“Move and the way will open.”
“When you seek it, you cannot find it.”
“From the withered tree, a flower blooms.”
“Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.”
“Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.”
“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.”
“The infinite is in the finite of every instant.”
“Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life -
after that you cannot be deceived.”
“Hide your body in the Big Dipper.”
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes,
and the grass grows by itself.”
“There is Buddha for those who don't know what he is, really.
There is no Buddha for those who know what he is, really.”
“Scratch first, itch later.”
“Better to see the face than to hear the name.”
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”
"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute;
he who does not remains a fool forever."
"The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood."
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
The mind is everything. What we think we become."
"A jug fills drop by drop."
"We cannot see our reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see."
"One moon shows in every pool ~ in every pool the one moon."
"Student says 'I am very discouraged. What should I do?'
Master says, 'encourage others.'"
"A flower falls even though we love it
and a weed grows even though we do not love it."
"If you understand, things are just as they are;
if you do not understand, things are just as they are."
"When the character of a man is not clear to you,
look at his friends."
"Water and words...
Easy to pour -
impossible to recover."
"Teachers open the door... You enter by yourself."
"At birth we come At death we go... Bearing nothing."
"One beam alone... No matter how stout... Cannot support a house."
"No road to happiness or sorrow... Find them in yourself."
"You will not be punished for your anger;
you will be punished by your anger."
"What is the path? the Zen Master Nan-sen was asked.
Everyday life is the path, he answered."
"Do not speak - unless it improves on silence."
"Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions."
"Knock on the sky and listen to the sound."
"The 10,000 questions are one question. If you cut through the one question,
then the 10,000 questions disappear."
"The ways to the One are as many as the lives of men."
"Though the bamboo forest is dense,
water flows through it freely."
"To follow the path, look to the master,
follow the master, walk with the master,
see through the master,
become the master."
"When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear."
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old;
seek what they sought."
"An autumn night
don't think your life
didn't matter."
(Basho)
"There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
there is nothing you can think that is not the moon."
(Basho)
"The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by."
"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."
"If you cannot find the truth right where you are,
where else do you expect to find it?"
"Zazen (sitting, stilling the mind) is itself enlightenment."
"The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected
in one dewdrop on the grass."
"The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time."
"Should you desire great tranquility,
prepare to sweat."
"It is better to practice a little than talk a lot."
"We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want."
"The delusion is to suppose that I am here and you are out there."
"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."
"You must neither strive for truth nor seek to lose your illusions."
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's mind there are few."
"The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet."
"Life is stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink."
"To set up what you like against what you don't like --
this is the disease of the mind."
"Water which is too pure has no fish."
"Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise."
"When you understand that it's foolish to look for fire with fire,
The meal is already cooked."
"Better to sit up all night than to go to bed with a dragon."
"When you get to the top of the mountain,
keep climbing."
"Great Faith. Great Doubt. Great Effort. -
The three qualities necessary for training."
"A noble heart never forces itself forward.
Its words are as rare gems,
seldom displayed and of great value."
"Even a good thing isn't as good as nothing."
"From the withered tree, a flower blooms."
"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place."
"Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft
can you be extremely hard and strong."
"The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences."
"The tighter you squeeze, the less sand you grasp."
"To know and not do is not yet to know."
"When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink;
but when you try to sink, you float."
"Nothing on earth can overcome an absolutely non-resistant person."
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."