Week 2024-22: Omori Sogen

"Zen is to transcend life and death (all dualism), to truly realize that the entire universe is the 'True Human Body' through the discipline of “mind and body in oneness.” (Omori Sogen, "Canon", 1979)

"Zen without the accompanying physical experience is nothing but empty discussion. Martial ways without truly realizing the 'Mind' is nothing but beastly behavior. We agree to undertake all of this as the essence of our training." (Omori Sogen, "Canon", 1979)

"Concentration is the stable condition of a unified mind when there has been Zen training. This condition is called samadhi in Sanskrit or sammai in Japanese. [...] 'concentration' may simply be interpreted as the stabilization of our confused and excited thoughts and imaginings. In other words, it may be regarded as a completely concentrated state of mind." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"Deciding clearly why you study Zen is an important question, one that will determine whether you succeed in Zen training or go astray." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"[...] in Zen one awakens to one’s True Self and takes firm hold of it." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"The reality that would satisfy the thirst deep within our minds and hearts is not found in abstraction." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"Ultimately, I think that the best way to avoid bad habits in Zen is to not set up your aim outside yourself but to return to yourself and examine the very place you yourself are standing." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"When people with only a shallow experience define Zen simply as a way to promote health or a way for human development, it is an embarrassment for Zen even though Zen has these aspects." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"[...] wisdom is the act of perceiving things of this world as they truly are." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

"[...] Zen may be regarded from a spiritual perspective as a way of regulating the mind. The unification of mind resulting from it is concentration and the workings of concentration is wisdom." (Omori Sogen, "Introduction to Zen Training", 2012)

Week 2024-06: Taisen Deshimaru - Collected Quotes

"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." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"If we achieve satori and the satori shows, like a bit of dogshit stuck to the top of our nose, that is not so good." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"In a fight between a strong technique and a strong body, technique will prevail. In a fight between a strong mind and a strong technique, mind will prevail, because it will find the weak point." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"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)

"If you are not happy here and now, you never will be." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Keep your hands open, and all the sands of the desert can pass through them. Close them, and all you can feel is a bit of grit." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Religions remain what they are. Zen is meditation. Meditation is the foundation of every religion. People today feel an intense need to go back to the source of religious life, to the pure essence in the depths of themselves which they can discover only through actually experiencing it. They also need to be able to concentrate their minds in order to find the highest wisdom and freedom, which is spiritual in nature, in their efforts to deal with the influences of every description imposed upon them by their environment. Human wisdom alone is not enough, it is not complete. Only universal truth can provide the highest wisdom. Take away the word Zen and put Truth or Order of the Universe in its place." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Think with the whole body." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Time is not a line, but a series of now-points." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"The body moves naturally, automatically, without any personal intervention or awareness. If we think too much, our actions become slow and hesitant." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve - as if you might die in the next instant." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"To receive everything, one must open one's hands and give." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Train the body and develop stamina and endurance. But the spirit of competition and power that presides over them is not good, it reflects a distorted vision of life. The root of the martial arts is not there." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"Zen is not a particular state but the normal state: silent, peaceful, unagitated. In Zazen neither intention, analysis, specific effort nor imagination take place. It's enough just to be without hypocrisy, dogmatism, arrogance - embracing all opposites." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"We feel our shell keeps us safe, but it crushes us and others, and keeps out light and sun." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"We should learn to think with our fingers." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"What is called zazen is sitting on a zafu [pillow] in a quiet room, absolutely still, in the exact and proper position and without uttering a word, the mind empty of any thought, good or wicked. It is continuing to sit peacefully, facing a wall, and nothing more. Every day." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"You cannot separate any part from the whole: interdependence rules the cosmic order." (Taisen Deshimaru)

"You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair." (Taisen Deshimaru)

