Shushō Ittō(修証一等)—Practice and Enlightenment Are One

One-line takeaway
Chase outcomes less; improve the quality of this single action by 1%. That’s already how realization shows up.

Dōgen’s conclusion reached in Song China

“Enlightenment isn’t a reward you collect after practice. When you practice rightly, that very act already expresses enlightenment.” In Dōgen’s terms, shu = practice and shō = realization. They are not two stages in a sequence; they arise as one event.

Orphaned young, Dōgen trained on Mount Hiei yet kept asking: “If Buddhism is so widespread, why don’t people awaken?” In 1223 he went to Song China, studied under the master Rújìng at Tiāntóng Monastery, and—through rigorous zazen and everyday forms—flipped the usual idea: practice itself is the manifestation of realization. He called this shushō ittō.

Does “better technique” raise your enlightenment rank?

No. Improving precision doesn’t increase some “level” of enlightenment. Think of polishing a mirror: the light is the same, but less grime means a clearer reflection.

Higher precision shortens the time you get lost in distraction and stabilizes clarity in the present.
It’s not “more enlightenment,” but a steadier, more consistent expression of it.

Common pitfalls

Rank games. Comparing and self-scoring rebuilds the very split between means and ends.
“Do nothing” confusion. Precision grows through disciplined repetition—posture, breath, attention, and ethics.

Is the desire to improve a problem?

Wanting to improve isn’t wrong. It turns harmful only when it hardens into clinging to outcomes (taṇhā). Cultivate wholesome intention (chanda): the quiet wish to refine the quality of this action now.

Taṇhā(渇愛): fixation on results, status, or image → agitation.
Chanda(欲求): “make this one move 1% better” → steadiness and care.

Practical cues (immediately usable)