Zen Proverbs
Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.
Zen Proverb
Before Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water, after Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.
Zen Proverb
To know and not do is not yet to know.
Zen Proverb
Life is the only thing worth living for.
Zen Proverb
The tighter you squeeze, the less you have.
Zen Proverb
Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely.
Zen Proverb
Better to struggle with a sick jackass than carry the wood by yourself.
Zen Proverb
When you reach the top, keep climbing.
Zen Proverb
The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist. They turn to each other and say We did it ourselves.
Zen Proverb
When you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
Zen Proverb
The infinite is in the finite of every instant.
Zen Proverb
Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.
Zen Proverb
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.
Zen Proverb
Better to see the face than to hear the name.
Zen Proverb
There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
Zen Proverb
All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
Zen Proverb
To follow the path, look to the master, follow the master, walk with the master, see through the master, become the master.
Zen Proverb
Live every day like your hair was on fire.
Zen Proverb
Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark.
Zen Proverb
There's no meaning to a flower unless it blooms.
Zen Proverb
If you're attached to anything, you surely will go far astray.
Zen Proverb
It takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes, but an even wiser man to learn from others.
Zen Proverb
When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when you try to sink, you float.
Zen Proverb
Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.
Zen Proverb
To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Zen Proverb
Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.
Zen Proverb
No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.
Zen Proverb
Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening.
Zen Proverb
From the withered tree, a flower blooms.
Zen Proverb
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.
Zen Proverb
When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear.
Zen Proverb
Sit, walk, or run, but don't wobble.
Zen Proverb
If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.
Zen Proverb
The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.
Zen Proverb
The obstacle is the path.
Zen Proverb
Only the crystal-clear question yields a transparent answer.
Zen Proverb
If you want a certain thing, you must first be a certain person. Once you are that certain person, obtaining that certain thing will no longer be a concern of yours.
Zen Proverb
After enlightenment, the laundry.
Zen Proverb
Move and the way will open.
Zen Proverb
The ten thousand questions are one question. If you cut through the one question, then the ten thousand questions disappear.
Zen Proverb
Knock on the sky and Listen to the sound.
Zen Proverb
Scratch first, itch later.
Zen Proverb
Better to sit all night than to go to bed with a dragon.
Zen Proverb