Dogen, the Zen Master. A Search and a Fulfillment

CHAPTER 1

To study the way ... to forget the self ...
25 July 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium

OUR BELOVED MASTER,

DOGEN WROTE:
TO STUDY THE WAY IS TO STUDY THE SELF. TO STUDY THE SELF IS TO FORGET THE SELF.
TO FORGET THE SELF IS TO BE ENLIGHTENED BY ALL THINGS. TO BE ENLIGHTENED BY
ALL THINGS IS TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS BETWEEN ONE’S SELF AND OTHERS. THEN
THERE IS NO TRACE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, THOUGH ENLIGHTENMENT ITSELF CONTINUES
INTO ONE’S DAILY LIFE ENDLESSLY.
THE FIRST TIME WE SEEK THE LAW, WE ARE FAR AWAY FROM THE BORDER OF IT.
BUT SOON AFTER THE LAW HAS BEEN CORRECTLY TRANSMITTED TO US, WE ARE
ENLIGHTENED PERSONS.
Maneesha, this is the first day of a new series of talks, devoted to the full moons. The moon is
an ancient symbol of transforming the hot rays of the sun into cool, peaceful, beautiful rays. It has
nothing of its own. When you see the moon, you are seeing only a mirror which is reflecting the rays
of the sun. Those reflected rays are just like the ones you can see when the sun is reflected in a
river.
The moon is a mirror but not only a mirror, it is also a transforming agent. It changes the heat rays
into cool, peaceful rays. That is the reason why the moon has become the most significant symbol
in the East.

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