Zen quotes

 

Sitting Quietly

兀然無事坐、春夾草自生

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing,

Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself." Zenrin Kushû (The Way of Zen 134, 222)

 

Suchness

青山自青山、白雲自白雲

"The blue mountains are of themselves blue mountains;

"The white clouds are of themselves white clouds." Zenrin Kushû (The Way of Zen 134, 222)

 

Mountains are Mountains

The famous saying of Ch'ing-yüan Wei-hsin (Seigen Ishin):

老僧三十年前未參禪時、見山是山、見水是水、及至後夾親見知識、有箇入處、見山不是山、見水不是水、而今得箇體歇處、依然見山秪是山、見水秪是水 (The Way of Zen 220 k)

Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters. ¹³

¹³ Ch'uan Teng Lu, 22. (The Way of Zen 126)

 

"Before a man studies Zen, to him mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after he gets an insight into the truth of Zen through the instruction of a good master, mountains to him are not mountains and waters are not waters; but after this when he really attains to the abode of rest, mountains are once more mountains and waters are waters." (Essays in Zen Buddhism – First Series 24)

 

Eternity in an hour

萬古長空      An eternity of endless space:

一朝風月      A day of wind and moon. (The Golden Age of Zen 246, 322 n.2)

"One of the most frequently reiterated couplets in Chinese Zen literature" (The Golden Age of Zen 246)

 

Oneness

天地同根      Heaven and earth and I are of the same root,

萬物一體      The ten-thousand things and I are of one substance.

Zen Master Sêng-chao/Sõjõ (僧肇 384-414)

 

"Nan-ch'uan and his lay disciple Lu Hsuan (陸亘). Lu was reciting Seng-chao's saying:

天地與我同根         Heaven and earth come from the same root as myself:

萬物與我爲一         All things and I belong to one Whole.

However, he did not really understand the full purport of it. Nan-ch'uan pointed at the peonies in the courtyard, saying, 'The worldlings look at these bush of flowers as in a dream." Lu did not see the point." (The Golden Age of Zen 285)

陸大夫向師道、｢肇法師、也甚奇怪、解道"天地與我同根、萬物與我爲一"｣師指庭前牡丹花曰、｢大夫、時人見此一花株如夢相似｣ (The Golden Age of Zen 324 n.92)

"While Rikkõ, a high government official of the T'ang dynasty, had a talk with his Zen master Nansen, the official quoted a saying of Sõjõ, a noted monk scholar of an earlier dynasty:

Heaven and earth and I are of the same root,

The ten-thousand things and I are of one substance

and continued, 'Is not this a most remarkable statement?' / Nansen called the attention of the visitor to the flowering plant in the garden and said, 'People of the world look at these flowers as if they were in a dream.' " (The Essentials of Zen Buddhism 483-4)

 

Unity

Merge your mind with cosmic space, integrate your actions with myriad forms.

Ch'an master Hung-chih Cheng-chüeh (宏智正覺 Wanshi Shõkaku, 1091-1157)

(Transmission of Light xi)

 

Subtlety

入林不動草、入水不立波

"Entering the forest he moves not the grass;

Entering the water he makes not a ripple." Zenrin Kushû (The Way of Zen 152, 224)

 

Everyday Mind

争如著衣喫飲、此外更無佛祖 "There's nothing equal to wearing clothes and eating food. Outside this there are neither Buddhas nor Patriarchs." Zenrin Kushû (The Way of Zen 152, 224)

 

Seeking the Same Thing

From the K'un-lun mountains eastward the (Taoist) term "Great Oneness" is used. From Kashmir westward the (Buddhist) term sambodhi is used. Whether one looks longingly toward "non-being" (wu) or cultivates "emptiness" (sunyata), the principle involved is the same. ⁴

⁴ Quoted by Fung Yu-lan (1), vol. 2, p. 240, from Seng-yu, Ch'u San-tsang Chi-chi, 9. (The Way of Zen 82)

 

Ocean of Pure Reality

清淨眞如海 Ocean of pure Reality,

湛然體常住 Its substance, in fathomless quiescence, exists eternally.

