The world is its own magic.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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

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.

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

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

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

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

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.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

To live is enough.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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.

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

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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.

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

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

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 role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

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