Week 2023-52: Ekai [Mumon Wumen Huikai] - Collected Quotes

"Arouse your entire body with its three hundred and sixty bones and joints and its eighty-four thousand pores of the skin. Summon up a spirit of great doubt and concentrate on this word “mu.” In order to do so, hold to the problem from morning to night without letting it go even for one second, and become one with the word “mu” (void) with all your strength." (Ekai)

"Awaken your three hundred and sixty bones and eighty-four thousand pores into one great body of inquiry and concentrate yourself into this mu (void)." (Ekai)

"Enlightenment always comes after the road of thinking is blocked." (Ekai, "The Gateless Gate", cca. 13the century)

"If anyone thinks that the one’s insight exceeds the other’s, he has no eyes." (Ekai, "The Gateless Gate", cca. 13the century)

"If you want to study Zen, you must study it with your heart." (Ekai, "The Gateless Gate", cca. 13the century)

"Just concentrate your whole energy into this Mu, and do not allow any discontinuation. When you enter this Mu and there is no discontinuation, your attainment will be as a candle burning and illuminating the whole universe." (Ekai, "The Gateless Gate", cca. 13the century)

"[Nansen:] The Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion; not knowing is confusion. When you have really reached the true Way beyond doubt, you will find it as vast and boundless as space. How can it be talked about on the level of right and wrong?" (Mumon Ekai, Mumonkan)

"Repeat mu (void) with all the spiritual power you possess." (Ekai)

"Zen has no gates. The purpose of Buddha’s words is to enlighten others. Therefore Zen should be gateless." (Ekai, "The Gateless Gate", cca. 13the century)

Week 2022-37: Dogen Zenji - Collected Quotes

"A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it." (Dogen Zenji)

"Bodhisattvas who study prajna-wisdom must first have deep compassion for all beings and a deep longing to save all of them. They must practice samadhi meditation with great care. Refusing to practice zazen only for their own emancipation, they must promise to ferry these sentient beings over to the other shore." (Dogen Zenji, "Zazen gi", cca. 13th century)

"Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Don’t cling to your own understanding. Even if you do understand something, you should ask yourself if there might be something you have not fully resolved, or if there may be some higher meaning yet." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Even after getting out of samadhi, you should always be on the alert to act responsively and protect your power of concentration as you protect a baby. Then, it will be easy for you to cultivate your power of concentration until it comes to maturity." (Dogen Zenji, "Zazen gi", cca. 13th century)

"Even if it is painful and lonely, associate with worthy companions." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If you want to get out of samadhi, move your body slowly, stand up calmly and not suddenly."  (Dogen Zenji, "Zazen gi", cca. 13th century)

"First awaken your compassionate mind with a deep longing to save all sentient beings. You must practice samadhi meditation with great care, and promise to ferry these sentient beings over to the other shore, refusing to practice zazen only for your own emancipation." (Dogen Zenji, "Zazen gi", cca. 13th century)

"Once the posture has been stabilized and the breath regulated, push forth the lower abdomen; one thinks not of good or evil." (Dogen Zenji, "Zazen gi", cca. 13th century)

"One need not necessarily depend on the words of the ancients, but must only think of what is really true." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"One should not differentiate good and bad on the basis of taste."  (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"People of the world cannot necessarily be considered good - let them think whatever they will." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If the heart is not empty, it will not admit truthful words." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If the right faith arises in your mind, you should train in Zen. If it does not arise, you should wait for awhile and reflect upon the fact that the Buddha Dharma did not become part of you long ago." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If you think you can become enlightened just by worshipping images and relics, this is a mistaken view. This is actually possession by the poisonous serpent of temptation." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If you would be free of greed, first you have to leave egotism behind. The best mental exercise for relinquishing egotism is contemplating impermanence." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"If you want to travel the Way of Buddhas and Zen masters, then expect nothing, seek nothing, and grasp nothing." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"The mind has no fixed characteristics; depending on circumstances, it may turn out any way at all." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"The practice of Buddhism depends on whether your teacher is right or wrong. The potentiality of the pupil is like good material, and the teacher is like the master of art. Even if the material is good, good work will not be produced without a good artisan. On the other hand, even a crooked piece of wood will immediately reveal the skill of workmanship in the hands of a good worker. This will testify to the fact that true or false satori (enlightenment) depends on the adequacy of the teacher." (Dogen Zenji, "Gakudo Yojinshu" ["Points to Watch in Practicing the Way"], cca. 13th century)