Ch'an master Fo-kuang Ju-man (佛光如滿 Bukkõ Nyoman)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 64)

 

Great Unity

有一物上拄天下拄地。黒似漆。常在動用中。

There is one thing: above, it supports Heaven; below, it upholds Earth. It is black like lacquer, always actively functioning.

Ch'an master Tung-shan Ling-chia (洞山良价 Tõsan Ryõkai, 807-869)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 74)

 

Man of Tao

譬如秋水澄渟清浄無爲澹泞無礙。喚他作道人亦名無事人。

Like the clear stillness of autumn water—pure and without activity; in its tranquil depths are no obstructions. Such an one is called a man of Tao, also, a man who has nothing further to do.

Wei-shan Ling-yu (溈山靈祐 Isan Reiyû)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 66)

 

Nondiscrimination

善與不善、世出世間、一切諸法莫記憶、莫緣念、放捨身心、今其自在。心如木石、無所辨別。

"When you forget the good and the non-good, the worldly life and the religious life, and all other dharmas, and permit no thoughts relating to them to arise, and you abandon body and mind—then there is complete freedom. When the mind is like wood or stone, there is nothing to be discriminated." Pai-chang Huai-hai (百丈懷海 Hyakujõ Ekai, 720-814)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 63)

 

Speech and Silence

語是謗、寂是誑、語寂向上有路在

"Speech is blasphemy, silence a lie. Above speech and silence there is a way out."

I-tuan (義端) one of Nan-ch'uan's great disciples (The Golden Age of Zen 250, 322 n.13)

 

Inexpressible

説不處用無盡         What is inexpressible is inexhaustible in its use.

A Chinese Zen master (The Golden Age of Zen 253, 322 n.19)

 

Independent

寧可永刧受沈淪、不從諸聖求解脱

I would rather sink to the bottom of the sea for endless eons than seek liberation through all the saints of the universe. Shih-t'ou (石頭) (The Golden Age of Zen 270, 323 n.57)

 

Independent

丈夫自有衝天志    The full-grown man aspires to pierce through the heavens:

莫向如夾行處行    Let him not walk in the footsteps of the Buddha!

Ts'ui-yen (翠巖可眞) (The Golden Age of Zen 270, 323 n.59)

 

Bodhidharma's Definition of Zen

Four Sacred Verses of Bodhidharma (Daruma no Shiseiku 達磨四聖句)

教外別傳      Kyõge betsuden        A special transmission outside the scriptures;

不立文字      Furyû monji               No dependence upon words and letters;

直指人心      Jikishi ninshin                        Direct pointing at the soul of man;

見性成佛      Kenshõ jõbutsu        Seeing into one's nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.

Bodhidharma (Essays in Zen Buddhism – First Series 176)

 

Accomplishing Beforehand

"When the task is done beforehand, then it is easy." Zen master Yuan-tong

(The Tao of Abundance 100)

 

Begin at the Top

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top. Zen saying

 

Every Day is a Good Day

日日是好日

"Everyday is a good day." (Nichi nichi kore kõjitsu.)

Yün-men (Unmon) Hekiganroku case 6

 

No Work, No Eating

一日不作、一日不食

"A day without work, a day without eating."

"When there's no work for a day, there's no eating for a day." (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 62)

Ichijitsu nasazareba, ichijitsu kuwarazu. (一日作さざれば、一日食わらず。)

Pai-chang Huai-hai (百丈懷海 Hyakujõ Ekai, 720-814)

 

Living Dead

許多死漢、送一個活漢 What a long procession of dead bodies follows the wake of a single living person! Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen (趙州從諗Jõshû Jûshin)

"At the funeral of one of his monks, as the Abbot joined the procession, he remarked, 'What a long procession of dead bodies follows the wake of a single living person!' " (The Golden Age of Zen 145, 309 n.47)

 

Mind is Buddha

Asked "What is buddha?" (如何[是]佛) Ma-tsu replied "This very mind, this is Buddha." (即心即佛 or 即心是佛. Sokushin sokubutsu.)

Mumonkan case 30 (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 53)

 

No Mind No Buddha

Asked "What is buddha?" (如何[是]佛) Ma-tsu replied "Neither mind nor Buddha." (非心非佛. Hishin, hibutsu.)

