The practice is like peeling an onion. Layer after layer of delusion is removed through continuous mindfulness.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

Appearances are mind, mind itself is emptiness, emptiness itself is spontaneous presence.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

The nature of mind is clearer than the sky, yet we keep looking elsewhere.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.