Zen Buddhism Quotes

• To practice Zen Buddhism is to train oneself to eliminate hatred, anger and selfishness and to develop loving-kindness towards all.

  Thich Thien-An

  Kindness, Anger, Buddhism

  52 Copy quote

• Zen Buddhism is a discipline where belief isn't necessary.

  David Sylvian

  Buddhism, Discipline, Belief

  51 Copy quote

• Have good trust in yourself,
  not in the One that you think you should be,
  but in the One that you are.

  Taizan Maezumi

  Trust, Self Esteem, Thinking

  85 Copy quote

• Don't hate the arising of thoughts or stop the thoughts that do arise. Simply realize that our original mind, right from the start, is beyond thought, so that no matter what, you never get involved with thoughts. Illuminate original mind, and no other understanding is necessary.

  Bankei Yotaku

  Hate, Thinking, Illumination

  66 Copy quote

• However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?

  Gautama Buddha

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Wise

  96 Copy quote

• Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

  Gautama Buddha

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  43 Copy quote

• In Zen Buddhism, the greater your doubt, the greater will be your enlightenment. That is why doubt can be a good thing. If you are too sure, if you always have conviction, then you may be caught in your wrong perception for a long time.

  Nhat Hanh

  Time, Buddhism, Long

  Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Easyread Comfort Edition”, p.72, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.

  Gautama Buddha

  Buddhist, Struggle, Buddhism

  46 Copy quote

• Zen's greatest contribution is to give you an alternative to the serious man. The serious man has made the world, the serious man has made all the religions. He has created all the philosophies, all the cultures, all the moralities; everything that exists around you is a creation of the serious man. Zen has dropped out of the serious world. It has created a world of its own which is very playful, full of laughter, where even great masters behave like children.

  Rajneesh

  Laughter, Children, Philosophy

  6 Copy quote

• The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

  Dogen

  Moon, Sky, Relaxation

  186 Copy quote

• Life is a vast, unknowable movement of wholeness with no one separate from it and nothing outside of it.

  Toni Packer

  Life, Movement, Vastness

  Toni Packer (2007). “The Light of Discovery”, p.14, Shambhala Publications

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• Think with your whole body.

  Taisen Deshimaru

  Inspirational, Life, Buddhist

  "Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior : A Companion to the Book That Changes Lives" by Dan Millman, p. 19, 2007.

  61 Copy quote

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• Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

  Confucius

  Motivational, Wisdom, Buddhist

  226 Copy quote

• Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.

  Bernie Glassman

  Wisdom, Morning, Laughter

  68 Copy quote

• We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

  Dalai Lama

  Motivational, Spiritual, Peace

  60 Copy quote

• Concentrate the mind on the present moment.

  Gautama Buddha

  Life, Buddhist, Buddhism

  33 Copy quote
• 

  People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

  Nhat Hanh

  Motivational, Buddhist, Children

  103 Copy quote

• I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.

  Gautama Buddha

  Positive, Inspiring, Wise

  26 Copy quote

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

  Dogen

  Spiritual, Art, Truth

  177 Copy quote

• Zen purposes to discipline the mind itself, to make it its own master, through an insight into its proper nature. This getting into the real nature of one's own mind or soul is the fundamental object of Zen Buddhism. Zen, therefore, is more than meditation and Dhyana in its ordinary sense. The discipline of Zen consists in opening the mental eye in order to look into the very reason of existence.

  D.T. Suzuki

  Nature, Real, Eye

  D.T. Suzuki (2007). “An Introduction to Zen Buddhism”, p.30, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

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• One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world.

  Dogen

  World, Impermanence

  28 Copy quote

• The light is already there. In Zen Buddhism there's a little speck of dust on the mirror, and that's us.

  Frederick Lenz

  Buddhism, Mirrors, Light

  3 Copy quote

• To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we just do what we should do, like eating supper and going to bed. This is Buddhism.

  Shunryu Suzuki

  Buddhism, Feelings, Bed

  Shunryu Suzuki (2010). “Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind”, p.63, Shambhala Publications

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• While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life. The most important thing is to forget all gain ing ideas, all dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture. Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything. Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself.

  Shunryu Suzuki

  Thinking, Years, Practice

  Shunryu Suzuki (2010). “Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind”, p.34, Shambhala Publications

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• People get stuck a lot because they're afraid to act; in the worst case,...we get so attached to some end result that we can't function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn't wait.

  Bernie Glassman

  Moving, People, Waiting

  12 Copy quote