"There is fundamentally no good or bad in the human mind; good and bad arise according to circumstances." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"To study the Self is to forget the Self." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Truth is not greater or lesser, but people are shallow or deep." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"What you think in your own mind to be good, or what people of the world think is good, is not necessarily good." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"When you see others’ errors and you want to guide them because you think they are wrong and you feel compassion for them, you should employ tact to avoid angering them, and contrive to appear as if you were talking about something else." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

"Zazen is something which makes us want to sit in zazen." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)

Week 2021-44: Jianzhi Sengcan - Collected Quotes

"Do not search for the truth; Only cease to cherish opinions." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"Do not try to drive pain away by pretending it is not real. If you seek serenity in oneness, pain will vanish of its own accord." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"For the unified mind in accord with the Way all self-centered striving ceases. Doubts and irresolutions vanish and life in true faith is possible. With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us and we hold nothing. All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind's power." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"If you want to realize the truth, don't be for or against. The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"In the 'Not Two' are no separate things, yet all things are included." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"In the World of Reality there is no self, There is no other-than-self." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"One thing, all things: move among and intermingle, without distinction. To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection. To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"Pursue not the outer entanglements;
Dwell not in the inner void;
Be serene in the oneness of things;
And dualism vanishes by itself." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"Return to the root and you will find the meaning." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"Step aside from all thinking, and there is nowhere you can't go." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"Stop talking, stop thinking, and there is nothing you will not understand. Return to the root and you will find Meaning." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The mind, the Buddha, living creatures - these are not three different things." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The more you think and talk, the more you lose the Way." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The perfect way is without difficulty, for it avoids picking and choosing. Only when you stop liking and disliking will all be clearly understood. Be not concerned with right or wrong, for the conflict between right and wrong is the sickness of the mind." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The struggle between 'for' and 'against' is the mind's worst disease." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The two exist because of the One,
But hold not even to this One;
When the one Consciousness -is not disturbed,
The ten thousand things offer no offence." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult, but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute: the faster they hurry, the slower they go, and clinging cannot be limited: even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray. Just let things be in their own way and there will be neither coming nor going. Obey the nature of things (your own nature), and you will walk freely and undisturbed." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences... If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinion for or against. " (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind. The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The great way is not difficult if you don't cling to good or bad. Just let go of your preferences; and everything will become perfectly clear." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"The one is none other than the All, the All none other than the One." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"There is no need to seek truth, only stop having views." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"To follow the path look to the master follow the master walk with the master see through the master become the master." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"When mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend it ceases to exist in the old way. When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden, for everything is murky and unclear, and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness. What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations?" (Jianzhi Sengcan)

"When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity your very effort fills you with activity." (Jianzhi Sengcan)

Week 2021-43: Dajian Huineng [Eno Daikan] - Collected Quotes

"A finger points at the moon, but the moon is not at the tip of the finger. Words points at the truth, but the truth is not in words." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"As one lamp serves to dispel a thousand years of darkness, so one flash of wisdom destroys ten thousand years of ignorance." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Because wisdom is innate, we can all enlighten ourselves." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Confused by thoughts, we experience duality in life. Unencumbered by ideas, the enlightened see the one Reality."

