Zazen Quotes

While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life. The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture. Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything. Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself.

~ Shunryu Suzuki

Nearly all samurai practice Zen - it is the Way of Enlightenment. Possibly the light of Zen is so strong that it has blinded me to its virtue. Yoshitoki smiled. It is very good discipline for the mind, as the martial arts are for the body. Kenmotsu looked very smug as he said this. I do Zazen twice a week. I think it will do no-one any harm, though personally I find it more pleasant to think than to empty my mind of thought.

~ Erik Christian Haugaard

In zazen, leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Just don't serve them tea.

~ Shunryu Suzuki

Since beginners can only remain in contact with the object of observation for short periods, initially one should meditate in brief sessions even eighteen times a day; in due course stability will be achieved of its own accord, at which time the session can be lengthened. It is important not to try at first to meditate for long periods; otherwise, upon sight of the meditation cushion, one will feel nausea and laziness. The session should be left while it is going well, when one still feels that it would go well if continued.

~ Jeffrey Hopkins

[W]hen you practise right meditation, you 'cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words and following speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate your self.

~ Steve Hagen