WHATEVER COMES CANNOT BE CONTROLLED

Eihei Dogen, Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi, translated by Robert Aitken, Reb Anderson, Ed Brown, Norman Fischer, Arnold Kotler, Daniel Leighton, Lew Richmond, David Schneider, Kazuaki Tanahashi, Katherine Thanas, Brian Unger Mel Weitsman, Dan Welch, and Philip Whalen (New York: North Point Press/Farrar, Straus & Girouz, 1985).

From "Only Buddha and Buddha": "Long ago a monk asked an old master, 'When hundreds, thousands, or myriads of objects come all at once, what should be done?' The master replied, 'Don't try to control them.' What he means is that in whatever way objects come, do not try to change them. Whatever comes is the buddha-dharma, not objects at all. Do not understand the master's reply as merely a brilliant admonition, but realize that it s the truth. Even if you try to control what comes, it cannot be controlled." Id. at 161, 164.