Top 35 Zen Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Be Kind Quotes, Positive Motivation Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes, Spirituality Quotes, Grateful Quotes

2. “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Short Inspiring Quotes, Reflection Quotes, Spiritual Growth Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes, Quality Quotes

3. “Breathing in, there is only the present moment. Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Experience Quotes, Inner Peace Quotes, Serenity Quotes, Peace of Mind Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes

4. “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Inner Peace Quotes, Feel Good Quotes, Enlightenment Quotes, Reflection Quotes, Wellness Quotes

5. “Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment. Fully alive, fully aware.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Awakening Quotes, Serenity Quotes, Peace of Mind Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes, Carpe Diem Quotes

6. “If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Self-Care Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes, Practice Quotes, Carpe Diem Quotes

7. “The future is a concept, it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be, because time is always now. That’s one of the things we discover when we stop talking to ourselves and stop thinking. We find there is only present, only an eternal now.”

— Alan Watts

Also featured in: Time Quotes, Interesting Quotes, Inner Peace Quotes, Enlightenment Quotes

8. “Smile, breathe, go slowly.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Feel Good Quotes, Mental Health Quotes, Serenity Quotes, Mindfulness Quotes, Practice Quotes

9. “Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Deep Quotes About Life, Empowering Quotes, Emotional Quotes, Meaningful Quotes, Wellness Quotes

10. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

— Buddha

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Awakening Quotes, Meaningful Quotes, Mindset Quotes

11. “Life is available only in the present moment.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Time Quotes, Short Quotes About Life, Inner Peace Quotes, Spiritual Growth Quotes

12. “Life is available only in the present moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Self-Care Quotes, Short Inspirational Quotes, Reflection Quotes, Spiritual Growth Quotes

13. “That’s a waste of time. If you really understand Zen. You can use any book. You could use the Bible. You could use Alice in Wonderland. You could use the dictionary, because... the sound of the rain needs no translation.”

— Alan Watts

Also featured in: Deep Quotes About Life, Book Quotes, Rain Quotes

14. “Compassion is a verb.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Care Quotes, Be Kind Quotes, Morality Quotes, Practice Quotes, Kindness Quotes

15. “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Self-Care Quotes, Emotional Quotes, Spiritual Growth Quotes, Wellness Quotes, Mental Health Quotes

16. “Zen is a way of liberation, concerned not with discovering what is good or bad or advantageous, but what is.”

— Alan Watts

Also featured in: Enlightenment Quotes, Quotes About Reality

17. “You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Love Quotes, Care Quotes, Sweet Quotes, Buddhist Quotes, Caring Quotes

18. “Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Change Quotes, Buddhist Quotes

19. “The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Transformation Quotes, Awakening Quotes, Inner Peace Quotes, Practice Quotes, Peace Quotes

20. “Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Take heed, do not squander your life.”

— Dōgen

Also featured in: Awakening Quotes, Meaning of Life Quotes

21. “In the mind of the beginner, there are many possibilities. In the mind of the expert there are few.”

— Shunryu Suzuki

Also featured in: Mastery Quotes

22. “Just remain in the center; watching. And then forget that you are there.”

— Lao Tzu

Also featured in: Inner Peace Quotes, Deep Quotes, Taoism Quotes, Meditation Quotes

23. “The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. He prefers what is within to what is without.”

— Lao Tzu

Also featured in: Enlightenment Quotes, Reflection Quotes, Philosophical Quotes, Wise Quotes

24. “Turn away from mischief. Again and again, turn away. Before sorrow befalls you.”

— Buddha

Also featured in: Morality Quotes, Deep Quotes, Suffering Quotes, Sorrow Quotes

25. “I am an artist at living – my work of art is my life.”

— D.T. Suzuki

26. “Happiness is available. Please help yourself to it.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Happiness Quotes, Self-Care Quotes, Cheer Quotes, Helping Quotes

27. “I AM Here Now As This.”

— Wei Wu Wei

Also featured in: Be Yourself Quotes, Taoism Quotes

28. “At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Self-Care Quotes, Meaning Quotes, Intention Quotes, Path Quotes

29. “To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity.”

— Bodhidharma

Also featured in: Giving Up Quotes, Letting Go Quotes, Regret Quotes

30. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Believe in Yourself Quotes, Self-Love Quotes, Focus On Yourself Quotes, Be Yourself Quotes, You Are Amazing Quotes

31. “The truth is you can’t try to let go. Trying is the opposite of letting go. To let go is to relinquish trying. To let go is much more like to let be.”

— Adyashanti

Also featured in: Inner Peace Quotes

32. “Having no destination, I am never lost.”

— Ikkyu

Also featured in: Journey Quotes

33. “The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy, they come when the mind is still, when silence speaks loudest.”

— Leon Brown

Also featured in: Serenity Quotes

34. “I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it.”

— Nhat Hanh

Also featured in: Plant Quotes, Worry Quotes

35. “Questions appear real for as long as you consider yourself to be a person. When you realize you are the impersonal presence, all questions vanish.”

— Mooji

Also featured in: Enlightenment Quotes

36. “He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings.”

— Buddha

37. “The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.”

— Robert M. Pirsig

38. “Let it be whatever it will be. Give up trying to manipulate. This is Freedom.”

— Mooji

39. “Stop and sink into this timeless moment!”

— Mooji

Also featured in: Serenity Quotes