#dogen

[Dogen (19 Jan.1200 - 22 Sept. 1253) was a Japanese monk, writer, poet, philosopher and Zen master, and the founder of the Soto sect in Japan. He innovated Japanese Buddhist practice through Zen in the early 13CE and wrote the Shobogenzo ("Treasury of the True Dharma Eye"), a book of Buddhist thought that is the foundation of the recent mindfulness philosophy.]

Living Zen — Cooking is also a form of practice. Daily life is Zen practice.

Dōgen went to the Song Dynasty to study Zen Buddhism. What he experienced and was deeply moved by in the Zen monasteries of the Song Dynasty was the discovery that Zen Buddhism is “Zen in daily life”. It was the realisation that not only sitting in the meditation hall, but all aspects of daily life, constitute practice.

At the early stage, he met an elderly monk who had come to buy Japanese mulberries at the port. The old monk was happened to be that a high zen monk who had entered Temple of King Ashoka and been appointed head cook there. Even though Dōgen urged him to stay overnight, the old monk insisted returning as he had to prepare tomorrow's meals. Dōgen asked why a monk like himself should have to do menial tasks like being a cook, when Ashoka Temple was a magnificent temple and there would be many people preparing meals there. The old monk laughed out loud and said, "It seems you don't understand the true essence of practice”.

Preparing meals is also a form of practice. In his youth, Dōgen did not yet understand this. At that time, Dōgen believed that practice meant sitting in zazen meditation within the specialised space of the Zen hall, with the goal of attaining enlightenment. In other words, he still held a political mindset of “for the sake of...”. However, once he entered the state of enlightenment, he realised that everything—preparing meals, eating—is practice. It is not about the purpose for which one lives. The very act of living is Zen practice.

Drinking a cup of tea. That too is a form of practice. By making life itself a form of practice, you can activate your Buddha-nature in every opportunity.

🚪🧠 — Drew some of my favorites

Sometimes impulsively deciding to digitalize a doodle can turn out really well!!!!