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.

To live is enough.

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.

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

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

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

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.

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

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

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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?

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

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

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.

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

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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.

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

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

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.

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

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.