The Wisdom of Dōgen: Perseverance Through Suffering
The Origins of This Timeless Quote
Dōgen Zenji was born in 1200 in Kyoto, Japan. He stands as one of the most influential Buddhist philosophers and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, one of the two major branches of Zen Buddhism in Japan today. This quote about weathering mental storms and emotional turmoil reflects the core of Dōgen’s spiritual teaching. His teaching emerged from his own profound struggles with grief, loss, and the search for meaning. He likely originated this quote from his voluminous writings, particularly his masterwork the Shōbōgenzō. This work is a collection of essays written over decades that explore the nature of Buddhist practice and enlightenment. Dōgen composed these teachings during a period of significant turmoil in Japanese society. Political instability and constant warfare among the feudal classes marked this era. His message of inner resilience and spiritual constancy resonated powerfully with his contemporaries struggling with external chaos.
Dōgen’s life began with both remarkable privilege and tragedy. He was born into the aristocratic Kamo clan during the Heian period. Yet his father died when Dōgen was just two years old. His mother passed away when he was eight. These early losses sparked profound existential questions in the young boy. At age twelve, Dōgen entered the Buddhist priesthood at the Enryaku-ji temple on Mount Hiei. This was the center of the Tendai Buddhist school.
His aristocratic birth would have suggested a military or political career instead. However, he grew deeply dissatisfied with what he perceived as spiritual complacency and worldly corruption in established Buddhism. His monastic superiors taught that enlightenment was an inherent Buddha-nature that humans possessed. Dōgen questioned this teaching. If all beings possessed Buddha-nature, he wondered, why did they need to practice at all? This intellectual crisis drove him to seek answers elsewhere. He eventually studied under the master Eisai, founder of the first Zen school in Japan.
Understanding If You Keep Strong and Hold Out
Despite finding a better teacher in Eisai, Dōgen remained spiritually unsettled. At age twenty-three, he made the extraordinary decision to travel to Song China. He risked his life on dangerous ocean voyages to study authentic Zen Buddhism at its source. In China, after several years of searching and disappointment, he finally encountered the master Rujing at Tiantong Temple. Rujing helped him achieve a profound breakthrough experience. Rujing’s simple instruction to “sit and forget yourself” combined with Dōgen’s own rigorous practice. This led to his enlightenment.
Dōgen described this event as “dropping off body and mind.” This experience transformed his understanding of Buddhist practice. It shifted from an intellectual pursuit into a direct, embodied truth. Upon returning to Japan and establishing his own temple, Dōgen made a remarkable choice. He never claimed to have received any special transmission or lineage authority. This was an unusual stance for a Zen master that reflected his humility. He believed that enlightenment wasn’t a commodity to be passed down but rather a direct experience available to all.
The quote about clouds and wind emerges directly from Dōgen’s mature philosophy. He emphasizes the impermanent nature of all mental and emotional states. He drew on classical Buddhist teachings about impermanence and the nature of mind. Dōgen reframes suffering not as something to be escaped but as a natural condition. Like weather itself, it will inevitably change and pass. The metaphor is particularly resonant because it avoids toxic positivity or superficial reassurance.
Dōgen acknowledges that you can indeed fall into a “bad state of mind.” He doesn’t deny suffering but places it within a larger temporal and universal context. His teaching reflects his broader philosophy of shikantaza, or “just sitting.” This involves zazen meditation without seeking any particular outcome or enlightenment experience. Even when the mind is clouded and the wind of thought and emotion batters you, the act of sitting with your experience transforms the situation. You maintain your practice and hold on. This naturally changes the situation not through willpower but through patience and acceptance of the nature of reality itself.
How The Floating Clouds Must Vanish Eventually
One lesser-known aspect of Dōgen’s life is his unusual choice to remain relatively reclusive. He removed himself from the political and social power structures of his time. Many other Buddhist leaders in medieval Japan cultivated relationships with shoguns and the military elite. They did this to gain patronage and influence. Dōgen deliberately established his main temple, Eihei-ji, in a remote mountainous region of northern Japan. He chose distance from the centers of power in Kyoto and Kamakura. He did this despite having powerful connections and opportunities to become a court favorite.
Apparently, he believed that authentic Zen practice required distance from worldly ambitions and secular authority. Another fascinating detail is that Dōgen, despite establishing a now-massive school of Buddhism, wrote extensively about the dangers of seeking recognition, fame, and special status. He lived out these teachings personally by maintaining a low public profile. He refused many invitations from the nobility. His temple maintained strict egalitarian practices where both monks and lay practitioners received equal respect. This was a revolutionary stance in a rigidly hierarchical society.
The cultural impact of this quote and Dōgen’s teaching has been profound and has grown dramatically in the modern era, particularly in the West. During the postwar period and the counterculture movements of the 1960s and 1970s, Dōgen’s writings reached Western audiences and audiences found deep resonance in his teachings.