Enso design made entirely of Zen quotations by Think Positive Apparel

Our enso design is made entirely out of quotations on Zen philosophies of emptiness, unity, fluidity, the circular nature of the universe, and many more…. Creating a Zen enso is all about getting centered and present. An enso is made in a single stroke or two and encapsulates the artist’s state of consciousness. Quieting the mind through breathing exercises and meditation can be vital tools even in creating a simple circle 🙂


Here are all of the quotes we used in this design:


“It is easy to believe we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean.”
~Jon J. Muth


“Where there are humans, / You’ll find flies, / And Buddhas.”
~Kobayashi Issa


“Here it is – right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.”
~Huang-po


“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.”
~Ray Bradbury


“With passions stilled and one’s nature firm, all destinies are in harmony; When the full moon of contemplation is reached you will be pure.”
~Wu Cheng’en


“A circle becomes like the Universe!”
~Yamada Reirin


“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”
~Zhuangzi


“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing / and rightdoing there is a field. / I’ll meet you there. // When the soul lies down in that grass / the world is too full to talk about.”
~Rumi


“It is simply sitting silently, witnessing the thoughts, passing before you. Just witnessing, not interfering not even judging, because the moment you judge you have lost the pure witness. The moment you say “this is good, this is bad,” you have already jumped onto the thought process.“
~Osho


“The object of Zen is not to kill all feelings and become anesthetized to pain and fear. The object of Zen is to free us to scream loudly and fully when it is time to scream.”
~Francis Harold Cook


“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
~Thích Nhất Hạnh


“To make things as easy as possible to understand, we can summarize the four boundless qualities in the single phrase ‘a kind heart.’ Just train yourself to have a kind heart always and in all situations.”
~Patrul Rinpoche


“It is only when the mind is brought into silence, into full presence within this moment, in the here and now, that you will ever be truly free.”
~Marcus T. Anthony





“We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.”
~Zen Proverb


“To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
~Chuang-tzu


“Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.”
~Bodhidharma


“The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.”
~Dogen


“You may not know exactly who is suffering, but question yourself: What is the essence of this mind? Think only of this. You will need no more. Covet nothing. Your end which is endless is as a snowflake dissolving in pure air.”
~Bassui Takusho


“Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind”
~Zen Proverb


“Sometimes, simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom.”
~ Zen Proverb


“Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.”
~Alan Watts


“Before enlight¬en¬ment; chop wood, carry water. After enlight¬en¬ment; chop wood, carry water.”
~Zen Proverb


“We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.”
~Lao Tzu


“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”
~Buddha


“Keep yourself firmly centered inside here and nothing will be able to shatter you.”
~Isan Shinko


“The Universe lingers; I bow my head.”
~Ranzan Shoryu


“Form is void and void is form.”
~The Heart Sutra


“There is nothing lacking in you!”
~Zen Master Tao-Hsin


“Freeing oneself from the mind is total liberation.”
~Bodhidharma


“Just by being a simple witness of your thought processes.”
~Osho


“There is no beginning to practice nor end to enlightenment; There is no beginning to enlightenment nor end to practice.”
~ Dogen


“You’re not something that is a sort of puppet on the end of the process. You are still the process. You are the big bang, the original force of the universe, coming on as whoever you are.“
~Alan Watts


“We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh