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

The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Just to be alive is enough.

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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.

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

To live is enough.

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