When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

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

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.

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

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.

When you love someone, you have to have trust and confidence. Love without trust is not yet love.

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

The mind is the source of all happiness and the source of all suffering.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who does not practice it.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate. Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted. Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled. Look within, be still.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

The goal of meditation is not to achieve a blank mind, but to gain insight into the nature of mind itself.

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.