Zen Proverb Quotes

To travel is to be alive, but to get somewhere is to be dead, for as our own proverb says, “To travel well is better than to arrive.

Let go or be dragged.

When walking, walk. When eating, eat.

If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.

Expect nothing. Appreciate everything.

The beginning is half of every action." Greek Proverb

He who has a hundred miles to walk should reckon ninety as half the journey,” he replied, quoting the proverb.

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself —Chinese proverb

The obstacle is the path.

The infinite is in the finite of every instant.

An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.

Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark.

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

I’d later learn that in Japanese culture these long periods of silence, chinmoku (沈黙), were commonplace. It has its roots in Zen Buddhism, where silence is said to hold the secrets of existence. The Japanese proverb ‘It is better to leave many things unsaid’ captures the essence of chinmoku. Far from being awkward, in Japan silence is a natural part of daily interactions.

A river too pure, yields no fish.

What you possess, you lose.

To follow the path, look to the master, follow the master, walk with the master, see through the master, become the master.

When the mind is nowhere it is everywhere.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

You are where you need to be. Just breathe." -         Zen Proverb

There’s a Zen proverb that states “If you’re too busy to sit still for 10 minutes, you need to sit still for an hour.

When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear —Zen proverb

It is not a lack of intelligence that holds people back the most. It is fear — often initially caused by repressed traumatic experiences they had gone through when younger. Without bringing these ancient traumas — embodied in their ‘shadow’ — from the darkness to the light, healing remains but a wishful thinking. The “poor little me” mindset manages to hijack their inner beings, rendering them unable to face their own perceived boundaries and limitations, which naturally also makes them unable to transcend them. Fear, you see, remains the driving force behind many harmful behaviours in life. “Let go or be dragged” as the Zen proverb reminds us.

To say I woke up one day and reached a point where I no longer cared about the pains to befall me would be a lie. Nor can I say that I have ever fully forgiven those who willfully did me harm. On a deep, internal battlefield, I wrestle with the thought that I have been robbed of any chance of normalcy by the losses suffered. Therapists and gurus alike tell us to, “Let go or be dragged,” as Zen proverb urges—to forgive for our own sake. But, in my experience, there is no letting go and forgiveness is transient. My inability to be free of it all isn’t for lack of an evolved consciousness on my part. I’ve “done the work” to process it all; rather, it is my irreconcilable, inescapable humanity that causes to clutch the pain close to me.

Let go, or be dragged.

Great Faith. Great Doubt. Great Effort. The three truths all great writers face every day.

If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!

The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist. They turn to each other and say 'We did it ourselves.

You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. If you are very busy, you must sit for 1 hour.

TEACHERS OPEN THE DOOR BUT YOU MUST ENTER BY YOURSELF

In this respect, the Chinese written language has a slight advantage over our own, and is perhaps symptomatic of a different way of thinking. It is still linear, still a series of abstractions taken in one at a time. But its written signs are a little closer to life than spelled words because they are essentially pictures, and, as a Chinese proverb puts it, “One showing is worth a hundred sayings.” Compare, for example, the ease of showing someone how to tie a complex knot with the difficulty of telling him how to do it in words alone.

La pensée du néant des choses engendre la compassion, La compassion abolit l'espace entre soi et les autres, l'unité de soi et des autres réalise le bien d'autrui .

La patience est la plus grande des prières.

De la méditation naît la sagesse.

Vous ne serez pas puni pour votre colère mais par votre colère.

Jamais la haine n'éteint les haines en ce monde. Par l'amour seul les haines sont éteintes. C'est une loi eternelle.

L'esprit est difficile à maîtriser et instable. Il court où il veut, il est bon de le dominer. L’esprit dompté assure le bonheur.

Puisque la haine ne cessera jamais avec la haine, la haine cessera avec l’amour.

S'abstenir de tout mal, cultiver le bien, purifier son coeur, voici l'enseignement des Bouddhas.

Soyez à vous même votre propre refuge. Soyez à vous même votre lumière.

Have fun making the most of the moment. “The future depends on what we do in the present.” ~Mathatma Ghandi “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” ~Zen proverb

Again, the law of balance does not allow anyone to take the lion's share of nature's gifts. Beauty in face is accompanied by deformity in character. Intelligence is often uncombined with virtue. "Fair girls are destined to be unfortunate," says a Japanese proverb, "and men of ability to be sickly." "He makes no friend who never makes a foe." "Honesty is next to idiocy." "Men of genius," says Longfellow, "are often dull and inert in society; as the blazing meteor when it descends to earth is only a stone." Honour and shame go hand in hand. Knowledge and virtue live in poverty, while ill health and disease are inmates of luxury. Every misfortune begets some sort of fortune, while every good luck gives birth to some sort of bad luck. Every prosperity never fails to sow seeds of adversity, while every fall never fails to bring about some kind of rise.

