When he bowed to all those buddhas, the buddhas he bowed to were beyond his own understanding. Again and again he did it.

In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say, 'Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere.'

When you are fooled by something else, the damage will not be so big. But when you are fooled by yourself, it is fatal. No more medicine.

If I tell you something, you will stick to it and limit your own capacity to find out for yourself.

So it is not a matter of whether it is possible to attain Buddhahood, or if it is possible to make a tile a jewel. But just to work, just to live in this world with this understanding is the most important point, and that is our practice. That is true zazen.

It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness.