Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

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.

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

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

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

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

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.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

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

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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

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

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

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

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.

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

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

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

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 Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

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

Mindfulness is being aware of what's going on, not trying to control what's going on.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

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

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

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

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

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

The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

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

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

When you generate negativity, you are the first victim of your negativity.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

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

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

Meditation is not about trying to change ourselves. Meditation is about being aware of what is.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

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

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.

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

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

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

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

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

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

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