The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma Quotes

“Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“But people of the deepest understanding look within, distracted by nothing. Since a clear mind is the Buddha, they attain the understanding of a Buddha without using the mind.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“People of this world are deluded. They’re always longing for something-always, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth desiring.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“A buddha is an idle person. He doesn't run around after fortune and fame.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Poverty and hardship are created by false thinking.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“The mind is the root from which all things grow if you can understand the mind, everything else is included. It’s like the root of a tree. All a tree’s fruit and flowers, branches and leaves depend on its root. If you nourish its root, a tree multiplies. If you cut its root, it dies. Those who understand the mind reach enlightenment with minimal effort.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Every suffering is a buddha-seed, because suffering impels mortals to seek wisdom. But you can only say that suffering gives rise to buddhahood. You can’t say that suffering is buddhahood. Your body and mind are the field. Suffering is the seed, wisdom the sprout, and buddhahood the grain.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“When we're deluded, there's a world to escape. When we're aware, there's nothing to escape.”
― Red Pine, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Even if you have mountains of jewels and as many servants as there are grains of sand along the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are open. But what about when your eyes are shut?You should realize then that everything you see is like a dream or illusion.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“When the mortal mind appears, buddhahood disappears. When the mortal mind disappears, buddhahood appears. When the mind appears, reality disappears. When the mind disappears, reality appears. Whoever knows that nothing depends on anything has found the Way. And whoever knows that the mind depends on nothing is always at the place of enlightenment.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“If you use your mind to study reality, you won’t understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you’ll understand both. Those who don’t understand, don’t understand understanding. And those who understand, understand not understanding.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“A Buddha doesn’t observe precepts. A Buddha doesn’t do good or evil. A Buddha isn’t energetic or lazy. A Buddha is someone who does nothing, someone who can’t even focus his mind on a Buddha. A Buddha isn’t a Buddha. Don’t think about Buddhas.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“If your mind isn’t within the three realms, it’s beyond them. The three realms correspond to the three poisons: greed corresponds to the realm of desire, anger to the realm of form, and delusion to the formless realm. And because karma created by the poisons can be gentle or heavy, these three realms are further divided into six places known as the six states of existence.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Those who worship don’t know, and those who know don’t worship. By worshipping you come under the spell of devils.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit. I accept it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice. The sutras say: “When you meet with adversity don’t be upset, because it makes sense.” With such an understanding you’re in harmony with reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path.”
― Bodhidharma, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit. I accept it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice. The sutras say: “When you meet with adversity don’t be upset, because it makes sense.” With such an understanding you’re in harmony with reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path.”
― Red Pine, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma