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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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.

The menu is not the meal.

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

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.

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.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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

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

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

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.

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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