No matter how compelling or beautiful they may be, words appeal in the main to the linear, thinking mind that thinks in words. - Dōgen

Students of the Way must not study Buddhism for the sake of themselves. They must study Buddhism only for the sake of Buddhism. The key to this is to renounce both body and mind without holding anything back and to offer them to the great sea of Buddhism.

Whether you are the head of a temple, a senior monk or other officer, or simply an ordinary monk, do not forget the attitude behind living out your life with joy, having the deep concern of a parent, and carrying out all your activities with magnanimity. Written by Dōgen in the spring of 1237 at Kōshō-ji for followers of the Way in succeeding generations.

To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to forget even one's attachment to the goal. Doing that, one discovers oneself in all things and enters actual society.