Kodo Sawaki Quotes

Religion means living your own life, completely fresh and new, without being taken in by anyone.

No matter how many years you sit doing zazen, you will never become anything special.

To be born as a human being is a rare thing, something to be grateful for. But being born as a human being is worthless if you spend your whole life in a mental hospital. It is worthless if you worry about not having money. It is worthless if you become neurotic because you cannot get a prestigious job. It is worthless if you weep because you lose your girlfriend.

Heaven and Earth give themselves. Air, water, plants, animals, and humans give themselves to each other. It is in this giving-themselves-to-each-other that we actually live. Whether you appreciate it or not, it is true.

You don’t seek the way. The way seeks you.

You can't even trade a single fart with the next guy. Each and every one of us has to live out his own life. Don't waste time thinking about who's most talented.

Only a lion can recognize a lion's roar.

Gain is delusion; loss is enlightenment.

We stop the one who can't cease from seeking things outside, and practice with our bodies with a posture that seeks absolutely nothing. This is zazen.

Satori has no beginning; practice has not end!

Live the Self that fills the whole Universe.