Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don't serve them tea.

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

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

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

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

Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention.

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

The real purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

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.

Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

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

The greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.