"Before you think good or evil, who are you?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom. By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Good friends, how then are meditation and wisdom alike? They are like the lamp and the light it gives forth. If there is a lamp there is light; if there is no lamp there is no light. The lamp is the substance of light; the light is the function of the lamp. Thus, although they have two names, in substance they are not two. Meditation and wisdom are also like this." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"It is only by entering into samadhi that I can discuss seeing one’s true self-nature (kensho) without also talking about self-liberation." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"It is your minds that are moving." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Look within!... The secret is inside you." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure, and if we knew our mind and realized what our nature is, all of us would attain Buddhahood." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Seeing one’s true self-nature yet not being disturbed is called Zen." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Since in reality all is void, Whereon can the dust fall?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Sit all together in meditation. Become peacefully calm and quiet, without motion, without stillness, without birth, without destruction, without coming or going, with no judgments of right or wrong, neither staying nor going. This, then, is the Great Way." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you do, you will fall into a neutral kind of emptiness. Emptiness includes the sun, moon, stars, and planets, the great earth, mountains and rivers, all trees and grasses, bad people and good people, bad things and good things, heaven and hell; they are all in the midst of emptiness. The emptiness of human nature is also like this." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"The complete teachings of all Buddhas - past, present, and future - are to be found within the essence of every human being." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"The meaning of life is to see." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"The truth is to be lived, not just mouthed." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"There is no Bodhi tree,
Nor stand of a mirror bright.
Since all is void,
Where can the dust alight" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"To be bigoted and argue with others, is to subject one's essence of mind to the bitterness of mundane existence." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the Essence of Mind." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

The reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried away by the circumstances we are in. Those who are able to keep their mind unperturbed, irrespective of circumstances, have attained Inner Peace." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"When all things are illumined by wisdom and there is neither grasping nor throwing away, then you can see your own nature and gain the Buddha Way." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of 'thoughtlessness'. But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Within our impure mind the pure one is to be found." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Words are not truth. Truth is like the moon, and words are like my finger. I can point to the moon with my finger, but my finger is not the moon. Do you need my finger to see the moon?" (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Za (sitting) means to not give rise to thoughts (no dualism) under any circumstance. Zen (meditation) means to see your original nature and not become confused." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

"Zazen is seated meditation-the opposite of contemplation-the emptying of the mind of all thoughts in order simply to be. In the midst of all evil, not a thought is aroused in the mind-this is called za. Seeing into one's Self-nature, not being moved at all-this is called Zen." (Dajian Huineng, cca 7th century)

Week 2021-42: Hsu Yun [Xuyun] - Collected Quotes

"Fundamentally, our four elements are void and the five aggregates (skandhas) are non-existent. It is only because of (our) wrong thoughts which grasp (everything) that we like the illusion of the (impermanent) world and are thereby held in bondage. Consequently, we are unable to (perceive) the voidness of the four elements and (to realize) the non-existence of birth and death. However, if in a single thought, we can have an experience of that which is not born, there will be no need for those Dharma doors expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha." (Xu Yun, "Discourses and Dharma Words")

"How wide are the horizons of the spinning earth! The moonlight leads the tides and the sun's light will not be confined within the net of heaven. But in the end all things return to the One. The deaf and the dumb, the crippled and deformed are all restored to One's perfection." (Hsu Yun)

"In grasping that one remark, Pang was able to complete his enlightenment. He saw that Uncritical Mind was not enough. His mind had to become as immense as Buddha Mind; it had to encompass all Samsara and Nirvana, to expand to Infinity’s Void. Such a mind could swallow the Pacific." (Xu Yun "Empty Cloud")

"It is only because of our insatiable desires since the time without beginning that we now drift about in the sea of mortality, within which there are 84,000 passions and all sorts of habits that we cannot wipe out. (In consequence), we are unable to attain the truth and to be like Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are permanently enlightened and are free from delusion." (Xu Yun, "Discourses and Dharma Words")

"Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a good strong rope. Every Dharma is known in the heart." (Hsu Yun)

"Vow to wipe out all that is;
Beware of making real what is not.
Life in this (mortal) world
Is a shadow, an echo." (Xu Yun, "Discourses and Dharma Words")

