“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”
“There’s nothing to do, there’s nowhere to go.”
“The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment. If you cannot be satisfied with the state of mind you have in zazen, it means your mind is still wandering about. Our body and mind should not be wobbling or wandering about. In this posture there is no need to talk about the right state of mind. You already have it. This is the conclusion of Buddhism.”
“The practice of Zen mind is beginner’s mind. The innocence of the first inquiry—what am I?—is needed throughout Zen practice. 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. It is the kind of mind which can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything.”
“Doing something is expressing our own nature. We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves.”
“So when you practice zazen, your mind should be concentrated on your breathing. This kind of activity is the fundamental activity of the universal being. Without this experience, this practice, it is impossible to attain absolute freedom.”
“There is no perfection in this world. You are just attaching to the idea of perfection, and this is actually the cause of suffering.”
“When we do not expect anything we can be ourselves.”
“The secret of Sōtō Zen is just two words: “Not always so.” Oh—oh—three words [laughs, laughter] in English. In Japanese it is two words. “Not always so.” This is the secret of the teaching.”
“The purpose of practice is to completely devote ourselves to the thing we are doing. When you don’t, or when you do it carelessly, then your mind is not there. When you completely devote yourself to what you are doing there is no separation.“
“Everyone has love.”
“I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing.”
