Each breath is a new beginning, a fresh opportunity to awaken.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a mental vacuum but to come to know one's own mind.

When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize.

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

The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive in the present moment.

Metta (loving-kindness) becomes truly effective only when it arises from a peaceful mind, a pure mind, a balanced mind.

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

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

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

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

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

The practice is like peeling an onion. Layer after layer of delusion is removed through continuous mindfulness.

When you practice zazen you should not try to attain anything. You should just sit in the complete calmness of your mind and not rely on anything.

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

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

In meditation, we are continuously discovering who and what we are.

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

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

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

The practice of metta begins with oneself, for only when we have developed loving-kindness towards ourselves can we truly offer it to others.

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

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

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 cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

Meditation is not about getting rid of thoughts; it's about changing the way we relate to them.

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

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

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

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

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

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

The root of all mind is your own present pure awareness. Rest in that essence without seeking elsewhere.

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

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, but recognizing that we are not our thoughts.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

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

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

When you note effectively, there is no time for defilements to arise. The mind becomes pure through noting.

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