Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

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

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

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

When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

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

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

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

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.

The technique of self-observation is the technique of observing the reality about oneself at the experiential level.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

The obstacle is the path.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

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.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

When we develop patience, we find that we develop a reserve of calm and tranquility.

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

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

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

Short moments, many times. That is the essence of meditation practice.

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

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

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

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

My religion is to live and die without regret.

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

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.

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.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

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.