The eyes horizontal, the nose vertical
After he came back from China, Master Dogen said: "I return with empty hands. The eyes are horizontal, the nose is vertical."
Those words express exactly how I felt when coming back from a Zuise in Japan. Of course, I could describe the flow of the ceremonies in Soji-ji and Eihei-ji, but the real thing, the essential, is beyond words. My mouth, my hands are empty. I just continue to sit cross-legged, the eyes horizontal, the nose vertical.
Heinz-Jürgen Metzger
Tags: Heinz-Jürgen Metzger