Hakuin Ekaku Quotes
Hakuin Ekaku was a Japanese Rinzai Zen master, painter, and reformer of the Zen tradition. After a long and intense practice marked by repeated breakthroughs in kensho, he settled at the small temple of Shoinji and rebuilt a flagging Zen lineage by training a great number of disciples. The quotes below are attributed to Hakuin Ekaku, organized by topic.
Hakuin Ekaku on Mind
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Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“What is the sound of one hand?”
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Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“Meditation in the midst of action is a hundred million times superior to meditation in stillness.”
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Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“If you forget yourself, you become the universe.”
Hakuin Ekaku on Nature
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Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water.”
Hakuin Ekaku on Truth
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Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“Not knowing how near the Truth is, people seek it far away — what a pity!”