"Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to Dharma see no Dharma in everyday actions; they have not discovered that there are no everyday actions outside of Dharma."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"The true person is
Not anyone in particular;
But like the deep blue color
Of the limitless sky,
It is everyone,

Everywhere in the world."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"That you carry yourself forward and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things come forward and experience themselves is awakening"

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

Kyoto in Shades of Gray; Kenninji Revisited.

I have lost track of how many times I've been to Kenninji. It's the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto and Dogen Zenji stayed here for a while. I often wander around here experiencing the worn floorboards through my worn socks.
I am usually by myself, which is the way to welcome Kenninji. I have a strong longing for these enviroments.
In my house, my dusty meditation cushion mocks me like a drunk little fat man.
One day.

"Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself.
Studying oneself is forgetting oneself.
Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things.
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."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"A zen master's life is one continuous mistake."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky."


Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

Zen in Sweden, Sweden in Zen.

Casually browsing through my favourite daily national newspaper Dagens Nyheter, suddenly this article on Zen buddhism (in swedish only) jumped right out and changed things this sunday afternoon.
I went to one of their introductionary workshops some seven years ago, and it marked for me the start of an ever increasing interest in Zen buddhism and the Way.
The smiling face of Sante Poromaa Sensei is something I carry with me every day, come rain, come income tax return.
Their website is here, and it's available in english too!

"Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious endeavour. It is not introspection. Do not desire to become a buddha; let sitting or lying down drop away. Be moderate in eating and drinking. Be mindful of the passing of time, and engage yourself in zazen as though you are saving your head from fire."

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"In a mind clear as still water,
even the waves, breaking,
are reflecting its light."


Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

“If even one person practices with the strong determination to work for and serve the world, then the whole world will become this way.”

Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)

Eihiji.

Alex Reinke took me to Eihiji in sticky humid japanese September. My traditional Japanese clothes clinging to the skin and the camera bag heavier than usual. Pausing outside, smoking, trying not to rush it. I decided I was going to photograph the temple that Dogen founded using only my 105/2 Nikon prime lens. Alex and I didn't say much to each other. No words. Doing.

Days, weeks, soon even a month, has passed, but I still can't, will not, desire not to dress in imperfect words what has to be experienced.