Zen It is a Buddhist school that emerged in India and developed in China, which aims to raise awareness.
In the West, this philosophy is closely related to mental and physical well-being and meditation and, in recent years, it has become very popular. Well, it helps to escape the accelerated pace of life in which we live in Western societies, promoting self-knowledge and relaxation and helping people to “be in the here and now” –
Throughout history there are many authors who have uttered Zen phrases In today’s article, you can find a list of the best phrases on this topic. Enjoy them!
1. The things I carry are my thoughts. They are my only weight. My thoughts determine whether I am free and light or heavy and burdened.
Kamal Ravikant Constantly remembering things is a very heavy burden.
2. Meditation is the new mobile device; can be used anywhere, anytime, discreetly
Sharon Salzberg It is possible to benefit from meditation anywhere and at any time.
3. Only the hand that erases can write the true
Master Eckhart a Zen phrase to reflect on the truth.
4. Those who are free from resentment will surely find peace
buddha talking about hate and resentment.
5. Worried about a single leaf you will not see the tree
If you focus your attention only on the negative aspects you will not see the positive ones.
6. It is curious that life, the emptier, the heavier it weighs
A reflection on the personal development of each of us
7. In the mind of the beginner there are many possibilities, but in the mind of the expert there are few.
The beginner’s mind is a pure and non-judgmental mind.
8. Just as parents take care of their children, you should take the entire universe into account.
Zen Master Dogen a phrase about self-care.
9. Three things can no longer be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth
Another great reflection from the great Buddha.
10. If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where do you expect to find it?
The present is the only moment we can live.
11. My experience tells me that most things are not as bad as I thought they would be.
We tend to worry excessively about the things that happen to us.
12. What we can change are our perceptions, which have the effect of changing everything
Donna Quesada It is not the events that affect us, but how we interpret them.
13. We are formed by our thoughts; We become what we think.
buddha We are what we think and we act based on it.
14. Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck
Dalai Lama Not achieving what you want can be an opportunity to achieve other things.
15. You are not your thoughts. This simple statement can make a big change in your quality of life.
Dawn Gluskin. A Zen phrase with a certain tone of irony.
16. Mindfulness is not complicated, we just have to remember to do it
Sharon Salzberg, Mindfulness requires attitude and practice.
17. One thing: you have to walk and create the path by walking; You will not find a ready-made path. It is not cheap to achieve the highest realization of truth. You will have to create the path by walking alone; The path is not already made waiting for you. It’s just like the sky: the birds fly but they don’t leave footprints. You can’t follow them; there are no footprints behind
Osho Each of us must carve out our destiny, because destiny is not written.
18. There is no fear for him whose mind is not full of desires
A reflection that deals with the relationship between fears and desires.
19. The object of your desire is not an object
A quote from Jack Gardner which invites you to think.
20. True love is born from understanding
According to Zen philosophy, love is only understood with understanding
21. Better than a thousand empty words, a single word that can bring peace
In this quote he exposes the importance of a word full of feeling.
22. Escaping the world means that one’s world is not concerned with the world’s opinions
One should not worry about what others think of him.
23. Purity and impurity come from oneself; no one can purify another
buddha highlights the central role of each person’s mind
24. A madman is known by his actions, a wise man too
We are what we do, that is, the actions we carry out.
25. Firmly, train yourself to achieve peace
This phrase refers to the search for inner peace.
26. We can only lose what we hold on to
We should not get attached to our emotions, but rather observe them and let them pass.
27. Stress comes from the way you relate to events or situations
Chris Prentiss It is not events or situations that stress us, but how we interpret them.
28. Fill your mind with compassion
Compassion is one of the principles of Zen philosophy.
29. Everything we are is the result of what we have thought
buddha Our thoughts determine who we are.
30. How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours
Wayne Dyer A quote about Karma from this well-known author.
31. Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting or lying down, everything you do is Zen
The Zen philosophy surrounds you and is part of your daily life.
32. It is better to travel well than to arrive
You have to live in the present to reach the future.
33. Problems that remain persistently unsolved should be taken as incorrectly questioned questions.
Alan Wilson Watts about problem solving.
34. The more you know, the less you need
Yvon Chouinard Wisdom makes you need less.
35. If you can bring your consciousness, your intelligence to the act, if you can be spontaneous, then there is no need for any religion, life becomes itself in religion
Osho A quote about self-knowledge and about the present and spontaneity.
