Zen Philosophy Sayings

#1. According to Zen philosophy each human being has two minds, a finite mind and an infinite mind.

Frederick Lenz

#2. The Zen philosophy posits that 'human beings suffer' and 'the cause of suffering is desire.' The way to put an end to suffering is to stop wanting everything, all the time.

Karl Albrecht

#3. For your past, for your flaws, and ultimately for your stress; I judge no one whom I've met along the way because in a sense we were all wounded in our own ways.

Forrest Curran

#4. The journey is made up of the most genuine and honest wonders of the mind, but also includes unfathomable sorrow and despair; yet, this is what makes up a journey as well as the human experience in entirety.

Forrest Curran

#5. A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?"
Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason.

Shunryu Suzuki

#6. Again, all of life presents us with two basic ways to treat events. We can either label them "god for us" or "bad for us." The event is only an event. It's how we treat the event that determines what it becomes in our lives. The event doesn't make that determination- we do.

Chris Prentiss

#7. Stay in the center, and you will be ready to move in any direction.

Alan W. Watts

#8. Mindfulness helps you understand that the past is gone, can't be changed and all the lessons are already learned.

Lidiya K.

#9. Without waiting for others acknowledge your purpose, remaining balanced when things don't work out, and uncompromising in your effort; realize that you have a piece of the universe for which she cannot exist without.

Forrest Curran

#10. Your value and self-worth is not found in your former lover, not in the loving words of they spoke, not in the gentle ways that they held you, not in the sweetness of their kiss; but found in the love that you have for yourself.

Forrest Curran

#11. There's a void inside most people.
It's been created by not being contented with who we are, not being happy with what we have, not being present and looking for something more, better, more exciting out there.
And we've always been trying to fill this void with something external.

Lidiya K.

#12. Let the people talk, let people doubt, and let
people question you, but never allow yourself to quit walking your path. Their path is their own and the path you walk is that of your own. Sweet child of mine, be the brave child of mine.

Forrest Curran

#13. Wisdom comes from not only in the understanding that often times we say no to things too easily and quickly, but also in knowing that that 'no' for the sake of your physical and mental wellbeing can also be a reasonable and grounded decision for which you shouldn't feel the need to feel guilty.

Forrest Curran

#14. The most expected thing you can expect is what's unexpected.

Dick Allen

#15. Apples to oranges, the act of comparing your life to another's is more like comparing an elephant to an apple, it makes no sense to compare someone's life that you have no knowledge about to that of your own, of which in all earnest is not something that you completely understand yourself.

Forrest Curran

#16. The drive to Santa Fe on I-25 is midly zen. There are public road signs that say "Gusty Winds May Exist". This seems more like lazy philosophy than travel advice.

Chuck Klosterman

#17. One day in my shoes and a day for me in your shoes, the beauty of travel lies in the ease and willingness to be more open.

Forrest Curran

#18. By creating an image of low self- esteem within ourselves, we bomb and terrorize our true self. When we refuse to forgive, we create an insensible war from old grudges. When we allow stress to impede our healthy flow of energy, we create the weapon of destruction that kills humanity.

Forrest Curran

#19. Sex is a powerful intent to create: the creation of pleasure, creation of love, and ultimately the creation of life. It connects and syncs two beings emotionally, physically, and mentally and is one of the strongest expressions of love that exists in this World.

Forrest Curran

#20. Zen is Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana is tantric Buddhism - these are various forms of it. Tantric Buddhism simply means cutting to the chase.

Frederick Lenz

#21. Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does not propose, it simply persuades. It does not argue, it simply sings its own song.

Rajneesh

#22. Synchronize each breath with the present moment and become intertwined with happiness. Breathing in, we are grateful for the opportunities that are given to us; breathing out, we let go of the depression and anxiety that hold us back.

Forrest Curran

#23. Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

Ryokan

#24. All is contained within the silence of death, the quietest and the loudest sound in the universe.

Forrest Curran

#25. With nowhere to go, we have everywhere else to go.

Forrest Curran

#26. A strong personal philosophy does more than sustain us through the tragedies of life. It also stains us daily in everything we think and do. It gives us optimism and hope.

Chris Prentiss

#27. If you want to be free of the wars of the world, begin by resolving the wars within you. If you want to see the world at peace, create peace within your mind.

Forrest Curran

#28. When we are in a foreign country we live with a fervor rooting from knowing that our days there are numbered, yet if the number of days in lives is numbered, are we not to live our everyday lives with that same zeal?

Forrest Curran

#29. The universe and the law of attraction speak a language that knows no words, only discerning your intent through sacrifice and what you are willing to give up.

Forrest Curran

#30. The teachings of Osho, in fact, encompass many religions, but he is not defined by any of them. He is an illuminating speaker on Zen, Taoism, Tibetan Buddhism, Christianity and ancient Greek philosophy ... and also a prolific author.

