Editing Dōgen (section)

===Travel to China===
In 1223, Dōgen and Myōzen undertook the dangerous passage across the [[East China Sea]] to [[Song dynasty|China]] ([[Song dynasty]]) to study in Jing-de-si (Ching-te-ssu, {{lang|ja|景德寺}}) monastery as Eisai had once done. Around the time the [[Mongol Empire]] was waging wars on the various dynasties of China.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

In China, Dōgen first went to the leading Chan monasteries in [[Zhejiang|Zhèjiāng province]]. At the time, most Chan teachers based their training around the use of ''[[Koan|gōng-àn]]'' (Japanese: ''kōan''). Though Dōgen assiduously studied the kōans, he became disenchanted with the heavy emphasis laid upon them, and wondered why the sutras were not studied more. At one point, owing to this disenchantment, Dōgen even refused Dharma transmission from a teacher.<ref>{{harvp|Tanahashi|1997|p=5}}</ref> Then, in 1225, he decided to visit a master named [[Rújìng]] ({{lang|zh|如淨}}; J. Nyojō), the thirteenth patriarch of the [[Caodong|Cáodòng]] (J. Sōtō) lineage of Zen Buddhism, at Mount Tiāntóng's ({{lang|zh|天童山}} ''Tiāntóngshān''; J. Tendōzan) [[Tiantong Temple|Tiāntóng temple]] in [[Ningbo|Níngbō]]. Rujing was reputed to have a style of Chan that was different from the other masters whom Dōgen had thus far encountered.  In later writings, Dōgen referred to Rujing as "the Old Buddha".  Additionally he affectionately described both Rujing and Myōzen as {{nihongo|''senshi''|先師||"Ancient Teacher"}}.<ref name="Bodiford_22_36"/>

Under Rujing, Dōgen realized liberation of body and mind upon hearing the master say, "cast off body and mind" ({{lang|zh|身心脱落}} ''shēn xīn tuō luò''). This phrase would continue to have great importance to Dōgen throughout his life, and can be found scattered throughout his writings, as—for example—in a famous section of his ''[[Genjōkōan]]'' ({{lang|ja|現成公案}}):
{{blockquote|To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever.<ref>{{harvp|Kim|2004|p=125}}</ref>}}

Myōzen died shortly after Dōgen arrived at Mount Tiantong. In 1227,<ref>{{harvp|Tanahashi|1997|p=6}}</ref> Dōgen received [[Dharma transmission]] and ''[[Dharma transmission|inka]]'' from Rujing, and remarked on how he had finally settled his "life's quest of the great matter".<ref>{{harvp|Tanahashi|2011|p=144}}</ref>