Timeless Relaxing Zen quotes to soothe your being

I have compiled a list of timeless relaxing Zen quotes for your reading pleasure. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy these terrific quotes from Zen masters and artists alike. Please feel free to add any comments or quotes you would like to share below.

"Tension is who you think you should be. 

Relaxation is who you are." 

Chinese Proverb 

"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, 

it is useless to seek it elsewhere." 

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day 

is the rest we take between two deep breaths."

Etty Hillesum 

There is more to life than increasing its speed."

Gandhi 

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - 

not even our troubles."

Charlie Chaplin 

The tighter you squeeze, the less you have. Ma-Tsu

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. 

Baba Ram Dass

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot. 

Muso Kokushi

"A crust eaten in peace is 

better than a banquet partaken in anxiety." 

Aesop

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."

Ovid 

"For fast-acting relief try slowing down." 

Lily Tomlin

The only Zen you find on the tops 

of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.

Robert M. Pirsig 

"The whole moon and the entire sky are 

reflected in one dewdrop on the grass." 

Dogen

"Whether talking or remaining silent, Whether 

moving or standing quiet, 

The Essence itself is ever at ease." Daishi 

"This is the Zen approach: nothing is there to be done. 

There is nothing to do. One has just to be. Have a rest 

and be ordinary and be natural. " Osho

"Don't seek, don't search, don't ask, don't knock, 

don't demand - relax. 

If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. 

If you relax, 

you start vibrating with it." Osho

"God is a synergetic experience. Science can never 

reveal it, 

philosophy can never come to it - only a poetic 

approach, a very passive, 

very loving approach, can." Osho

"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about 

God while one is peeling potatoes. 

Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes." Alan Watts

"Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does 

not propose, it simply persuades. 

It does not argue, it simply sings its own song. " Osho

"No matter how much pressure you feel at work, 

if you could find ways to 

relax for at least five minutes every hour, 

you'd be more productive." Dr. Joyce Brothers

"He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve 

his soul's estate." 

Henry David Thoreau

"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn 

to relax and wait for the answer." 

William S. Burroughs

"If people concentrated on the really important 

things in life, 

there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." 

Doug Larson

"This art of resting the mind and the power of 

dismissing from it all care and 

worry is probably one of the secrets of energy 

in our great men." Captain J. A. Hadfield

Ten thousand flowers in spring 

the moon in autumn, 

a cool breeze in summer, 

snow in winter. 

If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, 

this is the best season of your life. Wu-men 

"To what shall 

I liken the world? 

Moonlight, reflected 

In dewdrops, 

Shaken from a crane's bill." Dogen 

The wind has settled, the blossoms have fallen; 

Birds sing, the mountains grow dark - 

This is the wondrous power of Buddhism. 

Ryokan

"Calm in quietude is not real calm. 

When you can be calm in the midst of activity, 

this is the true state of nature. 

Happiness in comfort is not real happiness. 

When you can be happy in the midst of hardship, 

then you see the true potential of the mind." Huanchu Daoren 

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. 

But other times it's essential to take time off 

and to make sure that your 

most important decision in the day simply consists 

of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow."

Douglas Pagels 

Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, 

I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. 

When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, 

I came to the point where I saw that mountains are 

not mountains, and waters are not waters. 

But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. 

For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, 

and waters once again as waters. Ching-yuan 

Said the river to the seeker, "Does one really 

have to fret about enlightenment? 

No matter which way I turn, I'm homeward bound." 

Anthoney De Mello

Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of 

Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, 

peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world 

disappears for me when I'm on a wave. 

Paul Walker

And the end of all our exploring will be to 

arrive where we started and know the place 

for the first time.

T.S. Eliot

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