Koans & Quotes



Zen is not a pastime, but the most serious task in life
                                                                     D.T. Suzuki




It is almost impossible systematically to constitute a natural moral law.
Nature has no principles.
She furnishes us with no reason to believe that human life is to be respected.
Nature, in her indifference, makes no distinction between good and evil

                                                  Anatole France




The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion.
It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology.
Covering both natural and spiritual,
it should be based on a religious sense arising from
the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity.
Buddhism answers this description.
If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs,
it would be Buddhism.

                                          Albert Einstein, born a German Jew




Tie two birds together.
Even though they have four wings
they cannot fly

                                            the Blind Man




              ...On the other hand...




A horse has no udders
and a Cow can't whinney
and up is down
and sideways is straight ahead

                                                  Cord, the Seeker




He is a great monk
who can sleep soundly
in the dark recesses
of the misty mountains

                                      Zen saying




Who knows but life be that which men call death,
and death what men call life?

                                           Euripides




The one who keeps the Tao is not affected by praise or blame.
Knowing the truth, one is not afraid no matter what happens

                                                                                       Lao Tzu




At this moment
there is nothing to do
but have a good laugh

                                             a Chinese Zen Master




One is taught in accordance to one's fitness to learn

                                                                              the Blind Man




Searching for the Mind
is like looking for the footprints
of birds in the sky

                                           Zen saying




Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires

                                           Lao Tzu




When hungry,
eat
when tired,
sleep

                                                  a Great Chinese Abbot




Cord, each moment that passes changes you,
you do not, you cannot possess even your self,
How can you hope to possess anyone or anything else?

                                                                   the Blind Man




If one does not begin with the right attitude,
there is little hope for a right ending

                                                         a Wise Man




You can't step on the same piece of water twice

                                                                            the Blind Man




Zazen is itself enlightment

                                        Dogen




The more I learn, the more I realize that I know nothing

                                                                            Albert A. Einstein




You cannot enter a place you never left

                                                                Zen saying




There are only two ways to live your life.
One as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle

                                                       Albert A. Einstein




Any thing you think I am or want me to be, I am

                                                                   the Blind Man




Break out from inside, and your power is strong.
Break in from outside, and your power is weak.

                                                                   Zen saying




To know and to act are one and the same

                                                                   Samurai Maxim




Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely

                                                                   Zen saying




Each morning when I awake like a scholar at his first class,
I prepare a blank mind for the day, to write upon

                                                                   the Blind Man




Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free,
Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.
This is the ultimate.

                                                                   Chuang Tzu




Is not a happy man one who does not fear death?
Not only does he not fear it,
his days are filled with joy looking forward to it

                                                                   the Blind Man




I was asked, "Are you a god or a man?"
I replied, "neither, I am awake"

                                                                   Buddha




Karma means you don't get away with anything

                                                                   Ruth Denison




Stay centered, do not overstretch.
Extend from your center, return to your center

                                                                   Master Mian




A mistake is not serious unless it is repeated

                                                                   Sifu Simon Lau




Spiritual life should include a great measure of common sense

                                                                   Master Rinzai




Wherever you live is your temple if you treat it like one

                                                                   a Buddhist Monk




From practicing structured form sets,
one should arrive beyond these form sets,
just the same as from the compulsory to freedom from restriction

                                                                   Chen, Deng-Huei




A man should always think of the source
of the water as he drinks it

                                                                   Yip Man




When an invading force crosses a river
in its onward march,
it is best to let half the army get across,
and then deliver your attack

                                                                   Sun Tzu




Intercept what comes;
pursue what departs;
when the hands are freed of obstructions,
attack instinctively

                                                                   Sifu Wong Shun Leung




You may move first, but I move faster

                                                                   Sun Tzu




The true source and founder of Bai Mei
is the tiger,
the proof of this fact
is born in its face
and supported by its character

                                                                   Ga Ko




Even a good thing isn't so good as nothing

                                                                   a Zen Koan




For us believing physicists
the distinction between past,
present, and future is only an illusion,
even if a stubborn one

                                                                   Albert A. Einstein




Art is an expression of life which transcends both time and space

                                                                   Sifu Simon Lau




A second offense is not permitted

                                                                   a Zen Koan




The path and gateway have no meaning,
once the objective is in sight

                                                                   the Blind Man




Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless-like water.
If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup.
You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle.
You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Now, water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend.

                                                                   Bruce Lee, Siu Long




The instant you speak about a thing you miss the mark

                                                                   a Zen Koan




Fear causes hesitation, and
hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

                                                                   Bodhi




Taoist teachings are very practical.
They teach that we are each responsible for our own state of being,
that is to say, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual

                                                                   Ga Ko




It is far better to practice a single kick one thousand times
then to do a thousand kicks once

                                                                  Tang Soo!




To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the highest skill.
To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill.

