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

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

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.

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

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

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

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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

The obstacle is the path.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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