Eihei Dōgen

In the spring, cherry blossoms,

In the summer the cuckoo,

In autumn the moon, and in

winter the snow, clear, cold.

10 poems by Eihei Dōgen – Zen Poetry and Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace

Impermanence

To what shall
I liken the world?
Moonlight, reflected
In dewdrops,
Shaken from a crane’s bill.

Zazen

The moon reflected
In a mind clear
As still water:
Even the waves, breaking,
Are reflecting its light.

*

In the stream

In the stream,
Rushing past
To the dusty world,
My fleeting form
Casts no reflection.

*

Ching-ch’ing’s raindrop sound

Because the mind is free —
Listening to the rain
Dripping from the eaves,
The drops become
One with me.

Coming or Going

The migrating bird
leaves no trace behind
and does not need a guide.

*

No title

The bridge of dreams
Floating on the brief spring night
Soon breaks off:
Now from the mountaintop a cloud
Takes leave into the open sky.