                                                                   Sun Tzu




Learn to listen to that which is not spoken

                                                                   the Blind Man




Most people spend their time longing for results
without undertaking efforts to achieve them

                                                                   an old Chinese proverb




Live lightly on the Earth

                                                                   Tsunesaburo Makiguchi




When student is ready the teacher will appear

                                                                   Buddhist Proverb




The closer you stand to the lighthouse,
the darker it gets

                                                                   an old wise Maritimer




Flowing water never turns bad

                                                                   Chinese proverb




The taut bow loses its strength..........and
The sword can't cut itself

                                                                   Cord, the seeker




Never seek happiness outside yourself

                                                                   Eastern wisdom




People become what they expect themselves to become

                                                                   Mahatma Gandhi



The fool who knows he is a fool is for that very reason wise.
The fool who thinks himself wise is the greatest fool of all

                                                                   Shakyamuni





When someone's character is not clear to you
look at that person's friends

                                                                   a Japanese proverb




Before you can defend against a knife,
you must learn to fight with a knife

                                                                   a Pilipino proverb




Invincibility lies in defense,
the possibility of victory in the attack

                                                                   Sun Tzu




The stronger and more intense the enemy attacks,
the deeper we go with the knife

                                                                   old Visayan masters




The process of learning is often more important then
what is being learned

                                                                   a Chinese Abbot




A weak man can always develop into a strong man,
but a woman can never be a man

                                                                   Angel Cabales




Listen more than you speak

                                                                   a Zen saying




Whatever is created will live,
whatever lives will die,
whatever dies will live again

                                                                   a Visayan proverb




Just do it

                               Nike



Remember that sometimes not getting what you want
is the best thing for you

                                                                   an Eastern thought




Always be unpredictably unpredictable

                                                 old Visayan Filipino knife fighters




The teacher can open the door but
you must enter by yourself

                                                                   an old Chinese saying




When two Eskrimadors play,
the one with more skill,
nerve, or luck will win;
and I have never lost

                                                                   Angel Cabales




If you let cloudy water settle,
it will become clear.
If you let your upset mind settle,
your course will also become clear.

                                                                   a Buddhist Monk




Praise and blame, gain and loss,
pleasure and sorrow, come and go like the wind.
To be happy, rest like a great tree
in the midst of them all.

                                                                   Achaan Chaa




Every time I look around,
receive someone's words, or
encounter a person's actions,
it sure makes me glad of who I am

                                                                   Ga Ko




The way of the monkey is to play the fool.
While you laugh at his antics, he bites you from behind.
Unmask his ego and you expose a coward disguised as a monkey.

                                                                   the Blind Man




What is your original face
before your mother and father were born?

                                                                   a Zen Koan




How old is my soul?

                                       Ga Ko




If you wish to drown,
do not torture yourself with shallow water

                                                                   a Zen Koan




Let your mind become clear like a still forest pool

                                                                   Achaan Chaa




Haven't I passed through here before?

                                                                   Father Time




If you take care of each moment,
you will take care of all time

                                                                   a Zen saying




Oh! the living hypocrisy

                                                                   Doc Holliday




The fool is the twin of the wise

                                                                   the Blind Man




The way that can be walked on is not the perfect way.
The word that can be said is not the perfect word.

                                                                   Lao Tzu




All forms of energy possess inertia

                                                                   Albert A. Einstein




Things are as they are because they were as they were

                                                                   Thomas Gold




Provando e riprovando
(Verify the one and disprove the other)

                                                                   Galileo




Sometimes I just want to crawl in a hole
and pull it in after me

                                                                   Louise H. Roberts




In the old days,
men sought knowledge in order to improve themselves.
Nowadays, men seek knowledge to impress other people.

                                                                   Confucius




If you allow yourself to become lazy
and fall prey to procrastination,
you will not find harmony in your family.
Your inner vitality cannot be awakened
and you will get nowhere.

                                                                   Zhu Zi




To find the essence of Shao-Lin Chuan,
one must develop patience and perseverance.
This will lead to the finding of inner truth.

                                                                   Master Kuo Lien-Ying




Nothing in the world is accomplished without passion.

                                                                   Fortune from a cookie




Things have their roots and branches,
human affairs have their endings and beginnings,
to know what comes first and what comes afterwards
is to approach the principles of the great.

                                                                   Confucius




Water which is too pure has no fish

                                                                   an old Zen saying




Extensive study, constant practice

                                                                   Confucius




Everyone knows soft eventually conquers hard,
but no one knows how to put it into practice

                                                                   Lao Tze




If you want one year of prosperity, plant corn
If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees
If you want one hundred years of prosperity, educate people

                                                                   Chinese proverb




When drinking the water, remember the source;
Honor those from whom our blessings flow

                                                                   Confucius




For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

                                                                   Sir Issac Newton




Truth has the power to dispel the darkness of ignorance
just as the candle has the power to light a cave that
has been dark for a million years

                                                                   Hindu proverb




Energy can be changed in form,
but it cannot be created or destroyed

                                                                   Hermann von Helmholtz




Guessing is cheap;
guessing wrong is expensive

                                                                   Chinese proverb




I truly believe that everything happens for a reason

                                                                   Ga Ko




Kinetic energy is a measure
of the work a moving body will do as it is being stopped,
while momentum is a measure
of the impulse or impact of a moving body
when it hits another body.

                                                                   Sir Issac Newton




Power is defined as the rate at which work is done or
the rate at which energy is transformed.

                                                                   Dr. E.U. Condon




I am as serious as death itself when it comes to the
study and practice of martial arts

                                                                   Ga Ko




As for the search for truth,
I know from my own painful searching,
with its many blind alleys,
how hard it is to take a reliable step,
be it ever so small,
towards the understanding of that
which is truly significant.

                                                                   Albert A. Einstein




It is not the strongest of the species that survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change

                                 Charles Darwin, British Naturalist (1809-1882)