Mumonkan case 33 (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 53)

 

This Very Mind is Buddha

自心是佛 Jishin zebutsu. "Your own mind—this is Buddha." Ma-tsu

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 55)

 

No Mind No Buddha Not a Thing

不是心不是佛不是物 "This is not mind, this is not Buddha, this is not a thing." (Fuzeshin, fuzebutsu, fuzemotsu.) Nan-chüan (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 55)

 

No Clinging

不着不求 "No clinging, no seeking." (Fujaku, fugu.) Pai-chang (Hyakujõ)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 62)

 

All Dharmas are Mind-Created

故三界唯心 "Therefore the Three Realms are only mind" (Yue ni sangai yuishin) Ma-tsu Tao-i (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 54)

法界一相 Ultimate reality has a unified form. (Fa-chieh i-hsiang./Hokkai issõ.) Buddha

(Early Ch'an in China and Tibet 107)

 

Great Tao

不二大道 "The non-dual Great Tao." (Funi Daidõ) Chao-chou Ts'ung-shên (趙州 Jõshû Jûshin) (The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 61)

 

No Delusive Thoughts

幕妄想 "Away with your delusive thoughts!" "Don't be deluded!" (Maku mõzõ!)

Ch'an master Wu-ye (Mugõ, 760-821) (Zen Word, Zen Calligraphy 65)

Whatever the master was asked, he replied "Maku mõzõ!"

(I'm not sure about the first character 幕, it may be incorrect.)

 

Who is This

不識 [I] know not. (Fushiki.) Bodhidharma

 

No Merit At All

廓然無聖 Vast emptiness, nothing holy! (Kakunen mushõ.) Bodhidharma

 

Dropped

身心脱落 "Body and mind dropped off." (Shen-hsin t'o-lo./Shinjin datsuraku.) Dõgen

Dõgen's words describing his enlightenment (This is not a saying)

(Zen Buddhism: A History vol. 2, 107 n.24)

身心脱落 "Body and mind dropped away." (Zen Master Dogen 32)

身心脱落 (Casting off [both] body and mind.)

 

Hui-neng's Enlightenment and Diamond Sutra

Fifth Patriarch Hung-jen (弘忍 Gunin or Kõnin, 601-674) signed Hui-neng to go to his chamber at the third watch in the evening.

"When the two were face to face in the stillness of the night, the Patriarch expounded the Diamond Sutra to his disciple. When he came to the sentence: "Keep your mind alive and free without abiding in anything or anywhere," Hui-neng was suddenly and thoroughly enlightened" (The Golden Age of Zen 62)

應無所住而生其心 "Keep your mind alive and free without abiding in anything or anywhere."

Diamond Sûtra (Vajracchedikâ [Prajña Paramita] Sûtra) (The Golden Age of Zen 300 n.6)

"To awaken the mind without fixing it anywhere" (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 32)

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

Note on Sources

1. Zenrin Kushû 禪林句集 "Ch'an lin lei chü in twenty fasciculi compiled in the year 1307. The title means 'Zen materials (literally, woods) classified and collected'. The book is now very rare." (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 253 n.1)

Also see Watts, The Way of Zen 117 n.4; Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History vol. 2, 47 n.113

Zen Poems

 

Sharing a Mountain Hut with a Cloud

A lonely hut on the mountain-peak towering above a thousand others;

One half is occupied by an old monk and the other by a cloud:

Last night it was stormy and the cloud was blown away;

After all a cloud could not equal the old man's quiet way.

Kuei-tsung Chih-chih, a monk who lived in a humble hut on Lu-shan (盧山 Rozan)

(Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 352)

"he aptly gives vent to his appreciation of Emptiness; the verse is not to be understood as merely describing his solitary hut where he lived in company with clouds." (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 351-2)

 

Carrying Water, Chopping Wood

神通並妙用 Miraculous power and marvelous activity–

運水及槃柴 Drawing water and hewing wood!²³

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un, 740-808), a lay disciple of the eighth century, also known as P'ang Chü-shih (龐居士 Hõ Koji) (Chü-shih/koji is a title of respect for a lay student of Ch'an)

(The Way of Zen 221 o)

²³ Ch'uan Teng Lu, 8. (The Way of Zen 133)

 

How wondrous this, how mysterious!

I carry fuel, I draw water. (Zen and Japanese Culture 16)

 

How wondrously supernatural,

And how miraculous this!

