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

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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