The following is an excerpt from the “Shobogenzo”, Dogen Kigen (1200-1253). This particular passage is the final section of the third fascicle, “Ikka Myoju” (The One Bright Pearl).

http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo/004ikkam.pdf

“This is why, even though it seems that, on the surface, things are either fluctuating or still, everything is the Bright Pearl. To know that this is precisely how the Jewel is, is what the Bright Pearl is. In this manner we can perceive the sounds and forms of the Bright Pearl. Because this is the way things can be, even though you may be uncertain about whether or not something is the Bright Pearl, you should have no doubt about whether or not there is the Jewel. Whether you actively pursue your doubts, cling to them, or let them go, they are simply momentary observations of little significance, fleeting images of small weight.

Do we not cherish the Bright Pearl with Its infinite variety of shades and hues like this? Its multifaceted, brilliantly hued sparkling is the merit of the universe throughout all its ten quarters; who can take this from you by force? After all, there is no one in any of the market places of this world who throws away a roof tile, so do not worry about which of the six worlds of existence you will fall into due to causality. Never hidden, It is, from the first, synonymous with always doing one’s training, and doing it consistently as well as thoroughly. The Bright Pearl is your Original Face: the Bright Pearl is your very Eye in all Its brightness.

Nevertheless, neither you nor I know precisely what this Bright Pearl is and precisely what It is not, but hundreds of notions and opinions about this subject all too obviously have become associated with ‘food for thought’. Now, through Shibi’s voicing of the Dharma, we have learned and had clarified for us the point that what appears as our body and mind is, and always has been, the Bright Pearl. Hence, the conscious mind is not what we are, so who is it that arises and passes away? Why worry yourself over whether or not something is the Bright Pearl? Even if you are perplexed as you grope along, do not think that this is not the Bright Pearl. Since there is no action or thought that can be generated that is not of the Bright Pearl, even your going back and forth, in and out of the demon’s cave within the black mountains is nothing other than the One Bright Pearl.”