(Note: This is an allusion to the final gāthā (verses) of the Diamond Sutra.)
“
Furthermore, form and substance are like dew on a blade of grass, and fleeting life is as a flash of lightning, instantly emptied and immediately lost.
— Dōgen
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Furthermore, form and substance are like dew on a blade of grass, and fleeting life is as a flash of lightning, instantly emptied and immediately lost." in the context of "(Note: This is an allusion to the final gāthā (verses) of the Diamond Sutra.)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Dōgen" (Quotes, A Universal Recommendation for True Zazen: Yoshida, Osamu (2005), Zen texts chapter: A Universal Recommendation for True Zazen, place: Berkeley, California, publisher: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, ISBN: 1-886439-28-1)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Dōgen
Dōgen (道元; also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, titled as Dōgen Zenji Zen Master Dōgen 道元禅師) (19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.
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