Enlightenment Is Like the Moon Reflected in Water (Genjokoan)

Text

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected in water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Dōgen

Lineage: Sōtō

By Dōgen

• How to Sit (Fukanzazengi, opening)practice-instruction
• Not Aware of Enlightenmentproverb
• Continuous Practiceproverb
• Flowers Fall, Weeds Springproverb
• Firewood and Ash (Genjokoan)sermon

From Shobogenzo

• Not Aware of Enlightenment
• Continuous Practice
• Firewood and Ash (Genjokoan)
• To Study the Self
• Being-Time (Uji)
• Spring Does Not Become Summer
• Shōbōgenzō (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye)

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Shobogenzo, Genjokoan

  Shobogenzo: Enlightenment Is Like the Moon Reflected in Water (Genjokoan)