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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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?

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

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

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

The Buddha and all sentient beings are nothing but expressions of the one mind. There is nothing else.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

The obstacle is the path.

The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.