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

The view is like a lion - it cannot be led around by anything else. Meditation is like an eagle - it cannot be distracted by anything else. Action is like a madman - it is free from accepting and rejecting.

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.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

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

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

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

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.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

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

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

Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we cannot make the wisest choices in our lives.

Our task is not to seek for love but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.

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.

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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.

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

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

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

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

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

There are many ways to meditate. But at the heart of them all is mindfulness.

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.

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

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

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

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

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

Concentration develops naturally through continuous noting. Don't try to force concentration to arise.

The practice of meditation is like learning to play an instrument - it takes patience, regular practice, and a gentle touch.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

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

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

Mindfulness is the key to transformation. It enables us to see our experience as it really is, free from distortion and bias.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don't try to figure anything out. Don't try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest.

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

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

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

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

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

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.