"You've traveled up ten thousand steps in search of the truth. So many days in the archives, copying, copying. The gravity of the Tang and the profundity of the Sung make heavy baggage. Here! I've picked you a bunch of wild flowers. Their meaning is the same but they're much easier to carry." (Hsu Yun)

Week 2021-40: Shido Bunan - Collected Quotes

"If we know how to practice Zazen without actually sitting,
What obstacles should there be,
Blocking the Way to Buddhahood?" (Shido Bunan)

"In meditation turn over the evil saps of your body to the Perfected One. If you do this, you will surely become a Buddha. [...] The enlightened one follows nature whether in walking orstanding, in sitting or reclining." (Shido Bunan)

"It is easy to keep things at a distance; it is hard to be naturally beyond them." (Shido Bunan)

"Man builds a house and lives in it, while the Buddha dwells in his body. The householder resides constantly in the house, and the Buddha resides in the heart of man. If through compassion things and deeds become easy, the heart becomes clear, and when the heart is clear thc Buddha appears. If you wish to clarify your heart, sit in meditation and approach to the Perfected One." (Shido Bunan)

"People see others in terms of themselves. The vision of fools is dreadful. If there is ambition in oneself, one will see others on the basis of that frame of mind. He who lusts looks with lust. Unless one is a sage, seeing is dangerous. Even though there are people on the great way, people who can see and know are rare. What a waste. A wise man discerns the potential of others, though they may not be equal to him, and makes use of their level of understanding." (Shido Bunan)

"There are no mountains to enter outside of mind, making the unknown your hiding place." (Shido Bunan)

"To acquiesce to the teaching of enlightenment, as it is, directly abandon all things, merge with the body of thusness and experience peerless peace and bliss, is no more than a matter of whether or not you think of the body. Although there are people who think this teaching is true, it's hard to find someone who strives to make it his own." (Shido Bunan)

"While deluded, one is used by this body; when enlightened, one uses this body." (Shido Bunan)

Week 2021-37: Koun Ejo - Collected Quotes

"Deep practice of the Way requires tireless exertion and confidence in what is true. Unless you join the Lineage of the Buddhas life after life, how can you understand anything that I say at all? Do not move away from it." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Do not be pulled around by states of mind or objects. Do not rely on intellectual knowledge. Don't show in your hands what you receive on your seat in the Monks' Hall. Just throw body and mind into the Great Treasury of Luminosity and don't look back." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Even in the midst of change, the Light is not hindered by it. Forests, flowers, grass, and leaves; human beings or animals, big or small, long or short, square or round: all manifest themselves simultaneously, independent of discriminating thoughts or will." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Just sit as if you were the boundless empty sky or a ball of fire. Trust everything to the inhalation and exhalation. Even if eighty-four thousand idle thoughts arise, each and every one may become the Light of prajna (undiscriminating wisdom) if you do not pay them any attention and simply let them go." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Not only in sitting, but every step you take is the movement of the Light. Step after step, no discrimination… To inhale or to exhale, to listen or to touch, being without thoughts and discrimination is nothing other than the tranquil illumination of the Light in which body and mind are one. Therefore, when someone calls, you answer. This is the Light in which ordinary people and sages, the deluded and the enlightened, are one." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Those who follow conventional views believe that what is illusory is real, what is transient is permanent, and so they are concerned only with gain and loss and coarse profit. Their lives are like candles in the wind and yet they place their trust in what is uncertain even for tomorrow. Breathing out does not mean that you will necessarily breath in again. And so they are filled with glee and despair at momentary changes." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"You students, are you trying to learn zazen or are you trying to learn sitting Buddhahood? If you are learning zazen, Zen is not sitting and lying down. If you are learning sitting Buddhahood, Buddha is not a fixed form. According to the teaching of non-attachment or non-settling down, you should not adopt this or reject that. You students, if you try to become a sitting Buddha you kill the Buddha, and if you become attached to sitting you will not reach that principle." (Koun Ejo)

