Why abandon a seat in your own home to wander in vain through dusty regions of another land? If you make one false step, you miss what is right before your eyes.

Be moderate in eating and drinking. Mindful of the passing of time, engage yourself in zazen as though saving your head from fire.

Zazen is an activity that is an extension of the universe. Zazen is not the life of an individual, it's the universe that's breathing.

Students today should live fully every moment of time. This dew-like life fades away; time speeds swiftly. In this short life of ours, avoid involvement in superfluous things and just study the Way.

When the old plum tree blooms, the entire world blooms.

Truth is not far away. It is nearer than near. There is no need to attain it, since not one of your steps leads away from it.

In doing zazen it is desirable to have a quiet room. You should be temperate in eating and drinking, forsaking all delusive relationships. Setting everything aside, think of neither good nor evil, right nor wrong. Thus having stopped the various functions of your mind, five up even the idea of becoming a Buddha.