The purpose of Zen is the perfection of character.

- Yamada Koun

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

- Yamada Koun

The entrance into Zen is the grasping of one's essential nature. It is absolutely impossible, however, to come to a clear understanding of our essent…

- Yamada Koun

Someone who wants to attain enlightenment must be brave. He must rush into the crowd of enemies with a dagger. In the practice of Zen, enemies are ou…

- Yamada Koun

In the same way your life is the continuity of standing up, sitting down, laughing, sleeping, waking up, drinking, eating, and, of course, being born…

- Yamada Koun

Every moment is the manifestation of the whole. Life itself is, therefore, nothing but the continuous moment of the whole, and everybody is living th…

- Yamada Koun