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

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 mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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

Just to be alive is enough.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

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

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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

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

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

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

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 real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

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.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

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.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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

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

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

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

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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?

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.

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