Unless we die to ourselves, we can never be alive again.

The rocks are where they are- and this is their will. The rivers flow- and this is their will. The birds fly- this is their will. Human beings talk- this is their will. The seasons change, heaven sends down rain or snow, the earth occasionally shakes, the waves roll, the stars shine- each of them follows its own will. To be is to will and so is to become.

Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious.

The meaning of service is to do the work assigned ungrudgingly and without thought of personal reward material or moral.

You ought to know how to rise above the trivialities of life, in which most people are found drowning themselves.

Zen Makes use, to a great extent, of poetical expressions; Zen is wedded to poetry.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded. Therefore, anything that has the semblance of an external authority is rejected by Zen. Absolute faith is placed in a man's own inner being. For whatever authority there is in Zen, all comes from within.