Hakuin Ekaku Quotes

1686–1769 Japan

Hakuin Ekaku (白隠慧鶴 Hakuin Ekaku; January 19, 1686 - January 18, 1769) was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He was a pupil of Dokyo Etan, and transformed the Rinzai school from a declining tradition that lacked rigorous practice into a tradition that focused on arduous meditation and koan practice.

Japan
Philosophers
Religious leaders

Also known as: Hakuin

Random Hakuin Ekaku quote

4 quotes

You know the sound of two hands clapping; tell me, what is the sound of one hand?

Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin trans. Norman Waddell (2010)

Should you desire the great tranquility prepare to sweat white beads.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

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.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Hakuin Ekaku (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.