Zen: Seeing into one's own nature

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought. 
Basho

An autumn night... don't think your life, didn't matter. 
Basho

There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
Basho

At any given moment, I open my eyes and exist. And before that, during all eternity, what was there? Nothing.
Ugo Betti

The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by.
Chuang-tzu

It is everywhere.
Chuang-tzu

To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Chuang-tzu

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
Dogen

Zazen is itself enlightenment.
Dogen

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. 
Dogen

There is no beginning to practice nor end to enlightenment; There is no beginning to enlightenment nor end to practice.
Dogen

And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much. 
Fen-Yang

Should you desire great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads.
Hakuin

Zen: Seeing into one's own nature.
Hui-neng

How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole?
koan

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot.
Muso Kokushi

We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.
Lao Tzu

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu

So little time, so little to do.
Oscar Levant

The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
Robert M. Pirsig

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.
Yasutani Roshi

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Baba Ram Dass

Natural and super-natural, temporal and eternal - continuums, not absolutes.
Albert Schweitzer (paraphrased)

You must neither strive for truth nor seek to lose your illusions.
The Shodoka

We have two eyes to see two sides of things, but there must be a third eye which will see everything at the same time and yet not see anything. That is to understand Zen.
D. T. Suzuki

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself. 
Shunryu Suzuki

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but merely concentration on our usual everyday routine.
Shunkyu Suzuki

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.
Shunryu Suzuki

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.
Shunryu Suzuki

Life is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink.
Shunryu Suzuki

My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes.
Sayen Shaku

To set up what you like against what you don't like -- this is the disease of the mind.
Sheng-ts'an

No yesterday, no tomorrow, and no today.
Sheng-ts'an

Don't seek reality, just put an end to opinions. 
Sheng-ts'an

When you get there, there isn't any there there.
Gertrude Stein

Water which is too pure has no fish.
Ts'ai Ken T'an

Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise.
Alan Watts

Let the dead bury the dead.
Western Koan

What does mysticism mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.
Elie Wiesel

Ten thousand flowers in spring
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
Wu-men

Since it is all too clear
It takes time to grasp it.
When you understand that it's foolish to look for fire with fire,
The meal is already cooked.
Wu-men