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Filed in Zen (Chan)

Birth and Death

Eihei Dogen

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Stone Buddha HeadEihei Dogen (1200-1253) left Japan to study in China and then brought Zen Buddhism back to his own country. The seminal philosophical force of Japanese Soto Zen, Dogen Zenji is revered today for the clarity of his insights, for his passion, and for his poetry.

The following fascicle is from The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, Dogen’s most significant work:

“Because a buddha is in birth and death, there is no birth and death.”

It is also said, “Because a buddha is not in birth and death, a buddha is not deluded by birth and death.”

These statements are the essence of the words of the two Zen masters, Jiashan and Dingshan. You should certainly not neglect them, because they are the words of those who attained the way.

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