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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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.

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

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

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

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

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

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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.

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

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

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?

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

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

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

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.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

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

The obstacle is the path.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

The world is its own magic.

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

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

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

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

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.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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.

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

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

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.

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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.

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

Should you desire the great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads.

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.