Sustained Exertion, Dogen

The great Way involves the highest form of exertion,

Which goes on unceasingly in cycles,

From the first dawning of religious truth,

Through the test of discipline and practice,

To awakening and nirvana.

It is sustained exertion proceeding without lapse

From cycle to cycle.

Accordingly, it is exertion that is neither self-imposed,

Nor imposed by others, but free and uncoerced.

The truth is that the benefits

Of one's own struggles and sustained exertions

Are shared by all beings in the ten directions.

Others may not be aware of this, but it is so ....

The merits of these exertions are sometimes disclosed,

And thus arises the dawn of religious consciousness,

Which is then tested in practice.

Sometimes, however, these merits lie hidden

And are neither seen nor heard nor realized.

Yet hidden though they may be,

They are still available

Because they suffer no diminution or restriction

Whether they are visible or invisible,

Tangible or intangible.

At this moment a flower blossoms, a leaf falls --

It is a manifestation of sustained exertion.

A mirror is brightened, a mirror is broken --

It is a manifestation of sustained exertion.

Everything is exertion.

To attempt to avoid exertion

Is an impossible evasion because

The attempt itself is exertion.

This sustained exertion is not something

That people of the world

Naturally love or desire;

Yet it is the last refuge of all.