Eihei Dogen - True person manifest throughout the ten quarters of the world
True person manifest throughout the ten quarters of the world
by Eihei Dogen
English version by Steven Heine
Original Language Japanese
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.
-- from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger True to Zen form, Dogen cuts right to the essential here.
Look for the true person deeply enough, and we find it. We find it in ourselves. But not in ourselves in a particular way. It is not in oneself while absent in another. We are quietly startled to discover that this true person is not contained by our skin. It does not stop at the edges of our lives. It does not even restrict itself to the borders of our far-flung thoughts. No, it flows out in all directions, utterly heedless of walls and distances and the greedy human mind.
But, like the deep blue color
Of the limitless sky,
It is everyone, everywhere in the world.
Find that one. Not only will you have found the true person, you will have discovered your very self spread out across existence!
Recommended Books: Eihei Dogen
Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library) The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures
Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!
Original poetry and commentary © 2017 Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.
by Eihei Dogen
English version by Steven Heine
Original Language Japanese
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.
-- from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger True to Zen form, Dogen cuts right to the essential here.
Look for the true person deeply enough, and we find it. We find it in ourselves. But not in ourselves in a particular way. It is not in oneself while absent in another. We are quietly startled to discover that this true person is not contained by our skin. It does not stop at the edges of our lives. It does not even restrict itself to the borders of our far-flung thoughts. No, it flows out in all directions, utterly heedless of walls and distances and the greedy human mind.
But, like the deep blue color
Of the limitless sky,
It is everyone, everywhere in the world.
Find that one. Not only will you have found the true person, you will have discovered your very self spread out across existence!
Recommended Books: Eihei Dogen
Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library) The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures
Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!
Original poetry and commentary © 2017 Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.