"You students! Are you trying to learn zazen or are you trying to become a Buddha? If you are trying to learn zazen, you must not be taken up by the form called 'sitting' because Zen is something beyond sitting and lying down. Again, if you say you are trying to become a Buddha, you cannot become a captive to the one set form called 'sitting' because Buddha is something absolute."  (Koun Ejo)

Resources:
[1] Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century [link]

Week 2021-07: Keizan Jokin - Collected Quotes

"Although we speak of ‘practice,’ it is not a practice that you can do." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"entering directly into the ocean of buddha-nature and manifesting the body of the Buddha." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"Clear water has no back or front, space has no inside or outside. Completely clear, its own luminosity shines before form and emptiness were fabricated. Objects of mind and mind itself have no place to exist."

"To practice sitting, find a quiet place and lay down a thick mat. Don’t let wind, smoke, rain or dew come in. Keep a clear space with enough room for your knees." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"This is symbolized by the full moon but it is this mind which is enlightenment itself." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"Zazen clears the mind immediately and lets one dwell in one’s true realm. This is called showing one’s original face or revealing the light of one’s original state. Body and mind are cast off, apart from whether one is sitting or lying down. Therefore one thinks neither of good nor of evil - transcending both the sacred and the profane, rising above delusion and enlightenment - and leaves the realm of sentient beings and Buddhas." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"Zazen includes no boundary between sentient beings and Buddha." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"Zazen means to clarify the mind-ground and dwell comfortably in your actual nature. This is called revealing yourself and manifesting the original-ground." (Keizan Jokin, "Zazen Yojinki" ["Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen"], 13th-century)

"Though you find clear waters ranging

to the vast blue skies of autumn,

how can that compare

with the hazy moon on a spring night?

Some people want it pure white,

but sweep as you will,

you cannot empty the mind." (Keizan Jokin)

Week 2021-02: Torei - Collected Quotes

"Always check your ordinary functioning, and above all cultivate right seeing. What is extremely difficult is to function in accordance with all situations whether deep or shallow, coarse or fine. In order to get this differentiation clear, carefully and minutely study the sayings of the Buddha and patriarchs, and ardently strive to attain that wonderful place. This is called 'The Single Eye of Passing the Barrier'."

"Ever since the degeneration of discipline for enlightenment, they do not pay any respect to the transmission of Dharma from their masters; they have dualistic opinions of their enlightenment and kensho (seeing one’s own self-nature); they discuss the merits and demerits of each other and indulge in their own knowledge deviating from the Way of the ancients."  (Torei Enji, "Shumon Mujinto Ron")

"Genuine insight into one's True Nature only emerges in the midst of Great Doubt and Great Faith; it is not the result of accumulated learning and discrimination. When the time is ripe, it appears of itself. Following this ripening process step by step is the purpose of this book. It is relatively easy to accomplish the important matter of insight into one's True Nature, but uncommonly difficult to function freely and clearly (according to this understanding), in motion and in rest, in good and in adverse circumstances. Please make strenuous and vigorous efforts towards this end, otherwise all the teachings of Buddha and patriarchs become mere empty words, rather than the living Dharma. Tread the path of sincere practice with uninterrupted concentration, and once things have become clear, then it is the time to take up and penetrate the sayings (of the Sutras and Masters)." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp")

"Have deep faith in the Advanced Practice; work now with utmost effort and do not allow yourselves to slacken. Penetrate one by one the barriers set up by the Buddha and patriarchs. This is not an easy task, but reflecting on the reality within yourselves again and again in Sanzen, get the Nanto Koans of the old masters clear. In them is hidden the essence of the patriarchal transmission. But unless this is done by diligent practice under a qualified teacher, little will be gained." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp")

"If we wish to attain the Buddha Way, we must by all means have great faith." (Torei Enji, "Shumon Mujinto Ron")

