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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.

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

To what shall I compare this life? It is like a boat that left at dawn, leaving no trace.

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

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

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

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.

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

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

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

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.

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

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

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.

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

Just to be alive is enough.

Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

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

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

Our practice cannot be perfect, but without being discouraged by this, we should continue it. This is the secret of practice.

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.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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

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.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

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

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

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

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

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

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.

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.

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

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

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

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

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

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

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

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

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.