The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

If it isn't good, let it die. If it doesn't die, make it good.

Meditation is like catching a fish. If you try to catch it quickly, you'll miss it. If you have patience and know how to wait, the fish will come.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

Whatever we do, we should see ourselves. Reading books doesn't show us our defilements. Watch yourself. Watch your mind.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

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.

When we know the truth, we become people who don't have to think much, we become people with wisdom.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool.