When a man is in a boat at sea and looks back at the shoreline,
it may seem to him as though the shore is moving.
But when he fixes his gaze closely on the boat,
he realizes it is the boat that is moving.
In like manner,when a person tries to discern and affirm things
with a confused notion or his body and mind,
he makes the mistake of thinking his own mind,
his own nature, is permanent and unchanging.
If he turns back within himself,
making all his daily deeds immediately and directly his own,
the reason all things have no selfhood becomes clear to him.
Dogen – Genjokoan
Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino, used with her permission.