Dōgen Zenji (💎 19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.

"But do not ask me where I am going, As I travel in this limitless world, Where every step I take is my home."
~ Dogen
"If you want to see things just as they are, then you yourself must practice just as you are."
~ Dogen
"Life and death are nothing but the mind. Years, months, days, and hours...Dreams, illusions, and mirages are nothing but the mind. The bubbles of water and the flames...The flowers of the spring and the moon of the autumn...Confusions and dangers are nothing but the mind." Dogen
"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"
~ Dogen
"Meditation is not a way to enlightenment,
Nor is it a method of achieving anything at all.
It is peace itself.
It is the actualization of wisdom,
The ultimate truth of the oneness of all things."
~ Dogen
"The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass."
~ Dogen
"Enlightenment is intimacy with all things."
~ Dogen
"Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself.
Studying oneself is forgetting oneself.
...is being enlightened by all things.
...is to shed the body-mind of oneself, and those of others.
No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless enlightenment continues endlessly."
"A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it."
~ Dogen
"To start from the self and try to understand all things is delusion. To let the self be awakened by all things is enlightenment."
~ Dogen
"Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments to the Self."
~ Dogen
"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
"There is no beginning to practice nor end to enlightenment; There is no beginning to enlightenment nor end to practice."
~ Dogen
"To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfections."
~ Dogen
"Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things."
~ Dogen
The statue memorializing Dōgen's vision of Avalokiteshvara at a pond in Eihei-ji, Japan.

More from History

Thank you so much to the incredible @gregjenner and his team for having me on "You're Dead to Me" and to @kaekurd for being so hilarious and bringing Gilgamesh the restaurant into my life!

Here’s a thread of some of the stuff referenced in the podcast for those interested


First of all, what even is cuneiform?

It’s a writing system from the ancient Middle East, used to write several languages like Sumerian and Akkadian. Cuneiform signs can stand for whole words or syllables. Here’s a little primer of its evolution
https://t.co/7CVjLCHwkS


What kinds of texts was cuneiform used to write?

Initially, accounting records and lists.

Eventually, literature, astronomy, medicine, maps, architectural plans, omens, letters, contracts, law collections, and more.


Texts from the Library of Ashurbanipal, who ruled the ancient Assyrian empire when it was at its largest in the 7th century BCE, represent many of the genres of cuneiform texts and scholarship.

Here’s a short intro to the library via @opencuneiform https://t.co/wjnaxpMRrC


The Library of Ashurbanipal has a complicated modern and ancient history, which you can read about in this brilliant (and open access) book by Prof @Eleanor_Robson

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