I draw water, and I carry fuel. (Essays in Zen Buddhism – First Series 319)

 

Supernatural power, wondrous activity – just a matter of

carrying fuel or drawing water. (Zen Words for the Heart 57)

 

日日事無別 Daily, nothing particular,

惟吾自偶諧 Only nodding to myself,

頭頭非取捨 Nothing to choose, nothing to discard.

處處沒張乖 No coming, no going,

朱紫誰爲號 No person in purple,

邱山絶塵埃 Blue mountains without a speck of dust.

神通並妙用 I exercise occult and subtle power,

運水及搬柴 Carrying water, shouldering firewood.

(Two Zen Classics 262-3)

"Hõ Koji (Hõ was his family, Koji a title of respect for a lay student of Zen) studied first with Sekitõ and then with Baso, who he succeeded. When he first met Sekitõ, he asked, 'Who is he that is independent of all things?' Before he had finished asking this, Sekitõ covered Koji's mouth with his hand. At this Koji underwent an experience and expressed himself in the following verse:" (Two Zen Classics 262-3)

 

日日事無別 In my daily life there are no other chores than

惟吾自偶諧 Those that happen to fall into my hands.

頭頭非取捨 Nothing I choose, nothing reject.

處處沒張乖 Nowhere is there ado, nowhere a slip.

朱紫誰爲號 I have no other emblems of my glory than

邱山絶塵埃 The mountains and hills without a spot of dust.

神通並妙用 My magical power and spiritual exercise consists in

運水及搬柴 Carrying water and gathering firewood.

P'ang Chü-shih (The Golden Age of Zen 94, 304 n.5)

"Ma-tsu's outstanding lay disciple, Pang Yün" (The Golden Age of Zen 94)

 

Stillness

十方同聚會 The ten directions converging,

個個學無爲 Each learning to do nothing,

此是選佛場 This is the hall of Buddha's training;

心空及第歸 Mind's empty, all's finished.

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un) (Two Zen Classics 263)

"When he came to Baso he again said, 'Who is he that is independent of all things?' Baso said, 'When you have drunk all the water in the Yang-tze river, I will tell you.' At this, Koji underwent his great experience and composed another verse:" (Two Zen Classics 263)

 

Without Name and Form

Well versed in the Buddha way,

I go the non-Way

Without abandoning my

Ordinary person's affairs.

The conditioned and

Name-and-form,

All are flowers in the sky.

Nameless and formless,

I leave birth-and-death.

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un)

 

Mind at Peace

When the mind is at peace,

the world too is at peace.

Nothing real, nothing absent.

Not holding on to reality,

not getting stuck in the void,

you are neither holy or wise, just

an ordinary fellow who has completed his work.

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un) (The Enlightened Heart 34)

 

Being as Is

Food and clothes sustain

Body and life;

I advise you to learn

Being as is.

When it's time,

I move my hermitage and go,

And there's nothing

To be left behind.

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un)

 

The Ultimate Attainment

The past is already past.

Don't try to regain it.

The present does not stay.

Don't try to touch it.

From moment to moment.

The future has not come;

Don't think about it

Beforehand.

Whatever comes to the eye,

Leave it be.

There are no commandments

To be kept;

There's no filth to be cleansed.

With empty mind really

Penetrated, the dharmas

Have no life.

When you can be like this,

You've completed

The ultimate attainment.

P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un)

 

Mindfulness

春有百花秋有月    Spring comes with its flowers, autumn with the moon,

夏有涼風冬有雪    summer with breezes, winter with snow;

若無閑事挂心頭    when useless things don't stick in the mind,

更是人間好時節    that is your best season.

Wu-men Huai-kai (無門慧開 Mumon Ekai), from Wu-men kuan (Mumonkan) case 19

(The Light Inside the Dark 97)

 

春有百花秋有月    The spring flowers, the autumn moon;

夏有涼風冬有雪    Summer breezes, winter snow.

若無閑事挂心頭    If useless things do not clutter your mind,

更是人間好時節    You have the best days of your life.

(Two Zen Classics 73)

 

春有百花秋有月    Hundreds of spring flowers; the autumnal moon;

夏有涼風冬有雪    A refreshing summer breeze; winter snow;

若無閑事挂心頭    Free thy mind of all idle thoughts,

更是人間好時節    And for thee how enjoyable every season is!

