The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Compassion is a verb.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

When you note pain, you should not dwell on the thought, "I feel pain." Simply recognize the presence of pain.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick. Every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

The world is its own magic.