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

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

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

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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