In Vietnamese, there's a proverb that says, "When you love, you use the cane. When you hate, you use your sweet kind words.

but results are bad. This attempt to save time reminds me of a more fitting Japanese proverb: Nito o oumono wa itto mo ezu or “Chase two hares and get none.

Sometimes, simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom - Zen Proverb

First there is a mountain, Then there is no mountain, Then there is. —Zen proverb

If you fear thunder, let yourself be afraid", instructs a Zen proverb. So, obedient and good pupil, welcome to fear-

an old Zen proverb: “When the master points at the Moon, many people never see it at all, they only look at the master.

Touch the hole in your life, and there flowers will bloom.” Zen proverb

If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.” Zen proverb

Zen is the spirit of the valley, not the mountaintop. The Only Zen You Find At the top of the Mountain is the Zen you bring with you “- Zen Proverb

Better to see the face than hear the name.

The goal of winning is not a winning goal.

Sit, walk or run, but don’t wobble.” Zen proverb

What is Zen? Zen is Zen. What is Zen? Zen is not Zen.

Tous les êtres vivants sont bouddha et ont en eux sagesse et vertus.

Pour l'amoureux, une jolie femme est un objet de réjouissance; pour l'ermite, un sujet de distraction; pour le loup, un bon repas.

Le corps est heureux par la vertu, le coeur par la sagesse.

Si vous pensez que tout est parfait dans votre vie, soit vous êtes un Bouddha, soit vous êtes complètement idiot.

Not until you succeed in being really flexible and soft, can you become really strong and forceful. —Zen Buddhist proverb

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ZEN PROVERB

When walking, walk. When eating, eat. ZEN PROVERB

Utiliser son sac avec grace, c'est comme manger avec elegance, marcher avec prestance ou saisir un verre de champagne avec classe. La beaute se definit en general par la sobriete et l'economie des moyens, par l'adaptation des formes a leur fin, des formes simples, pures et primaires. Investir dans un sac de qualite, c'est non seulement se faire plaisir mais aussi se revolter contre la mediocrite et la consommation de masse grandissante qui peu a peu detruisent notre culture, notre civilisation et nos sens. Acheter de la qualite, c'est encourager une autre forme de commerce, respecter ce que nous possedons, vivre avec la lenteur d'un cuir qui se patine et pratiquer la simplicite: ne pas toujours chercher a acquerir plus tout en se contentant de ce que l'on a. Mon conseil est donc celui-ci: ne regardez pas les sacs exposes dans les magasins pour choisir un modele mais ceux portes par les femmes, dans la rue. C'est la meilleure facon de voir comment le cuir se drappe, la forme se bombe, la matiere se patine et s'ils ont, visuellement, une belle architecture une fois portes. L'argent devrait etre utilise pour vivre dans la qualite, y compris la qualite esthetique. Les belles choses apportent une joie durable. Le choix d'un sac pour longtemps ne serait-il pas le besoin d'une certaine forme de stabilite, d'harmonie et de confort dans ses besoins materiels? Affirmer son style, c'est exprimer par ses choix ses gouts et ses valeurs. Les exterioriser ensuite par le bon choix de vetements et de sacs est l'etape suivante. Etre chic, c'est savoir resister a la tentation. Faire des economies ce n'est pas acheter au meilleur prix l'objet convoite, c'est apprendre sereinement a s'en passer. Le voyage est sans doute la meilleure des situations pour apprecier les bienfaits du minimalisme et s'en inspirer pour l'appliquer au quotidien. Le voyage est l'occasion ideale de "refaire son bagage", c'est-a-dire de repenser la facon dont on vit sa vie et de l'ameliorer. On a tout son temps, en voyage, pour penser, reflechir a ce qui fait le "sel de la vie". C'est sur la route qu'on apprend a se passer du superflu: pas de television, de distractions, de consommation et de shopping. La vie est simplifiee au profit de la mobilite. On a egalement plus de temps pour soi-meme et/ou les rencontres. En voyage, on devient, comme le prescrit le zen, prepare a toutes les eventualites de la vie. le voyage est un retour vers l'essentiel. Proverbe tibetain Vivre avec peu est comme une invitation au voyage, a un vol interieur qui libere du reel et du poids de l'existence.

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t. ​— ​Bill Nye Something that I forget time and time again is that the person in front of me is usually trying their best. It can be tempting to judge people based on specific actions. It can be so easy to label someone as bad, selfish, obnoxious, or arrogant—sometimes even evil. We rarely stand in the shoes of others, see through their eyes, and truly understand their perspectives. But if and when we catch ourselves displaying those same behaviors, we have the opportunity to see and understand the context that may have given rise to them. In a similar way, as we grow in knowledge, experience, and wisdom, we can be lured into thinking that we have all the answers—that we know best. There’s something intrinsically dangerous about that rigidity of belief and unwillingness to learn from others. As the Zen proverb goes, “It takes a wise person to learn from his or her mistakes, but an even wiser one to learn from others.