Zen tries to free the mind from the slavery of words and the constriction of logic. Zen also aims at the perfection of person-hood and the Zen practitioner attempts to embody non-discriminatory wisdom, accompanied by compassion. Inspirational zen quotes on mind, life, wisdom, love, happiness and nature will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
If you’re searching for self happiness quotes and best thank you quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of top mood quotes, popular inner peace quotes and encouraging dance in the rain quotes.
Most Famous Zen Quotes
When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you. – Lao Tzu
Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. – Dalai Lama
Zen teaches that if we can open up to the inevitability of our demise, we can begin to transform and lighten up about it. – Allen Klein
We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us. – Rumi
What was never lost can never be found. – Zen Proverb
The way out is through the door. Why is it that no one will use this method? – Confucius
This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play. – Alan Watts
Those who are awake, live in a state of constant amazement. – Buddha
Let go, or be dragged. – Zen Proverb
When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself. – Shunryu Suzuki
The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth. – Thích Nh?t H?nh
If you have inner peace, nobody can force you to be a slave to the outer reality. – Sri Chinmoy
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep. – Saul Bellow
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. – Lao Tzu
When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you. – Lao Tzu
And when they played they really played. And when they worked they really worked. – Dr. Seuss
What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. – Confucius
And when they played they really played. And when they worked they really worked. – Seuss
Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink. – Shunryu Suzuki
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. – Alan W. Watts
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. – Buddha
Recognize the ego for what it is: a collective dysfunction, the insanity of the human mind. – Eckhart Tolle
Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax. – Osho
Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day. – Dalai Lama
Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong. – Zen Proverb
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. – Yoda
To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves. – Dogen Zenji
In the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am – unbound. – Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Guilt, regret, resentment, sadness & all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past & not enough presence. – Eckhart Tolle
To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss. – Bodhidharma
One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world. – Dogen
Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. – Shunryu Suzuki
All that we are, is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. – Buddha
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. – Buddha
Zen is not an art, it’s not a religion. It’s a realisation. – Gene Clark
You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child. – Dogen Zenji
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. – Thich Nhat Hanh
Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind. – Zen Proverb
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu
Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – Buddha
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about. – Jalaluddin Rumi
What was never lost can never be found. – Zen Saying
Throughout this life, you can never be certain of living long enough to take another breath. – Huang Po
Do not follow the idea of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. – D?gen Zenji
The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something. – Koun Yamada
Mind is like a mad monkey. – Sathya Sai Baba
Respect life, revere life. There is nothing more holy than life, nothing more divine than life. – Osho
Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar. – Jim Butcher
One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield. – Buddha
Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes. – Alan Watts
When you seek it, you cannot find it. – Zen Proverb
The trouble is, you think you have time. – Buddha
Throughout this life, you can never be certain of living long enough to take another breath. – Huang Po
Practice is this life, and realization is this life, and this life is revealed right here and now. – Maezumi Roshi
Only the hand that erases can write the true thing. – Meister Eckhart
Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively. – Sharon Salzberg
Awareness is the greatest agent for change. – Eckhart Tolle
To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. – Chuang Tzu
Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. – Shunryu Suzuki
I come to realize that mind is no other than mountains and rivers and the great wide earth, the sun and the moon and stars. – Dogen Zenji
The world is its own magic. – Shunryu Suzuki
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. – Lao Tzu
We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night. – Jack Kornfield
When you plant a seed of love, it is you that blossoms. – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. – Eckhart Tolle
Move and the way will open. – Zen Proverb
Wise men don’t judge – they seek to understand. – Wei Wu Wei
All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. – Eckhart Tolle
The purpose of our lives is to be happy. – Dalai Lama
Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand — relax. – Osho
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – Buddha
Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it. – Ray Bradbury
Think with your whole body. – Taisen Deshimaru
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. – Dalai Lama
If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich. – Lao Tzu
When thoughts arise, then do all things arise. When thoughts vanish, then do all things vanish. – Huang Po
In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light. – Dogen Zenji
The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. – Eckhart Tolle
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves. – Buddha
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or sake. Meditation is Drinking it! – Taisen Deshimaru
The noble-minded are calm and steady. Little people are forever fussing and fretting. – Confucius
When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways – either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength. Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, I have been able to take this second way. – Dalai Lama
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. – Wu-Men
Wherever you are, be there totally. – Eckhart Tolle
Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. – Zhuang Zhou
