Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

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

May all beings be happy, be peaceful, be liberated.

The teaching is simple: act with kindness and compassion. If you cannot do this, at least try not to harm others.

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a new state of mind, but to recognize what is already present.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

Meditation is not about achieving anything. It's about letting go of everything.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

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

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

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

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

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

Meditation is not about trying to change your experience; it's about changing your relationship to your experience.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

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

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

Our practice cannot be perfect, but without being discouraged by this, we should continue it. This is the secret of practice.

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

In meditation, we're not trying to get rid of thoughts but to recognize their true nature.

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

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.

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

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

The measure of success in spiritual life is how peaceful you are.

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

The cave I live in is empty and so is my mind. I live simply and at ease.

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

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

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.

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

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