Nevill Drury

#31. This is not a philosophy of not looking where one is going; it is a philosophy of not making where one is going so much more important than where one is that there will be no point in going.

Alan W. Watts

#32. How much does he lack himself who must have many things?

Sen No Rikyu

#33. Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

Alan W. Watts

#34. Zen professes
itself to be the spirit of Buddhism, but in fact it is the spirit of all
religions and philosophies,

D.T. Suzuki

#35. What is a course of history, or philosophy, or poetry, no matter how well selected, or the best society, or the most admirable routine of life, compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen?

Henry David Thoreau

#36. Zen is not, in my view, philosophy or mysticism. It is simply a practice of readjustment of nervous activity. That is, it restores the distorted nervous system to its normal functioning.

Katsuki Sekida

#37. Love was never meant to be contained solely in our hearts, just as life in a seed was always meant to break through into the world and become beauty to be shared.

Forrest Curran

#38. Do not desperately seek refuge in heaven and delve in blissful ignorance; discover the fires and infernos of hell that have sprung inside of you.

Forrest Curran

#39. I did Urban Zen for myself, to make clothes for me and my friends, a similar philosophy to when I started Donna Karan. Except this time I hope it will stay that way so that I will be able to support young designers and mentor them.

Donna Karan

#40. Who we are now is all that really matters.

Amy Joy

#41. The tallest and oldest trees that seemed to have just have casually always been there, hold the greatest love: as it nurtures love for others: providing shade for two lovers, becoming home for birds to build a nest, and giving food to the squirrels whom scurry upon it.

Forrest Curran

#42. Life was the gift that you were given the day you were born, and in turn you are the gift to life. Only in the moments of being alone in the darkness on the raft, will you have the space to speak, listen, and to act from the heart.

Forrest Curran

#43. Whether between man and women, man and man, or woman and woman; look not towards any system that binds society created by man for guidance, but be guided by the principles of love. Love is the only law that commands this universe, and is the only language that is understood universally.

Forrest Curran

#44. Once upon a time,
there was a Zen sign
at every small railway crossing in America

Stop. Look. And listen.

Dick Allen

#45. As I naturally go through a full range of emotions in my life, I mustn't feel ashamed for feeling lost, for it is honest and human to feel such.

Forrest Curran

#46. Naturally, the Zen Master Rama philosophy is to have a high state of awareness and material success.

Frederick Lenz

#47. Zen is a double-edged sword, killing words and thoughts, yet at the same time, giving them life. Although beyond human intellect and philosophy, Zen is their root and source.

Masao Abe

#48. From the cross-cultural hermeneutical point of view, there is just one philosophy, which has been practiced at various times and places around the world. From this perspective, comparing Nietzsche and Zen is not fundamentally different from comparing Nietzsche to Plato.

Andre Van Der Braak

#49. Being scared to fail inspires creativity; heartbreak inspires creativity; being hurt by others inspires creativity; being lost inspires creativity. Your masterpiece isn't something that you will have made in the colorful, it is understood in the darkness. Use the anxiety within and let it serve you.

Forrest Curran

#50. Your actions create an "energy vortex" that draws in the necessary ingredients for your venture.

Chris Prentiss

#51. Have no fear in the devil and acknowledge the insecurities, mistakes of the past, and disappointments that you have long failed to accept as new beginnings and see the child within you begin to heal.

Forrest Curran

#52. To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we just do what we should do, like eating supper and going to bed. This is Buddhism.

Shunryu Suzuki

#53. People get stuck a lot because they're afraid to act; in the worst case, ... we get so attached to some end result that we can't function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn't wait.

Bernie Glassman

#54. We become so absorbed in our flaws and faults that we forget that it is better to be a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. To have flaws is beauty in itself, a fact so frightening that we hurry to hide them from sight and tarnish the whole in the process of comparing ourselves to others.

Forrest Curran

#55. With the notion that we can open up our world by opening our minds, realize that home is the land that is least explored, and that adventure is a notion not determined by location, but is ultimately a state of mind.

Forrest Curran

#56. The drive, the ambition, the art; it all comes to me when I close my eyes and think about the sacrifices my Mom made for me.

Forrest Curran

#57. Perfectionists are neurotic people. The world is perfectly beautiful in its imperfection.

Rahul Karn

#58. The emphasis is on meditation in Tantric Zen. The experience of meditation in formal practice, zazen, where you're sitting down and meditating and concentrating.

Frederick Lenz

#59. Only in the moments of being alone in the darkness on the raft, will you have the space to speak, listen, and to act from the heart. Only in the moments of pain, do we begin to empathize with humankind. Only when you are lost, you will find new meaning. Float on.

Forrest Curran

#60. I didn't know that the times we spent together on the weekends, the times that we laughed together, and the times you helped me out was your way of silently wishing me a beautiful goodbye.

Forrest Curran

#61. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few

Shunryu Suzuki