Seungsahn Quotes

• Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don't worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind. Thinking comes and goes, comes and goes, You must not be attached to the coming or the going.

  Seungsahn

  Moon, Thinking, Attachment

  52 Copy quote

• If you throw away all thoughts of attainment, you will then come to see the real purpose of your quest.

  Seungsahn

  Beautiful, Real, Purpose

  20 Copy quote

• The Truth is realized in an instant; the Act is practiced step by step.

  Seungsahn

  Steps, Truth Is, Instant

  11 Copy quote

• Craziness is good. Crazy people are happy, free, they have no hindrance. But since you have many attachment, you are only a little crazy. This is not crazy enough. You must become completely crazy. Then you will understand.

  Seungsahn

  Crazy, Attachment, People

  14 Copy quote

• In the past, kong-an (koan) practicing meant checking someone's enlightenment. Now we use kong-ans to make our lives correct. . . . You must use kong-ans to take away your opinions. When you take away your opinions, your mind is clear like space, which means from moment to moment you can reflect any situation and respond correctly and meticulously.

  Seungsahn

  Life, Mean, Past

  17 Copy quote

• If you want something then you lose everything. If you don’t want anything then you already have everything.

  Seungsahn

  Want Something, Want, Ifs

  18 Copy quote

• Just keep clear mind, go straight ahead, try, try, try for ten thousand years.

  Seungsahn

  Dream, Years, Mind

  5 Copy quote

• If you are thinking, you can't understand Zen. Anything that can be written in a book, anything that can be said - all this is thinking . . . but if you read with a mind that has cut off all thinking, then Zen books, sutras and Bibles are all the truth. So is the barking of a dog or the crowing of a rooster. All things are teaching you at every moment, and these sounds are even better teaching than Zen books.

  Seungsahn

  Dog, Book, Teaching

  10 Copy quote

• When reading, only read. When eating, only eat. When thinking, only think.

  Seungsahn

  Reading, Thinking, Eating

  14 Copy quote

• Throwing away Zen mind is correct Zen mind. Only keep the question, 'What is the best way of helping other people?'

  Seungsahn

  Helping Others, People, Mind

  5 Copy quote

• The one who praises you is a thief. The one who criticizes you is your true friend.

  Seungsahn

  True Friend, Thieves, Praise

  15 Copy quote

• Taoist chanting, Confucian chanting, Christian chanting, Buddhist chanting don't matter. Chanting Coca Cola, Coca Cola, Coca Cola … can be just as good if you keep a clear mind. But if you don't keep a clear mind, and are only following your thinking as you mouth the words, even the Buddha cannot help you.

  Seungsahn

  Christian, Buddhist, Thinking

  13 Copy quote

• The Great Way has no gate. Clear water has no taste. The tongue has no bone. In complete stillness, a stone girl is dancing.

  Seungsahn

  Girl, Dancing, Water

  10 Copy quote

• Don't want anything. Then you get everything.

  Seungsahn

  Want

  10 Copy quote

• Human beings understand too much.

  Seungsahn

  Too Much, Humans, Human Beings

  5 Copy quote

• Perceiving your own voice means perceiving your true self or nature. When you and the sound become one, you dont hear the sound; you are the sound.

  Seungsahn

  Mean, Self, Voice

  9 Copy quote

• If you want to understand what a watermelon is, you take a watermelon, get a knife, and cut the watermelon. Then you put a slice in your mouth. Boom! YOUR experience!

  Seungsahn

  Cutting, Knives, Mouths

  5 Copy quote

• In original nature There is no this and that. The Great Round Mirror Has no likes or dislikes.

  Seungsahn

  Spiritual, Mirrors, Likes

  8 Copy quote

• A long time ago, Descartes sad, “I think, therefore I am.” But if you are not thinking, what?

  Seungsahn

  Thinking, Long, Ifs

  6 Copy quote

• Zen is very easy! It's like touching your nose when you wash your face in the morning!

  Seungsahn

  Morning, Touching, Noses

  14 Copy quote

• I always try meditation. Meditation means always keeping one mind, not-moving mind.

  Seungsahn

  Moving, Mean, Meditation

  8 Copy quote

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