enlightenment

• to Dogen simply means being awake, being here. Not lost in our thoughts, or trapped by our emotions, but just being here

  Genjo-koan: Being Awake Is Being Here May 2014 — Banský Studenec

The most important text

1. Zen Is Boring ●●●

   But real enlightenment is the most ordinary of the ordinary.

   eating a tangerine as enlightenment · longing for peak experiences · vision at the rim of time · enlightenment as the most ordinary · this very moment as enlightenment

Other texts

2. No Hierarchy of Enlightenment ●●● July 2009 — Dibbavana

   everybody who practises zazen is a Buddha, and new or old is not important

   enlightened person at the top · levels of enlightenment · everybody practising zazen is Buddha
3. Ikka-no-myoju 4: The Universe as Teacher ●●● Summer 2006 — Ikka-no-myoju

   the brush flicked up a pebble, and the pebble hit a bamboo, and it made a very loud ringing sound

   Kyogen and the pebble striking bamboo · realisation without logical connection · Reiun and the plum blossoms
4. Enlightenment as a Normal State ●●● July 2009 — Dibbavana

   so-called enlightenment is a special superhuman state where we no longer have any problems

   Daikan Eno's mirror poem · enlightenment as a special state
5. Zazen Is Not Meditation ●●● July 2021 — Skalní fara

   Dogen kind of destroys that understanding, as usual, and he says: When you sit in zazen, you are buddha.

   zazen as the state of buddha · receiving affirmation
6. How To Pursue the Truth ●●● Shobogenzo · Bendōwa

   In reality, practicing Zazen IS being enlightened. When we practice now, the state we sit in is the enlightened state.

   zazen as the state of buddha
7. Ikka-no-myoju ●●● Shobogenzo

   he stubs his toe on a stone. Bleeding and in great pain

   Gensa stubbing his toe
8. Genjo-koan 3: Action Only Here and Now ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

   there's no enlightenment outside of Zazen, there's no realisation outside of Zazen, or outside of action

   zazen as the state of buddha
9. Introductions 1: Rules and Reality ●●● Summer 2003 — Introductions to Shobogenzo Chapters

   Master Dogen’s truth is not something that you know, it’s something in the practice of zazen

   zazen as the state of buddha
10. Zazen According to Sawaki ●●● Summer 2004 — Yoko Luetchford

    Master Dogen said that the state of sitting in Zazen is satori itself

    zazen as the state of buddha
11. Uji 3: The Changing State of Zazen ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

    When we practise zazen, we sit in our state, whatever it is. And that state is buddha.

    zazen as the state of buddha
12. Ikka-no-myoju 1: A Pearl in Ordinary Things ●●● Summer 2006 — Ikka-no-myoju

    with his toe bleeding, and in great pain, he suddenly realised something

    Gensa stubbing his toe
13. Dropping Off Heart, Mind and Body ●●● June 2007 — Padmafarma

    this state is always in our zazen, even the first time we practise

    everybody practising zazen is Buddha
14. Kuge 3: The Whole World in Each Flower ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

    Only common people think that you can get rid of your delusions.

    getting rid of delusions
15. Kuge 4: Nothing to Get Rid Of ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

    what they’re trying to get rid of is all there is

    getting rid of delusions
16. Just to Be Alive Is Enough ●●● August 2011 — Dibbavana

    Is enlightenment a complete solution to all our problems? Suzuki Roshi replied, No.

    enlightened until you open your mouth · enlightenment as a special state
17. The Truth as a Cup of Tea ●●● September 2013 — Banský Studenec

    So the aim of Buddhism is to be whole. To attain the truth is simply that

    attaining the truth
18. Genjo-koan: Being Awake Is Being Here ●●● May 2014 — Banský Studenec

    to Dogen simply means being awake, being here. Not lost in our thoughts, or trapped by our emotions, but just being here

    being awake is being here
19. Zen Without Spirituality ●●● September 2015 — Banský Studenec

    the fine and peaceful state is when you are not thinking and you are not feeling

    state without thinking and feeling · balance as the state of Buddha
20. What did the Buddha discover? ●●●

    I have come to a deep understanding of myself and the world, and I have woken up

    Buddha's awakening
21. The Sutra of the Heart of the Great Practice of Zazen ●●●

    The Buddha was about to finish the practice of Zazen, the practice that is wisdom itself

    zazen as the state of buddha
22. The One Bright Pearl ●●● Shobogenzo · Ikka-no-myoju

    I learned that this physical body isn’t real, but in that case, where is all this pain coming from?

    Gensa stubbing his toe
23. The Life of Master Dogen ●●● June 2005 — Lotus Centre

    they had a very strong aim while they were practising: they wanted to become enlightened

    enlightenment as the aim of zazen
24. Ikka-no-myoju 5: The Four Views ●●● Summer 2006 — Ikka-no-myoju

    if we take the story about Gensa stubbing his toe, we can see that we could make that a kind of metaphor for society

    Gensa stubbing his toe
25. Dojo and Home, Sacred and Ordinary ●●● September 2015 — Banský Studenec

    Buddhism can give you some special state. Which is, in Sanskrit, nirvana, or in Japanese satori, in English enlightenment.

    enlightenment as a special state
26. The Relation Between the Autonomic Nervous System and Buddhism ●●●

    Zazen is not a means to attain “enlightenment,” but is just an act to experience the balance of the ANS.

    enlightenment as the aim of zazen
27. Buddhism and the Theory of No-Self ●●●

    I understood that this body is not real, but then why am I in such great pain?

    Gensa stubbing his toe
28. Gaku do yo jin shu - Practical Advice on Pursuing the Buddhist Truth ●●●

    To be caught by the truth is to lose all trace of enlightenment.

    being caught by the truth
29. Fueko – Extending Merit to All Beings ●●●

    jointly accomplish the way of the buddhas

    attaining the buddha way together
30. Fukan-zazengi ●●● Shobogenzo

    Jinshu compared Buddhist practice to making a mirror clean. Master Daikan Eno suggested that there is originally no impurity in the first place.

    Daikan Eno's mirror poem
31. Introduction to Master Dogen’s Thought ●●● May 1987 — Gudo Wafu Nishijima

    Reality is splendid, and we should follow reality. This recognition is his enlightenment

    enlightenment as recognizing reality
32. Genjo-koan 2: Delusion and Self-Image ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    without the ecstasy, there’s no laundry to do

    no laundry without ecstasy
33. Kuge 1: Ripening Fruit ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

    once you become an enlightened being that’s it, you’ve graduated, and you’re off

    enlightenment as graduation
34. MMK 3: Cutting Through Categories ●●● Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

    ‘enlightenment’ which is really a kind of carrot dangled way in front in the distance

    enlightenment as a dangled carrot
35. Opposites and Being Upright ●●● July 2009 — Brno

    If I were the student, I'd like to climb down and stand by the master on the ground

    climbing ever higher up a tree
36. Understanding the Shobogenzo ●●●

    Gautama Buddha’s enlightenment didn’t mean that he entered some special state, but just that he saw clearly for the first time the reality

    enlightenment as recognizing reality
37. Introduction to Buddhism and the Practice of Zazen ●●●

    we are sitting in the same state as Gautama Buddha, and this is true of beginners and experienced practitioners equally

    everybody practising zazen is Buddha

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