Each bird must sing with his own throat.

The sea possesses a power over one's moods that has the effect of a will. The sea can hypnotize. Nature in general can do so.

A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.

It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians.

The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom-they are the pillars of society.

The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.

Don't use that foreign word: ideals. We have the excellent native word: lies.

The most dangerous enemy of the truth and freedom amongst us is the compact majority

...I'm no longer prepared to accept what people say and what's written in books. I must think things out for myself, and try to find my own answer.

I don't imagine you will dispute the fact that at present the stupid people are in an absolutely overwhelming majority all the world over.

If you were a brand, would you buy yourself or keep shopping?

This is the only advice I offer you. Pick the small thing, and carry it on. Let it change your life.

I am fascinated by Spinoza's pantheism, but admire even more his contributions to modern thought because he is the first philosopher to deal with the soul and the body as one, not two separate things

I wanted to create something that people could relate to without having read a book about it beforehand.

There are two types of genius; one which above all begets and wants to beget, and another which prefers being fertilized and giving birth.

Look at everything. Don't close your eyes to the world around you. Look and become curious and interested in what there is to see.

I don't like myself very much as a person, but I'm proud of what I create.

During zazen, brain and consciousness become pure. It's exactly like muddy water left to stand in a glass. Little by little, the sediment sinks to the bottom and the water becomes pure.

Laughter is the cipher key wherewith we decipher the whole man

Let common sense and common honesty have fair play, and they will soon set things to rights.