Dōgen treats emptiness (kū) not as a barren void but a living, breathing reality. Rather than viewing “emptiness” as mere nothingness, the Shōbōgenzō paints it as the very stuff of everyday life—with form and emptiness dancing together like two sides of the same coin. In essays such as “Hannya Shingyō” the Heart Sutra’s famous “gate of emptiness” becomes a portal to direct experience: every sound, movement, even the turning of a thought reveals the luminous ground that underlies all things.

Nonduality threads itself through the text like a river carving through rock—relentless and transformative. Genjōkōan, perhaps Dōgen’s most quoted chapter, hammers home that practice and enlightenment aren’t two stops on a spiritual train but one continuous journey. By turning the notion of seeker and sought upside down, the Shōbōgenzō turns the everyday tea ceremony or the unnoticed falling leaf into an expression of ultimate reality. It’s a bit like discovering that the soundtrack to life was playing in surround sound all along, not just in your head.

Buddha-nature (busshō) in Dōgen’s mind isn’t a hidden treasure buried deep inside; it’s the ever-present outpouring of awakening right now. Essays like “Bendōwa” and “Busshō” emphasize that every being already embodies full awakening, and zazen simply unveils what was never lost. This resonates with today’s surge in nondual mindfulness apps and podcasts, where the emphasis has shifted from self-improvement to radical acceptance.

At a time when global conversations—from the World Economic Forum’s 2025 theme of interdependence to grassroots climate action—stress interconnectedness, Dōgen’s reframing feels remarkably fresh. Rather than bowing to dualistic divides, the Shōbōgenzō invites stepping into a world where emptiness, nonduality, and Buddha-nature aren’t lofty ideas but the very air one breathes.