At the end of the Zazenshin fascicle, master Dogen quotes a poem by Master Wanshi. Wanshi’s emphasis is on the illuminating power of zazen, its capacity for serene reflection. Dogen then re-writes the poem, but changes the emphasis from reflection to exertion. Each of us must offer up their own version, and this is mine:
Pivotal essence of every buddha
Diamond point of every patriarch
Beyond thinking : making real
Beyond piecing together : vividness
Beyond thinking : making real
We are naturally intimate with it
Beyond figuring out, vividness
Your True Self
This making real is intimate with us
There has been no distortion
This vividness is naturally you
Nothing to do with getting or losing
Here there is no distraction
Discarding nothing yet free
Not a matter of right or wrong
Aiming for nothing yet fully exerting
The water is clear, right to the bottom
Fishes swim like fish
The sky is vast, clear to the heavens
Birds are flying like birds