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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

To live is enough.

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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

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

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

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

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

In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light.

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

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

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

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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

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

Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don't serve them tea.

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.

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 mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.