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.
Browse Hakuin Ekaku by topic
Hakuin Ekaku on Knowledge
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“You know the sound of two hands clapping; tell me, what is the sound of one hand?”
As quoted in Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin trans. Norman Waddell (2010) p. 179 -
“All beings are by nature are Buddhas, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddhas. How sad that people ignore the near and search the truth afar: like someone in the midst of water crying out in thirst: like a child of a wealthy home wandering among the poor.”
As quoted in Teachings of the Buddha p. 207 -
“Should you desire the great tranquility prepare to sweat white beads.”
As quoted in Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game by Larry W. Phillips
Hakuin Ekaku on Mind
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“What is the sound of one hand?”
As quoted in Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin trans. Norman Waddell (2010) p. 179 -
Attributed to Hakuin Ekaku:
“Meditation in the midst of action is a hundred million times superior to meditation in stillness.”
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“If you forget yourself, you become the universe.”
As quoted in The Awakening Artist: Madness and Spiritual Awakening in Art by Patrick Howe
Hakuin Ekaku on Nature
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“All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water.”
As quoted in Teachings of the Buddha p. 207
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!”