Zen Quotes

Zen Quote of the day

Do not lose yourself in the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. Do not get caught in your anger, worries, or fears. Come back to the present moment, and touch life deeply. This is mindfulness.

There is nowhere to arrive except the present moment.

What we can change is our perceptions, which have the effect of changing everything.

Meditation is to be aware of what is going on: in your body, in your feelings, in your mind, and in the world.

The way out is through the door. Why is it that no one will use this method?

When you blame, you open up a world of excuses, because as long as you're looking outside, you miss the opportunity to look inside, and you continue to suffer.

Each situation is a blossom to be picked with a curious spirit.

If you have mindfulness, if you feel safe, you recognize that you have plenty of conditions to be happy already, and that you don't need to run into the future in order to get a few more conditions.

I have lived with several Zen masters -- all of them cats.

The son needs the father to have access to his source, and the father needs the son to have access to the future and the infinite.

Courage is often associated with aggression, but instead should be seen as a willingness to act from the heart.

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.

So, without telling any of my Zen-snob buddies, I liked to pretend everything was the Pure Land, that my life was already perfect as it was.

Letting go takes a lot of courage sometimes. But once you let go, happiness comes very quickly. You won't have to go around search for it.

Love was never meant to be contained solely in our hearts, just as life in a seed was always meant to break through into the world and become beauty to be shared.

The universe and the law of attraction speak a language that knows no words, only discerning your intent through sacrifice and what you are willing to give up.

If you want to be free of the wars of the world, begin by resolving the wars within you. If you want to see the world at peace, create peace within your mind.

All is contained within the silence of death, the quietest and the loudest sound in the universe.

I didn’t know that the times we spent together on the weekends, the times that we laughed together, and the times you helped me out was your way of silently wishing me a beautiful goodbye.

With nowhere to go, we have everywhere else to go.

As I naturally go through a full range of emotions in my life, I mustn’t feel ashamed for feeling lost, for it is honest and human to feel such.

When you catch yourself slipping into a pool of negativity, notice how it derives from nothing other than resistance to the current situation.

It is both dangerous and absurd for our world to be a group of communions mutually excommunicate.

She trailed behind Baba and Jiji as they left the palace, nightingales singing a sad farewell.

Who we are now is all that really matters.

Zen is nothing to get excited about.

What makes human life--which is inseparable from this moment--so precious is its fleeting nature. And not that it doesn't last but that it never returns again.

One master defines Zen as the art of feeling the polar star in the southern sky. Truth can be reached only through the comprehension of opposites.

Even the most aware of us do not realize the infinite power we possess or the magnitude of the ability we have to create, transmute, and transcend.

The zenith of the peak of mountains has to be balanced by the nadir of the depth of the seas.

It is very possible to acknowledge another person’s concerns without entering into their vibration.

To think, or not to think...This is the true question.

A single thought can shift your entire world.

I am not important. If I take a break, no one dies. And this is A Good Thing.

Mindfulness helps you understand that the past is gone, can’t be changed and all the lessons are already learned.

We're all in this together and we don't have much time.

This will never come again

With silence comes mindfulness, and thus we become better at choosing our words with kind intent before we express them.

I’m not here to disagree with people or try to change anyone’s mind. I’m just here to accept and love others right where they are – no matter their belief systems or backgrounds.

Sharpen your sword daily, and let it serve your true master: YOU. You and the Master are one

The more you engage in any type of emotion or behavior, the greater your desire for it will become.

A ‘caring’ judgment is still a judgment. And any form of judgment creates blocks and stagnation.

Stay in the center, and you will be ready to move in any direction.

The mind's best trick is the illusion that it exists.

To practice with an end in view is to have one eye on the practice and the other on the end, which is lack of concentration, lack of sincerity.

The blossoms fall just once each winter, yet in our memories, they fall every day.

No ideals. No illusions. Just reality - but more perfect than you’ve ever imagined. That’s what being mindful and living in the present means.

The brush must draw by itself. This cannot happen if one does not practice constantly. But neither can it happen if one makes an effort.

...it should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least enjoyed.