Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The way that helps will not be the same; it changes according to the situation.
Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement.
Our mind should be free from traces of the past, just like the flowers of spring.
Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.
If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.
How much 'ego' do you need? Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.
The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.
When the restrictions you have do not limit you, this is what we mean by practice.
We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic.
We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves.
Our way is to practice one step at a time, one breath at a time, with no gaining idea.
Moment after moment everything comes out of nothingness. This is the true joy of life.
What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.
To renounce things is not to give them up. It is to acknowledge that all things go away.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.
There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.
Those who sit perfectly physically usually take more time to obtain the true way of Zen.
Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.
As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.
When you live completely in each moment, without expecting anything, you have no idea of time.
Everything you do is right, nothing you do is wrong, yet you must still make ceaseless effort.
The true practice to meditation is to sit as if you where drinking water when you are thirsty.
The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.
Ego is a social institution with no physical reality. The ego is simply your symbol of yourself.
For Zen students a weed is a treasure. With this attitude, whatever you do, life becomes an art.
An enlightened person does not ignore things and does not stick to things, not even to the truth.
Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way.
In the mind of the beginner, there are many possibilities. In the mind of the expert there are few.
If I tell you something, you will stick to it and limit your own capacity to find out for yourself.
People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.
If you want to read a letter from the Buddha's world, it is necessary to understand Buddha's world.
When you say, "Wait a moment," you are bound by your karma; when you say "Yes I will," you are free.
Wherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.
The more you practice zazen, the more you will be able to accept something as your own, whatever it is.
If you think you will get something from practicing zazen, already you are involved in impure practice.
Zazen practice and everyday activity are one thing. We call zazen everyday life, and everyday life zazen.
When we do not expect anything we can be ourselves. That is our way, to live fully in each moment of time.
When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say, 'Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere.'
To stop your mind does not mean to stop the activities of mind. It means your mind pervades your whole body.
Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don't serve them tea.
In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha says to light up one corner - not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.
To accept some idea of truth without experiencing it is like a painting of a cake on paper which you cannot eat.
When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
You want to eliminate your evil desires in order to reveal your Buddha nature, but where will you throw them away?
Life without zazen is like winding your clock without setting it. It runs perfectly well, but it dosen't tell time.
Even though you have pain in your legs, you can do it. Even though your practice is not good enough, you can do it.
You should rather be grateful for the weeds you have in your mind, because eventually they will enrich your practice.
To express yourself as you are, without any intentional, fancy way of adjusting yourself, is the most important thing.
A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?" Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason.