Eihei Dōgen presents enlightenment not as a distant goal but as inseparable from the very act of practice. He repeatedly insists that authentic practice and realization are one reality, often expressed as the unity of practice and enlightenment. In this view, there is no “afterward” enlightenment that arrives as a reward for prior effort; when one truly engages the Way, that engagement itself is the full expression of awakening. Thus, zazen is not a technique for producing enlightenment at some later time, but the direct manifestation of the Buddha’s posture and mind in the present moment.

At the same time, Dōgen affirms that all beings possess Buddha‑nature, yet he refuses to reduce this to a merely abstract claim that everyone is already enlightened regardless of conduct. The inherent reality of enlightenment must be actualized moment by moment through concrete practice, especially through “just sitting” (shikantaza) and through the details of daily life. Enlightenment, for Dōgen, is not a static possession but a dynamic, ongoing activity in which self and world mutually verify one another. It is described as “dropping off body and mind,” a complete release of clinging to self and fixed views, allowing things to be seen and lived as they are.

Dōgen also warns against attachment to dramatic experiences or visions that might be labeled “great enlightenment.” Clinging to such episodes as spiritual trophies only obstructs the living reality of awakening. Genuine realization appears as humble, continuous practice—“enlightenment upon enlightenment” and “practice within enlightenment,” rather than a single, definitive event. In this way, enlightenment is always whole and complete in each moment of true practice, yet endlessly unfolding as that practice continues without grasping or striving.