36. You cannot travel the path until you become the path itself
If you do not focus on the present and your senses you will not move forward.
37. The meaning of spiritual life is to realize the truth. But you will never understand the spiritual life, or the truth, if you measure it by your own criteria
Dainin Katagiri An interesting quote to reflect on.
38. The power of the mind is unconquerable
Seneca It tells us about the power of the mind.
39. Stress is an ignorant state. With him you think everything is an emergency. nothing is that important
Natalie Goldberg Stress is a problem that affects our days.
40. The answer is never “out there.” All the answers are “in there”, inside you, wanting to be discovered
Chris Prentiss A phrase about self-knowledge and its importance to be happy.
41. I have lived with many Zen masters, many of them cats
Eckhart Tolle A reflection on the Zen masters.
42. Every human being is the author of his or her own health or illness
Another quote from Buddha that refers to each person’s health.
43. We should live every day like people who have just been rescued from the moon
A great Zen phrase from Thích Nhất Hạnh
44. If you want to learn, teach. If you need inspiration, inspire others. If you are sad, encourage someone
A curious phrase about attitude.
45. If you want to master the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath
A quote that makes clear reference to Buddhist meditation.
46. The best trick of the mind is the illusion that it exists
Marty Rubin The mind is very powerful.
47. To teach others, you must first do something very hard: you must straighten yourself
In order to teach, just as to love, you must first get in touch with your own self.
48. You can be happy if you are willing to let go of your past and get rid of obstacles to be able to fly
The past weighs so much that it doesn’t let you fly in the direction you want.
49. There is no fire like passion: there is no evil like hate
Hate is one of the worst defects of human beings.
50. Presence is when you no longer wait for the next moment, believing that the next moment will be fuller than this one.
The present is the only way to live the best future.
51. If you add a little to a little, and do it often, soon a little will become a lot
The importance of consistency and perseverance highlighted in this quote.
52. Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor
Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the great figures of mindfulness, in clear reference to meditation.
53. Wealth consists much more in enjoyment than in possession
Zen philosophy is totally opposite to materialism
54. Better a word that calms those who hear it than a thousand absurd verses
The key may be in the brief.
55. The worst attack on ourselves, the worst of all, is to remain ignorant for not having the courage and respect to treat ourselves with honesty and tenderness.
Pema Chödrön Treating yourself with respect is the key to well-being.
56. Walk as if you were kissing the earth with your feet
Another famous reflection by Thich Nhat Hanh about living in the here and now.
57. More than a thousand useless words, a single one that grants peace is worth
Words that lead to calm are the most useful.
58. Do not seek the friendship of those who have an impure soul; do not seek the company of men with perverse souls. Associate yourself with those who have beautiful and good souls. If you want to be happy, surround yourself with people who value your soul and who know how to communicate in a positive way.
You have to surround yourself with people with good hearts.
59. Your duty is to discover your world and then give yourself to it with all your heart
We must live unique experiences because they make us wise.
60. We must be aware that what causes us discomfort or anxiety is not the events, but how we link our emotions to them.
We are not altered by events, but by what we think about them and how we interpret them.
61. As a solid rock does not move with the wind, so the wise man remains unperturbed in the face of slander and flattery.
People with experience and wisdom know the importance of loving yourself.
62. What we are today rests on what we thought yesterday, and our current thoughts forge our future life
The future is no more and the past is yet to be lived. What matters is the present.
63. We are in this world to live together in harmony. Those who know it do not fight among themselves and achieve inner peace
Peace in the world is achieved with inner peace.
64. Long is the night for him who lies awake; long is the mile for he who is tired; Long is life for the fool who does not know the true law
A phrase that leaves interpretation open.
65. With our thoughts we create the world
The world we have created is still a reflection of our thoughts.
66. The greatest victory is the one you win over yourself
The first thing you have to do to achieve personal success is to know yourself.
67. Through effort, vigilance, discipline and self-control, the wise man creates an island that the flood cannot destroy.
Wise people build the world around them based on their experience.
68. If there is a solution, why are you crying? If there is no solution, why are you crying?
We should not waste this precious life regretting things that have no remedy.
69. Bless your friend… he allows you to grow
He who has a friend, has a treasure says a popular saying.
70. To live a detached life, one must not feel like the owner of anything in the midst of abundance
Abundance doesn’t make much sense in Zen philosophy.
71. Your virtue should be to profess love and peace to those around you
Giving peace and love to those around you makes you a virtuous person.
