32 Meditative Zen Sayings for Liberating Life

1. Life exists only in the present. To lose the present is to lose life. The meaning of the Buddha is very clear: we must bid farewell to the past so that we can return to the present. Returning to the present is to be in touch with life.

2. Every glance, every smile, and every word of yours can reach the farthest corners of the universe, affecting every living and non-living being in the universe. Everything is connected to everything else; everything permeates all other things.

3. To know through stillness.

4. Many people often complain about the hardships of work, the lack of success in their careers, and even dislike going to work. In fact, the pressures and setbacks at work happen to be the best opportunities for self-cultivation. The office is the best place for cultivation, and everything at work is a form of cultivation. Regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in or the people you encounter, everything is training your character.

5. Life is not a destination, not a place we need to reach, not a goal. Life is a journey. Walking meditation is the walk without needing to reach a destination; every step can bring us peace, joy, and liberation.

6. The seed of sincere love is in the heart of each and every one of us.

7. Every day, we are in the midst of miracles, those miracles that we are not even aware of: the blue sky, white clouds, green grass, and the curious eyes of children—those are also our own eyes. Everything is a miracle.

8. Look at the flowers, look at the butterflies, look at the trees, look at the children with compassionate eyes. The power of your compassion will transform life and make it more beautiful.

9. What the world needs is the existence of happy and loving people. If you understand the art of tranquility, you have the foundation for all actions. The foundation of action is existence, and the quality of existence determines the quality of action.

10. Attachment to views is the greatest obstacle on the spiritual path.

11. Work is just a part of life, but if you work with mindfulness, work is life.

12. Whenever I touch a flower, I can touch the sun without being burnt. When I touch this flower, I also feel the existence of my heart, your heart, and the existence of the great planet Earth. If you truly touch a flower deeply, you will touch the entire universe.

13. No matter how full the seed is, it still needs nourishment from the earth.

14. Our hearts are always busy chasing memories of yesterday and dreams of tomorrow. The only way to reconnect with life is to return to this moment. Only when you return to this moment will you awaken. And it is only then that you can find the truth.

15. The meaning of life is in every moment, every breath, and every step you take.

16. Emptiness is the foundation of all things, because of emptiness, the existence of all things becomes possible. Emptiness is a rather optimistic concept. If I am not empty, I cannot exist; if you are not empty, you cannot exist. Because you exist, I can exist, and that is the true meaning of emptiness.

17. Flowers fall, revealing the heart’s secrets, brushing the ground silently.

18. Ignorance is the root of greed, anger, pride, doubt, envy, and fear. When we learn to calm the mind to see the truth of things, we can have a comprehensive understanding of everything, and thus accept suffering and transform it into love.

19. The principle of practice is simple: bring the mind back to our body, so that life truly exists, fully alive.

20. If you are not living in tranquility at this moment, you will never achieve it in the future. If you truly want peace, you must be in peace now; otherwise, it is just hoping that peace will come someday. It all depends on your inner peace.

21. Inhaling, I become infinite space, with no plans, no baggage. Exhaling, I am the moon soaring through boundless skies, I am free.

22. When the waves realize they are water, life and death are no longer a harm.

23. To be alive is the greatest miracle, and you can rejoice in being alive. If you can breathe like this, your breath becomes a celebration of life.

24. Around us, life is constantly bursting with miracles. A glass of water, a ray of sunlight, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, a laugh, a few raindrops. If you live mindfully, you will easily see such miracles everywhere. Everyone is a complex miracle.

25. I am a continuation. Just as rain is a continuation of clouds.

26. If we do not exist in complete self-presence and in the present moment, we will miss everything.

27. Through the mindful and focused awareness of every moment, Siddhartha’s mind, body, and breath all reach perfect unity. His practice of mindfulness has cultivated great concentration. And it is with this concentration that he helps observe his body and mind, enabling him to understand everything and thus accept suffering and transform it into love.

28. The past is a storage room, containing both painful memories and happy memories. Revisiting the pain of the past causes the present moment in life to disappear. Letting go of the past and returning to the present is not simple or easy. When we decide to let go of the past and return to the present, we are deciding to resist the frozen force in our hearts. We can transform these knots, and in the future, they will no longer be able to pull us back.

29. Silence comes from within you, not from outside. Silence does not mean not speaking or not doing things, but that your inner self is undisturbed.

30. The Buddha, through a lifetime of practice, reminds us not to waste time in idle chatter, excessive sleep, pursuing fame and gain, craving desires, associating with those of bad character, and being complacent with shallow understanding of the teachings.

31. Record the beauty of each day, water your seeds of joy regularly, and they will grow.

32. Do not chase the past, do not get lost in the future. The past is gone, the future is yet to come. Seeing through the present moment of life, here and now, the one who walks this path is at peace and free.