Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.
Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.
The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.
– Dogen 1200-1253
Dogen was a Japanese Zen master. You can read more about him here
Greetings to you all. There is a world of meaning in this short verse.
I first published this poem by Dogen in November 2020
It has had a lot of visitors and it is a very comforting poem. So I thought I would reprint it almost three years later. So many things have changed since that time.
So many of us have been enlightened …not always in the way we would have wished but it is very comforting to look up at the midwinter sky and see the constant moon.
Arohanui Helen
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