In today’s society, it’s easy to forget to slow down and appreciate the little things. Zen quotes are a great reminder to do just that.
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty. The Japanese word “zen” is derived from the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word “dhyana”. The purpose of Zen is to achieve enlightenment and to live in harmony with others and with nature.
These Zen quotes are words of wisdom that can be applied to our everyday lives. They offer a fresh perspective on life and can help us see the world in a new light. They can be used as a tool for self-reflection, or simply as a way to bring a bit of peace and calm into our busy lives.
Here are some of the most insightful Zen quotes that will help you on your journey to finding peace and happiness.
Inspirational Zen quotes
Zen quotes are a great way to change your life. They can help you find inner peace, calm your mind, and live in the present moment. Here are some of my favorite Zen quotes:
Retain a calm heart, sit like a turtle, walk swiftly like a pigeon, and sleep like a dog
Li Ching-Yuen
Be calm in arguing; for fierceness makes error a fault, and truth discourtesy.
George Herbert
So let the mind flow like water. Face life with a calm and quiet mind and everything in life will be calm and quiet.
Thich Thien-An
The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
There is no way to happiness – happiness is the way.
Thich Nhat Hanh
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
Buddha
The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.
Buddha
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
Buddha
A calm mind is good for our physical health, but it also enables us to see things more realistically.
Dalai Lama
Balance Zen quotes
If you’re looking for a way to elevate your inner peace, look no further than Zen quotes. These simple, yet profound statements can help you quiet your mind and find a sense of calm in the midst of chaos. Whether you’re facing a difficult situation or just need a reminder to stay present, these Zen quotes can help you find your center.
Be patient, calm, compassionate. Know that existence is fleeting.
Ettore Sottsass
Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Mind is everything. What we think, we become.
Buddha
When the mind is calm, how quickly, how smoothly, how beautifully you will perceive everything.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Winning has to do with gaining personal power through the practice of meditation and mindfulness; not draining your energy on ridiculous things and people.
Frederick Lenz
And one of the powers of mindfulness is the ability to get to that frame of mind on demand.
Chade-Meng Tan
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
Zhuangzi
The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.
Shunryu Suzuki
The two wings of mindfulness and kindness will begin to open the heart to more connection with our world.
Tara Brach
Zen quotes on life
Zen quotes can be very helpful when you’re feeling stressed or anxious. Just a few words of wisdom from some of history’s most enlightened thinkers can help to calm and center yourself. Here are some Zen quotes to help you find your peace of mind.
The Seven Factors of Awakening are mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, diligence, joy, ease, concentration, and letting go.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
Alton Brown
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.
Buddha
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.
Matsuo Basho
Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
Laozi
Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.
Buddha
If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.
Buddha
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.
Marie Curie
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
Mahatma Gandhi
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Watch your step.
Thomas S. Monson
Positive Zen quotes
In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race and forget to take a moment to relax. But as the saying goes, “stop and smell the roses. If you’re looking for a way to slow down and appreciate life, these Zen quotes will inspire you to do just that.
You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life of peace, you inspire hope for a future of peace.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Practicing zazen and mindfulness constantly and correctly, over a period of time, can bring strength and clarity to your finite mind and eventually give you access to your infinite mind.
Frederick Lenz
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Will Durant
The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.
Thich Nhat Hanh
No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention; let it settle itself.
Tilopa
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, This is the best season of your life.
Wumen Huikai
With mindfulness training we are able to recognize when we get lost in our mental dramas, and bring a kind and nonreactive presence to the feelings that accompany them.
Tara Brach
As flower blooms in spring, compassion grows in mindfulness.
Amit Ray
Daily Zen quotes
Happiness is something that we all seek in our lives. It is what motivates us to keep going when things get tough. However, sometimes it can be hard to find inner happiness. That’s where Zen quotes come in to inspire us.
Slow down. Enjoy life. It’s tough to slow down if your mind is going a million miles a second. It’s tough to slow down if you think what these people do here matters.
Frederick Lenz
After a storm comes a calm.
Matthew Henry
Learn to be calm and you will always be happy.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
Saint Francis de Sales
Keep calm and carry on.
Winston Churchill
All that we are is the result of what we have thought; what we think we become.
Buddha
Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
Buddha
Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax.
Rajneesh
Zen lives in the present. The Whole teaching is: how to be in the present; how to get out of the past which is no more and how not to get involved in the future which is not yet, and just to be rooted, centered, in that which is.
