If you sit
I will bring you a flower
but it will fall.
If you walk
weeds will grow up
between your toes.
Flower, weed and you
are born and die
each feeding
all of the others.
A reflection on case 51 of the Shobogenzo Koans (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
If you sit
I will bring you a flower
but it will fall.
If you walk
weeds will grow up
between your toes.
Flower, weed and you
are born and die
each feeding
all of the others.
A reflection on case 51 of the Shobogenzo Koans (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
Describe this moment
without use of word or sound –
see where you are
with eyes pressed tightly closed,
hear a song with utter silence,
taste the pure mountain air
reach out and touch
that which has no shape
or form, no essence
and you sit
in the middle
of reality.
A reflection on case 45 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
If you ask when
is the best time
to seek wisdom I
will tell you
at the stroke of midnight
and I will walk
on a lighter left foot.
If you ask the next day
when is the best time
to seek wisdom
I will tell you
at highest noon
and I will walk
on a lighter right foot.
A reflection on Case 39 of Dogen’s Shoboganzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
The wisest of men,
when asked at what time
it is best to pursue the Way,
will answer when a thousand stars
have made their presence known.
The wisest student will say
when cleaning myself
by bathing in the mud.
This will become clear
when the frog
consumes the dragon.
A reflection on Case 35 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
When you come
into this town
we know you are coming,
when you enter
this room we
know you will arrive.
It is only when
we cannot discern
your presence
that your spirit
has truly arrived.
Contemplate this
over a bowl of rice
shared with mountain
and wind.
A reflection on Case 18 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
Tell me, the master said
what did you know
of the world
before you first
had words.
If this perplexes you
ask the infant, newborn
in his tears and smiles
all of Dharma
is laid out
before you.
A reflection on Case 10 of the Shobogenzo Koans (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)