Eihei Dogen Zenji

Actualizing the Fundamental Point

“To study the self is to forget the self.”

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Aug 27, 2015

Tea and Rice

13th-century zen master Dogen on the enlightenment of ordinary activity.

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Spring 2013

Finding Your Place

A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies there is no end to the sky. However, the fish and the bird have never left their elements. When their activity is […]

Translated by [Robert, Aitken] and [Kazuaki, Tanahashi] Robert Aitken Kazuaki Tanahashi Eihei Dogen Zenji

Spring 2012

Magazine Teachings

Birth and Death

13th century Japanese Zen Master Dogen on why in Buddha-dharma birth is understood as No-birth, and death is understood as No-death.

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Fall 2000

Magazine Teachings

13th Century Zen Master Dogen on Being Time

An ancient Buddha said: For the time being stand on top of the highest peak. For the time being proceed along the bottom of the deepest ocean. For the time being three heads and eight arms. For the time being an eight-or sixteen-foot body. For the time being a staff or whisk. For the […]

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Summer 1996

person sitting in zazen meditation, principles of zazen meditation

Magazine Meditation & Practice

The Principles of Zazen

A Zen master on the universal guidelines for zazen, or sitting meditation.

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Spring 1994

Magazine Teachings

Mountains and Waters Sutra

Mountains and waters right now are the actualization of the ancient buddha way. Each, abiding in its phenomenal expression, realizes completeness. Because mountains and waters have been active since before the Empty Aeon, they are alive at this moment. Because they have been the self since before form arose they are emancipation-realization. Because mountains are […]

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Winter 1993

Magazine Meditation & Practice

Instructions for the Tenzo

In a traditional Zen monastery, the position of tenzo, or head cook, is held by a monk who is considered to “have way-seeking mind, or by senior disciples with an aspiration for enlightenment.” Here, Japanese Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253) instructs his monks on the importance of the position of the tenzo as it had been […]

By Eihei Dogen Zenji

Summer 1993