Dogen's Teaching on Impermanence (Recorded by Ejo)

Text

The most important thing in studying the Way is to be aware of impermanence. This is not merely an idea to be understood with the intellect. It must be felt in the very marrow of your bones. Life and death is the great matter. Time does not wait. Do not waste a single moment. Once you have genuinely felt the swiftness of impermanence, you will not spend your time on trivial things. You will not care about fame or profit. You will practice as if your hair were on fire. This urgency is itself the beginning of the Way.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Koun Ejō
• Speaker
  Dōgen

Lineage: Sōtō

By Koun Ejō

• On Wholehearted Devotion to Practicesaying

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Shobogenzo Zuimonki, compiled by Koun Ejo

  Shobogenzo Zuimonki: Dogen's Teaching on Impermanence (Recorded by Ejo)