![]() It means your practice affects the entire earth and the entire sky in the ten directions. The power of this continuous practice confirms you as well as others. This being so, continuous practice is unstained, not forced by you or others. Between aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana, there is not a moment’s gap continuous practice is the circle of the way. It forms the circle of the way and is never cut off. Dogen says, “On the great road of buddha ancestors there is always unsurpassable practice, continuous and sustained. This circle of practice-enlightenment describes not only the journey of one individual, but also the process and goal of the entire collection of practitioners of the way throughout past, present, and future. In Dogen’s words, “You experience immeasurable hundreds of eons in one day.” 1 The “circle of the way” is a translation of the Japanese word dokan, literally meaning “way ring.” Although this word, which Dogen coined, appears only four times in his writing, it may be taken to represent the heart of his teaching. In this view you don’t journey toward enlightenment, but you let enlightenment unfold. This circle of practice-enlightenment is renewed moment after moment.Īt the moment you begin taking a step you have arrived, and you keep arriving each moment thereafter. The circle of practice is complete even at the beginning. ![]() In other words, practice and enlightenment-process and goal-are inseparable. For him, each moment of practice encompasses enlightenment, and each moment of enlightenment encompasses practice. But he also talks about the way as a circle. The time span between the initial practice and the achieved goal-enlightenment-is described in scriptures as “hundreds and thousands of eons.”ĭogen accepts this image of a linear process of seeking. In the context of the Mahayana or Great Vehicle teaching-a developed form of Buddhism that spread through North and East Asia-this process represents the journey a seeker, or bodhisattva, takes to become a fully awakened one, a buddha. There is a huge distance between the starting point and the goal. It often implies that a seeker is bound to toil on a long path, wandering about and overcoming numerous obstacles before arriving at the final destination. ![]() The “way” is a common image in many religious traditions for the process of spiritual pursuit. ![]()
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