Zen Quotes

This forest silence improves anyone.

To some extent the romantic condemnation of rationality stems from the very effectiveness of rationality in uplifting men from primitive conditions.

And metaphors like cats behind your smile, Each one wound up to purr, each one a pride, Each one a fine gold beast you've hid inside (...)

The aunts’ conception of the right to privacy went far enough to allow you to close the toilet door when you were peeing, but no further.

There is no other space, no other time. This moment is all. In this moment the whole existence converges, in this moment all is available.

Existence simply responds to you: whatsoever you are, existence gives you more of that. If you have many flowers within your being flowering, a million times more flowers will shower on you.

You listen to people, you listen so deeply that you can hear their past lives, The crackle of their funeral pyres,

itt was snowing as if you could hear wolves howling

Question everything, even the question mark, that shepherd's crook floating in the air above that small round rockIf you - stubbornly - still wish to be unhappy, maybe you can grasp it.

The true tragedy in most people’s lives is that they are far better than they imagine themselves to be and, as a result, end up being much less than they might be.

grades really cover up failure to teach.

The positive effect music has in our lives is understated. It can influence mind-state and motivate us to reach for the stars.

The Advanced Level is Mastery of the Basics

Nothing can be gained by extensive study and wide reading. Give them up immediately.

He knows not where he's going, For the ocean will decide, Its not the destination, It's the glory of the ride

True wisdomis not borrowed knowledgeit must be basedon my own experience.That which I learn from othersis memory, not wisdom

You worry yourself unnecessarily. Put the thought of hitting right out of your mind!

...being able to wait without purpose in the state of highest tension...without continually asking yourself: Shall I be able to manage it? Wait patiently, as see what comes - and how it comes!

... the Master's warning that we should not practice anything except self-detaching immersion.

Three or four times, I have had the great death but my life is lived in the million tiny moments that make up the one dance

The answers are never "out there." All the answers are "in there, " inside you, waiting to be discovered.

Your actions create an "energy vortex" that draws in the necessary ingredients for your venture.

A strong personal philosophy does more than sustain us through the tragedies of life. It also stains us daily in everything we think and do. It gives us optimism and hope.

May we exist like a lotus, / At home in the muddy water. / Thus we bow to life as it is.

The object of our lives is to look at, listen to, touch, taste things. Without them—these sticks, stones, feathers, shells—there is no Deity.

To enter the Buddha Way is to stop discriminating between good and evil and to cast aside the mind that says this is good and that is bad.

Don't think of what you have to do, don't consider how to carry it out!" he exclaimed. "The shot will only go smoothly when it takes the archer himself by surprise.

When you go into labor you see that you are not the captain of the ship. You are the ship. There is no captain. There are only the waves.

What is your original face, before your mother and father were born?

I thought you could beat, pummel, and thrash an idea into existence. Under such treatment, of course, any decent idea folds up its paws, turns on its back, fixes its eyes on eternity, and dies.

When you have mountains in the distance or even hills, you have space.

We freeze up because we expect a certain result or because we want things to be perfect.

What a tragedy it would be if you lived your entire life without discovering who you are, without reaching your full potential.” Ray Mancini

I can speak four dialects, but none of them is fairy language.

I brought seaweed snacks from home, ' chimed in another kid. "Seaweed got iron, right?"'I don't think the teachers meant that kind of iron, ' said Hui Ann.

The first time she saw the boy across the classroom, Ah Lee knew she was in love because she tasted durian on her tongue.

But a woman should not marry where there is no respect. Respect is the most important thing.

He would gaze at her with intrigued longan seed eyes.

...everywhere I am is true.

Love was like swallowing a cili padi whole.

In the context of photography, there was a luck.But the luck will come, when the photographer is ready.

Appreciate and be grateful for everyday.

A slave mentality which had been built into him by years of carrot-and-whip grading, a mule mentality which said, “If you don’t whip me, I won’t work.” He didn’t get whipped. He didn’t work.

This is the answer: live moment to moment and you become a buddha.

There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run. You are not running for some future reward-the real reward is now!

Blossoms shower, and then they go on showering—they never stop. The blossoms that showered for Buddha are still showering. The blossoms that showered for Subhuti are still showering.

When the mind is truly at peace, wherever you are is pleasant, Whether you live in a marketplace or in a mountain hermitage.

If something is boring after two minutes try it for four. If still boring try it for eight sixteen thirty-two and so on. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring but very interesting.

The driver knows how much the ox can carry and keeps the ox from being overloaded. You know your way and your state of mind. Do not carry too much.

A beautiful woman who is pleasing to men is good only for frightening fish when she falls into the water.