Study the self is forget the self, leads to awakening
To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be awakened by all things.
Dōgen Zenji
Dōgen Zenji (1200–1253) was a Japanese Zen master and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
He is considered one of the most profound Buddhist philosophers in Japanese history.
Dōgen emphasized the practice of Zazen (seated meditation) as the direct path to realizing truth.
In his major work, the Shōbōgenzō (“Treasury of the True Dharma Eye”), he wrote deeply about consciousness, time, and the nature of the self. His well-known phrase, “To study the self is to forget the self,” captures his core insight:
true awakening comes when the ego is transcended.