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

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

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

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

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

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

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

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.

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

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.

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

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

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

When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

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.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.