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. – Zen Proverb
To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance. – Buddha
Have good trust in yourself … not in the One that you think you should be, but in the One that you are. – Maezumi Roshi
People living deeply have no fear of death. – Anais Nin
The truth knocks on the door and you say, Go away, I’m looking for the truth, and so it goes away. Puzzling. – Robert M. Pirsig
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable. – Seneca
All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. – Eckhart Tolle
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. – Dalai Lama
Happiness is here, and now. – Thích Nh?t H?nh
My experience is that the teachers we need most are the people we’re living with right now. – Byron Katie
Harmonizing opposites by going back to their source is the distinctive quality of the Zen attitude, the Middle Way: embracing contradictions, making a synthesis of them, achieving balance. – Taisen Deshimaru
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. – Buddha
When you think everything is someone else fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy. – Dalai Lama
To accept some idea of truth without experiencing it is like a painting of a cake on paper which you cannot eat. – Suzuki Roshi
The resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering. – Ram Dass
Have the fearless attitude of a hero and the loving heart of a child. – Soyen Shaku
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu
The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet. – Shunryu Suzuki
Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing. – Tilopa
Smile, breathe and go slowly. – Thích Nh?t H?nh
Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be. – Eckhart Tolle
Rest and be kind, you don’t have to prove anything. – Jack Kerouac
Have good trust in yourself … not in the One that you think you should be, but in the One that you are. – Maezumi Roshi
When walking, walk. When eating, eat. – Zen Proverb
This dew like life fades away; time speeds swiftly. In this short life of ours, avoid involvement in superfluous things and just study the Way. – D?gen Zenji
Act without expectation. – Lao Tzu
Life begins where fear ends. – Osho
When I feel like dancing, I dance. I don’t care if anyone else is dancing or if everyone else is laughing at me. I dance. – Rachel Danson
Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life – after that you cannot be deceived. – Zen Proverb
Relax. Nothing is under control. – Adi Da
Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. – Buddha
Love is the absence of judgment. – Dalai Lama
Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. – Chuang-Tzu
I live by letting things happen. – Dogen
Upon retiring, sleep as if you had entered your last sleep. Upon awakening, leave your bed behind you instantly as if you had cast away a pair of old shoes. – Soyen Shaku
If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person. – Thích Nh?t H?nh
Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools. – D?gen Zenji
We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves. – Shunryu Suzuki
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. – Thích Nh?t H?nh
Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. – Pema Chödrön
You are exactly where you need to be. – Unknown
Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations. – Alan Watts
Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. – Alan Watts
In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light. – D?gen Zenji
To understand everything is to forgive everything. – Buddha
Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it is dark. – Zen Proverb
Self-realization is effortless. What you are trying to find is what you already are. – Ramesh Balsekar
If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? – Dogen
Only the hand that erases can write the true thing. – Meister Eckhart
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. – Buddha
Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. – Alan Watts
There is no mistake in nature. – Byron Katie
To receive everything, one must open one’s hands and give. – Taisen Deshimaru
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu
As a bee gathering nectar does not harm or disturb the color and fragrance of the flower; so do the wise move through the world. – Buddha
Who you are is always right. – Ming-Dao Deng
The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness. – Eric Hoffer
To accept some idea of truth without experiencing it is like a painting of a cake on paper which you cannot eat. – Suzuki Roshi
As a bee gathering nectar does not harm or disturb the color and fragrance of the flower; so do the wise move through the world. – Buddha
It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nothing ever exists entirely alone. Everything is in relation to everything else. – Buddha
Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace. – Confucius
To follow the path, look to the master, follow the master, walk with the master, see through the master, become the master. – Zen Proverb
Still your waters. – Josh Waitzkin
For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them. – Thích Nhat Hanh
Watch what you say, and whatever you say, practice it. – Soyen Shaku
Respect life, revere life. There is nothing more holy than life, nothing more divine than life. – Unknown
If a warrior is not unattached to life and death, he will be of no use whatsoever. – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities. – Shunryu Suzuki
If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious! – Thich Nhat Hanh
At the still-point in the center of the circle one can see the infinite in all things. – Chuang Tzu
Think with your whole body. – Taisen Deshimar
The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands. – Robert M. Pirsig
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. – Bruce Lee
Everything that happens to you is a form of instruction if you pay attention. – Robert Greene
I don’t mind what happens. That is the essence of inner freedom. – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? – Lao Tzu
Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him? – Zhuangzi
Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home. Zhuangzi
Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. – Rumi
When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves. – Dogen
When one first seeks the truth, one separates oneself from it. – Dogen
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst. – Lin Yutang
Wherever you are, be there totally. – Eckhart Tolle
Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions. – Seng-ts’an
One loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them. – Masanobu Fukuoka
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. – Alan Watts
Every experience is a lesson. Every loss is a gain. – Sathya Sai Baba
In Zen we have no gurus. – Frederick Lenz
Zen is an effort to become alert and awake. – Osho
Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points. – D.T. Suzuki
Zen in it’s essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. – D.T. Suzuki
