The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

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

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.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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

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

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

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.

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

The menu is not the meal.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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

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.

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

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

The world is its own magic.

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

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

The obstacle is the path.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.