If you think you have lots of time and many choices in your life, you don’t believe me when I say that you have to pay attention to every moment. Maybe you will realize it when you become sick. But there is no guarantee that you will be able to face that situation with the calm, secure mind of equanimity, because you cannot get that capability overnight. That’s why Dogen always emphasized that life is impermanent, using expressions such as “time passes quickly” and “birth and death is the vital matter.” Dogen really wants you to take care of your life constantly, wherever you are, whatever you are doing. When you play sports, work at your job, write a poem, or whatever it is that you do, that it is an opportunity to burn the flame of your life energy.
–Katagiri Roshi, Each Moment Is the Universe, p. 24
