The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

To live is enough.

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

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.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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.

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 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.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

Just to be alive is enough.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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.

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

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

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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