The Half Dipper
“If you go to Japan and visit Eiheiji monastery, just before you enter you will see a small bridge called Hanshaku-kyo, which means ‘half-dipper bridge’. Whenever Dogen-zenji dipped water from the river, he used only half a dipper, returning the rest to the river again, without throwing it away. That is why we call the bridge Hanshaku-kyo, ‘half-dipper bridge’. It may be difficult to understand why Dogen returned half of the water he dipped to the river. When we feel the beauty of the river, we intuitively do it in Dogen’s way. It is in our nature to do so. But if your true nature is covered by ideas of economy or efficiency, Dogen’s way makes no sense.
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Shunryu Suzuki
