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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

The world is its own magic.

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.

To live is enough.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

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

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

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.

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

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

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

Just to be alive is enough.

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 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.

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

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.