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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

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

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

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

The obstacle is the path.

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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.

To live is enough.

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

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

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

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.

Just to be alive is enough.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The menu is not the meal.

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

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