Dogen - True person manifest throughout the ten quarters of the world

September 11, 2009

From our friend Ivan

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

True person manifest throughout the ten quarters of the world

By Dogen(1200 - 1253)

English version by Steven Heine

The true person isNot anyone in particular;But, like the deep blue colorOf 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

Amazon.com / Photo by Alejandra Mavroski /

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Thought for the Day:

The Divine Mother loves so fullythat She fills even our tragedieswith blessings.

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Here's your Daily Music selection --

Martino Atangana

Mot Songo

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Hi Alan -It's been too long since our last selection by Dogen Zenji...Dogen, sometimes respectfully referred to as Dogen Zenji, was a key figure in the development of Japanese Zen practice and the founder of the Soto Zen sect.Dogen was born about 1200 in Kyoto, Japan. At the age of 17, he was formally ordained as a Buddhist monk. Considering the Japaanese Buddhism of the time to be corrupt and influenced by secular power struggles, Dogen traveled to China to discover the heart of the Dharma by studying Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism at several ancient monasteries.Dogen returned to Japan in 1236. He left the politicized environment of Kyoto, and settled in the mountains and snow country of remote Echizen Province, where he established his own school of Zen, the Soto school. While he proved to be a talented writer and poet, the core of Dogen's teaching was to transcend

the mind's addiction to language and form in order to become fully present and recognize one's inherent enlightenment.==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 colorOf 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!Have a beautiful

weekend!IvanThe Power of Poetry on the Huffington PostDo yourself a favor and take a few moments to read Kim Rosen's article on the Huffington Post. It might just change the way you look at life's challenges, and the way you read poetry...Madoff and Miracles: How I Lost My Life's Savings and a Poem Saved My Life

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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