortion or suspension of the laws of nature... but life itself strikes him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/what-the-ordinary-person-means-by-a-miracle-is-some-gross-distortion/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [We must always be disturbed by the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/we-must-always-be-disturbed-by-the-truth/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) [Explore all 143 Dogen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) ## More Altars quotes > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [And in any preaching you do, admonish the people concerning repentance, and that nobody can be saved except he who receives the most holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/and-in-any-preaching-you-do-admonish-the-people-concerning-repentance/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [The revolting details of childbirth had been hidden from me with such care that I was as surprised as I was horrified, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-curchod/the-revolting-details-of-childbirth-had-been-hidden-from-me-with-such/) [Suzanne Curchod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-curchod/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For me it's really tough because you have to go to that place where you really, really don't want to go to or revisit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-chestnut/for-me-it-s-really-tough-because-you-have-to-go-to-that-place-where/) [Morris Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-chestnut/) > [For piety lies not in being often seen turning a veiled head to stones, nor in approaching every altar, nor in lying prostratebefore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/for-piety-lies-not-in-being-often-seen-turning-a-veiled-head-to/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [It is when we are in misery that we revere the gods; the prosperous seldom approach the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silius-italicus/it-is-when-we-are-in-misery-that-we-revere-the-gods-the-prosperous/) [Silius Italicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silius-italicus/) > [Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xiv/pope-gelasius-in-his-ninth-letter-chap-26-to-the-bishops-of-lucania/) [Pope Benedict XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xiv/) > [We dare not trim stones to make God an altar, for if we do we ruin everything. We would spend time bringing people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/we-dare-not-trim-stones-to-make-god-an-altar-for-if-we-do-we-ruin/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) [Browse all 329 Altars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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, and the cultivation of wisdom for incalculable eons are used. 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