You may ask
about the true nature
of Buddha nature,
but who can you ask.
If you should meet
the Buddha
in a coffee shop,
perhaps you should ask
if the Buddha
has dog nature
A reflection on case 115 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
Shobogenzo
HOFUKU’s BLOCKING OF THE EYES
Do not pity the blind man
for he can see much,
and do not be sad for the deaf
for they can hear you.
Your eyes see nothing
your ears do not
discern the quietest sound.
Rest your mind and taste
the peace of blindness
and silence.
A reflection on Case 113 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
THREE WORDS ARE MIND
If you stare
at a large stone
and call it a mountain
the ant will agree with you.
If you gaze on a mountain
and call it a stone
there can be no argument.
If I call that tree
a toothpick
clean your teeth carefully.
A reflection on Case 112 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
REISHO’S BRIGHT AND CLEAR
As you stare
into the mirror
it is your reflection
you clearly see.
As the face
in the mirror
stares at you
it is its face
it sees reflected.
There is one face
and there are
a thousand faces.
A reflection on Case 88 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
DŌGO WON’T SAY 正法眼蔵 二十九
I am the life
of a hundred million others,
you are the life
of a hundred million others,
a hundred million others
are my life, a hundred million
others arise from my death.
How many hundred million
are the same?
None of them will say.
A reflection on Case 29 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye) Koans
GYOZAN PLANTS HIS HOE
Coming in
from a just planted
but barren rice field
when I ask you
how many grains of rice
this harvest will yield
you stand silently
and we nod in agreement.
A reflection on Case 68 of the Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) koans.
SEKISO’S SINGLE HAIR
A thousand steps,
one hundred thousand more
along the path
and the goal
seems ever farther away.
Stop
and rest
in perfect stillness.
You are there,
it has walked with you.
A reflection on Case 86 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
NANGAKU’s MIRROR CAST AS BUDDHA IMAGE
A wealthy man may
spend many lifetimes
looking in endless shops
for a mirror cast
as a Buddha image.
The poor man
peers into a still pond
and sees the entire universe.
A reflection on Case 116 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
SANSHU’S BLINDNESS 正法眼蔵 四十
If you come forward
and ask no question
the master will
give you an answer,
but if you approach
with a question,
the master will
strike you with the stick.
It is only when
your eyes are blinded
that you can take up
the master’s staff
and all is clearly seen.
DOGO WON’T SAY
I am the life
of a hundred million others,
you are the life
of a hundred million others,
a hundred million others
are my life, a hundred million
others arise from my death.
How may hundred million
are the same?
None of them will say.
an old writer and his words 