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.

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

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

The obstacle is the path.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

The world is its own magic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

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.

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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

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.

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

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

The menu is not the meal.

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.

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

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