Dogen’s Genjo Koan: All Things are Buddha Dharma

Seido meditates on the beginning lines of the Genjo Koan. When we begin practice, it is important to recognize concepts such as buddhas and sentient beings, wisdom and delusion. However, these concepts point beyond concepts—when we see that the thing we have made with our mind has no “thingness,” no fixed boundary. When we grasp form and emptiness, we still must practice in this human life where flowers fall, weeds sprout, and the elk raid the crops in the fields.