When you are practicing zazen, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything. It appears as if something comes from outside your mind, but actually it is only the waves of your mind, and if you are not bothered by the waves, gradually they will become calmer and calmer.

It is not after we understand the truth that we attain enlightenment. To realize the truth is to live - to exist here and now.

People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.

The purpose of our practice is just to be yourself.

If enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. It is on this orginal truth that our activity, our thinking, and our practice should be based.

The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.

If you think you will get something from practicing zazen, already you are involved in impure practice.