(Essays in Zen Buddhism – First Series 349)

 

春有百花秋有月    Hundreds of flowers in the spring, the moon in the autumn,

夏有涼風冬有雪    A cool breeze in summer; and snow in winter;

若無閑事挂心頭    If there is no vain cloud in your mind

更是人間好時節    For you it is a good season.

(Zen Comments on the Mumonkan 140)

 

In spring hundreds of flowers,

In summer, refreshing breeze.

In autumn, harvest moon,

In winter, snowflakes accompany you.

If useless things do not hand in your mind,

Every season is a good season. (Zen Word, Zen Calligraphy 9)

 

Spring has its hundred flowers,

Autumn its moon.

Summer has its cooling breezes,

Winter its snow.

If you allow no idle concerns

To weight on your heart,

Your whole life will be one

Perennial good season. (The Golden Age of Zen 286-7)

[This source have the 3rd line with a variant character (3rd character): 若無閒事挂心頭 (The Golden Age of Zen 324 n.95)]

 

The Great Tao

大道無形      Daidõ mugyõ,                                      The Great Tao is without form,

眞理無對      Shinri mutai,                                         The Absolute is without opposite;

等空不動      Hitoshiku kû fudõ,               It is both empty and unmoving,

非生死流      Shõji no nagare ni arazu;   It is not within the flow of Samsara;

三界不攝      Sangai fushõ,                                        The Three Realms do not contain it,

非古夾今      Koraikon ni arazu.               It is not within past, future, or present.

Nan-ch'üan P'u-yüan (Nansen Fugan 南泉普願)

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 58)

 

大道無形      The Great Tao has no form,

眞理無對      Truth has no counterpart,

等空不動      It is motionless like the Void,

非生死流      It does not wander through [the samsara of] life and death,

三界不攝      The Three Worlds do not contain it,

非古夾今      Within it there is neither past, nor present, nor future.

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 11-2)

 

Oneness

彌勒眞彌勒 O Maitreya, O true Maitreya!

分身千百億 Thou dividest the body into hundreds of thousands of million forms.

時時示時人 Thus manifesting thyself to men of the world;

時人自不識 But how they are ignorant of thee!

Verse attributed to Pu-tai (布袋 Hotei), one of the Seven Gods of Luck

(Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 289)

 

Shan-hui

有物先天地 Something there is, prior to heaven and earth,

無形本寂寥 Without form, without sound, all alone by itself.

能爲萬象主 It has the power to control all the changing things;

不逐四時凋 Yet it changes not in the course of the four seasons.

Bodhisattva Shan-hui (善慧), better known as Fu Ta-shih (傅大士) (497-?)

(The Golden Age of Zen 254, 322 n.25)

 

Shan-hui

空手把鉏頭         Empty-handed, I hold a hoe.

步行騎水牛         Walking on foot, I ride a buffalo.

人在橋上過               Passing over a bridge, I see

橋流水不流               The bridge flow, but not the water.

Bodhisattva Shan-hui (善慧), better known as Fu Ta-shih (傅大士) (497-?)

(The Golden Age of Zen 254, 322 n.24)

 

空手把鉏頭         Empty-handed I go and yet the spade is in my hands;

步行騎水牛         I walk on foot, and yet on the back of an ox I am riding:

人在橋上過               When I pass over the bridge,

橋流水不流               Lo, the water floweth not, but the bridge doth flow.

(Essays in Zen Buddhism – First Series 272)

 

Beyond This World

通玄峯頂      Over the crest of the T'ung-hsuan-feng,

不是人間      The human world is no more.

心外無物      Nothing is outside the Mind;

満目青山      And the eye is filled with green mountains.

T'ien-t'ai Te-chao (天台德昭 Tendai Tokushõ; 891-972), most prominent disciple of Fa-yen (法眼 Hõgen), and abbot of a temple on Mount T'ung-hsuan-feng (通玄峯).

(The Golden Age of Zen 240, 321 n.37)

 

Mindfulness

行到水窮處 I stroll along the stream up to where it ends.

坐看雲起時 I sit down watching the clouds as they begin to rise.