What do love and hate matter
when I’m here alone,
listening to the sound of the rain
late in this autumn evening.
–Dogen, from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace by Steven Heine
Another layer of this poem is what is meant by the words I’m here alone. If there is no separation between self and universe he is alone with everything. To hate anything means to hate oneself. To love something…. the same.
(if it keeps on raining….levee might break?)
dogen was dissatisfied with teachings at his time
others are dissatisfied with his insights at this time