When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

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

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

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

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?

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

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.

Meditation is not an escape from life but a way to fully engage with life.

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

The practice of mindfulness is simple: whatever you experience, you observe and note it.

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.