The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing is to know the Dharma.

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

Birth and death are neither two things nor one thing. Life is not an appearance, death is not a disappearance.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

When you practice zazen you should not try to attain anything. You should just sit in the complete calmness of your mind and not rely on anything.

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.