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

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

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

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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.

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

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.

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

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

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

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.

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

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.

To live is enough.

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

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.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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

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.

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

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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

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.

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

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

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