Rajneesh
Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.
Ramana Maharshi
Mindfulness Zen quotes
When you are feeling lost or down, sometimes all you need is a bit of light in your life. And what better way to get that light than from some wise and enlightening Zen quotes? Here are some quotes that are sure to bring some light into your life:
The future is always beginning now.
Mark Strand
The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.
Allan Lokos
The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.
Pema Chodron
Find your eternity in each moment.
Henry David Thoreau
Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence.
Marcus Aurelius
Mindfulness is not about getting anywhere else.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul
Harold S. Kushner
We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.
Bill Watterson
Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.
Mother Teresa
Best Zen Quotes
When it comes to words of wisdom, few cultures can rival the Zen masters. For centuries, these sages have been imparting their knowledge onto others in the hopes of enlightening them. And while their teachings may be centuries old, they’re still just as relevant today. Here are some of the most insightful Zen quotes that will make you wiser.
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
Buddha
What you think you become.
Buddha
Man’s troubles are rooted in extreme attention to senses, thoughts, and imagination. Attention should be focused internally to experience a quiet body and a calm mind.
Buddha
Developing concern for others, thinking of them as part of us, brings self-confidence, reduces our sense of suspicion and mistrust, and enables us to develop a calm mind.
Dalai Lama
A wild person with a calm mind can make anything.
Eric Maisel
Peace of mind is the basis of a healthy body and a healthy mind; so peace of mind, a calm mind, is very, very important.
Dalai Lama
Why dost thou not retire like a guest sated with the banquet of life, and with calm mind embrace, thou fool, a rest that knows no care?
Lucretius
Move quickly. Sound, calm mind. Be light in body. Have a clever mind. Master the basics.
Gogen Yamaguchi
The greatest Zen master of all is the one who is most truly awake to the present moment.
Alan Watts
Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.
Huang Po
Daily Zen quotes
A daily dose of Zen can do wonders for your outlook on life. These Zen quotes can help you live a more peaceful, productive and happy life.
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
Willa Cather
In any given moment we are either practicing mindfulness, or defacto, we are practicing mindlessness.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
One can make a day of any size and regulate the rising and setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining.
John Muir
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Dalai Lama
The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
Robert M. Pirsig
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
Dogen
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Laozi
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
Henry David Thoreau
You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
World is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.
Amit Ray
Zen Quote
Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mastery is the natural result of mindfulness.
Ron Kurtz
You end up making a home in every place you’re at, in a small way. In any way you can find a kind of mindfulness.
Nick Littlemore
Buddhist mindfulness is about the present, but I also think its about being real. Being awake to everything. Feeling like nothing can hurt you if you can look it straight on.
Krista Tippett
Gain control of the mind and make it still, initially just during periods of meditation, but then throughout the day and throughout the night.
Frederick Lenz
It is as important to monitor your mind constantly as it is to sit down and practice meditation.
Frederick Lenz
You are not limited to this body, to this mind, or to this reality—you are a limitless ocean of Consciousness, imbued with infinite potential. You are existence itself.
Joseph P. Kauffman
Honestly admitting what you lost and not trying to rationalize it or push it off is an important step in self-assessment and mindfulness.
Frederick Lenz
You can turn just about any simple act into a practice of mindfulness, and it will nurture and nourish you; it will start your day off in a positive way.
Mariel Hemingway
Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.
Sharon Salzberg
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Viktor E. Frankl
Zen quotes and sayings
No matter where you are on your journey, these Zen quotes will inspire you to find beauty in the present moment.
However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?
Buddha
Compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and a sense of self-discipline are qualities that help us lead our daily lives with a calm mind
Dalai Lama
He who is of a calm and happy nature, will hardly feel the pressure of age
Plato
Nothing is so bitter that a calm mind cannot find comfort in it.
Seneca the Younger
Calmness is always godlike.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.
Pema Chodron
A calm mind releases the most precious capacity a human being can have: the capacity to turn anger into compassion, fear into fearlessness, and hatred into love.
Eknath Easwaran
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
Buddha
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create disticntions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.
Buddha
A calm mind helps our human intelligence to assess the situation realistically.
Dalai Lama
Inside the calm minds, great ideas swim serenely like the morning geese of the misty lakes!
Mehmet Murat Ildan
Final thought
When it comes to finding inner peace and living a life of balance, there is no shortage of advice out there. But sometimes, the simplest words can be the most impactful. These Zen quotes above may help you find more peace in your life.
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