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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

Just to be alive 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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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

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

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

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.

The obstacle is the path.

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.