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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

To live is enough.

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.

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

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

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.

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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

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

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 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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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