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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Just to be alive is enough.

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.

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

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

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.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

To live is enough.

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

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

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.

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

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

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

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 see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.