The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

Through understanding emptiness, one does not become proud of one's virtues, just as one does not become proud of building a castle in the sky.

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

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

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

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

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

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

Meditation is not about escaping from difficulty but about meeting it with awareness.

Work diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. 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.

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

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

The only thing that we truly have control over is our attitude toward experience.

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

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

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

The practice of meditation is like tuning an instrument. Too tight, and the strings break. Too loose, and they won't play.

The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing.

The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

Compassion is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

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

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.

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

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

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

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

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.