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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

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

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.

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.

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 true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

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

To live is enough.

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.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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

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

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.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

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

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

The obstacle is the path.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.