Just to be alive is enough.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Birth and death are neither two things nor one thing. Life is not an appearance, death is not a disappearance.

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

The world is its own magic.

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

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.

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.

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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.

Everybody has the light of Buddha within, but they don't look for it.

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

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

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

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

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 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.

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

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.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.