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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

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

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

The only way to fail at meditation is to stop doing it.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

The more you meditate, the more you understand yourself and the better friend you become to yourself.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

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.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

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

To live is enough.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

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.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

The challenge in meditation is not to eliminate thinking but to understand the nature of thought itself.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another.

The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.