‘The great road has no gate. It leaps out from the heads of all of you. The open sky has no road. It enters into my nostrils. In this way we meet as Gautama’s bandits, or Linji’s troublemakers. Ha! The great house tumbles down and spring wind swirls. Astonished, apricot blossoms fly and scatter – red.’ (Quoted in Shobogenzo Henzan -All-Inclusive Study)
Researching for my dharma talk in San Rafael last week, I came across this quote of Dogen’s teacher – so vividly alive, I feel it should be a poem.