Stone: Seeking Enlightenment in the Last Age, p37-38 of Part 2In the Bendōwa (A Story of the Way) chapter of Dōgen’s major work Shōbōgenzō (The Eye and Treasury of the True Dharma), we find the following exchange:
QUESTION: Is it possible to obtain the proof of enlightenment by this practice [of zazen] even during this evil latter age?
ANSWER: The doctrinal schools emphasizing names and appearances distinguish between the True, Counterfeit, and Final Dharma ages, but in True Mahayana (Zen) we find no such distinction. It teaches that all who practice will attain the way.