"One has to know (how to) practise with Faith in the Heart" (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp")

"One should be aware of the errors of little knowledge and insight" (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp")

"Students mistakenly affirm their present circumstance as if it was proof of their enlightenment. Because of this, the number of those who fall into the evil group of deluded people is not small." (Torei Enji)

"The strength and its functioning vary greatly according to the depth or shallowness of insight, and the corresponding freedom of action. It is for this reason that now as in the past students with the same insight and training differ as to strength and virtue." (Torei Enji, "The Inexhaustible Lamp")

"You students of the Way, if your power of concentration matures, your suffering will gradually subside, and pleasant phenomena will reveal themselves now and then. They are called good phenomena." (Torei Enji, "Shumon Mujinto Ron")

Week 2020-51: Suzuki Shosan - Collected Quotes

"Be aware of yourself and know yourself. No matter how much you have learned and how much you know, if you don't know yourself you don't know anything." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Beginners should by all means strive for Truth. You must not force yourself to train or do zazen too vigorously before you realize the Truth. If you forcefully let out energy and practice Zen in violent ways, you will become fatigued, lose your energy, and it will all be of no use." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Do your job with your mind as taut as an iron bow strung with wire. This is the same as Zen meditation." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Look! This is the exercised power of Zen concentration. But a swordsman only exercises his power of concentration when he manipulates his sword. When he is without his sword, he loses his power of concentration. This is no good. On the contrary, the Zen man exercises his power of concentration all the time. That is why he is never defeated in doing anything." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Remember such a stable and firm attitude is itself meditation practice. There is no other method of concentration to seek. Buddhism itself is about applying full attention steadily, without being disturbed by external things. Developing a confident attitude that is never pained or vexed or worried or saddened or altered or frightened is called attaining Buddhahood." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Since you cannot do real zazen no matter how much I teach you, I think I’ll show you from now on how to use the vigorous energy you have when you are angry." (Suzuki Shosan)

"The strongest men and the greatest martial arts masters are born that way, so no effort can attain that; but when it comes to exerting our whole heart and disregarding our lives, to whom should we be inferior? No one should think he’ll lose, even to the greatest warriors. Why is that? Because if you back off such a person, who will back off you?" (Suzuki Shosan)

"There are myriad different methods of practice, but essentially they amount to no more than overcoming thoughts of yourself. The source of suffering is ego, the thought of self. To know this is reason. Once you know the reason for suffering, your sense of duty evokes effort to extinguish the thought of self with a genuine courageous mind. Fools can’t understand the source of misery and happiness; people without a sense of duty cannot break the bonds of life and death." (Suzuki Shosan)

"There are those who discuss the amount of rewards and size of entitlement of those who have exercised considerable military ability, put their lives on the line, ground down their bones, and become famous. They are foolish! Why not do a warrior’s deed, costly though it be, for the sake of loyalty? People who think of rewards are nothing but military merchants." (Suzuki Shosan)

"There is a practice designed to enter the Way of Buddha by means of your profession. You should apply this idea, that a man born in a house of valor, polishing a sword and sporting a bow, should always exert the strongest attention, as if he were marching right into an army of ten million men." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Those who have no prejudices in themselves do not reject people, and therefore people do not reject them." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Thus consider that you are always on duty, required to firmly apply your full attention. If you slack off, you’re useless." (Suzuki Shosan)

"Use your mind strongly even when you walk down the street, such that you wouldn’t even blink if someone unexpectedly thrust a lance at your nose. All warriors should at all time be in such state of mind in everyday life." (Suzuki Shosan)

"You seem to practice 'Empty Shell Zazen' and think that not thinking of anything is 'no-thought, no-mind'. You even start to feel good sitting vacantly. But if you do that kind of zazen you’ll lose your vigorous energy and become sick or go crazy. True 'no-thought, no-mind' zazen is just one thing - to have a dauntless mind." (Suzuki Shosan)