Eihei Dōgen’s thought turns again and again to the practice of zazen, especially shikantaza, or “just sitting.” In this vision, seated meditation is not a technique deployed to reach some later goal; it is already the full manifestation of awakening. When body and mind settle into simple, upright awareness, nothing is sought and nothing is rejected, yet this very non-seeking is the direct realization of inherent Buddha-nature. Zazen is thus both the path and its fulfillment, the means and the end, without remainder.

From this flows Dōgen’s teaching on the unity of practice and enlightenment: authentic practice is itself enlightenment, rather than a ladder leading toward it. To say that all beings possess Buddha-nature is, for him, to say that enlightenment is already present and that practice expresses what is originally true. Continuous cultivation is therefore not an attempt to manufacture awakening but a ceaseless deepening of its expression in thought, word, and deed. Each moment of wholehearted practice stands as complete in itself, not as a mere step toward some distant spiritual summit.

Dōgen also reflects deeply on the nature of existence and time, presenting them as inseparable. In the perspective sometimes called “being-time,” each moment is a unique and complete realization of reality, not a fleeting point on a linear timeline. Existence is always this present event of being-time, in which past and future are intimately bound up with the living now. To attend fully to this moment is to encounter the dynamic, interdependent character of all phenomena, where nothing stands alone and everything arises in mutual conditioning.

This vision naturally extends into everyday conduct. For Dōgen, mindful attention to ordinary activities—sitting, walking, working, ritual observances—constitutes the very heart of the path. When body and mind are unified in present-moment engagement, daily tasks become the field where Buddha-nature is enacted. Study of the teachings and direct meditative experience support one another, allowing insight to permeate both understanding and behavior. In this way, the most ordinary actions become the place where enlightenment is quietly but thoroughly lived.