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

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

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

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.

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.

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

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

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

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

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

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

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