“When you’re blind to your own nature, the Buddha is an ordinary being. When you’re aware of your own nature, an ordinary being is the Buddha.”

In the face of impermanence, if your next thought is good, this is what we call the realization body.

This building we’re in has doors and windows. If we close the doors and windows, we can’t get out.

Reading texts is no substitute for meditation and practicing Zen. If you read a book about a place, and you want to go there, you don’t keep reading the book.

When you are free of form and not confused, you are focused. To be free of form externally is ‘Zen.’ Not to be confused internally is ‘meditation.’ External Zen and internal meditation, this is what we mean by ‘Zen meditation.

There’s not even any leaving. What we see are flowers in the sky, the moon in the water. As for the meditative powers of Zen masters like Hsu-yun, sometimes it’s useful to meditate and sometimes it isn’t.

But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is the Buddha. They keep searching outside.

To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings.

An ancient buddha said, “Mountains are mountains; waters are waters.” These words do not mean mountains are mountains; they mean mountains are mountains.

If you want to travel the Way of Buddhas and Zen masters, then expect nothing, seek nothing, and grasp nothing.

Mortals liberate Buddhas and Buddhas liberate mortals.

Our true buddha-nature has no shape. And the dust of affliction has no form.

Look for Buddha outside your own mind, and Buddha becomes the devil.

Buddhas don’t practice nonsense.