72. Just as a candle does not shine without fire, man cannot exist without a spiritual life
Spiritual life is connecting with our soul.
73. Doubt everything. Find your own light
Don’t pay attention to what society wants to tell you. Be critical.
74. Conquering oneself is a greater task than conquering others
Loving yourself is the best option to be happy.
75. The exit is through the door. Why doesn’t anyone use this method?
One of Confucius’s Zen phrases that focus on a philosophy of life based on simplicity.
76. Those who worship do not know, and those who know do not worship
One of the aphorisms of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma.
77. Forgetting oneself is opening oneself
A brief reflection by Dōgen, one of the great historical references of Buddhism in Japan.
78. Life is like preparing to set sail on a ship that will end up sinking
A very graphic comparison with the idea of a person’s life path.
79. Many paths start from the foot of the mountain, but at the top we can only look at the moon
A phrase from Ikkyu, a 15th century Zen monk.
80. Everyone knows the path, but few walk it
Another of Bodhidharma’s phrases about how simple it is to live virtuously.
81. Do not see the mountains from the scale of human thoughts
Humility and awareness of one’s own limitations are essential in life.
82. The goal of practice is always to keep your beginner’s mind
You have to maintain freshness and creativity to develop correctly.
83. When someone dies, that is a great lesson
One of the Zen phrases of Shunryu Suzuki, a monk and popularizer of Buddhism.
84. I would rather be defeated in the presence of the wise than stand out among the ignorant
Another of Dōgen’s quotes about the importance of surrounding yourself with wise people.
85. Getting rid of words is liberation
Bodhidharma talks about that psychological facet that is beyond language and that, according to him, constitutes life.
86. One must be very aware of the constant flow of the world
The immobile does not exist, it is an illusion.
87. The river that flows around you also flows around me
There are no isolated people, we are all part of the same reality. This is a phrase from Kabir, a religious leader in India
88. How incomplete is someone who needs to have many things?
A reflection by Sen no Rikyū about renunciation.
89. We sit together, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains
A poetic phrase from Li Bai, Chinese poet.
90. Be the change you want to see in the world
One of the most remembered quotes from Mahatma Gandhi, which encourages us to change the world starting with ourselves.
91. I am the master of my destiny, I am the captain of my soul
A quote from Nelson Mandela that pushes and encourages us to take charge of our lives.
92. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
This phrase from Buddha about worldly pain is one of the fundamental pillars of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy.
93. Today you can decide to walk freely. You can decide to walk differently. You can walk like a free person, enjoying every step
The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh left us great phrases about freedom, brotherhood and love.
94. In a gentle way, you can shake the world
Gandhi’s political and social militancy managed to change the world and achieved freedom in his country, India.
95. Walker, there is no path. The path is made by walking
One of the most immortal verses of the poet Antonio Machado.
96. You have to walk with love and peace. As if we kissed the earth with our feet
Only in this way will we be able to have a happy and full life.
97. Life is like a long journey and time is like a mighty river
A Zen phrase loaded with a profound philosophical message: the most beautiful thing about life’s journey is the path we travel.
98. Meditation strengthens the strong and weakens the weak
A phrase by Benjamin Constant that praises the benefits of meditation.
99. No snowflake falls in the wrong place
Zen proverb that tells us about how everything that happens is good.
100. The bird does not sing because it is happy, it is happy because it sings
101. Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path
We must conceive obstacles as opportunities and not as setbacks.
102. What has never been lost cannot be found
Very important message that teaches us how many of the things we may be looking for are still within us.
103. For a non-violent person, the whole world is his family
An ode to pacifism and the harmonious union of all humanity.
104. If you wait, the right action arises by itself
Through perseverance and patience we can make all our dreams come true.
105. Violence is the fear of the ideals of the other
A truly accurate definition of violence, awarded to Gandhi.
106. Quiet people have the loudest minds
Appearances are often deceiving and you can learn a lot from quiet people.
107. When you realize that you don’t lack anything, the whole world belongs to you
A great quote from the Chinese philosopher Lao Tze, which we can integrate into our daily lives.
108. By studying books one seeks God; with meditation you will find
Great religious people like Padre Pio dedicated their lives to meditation and the search for God.
109. If I believe it (from the verb “Believe”), I believe it (from the verb “Create”)
A phrase that tells us about the power of the human will and how believing is the first step to achieving great things.
110. True education consists of obtaining the best in oneself
Gandhi’s messages were aimed at improving the society of his country in all areas.
